the English, in distinction from the one of like name much further
down the Mississippi, near Aitkin: see note 47, p. 135. Pike is
careless about the names, and calls both lakes Red Cedar, or Cedar
without further qualification. The valuable species of _Juniperus_,
commonly known as "cedar" or "red cedar," is not a very abundant tree
in N. Minnesota, and its prevalence about each of these lakes
duplicated their designation. They are too far apart, luckily, for any
confusion to have ever arisen. Pike's description of Up. R. C. l. is
not good, and his map is so far out as to omit entirely the entrance
of the Mississippi into this lake; for what he delineates as and
mistook for the entrance of the main river is merely the discharge of
the Turtle River chain of lakes from the Beltramian or so-called
Julian source of the Mississippi, which falls in at the extreme N.
border of the lake. Thus, what the text means by saying "from the
entrance of the Mississippi to the streight is called six miles," is
the distance from the mouth of Turtle r. to the strait which divides
off Pike's bay from the rest of Cass l.; "thence to the south end,"
etc., is the length of Pike's bay; the "bay at the entrance" of the
supposed Mississippi, _i. e._, of Turtle r., means the general recess
of Cass l. on the N.; and finally, the "large point," given as 2½ m.
"from the north side," is the point of Colcaspi or Grand isl., which
is almost a peninsula, and which marks off Allen's bay from the rest
of Cass l. With this much by way of comment on Pike, we will look
further at this interesting body of water, which I have lately crossed
twice. Its first English name, after the ones above given, was Lake
Cassina, bestowed by Schoolcraft in 1820, in honor of Governor and
General Lewis Cass (b. Exeter, N. H., Oct. 9th, 1782, d. Detroit,
Mich., June 17th, 1866), leader of the expedition which made its
nearest approach to the true source of the Miss. r., in July of that
year. Their camp was on the N. shore, close by the mouth of Turtle r.,
on the W. side of that mouth, directly opposite the site of the N. W.
Co. Ho. where Pike now is. The name "Cassina Lake" stands on the
Schlcr. map of the 1820 Cass exped.; item, "Cassina L." is on Long's
map, 1823; the adj. Cassinian also occurs in Schlcr. and elsewhere;
but the latter afterward clipped the name to Cass, and it has become
fixed in this form--the same as that of the county later dedicated
appropriately to this eminent statesman and soldier. The Schlcr. map
of 1820 also lays down the Turtle River system with approximate
accuracy, and on this map was first traced the course of the
Mississippi to Lake Itasca. This had not then received its present
name, but stands there as "L. Labeish," _i. e._, Lac La Biche, or Lac
à la Biche, translating the Chippewa Omoshkos Sogiagon, and translated
Elk l. in English. The main defect of the 1820 map was in laying down
the Itascan source to the N. W. instead of to the S. W. of Cass
l.--thus really on the line of the Turtle River source. This mistake
was corrected in 1832, the year that Schoolcraft's party were guided
to Lake Itasca itself by the Chippewa chief, Ozawindib or Yellow Head.
Schoolcraft's nomenclature, as far as possible, was accepted by the
greatest geographer who ever saw the source of the Mississippi, and
Nicollet's example in this respect has been generally followed. Cass
is a beautiful lake, the third largest in the drainage-area of the
uppermost Mississippi, being exceeded in size only by Winnibigoshish
and Leech. The greatest length is nearly meridional; including Pike's
bay it is 9¾ m.; the greatest breadth is almost due E. and W.;
including Allen's bay it is 7½ m. In position with reference to the
5th meridian (the only one with which we have to do in this note), the
Range line of townships 30-31, and the Township line of 145-146,
decussate at right angles in the center of the lake, just off the E.
shore of Colcaspi isl. The body of water thus occupies portions of
four townships. In figure Cass l. is more irregular than Lake
Winnibigoshish, less so than Leech l. Pike's bay, on the S., is almost
shut off from the rest of the lake by a long, narrow peninsula which
stretches nearly across from E. to W., leaving but a very narrow
thoroughfare. Pike's bay is of rounded form, about 3 m. in any
diameter. Allen's bay, on the W., is almost equally well marked off by
Colcaspi isl.; it is 2⅓ m. long, with an average width of over a
mile, and includes two small islands, named Elm and Garden. Red Cedar
isl. lies in the S. E. part of the main body of water; but the most
conspicuous feature of the lake is the island best known as Grand or
Colcaspi. The latter curious name is one of those verbal wind-eggs
which Schoolcraft was fond of hatching; he tells us it is compounded
of fragments of the names of "the three prior explorers," meaning Cass
and himself, 1820, and Pike, 1806. This Island of Ozawindib, as named
by Brower, 1894, is shaped like a blacksmith's anvil or molar tooth;
its greatest diameters, along conjugate diagonal axes, are 2¾ and 2½
m.; aside from its horns, the island would yield a square of about 1¼
m. The Chippewa village of Ozawindib, where Schoolcraft was camped
July 10th and again July 15th--between which dates he went to Itasca
and back--was on the N. E. point of the anvil. I should advise
canoeists to give this point a wide berth; for a shoal runs far out
northward, and the birch-bark may thump on a stony bottom if there is
any sea. This shoal reaches out directly across the straightest
traverse from the inlet to the outlet of the Mississippi. Ozawindib
isl. is almost a peninsula in relation to the north shore of the lake,
but a canoe can generally be floated across the isthmus. I waded and
dragged my boat on going up, but on returning was obliged to make a
portage of a few paces, as the water had lowered. But even if it be
found a carrying-place, it is the shortest and best way across the
lake from the inlet of the Mississippi, either to its outlet or to the
inlet of Turtle r. The latter falls in at the extreme N. of the lake,
2½ m. W. N. W. from the outlet of the Mississippi, in the N. E. ¼ of
Sect. 18, T. 146, R. 30. Here came David Thompson in 1798, along the
usual traders' route from the Red River country, in part the then
supposed course of the Mississippi itself above Red Cedar l. Here, in
Roy's N. W. Co. House, on the E. or left bank, is Pike this 12th of
February, 1806. Here were Cass and Schoolcraft in 1820; here came
Beltrami in 1823, down this same Turtle r. from his Lake Julia, and so
from the Julian source of the Mississippi. A mission once stood here;
there is now an Indian village at a little distance westward. The
place may be recognized at a distance by a high ridge on the right or
W. bank; and on nearer approach by a stout post with historical
inscriptions, erected by Brower in August, 1894. About a mile up
Turtle r. expands into a lake, called Kichi by Nicollet in 1836, and
by error Kitihi, as on Brower's map of 1892. No other considerable
stream enters Cass l., excepting the Mississippi itself. The
Mississippi leaves the lake in a recess on the N. E. shore, easy to
find by good land-marks--notice a clump of trees on the right of the
outlet as you approach it, and a house on the first rising ground to
the left. The position is in the N. E. ¼ of Sect. 21, T. 146, R. 30.
From this point the river flows nearly E. S. E. into Lake
Winnibigoshish (makes 2⅔ m. of southing in 8¼ m. of easting--air-line
about 9 m.). The general course is about straight, but the reciprocal
bends are numerous, giving an actual course, as I should judge, of 16¾
m., though they call it 18. This is Cass r. or Red Cedar r.--the most
beautiful part of the Mississippi--good flat water and plenty of it at
the lowest stages of canoeing, with a moderate current and no rapids,
shoals, or snags to speak of; also, good camping places all along on
the wooded points or knolls. The only tributary of this "interlaken"
course of the Mississippi is from the S., about halfway between Cass
and Winnibigoshish; being the discharge from Horn l. (Eshkabwaka l. of
Owen), ¾ of a mile (direct) E. of the boundary between Itasca and
Beltrami cos., in the S. E. ¼ of Sect. 30, T. 146, R. 29.
Pike at Leech l. was the nearest he ever went to the true source of
the Mississippi--about 25 m. in an air-line E. of Lake Itasca. Pike at
Cass l. is further away from this goal, but he is on the course of the
great river. Having already noted the Leech Lake sub-basin, or what I
call the Pikean source, I will with the reader's indulgence indicate
the main features of the true Itascan or Nicolletian sub-basin. To
this end we will start together from Cass l. and paddle our own canoe
to Lake Itasca. The following observations are from my canoe voyage
from Deer River to Lake Itasca and return, Aug. 15th-Sept. 3d, 1894:
The Mississippi enters Cass l. at the W. end of Allen's bay, by a
crooked =S=-shaped thoroughfare about a mile long, from the next lake
above. The inlet into Cass opens in the center of Sect. 29, T. 146, R.
31; the outlet from the other lake is in the N. W. ¼ of the same
section. So close, in fact, are the two lakes, that at two places they
are only separated by 100 yards or less. At the northern one of these
short portages stands a dilapidated old chapel, once a mission-house,
and other buildings are scattered about, chiefly Chippewa cabins. I
could learn no name for this next lake, though it appears to be the
one Schoolcraft called Andrusia in 1855; but if so, the name has
lapsed. A letter before me from Hon. J. V. Brower, Itasca State Park
Commissioner, dated St. Paul, Sept. 15th, 1894, says: "The beautiful
body of water situated upon Sects. 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, and 30,
T. 146, R. 31, 5th M., above Cass lake, and through which the
Mississippi takes its course, has this day been named by me Lake
Elliott Coues, as a slight recognition of your services to the public,
and for the purposes of a more accurate and correct geographical
description." This lake is 3½ m. long by 1¼ m. in greatest breadth,
with its long axis meridional. The Mississippi runs across its S. end
about ¾ of a mile from W. to E., the inlet being in the N. W. ¼ of
Sect. 30 of the same T. and R. as the outlet. A trader's house is on
the N. side, in a Chippewa village. A winding course of the
Mississippi of 2 m. brings us to another lake, Pamitascodiac or
Tascodiac of Schoolcraft, and Vandermaelen of Nicollet. This is
hourglass-shaped, 2¼ m. long by about a mile across either bulb. The
Mississippi enters it at the N. and leaves it at the E., the inlet and
outlet being within half a mile of each other, in Sect. 25, T. 146, R.
32. For 2 or 3 m. above Lake Tascodiac canoeing is easy, through the
flat water of marsh and meadow land; but then begins the trouble which
hardly intermits thence to Lake Bemidji. The canoeist may as well put
on his rubber boots at the start and keep them on, for he will have to
wade most of the way and drag or shove his boat through almost
incessant rocky rapids, shoals, and snags. My canoe drew only about 3
inches of water when my man and myself were overboard, yet we had
great difficulty in getting along at all without portaging. Where the
water is flat, it is shoal and snaggy; otherwise it is all "Metoswa"
rapids. The distance from Lake Tascodiac to Lake Bemidji is only 8 m.
in an air line, but this is the chord of a considerable arc the river
describes northward, which, with the minor bends around the wooded
points, makes, as I judge, about 13½ m. of water-course. The people
call it 20 m., but that is because it is such a hard road to travel.
It took me a day and a quarter to make Bemidji from Elliott Coues; but
I did the same distance in less than one day coming down. Beltrami
calls this course "Demizimagua-maguen-sibi, or River of Lake
Traverse," II. p. 434--which reminds me to say that among the Indians
each section of the river between lakes takes the name of the lake
whence it flows. The Bemidji section of the Mississippi issues from
the lake of that name in the N. W. ¼ of Sect. 2, T. 146, R. 33, near
the middle of the E. shore. This outlet is hidden in a maze of
bulrushes, and as there is no conspicuous landmark on shore it is not
easy to find. Lake Bemidji is a large body of water 5½ m. long N. and
S., by 1¾ to 2½ m. broad, of somewhat pyriform figure, lying athwart
the course of the Mississippi: whence the F. name Lac Traverse, which
we render Traverse, Travers, and Cross lake; Schl. named it Queen
Anne's l. in 1855. Among the Indian forms are Pamitchi, as
Schoolcraft; Pemidji, as Nicollet; also Bermiji, Permidji, etc., and
with an additional element Bemejigemug, Pamajiggermug, etc. The N. end
of Bemidji is only 2½ m. from the S. end of Turtle l., so that the
Julian sources may be here easily reached by portage. From the outlet
as above described to the inlet is 2¾ m. on a S. W. course; for the
Mississippi enters at the extreme S. W. angle, in the N. W. ¼ of Sect.
16, T. 146, R. 33. Here are some Chippewa cabins, and here is also the
lair of one of the ferocious blood-sucking parasites of the tribe of
Indian traders. The system only differs from robbery in name. For
instance, the squaw-man will sell you a whitefish for 10 cents a
pound. He bought that fish for two cents a pound from the Indian who
caught it, and he also paid for it in goods at his own price, probably
about five times their cost to him. Those old traders who were
satisfied to make 250 per cent. on prime cost were meek and lowly
philanthropists in comparison with some of their successors. A short
wide thoroughfare of about 40 rods leads directly from Bemidji into
Lake Irving, so named by Schoolcraft in 1832 after the facile writer,
and still so called. This is only 1½ m. broad by ¾ long, lying chiefly
in Sects. 16 and 17; the Mississippi comes directly across its short
axis from S. to N. The inlet is at the S. E. corner of Sect. 17. On
Nicollet's published map "L. Irving" appears out of place altogether,
on another stream. But that is a mere accident of cartography, for
which the admirable geographer is not responsible; he knew where Lake
Irving is as well as I do. Three short bends and then a straight
course of a mile bring us up the Mississippi to the mouth of a river
from the S., to be particularly noted for several reasons. It is the
largest remaining tributary of the Mississippi, and one of its sources
is a lake no more than 5 m. from Itasca itself. This river joins the
Mississippi in the S. E. of Sect. 20, T. 146, R. 33. Going up it we at
once fall upon the very small Lake Marquette; next, Lake La Salle
(Lasale on Nicollet's map), larger and hourglass-shaped; next, Lake
Plantagenet, a two-legged body of water, 2¾ m. long by 1¾ broad. The
first two were named in 1832 by Schoolcraft, who also said the largest
one was called Kubba Kunna, or Rest in the Path l.--these terms
becoming Rahbahkanna and Resting l. in Allen. Continuing through Lake
Plantagenet and up this "Plantagenian source" of the Mississippi, as
it has come to be known, we find that it forks in Sect. 21, T. 144, R.
34, at a direct distance of 7 or 8 m. from Lake Plantagenet. The fork
on our left as we go up takes us 5 or 6 m. further to Lake Naiwa,
called Neway l. by Nicollet, and recently renamed Lake George.
Alongside and emptying into this is Nicollet's L. Bowditch, lately
renamed L. Paine. These two are in Sects. 15, 19, 22, and 21, T. 143,
R. 34. Going up the other fork, we find in about 3 m. that it forks.
The fork on our left as we go up comes N. from a number of small
lakes, one of them lately become known as Lake Chenowagesic; and this
is probably to be considered the main course of the river we are now
on. The other fork comes from the west; if we follow it up we proceed
directly toward Lake Itasca, and find our stream heading in a lake
which occupies portions of Sects. 2 and 11, T. 143, R. 35. This is
Lake Assawa--Ossowa and Usawa of Schoolcraft, Usaw-way or Perch of
Allen, Assawe of Nicollet; also, Lake Alice of the Rand-McNally map
(Chicago, 1894), whose compilers adopted the names bestowed by a
certain unfortunate excursionist. Another name this unhappy person
gave this same lake is Elvira. It is historically of the greatest
possible interest, for from Lake Assawa did Schoolcraft's party
proceed by portage to discover Lake Itasca in 1832, and from it also
did Nicollet proceed by portage to Lake Itasca in 1836, and so on to
discover the actual source of the Mississippi, which Schoolcraft
missed in his hurry on that happy-go-lucky 13th of July. As to the
name which the whole stream thus sketched should bear, there may be
two opinions. Schoolcraft maps it with the legend "Plantagenian or
South Fork of the Mississippi," and makes the Assawa Lake fork the
main source, calling the Naiwa Lake fork by the name of this lake.
Nicollet names the main stream R. Laplace, after the celebrated
astronomer, as he did L. Bowditch after the translator of that
author's Mécanique Céleste; and he considers the main stream to be
that middle one which comes from the Chenowagesic l., furthest from
the S. (over the border of Hubbard Co., in fact). This view is
undoubtedly correct, and I, for one, should like to see Nicollet's
designation of Laplace r. stand. But the river is in fact called the
Naiwa, and this current designation will probably prevail. I observe
that our best maps in the present uncertainty omit any name, though
the Rand-McNally map legends "Schoolcraft R." (after Eastman's, 1855).
Should the main stream come to be known to geographers as the Naiwa, I
would suggest that its E. fork be called the East Naiwa, agreeably
with Schoolcraft's, 1832; and the other the West Naiwa.
We return from this excursion up the Naiwa or Laplace r.--the
Plantagenian source of the Mississippi--and proceed up the latter from
the mouth of the former. We hold a due W. course on the whole for 5½
m. in an air-line, but on a zigzag with multitudinous minor
tortuosities, making the distance more than twice as far; part of the
way winding among wooded points, working our way over shoals and among
snags, to a point in the N. W. ¼ of Sect. 28, T. 146, R. 34. Here the
small Allenoga r., on our right from the north, discharges from a
small, crooked lake which lies mainly in Sects. 16 and 21. Knowing no
name for this, I call it Cowhorn l., from its shape and from the
trivial circumstance of finding a horn stuck on a stake in the river.
We go on through a monotonous, swampy tract of reeds, rushes, wild
rice, and lily-pads, alternately approaching and receding from tamarac
clumps as the river winds about, for 2½ m. further W. in an air-line,
and more than three times that distance in actual paddling, till we
reach some haying-meadows, and soon find the entrance of a notable
stream on our right, in the N. E. ¼ of Sect. 25, T. 146, R. 35; this
is Pinidiwin r. (Pinnidiwin, Carnage, and De Soto r. of Schoolcraft,
Piniddiwin of Brower), through a lake about a mile wide, filled with a
fine crop of wild rice. Hence it is one of many lakes which are called
La Folle, Rice, or Manomin (Monomina on the Rand-McNally map); but it
had better keep the distinctive name of the river which flows through
it. I paddled up into Pinidiwin l., and was surprised at the volume of
water it discharged, as well as at the strength of its current. But
the river is a large, forked stream which drains a very extensive area
N. of the Mississippi. The volume of the Mississippi seemed diminished
nearly one-half above the mouth of this "Little Mississippi." The
course up the Mississippi is now S. W. to a point in the S. E. ¼ of
Sect. 35, T. 146, R. 35; where, at a bend, it receives a sizable
tributary from the S. Nicollet charts this stream, but has no name for
it, and I know of none, excepting that suspicious "Hennepin R." which
appears on the same Rand-McNally map, so thoroughly vitiated by
countenancing the names given by a dishonest person. Hennepin r. rises
as far south as about the middle of T. 144, R. 35, and flows nearly
due northward; one of its tributaries comes from a certain Lake
Joliet, the name of which arose with the same trickster. Rounding the
bend here we go up N. W. into the middle of Sect. 28, T. 146, R. 35,
and turn S. W. to the corner of this section, on the property of Mr.
A. J. Jones, a _bona fide_ settler and cultivator of the soil. The
situation is also marked by a small creek (say Jones') which falls in
hard by from the W.; but it is more notable as a sort of "Great Bend"
of the Mississippi; for here is the place where, our course thus far
having been on the whole westward, we turn quite abruptly southward to
make for Lake Itasca, distant about 14 m. as the crow flies, but at
least twice as far as that by the way we paddle. It has been good flat
water, with no obstructions to speak of, for many miles back; but a
little distance above Jones' place we come to rocky rapids for half a
mile, reminding us of our experiences below Lake Bemidji. I do not
think that these, but that some of those higher up, are the rapids
where Allen's boat was wrecked on the 15th of July, 1832, though
Schoolcraft talks of having come "32" m. from Itasca on the 14th,
before the accident. As we proceed, other obstacles offer; snags
abound, the Mississippi becomes in places too shallow to float a
canoe, and in others bushes begin to meet across the channel, or
fallen logs require to be chopped out of the way. We pass an
insignificant creek on the right, and then soon sight quite an
imposing pine-clad ridge on the left. Here, in the S. W. ¼ of Sect.
19, T. 145, R. 35, is the mouth of a creek on the left. This is marked
on Schoolcraft's map "Cano R.", _i. e._, Canot or Canoe r., also Ocano
(Au Canot), and Chemaun r. It is charted by Nicollet, without any
name. It has been described by Brower as Andrus cr., is on Eastman's
map (1855) as De Witt Clinton's r., and was once named La Salle r. by
an unscrupulous person. Above Andrus cr., in the S. E. ¼ of Sect. 26
of the tp. last said, a small creek comes in on the right, at "Dutch
Fred's" place. I heard a man call it Bear cr. Here the Mississippi
enters (or rather leaves) a haying-meadow, and within a mile receives
a small creek on our left, from the S., locally known as Killpecker or
Chillpecker cr. It is less than a mile hence to the house of one
Searles, in the S. W. ¼ of Sect. 35, T. 145, R. 35. There is still
visible evidence that this was the site of an old trading-post; and on
discussing the case with my friend Brower, I agreed with his
conclusion that it was most probably the very spot we hear of from
William Morrison, who was the first known of white men at Lake Itasca,
in 1804. From this place upward to Lake Itasca the Mississippi is
practically unnavigable, at least in such a low stage of water as that
I found--not so much on account of the extensive rapids as from snags
and brush. The distance is called 20 m.--even 25 m., if one wants you
to hire his wagon--but it is nothing of the sort; 12 m. would cover
it. The air-line from Searles' house to Itasca is just 6 m., and
though the river is tortuous, besides having a general westward curve,
it can hardly be more than twice as much. One creek on this course,
called Division cr. by Brower, falls in from the W. in the S. W. ¼ of
Sect. 27, T. 144, R. 36. A wagon-road leads from Searles' due S. to
the lower end of the N. arm of Lake Itasca. The distance is about 7 m.
by this road, which keeps on the ridge E. of the Mississippi till it
ends at the lake, close by the outlet, in the S. W. ¼ of Sect. 35, T.
144, R. 36, thus almost on the line between T. 144 and T. 143, which
cuts the end of the N. arm, and forms the N. boundary of Itasca State
Park. Here Brower discovered the site of a prehistoric village in
Oct., 1894.
This park, created by Act of the Minnesota Legislature, approved Apr.
20th, 1891, is 7 m. N. and S. by 5 m. E. and W., thus being 35 square
miles, 19,701⅔ acres, consisting of Sects. 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, of
T. 143, R. 36, in Beltrami Co., with Sects. 1, 2, 3, 4, of T. 142, R.
36, in Becker Co., Sects. 6, 7, 18, 19, 30, 31, of T. 143, R. 35, and
Sect. 6, of T. 142, R. 35--these in Hubbard Co. The rectangle thus
delimited includes nearly all the natural features about to be noted,
in the area designated as the ultimate reservoir bowl of the
Mississippi by Brower, to whose admirable official report I am
indebted for some particulars which did not come under my personal
observation on the spot, Aug. 24th and 25th, 1894. The brim of the
bowl is the Height of Land, Nicollet's Hauteurs des Terres, _sc._
between Hudsonian and Mexican waters; for all the water in the bowl
runs into the Mississippi. The political boundary of the park is less
than conterminous with the area of this bowl. The latter is
conveniently divided into the greater and lesser segments, according
to whether the waters drain into the W. or the E. arm of Lake Itasca;
the greater segment contains the primal sources of the Mississippi.
The brim of the bowl has a maximum elevation of 1,750 feet above
sea-level. The southernmost lake in the bowl is Brower's Hernando de
Soto, supposed to be 2,555¼ m. from the Gulf of Mexico, at an altitude
of 1,558 feet. Another is Morrison l. There are too many other small
lakes to mention, mostly beyond or beside any actual permanent surface
connection with the Mississippian stream; two little ones which come
very near to such connection are Whipple and Floating Moss. The
Mississippi springs from the ground under a hill which I call the
Verumontanum; the first collection of living waters, or what may be
termed Fons et Origo Springs, occurs about the contiguous corners of
Sects. 28/33|27/34, T. 143, R. 36. The rill which issues thence runs
northward in Sects. 27 and 28, collecting there in a pool worthily
named by Brower the Upper Nicollet l., after the keen-eyed geographer
who first spied and mapped it in connection with his immortal
discovery of the Mississippian Verum Caput. But this Lacus Superior
Nicolleti is not now connected by surface flowage with the
continuation of the Mississippi; Brower is correct in designating its
feeder as the "detached upper fork" of the Mississippi; for the Upper
Nicollet l. is separated by a dry ridge a few yards wide, forming a
sort of "natural bridge," under or through which water seeps, but over
which it certainly never flows. Stepping a few paces over this Pons
Naturalis, we descend into a boggy place where the several Nicollet
Springs issue from the ground and form a rill whose waters are
continuous to the Gulf of Mexico. If one wishes to "cover" the
Mississippi in any sense, one may do so literally here, where the
river is a few inches wide and fewer deep, by lying at full length on
both sides of the stream and drinking out of the channel. This rivulet
is the principal feeder of the Middle Nicollet l., which is of oval
figure, less than ⅓ of a mile long, lying chiefly in the S. E. ¼ of
Sect. 21. The outlet of this lake is close to the inlet, by a
well-defined stream say ⅓ of a mile long, which starts W., receives
a small tributary called Howard cr. from the S., and then curves N.
into the Lower Nicollet l., ⅙ m. E. of the Middle l. This is in size
between the Upper and Middle lakes; it receives two rills, one of them
called Spring Ridge cr.; the Mississippi issues from the N. end of
this lake, and thence pursues a general N. E. course for about ¾ of a
mile in an air-line, though crookedly and with several small bends, to
fall into the head of the W. arm of Lake Itasca, in the S. W. ¼ of
Sect. 15. On its way it receives Demaray cr. from the W. Thus is
constituted, entirely above or S. of Lake Itasca, the Infant
Mississippi, discovered by Nicollet in 1836, and by him poetically
styled the Cradled Hercules. The cradle is now known as Nicollet
valley; it is bounded on the W. by the Hauteurs des Terres, now
Nicollet Heights, and on the E. by a long, curved, and somewhat broken
ridge, which I propose to call Brower Ridge, after the accomplished
gentleman whose name will always be associated with the history and
geography of the Itasca basin. This ridge is the best walking from
Itasca toward the Fons et Origo Springs--though in the present state
of the ground this is not saying much in its favor, yet this way is
less laborious than following up the Infant Mississippi. The N. end of
the ridge rises on Morrison hill, which overlooks Itasca on the one
hand and on the other gives a fine view of Elk l.; it is only a few
steps down to either lake from the summit, where stands the Brower
post of 1887 with its historical inscription, a sign-board
commemorating Nicollet, and a granite bowlder more durably graven with
a less enduring name (not Glazier). Elk l. is the largest body of
water in the bowl after Itasca, being of irregular oval figure, about
1 m. long by two-thirds as broad. It lies almost entirely in Sect. 22,
immediately S. of the head of the W. arm of Itasca, and thus alongside
the Herculean Incunabula, from which it is separated by Brower Ridge.
Elk l. has the bad luck of a bad name, with the more serious
misfortune of a vainglorious record of "exploitation." In the first
place the name--with due deference to Gen. J. H. Baker, who in 1876
caused "Elk" to become official on the plot of T. 143, R. 36--seems to
me badly chosen. For "Elk" was originally the English name of Lake
Itasca, translating F. Lac la Biche, and Chippewa Omoshkos Sogiagon;
so its transfer to the smaller lake is liable to create confusion.
Better Gilfillan's Lake Breck, 1881, or Chippewa Gagiwitadinag
(embosomed in hills). In the second place a certain unworthy person
magnified the size of this lake, stretched out its principal feeder
southward, lengthened, widened, and deepened its discharge into
Itasca, labeled it Lake Glazier, and trumpeted his false claim of
discovering the one and only true source of the Mississippi, to the
scandal of geographical societies and other learned bodies. The best
_mot_ I ever heard on this subject was given me by a native of Deer
River, whose remark, however, is withheld, on the well-known principle
that "the greater the truth the greater the libel." Elk l. was well
described in 1872 by Julius Chambers, who called it Lake Dolly Varden;
its discharge into Itasca is now known as Chambers' cr. This is a
small side-stream about 333 yards long, in the bed of which I walked
dry-shod, yet which has been exploited as the course of the
Mississippi. Elk l. has several feeders, among them three creeks
called Elk, Siegfried, and Gaygwedosay--the latter for Nicollet's
guide of 1836, whom Nicollet calls Kegwedzissag. All the features thus
far noted are in the greater ultimate reservoir bowl, in relation with
the W. arm of Lake Itasca. Turning to the lesser part of the bowl,
whose waters drain into the E. arm, we find a chain of small lakes,
whose names from S. to N. are Josephine, Ako, Danger, Twin, and
Mary--the last having continuous surface flow by Mary cr. into the
head of the E. arm. Such, in brief, are the main features of the
Mississippian waters which drain from the S. into Lake Itasca; but I
suppose there are a hundred little lakes or pools in the bowl, which
seep through the bibulous soil--in fact, this flowing bowl is full of
lees. The largest lake, which forms its strongest feature, is of a
three-pronged or triradiate figure--mostly arms, with little body,
like a star-fish. It is said that the early name refers to the head
and antlers of the elk, respectively represented by the three
projections. There is not very much difference in size and shape
between them, though each has its particular form. Where the three
prongs come together as the main body of this lake is the small but
picturesque Schoolcraft isl., where the party of 1832 camped July
13th, as Nicollet did in Aug., 1836; it is decidedly the most eligible
spot for the purpose, before making one's periplus of the lake. The
island is in Sect. 11, T. 143, R. 36; its absolute position has been
dead-reckoned by Mr. A. J. Hill to be lat. 47° 13' 10" N., long. 95°
12' W. Mr. Brower has this summer (1894) set up a very stanch oaken
commemoration post, which bears a suitable legend and looks as if it
might stand for a century. The island was named by Allen (Rep., p.
332). Near it is a shallow place called Rocky Shoal. The lake is 3⅔
m. in greatest length from the end of the N. to that of the E. arm;
the ends of the E. and W. arms are 2⅔ m. apart. The W. arm is
marked off by Ozawindib pt., the E. arm by Bear pt., and Turnbull pt.
projects into the latter arm about opposite the place where Nicollet
struck the lake in portaging over from Lake Assawa. The best view of
the lake is to be had from Rhodes' Hill, near the base of the E. arm.
Itasca has several feeders besides Mary cr., Chambers' cr., and the
Infant Mississippi; four of these are Island cr., from the W.,
opposite Schoolcraft isl.; Floating Bog cr., falling in by Bear pt.;
Boutwell cr., on the W. side of the W. arm; and Shawinukumag cr., a
little rill close by the mouth of the Infant. There is one point about
the lake I wish to signalize by the name of Point Hill, after my
esteemed friend, Mr. Alfred J. Hill of St. Paul. When you come to the
N. end of the N. arm, at the usual landing or embarking place, where
McMullen's house stands, your view of Schoolcraft isl., as you look
southward up the N. arm, is intercepted by a promontory from the W.
side, near the center of Sect. 2, T. 143, R. 36; this is Point Hill.
The altitude of Lake Itasca is given by Brower as 1,457 feet; its
distance from the Gulf of Mexico, by the channel of the Mississippi,
is probably about 2,550 m.--by no means those "3,184" m. which the
Rand-McNally map exploits. The general situation is: 150 m. W. of Lake
Superior; 125 m. S. from the N. border of Minnesota; 75 m. E. from the
W. and 252 m. N. from the S. border of the same. The lake is reached
from St. Paul by 240 m. overland; take the G. N. R. R. to Park Rapids,
and go thence in one day by wagon. The distance from St. Paul by the
Mississippi is said to be 560 m.; it is practically out of the
question as a route, because of obstructions to navigation, especially
by logging-booms. A much easier way than I selected for my own
excursion is, as just said, to the lake by rail and wagon, thence down
the Mississippi by canoe or skiff to Deer River or Grand Rapids, where
you strike the D. and W. R. R., or even down to Brainerd, where the N.
P. R. R. crosses. The names most prominently associated with discovery
and exploration in the Itasca basin are: William Morrison, 1804; Henry
R. Schoolcraft and James Allen, 1832; Jean N. Nicollet, 1836; Julius
Chambers, 1872; James H. Baker and Edwin S. Hall, 1875; Hopewell
Clarke, 1886; J. V. Brower, 1889-94. A more extended historical note
will be found beyond; meanwhile let us return to Pike, at the mouth of
Turtle r., on Cass l.
[III-9] David Thompson, the great explorer and surveyor, b. St. John's
parish, Westminster, Eng., Apr. 30th, 1770, d. Longueuil, opposite
Montreal, Canada, Feb. 16th, 1857, and now with his wife in Mt. Royal
cemetery. His activities compassed half a century, say 1790-1840,
during some of which years he seems to have been almost ubiquitous--so
extensive were his travels, in the service of the H. B. Co., N. W.
Co., and on professional duties in connection with the survey of the
boundary between the British possessions and the United States. Mr.
Thompson was a good practical astronomer and an admirable geographer.
Some of his determinations would not easily be surpassed in accuracy
by the best modern methods. He was also an assiduous journalist, and a
good draughtsman; but most of his work has never seen the light. The
manuscripts which he left are believed to cover the long period of
years during which he traveled and observed; and to include not only
his personal narrative, but also the mathematical tables by which his
astronomical observations were worked out for the determination of
latitude and longitude. They have more than once been drawn upon for
historical and geographical data; but no publication of such a
thorough digest of Thompson's life and work as could have been
prepared from these materials under competent and critical editorship
has ever been made. A brief recital of his journeys was read by J. B.
Tyrrell, B. A., etc., before the Canadian Institute, Mar. 3d, 1888,
and published that year, Toronto, 8vo., pp. 28. The official records I
have mentioned must not be confounded with certain fragments of
Thompson's MSS., now the property of a Mr. Charles Lindsey of Toronto,
and recently offered for sale. These are about 600 foolscap pp. in
Thompson's handwriting, drawn up very late in life--being thus by no
means his original journals and field note-books. Thompson was on the
Missouri at the Mandan villages Dec. 29th, 1797-Jan. 10th, 1798--thus
before Lewis and Clark, Oct. 27th, 1804-Apr. 7th, 1805, and the
younger Alexander Henry, July and Aug., 1806. While here he undertook
to determine from Indian information the _source_ of the Yellowstone
r., and made one of the most extraordinary computations on record; for
his figures agree within 20 m. or less with the true latitude and
longitude. Thompson was the first white man who ever descended the
Columbia r. from its head-waters to the point where Lewis and Clark
struck it, Oct. 16th, 1806; this voyage was made in the summer of
1811, and protracted to the Pacific at Astoria. That journey to which
Pike refers was made in 1798. Thompson came down the Turtle River
route to Cass l., late in April, and stopped at John Sayers' house,
located by him in lat. 47° 27' 56" N. and long. 95° W. If we marvel
why such a man as Thompson missed the honor of discovering the source
of the Mississippi, when that prize was so near at hand, we may
remember that the Turtle River head-waters were already the accepted
source, as being the furthest N. Leaving Cass l. May 3d, Thompson
descended the Mississippi through Lake Winnibigoshish, and so on to
the N. W. Co. house at Sandy l.; thence he went up Prairie or Savanna
r., the usual traders' route, portaged over to waters of the St.
Louis, and descended this river to the Fond du Lac house, which stood
2½ m. from Lake Superior. This journey was from the post on the
Assiniboine r., at the mouth of Souris or Mouse r., which he left Feb.
25th; he reached Fond du Lac May 10th, or in 2 months and 18 days.
[III-10] This most celebrated chief of the Leech Lake Chippewas, or
Pillagers, had three names, whose several variants number probably
three dozen. One of them may be written Ask a Buggy Cuss--for if that
is not right, it is as near right as some others, and easier to say
than any of the rest. It is the rule that the name is different with
everyone who uses it, and it often varies with the same author whose
"takes" fall into the hands of different compositors. Some of the
forms I have noted are: Aishkibugikozsh; Aishkabugakosh; Eshkibogikoj;
Esquibusicoge; Aishkebugekoshe and Eschkebugecoshe (in Minn. Hist.
Coll., V. _passim_); Eski Bugeckoge (in the French Pike, I. p. 220).
The French form of the name was Gueule Platte; and the English of it
was Flat Mouth. Pike spells the French in half a dozen different ways,
the question of gender included in the variation; while Schoolcraft,
who was something of a linguist, is equally vagarious in this case,
giving us Geulle Platte, Gouelle Platte, Guelle Plat, Gueulle Plat,
Guella Plat--anything you please, except Gruel Plate or Ghoul Plot!
Our Gallic friends themselves tried a variety of combinations, as
_gole_, _goule_, _gule_, before they suited themselves with _gueule_
as a satisfactory substitute for the Latin _gula_--just as we did
before we made _gulley_ and _gullet_ out of the same old Roman stock.
On Pike's folding Abstract, the individual whose mouth, jaws, and
throat are so much in literary doubt figures as "Eskibugeckoge,
Geuelle Platte, Flat Mouth, first chief of his band." This was a large
one, best known as the Pillagers, also as Muckundwas, who had long
maintained a separate tribal organization. The medal which Flat Mouth
had received from the British at Fort William on Lake Superior, and
which Pike took from him to substitute an American one, was replaced
by a large solid silver one given him by Schoolcraft July 19th, 1828.
The latter author has a long and good account of this remarkably brave
and sensible Indian, who in 1832 seemed to be turned of 60 years,
about 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high, erect, but inclined to corpulency.
He had been on the war-path 25 times, and had killed a good many Sioux
without ever receiving a wound. He was a man of great discernment and
sound judgment, extensively and accurately informed upon all affairs
which concerned his people or himself. There is much said of him in
the Minnesota Historical Collections from first to last, especially in
the Hon. W. W. Warren's History of the Ojibwas, and Rev. E. D. Neill's
continuation of the same subject: see for example pp. 17, 19, 45, 50,
138, 178, 223, 269, 275, 324, 342, 349, 352, 359, 360, 362, 369, and
459, 463, 465, 475, 478, in Vol. V. of those Collections. He figured
prominently in Anglojibwa affairs for more than half a century, and
was living in 1852, at a supposed age of about 78 years, having been
born about 1774. The circumstances under which the Leech Lake Indians
received the names of Makandwyinniniwag, Mukundwais, or Muckundwas, F.
Pilleurs, E. Pillagers, Plunderers, and Robbers, are said in substance
by Schoolcraft to be these: During the period of great irregularities
in the fur-trade consequent upon the transfer of the balance of power
from French to English hands, when the latter were still dependent in
part or entirely upon the former for their clerks and boatmen, and
these were in great favor with the Indians, one Berti came on with
goods and took his station at the mouth of Crow-wing r. to trade with
the Chips. But he had more to sell than they could buy, including guns
and ammunition which he knew the Sioux would be glad to get. The
Chips., however, forbade his thus arming their foes; and when he
started for the Sioux country, in spite of their warnings and threats,
they arrested him by force of arms, and robbed him of all he
possessed, though they spared his life. Berti returned to Sandy l.,
soon died of a broken heart, or of the exertions he had made to defend
his property, and was buried thereabouts. Dr. Douglass Houghton
relates a curious story of this trader's indirect causation of a
terrible smallpox epidemic that ravaged the Chips. The above
occurrences were in 1767-68. When the facts became known to the
company at Mackinac, the Indians were directed to make requital, with
threats of punishment for non-compliance. A deputation went to
Mackinac in the spring of 1770, with furs which were taken as an
equivalent for those which had been stolen, and the Indians were
dismissed with a cask of liquor and a closely rolled flag as a token
of friendship. They were enjoined not to broach the one or unroll the
other till they got home. But on the way they did both, and had a
drunken spree with some of their friends at Fond du Lac. Several were
taken sick, some died, and it was soon discovered that the disease had
broken out among them. It was spread broadcast, and is said to have
cost many hundred Chippewa lives before its ravages ceased. Whether
rightly or wrongly, the Indians were always firmly persuaded that a
dastardly outrage had been perpetrated upon them by the intentional
communication to them of the disease through the medium of the
presents they had received from officers of the fur company. I have
thus cited Schoolcraft for the popular or traditional as distinguished
from the proper or historical presentation of this case. The facts are
set forth at length in Warren's History of the Ojibways, chap. xxi.,
forming pp. 256-262 of Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885. The nom de guerre
which the Pillagers accepted for themselves is there rendered
Mukimduawininewug (men who take by force). There appears to be no
truth whatever in laying upon the British the infamous charge of
intentional introduction of smallpox. Warren had the facts direct from
an intelligent old chief of the Pillagers, from which it appears that
the terrible epidemic, costing several thousand lives, was introduced
on the return of a war-party of Kenistenos, Assineboines, and
Ojibways, who had gone for scalps to the Kechepegano (Missouri) r.,
and caught the infection from a village of Giaucthinnewug
(Grosventres).
[III-11] Which formed Doc. No. 6, p. 17 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig.
ed., and will be found beyond. This letter answered Pike's of Feb.
7th.
[III-12] The speech made at this conference by Pike, and the replies of
three chiefs, formed Docs. Nos. 7 and 8, p. 19 and p. 22 of the App.
to Pt. 1 of the orig. ed. Both are found beyond.
[III-13] Though the phrase is not capitalized, this is the personal name
of a Leech Lake chief, whom Pike elsewhere calls Chef de la Terre and
Obigouitte.
[III-14] That is, the main party, whom Pike starts off to-day with their
guide, in advance of himself, Corporal Bradley, Mr. "L'Rone," and the
two young Chips. named Buck and Beau. This would be inferred from the
above text, and is confirmed by that of 1807, p. 43, which says that
"the men were marched" Feb. 18th, and Pike with others was "to follow
afterwards." I have no clew as yet to the identity of this "L'Rone."
He seems to have been the guide whom Mr. M'Gillis provided, as Pike
says on the 21st, when this man was bundled back again, that he had
then no guide. But in that case, who or what was the Reale named on
the 21st? (See this name in Index.)
[III-15] Pike is on a _Pine River route_ from Leech l. to Lower Red Cedar
l., and goes across country on a general course about S. S. E., in
Cass Co. This much is clear; but this region is none too well known,
and my own information does not suffice me to attempt identification
of the many small lakes he crosses till he comes to the large
Whitefish l. in the course of Pine r. I doubt that we have data which
enable anyone to trail him with confidence. The multiplicity of lakes
and streams of the Pine River connections affords in fact several ways
when the water is open, and when everything was frozen over Pike did
not necessarily take any one of the usual routes. The air-line
distance is some 55 m.; but he traveled much further, as he blundered
on the way and struck the Mississippi too low down--at the mouth of
present Dean cr. See note 47, p. 135, and forward, where Pike
describes his Pine River journey.
[III-16] Not identified; but not to be confounded with the great Sandy l.
or Lac du Sable on the other side of the Mississippi, which Pike
reached Jan. 8th and left Jan. 20th: see note 49, p. 138.
[III-17] Whitefish or Fish l., as it is still called, is the largest body
of water into which Pine r. expands, but by no means to be considered
as its source. Several large streams fall into it, and the largest one
of these is properly regarded as the continuation of Pine r. This lake
begins only about 10 m. (air-line) from the Mississippi. Nicollet
names it Kadikomeg l.; two smaller ones, lower down on Pine r., he
names Plympton and Davenport. Three of this same connection are now
Cross, Pine, and Gear. We know exactly where Pike is to-day; though
his account of what appear to be two? or three? N. W. Co. houses on
this lake is not as clear as we could wish.
[III-18] On the up-voyage we figured out camp of Jan. 1st, 1806, to have
been between Dean and Hay crs.; the present pat coincidence confirms
the former independent determination: see note 47, p. 134. From
Whitefish l. Pike forged ahead of his party, accompanied by Boley,
Buck, and Beau, and bore away from Pine r. direct for Lower Red Cedar
l. He struck one of the little lakes connected with Dean cr., followed
this creek down to its mouth, and recognized this point on the
Mississippi as being a mile below where he had seen the Chippewa
canoes turned up Jan. 1st. Dean cr. empties 3½ m. direct, exactly 5 m.
by the river, below Hay cr., about up to the mouth of which he goes to
camp to-night, and easily makes the N. W. Co. house to-morrow. Some
points I did not present in my former note on this locality are these:
Between Dean and Hay crs., and just W. of the "guide meridian" which,
N. of the Mississippi, marks the separation of the 4th and 5th
meridian systems of survey, is a very nearly straight stretch of the
river for 2 m., nearly E. and W. This was known to the old voyageurs
as the Grande Avenue. Its W. end is 1¾ m. above Dean cr.; its E.
beginning is at a sharp turn of the river ½ m. below (N. N. E. of) the
mouth of Hay cr., 2¾ m. scarcely E. of N. of the mouth of Cedar r.;
Pine Knoll is on this turn. At the end of the first ½ m. ascending the
Avenue, the range line between Ranges 27 and 28 (of the 4th M.)
strikes the Mississippi from the S., and ends there; this range line
is also the inter-county line between Crow Wing and Aitkin cos.
Rounding the bend at Pine Knoll and going less than ½ m., one comes to
the section line of Sects. 1 and 13, T. 136, R. 25, 5th M.; this is
⅛ m. from the mouth of Hay cr., and from this point upward Aitkin
Co. is on both sides of the river. Pike's camp of the 24th was within
a small fraction of a mile from the point thus indicated.
[III-19] The first chief of the Sandy Lake Chippewas of Pike's time is
called on his table Catawabata, De Breche, and Broken Teeth. The
French form is intended for Dent Breche, and I suppose the more usual
term for a person with broken teeth would be Brèche-dent. I have seen
the word printed as "Brusha." The native name is rendered Cadiwabida
by Schoolcraft, who speaks of him in 1832 as among the dead patriarchs
of his tribe. W. W. Warren renders this more correctly Kadowaubeda;
while Neill, with unusual inaccuracy on his part, speaks of
Catawatabeta _the_ Breche, in one place, and Kadewabedas, Breche,
Breché-dent, or Brechedent, in others. This man was living in July,
1828, when he visited Sandy l.; he was then the oldest Chippewa chief,
having been a small boy at the time of the capture of Fort Mackinac in
1763.
[III-20] Doc. No. 9, p. 23 of App. to Pt. I of the orig. ed; to be found
beyond in the present ed.
[III-21] See note 43, p. 131, Dec. 29th. It will not often be
necessary to recheck mileages on the down-voyage, now fairly under
way. "Pine Ridge" is hardly a named locality, though capitalized as
such. It is close to White Bear Skin r., the discharge of Duck and
Swamp lakes, near which we set camp of Dec. 29th, 1805. For a still
closer indication of the present camp, take the diminutive Half Moon
l., near the W. bank of the river. The point of the pine ridge is
opposite that.
[III-22] There is difficulty in adjusting the discrepant records of Mar.
3d and 4th with those of Christmas week, 1805: see back, Dec.
17th-25th, and notes there. The party were then toiling by Crow Wing
r., between Ripley and Brainerd; Pike did not keep with his men, and
some of the discrepancies may be due to actual difference between his
movements and theirs. Pike also says, Dec. 23d, that he was scarcely
able to make his notes intelligible. The two records contradict
instead of corroborating each other. Thus, Dec. 17th has it that the
two-barrel cache (pork and flour) was made that day, not the 19th, as
above said; and it was at or near Ripley. Dec. 20th one barrel of
flour was buried; the party were then so close on to Crow Wing r. that
Pike got there early next morning. He did not leave Crow Wing r. till
after he had taken the latitude there, on the 24th. Meanwhile, his men
were struggling up to this river. It is really a small matter, of no
more than some 16 m. direct, or 20 m. by the Mississippi, and thus
hardly worth dwelling on; but I like to be accurate when I can. Pike
was camped at Brainerd Dec. 26th and Mar. 2d; he raised his one-barrel
cache of Dec. 20th, near Crow Wing r., on Mar. 3d, and continued on
down to the Nokasippi, which had been passed on or about Dec. 18th,
not 21st, as above; on Mar. 4th he came to the two-barrel cache which
he had made on Dec. 17th, not 19th, as above said, when he was in the
vicinity of Ripley; he continues to-day past Ripley, past his three
days' camp of Dec. 14th, 15th, and 16th, above Olmsted's bar, and
fetches up to-night opposite his camp of Dec. 13th, in the vicinity of
Topeka. Mar. 5th finds him at his stockade on Swan r. The camp of Mar.
3d, at the Nokasippi r., is an absolutely fixed point, as this is the
only river that falls in from the E. hereabouts. "Pine Camp" of the
above paragraph is the place where he was camped for three days, Dec.
14th, 15th, 16th, in the vicinity of Olmsted's bar.
[III-23] "Between Pine creek and the post" is a slip for "between Pine
_camp_ and the post"; for the post was on Pine _creek_ (Swan r.). The
December camps passed Mar. 5th were four: Dec. 12th, at or near
Fletcher cr.; Dec. 11th, near Little Elk r.; Dec. 10th, at Little
Falls (city); Dec. 9th, just above Swan r., on the other side of the
Mississippi. The salute had been ordered by letter from Grant's house
on Lower Red Cedar l.: see back, Feb. 26th. For "Killeur Rouge" see
note 24, p. 118.
[III-24] Full name of this Menomonee chief, as listed by Pike on his
tabular exhibit, where his native name is rendered Tomaw, and where
the other Folle Avoine chief also appears by the above name, Shawanoe,
not translated in F. or E.
[III-25] Possibly a clew here to the unidentified person whose name
occurs as Greinyea or Grienway in Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, p.
1188, _q. v._ The person here meant is Louis Grignon: see Wis. Hist.
Coll., VII. p. 247. A Mr. Grignon is mentioned in Wm. Morrison's
letter (elsewhere cited) as one of the five persons besides himself
who formed the party that came into the country from Fond du Lac in
July, 1802. The name stands Greignon, text of 1807, p. 46.
[III-26] Pike's observation strikes me as much more "singular" than the
Fox Indian's opinion. Many of us have been taught that the whole world
was once drowned, excepting one favored family, and we have also been
told how it was repeopled. That is one advantage which an enlightened
Christian has over Lo, the poor benighted Indian. The savage simply
accepts that one of the deluge-myths which his own ancestors
elaborated to suit themselves. But the Christian has the Word of God
himself, bound up in many different editions of various dates, for the
truth of that particular deluge-myth which the Jews appropriated, with
variations to suit their own tribal vanity, from the Chaldeans. They
invented very little except their precious Jehovah, who was less
polished and less agreeable a god than most of those who were
elaborated by the more civilized tribes who surrounded and generally
whipped the Jews. The Noachian narration, like the Genesis relation of
both the Elohistic and the Jehovistic scribes, was borrowed from one
of the myths that clustered about the legendary character known as
Gisdhubar, Izdubar, etc., alleged descendant of the last antediluvian
monarch Hasisadra, who became known to the Greeks through Berosus as
Xisuthros. The original of this deluge-myth was recovered from the
cuneiform characters by Geo. Smith of the British Museum in 1872, and
may be read in English and various other modern languages, to the
great edification of the faithful, no doubt: see it, _e. g._, in the
charming and readily accessible book, The Story of Chaldea, by Zénaïde
A. Ragozin, 2d ed., 8vo, N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1888, p. 301 and
p. 314. After the aqueous allegations had been reduced to writing in
Hebrew characters, and generations of Jewish rabbis had tinkered the
text to suit themselves with Masoretic points, and various anonymous
scribes had turned it into Septuagint Greek and Vulgate Latin, some
people in England who had never heard of the original, could not have
read a word of it if they had handled the very bricks on which it was
first stamped, and do not appear to have been informed on the subject
by the Holy Ghost, gave us their English version of the words of God
duly "authorized" by "the wisest fool in Europe," as the Duc de Sully
called James I. The most credible items in this account are that the
elephant took his trunk with him and stood behind it in the ark, but
that the cock and the fox were worse off for baggage, having only a
comb and a brush between them; yet I also believe just as firmly that
the raven which Noah let fly was the original progenitor of the Petit
Corbeau who lived in the village of Kapoja, near St. Paul, Minn.
[III-27] The phrase which Pike's interpreter applied to the woman was no
doubt "La Bastonnaise." For a long period before and after the end of
the last century, "Bostonian" in some form was the nickname of
English-speaking whites, especially New Englanders--just as we now say
"Yankee." The Indians picked up the word from the Canadian French, and
it passed from mouth to mouth across the continent; _e. g._, it
entered the vocabulary of the Chinook jargon spoken on the N. W.
Coast. To cite a case: "On my remarking to Mr. Frobisher that I
suspected the _Bastonnais_ (Bostonians, or English colonists) had been
doing some mischief in Canada, the Indians directly exclaimed, 'Yes;
that is the name! _Bastonnais._' They were lately from the Grand
Portage," etc., Alex. Henry, Trav. of 1761-76, 8vo, N. Y., 1809, p.
329.
[III-28] See back, note 14, p. 99, Oct. 8th, 1805. Pike's getting down
to Mr. Dickson's wintering-ground in one day from the stockade on Swan
r. confirms the opinion expressed in that note that this place is
marked too low on his map (below Clear Water r.). It also relieves us
of the difficulty that seemed to arise when we were told that Pike did
not pass Dickson's place till Oct. 10th, when we brought him up to St.
Cloud. Evidently, then, our adjustment of mileages and camps of Oct.
8th-10th is right, and Dickson's place was at the foot of the Thousand
Island cluster (Pike's Beaver isls.). The text of 1807, p. 21, speaks
of "the place where Mr. Rienville and Monsr. Perlier wintered in 1797.
Above it is a cluster of more than 20 islands in the course of four
miles, which they named the Beaver islands." As to the name of the
person who was with Mr. Dickson, we have choice of four: Paulier, as
above; Perlier, text of Oct. 10th, of both 1807 and 1810 eds., but
Paulire on p. 56 of the 1807 text; and Potier, on the map. One Antoine
_Pothier_, a trader, is named among Laclede's "thirty associates" by
Billon, Ann. St. Louis, 1764-1804, pub. 1886, p. 18; and it appears in
St. Louis archives that one Isidor _Peltier_ sold a slave to Louis
Blouin, Oct. 7th, 1767. For one _Pothier_, 1812, see also Wis. His.
Soc. Coll., XI. p. 272. But Pike's man is _Jacques Porlier_, b. 1765,
Milwaukee in 1783, Green Bay in 1791, d. 1839: see Wis. His. Soc.
Coll., III. p. 244, VII. p. 247, and Tassé, Les Canadiens de l'Ouest,
8vo, Montreal, 1878, I. pp. 137-141.
[III-29] This letter formed Doc. No. 10, p. 24, of App. to Pt. 1 of the
orig. ed.; it is given beyond. It is dated Grand Isle (_i. e._, Grande
Île), Apr. 9th; by which we may infer this to have been then the name
of the place where Mr. Dickson wintered, and that this place was on a
large island. All indications now are that the wintering-place in
question was on the foot of the large island at whose head are
Mosquito rapids, and only a mile or so above St. Augusta, as already
surmised in note 16, p. 100. For "a Mr. Greignor," see note 25,
p. 181. "A Mr. Veau" is Jacques Vieau or De Veau, b. 1757, d. 1852:
see W. H. S. C., XI. p. 218. The October date above is provokingly
blank for the day of the month. But I construe the passage to mean
that the place where Pike now is, Apr. 9th, is also the place where
Mr. Porlier's brother and Mr. Veau had wintered 1805-6. If so, we may
query Oct. 4th as the missing date; for though Pike does not say that
his camp that day was on an island, the position of Dimick's isl., to
which we then brought him, is such that he can easily make Rum r. by 7
a. m. to-morrow, if he keeps on "some time" after leaving the island
in question, as he says he does.
[III-30] Pike twice passed directly by Dayton bluff, in which this cave
was situated--once Sept. 21st, 1805, and again to-day: see back, note
72, p. 75, for the locality, and add: The cave which Carver
discovered in 1766 is thus described by him, pp. 39, 40, ed. of 1796:
"About 30 [say 15] miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, at which I
arrived the 10th day after I left Lake Pepin, is a remarkable cave of
an amazing depth. The Indians term it Wakon-teebe, that is, the
Dwelling of the Great Spirit. The entrance into it is about 10 feet
wide, the height of it 5 feet. The arch within is near 15 feet high,
and about 30 feet broad. The bottom of it consists of clear sand.
About 20 feet from the entrance begins a lake, the water of which is
transparent, and extends to an unsearchable distance; for the darkness
of the cave prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it. I
threw a small pebble towards the interior parts of is [it], with my
utmost strength: I could hear that it fell into the water, and
notwithstanding it was of so small a size, it caused an astonishing
and horrible noise, that reverberated through all those gloomy
regions. I found in this cave many Indian hieroglyphics, which
appeared very ancient, for time had nearly covered them with moss, so
that it was with difficulty I could trace them. They were cut in a
rude manner upon the inside of the walls, which were composed of a
stone so extremely soft that it might easily be penetrated with a
knife; a stone everywhere to be found near the Mississippi. The cave
is only accessible by ascending a narrow, steep passage, that lies
near the brink of the river." Now it is easy to criticise such an
account, and those who wish to discredit this honest gentleman seize
upon "amazing depth," "unsearchable distance," "horrible noise," etc.
But that is unfair. These phrases are only Carver's _façon de parler_
of his subjective sensations; the objective reality is truthfully and
recognizably described. Besides, one should be sure he is in Carver's
cave before he criticises the description--not get into another cave
and then find fault with Carver because the wrong cave does not fit
the right description, as our friend Schoolcraft did. The cave which
Carver does _not_ describe was not discovered till 1811. Long visited
two in 1817; in 1823 Long's second party visited the New or Fountain
cave, and Keating has left the matter in such clear light that the
passage may be transcribed, I. p. 289, ed. of 1824: "Above this
village [of Kapoja], there is a cave which is much visited by the
voyagers; we stopped to examine it, although it presents, in fact, but
little to admire; it is formed in the sandstone, and is of course
destitute of those beautiful appearances, which characterize the
caverns in calcareous rock. It is the same which is described by Mr.
Schoolcraft, whose name, as well as those of several of Governor Cass'
party we found carved in the rock. In his account of it, Mr.
Schoolcraft states it to be the cavern that was visited by Carver, but
adds that 'it appears to have undergone a considerable alteration
since that period.' It appears from Major Long's MSS. of 1817, that
there are two caves, both of which he visited; the lower one was
Carver's; it was in 1817 very much reduced in size from the dimensions
given by Carver; the opening into it was then so low, that the only
way of entering it was by creeping in a prostrate position. Our
interpreter, who had accompanied Major Long, told us that it was now
closed up; it was probably near the cemetery which we have mentioned.
The cavern which we visited, and which Mr. Schoolcraft describes, is
situated five miles above; it was discovered in 1811, and is called
the Fountain cave; there is a beautiful stream running through it,"
etc. I think very likely the cave Long visited in 1817, and thought to
be Carver's, was really the smaller one alongside Carver's in Dayton
bluff, of which I am informed by my friend Mr. A. J. Hill, seeing how
"much reduced in size from the dimensions given by Carver" he found
it. Beltrami, II. pp. 191-193, goes on about Carver's cave in a way
which makes one think he entered no one of the three caves in this
vicinity, but drew on his imagination for his description after
reading up on the subject. He uses the phrase "cave of Trophonius,"
and says that "the Sioux call this cave Whakoon-Thiiby"--a decidedly
original way of spelling it. Featherstonhaugh describes his visit of
Sept. 12th, 1835, to what he calls Carver's cave, p. 257 of his Canoe
Voyage, etc., pub. 1847. Nicollet, who is always to the point, speaks
of two caves, one 4 and the other 8 m. below St. Peters, Rep. 1843, p.
72: "Both are in the sandstone, but at different elevations. The
former is on a level with the river, and is reached through a short
ravine along the limpid streamlet that issues from it. Many authors
have thought this to be the cave described by Carver, but erroneously.
It would, in fact, be only necessary to compare the locality with
Carver's description, to be at once convinced. The cave now referred
to is of recent formation. The aged Sioux say that it did not exist
formerly. It has to them no ceremonial association. They scarcely ever
visit it, and there are none of their hieroglyphics upon its sides or
floor. It owes its formation to the dislocation and decomposition of
the upland limestone, which have left sloughy places; the waters of
which have penetrated into the sandstone, wearing it away, and giving
origin to the streamlet which issues from it. The location of this
cave is on my map designated as the _new cave_ [_New Cave_]. The
second, four miles below the former, is that described by Carver. Its
entrance has been, for more than 30 years, closed by the disintegrated
débris of the limestone capping the sandstone in which it is located.
On the 3d day of July, 1837, with the assistance of Messrs. Campbell
and Quinn--the former an interpreter for the Sioux, the latter for the
Chippeways--I set about clearing this entrance; which, by-the-bye, was
no easy work; for, on the 5th we were about abandoning the job, when,
unexpectedly, we found that we had made an opening into it; and
although we had not entirely disincumbered it of its rubbish, I saw
enough to satisfy me of the accuracy of Carver's description. The lake
mentioned by him is there; but I could only see a segment of the cave,
a portion of its roof being too near the surface of the water to
enable me to proceed any further. A Chippeway warrior made a long
harangue on the occasion; throwing his knife into the lake as an
offering to _Wakan-tibi_, the spirit of the grottoes. The ascent to
the cave is by a rapid slope; and on the rocks that form a wall to the
left, there are a number of ancient Sioux hieroglyphics, that mean
nothing more than to indicate the names of Indians that have at
various times visited this natural curiosity. On leaving the cave and
reaching the river, a stroll of a few yards to the left, by keeping
close to the rocks, brought us upon a sweet, limpid and copious spring
which had remained for a long time unknown in consequence of the
shingle and brush that conceal its outlet. This is evidently the issue
of the waters of Grotto lake; and their abundance indicates that the
lake is well fed, and doubtless occupies a considerable space within
the mountain. On the high grounds above the cave there are some Indian
mounds, to which the Indians belonging to the tribe of _Mdewakantonwans_
formerly transported the bones of the deceased members of their
families," as is stated by Carver, Pike, Long, and many others. I am
led into this long note partly for the purpose of setting history
straight, and partly from the intrinsic interest of these Stygian
caverns, which Pike passes to-day without notice, as hundreds now do
every day and will do until the places are improved off the earth. The
cave that Nicollet opened is the veritable one that Carver discovered;
it is right on the railroad that skirts Dayton bluff, about a mile in
an air-line from Union depot. The New or Fountain cave is miles away,
in Upper St. Paul, near the railroad bridge there, unless it has
lately yielded to the triumph of art over nature and been effaced. Mr.
Hill writes from St. Paul, Mar. 18th, 1894: "Before the shaving off of
Carver's cave--or rather before our civil war--the serpent on the roof
on the right hand as you stood on the brink of the waters was very
plainly visible, and might have been traced by rubbing or otherwise;
but this would have required scaffolding. It has been remarked that
the serpent was the totem of Ottahtongoomlishcah, one of the Sioux
chiefs of the 'Cave Treaty.' I found by actual measurement that the
extreme length of the lake was 110 feet, before any alteration of the
surface had occurred." See also the article by Mr. Hill on Mounds,
Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., VI. Pt. 2, 1891. J. Fletcher Williams, in
Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p. 355, notes that there was
little change in Carver's cave in the course of a century, for it was
much the same May 1st, 1867, when the Historical Society celebrated
the centennial of Carver's purported treaty with the Sioux. "Within
the past two years, however, sad changes have taken place. The St.
Paul & Chicago Railroad, having condemned for their use the strip of
land along the river bank, including the bluff or cliff in which is
the cave, have dug it down and nearly destroyed it. But a narrow
cavity now remains to mark its site. The pool or lake is gone, and the
limpid stream that flows through it now supplies a railroad tank." But
now, says Mr. Hill, "sand heaped from railroad cutting has again
backed up the water into a pool, the receptacle of all filth." Mr. T.
H. Lewis' article, Cave-Drawings, Appleton's Annual Cyclop., 1889, p.
117 (reprint, p. 3), gives the exact position of both the Dayton bluff
caves; the small one, 400 feet above Carver's, is 50 feet N. E. of
Commercial St., midway between Plum and Cherry Sts., at the foot of
the bluff; 35 feet long on the floor, as measured in 1889 to the edge
of the water in the rear, 24 feet wide, 10 feet high--thus about
one-third as large as Carver's. It had pictographs like those of
Carver's cave. None of those Carver mentions were ever copied; his
cave was in part demolished by grading when the railroad first came
by, and in the course of time the walls were scribbled over by the
ubiquitous army of idlers and tramps from whose vandalism no natural
formation or artificial monument in the world is secure.
[III-31] Literally Raven's Nose. He is tabulated by Pike as Tatamane, Nez
Corbeau, Raven Nose, and Wind that Walks (latter name a euphemism).
[III-32] "Dispunishable" is a good old word, though rare and now
obsolete; but Pike uses it in the opposite of its meaning, which was
simply "punishable"--for the prefix _dis-_ is here intensive, not
reversive or nugatory. C. D. marks it obs., and cites in support of
def. a passage from the last will of Dean Swift, in a clause of which
"_dispunishable_ of waste" occurs.
[III-33] Joseph Rolette, Sr. There were various persons of this surname,
whose spelling varies as usual. Billon gives one Michel Rolette as a
French soldier who came from Fort Chartres to Laclede's village (St.
Louis) in 1764. Pike's "Mr. Rollett" is the same man as Beltrami's
"Mr. Roulet," said in Beltrami's book, II. p. 174, to have been at
Prairie du Chien in 1823, in the S. W. Co. The Minn. Hist. Coll., II.
Part 2, 1864, 2d ed. 1881, p. 107, mentions "the notorious Joseph
Rolette, sen.," as at Prairie du Chien, in or about Feb., 1822. The
memoir of Hercules M. Dousman, by General H. H. Sibley, Minn. Hist.
Coll., III. 1870-80, p. 193, speaks of "the late Joseph Rolette,
senior," as a partner of the American Fur Company, in 1826; again we
read there, p. 194: "In 1834 ... I formed with him [Dousman] and the
late Joseph Rolette, senior, a co-partnership with the American Fur
Company of New York, which passed in that year under the direction of
Ramsay Crooks as President"; and once more, _ibid._, p. 199: "In 1844,
Col. Dousman was united in marriage to the widow of his former partner
in business, Joseph Rolette, senior, who died some years previously."
[III-34] This letter was Doc. No. 11, p. 25 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the
orig. ed. It is given beyond.
[III-35] That is to say, certain ones of their nation who were murderers
of some white men: see Apr. 17th. The minutes of this Winnebago
conference formed Doc. No. 12, p. 26 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig.
ed.; given beyond.
[III-36] Doc. No. 13, p. 29 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig. ed.; given
beyond.
[III-37] On Pike's Tabular Abstract, one Red Thunder, Tonnerre Rouge, or
Wuckiew Nutch, appears as a Sisseton and "first chief of all the
Sioux"; while Red Cloud, Nuage Rouge, or Muckpeanutah, is exhibited as
first chief of the Yanktons.
[III-38] James B. Many of Delaware, whose name occurs in Pike and
elsewhere as Many, Maney, Manny, and Mary, also as Mancy in the text
of 1807, was appointed first lieutenant of the 2d reg't of
Artillerists and Engineers June 4th, 1798, and hence of Artillerists
Apr. 1st, 1802; promoted to be captain Oct. 1st, 1804, and major, May
5th, 1813; he was transferred to the corps of Artillery May 12th,
1814, to the 4th Infantry June 1st, 1821, to the 5th Infantry Oct.
24th, 1821; on the 1st of Jan., 1822, he was made lieutenant-colonel
of the 7th Infantry, to rank from June 1st, 1821; became colonel of
the 2d Infantry July 21st, 1834, and died Feb. 23d, 1852.
[III-39] Pigeons are among the least fecund of birds, as they lay only
two eggs at a clutch, and that not oftener than most other birds. But
Pike's account of their vast numbers is not in the least exaggerated.
The aggregate of individuals in existence in the United States during
those and for many later years defies all attempt at calculation. Some
single flights have been estimated to include millions. The settlement
of the country, and consequent wanton destruction during our
generation, have exterminated the wild pigeon in some regions, and
reduced to comparatively few its numbers in others.
[III-40] Daniel Hughes of Maryland originally entered the army as an
ensign of the 9th Infantry, Jan. 8th, 1799; became a lieutenant that
year, and was honorably discharged June 15th, 1800. He was reappointed
second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801, and transferred
to the 1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; promoted to be first lieutenant
Mar. 23d, 1805, and captain Dec. 15th, 1808; became major of the 2d
Infantry Feb. 21st, 1814, and was honorably discharged June 15th,
1815. His subsequent career is not known to me.
[III-41] A sketch of the early history of St. Louis forms pp. 75-92 of
Nicollet's Report of 1843, so often cited in the foregoing notes. It
will be well to abstract here the main historical points of this
article, which is not so well known as everything that Nicollet wrote
should be. Some of the following items are adduced from other sources,
as Billon's Annals. Louisiana was ceded by France to Spain, Treaty of
Fontainebleau, Nov. 3d, 1762, ratified Nov. 13th; and by Treaty of
Paris, Feb. 10th, 1763, France and Spain jointly made the cession to
Great Britain. In 1762 or 1763 D'Abadie was director-general of
Louisiana ad interim, vice Governor Kerlerec, relieved. He licensed
Laclede, Maxent (or Maxam) and Co., merchants of New Orleans, to trade
up the river. Pierre Ligueste Laclede, in charge of the party, left
New Orleans Aug. 3d, 1763; proceeded to St. Genevieve and Fort
Chartres, Nov. 3d; to the mouth of the Missouri in Dec.; blazed a site
for his trading-post, now St. Louis; and returned to winter at Fort
Chartres, 1763-64. He soon sent to the spot he had marked a boat with
30 persons, in charge of Auguste Chouteau; they arrived Feb. 15th,
1764 (so Nicollet), or Mar. 14th (Chouteau himself says). The list of
the "Thirty Associates" of Laclede given by Billon, p. 17, is 31, with
Antoine Riviere, who, however, did not go in this boat, but drove the
cart which contained Mrs. Chouteau and four children, and which was
escorted by Laclede in person. Chouteau says that Laclede came there
early in April, selected a site for his own house, and returned to
Fort Chartres. He brought his family in September, and established
himself in his new house. The settlement was made, and at least eight
persons were added to the original number by the fall of 1764. The
original name was Laclede's Village. In Oct., 1764, the infant colony
was annoyed by begging and pilfering Missouri Indians. D'Abadie died
Feb. 4th, 1765. Neyon de Villiers had turned over the command of Fort
Chartres, June 15th, 1764, to Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, by whom it
was given over to the British Captain Stirling, Oct. 10th (not July
17th), 1765; Stirling died in three months, and St. Ange resumed
temporary charge of the fort, pending arrival of Stirling's English
successor. British dominion E. of the Mississippi, already
established, was odious; it drove many persons across the river, and
naturally they gathered about the nucleus Laclede had provided. By the
end of 1765 several hundred were there; law was needed, and a
provisional government was set up by general consent in the election
or recognition of St. Ange as governor; this was in effect in April,
1766, with the first recorded document of a public character; first on
record being one filed by Joseph Labusciere, notary, Jan. 21st, 1766.
Laclede, St. Ange, Labusciere, and Judge Joseph Le Febvre d'Inglebert
d'Brouisseau were the four persons most prominent in moving the wheels
of government for four or five years. The settlement had already
outgrown all the earlier ones in the vicinity and become the actual
"metropolis" or capital place in the country. In 1767 the village had
perhaps 80 houses, and several hundred people. Late that year Capt.
Francisco Rios or Rivers arrived with some 25 men, sent by Don Antonio
d' Ulloa to take Spanish possession; he could not be conveniently
accommodated, so selected a camp on the Missouri, 14 miles away, where
he built in 1768 Fort Charles the Prince (site of subsequent Belle
Fontaine), named for the one who became in 1788 Charles IV. of Spain.
Definitive possession of Upper Louisiana was taken May 20th, 1770, by
Capt. Piedro Piernas, sent from New Orleans by Gen. Alex. O'Reilly
(Oreiley of Nicollet), who had landed there at 5 p. m., Aug. 18th,
1769. At the close of the French régime, 1770, the village had 100
wooden and 15 stone houses; pop. 500. Before or about 1770, some other
settlements were made in the region roundabout; Blanchette the hunter
built his shack on les Petites Côtes, and this place became St.
Charles in 1784; the place to be called both Florissant and St.
Ferdinand was started by François Borosier Dunegan (so Nicollet--but
query this name?) François Saucier settled at Portage des Sioux. The
origin of the name _Pain Court_ is said to be: In 1767, one Delor
Détergette settled on the W. bank of the Miss. r., 6 m. S. of St.
Louis, and was followed by others, all so poor that when they visited
St. Louis, the people there would exclaim, "voilà les poches vides qui
viennent!" "Here come the Empty Pockets!" "But," says Nicollet, "on
one occasion a wag remarked, 'You had better call them _emptiers of
pockets_'--_les Vide-poches_; a compliment which was retaliated by them
upon the place of St. Louis, which was subject to frequent seasons of
want, by styling it _Pain-Court_--_Short of Bread_." The Vide-poche
place became Carondelet in 1776. Laclede died at the Poste aux
Arkansas, June 20th, 1778. On May 6th, 1780, St. Louis was attacked by
Indians and British, and many persons (accounts differ as to numbers)
were killed or captured; it became known as l'Année du Grand
Coup--year of the great blow. Similarly 1785 was called l'Année des
Grandes Eaux, because of the flood in April when the Mississippi rose
to an unprecedented height and inundated the lowlands; it is
traditional that Auguste Chouteau moored his boat and breakfasted on
top of the highest roof in St. Genevieve. The year 1788 was called
L'Année des Dix Batteaux, from circumstances of piracy on the river.
The winter of 1789-90 was notable for its intensity. There was no
interruption of Spanish dominion until the cession of Louisiana to the
United States: see Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. xxxiii. and p. 2.
CHAPTER IV.
WEATHER DIARY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.[IV-1]
_Meteorological Observations made by Lieutenant Pike, on the
Mississippi, in 1805 and 1806._
NOTE.--These observations are very imperfect, my mode of traveling
being such as to prevent my making regular references to the
thermometer; and during the intense cold which prevailed some part of
the winter, the mercury of the barometer sank into the bulb. I was
also frequently obliged to be absent from my party, when it was
impossible for me to carry instruments. Those different circumstances
occasioned the omissions which appear in the table. The instrument
employed was Reaumer's, but the observations made have been adapted to
the scale of Fahrenheit.--Z. M. PIKE, 1st lieutenant.
=====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
| Thermometer | | Wind | | | |Baro-
| (degrees) | | | | | |meter
Date +----+----+----+ Sky +--------+-------+ N. | W. | Var. |(in.)
|sun-| 3 |sun-| | Course |Force | Lat. | Long.| |
|rise|p.m.|set | | | | | | |
-----+----+----+----+--------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
Aug.| | | | | | | | | |
6 | ...| ...| ...| clear | S S E | fresh | 39°1' |15°20'| 7°54' | 28.5
| | | | | | | | Ph. | |
7 | ...| 90 | ...|thunder-| N W | very | ... | ... | ... | 28
| | | | storm | | hard | | | |
8 | ...| 75 | ...| rain | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
9 | ...| 83 | ...| cloudy | S by E | light | ... | ... | ... | 28.8
10 | ...| 97 | ...| flying | W |squally| ... | ... | ... | 28
| | | | clouds | | | | | |
11 | ...|108½| ...| do. | W by S | ... | ... | ... | ... | 20
12 | ...|101¾| ...| rain | S by W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 29.2
13 | ...| 83¾| ...| hard | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | rain | | | | | |
14 | ...| 81½| ...| do. | S by E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
15 | ...| 88¼| ...| rainy | N W | do. | 40°31" |16°41"| ... | 29
16 | ...| 90½| ...| clear | N W |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 30
17 | ...| 88¼| ...| do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 30.2
18 | ...| 81½| ...| cloudy | N W |strong | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
19 | ...| 99½| ...| clear | N W |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 30
20 | ...| 90½| ...| do. | E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 30
21 | ...| 88¼| ...| cloudy | S E | fresh |40°32'12"| ... | ... | 29
22 | ...| 90½| ...| clear | N by W |strong | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
23 | ...|106¼| ...| do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 30
24 | ...| 82¾| ...| clear | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 30
25 | ...| 81¼| ...| cloudy | N by W |strong | ... | ... | ... | 2
26 | 61¼| 72½| ...| rain | N by W | gale | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | 54½| 63½| ...| do. | N by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | 52¼| 61¼| ...| do. | S by E | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
29 | 52¼| 72½| ...| cloudy | S by E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
30 | 61¼| 88¼| ...| clear | S by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28
31 | ...| 92¾| ...| do. | S by W |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
=====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
=====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
| Thermometer | | Wind | | | |Baro-
| (degrees) | | | | | |meter
Date +----+----+----+ Sky +--------+-------+ N. | W. | Var. |(in.)
|sun-| 3 |sun-| | Course |Force | Lat. | Long.| |
|rise|p.m.|set | | | | | | |
-----+----+----+----+--------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
Sept.| | | | | | | | | |
1 | ...| 88¼| ...| clear | S E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 30
2 | ...| 95 | ...| do. | S |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 29.3
3 | ...| 79¼| ...| cloudy | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.8
4 | ...| 77 | ...| do. | S W | do. |43°44'8" | ... | ... | 29
5 | ...| 88¼| ...| rain | S W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 27
6 | ...| 95 | ...| clear | S by E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 27
7 | ...| 86 | ...| cloudy | S by E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28
8 | ...| 99½| ...| do. | S by E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
9 | ...| 92¾| ...| do. | S |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 28.8
10 | ...| 72½| ...| rain | N by W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
11 | ...| 59 | ...| do. | N by E | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | ...| 52¼| ...| do. | N by E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
13 | ...| 50 | ...| do. | N |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
14 | ...| 43¼| ...| clear | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
15 | ...| 65¾| ...| rain | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28
16 | ...| 77 | ...| rising | S E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
| | | | clouds | | | | | |
17 | ...| 65¾| ...| rain | N W | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
18 | ...| 77 | ...| cloudy | N W |gentle |45°44'8" | ... | ... | ...
19 | ...| 65¾| ...| do. | S E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | ...| 72½| ...| clear | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
21 | 41 | 77 | ...| do. | S E |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 29
22 | ...| 77 | ...| do. | N W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
23 | ...| 81½| ...| cloudy | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
24 | ...| 86 | ...| do. | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
25 | ...| 77 | ...| flying | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | clouds | | | | | |
26 | ...| 65¾| ...| cloudy | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | ...| 65¾| ...| do. | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | ...| 65¾| ...| rain | S by E | hard | ... | ... | ... | 28
29 | ...| 72½| ...| cloudy | S by E |fresh, | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | | | hard | | | |
30 | ...| 65¾| ...| do. | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
Oct.| | | | | | | | | |
1 | 50 | 65¾| ...| cloudy | N W |fresh | 45° | ... | ... | 28.5
2 | 50 | 72½| ...| rain | N W | | ... | ... | ... | 28
3 | 32 | 50 | ...| clear | N W | | ... | ... | ... | 28.4
4 | 32 | 50 | ...| cloudy,| N W | | ... | ... | ... | 29
| | | | hail | | | | | |
5 | 32 | 23 | ...| clear | N W | hard | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
6 | 32 | 23 | ...| do. | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
7 | 36½| 50 | ...| do. | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29
8 | 26 | 50 | ...| do. | S E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
9 | 41 | 54½| ...| do. | W by N | | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
10 | 50 | 88¼| 65¾| do. | S by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
11 | 36½| 65¾| 54½| do. | N by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29
12 | 36½| 59 | 36½| do. | N by W | hard | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
13 | 36 | 72½| 59 | do. | S by W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 36.2
14 | 36 | 65¾| 50 | do. | N W |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 29
15 | 43¼| 54½| 41 | cloudy,| N by W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
| | | | rain | | | | | |
16 | 50 | 65¾| 54½| snow | do. | do. |45°33'3" | ... | ... | 28.5
17 | 41 | 50 | 52 | do. | do. | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28
18 | 43¼| 54½| 50 | cloudy | S by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
19 | 45½| 59 | 54½| clear, | do. |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 29.8
| | | | cloudy | | | | | |
20 | 43¼| 54 | 43¼| do. | do. | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
21 | 23 | 14 | 20 | clear | do. | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29
22 | 29 | 45 | 32 | cloudy,| N by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
| | | | snow | | | | | |
23 | 20 | 27 | 23 | do. | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.3
24 | 20 | 27 | 23 | do. | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29
25 | 16 | 23 | 43 | cloudy | ... | do. | ... | ... | 9°10' | 29
26 | 11 | 20 | 32 | clear | W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29.5
27 | 20 | 32 | 43¼| do. | W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 30
28 | 20 | 43 | 47 | do. | N E | do. |45°33'3" | ... | 9°10'S| 29.5
29 | 27 | 50 | 43 | cloudy,| N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 29
| | | | rain | | | | | |
30 | 50 | 52 | 50 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
31 | 32 | 43 | 47 | cloudy | N | do. | ... | ... | 9°10'S| 28
=====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
REMARKS.--Sept. 1st, The [Dubuque] Mines. Sept. 5th, Prairie De Chien.
Sept. 10th, Barometer below 28. Sept. 18th, Lake Pepin. Sept. 22d,
River St. Peter's. Sept. 27th, Falls of St. Anthony. Oct. 16th, Pine
Creek Rapids. Oct. 28th, Pine Creek.
=====+===============+=======+================+=========+======+=======+=====
| Thermometer | | Wind | | | |Baro-
| (degrees) | | | | | |meter
Date +----+-----+----+ Sky +--------+-------+ N. | W. | Var. |(in.)
|sun-| 3 |sun-| | Course |Force | Lat. |Long. | |
|rise|p.m. |set | | | | | | |
-----+----+-----+----+-------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
Nov.| | | | | | | | | |
1 | 36 | ... | ...| rain | ... | ... |45°33'3" | ... | ... | 28
2 | ...| ... | ...| snow | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
3 | ...|warm | ...| fair | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4 | ...|fresh| ...| do. | N E |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
5 | ...|warm | ...| do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
6 | ...|cool | ...| snow | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
7 | ...|warm | ...| hail, | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | rain | | | | | |
8 | ...| do. | ...| light | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | snow | | | | | |
9 | ...|cold | 27 | do. | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
10 | 14 | 20 | 20 | clear | N W |gentle | ... | ... | ... | 28
11 | 20 | 25 | 25 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | 27 | 25 | 27 |cloudy | S W | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
13 | 38 | 36 | 38 | do. | ... | do. | ... | ... | ... | 28.5
14 | 41 | ... | ... | rain | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
15 | 47 | 38 | 41 |cloudy | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
16 | 54 | 36 | 47 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
17 | 47 | 36 | 32 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
18 | 36 | 34 | 32 |clear | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
19 | 38 | 36 | 23 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | 38 | 36 | 41 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
21 | 41 | 36 | 45 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
22 | 41 | 36 | 38 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
23 | 41 | 32 | 27 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
24 | 38 | 34 | 32 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
25 | 41 | 38 | 38 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
26 | 38 | 32 | 34 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | 38 | 38 | 34 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | 29 | 43 | 41 |clear | N W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
29 | 23 | 32 | 36 | do. | N |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
30 | 16 | 27 | 25 | do. | N by W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
Dec.| | | | | | | | | |
1 | 25 | 32 | 32 | snow | S W |gentle |45°33'9" | ... | ... | ...
2 | 7 | 27 | 16 |clear | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
3 | 16 | 32 | 20 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
4 | 20 | 32 | 27 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
5 | 23 | 32 | 32 |cloudy | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
6 | 25 | 32 | 32 |clear | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
7 | 20 | 27 | 25 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
8 | 16 | 25 | 27 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
9 | 20 | 25 | 23 | do. | N E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
10 | 23 | 27 | 29 |cloudy | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
11 | 27 | ... | 43 | do. | S E |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | 29 | ... | 32 | do. | N W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
13 | 38 | ... | 32 | snow | N W | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
15 | 7 | ... | 11 |cloudy | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
16 | 9 | ... | 43 |clear | S |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
17 | 20 | ... | 32 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
18 | 36 | ... | 36 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
19 | 36 | ... | 25 |cloudy | SE, NW | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | 25 | ... | 32 | do. | N E |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
21 | 18 | ... | 27 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
22 | 2 | ... | 5 |clear | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
23 | 2 | ... | 32 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
24 | 5 | ... | 27 | do. | N E | do. |45°49'50"| ... | ... | ...
25 | 27 | ... | 27 |cloudy | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
26 | 23 | ... | 29 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | 23 | ... | 29 | snow | E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | 23 | ... | 32 |cloudy | S W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
29 | 20 | ... | 11 |clear | N W | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
30 | 9 | ... | 11 | do. | W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
31 | 9 | ... | 20 | do. | W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
=====+===============+=======+================+=========+======+=======+=====
REMARKS.--Nov. 2d, Absent from camp. Nov. 6th, Thunder and lightning.
Nov. 9th, Return to camp. Nov. 11th-12th, Thawing. Nov. 13th, Smoky.
Nov. 14th, Thunder and lightning. Nov. 16th-19th, Freezing. Nov.
20th-21st, Thawing. Nov. 22d, Freezing. Nov. 23d-27th, Thawing. Dec.
11th, Thawing. Dec. 12th, Slight snow. Dec. 13th, Storm. Dec. 14th,
Stormy. Dec. 17th-18th, Thawing. Dec. 19th-25th, Freezing. Dec. 28th,
Very cold. Dec. 31st, Very cold.
=====+=================+=======+==============+=========+======+=======+=====
| Thermometer | | Wind | | | |Baro-
| (degrees) | | | | | |meter
Date +-------+----+----+ Sky +------+-------+ N. | W. | Var. |(in.)
|sunrise| 3 |sun-| |Course| Force | Lat. |Long. | |
| |p.m.|set | | | | | | |
-----+-------+----+----+-------+------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
Jan.| | | | | | | | |
1 |17-4/10|... | 11 |cloudy,| N E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | snow | | | | | |
2 | 2 |... | 20 |clear | E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
3 |20 |... | 25 | do. | W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4 |23 |... | 25 | do. | W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
5 |33-5/10|... | 20 | do. | E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
6 |20 |... | 9 | snow | W | hard |46°9'20" | ... | ... | ...
7 |15-2/10|... | 1 |clear | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
8 | ... |... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
9 | ... |... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
10 | ... |... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
11 | ... |... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | ... |... | 2 |clear | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
13 |28-5/10|... | 6 | do. | ... | ... |46°9'20" |22°13'| ... | ...
14 |24 |... | 1 | do. | N | ... |46°9'20" | ... | 3°41'W| ...
15 |33-5/10|... | 6 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
16 |19-8/10|... | 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
17 | 6 | 23 | 20 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
18 | 9 | 25 | 20 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
19 | ... |... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | ... |... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
21 | ... |... | 23 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
22 |14 |... | 27 |clear | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
23 |27 |... | 27 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
24 |27 | 29 | 32 |cloudy |S by E| ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
25 | ... | 27 |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
26 | ... | 5 |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | ... | 5 |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | 4 | 2 | 5 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
29 | 5 | 14 | 11 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
30 | 1 | 14 |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
31 | 8 | 14 |... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
Feb.| | | | | | | | | |
1 |10 | 7 | 5 |clear | ... | ... |47°16'13"| ... | ... | ...
2 | 5 | 9 | 14 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
3 | 7 | 27 | 23 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4 | 1 | 9 | 1 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
5 |10 | 14 | 7 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
6 | 5 | 27 | 11 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
7 | 2 | 23 | 20 | do. | W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
8 | 8 | 1 | 9 | do. | W | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
9 |17-5/10| 1 | 8 | snow | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
10 |17-5/10| 1 | 5 | do. | N E |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
11 | 1 | 7 | 1 |clear | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | 5 | 16 | 1 | do. | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
13 |23 | 36 | 32 |hail, |S by E| fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | |clouds | | | | | |
14 |11 | 36 | 32 |clear | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
15 | 5 | 20 | 16 | do. | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
16 | 2 | 23 | 16 | do. | S W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
17 | 5 | 32 | 32 |sleet, | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | snow | | | | | |
18 |14 | 32 |... |clear | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
19 | ... |... | 20 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | 1 |... | 27 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
21 |14 |... | 27 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
22 |16 |... | 27 | do. | ... | ... |46°32'32"| ... | ... | ...
23 |14 |... | 23 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
24 |16 |... | 20 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
25 |11 |... | 25 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
26 |23 |... | 36 | do. | S W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 |16 |... | 11 | ... | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 |16 |... |... | ... | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
=====+=================+=======+==============+=========+======+=======+=====
REMARKS.--Jan. 6th, Lake Sable. Jan. 7th, Absent for six days. Feb.
1st, Leech Lake. Feb. 22d, White Fish Lake.
=====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
|Thermometer | | Wind | | | |Baro-
| (degrees) | | | | | |meter
Date +----+----+----+ Sky +--------+-------+ N. | W. | Var. |(in.)
|sun-| 3 |sun-| | Course |Force | Lat. |Long. | |
|rise|p.m.|set | | | | | | |
-----+----+----+----+--------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
Mar.| | | | | | | | | |
1 | 16 | ...| 16 | clear | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
2 | 16 | ...| 20 | cloudy | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
3 | 20 | ...| 43 | clear | E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
4 | 20 | ...| 27 | do. | E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
5 | 25 | ...| 29 | do. | ... | ... |45°33'3" | ... | ... | ...
6 | 36 | ...| 27 | do. | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
7 | 29 | 41 | 27 | clear, | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | warm | | | | | |
8 | 29 | 25 | 23 | cloudy | S E | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
9 | 36 | 43 | 41 | clear | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
10 | 25 | 25 | 27 | do. | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
11 | 32 | 36 | 38 | cloudy | S E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | 34 | 47 | 38 | clear | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
13 | 33 | 43 | 27 | do. | N W | ... |45°14'8" | ... | ... | ...
14 | 38 | 43 | 34 | do. | N W | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
15 | 50 | 41 | 36 | do. | N | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
16 | 38 | 43 | 36 | do. | E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
17 | 32 | 32 | 32 | snow | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
18 | 32 | 32 | 32 | do. | N | do. |43°44'8" | ... | ... | ...
19 | 32 | 32 | 29 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | 29 | 38 | 29 | cloudy | N by E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
21 | 9 | 32 | 20 | clear | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
22 | 1 | 9 | 14 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
23 | 7 | 32 | 32 | do. | E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
24 | 5 | 25 | 32 | cloudy | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
25 | 25 | 32 | 32 | snow | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
26 | 11 | 25 | 27 | clear | E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | 38 | 54 | 43 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | 36 | 41 | 43 | do. | S W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
29 | 29 | 70 | 54 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
30 | 52 | 56 | 43 | cloudy | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
31 | 32 | 61 | 43 | clear | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
Apr.| | | | | | | | | |
1 | 29 | 61 | 43 | clear | N E | fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
2 | 34 | 74 | 63 | do. | S | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
3 | 45 | 70 | 43 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
4 | 20 | 45 | 41 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
5 | 29 | 45 | 38 | cloudy | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
6 | 27 | 43 | 36 | do. | N E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
7 | 23 | ...| 32 | snow | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
8 | 41 | ...| 34 | cloudy | N | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
9 | 5 | 18 | 32 | clear | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
10 | 5 | 54 | 25 | do. | N E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
11 | 18 | 32 | 32 | snow | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
12 | 10 | 54 | 43 | clear | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
13 | 32 | 50 | 45 | do. | S E | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
14 | 38 | 50 | 45 | cloudy,| S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | rain | | | | | |
15 | 34 | 52 | 32 | snow | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
16 | 34 | 50 | 41 | do. | N W |fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
17 | 34 | 70 | 43 | clear | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
18 | 45 | 92 | 63 | do. | N W | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
19 | 50 | 99 | 81 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
20 | 59 | 95 | 79 | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
21 | 54 | 92 | 63 | cloudy | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
22 | 43 | 63 | 52 | clear | N W |fresh | ... | ... | ... | ...
23 | 36 | 72 | 63 | do. | S E | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
24 | 43 | 70 | 61 | cloudy | S E | hard | ... | ... | ... | ...
25 | 43 | 54 | 47 | cloudy,| S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
| | | | rain | | | | | |
26 | 43 | 50 |... | do. | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
27 | 43 | 95 | 77 | clear | N E |gentle | ... | ... | ... | ...
28 | 43 | 81 | 72 | cloudy | S E | do. | ... | ... | ... | ...
29 | 38 | 59 |... | rain | N W | ... | ... | ... | ... | ...
=====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
REMARKS.--Mar. 1st, Lower Red Cedar Lake. Mar. 6th, Snow at night.
Mar. 7th, Pine Creek. Mar. 9th, Very warm; ice melting fast. Mar.
11th, Raw and disagreeable. Mar. 12th, Ice melting fast. Mar. 15th,
Small snow in the night. Mar. 17th, Sleet and snow. Mar. 18th-19th,
Heavy snow. Mar. 20th, Thawing at noon; water rising. Mar. 21st, Cold.
Mar. 22d, Extraordinary cold. Mar. 24th, Sauteurs. Mar. 25th, Very
stormy. Mar. 26th, Moderate. Mar. 27th, Warm. Mar. 28th, Warm,
thunder, lightning. Mar. 29th, Warm, thunder, lightning, rain. Apr.
1st, Ice breaking up by degrees. Apr. 2d-3d, Ice commenced running.
Apr. 5th, Snow. Apr. 6th, River entirely breaks up. Apr. 8th, Snow,
hail. Apr. 9th, Remarkably cold. Apr. 11th, Snow falls three inches.
FOOTNOTE:
[IV-1] In the orig. ed. these Tables made five unpaged leaves, bound to
follow blank p. 106, and thus were appended to the main text of Pike's
itinerary, not put in the Appendix to Part I. It really makes little
difference where these Tables go, as nobody ever reads such matter. I
leave them where I find them, on the general principle of interfering
as little as possible with the original composition of the book,
simply introducing a chapter-head for their accommodation; and shall
pass this thrilling chapter without further remark.
CHAPTER V.
CORRESPONDENCE AND CONFERENCES.[V-1]
_Art. 1. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 1, pp. 1, 2.)_
HEAD OF THE RAPIDS DE MOYEN, Aug. 20th, 1805.
DEAR GENERAL:
I arrived here this day, after what I have considered as rather an
unfortunate voyage, having had a series of rainy weather for the first
six days, by which means all our biscuit was more or less damaged,
they being in very bad and open barrels; and our having got twice so
fast on forked sawyers or old trees as to oblige me partly to unload,
and staving in a plank on another [sawyer], which nearly sunk our boat
before we got on shore and detained us one whole day. These all
occasioned unavoidable detentions of two days, and the innumerable
islands and sand-bars which, without exaggeration, exceed those of the
river below the Ohio, have been the cause of much unexpected delay.
But I calculate on getting to Prairie de Chien in at least the same
time I was in coming [from St. Louis] here.
We were met yesterday on the Rapids by Mr. William Ewing, who is sent
here by the government of the United States to teach the savages
agriculture; and who, I perceive in Governor Harrison's instructions,
is termed an agent of the United States, under the instructions of P.
Choteau, with, he says, a salary of $500 per annum. I conceived you
did not know of this functionary, else you would have mentioned him to
me. He was accompanied by Monsieur Louis Tisson Houire [Tesson
Honoré[V-2]], who informed me he had calculated on going with me as my
interpreter; he said that you had spoken to him on the occasion, and
appeared much disappointed when I told him I had no instructions to
that effect. He also said he had promised to discover mines, etc.,
which no person knew but himself; but, as I conceive him much of a
hypocrite, and possessing great gasconism, I am happy he was not
chosen for my voyage. They brought with them three peroques of
Indians, who lightened my barge and assisted me up the Rapids. They
expressed great regret at the news of two men having been killed on
the river below, which I believe to be a fact, as I have it from
various channels, and were very apprehensive they would be censured by
our government as the authors [of these murders], though from every
inquiry they conceive it not to be the case, and seem to ascribe the
murders to the Kickapoos. They strongly requested I would hear what
they had to say on the subject; this, with an idea that this place
would be a central position for a trading establishment for the Sacs,
Reynards, Iowas of the de Moyen, Sioux from the head of said [Des
Moines] river, and Paunte [Puants] of the de Roche [Rock river], has
induced me to halt part of the day to-morrow. I should say more
relative to Messrs. Ewing and Houire, only that they propose visiting
you with the Indians who descend, as I understand by your request, in
about 30 days, when your penetration will give you _le tout ensemble_
of their characters [note 18, p. 15].
I have taken the liberty of inclosing a letter to Mrs. Pike to your
care. My compliments to Lieutenant Wilkinson, and the tender of my
highest respects for your lady, with the best wishes for your health
and prosperity.
I am, General,
Your obedient servant,
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE.
GENERAL WILKINSON.
_Art. 2. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 2, pp. 2-4.)_
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Sept. 5th, 1805.
DEAR GENERAL:
I arrived here day before yesterday, and found my interpreter gone in
the employ of Mr. Dickson. I then endeavored to gain information
relative to crossing the falls; and amidst the ignorance of the
Canadians, and all the contradiction in the world, I have learned it
is impossible to carry my large barge round the shoot [chute]. I have
therefore hired two Schenectady barges, in which I shall embark day
after to-morrow, with some expectation and hope of seeing the head of
the Mississippi and the town of St. Louis yet this winter.
I have chosen three places for military establishments. The first is
on a hill about 40 miles above the river de Moyen rapids, on the W.
side of the river, in about 41° 2' N. latitude. The channel of the
river runs on that shore; the hill in front is about 60 feet
perpendicular, nearly level on the top; 400 yards in the rear is a
small prairie fit for gardening; over on the E. side of the river you
have an elegant view on an immense prairie, as far as the eye can
extend, now and then interrupted by clumps of trees; and, to crown
all, immediately under the hill is a limestone spring, sufficient for
the consumption of a regiment. The landing is good and bold, and at
the point of the hill a road could be made for a wagon in half a day.
This place I conceive to be the best to answer the general's
instructions relative to an intermediate post between Prairie de Chien
and St. Louis; but if its being on the W. bank is a material
objection, about 30 miles above the second Sac village at the third
yellow bank on the E. side is a commanding place, on a prairie and
most elegantly situated; but it is scarce of timber, and no water but
that of the Mississippi. When then thinking of the post to be
established at the Ouiscousing [mouth of Wisconsin river], I did not
look at the general's instructions. I therefore pitched on a spot on
the top of the hill on the W. side of the Mississippi [at or near
McGregor, Clayton Co., Ia.], which is ---- feet high, level on the
top, and completely commands both rivers, the Mississippi being only
one-half mile wide and the Ouiscousing about 900 yards when full.
There is plenty of timber in the rear, and a spring at no great
distance on the hill. If this position is to have in view the
annoyance of any European power who might be induced to attack it with
cannon, it has infinitely the preference to a position called the
Petit Gris on the Ouiscousing, which I visited and marked the next
day. This latter position is three miles up the Ouiscousing, on a
prairie hill on the W. side, where we should be obliged to get our
timber from the other side of the river, and our water out of it;
there is likewise a small channel which runs on the opposite side,
navigable in high water, which could not be commanded by the guns of
the fort, and a hill about three-quarters of a mile in the rear, from
which it could be cannonaded. These two positions I have marked by
blazing trees, etc. Mr. Fisher of this place will direct any officer
who may be sent to occupy them. I found the confluence of the
Ouiscousing and Mississippi to be in lat. 43° 28' 8" N.
The day of my arrival at the lead mines, I was taken with a fever
which, with Monsieur Dubuque's having no horses about his house,
obliged me to content myself with proposing to him the inclosed
queries [Art. 3]; the answers seem to carry with them the semblance of
equivocation.
Messrs. Dubuque and Dickson were about sending a number of chiefs to
St. Louis, but the former confessing he was not authorized, I have
stopped them without in the least dissatisfying the Indians.
Dickson is at Michilimackinac. I cannot say I have experienced much
spirit of accommodation from his clerks, when in their power to oblige
me; but I beg leave to recommend to your attention Mr. James Aird, who
is now in your country, as a gentleman to whose humanity and
politeness I am much indebted; also Mr. Fisher of this place, the
captain of militia and justice of the peace.
A band of Sioux between here and the Mississippi have applied for two
medals, in order that they may have their chiefs distinguished as
friends of the Americans: if the general thinks proper to send them
here to the care of Mr. Fisher, with any other commands, they may
possibly meet me here, or at the falls of St. Anthony, on my return.
[Lacuna here, indicating suppression of certain Spanish privacies.]
The above suggestion would only be acceptable under the idea of our
differences with Spain being compromised; as should there be war, the
field of action is the sphere for young men, where they hope, or at
least aspire, to gather laurels or renown to smooth the decline of
age, or a glorious death. You see, my dear general, I write to you
like a person addressing a father; at the same time I hope you will
consider me, not only in a professional but a personal view, one who
holds you in the highest respect and esteem. My compliments to
Lieutenant Wilkinson, and my highest respects to your lady.
I am, General,
Your obedient servant,
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.
GENERAL WILKINSON.
_Art. 3. The Dubuque Interrogation.[V-3] Queries proposed to Mr.
Dubuque, with his answers._
1. What is the date of your grant of the mines from the savages?
_Ans._ The copy of the grant is in Mr. [Antoine Pierre] Soulard's
[Surveyor-general's] office at St. Louis.
2. What is the date of the confirmation by the Spaniards?
_Ans._ The same as to query first.
3. What is the extent of your grant?
_Ans._ The same as above.
4. What is the extent of the mines?
_Ans._ Twenty-eight or twenty-seven leagues long, and from one to
three broad.
5. Lead made per annum?
_Ans._ From 20,000 to 40,000 pounds.
6. Quantity of lead per cwt. of mineral?
_Ans._ Seventy-five per cent.
7. Quantity of lead in pigs?
_Ans._ All we make, as we neither manufacture bar, sheet-lead, nor
shot.
8. If mixed with any other mineral?
_Ans._ We have seen some copper, but having no person sufficiently
acquainted with chemistry to make the experiment properly, cannot say
as to the proportion it bears to the lead.
[Signed] Z. M. PIKE.
DUBUQUE LEAD MINES, Sept. 1st, 1805.
_Art. 4. Speech, Pike to the Sioux[V-4] (Part of Orig. No. 3, pp.
6-8), delivered at the entrance of the river St. Peter's, Sept. 23d,
1803._
BROTHERS: I am happy to meet you here at this council fire, which your
father has sent me to kindle, and to take you by the hands as our
children, we having lately acquired from the Spanish [read French] the
extensive territory of Louisiana. Our general has thought proper to
send out a number of his young warriors to visit all his red children,
to tell them his will, and to hear what request they may have to make
of their father. I am happy the choice has fallen on me to come this
road; as I find my brothers, the Sioux, ready to listen to my words.
BROTHERS: It is the wish of our government to establish military posts
on the Upper Mississippi, at such places as may be thought expedient.
I have therefore examined the country, and have pitched on the mouth
of the St. Croix, this place [mouth of the Minnesota river], and the
Falls of St. Anthony. I therefore wish you to grant to the United
States nine miles square at St. Croix; and at this place, from a
league below the confluence of St. Peter's and the Mississippi to a
league above St. Anthony, extending three leagues on each side of the
river. As we are a people who are accustomed to have all our acts
written down, in order to have them handed down to our children, I
have drawn up a form of an agreement which we will both sign in the
presence of the traders now present. After we know the terms we will
fill it up, and have it read and interpreted to you.
BROTHERS: Those posts are intended as a benefit to you. The old
chiefs now present must see that their situation improves by
communication with the whites. It is the intention of the United
States to establish factories at those posts, in which the Indians may
procure all their things at a cheaper and better rate then they do
now, or than your traders can afford to sell them to you, as they are
single men who come far in small boats. But your fathers are many and
strong; they will come with a strong arm, in large boats. There will
also be chiefs here, who can attend to the wants of their brothers,
without your sending or going all the way to St. Louis; they will see
the traders that go up your rivers, and know that they are good men.
BROTHERS: Another object your father has at heart, is to endeavor to
make peace between you and the Chipeways. You have now been a long
time at war, and when will you stop? If neither side will lay down the
hatchet, your paths will always be red with blood; but if you will
consent to make peace, and suffer your father to bury the hatchet
between you, I will endeavor to bring down some of the Chipeway chiefs
with me to St. Louis, where the good work can be completed under the
auspices of your mutual father. I am much pleased to see that the
young warriors have halted to hear my words this day; and as I know it
is hard for a warrior to be struck and not strike again, I will send
word to the chiefs by the first Chipeway I meet, that, if they have
not yet felt your tomahawk, it is not because you have not the legs or
the hearts of men, but because you have listened to the voice of your
father.
BROTHERS: If their chiefs do not listen to the voice of their father,
and continue to commit murders on you and our traders, they will call
down the vengeance of the Americans; for they are not like a blind man
walking into the fire. They were once at war with us, and joined to
all the northern Indians; they were defeated at Roche De Bœuff, and
were obliged to sue for peace; that peace we granted them. They know
we are not children, but, like all wise people, are slow to shed
blood.
BROTHERS: Your old men probably know that about 30 years ago we were
subject to and governed by the king of the English; but he not
treating us like children, we would no longer acknowledge him as
father; and after ten years' war, in which he lost 100,000 men, he
acknowledged us a free and independent nation. They know that not many
years since we received Detroit, Michilimackinac, and all the posts on
the lakes from the English; and now--but the other day--Louisiana from
the Spanish [French]; so that we put one foot on the sea at the east
and the other on the sea at the west; and if once children, are now
men. Yet, I think the traders who come from Canada are bad birds
amongst the Chipeways, and instigate them to make war on their red
brothers the Sioux, in order to prevent our traders from going high up
the Mississippi. This I shall inquire into, and if it be so, shall
warn those persons of their ill conduct.
BROTHERS: Mr. Choteau was sent by your father to the Osage nation,
with one of his young chiefs.[V-5] He sailed some days before me, and
had not time to procure the medals which I am told he promised to send
up; but they will be procured.
BROTHERS: I wish you to have some of your head chiefs ready to go down
with me in the spring. From the head of the St. Pierre also, such
other chiefs as you may think proper, to the number of four or five.
When I pass here on my way I will send you word at what time you will
meet me at the Prairie des Chiens.
BROTHERS: I expect that you will give orders to all your young
warriors to respect my flag, and its protection which I may extend to
the Chipeway chiefs who may come down with me in the spring; for were
a dog to run to my lodge for safety, his enemy must walk over me to
hurt him.