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DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
SUMMARY NARRATIVE OF AN EXPLORATORY EXPEDITION
TO THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, IN 1820:
Resumed and Completed, by the Discovery of Its Origin
in Itasca Lake, in 1832.
By Authority of the United States.
With Appendixes,
Comprising the Original Report on the Copper Mines of Lake
Superior, and Observations on the Geology of the Lake Basins,
and the Summit of the Mississippi;
Together with
All the Official Reports and Scientific Papers of Both Expeditions.
by
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
Philadelphia:
Lippincott, Grambo, and Co.
1855.
Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1854, by
Lippincott, Grambo, and Co.,
in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United
States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
[ORIGINAL DEDICATION.]
TO THE HON. JOHN C. CALHOUN, SECRETARY OF WAR.
SIR: Allow me to inscribe to you the following Journals, as an
illustration of my several reports on the mineral geography of the
regions visited by the recent Expedition under Governor Cass.
I beg you will consider it, not only as a proof of my anxiety to be
serviceable in the station occupied, but also as a tribute of individual
respect for those exertions which have been made, during your
administration of the War Department, to develop the physical character
and resources of all parts of our Western country; for the patronage it
has extended to the cause of geographical science; for the protection it
has afforded to a very extensive line of frontier settlements by
stretching a cordon of military posts around them; and for the notice it
has bestowed on one of the humblest cultivators of natural science.
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
ALBANY, 1821.
PREFACE.
The following pages embrace the substance of the narratives of two
distinct expeditions for the discovery of the sources of the Mississippi
River, under the authority of the United States. By connecting the
incidents of discovery, and of the facts brought to light during a
period of twelve years, unity is preserved in the prosecution of an
object of considerable importance in the progress of our geography and
natural history, at least, from the new impulse which they received
after the treaty of Ghent.
Geographers deem that branch of a river as its true source which
originates at the remotest distance from its mouth, and, agreeably to
this definition, the combined narratives, to which attention is now
called, show this celebrated stream to arise in Itasca Lake, the source
of the Itasca River.
Owing to the time which has intervened since these expeditions were
undertaken, a mere revision of the prior narrations, in the _journal
form_, was deemed inexpedient. A concise summary has, therefore, been
made, preserving whatever information it was thought important to be
known or remembered, and omitting all matters not partaking of permanent
interest.
To this summary, something has been added from the original manuscript
journals in his possession. The domestic organization and social habits
of the parties may thus be more perfectly understood. The sympathies
which bind men together in isolated or trying scenes are sources of
interest long after the link is severed, and the progress of science or
discovery has passed beyond the particular points at which they then
stood. Events pass with so much rapidity at present, in the diffusion of
our population over regions where, but lately, the Indian was the only
tenant, that we are in danger of having but a confused record of them,
if not of losing it altogether. It is some abatement of this fear to
know that there is always a portion of the community who take a pleasure
in remembering individuals; who have either ventured their lives, or
exerted their energies, to promote knowledge or advance discovery. It is
in this manner that, however intent an age may be in the plans which
engross it, the sober progress and attainments of the period are counted
up. An important fact discovered in the physical geography or natural
history of the country, if it be placed on record, remains a fact added
to the permanent stores of information. A new plant, a crystal, an
insect, or the humblest invertebrate object of the zoological chain, is
as incontestable an addition to scientific knowledge, as the finding of
remains to establish a new species of mastodon. They only differ in
interest and importance.
It is not the province of every age to produce a Linnæus, a Buffon, or a
Cuvier; but, such are the almost endless forms of vegetable and animal
life and organization--from the infusoria upward--that not a year
elapses which may not enlarge the boundaries of science. The record of
discovery is perpetually accumulating, and filling the list of
discoverers with humbler, yet worthy names. Whoever reads with care the
scientific desiderata here offered will find matter of description or
comment which has employed the pens of a Torrey, a Mitchell, a Cooper, a
Lea, a Barnes, a Houghton, and a Nicollet.
It is from considerations of this nature, that the author has appended
to this narrative the original observations, reports, and descriptions
made by his companions or himself, while engaged in these exploratory
journeys, together with the determinations made on such scientific
objects as were referred to other competent hands. These investigations
of the physical geography of the West, and the phenomena or resources of
the country, constitute, indeed, by far the most important permanent
acquisitions of the scrutiny devoted to them. They form the elements of
classes of facts which will retain their value, to men of research, when
the incidents of the explorations are forgotten, and its actors
themselves have passed to their final account.
It would have been desirable that what has here been done should have
been done at an earlier period; but it may be sufficient to say that
other objects engrossed the attention of the author for no small part of
the intervening period, and that he could not earlier control the
circumstances which the publication demanded. After his permanent return
from the West--where so many years of his life passed--it was his first
wish to accomplish a long-cherished desire of visiting England and the
Continent, in which America, and its manners and institutions, might be
contemplated at a distance, and compared by ocular proofs. And, when he
determined on the task of preparing this volume, and began to look
around for the companions of his travels, to avail himself of their
notes, he found most of them had descended to the tomb. For the
narrative parts, indeed, the manuscript journals, kept with great
fulness, were still preserved; but the materials for the other division
of the work were widely scattered. Some of them remained in the archives
of the public offices to which they were originally communicated. Other
papers had been given to the pages of scientific journals, and their
reprint was inexpedient. The rich body of topographical data, and the
elaborately drawn map of this portion of the United States, prepared by
Captain Douglass, U. S. A., which would have been received with avidity
at the time, had been in a great measure superseded by subsequent
discoveries.[1] The only part of this officer's observations employed in
this work, are his determinations of the geographical positions. The
latter have been extended and perfected by the subsequent observations
of Mr. Nicollet. At every point, there have been difficulties to
overcome. He has been strenuous to award justice to his deceased
companions, to whose memory he is attached by the ties of sympathy and
former association. If more time has elapsed in preparing the work than
was anticipated, it is owing to the nature of it; and he can only say
that still more time and attention would be required to do justice to
it.
[1] This remark is limited to the country south of about 46°. North
of that point, there are no explorations known to me, except those of
Lieutenant James Allen, who accompanied me above Cass Lake, in 1832,
and those of J. N. Nicollet, in 1836, which were reported by him to
the Topographical Bureau, and by the latter transmitted to
Congress.--Vide _Senate Doc._ No. 237, 1843. These observations
relate to the line of the Mississippi. Maj. Long's journey, in 1823,
was _west_ and _north_ of that river.
A word may be added respecting the period of these explorations. The
year 1820 marked a time of much activity in geographical discovery in
the United States. The treaty of Ghent, a few years before, had relieved
the frontiers from a most sanguinary Indian war. This event enlarged the
region for settlement, and created an intense desire for information
respecting the new countries. Government had, indeed, at an earlier
period, shown a disposition to aid and encourage discoveries. The
feeling on this subject cannot be well understood, without allusion to
the name of John Ledyard. This intrepid traveller had accompanied
Captain Cook on his last voyage round the world. In 1786, he presented
himself to Mr. Jefferson, the American minister at Paris, with a plan of
extensive explorations. He proposed to set out from St. Petersburg, and,
passing through Russia and Tartary to Behring's Straits, to traverse the
north Pacific to Oregon, and thence cross the Rocky Mountains to the
Missouri Valley.[2] Mr. Jefferson communicated the matter to the Russian
plenipotentiary at Paris--and to the Baron Grimm, the confidential agent
of the Empress Catherine--through whose influence he received the
required passports. He proceeded on this adventure, and had reached
within two hundred miles of Kamschatka, where he was arrested, and taken
back, in a close carriage, to Moscow, and thence conducted to the
frontiers of Poland. On reaching London, the African Association
selected him to make explorations in the direction of the Niger.
Reaching Egypt, he proceeded up the Nile to Cairo, where, having
completed his preparations for entering the interior of Africa, he
sickened and died, in the month of November, 1788.--_Life of Ledyard_,
Sparks's _Amer. Biog._ vol. xvi.
The suggestion of Ledyard to explore Oregon became the germ of the
voyages of Lewis and Clark. It appears that, in 1792, Mr. Jefferson
proposed the subject to the American Philosophical Society at
Philadelphia.[2] It is not known that its action resulted in anything
practical. After Mr. Jefferson himself, however, came to the presidency,
in 1801, he called the attention of Congress to the matter. Louisiana
had been acquired, under his auspices, in 1803, which furnished a strong
public reason for its exploration. To conduct it, he selected his
private secretary and relative, Merriweather Lewis, of Virginia;
Captain William Clark was named as his assistant. Both these gentlemen
were commissioned in the army, and the expense thus placed on a public
basis. Captain Lewis left the city of Washington, on this enterprise, on
the 5th of July, 1803, and was joined by Captain Clark west of the
Alleghanies. Having organized the expedition at St. Louis, they began
the ascent of the Missouri River on the 14th of May, 1804. They wintered
the first year at Fort Mandan, about 1,800 miles up the Missouri, in the
country of the Mandans. Crossing the Rocky Mountains the next year, and
descending the Columbia to the open shore of the Pacific, they retraced
their general course to the waters of the Missouri, in 1806, and
returned to St. Louis on the 23d of September of that year. (_Lewis and
Clark_, vol. ii. p. 433.)
[2] Lewis and Clark.
To explore the Missouri to its source, and leave the remote summits of
the Mississippi untouched, would seem to have ill-accorded with Mr.
Jefferson's conceptions. It does not appear, however, from published
data, that he selected the person to perform the latter service, leaving
it to the military commandant of the district. (_Life of Pike_, Sparks's
_Amer. Biog._ vol. xv. pp. 220, 281.) General Wilkinson, who had been
directed to occupy Louisiana, appears to have made the selection. He
designated Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike. This officer left
Bellefontaine, Missouri, on the 9th of August, 1805, with a total force
of twenty men, at least four months too late in the season to reach even
the central part of his destination, without an aid in the command,
without a scientific observer of any description, and without even an
interpreter to communicate with the Indians. That he should have
accomplished what he did, is altogether owing to his activity,
vigilance, and enterprise, his knowledge of hunting and forest life, and
his well-established habits of mental and military discipline. Winter
overtook him, on the 16th of October, in his ascent, when he was about
one hundred and twenty miles (as now ascertained) above the Falls of St.
Anthony.[3] Severe cold, snow, and ice, rendered it impossible to push
his boats further. Devoting twelve days in erecting a blockhouse, and
leaving his heavy stores and disabled men in charge of a non
commissioned officer, he proceeded onwards, on snow shoes, with small
hand-sledges, and, by great energy and perseverance, reached, at
successive periods, Sandy Lake, Leach Lake, and Upper Red Cedar Lake, on
the third great plateau at the sources of the Mississippi. On the
opening of the river, he began his descent, and returned to his
starting-point, at Bellefontaine, on the 30th of April, 1806, having
been absent a little less than nine months. On his visiting the country
above the point where the climate arrested his advance, the whole region
was found to be clothed in a mantle of snow. On his journey, the deer,
elk, buffalo, and wolf, were found on the prairies--the waters were
inhabited by wild fowl; as he acted the part of hunter, and, to some
extent, guide, these furnished abundant employ for his efficient
sportsman-like propensities. Of its distinctive zoology, minerals,
plants, and other physical desiderata, it was not in his power, had he
been ever so well prepared, to make observations. Even for the
topography, above the latitude of about 46°, he was dependent,
essentially, on the information furnished by the factors of the
Northwest British Fur Company, who, at that period, occupied the
country.[4] This information was readily given, and enabled him, with
general accuracy, to present the maps and descriptions which accompany
his account of the region. He was, however, misled in placing the source
of the river in Turtle Lake, and in the topography of the region south
and west of that point.
[3] Estimated by him at 233 miles.
[4] The surrender of the lake country by Great Britain, in 1796, at
the close of what is known as General Wayne's war, extended to
Michilimackinac, the remotest British garrison. The region northwest
of this post was occupied by numerous tribes of Indians, who
continued to be supplied with goods by British traders till after the
close of the war of 1812. In 1816, Congress passed an act confining
the trade to American citizens. Under this state of affairs, the
Northwest Company of Montreal sold out their trading-posts and
fixtures, northwest of Michilimackinac, to Mr. John Jacob Astor, of
New York, who, from an account of one of his active factors, invested
about $300,000 per annum in merchandise adapted to the Indian habits.
Pike's account of his expedition did not issue from the press till 1810.
The narrative of the expedition of Lewis and Clark was still longer
delayed--owing to the melancholy death of Lewis--and was not given till
1814; a period of political commotion by no means favorable to literary
matters. It was, however, at once hailed as a valuable and standard
accession to geographical science. Public opinion had for years been
called to this daring enterprise.
Such was the state of geographical discovery in the United States in
1816. The war with Great Britain had had an exhausting effect upon the
resources and fiscal condition of the country. But, owing to the
information gained by the operation of armies in the ample area west of
the Alleghanies, it opened a new world for enterprise in that quarter.
The treaty of 1814 with Great Britain, which affirmed the original
boundaries of 1783, by terminating, at the same time, the war and the
fallacious hopes of sovereignty set up for the Indian tribes, truly
opened the Mississippi Valley to settlement.
All eyes were turned to the general climate of the West, and its
capacities of growth and expansion. The universal ardor which then arose
and was spread, of its fertility, extent, and resources, has, from that
era, filled the public mind, and fixed the liveliest hopes of the
extension of the Union.
The accession of Mr. Monroe to the presidency, 4th March, 1817, formed
the opening of this new epoch of industrial empire and progress in the
West. This period brought into the administration a man of great grasp
of intellect and energy of character in Mr. Calhoun. By placing the army
in a series of self-sustaining posts on the frontiers, in advance of the
settlements, he gave them efficient protection against the still
feverish tribes, who hovered--feeble and dejected from the results of
the war, but in broken, discordant, and hostile masses--around the long
and still dangerous line of the frontiers, from Florida to Detroit and
the Falls of St. Anthony. He encouraged every means of acquiring true
information of its geography and resources. In 1819, the military line
was extended to Council Bluffs, on the Missouri, and to the Falls of St.
Anthony, on the Mississippi. Major S. H. Long, of the Topographical
Engineers, was directed to ascend the Missouri, for the purpose of
exploring the region west to the Rocky Mountains. During the same year,
he approved a plan for exploring the sources of the Mississippi,
submitted by General Cass, who occupied the northwestern frontiers.
The author having then returned from the exploration of the Ozark
Highlands, and the mine country of Missouri and Arkansas,[5] received
from Mr. Calhoun the appointment of geologist and mineralogist on this
expedition; and having, at a subsequent period, been selected, as the
leader of the expedition of 1832, to resume and complete the discoveries
under the same authority, commenced in 1820, it is to the journals and
notes kept on these separate occasions, that he is indebted for the data
of the narratives and for the body of information now submitted.
[5] _Vide_ Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the
Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, with a View of the
Lead-Mines of Missouri. New York, 1819. Philadelphia: Lippincott,
Grambo, and Co. 1 vol. 8vo. pp. 256. 1853.
WASHINGTON, D. C., October 24, 1854.
CONTENTS.
EXPEDITION OF 1820.
INTRODUCTION 17
PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTS 25
NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION 37
CHAPTER I.
Departure--Considerations on visiting the northern summits early in
the season--Cross the Highlands of the Hudson--Incidents of the
journey from Albany to Buffalo--Visit Niagara Falls--Their
grandeur the effect of magnitude--Embark on board the steamer
Walk-in-the-Water--Passage up Lake Erie--Reach Detroit 39
CHAPTER II.
Preparations for the expedition--Constitution of the party--Mode of
travel in canoes--Embarkation, and incidents of the journey across
the Lake, and up the River St. Clair--Head winds encountered on
Lake Huron--Point aux Barques--Cross Saganaw Bay--Delays in
ascending the Huron coast--Its geology and natural history--Reach
Michilimackinac 47
CHAPTER III.
Description of Michilimackinac--Prominent scenery--Geology--Arched
Rock--Sugarloaf Rock--History--Statistics--Mineralogy--Skull
Cave--Manners--Its fish, agriculture, moral wants--Ingenious
manufactures of the Indians--Fur trade--Etymology of the
word--Antique bones disclosed in the interior of the island 59
CHAPTER IV.
Proceed down the north shore of Lake Huron to the entrance of the
Straits of St. Mary's--Character of the shores, and
incidents--Ascend the river to Sault Ste. Marie--Hostilities
encountered there--Intrepidity of General Cass 72
CHAPTER V.
Embark at the head of the portage at St. Mary's--Entrance into Lake
Superior--Journey and incidents along its coasts--Great Sand
Dunes--Pictured Rocks--Grand Island--Keweena peninsula and
portage--Incidents thence to Ontonagon River 83
CHAPTER VI.
Chippewa village at the mouth of the Ontonagon--Organize an expedition
to explore its mineralogy--Incidents of the trip--Rough nature of
the country--Reach the Copper Rock--Misadventure--Kill a
bear--Discoveries of copper--General remarks on the mineral
affluence of the basin of Lake Superior 94
CHAPTER VII.
Proceed along the southern coast of Lake Superior from the Ontonagon,
to Fond du Lac--Porcupine range of mountains--Streams that run
from it, at parallel distances, into the lake--La Pointe--Group of
the Federation Islands--River St. Louis--Physical geography of
Lake Superior 102
CHAPTER VIII.
Proceed up the St. Louis River, and around its falls and rapids to
Sandy Lake in the valley of the Upper Mississippi--Grand
Portage--Portage aux Coteaux--A main exploring party--Cross the
great morass of Akeek Scepi to Sandy Lake--Indian mode of
pictographic writing--Site of an Indian jonglery--Post of Sandy
Lake 110
CHAPTER IX.
Reunion of the expedition on the Savanna Portage--Elevation of this
summit--Descent to Sandy Lake--Council with the Chippewa
tribe--Who are they?--Traits of their history, language,
and customs--Enter the Mississippi, with the main exploring
party, and proceed in search of its source--Physical
characteristics of the stream at this place--Character of
the Canadian voyageur 118
CHAPTER X.
Proceed up the Mississippi River--Its velocity and character--Swan
River--Trout River, and Mushcoda or Prairie River--Rapids
ascended--Reach, and make a portage around Pakagama Falls--Enter
a vast lacustrine region--Its character and productions, vegetable
and animal--Tortuous channel--Vermilion and Deer Rivers--Leech
Lake branch--Lake Winnipek--Ascent of the river to Upper Red
Cedar, or Cass Lake--Physical character of the Mississippi
River 126
CHAPTER XI.
Physical traits of the Mississippi--The elevation of its
sources--Its velocity and mean descent--Etymology of the name
Mississippi--Descent of the river to Sandy Lake, and thence
to the Falls of St. Anthony--Recross the great Bitobi
Savanna--Pakagama formation--Description of the voyage
from Sandy Lake to Pine River--Brief notices of the natural
history 137
CHAPTER XII.
Description of the descent from Pine River--Pine tracts--Confluence
of the Crow-wing River--Enter a sylvan region--prairies and
groves, occupied by deer, elk, and buffalo--Sport of buffalo
hunting--Reach elevations of sienitic and metamorphic
rocks--Discover a pictographic inscription of the Sioux, by
which they denote a desire for peace--Pass the Osaukes, St.
Francis's, Corneille, and Rum Rivers--St. Anthony's
Falls--Etymology of the name--Geographical considerations 145
CHAPTER XIII.
Position of the military post established at the mouth of
the St. Peter's--Beauty, salubrity, and fertility of the
country--Pictographic letter--Indian treaty--The appearance
of the offer of frankincense in the burning of
tobacco--Opwagonite--native pigments--Salt; native copper--The
pouched or prairie rat--Minnesota squirrel--Etymology of
the Indian name of St. Peter's River--Antiquities--Sketch
of the Dacota--Descent of the Mississippi to Little Crow's
village--Feast of green corn 153
CHAPTER XIV.
Descent of the river from the site of Little Crow's Village to
Prairie du Chien--Incidents of the voyage, and notices of
the scenery and natural history 162
CHAPTER XV.
Mr. Schoolcraft makes a visit to the lead mines of
Dubuque--Incidents of the trip--Description of the
mines--The title of occupancy, and the mode of the mines
being worked by the Fox tribe of Indians--Who are the Foxes? 169
CHAPTER XVI.
The expedition proceeds from Prairie du Chien up the Wisconsin
Valley--Incidents of the ascent--Etymology of the name--The low
state of its waters favorable to the observation of its
fresh-water conchology--Cross the Wisconsin summit, and descend
the Fox River to Winnebago Lake 178
CHAPTER XVII.
Descent of the Fox River from Winnebago Lake to Green
Bay--Incidents--Etymology, conchology, mineralogy--Falls of the
Konomic and Kakala--Population and antiquity of the settlement
of Green Bay--Appearances of a tide, not sustained 186
CHAPTER XVIII.
The expedition traces the west shores of Lake Michigan southerly
to Chicago--Outline of the journey along this coast--Sites of
Manitoowoc, Sheboigan, Milwaukie, Racine, and Chicago, being the
present chief towns and cities of Wisconsin and Illinois on the
west shores of that Lake--Final reorganization of the party and
departure from Chicago 193
CHAPTER XIX.
South and Eastern borders of Lake Michigan--Their Flora and
Fauna--Incidents of the journey--Topography--Geology, Botany,
and Mineralogy--Indian Tribes--Burial-place of Marquette--Ruins
of the post of old Mackinac--Reach Michilimackinac after a
canoe journey north of four hundred miles 200
CHAPTER XX.
Topographical survey of the northern shores of Green Bay and of the
entire basin of Lake Michigan--Geological and Mineralogical
indicia of the coast line--Era of sailing vessels and of the
steamboat on the lakes--Route along the Huron coast, and return of
the expedition to Detroit 210
EXPEDITION OF 1832.
DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN ITASCA LAKE 221
CHAPTER XXI.
The search for the veritable source of the Mississippi is
resumed.--Ascent to Cass Lake, the prior point of
discovery--Pursue the river westerly, through the Andrúsian
Lakes and up the Metoswa Rapids, forty-five miles--Queen
Anne's Lake 223
CHAPTER XXII.
Ascent of the Mississippi above Queen Anne's Lake--Reach the
primary forks of the river--Ascend the left-hand, or minor
branch--Lake Irving--Lake Marquette--Lake La Salle--Lake
Plantagenet--Encamp at the Naiwa rapids at the base of the
Height of Land, or Itasca Summit 231
CHAPTER XXIII.
The Expedition having reached the source of the east fork in
Assawa Lake, crosses the highlands of the Hauteurs de Terre
to the source of the main or west fork in Itasca Lake 239
CHAPTER XXIV.
Descent of the west, or Itascan branch--Kakabikoñs Falls--Junction
of the Chemaun, Peniddiwin, or De Soto, and Allenoga
Rivers--Return to Cass Lake 246
CHAPTER XXV.
The expedition proceeds to strike the source of the great
Crow-Wing River, by the Indian trail and line of interior
portages, by way of Leech Lake, the seat of the warlike tribe
of the Pillagers, or Mukundwa 251
CHAPTER XXVI.
Geographical account of Leech Lake--History of its Indians, the
Mukundwas--The expedition proceeds to the source of the
Crow-Wing River, and descends that stream, in its whole length,
to the Mississippi 258
CHAPTER XXVII.
Complete the exploration of the Crow-Wing River of
Minnesota--Indian council--Reach St. Anthony's Falls--Council
with the Sioux--Ascent and exploration of the River St. Croix
and Misakoda, or Broulé, of Lake Superior--Return of the party
to St. Mary's Falls, Michigan 265
APPENDIX NO. 1.
Departmental Reports 279
General Cass's Official Report 280
" " Memoir suggesting further Explorations 285
" " Personal Testimonial 287
" " Communication on Indian Hieroglyphics, &c. 430
" " Queries respecting Indian History, &c. 438
Indian History and Languages 430
Topography and Astronomy 288
Mineralogy and Geology 292
Mr. Schoolcraft's Report on Copper Mines 292
" " on Geology and Mineralogy 303
" " on the Value of the Mineral Lands on Lake Superior 362
" Memoir on the Geology of Western New York 381
" on the Elementary Sounds of the Chippewa Language 442
Botany 408
Zoology 408
Meteorology 418
APPENDIX NO. 2.
Indian Language 453
Mr. Schoolcraft's Essay on the Indian Substantive 453
" " on the Noun-Adjective 489
" " on the Principles of the Pronoun 502
Natural History 515
Conchology 515
Botany 519
Mineralogy and Geology 526
Mr. Schoolcraft's Remarks on the Occurrence of Silver 531
" General List of Mineral Localities 534
" Geological Outline of Taquimenon Valley 537
" Suggestions respecting the Epoch of the St. Mary's Sandstone 539
INTRODUCTION.
Charlevoix informs us that the discovery of the Mississippi River is due
to father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, who manifested the most
unwearied enterprise in exploring the north-western regions of New
France; and after laying the foundation of Michilimackinac, proceeded,
in company with Sieur Joliet, up the Fox River of Green Bay, and,
crossing the portage into the Wisconsin, first entered the Mississippi
in 1673.
Robert de la Salle, to whom the merit of this discovery is generally
attributed, embarked at Rochelle, on his first voyage of discovery, July
14, 1678; reached Quebec in September following, and, proceeding up the
St. Lawrence, laid the foundation of Fort Niagara, in the country of the
Iroquois, late in the fall of that year. In the following year, he
passes up the Niagara River; estimates the height of the falls at six
hundred feet; and proceeding through Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron,
reaches Michilimackinac in August. He then visits the Sault de St.
Marie, and returning to Michilimackinac, continues his voyage to the
south, with a view of striking the Mississippi River; passes into the
lake of the Illinois; touches at Green Bay; and enters the River St.
Joseph's, of Lake Michigan, where he builds a fort, in the country of
the Miamies.
In December of the same year, he crosses the portage between the St.
Joseph's and the Illinois; descends the latter to the lake, and builds a
fort in the midst of the tribes of the Illinois, which he calls
Crevecoeur. Here he makes a stand; sends persons out to explore the
Mississippi, traffics with the Indians, among all of whom he finds
abundance of Indian corn; and returns to Fort Frontenac, on Lake
Ontario, in 1680. He revisits Fort Crevecoeur late in the autumn of the
following year, and finally descends the Illinois, to its junction with
the Mississippi, and thence to the embouchure of the latter in the Gulf
of Mexico, where he arrives on the 7th of April, 1683, and calculates
the latitude between 23° and 24° north.
The Spaniards had previously sought in vain for the mouth of this
stream, and bestowed upon it, in anticipation, the name of Del Rio
Ascondido. La Salle now returns to Quebec, by way of the Lakes, and from
thence to France, where he is well received by the king, who grants him
an outfit of four ships, and two hundred men, to enable him to continue
his discoveries, and found a colony in the newly discovered territories.
He leaves Rochelle in July, 1684, reaches the Bay of St. Louis, which is
fifty leagues south of the Mississippi, in the Gulf of Mexico, in
February following, where he builds a fort, founds a settlement, and is
finally assassinated by one of his own party. The exertions of this
enterprising individual, and the account which was published of his
discoveries by the Chevalier Tonti, who had accompanied him in all his
perilous expeditions, had a greater effect, in the French capital, in
producing a correct estimate of the extent, productions, and importance
of the Canadas, than all that had been done by preceding tourists; and
this may be considered as the true era, when the eyes of politicians and
divines, merchants and speculators, were first strongly turned towards
the boundless forests, the sublime rivers and lakes, the populous Indian
tribes, and the profitable commerce of New France.
Father Louis Hennepin was a missionary of the Franciscan order of
Catholics, who accompanied La Salle on his first voyage from France; and
after the building of Fort Crevecoeur, on the Illinois, was dispatched
in company with three French voyageurs to explore the Mississippi River.
They departed from Fort Crevecoeur on the 29th of February, 1680, and
dropping down the Illinois to its junction with the Mississippi,
followed the latter an indeterminate distance towards the Gulf, not
believed to be great, where they left some memorial of their visit, and
immediately commenced their return. When they had proceeded up the
Mississippi a hundred and fifty leagues above the confluence of the
Illinois, they were taken prisoners by some Indian tribes, and carried
towards its sources nineteen days' journey into the territories of the
Naudowessies and Issati, where they were detained in captivity three or
four months, and then suffered to return. The account which Hennepin
published of his travels and discoveries, served to throw some new light
upon the topography, and the Indian tribes of the Canadas; and modern
geography is indebted to him for the names which he bestowed upon the
Falls of St. Anthony and the River St. Francis.
In 1703, the Baron La Hontan, an unfrocked monk, published, in London,
his voyages to North America, the result of a residence of six years in
the Canadas. La Hontan served as an officer in the French army, and
first went out to Quebec in 1683. During the succeeding four years he
was chiefly stationed at Chambly, Fort Frontenac, Niagara, St. Joseph,
at the foot of Lake Huron, and the Sault de St. Marie.
He arrives at Michilimackinac in 1688, and there first hears of the
assassination of La Salle. In 1689 he visits Green Bay, and passes
through the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers into the Mississippi. So far, his
work appears to be the result of actual observation, and is entitled to
respect; but what he relates of Long River appears wholly incredible,
and can only be regarded as some flight of the imagination, intended to
gratify the public taste for travels, during an age when it had been
highly excited by the extravagant accounts which had been published
respecting the wealth, population, and advantages of Peru, Mexico, the
English and Dutch colonies, New France, the Illinois, and various other
parts of the New World.
To convey some idea of this part of the Baron's work, it will be
sufficient to observe that after travelling ten days above the mouth of
the Wisconsin, he arrives at the mouth of a large stream, which he calls
Long River, and which he ascends eighty-four days successively, during
which he meets with numerous tribes of savages, as the Eskoros,
Essenapes, Pinnokas, Mozemleeks, &c. He is attended a part of the way by
five or six hundred, as an escort; sees at one time two thousand savages
upon the shore; and states the population of the Essenapes at 20,000
souls; but this tribe is still inferior to the Mozemleeks in numbers, in
arts, and in every other prerequisite for a great people. "The Mozemleek
nation," he observes, "is numerous and puissant. The four slaves of
that country informed me that, at the distance of 150 leagues from the
place where I then was, their principal river empties itself into a salt
lake of three hundred leagues in circumference, the mouth of which is
about two leagues broad; that the lower part of that river is adorned
with six noble cities, surrounded with stone, cemented with fat earth;
that the houses of these cities have no roofs, but are open above like a
platform; that, besides the above-mentioned cities, there are an hundred
towns, great and small, round that sort of sea; that the people of that
country make stuffs, copper axes, and several other manufactures, &c."
In 1721, P. De Charlevoix, the historian of New France, was commissioned
by the French Government to make a tour of observation through the
Canadas, and in addition to his topographical and historical account of
New France, published a journal of his voyage through the Lakes. He was
one of the most learned divines of his age, and although strongly
tinctured with the doctrines of fatality, and disposed to view
everything relative to the Indian tribes with the over-zealous eye of a
Catholic missionary, yet his works bear the impress of a strong and
well-cultivated mind, and abound in philosophical reflections, enlarged
views, and accurate deductions; and, notwithstanding the lapse of a
century, he must still be regarded as the most polished and illustrious
traveller of the region. He first landed at Quebec in the spring of
1721, and immediately proceeded up the St. Lawrence to Fort Frontenac
and Niagara, where he corrects the error into which those who preceded
him had fallen, with respect to the height of the cataract. He proceeds
through Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan, descends the Illinois and
Mississippi to New Orleans, then recently settled, and embarks for
France. The period of his visit was that, when the Mississippi Scheme
was in the height of experiment, and excited the liveliest interest in
the French metropolis; people were then engaged, in Louisiana, in
exploring every part of the country, under the delusive hope of finding
rich mines of gold and silver; and the remarks he makes upon the
probability of a failure, were shortly justified by the event.
In 1760, Alexander Henry, Esq. visited the upper lakes, in the character
of a trader, and devoted sixteen years to travelling over different
parts of the north-western region of the Canadas and the United States.
The result of his observations upon the topography, Indian tribes, and
natural history of the country, was first published in 1809, and, as a
volume of travels and adventures, is a valuable acquisition to our means
of information. This work abounds in just and sensible reflections upon
scenes, situations, and objects of the most interesting kind, and is
written in a style of the most charming perspicuity and simplicity. He
was the first English traveller of the region.
The date of Carver's travels over those regions is 1766. Carver, whose
travels have been treated with too indiscriminate censure, was descended
from an ancient and respectable English family in Connecticut, and had
served as a captain in the provincial army, which was disbanded after
the treaty of peace of Versailles, of 1763, and united to great personal
courage a persevering and observing mind. By his bravery and admirable
conduct among the powerful tribes of Sioux and Chippewas, he obtained a
high standing among them; and, after being constituted a chief by the
former, received from them a large grant of land, which was not,
however, ratified by the British government. The fate of this
enterprising traveller cannot but excite regret. After having escaped
the massacre of Fort William Henry, on the banks of Lake George, in
1757, and the perils of a long journey through the American wilderness,
he was spared to endure miseries in the heart of the British metropolis,
which he had never encountered in the huts of the American savages, and
perished of want in the city of London, the seat of literature and
opulence!
Between the years 1769 and 1772, Samuel Hearne performed a journey from
Prince of Wales's Fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the Coppermine River of the
Arctic Ocean. McKenkie's voyages to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans were
performed in 1789 and 1793. Pike ascended the Mississippi in 1805 and
1806.
Such is a brief outline of the progress of discovery in the
north-western regions of the United States, by which our sources of
information have been from time to time augmented, and additional light
cast upon the interesting history of our Indian tribes--their numbers
and condition, and other particulars connected with the regions they
inhabit. Still, it cannot be denied that, amidst much sound and useful
information, there has been mingled no inconsiderable proportion that is
deceptive, hypothetical, or false; and, upon the whole, that the
progress of information has not kept pace with the increased importance
which that section of the Union has latterly assumed--with the great
improvements of society--and with the spirit and the enterprise of the
times. A new era has dawned in the moral history of our country, and, no
longer satisfied with mere geographical outlines and boundaries, its
physical productions, its antiquities, and the numerous other traits
which it presents for scientific research, already attract the attention
of a great proportion of the reading community; and it is eagerly
inquired of various sections of it--whose trade, whose agriculture, and
whose population have been long known--what are its indigenous plants,
its zoology, its geology, its mineralogy, &c. Of no part of it, however,
has the paucity of information upon these, and upon other and more
familiar subjects, been so great, as of the extreme north-western
regions of the Union, of the great chain of lakes, and of the sources of
the Mississippi River, which have continued to be the subject of dispute
between geographical writers.
Impressed with the importance of these facts, Governor Cass, of
Michigan, projected, in the fall of 1819, an expedition for exploring
the regions in question, and presented a memorial to the Secretary of
War upon the subject, in which he proposed leaving Detroit the ensuing
spring, in Indian canoes, as being best adapted to the navigation of the
shallow waters of the upper country, and to the numerous portages which
it is necessary to make from stream to stream.
The specific objects of this journey were to obtain a more correct
knowledge of the names, numbers, customs, history, condition, mode of
subsistence, and dispositions of the Indian tribes; to survey the
topography of the country, and collect the materials for an accurate
map; to locate the site and purchase the ground for a garrison at the
foot of Lake Superior; to investigate the subject of the north-western
copper mines, lead mines, and gypsum quarries, and to purchase from the
Indian tribes such tracts as might be necessary to secure to the United
States the ultimate advantages to be derived from them. To accomplish
these objects, it was proposed to attach to the expedition a
topographical engineer, an astronomer, a physician, and a mineralogist
and geologist, and some other scientific observers.
Mr. Calhoun not only approved of the proposed plan, but determined to
enable the governor to carry it into complete effect, by ordering an
escort of soldiers, and enjoining it upon the commandants of the
frontier garrisons, to furnish every aid that the exigencies of the
party might require, either in men, boats, or supplies.
It is only necessary to add, that I was honored with the appointment of
mineralogist and geologist to the expedition, in which capacity I kept
the following journal. In presenting it to the public, it will not be
deemed improper if I acknowledge the obligations which I have incurred
in transcribing it, by availing myself of a free access to the valuable
library of His Excellency De Witt Clinton, and of the taste and skill of
Mr. Henry Inman, in drawing a number of the views which embellish the
work.
HENRY B. SCHOOLCRAFT.
ALBANY, May 14, 1821.
PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTS.
I. ORIGINAL MEMOIR SUGGESTIVE OF THE EXPEDITION.
II. MR. CALHOUN'S LETTER OF SANCTION OF IT.
III. EMPLOYMENT OF A MINERALOGIST AND GEOLOGIST.
IV. POLICY OF GRANTING PERMITS TO TAKE AWAY MINERALS FROM THE INDIAN
COUNTRY.
V. A TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEER AND ASTRONOMER ORDERED FROM THE MILITARY
ACADEMY AT WEST POINT.
VI. VII. MILITARY ORDERS OF GENERALS BROWN AND MACOMB.
PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTS.
I.
DETROIT, November 18, 1819.
SIR: The country upon the southern shore of Lake Superior, and upon the
water communication between that Lake and the Mississippi, has been but
little explored, and its natural features are imperfectly known. We have
no correct topographical delineation of it, and the little information
we possess relating to it has been derived from the reports of the
Indian traders.
It has occurred to me that a tour through that country, with a view to
examine the productions of its animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms,
to explore its facilities for water communication, to delineate its
natural objects, and to ascertain its present and future probable value,
would not be uninteresting in itself, nor useless to the Government.
Such an expedition would not be wholly unimportant in the public
opinion, and would well accord with that zeal for inquiries of this
nature which has recently marked the administration of the War
Department.
But, however interesting such a tour might be in itself, or however
important in its result, either in a political or geographical point of
view, I should not have ventured to suggest the subject, nor to solicit
your permission to carry it into effect, were it not, in other respects,
intimately connected with the discharge of my official duties.
Mr. Woodbridge, the delegate from this Territory, at my request, takes
charge of this letter, and he is so intimately acquainted with the
subject, and every way so competent to enter into any explanations you
may require, that I shall not be compelled to go as much into detail as,
under other circumstances, might be necessary.
The route which I propose to take, is from here to Michilimackinac, and
from thence, by the Straits of St. Mary's, to the river which contains
the body of copper ore (specimens of which have been transmitted to the
Government), and to the extremity of Lake Superior.
From that point, up the river which forms the water communication
between that lake and the Mississippi, to the latter river, and, by the
way of Prairie du Chien and Green Bay, to Lake Michigan.
The political objects which require attention upon this route are:--
1. A personal examination of the different Indian tribes who occupy the
country; of their moral and social condition; of their feelings towards
the United States; of their numerical strength; and of the various
objects connected with them, of which humanity and sound policy require
that the Government should possess an intimate knowledge. We are very
little acquainted with these Indians, and I indulge the expectation that
such a visit would be productive of beneficial effects.
The extract from the letter of Colonel Leavenworth, herewith inclosed,
and the speech of the Winnebago Indians, transmitted to the War
Department by Mr. Graham, from Rock Island, February 24, 1819, will show
how much we have yet to learn respecting these tribes, which are
comparatively near to us.
2. Another important object is, to procure the extinction of Indian
titles to the land in the vicinity of the Straits of St. Mary's, Prairie
du Chien, Green Bay, and upon the communication between the two latter
places.
I will not trouble you with any observations respecting the necessity of
procuring these cessions. They are the prominent points of the
country--the avenues of communication by which alone it can be
approached.
Two of them--Prairie du Chien and Green Bay--are occupied by a
considerable population, and the Straits of St. Mary's by a few
families. The undefined nature of their rights and duties, and the
uncertain tenure by which they hold their lands, render it important
that some step should be taken by the Government to relieve them. I
think, too, that a cession of territory, with a view to immediate sale
and settlement, would be highly important in the event of any
difficulties with the Indians.
My experience at Indian treaties convinces me that reasonable cessions,
upon proper terms, may at any time be procured. At the treaty recently
concluded at Saginaw, the Indians were willing to cede the country in
the vicinity of Michilimackinac, but I did not feel authorized to treat
with them for it.
Upon this subject, I transmit extracts from the letters of Mr. Boyd and
Colonel Bowyer, by which it will be seen that these gentlemen anticipate
no difficulty in procuring these cessions.
3. Another important object is the examination of the body of copper in
the vicinity of Lake Superior. As early as the year 1800, Mr. Tracy,
then a senator from Connecticut, was dispatched to make a similar
examination. He, however, proceeded no farther than Michilimackinac.
Since then, several attempts have been made, which have proved abortive.
The specimens of virgin copper which have been sent to the seat of
Government have been procured by the Indians, or by the half-breeds,
from a large mass, represented to weigh many tons, which has fallen from
the brow of a hill.
I anticipate no difficulty in reaching the spot, and it may be highly
important to the Government to divide this mass, and to transport it to
the seaboard for naval purposes.
It is also important to examine the neighboring country, which is said
to be rich in its mineral productions.
I should propose that the land in the vicinity of this river be
purchased of the Indians. It could doubtless be done upon reasonable
terms, and the United States could then cause a complete examination of
it to be made.
Such a cession is not unimportant in another point of view. Some persons
have already begun to indulge in speculations upon this subject. The
place is remote, and the means of communicating with it are few. By
timely presents to the Indians, illegal possessions might be gained, and
much injury might be done, much time might elapse, and much difficulty
be experienced, before such trespassers could be removed.
4. To ascertain the views of the Indians in the vicinity of Chicago,
respecting the removal of the Six Nations to that district of country,
an extract from the letter of Mr. Kenzie, sub-agent at Chicago, upon
this subject, will show the situation in which this business stands.
5. To explain to the Indians the views of the Government respecting
their intercourse with the British authorities at Malden, and distinctly
to announce to them that their visits must be discontinued.
It is probable that the annunciation of the new system which you have
directed to be pursued upon this subject, and the explanations connected
with it, can be made with more effect by me than by ordinary messengers.
6. To ascertain the state of the British fur trade within that part of
our jurisdiction. Our information upon this subject is very limited,
while its importance requires that it should be fully known.
In addition to these objects, I think it very important to carry the
flag of the United States into those remote regions, where it has never
been borne by any person in a public station.
The means by which I propose to accomplish this tour are simple and
economical. All that will be required is an ordinary birch canoe, and
permission to employ a competent number of Canadian boatmen. The whole
expense will be confined within narrow limits, and no appropriation will
be necessary to defray it. I only request permission to assign to this
object a small part of the sum apportioned for Indian expenditures at
this place, say from 1,000 to 1,500 dollars.
If, however, the Government should think that a small display of force
might be proper, an additional canoe, to be manned with active soldiers,
and commanded by an intelligent officer, would not increase the expense,
and would give greater effect to any representations which might be made
to the Indians.
An intelligent officer of engineers, to make a correct chart for the
information of the Government, would add to the value of the expedition.
I am not competent to speculate upon the natural history of the country
through which we may pass. Should this object be deemed important, I
request that some person acquainted with zoology, botany, and mineralogy
may be sent to join me.
It is almost useless to add that I do not expect any compensation for my
own services, except the ordinary allowance for negotiating Indian
treaties, should you think proper to direct any to be held, and intrust
the charge of them to me.
I request that you will communicate to me, as early as convenient, your
determination upon this subject, as it will be necessary to prepare a
canoe during the winter, to be ready to enter upon the tour as soon as
the navigation of the Lakes is open, should you think proper to approve
the plan.
Very respectfully, &c.
LEWIS CASS.
Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
II.
DEPARTMENT OF WAR, January 14, 1820.
SIR: I have received your letters of the 18th and 21st November last.
The exploring tour you propose has the sanction of the Government,
provided the expenditure can be made out of the sum allotted your
superintendency for Indian affairs, adding thereto one thousand dollars
for that special purpose.
The objects of this expedition are comprised under the five heads stated
in your letter of the 18th of November, and which you will
consider--with the exception of that part which relates to holding
Indian treaties, upon which you will be fully instructed hereafter--as
forming part of the instructions which may be given you by this
Department.
Should your reconnoissance extend to the western extremity of Lake
Superior, you will ascertain the practicability of a communication
between the Bad, or Burntwood River, which empties into the Lake, and
the Copper, or St. Croix, which empties into the Mississippi, and the
facility they present for a communication with our posts on the St.
Peter's.
The Montreal rivers will also claim your attention, with a view of
establishing, through them, a communication between Green Bay and the
west end of Lake Superior.
To aid you in the accomplishment of these important objects, some
officers of Topographical Engineers will be ordered to join you. Perhaps
Major Long, now here, will be directed to take that route to join the
expedition which he commands up the Missouri. In that event, a person
acquainted with zoology and botany will be selected to accompany him.
Feeling, as I do, great interest in obtaining a correct topographical,
geographical, and military survey of our country, every encouragement,
consistent with the means in my power, will be given by the Department.
To this end, General Macomb will be ordered to afford you every facility
you may require.
I have, &c.,
J. C. CALHOUN.
His Excellency, LEWIS CASS, Detroit, M. T.
III.
DEPARTMENT OF WAR, February 25, 1820.
SIR: Mr. Schoolcraft, a gentleman of science and observation, and
particularly skilled in mineralogy, has applied to me to be permitted to
accompany you on your exploring tour upon Lake Superior. I have directed
him to report to you, for that duty, under the belief that he will be
highly useful to you, as well as serviceable to the Government and the
promotion of science.
You will furnish him with the necessary supplies and accommodation while
employed, and every facility necessary to enable him to obtain a
knowledge of the mineralogy of the country as far as practicable.
I have, &c.,
J. C. CALHOUN.
His Excellency, LEWIS CASS, Detroit.
IV.
DETROIT, March 10, 1820.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
17th ult., inclosing a copy of a letter from Giles Sanford & Co.
Their statement with respect to the discovery of plaster of Paris upon
one or more of the islands in the vicinity of Michilimackinac, to which
the Indian title has not been extinguished, is correct. Specimens of
this plaster have been brought here, and it is reported, by competent
judges, to be of the best and purest kind. The quantity is stated to be
inexhaustible, and, as vessels generally return empty, or nearly so,
from the upper lakes, it could be transported to any part of Lake Erie
at a trifling expense.
I have great doubts, however, whether it would be proper for the
Government to grant any permission to remove this plaster until the
Indian title to the land is extinguished. The power of granting
permission for that purpose is not given in the "act to regulate trade
and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the
frontiers," and appears, in fact, to be inconsistent with its general
spirit and objects. To authorize these gentlemen to negotiate with the
Indians for such a permission, is contrary to the settled policy which
has always been pursued by the United States. I know of no case in which
individuals have been or should be permitted to hold any councils with
the Indians, except to procure the extinction of their title to lands,
claimed under grants from one of the States. The application here must
be to the tribe, because in all their land there is a community of
interest, which cannot be severed or conveyed by the acts of
individuals.
But, independent of precedent, there are strong objections to this
course in principle. If private persons are authorized to open such
negotiations for any object, the Government will find it very difficult
to procure from the Indians any cession of land upon reasonable terms.
Were these islands the property of the United States, I think it would
be very proper to permit the plaster upon them to be removed by every
person making application for that purpose. The supply being
inexhaustible, the agricultural interest would be greatly promoted by
such a measure, and the dependence upon a foreign country for this
important article would be removed.
I therefore take the liberty of recommending that a cession of these
islands be procured by the United States from the Indians. I presume
that this may be done without the payment of any annuity to them, and
without any expense, except, perhaps, a few trifling presents. The
plaster would then be at the disposal of Government, and its free
distribution, under such regulations as might be adopted to prevent
disputes between the adventurers, or a monopoly by any of them, would be
equally proper and beneficial.
Very respectfully, sir,
I have the honor to be
Your most obedient servant,
LEWIS CASS.
Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
V.
Extract of a letter from the Secretary of War to Governor Lewis Cass,
dated
April 5, 1820.
Sir: I have received your letters of the 10th, 11th, and 17th ultimo. In
relation to procuring cessions of land from the Indians, the Government
has decided that it would be inexpedient to obtain any farther
extinguishment of Indian title, except at the Sault de St. Marie, where
it is the wish of the Department, that an inconsiderable cession, not
exceeding ten miles square (unless strong reasons for a greater cession
should present themselves from an actual inspection of the country),
should be acquired upon the most reasonable terms, so as to comprehend
the proposed military position there.
Herewith you will receive a plate of the country about the Sault de St.
Marie, on which is indicated the military site intended to be occupied
for defence. You will also procure the cession of the islands containing
plaster, provided these islands are clearly within the boundary of the
United States, and can be obtained without any considerable expense.
A commission, authorizing you to hold these treaties, will be forwarded
to you in a few days.
As it is desirable to know by what title the people at Green Bay and
Prairie du Chien hold their lands, and whether or not the Indian titles
to those lands were extinguished by the French, at any period subsequent
to their possession of the country (which is the impression of this
Department), you will communicate such information as you possess, or
may obtain, during your tour, on this subject.
In addition to Mr. Schoolcraft, Captain Douglass, of the engineer corps,
has been ordered to join you, and Mr. Whitney (in whose behalf
application has been made for that purpose) may accompany you, if you
can accommodate him. Should he accompany you, he will be allowed the
same compensation made to Mr. Schoolcraft, who will be allowed one
dollar and fifty cents a day for the time actually employed.
VI.
NORTHERN DIVISION.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, 10th February, 1819.
(DIVISION ORDER.)
Major-General Macomb, commandant of the 5th military department, will,
without delay, concentrate at Detroit the 5th regiment of Infantry,
excepting the recruits otherwise directed by the general order herewith
transmitted. As soon as the navigation of the Lakes will admit, he will
cause the regiment to be transported to Fort Howard; from thence, by the
way of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, to Prairie du Chien, and, after
detaching a sufficient number of companies to garrison Forts Crawford
and Armstrong, the remainder will proceed to the mouth of the River St.
Peter's, where they will establish a post, at which the head-quarters of
the regiment will be located. The regiment, previous to its departure,
will receive the necessary supplies of clothing, provisions, arms, and
ammunition. Immediate application will be made to Brigadier-General
Jesup, Quartermaster-General, for funds necessary to execute the
movements required by this order.
By order of Major-General Brown.
(Signed) JOHN E. WOOL,
_Inspector-General_.
VII.
ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
DETROIT, April 13, 1819.
(DEPARTMENT ORDER.)
The season having now arrived when the lakes may be navigated with
safety, a detachment of the 5th regiment, to consist of Major Marston's
and Captain Fowle's companies, under the command of Major Muhlenburg,
will proceed to Green Bay. Surgeon's mate R. M. Byrne, of the 5th
regiment, will accompany the detachment. The assistant deputy
quartermaster-general will furnish the necessary transport, and will
send by the same opportunity two hundred barrels of provisions, which he
will draw from the contractor at this post. The provisions must be
examined and inspected, and properly put up for transportation. Colonel
Leavenworth will, without delay, prepare his regiment to move to the
posts on the Mississippi, agreeably to the Division order of the 10th of
February. The assistant deputy quartermaster-general will furnish the
necessary transportation, to be ready by the first of May next. The
Colonel will make requisition for such stores, ammunition, tools, and
implements as may be required, and he be able to take with him on the
expedition. Particular instructions will be given to the Colonel,
explaining the objects of his expedition.
Mr. Melvin Dorr is appointed Inspector of Provisions, and he will
inspect all provisions intended for the use of the army, before they are
received and issued. Lieutenant Brooks, of the 3d regiment will forward,
by the first detachment, such recruits as he has for the companies of
the 3d regiment at Mackinac.
By order of MAJOR-GENERAL MACOMB.
(Signed) CHESTER ROOT, _A. D. company, and Actg. Assist. Adjt.-General_.
NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION.
NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION.
CHAPTER I.
Departure--Considerations on visiting the northern summits early in
the season--Cross the Highlands of the Hudson--Incidents of the
journey from Albany to Buffalo--Visit Niagara Falls--Their
grandeur the effect of magnitude--Embark on board the steamer
Walk-in-the-Water--Passage up Lake Erie--Reach Detroit.
The determination to penetrate to the source of the Mississippi, during
the summer months, made an early departure important. I had, while at
Potosi, in Missouri, during the prior month of February, written to Hon.
J. B. Thomas, U. S. S., Washington, to endeavor to secure an appointment
to explore the mineralogy and natural features of the upper Mississippi
River; and as soon as I had published my treatise on the mines and
minerals of Missouri, I proceeded to Washington, and submitted to the
proper officers of the Government, my account of the mineralogical
wealth of the western domains, with a plan for the management of the
public mines. Mr. Calhoun decidedly favored these views; but, foreseeing
the necessity of congressional action on the subject, and the necessary
delays of departmental references, said to me, that he had just received
a memoir from Governor Cass, of Michigan, proposing an expedition to the
source of the Mississippi, to leave Detroit early in the spring, and
offered me the position of mineralogist and geologist on that service.
This agreeing, as it did, with my prior views of exploring the public
domains, I gladly accepted, and immediately returned to the city of New
York to prepare for the journey.
The year 1820 had commenced with severe weather, the Hudson being frozen
hard, as high as West Point, on the 1st of January; and there was a
fall of snow between the 10th and 11th of February, which laid four feet
deep in the streets of New York. March opened with mildness, and every
appearance denoted an early spring, which led me to hasten my movement
north. I left New York on the 5th of March, in the citizens' post-coach,
on sleighs, for Albany, taking the route through Westchester, and over
the Highlands of Putnam and Dutchess; sleeping at Fishkill and
Kinderhook, the first and second nights, and reaching Albany on the
morning of the 7th, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles. This
distance we made in forty hours actual travelling, averaging four miles
per hour, incidental stops included, which is about the rate of
travelling by the trekschuits of Holland,[6] and by sledges over the
frozen grounds of Russia.[7] In crossing the Highlands, some one, in the
change of the stage-sleighs, pilfered a small box of choice minerals
which I set store by; the thief thinking, probably, from the weight and
looks of the box, which had been a banker's, that it was still filled
with coin. We crossed the Hudson from Greenbush, in a boat drawn through
a channel cut in the ice. Snow still laid in the streets of Albany, and
a cold north wind presaged a change of temperature. Next day there was a
hail-storm from the northwest, with rain and sleet, and on the morning
of the 9th, the hail lay six inches deep in the streets. In the evening,
proceeded by stage to the city of Schenectady, a distance of sixteen
miles, across the arenaceous tract of the Pine Plains, by a turnpike,
which forms the shorter line of a triangle, made by the junction of the
Mohawk with the Hudson River. This tract is bounded southerly by the
blue summits of the Helderberg, a prominent spur of the Catskill
Mountain. At Schenectady, we experienced a night of severe cold, and the
next day, at an early hour, I took a seat in the stage-sleigh for Utica,
which we reached at seven in the evening. The distance is ninety-six
miles, which we passed in seventeen hours, going an average rate of five
miles per hour. The road lies up the valley of the Mohawk, a name which
recalls the history of one of the most celebrated members of the
Iroquois, a confederacy of bold and indomitable tribes, who, at an early
day, either pushed their conquests or carried the terror of their arms
from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi.
[6] Professor F. Hall.
[7] Clarke's Travels.
The winter was still unbroken, and the weather had assumed so
unpropitious an aspect, since leaving New York, that there was no
probability of the navigation of the lakes being open so as to embark at
Buffalo before May. I proceeded seventeen miles west to my father's
residence, in the village of Vernon, to await the development of milder
weather. On the 10th of April, I resumed my journey, taking the western
stage, which had left Utica at two o'clock in the morning. We lodged the
first night at Skeneateles, at the foot of the beautiful and sylvan lake
of the same name, and reached Geneva the next day, at one o'clock in the
afternoon. The roads were now dry and dusty; indeed, the last traces of
snow had been seen in sheltered positions, in passing through Oneida
County, and every appearance in the Ontario country indicated a season
ten days more advanced than the valley of the Mohawk. The field poplar
put forth leaves on the 18th, and apricots were in bloom on the 22d.
At Geneva I remained until the 28th of April, when I again took my seat
in the mail-stage, passing, in the course of the day, the lower margin
of Canandaigua Lake, and through the attractive and tastefully laid-out
village of the same name, and, after continuing the route through a most
fertile country, with a constantly expanding vegetation, reached Avon,
on the banks of the Genesee River. Here we slept. The next morning (the
29th), we crossed this noble stream, and, after a long and fatiguing
day's staging, reached Buffalo in the evening. I was now at an estimated
distance of two hundred and ten miles west of Utica, and three hundred
and twenty-two from Albany. We had found the peach and apple-tree in
blossom, and the vegetation generally in an advanced state, until
reaching within eight or ten miles of Lake Erie, where the force of the
winds, and the bodies of floating ice, evidently had the effect to
retard vegetation. No vessel had yet ventured from the harbor, and
although the steamer Walk-in-the-Water was advertised for the 1st of
May, it was determined to delay her sailing until the 6th. This gave me
time to visit Niagara[8] Falls, and some other places of historical
interest in the neighborhood. This object I executed immediately, taking
a horse and buggy, and keeping down the American shore. The distance is
twenty-two miles, in which the Tonewanda River is crossed by a bridge.
The day was clear and warm, with a light breeze blowing down the river.
I stopped several times to listen for the sound of the Falls, but at the
distance of fifteen, ten, eight, and even five miles, could not
distinguish any; the course of the wind being, indeed, adverse to the
transmission of sound, in that direction, until reaching within some two
or three miles. There is nothing in the character of the country, in the
approach from Buffalo, to apprise the visitor of the difference in its
level and geological stratification, and thus prepare the mind to expect
a cataract. It is different, I afterwards learned, in the approach from
Lewiston, in which quite a mountain must first be ascended, when views
are often had of the most striking parts of the gulf, which has been
excavated by the passage of the Niagara River. It was not easy for me to
erect standards of comparison for the eye to estimate heights. The ear
is at first stunned by the incessant roar, and the eye bewildered by the
general view. I spent two days at the place, and thus became
familiarized with individual traits of the landscape. I found the abyss
at the foot of the Falls to be the best spot for accomplishing that
object. By far the greatest disproportion in the Falls exists between
the height and great width of the falling sheet. The water is most thick
and massy at the Horseshoe Fall, which gives one the most striking and
vivid idea of creative power. In fitting positions in the gulf, with
good incidences of light, the Falls look like a mighty torrent pouring
down from the clouds. At the time of my visit, the wind drove immense
fields of ice out of Lake Erie, with floating trees and other driftwood,
but I never saw any vestiges of these below the Falls. In front of the
column of water falling on the American side, there stood an enormous
pyramid of snow, or congealed spray.
[8] This is an Iroquois word, said to signify the thunder of waters.
The word, as pronounced by the Senecas, is Oniágarah. For additional
information on this subject, see _Notes on the Iroquois_, p. 453. The
etymology of the word has not, however, been fully examined. It is
clear the pronunciation of the word in Goldsmith's day was Niagára.
What has been said by Goldsmith, and repeated by others, respecting the
destructive influence of the Rapids above to ducks and water-fowl is
imaginary--at least, as to the American sheet. So far from it, I saw the
wild ducks swim down the Rapid, as if in pursuit of some article of
food, and then rise and fly out at the brink, and repeat the descent,
as if delighted with the gift of wings, which enabled them to sport over
such frightful precipices without danger. I found among the debris in
the abyss, pieces of hornstone, and crystals of calcareous spar,
radiated quartz, sulphuret of zinc, and sulphate of lime. Its geology is
best explained by observing that the river, in falling over the
precipice of the Niagara ridge into the basin of Lake Ontario, leaps
over horizontal strata of limestone, slate, and red sandstone. In this
respect, nothing can be more simple and plain. It is magnitude alone
that makes the cataract sublime.
On returning to Buffalo, I found the lake rapidly discharging its ice,
which had been recently broken up by a storm of wind; and, while
awaiting the motion of the steamer, I was joined by Captain D. B.
Douglass, Professor of Engineering at West Point, who had been appointed
topographer and astronomer of the expedition. We embarked on the 6th of
May, at nine o'clock in the morning, in the steamer Walk-in-the-Water,
an elegant and conveniently-planned vessel, with a low-pressure Fulton
engine. This boat had been put upon the lake two years before, when it
made a trip to Michilimackinac, and was, indeed, the initial boat in the
history of steam navigation on the Lakes. We embarked at Black Rock, and
it was necessary to use a tow-line, drawn by oxen on the shore, to
enable the boat to ascend the Rapids. This Captain Rodgers, a
gentlemanly man, facetiously termed his hornbreeze. The oxen were
dismissed a short distance before reaching the mouth of Buffalo Creek,
where we reached the level of Lake Erie, five hundred and sixty feet
above the tide-waters of the Hudson River.[9] We were favored with clear
weather, and, a part of the time, with a fair wind. The boat touched at
Erie, at the mouth of Grand River, at Cleveland, and at Portland, in
Sandusky Bay, on coming out of which we passed Cunningham Island, and
the Put-in-Bay Islands, from a harbor in which Perry issued to achieve
his memorable naval victory on the 10th of September, 1813. Passing
through another group of islands, called the Three Sisters, we entered
the mouth of the Detroit River late on the afternoon of the 8th, just as
the light became dim and shadowy. The scale of these waters is
magnificent.
[9] Report of the New York Canal Commissioners.
We had a glimpse of the town and fort of Malden, or Amherstburg, and of
Boisblanc, and Gross Isle, which were the last objects distinctly seen
in our ascent. The boat pushed on her way, under the guidance of good
pilots, although the night was dark, and we reached our destination, and
came to, at the city of Detroit, at twelve o'clock P. M., thus
completing the passage in sixty-two hours.
The next morning, an official from the Executive of the Michigan
Territory came on board with inquiries respecting Captain Douglass and
myself, and we soon found ourselves in a circle where we were received
with marked respect and attention. It was pleasing to behold that this
respect arose, in a great degree, from the high interest which was
manifested, in all classes, for the objects of the expedition, and the
influence which its exploratory labors were expected to have on the
development of the resources and prosperity of the country at large.
General Cass, who was to lead the expedition, received us cordially, and
let us know that we were in season, as some days would still elapse
before the preparations could be completed, and that the canoes in which
we were to travel had not yet reached Detroit. We were also cordially
welcomed by General Macomb, commanding the military district, Major John
Biddle, commanding officer of the fort, and by the citizens generally. I
was now, by the computations, about seven hundred and fifty miles from
my starting-point at New York. We took up our lodgings at the old stone
house occupied by Major Whipple, which, from its prominent position on
the banks of the river, had sustained a random cannonade during the late
war. We were here introduced to Dr. Alexander Wolcot, who filled the
post of physician to the expedition, and to Lieutenant Eneas Mackey,
United States artillery, commanding the escort, Major Robert A. Forsyth,
private secretary of the Executive, and commissary of the expedition,
and superintendent of embarkation; and to James D. Doty and Charles C.
Trowbridge, Esqs., who occupied, respectively, the situations of
official secretary and assistant topographer.
Detroit, the point to which I have now been conducted, is eligibly
situated on the south bank of the straits of the same name, and enjoys
the advantage of a regular plan and spacious streets, which have been
introduced since the burning of the old French town in 1805, not a
building of which, within the walls, was saved. Its main street,
Jefferson Avenue, is elevated about forty feet above the river. The town
consists of about two hundred and fifty houses of all descriptions,
public and private, and has a population of fourteen hundred and
fifty,[10] exclusive of the garrison.
[10] The census of Detroit in 1850 gives it 21,019.
To the historian it is a point of great interest. It was the site of an
Indian village called Teuchsagondie in 1620, the date of the landing of
the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Quebec was founded in 1608; Albany in 1614.
But no regular settlement or occupancy took place here, till the close
of the seventeenth century. In June, 1687, the French took formal
possession of the straits by erecting the arms of France. On the 24th of
July, 1701, M. Cadillac established the first military post. Charlevoix,
who landed here in 1721, found it the site of Fort Pontchartrain.
In 1763 the garrison, being then under British colors, sustained a
notable siege from the confederate Indians under Pontiac. It remained
under English rule till the close of the American Revolution, and was
not finally surrendered to the United States until 1790, the year
following Wayne's treaty at Greenville. Surrendered by Hull in 1812, it
was reoccupied by General Harrison in October, 1813. It received a city
charter 24th October, 1815. Indeed, the prominent civil and military
events of which Detroit has been the theatre, confer on it a just
celebrity, and it is gratifying to behold that to these events it adds
the charm of a beautiful local site and fertile surrounding country. A
cursory view of the map of the United States, will indicate its
importance as a central military and commercial position. Situated on
the great chain of lakes, connecting with the waters of the Ohio,
Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Red River of the North, and
communicating with the Atlantic at so many points, and with a harbor
free of entrance at all times, its business capacities and means of
expansion are very great. And when the natural channels of communication
of the great lake chain shall be improved, it will afford a choice of
markets between the most distant points of the Atlantic seaboard. It is
thus destined to be to the regions of the northwest, what St. Louis is
rapidly becoming to the southwest, the seat of its commerce, the
repository of its wealth, and the grand focus of its moral, political,
and physical energies.[11]
[11] MICHIGAN. This Territory contained, at this period, a population
of 8,896 inhabitants, principally Frenchmen, who were the descendants
of the original settlers of the time of Louis XIV. In 1835, the
population had so increased, chiefly by emigration from the older
States, that the inhabitants applied for admission into the Union.
The act of Congress admitting it was passed in 1836. In 1846, it had
212,267 souls. By the seventh national census, in 1850, it is shown
to have a population of 397,654, entitling it to four representatives
in Congress, with a large fraction. Its resources, its healthful
climate, fertile soil, and very advantageous position on the great
chain of navigable waters of the Upper Lakes, must insure a rapid
development of its means and resources, and place the State, in a few
years, in a high rank among the circle of American States.