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.
At Illigan Lake, large oaks and elms appear in the forest; its banks are
handsomely elevated, and the whole country puts on the appearance of
being well adapted to cultivation. We landed to obtain a shot at some
deer, which stood temptingly in sight, and were impressed with the
sylvan aspect of the country. While in the act of passing out of the
lake in our canoes, a small fire was observed on shore, with the usual
signs of its having been abandoned in haste by Indians, who had been
lying in ambush. Every appearance seemed to justify such a conclusion,
and it was evident a party of Sioux had been concealed waiting the
descent of Chippewas, but, on observing our flag, and the public
character of the party, they hastily withdrew. Our men, knowing the
perfidious and cruel character of this tribe, were evidently a good deal
alarmed at these signs. We had been one hour in our canoes, descending
the river with the double force of current and paddles, when the river
was found again expanded, and for the eleventh and last time, in a lake,
which the natives call _Kaitchebo Sagatowa_, meaning the lake through
one end of which the river passes. As this is not a term, however
graphic, which will pass into popular use, I named it Lake Douglas, in
allusion to a former companion in explorations in the northwest.[184]
Ten miles below this lake, the river receives its first considerable
tributary in Shell River, the Aisisepi of the Chippewas, which flows in
from the right, from the slope of the Hauteurs des Terres, near the
Ottertail Lake. Below this tributary, the Crow-Wing is nearly doubled in
width, and there is no further fear of shallow water. We held on our
way for a distance of fourteen miles below the point of junction, and
encamped on the right hand bank at eight o'clock P.M. It had rained
copiously during the afternoon, and everything in the shape of kindling
stuff had become so completely saturated with moisture, that it was
quite an enterprise in the men to light a camp-fire. Lieut. Allen did
not reach our encampment this night, having been misled in Allen's Lake,
and, being driven ashore by the tempest, he encamped in that quarter.
Presuming him to be in advance, I had pushed on, to a late hour, and
encamped under this impression.
[184] Professor D. B. Douglas.
The next morning (20th), we set off from our camp betimes, and, having
now a full flowing river, made good speed. The river passes for a dozen
or more miles through a willowy low tract, on issuing from which there
begins a series of strong rapids. Twenty-four of these rapids were
counted, which were called the Metunna Rapids. Lieut. Allen estimates
that they occupy thirty miles of the channel of the river. Below these
rapids, the river extends to a mean width of three hundred feet. At this
locality we were overtaken by Mr. Allen, at about two o'clock in the
afternoon, and were thus first apprised of the fact that he had been all
the while in our rear instead of in front.
Twenty miles below the Metunna Rapids, Leaf River flows in from the
right, by a mouth of forty yards wide. This stream originates in Leaf
Lake, and is navigable sixty miles in the largest craft used by the
traders.[185] The volume of the Crow-Wing River is constantly increased
in width and velocity by these accessions, which enabled us fearlessly
to make a large day's journey. We encamped together after sunset, on an
elevated pine bank, having descended ninety miles.
[185] The angle of country above Leaf River, on the Crow-Wing, has
been proposed as a refuge for the Menomonee tribe, of Wisconsin, for
whom temporary arrangements, at least, are now made, on the head of
Fox River, of that State.
The 21st, we were early in motion, the river presenting a broad rushing
mass of waters, every way resembling the Mississippi itself. On reaching
within twenty miles of its mouth, we passed, on the right bank, the
mouth of the Long Prairie River,[186] a prime tributary flowing from the
great Ottertail slope, which has been, time out of mind, the war road
between the Chippewas and Sioux; and between this point and the
confluence coming in we passed, on the left bank, the confluence of the
Kioshk, or Gull River, through which there is a communication, by a
series of portages, with Leech Lake.[187]
[186] This river has been assigned as the residence of the Winnebago
Indians. It is the present seat of the United States agency, and of
the farming and mechanical establishment for that tribe.
[187] Mr. J. J. Nicolet pursued this route in 1836, on his visit to
the sources of the Mississippi. _Vide_ Senate Doc. No. 237.
Washington, D. C., 1843.
From head to foot, we had now passed through the valley of the De
Corbeau River, without finding in it the permanent location of a single
Indian. We had not, in fact, seen even a temporary wigwam upon its
banks. The whole river lies, in fact, on the war road between the two
large rival tribes of the Chippewas and Sioux. It is entered by war
parties from either side, decked out in war-paints and feathers, who
descend either of its tributaries, the Leaf and Long Prairie Rivers. The
Mukundwa descends the main channel from the Kaginogumaug Lake in canoes.
On reaching the field of ambush, these canoes are abandoned, and the
parties, after an encounter, haste home on foot.
From this deserted and uninhabited state of the valley we were the more
surprised, as noon drew on, to descry an Indian canoe ascending the
river. It proved to be spies on the look-out, from the body of Chippewas
encamped at the mouth of the river, agreeably to my invitation at Sandy
Lake. After mutual recognitions, and learning that we were near the
mouth of the river, we resumed our descent with renewed spirit, and soon
reached its outflow into the Mississippi, and crossed it to the point at
which the Indians had established their camp. We were received with
yells of welcome. It occupied an eminence on the east bank of the
Mississippi, directly opposite to the mouth of the De Corbeau.[188] The
site was marked by a flag hoisted on a tall staff. The Indians fired a
salute as we landed, and pressed down to the shore, with their chiefs,
to greet us. They informed me that by their count of sticks, of the time
appointed by me at Sandy Lake, to meet them at this spot, would be out
this day, and I had the satisfaction of being told, within a short time
of my arrival, that the canoe, with goods and supplies, from Sandy Lake,
was in sight. The Indians were found encamped a short distance above the
entrance of the Nokasippi[189] River, which is in the line of
communication with the Mille Lac and Rum River Indians. I found the
latter, together with the whole Sandy Lake Band, encamped here, awaiting
my arrival. They numbered 280 souls, of whom 60 were warriors.
[188] CROW-WING RIVER.--This stream is the largest tributary of the
Mississippi above the falls of St. Anthony. It enters the Mississippi
in lat. 46° 15´ 50´´, 180 miles above the latter, and 145 miles below
Sandy Lake. Government first explored it, in 1832, from its source in
Lake Kaginogumaug to its mouth, and an accurate map of its channel,
and its eleven lakes, was made by Lieut. Allen, U. S. A., who
accompanied the party as topographer. It is 210 miles in length, to
its source in Long Lake. The island, in its mouth, is about three
miles long, and covered with hard-wood timber. The whole region is
noted for its pine timber; the lands lie in gentle ridges, with much
open country; a large part of it is adapted to agriculture, and there
is much hydraulic power It is navigable at the lowest stages of
water, about 80 miles, and by small boats to its very source.
[189] From _Noka_, a man's name, and _seebi_, a river.
A council was immediately summoned, to meet in front of my tent, at the
appointed signal of the firing of the military; the business of my
mission was at once explained, the presents distributed, and the
vaccinations commenced. Replies were made at length, by the eldest
chief, Gros Guelle, or Big Snout; by Soangekumig, or the Strong Echoing
Ground; by Wabogeeg, or the White Fisher; and by Nitumegaubowee, or the
First Standing Man. The business having been satisfactorily concluded,
the vaccination finished, and having still a couple of hours of
daylight, I embarked and went down the Mississippi some ten or fifteen
miles, to a Mr. Baker's trading-house at Prairie Piercie.
At this place, I remained encamped, it being the Sabbath day, and rested
on the 22d, which had a good effect on the whole party, engaged as it
had been, night and day, in pushing its way to accomplish certain
results, and it prepared them to spring to their paddles the more
cheerfully on Monday morning. Indeed, it had been part of my plan of
travel, from the outset, to give the men this rest and opportunity to
recruit every seventh day, and I always found that they did more work in
the long run, from it. I had also engaged them, originally, not to drink
any ardent spirits, promising them, however, that their board and pot
should be well supplied at all times. And, indeed, although I had
frequently travelled with Canadian canoemen, I never knew a crew who
worked so cheerfully, and travelled so far, per diem, on the mean of the
week, as these six days' working canoemen.
At Mr. Baker's, 170 miles above St. Anthony's Falls, I found a stray
number of a small newspaper, and first learned the state of the Sauc and
Fox war. The chief, Blackhawk, had crossed the Mississippi, to enter the
Rock River valley; had murdered Mr. St. Vrain, the United States agent,
sustained a conflict with the Illinois militia, under Major Stillman,
fled to Lake Gushkenong, on the head of Rock River, and drawn upon his
movement the United States army, leaving, at last accounts, Generals
Atkinson and Dodge in pursuit of him.
Having struck the Mississippi at the point where the prior narrative
describes it (_vide_ Chap XII.), it becomes unnecessary to give details
of my descent to St. Anthony's Falls. Leaving Prairie Piercie on the
23d, two days were employed in the descent to Fort Snelling. I found
Captain Wm. R. Jouett in command, who received me with courtesy and
kindness, and offered every facility, in the absence of Mr. Talliaferro,
the United States Indian Agent, for laying the object of my mission
before the Sioux. He had received no very recent intelligence of the
progress of the Sauc war, in addition to that which I had learned at the
mouth of the De Corbeau; although he was in the habit of sending a mail
boat or canoe twice a month to Prairie du Chien.[190]
[190] It was not till some time after my return to St. Mary's that I
learned of the overthrow of the chief and his army, and his being
taken prisoner at the battle of the Badaxe, on the 14th of August,
1832.
On the 25th, being the day after my arrival, I met the assembled, Sioux,
in council, at the Agency House, the commanding officer being present,
and having finished that business, and finding the Sioux wholly
unconnected with, and disapproving the proceedings of Blackhawk and his
adherents, I embarked early the next morning on my return to Lake
Superior. I reached the mouth of the River St. Croix, at three o'clock
P. M. on the 26th, and having entered the sylvan sheet of Lake St.
Croix, ascended it to within a few miles of its head, and encamped.
Lieut. Allen did not reach my camp, but halted for the night some seven
or eight miles short.[191] This lake is one of the most beautiful and
picturesque sheets of water in the West, being from two to three miles
wide, and some four-and-twenty or thirty in length.[192] The next
morning I reached the head of the lake after a couple of hours of
travel, and, by a diligent and hard day's work, during which we passed
between perpendicular walls of sonorous trap-rock, reached and encamped
at the falls of St. Croix, at eight o'clock in the evening.[193] We were
now about fifty miles from the line of the Mississippi River. For the
last few miles, there had been either a very strong current or severe
eddies of water, around angular masses of trap-rock; and we were
encamped at the precise foot of the falls, where the river, narrowed to
some fifty feet, breaks its way through trap-rock, falling some fifty
feet in the course of six hundred yards. We had been carried, at a
tangent, from the great Mississippi series of the silurian period,
beginning at St. Anthony's Falls, to the vitric formations of trap and
greenstone of the Lake Superior system, and were now to ascend a
valley, in which a heavy diluvial drift and boulder stratum rested on
this broken and angular basis.[194] On reaching the summit of the St.
Croix, there are found vast plateaux of sand, supporting pine forests;
and on descending the Misakoda, or Brulé of Fond du Lac, the sandstone
strata of that basin are again encountered. This ascent was rendered
arduous, from the low state of the water. I reached Snake River on the
30th, had an interview with the Buffalo chief (Pezhikee) and his
subordinates; finding the population 300, with thirty-eight half breeds.
The men, while here, cut their feet, treading on the trap-rock debris,
in the mouth of the river. The distance thence to Yellow River is about
thirty-five miles, which we accomplished on the 31st, by eight o'clock
in the morning, having found our greatest obstacle at the Kettle Rapids,
which discloses sharp masses of the trap-rock. The river, in this
distance, receives on its right, in the ascent, the Aisippi, or Shell
River, which originates in a lake of that name, noted for its large
unios and anadontas.
[191] United States soldiers are not adapted to travelling in Indian
canoes. Comparatively clumsy, formal, and used to the comforts of
good quarters and shelter, they flinch under the activities and
fatigue of forest life, and particularly of that kind of life and
toil, which consists in the management of canoes, and the carrying
forward canoes and baggage over bad portages, and conducting these
frail vessels over dangerous rapids and around falls. No amount of
energy is sufficient on the part of the officers to make them keep
up, on these trips, with the gay, light, and athletic _voyageur_, who
unites the activity and expertness of the Indian with the power of
endurance of the white man. Lieut. Allen deserves great credit, as an
army officer, for urging his men forward as well as he did on this
arduous journey, for they were a perpetual cause of delay and anxiety
to me and to him. They were relieved and aided by my men at every
practicable point; but, having the responsibility of performing a
definite duty, on a fixed sum of money, with many men to feed in the
wilderness, it was imperative in me to push on with energy, day in
and day out, and to set a manful example of diligence, at every
point; and, instead of carping at my rapidity of movement, as he does
in his official report of the ascent of the St. Croix, he having
every supply within himself, and being, moreover, in a friendly
tribe, where there was no danger from Indian hostilities, he should
not have evinced a desire to control my encampments, but rather given
his men to understand that he could not countenance their
dilatoriness.
[192] It is, at this time, a part of the boundary between the State
of Wisconsin and the Territory of Minnesota, and is the site of
several flourishing towns and villages. On its western head is the
town of Stillwater, the seat of justice for Washington County,
Minnesota. This town has a population of 1,500 inhabitants,
containing a court house, several churches, schools, printing
offices, a public land office, and territorial penitentiary, with
stores, mills, &c. Hudson is a town seated on its east bank, at
Willow River, being the seat of justice for St. Croix County,
Wisconsin. It contains a United States land-office, two churches,
and 94 dwellings, besides stores and mills. Steamboats freely
navigate its waters from the Mississippi.
[193] FALLS OF ST. CROIX.--A thriving post town is now seated on the
Wisconsin side of these falls in Polk County, Wisconsin, which
contains several mills, at which it is estimated, four millions of
feet of pine lumber are sawed annually. It is at the head of
steamboat navigation of St. Croix River.
[194] _Vide_ Owen's Geological Report, for the first attempt to
delineate the order of the various local and general formations.
Philada., Lippincott & Co., 1852.
At Yellow River, I halted to confer with the Indians in front of a
remarkable eminence called Pokunogun, or the Moose's Hip. This eminence
is not, however, of artificial construction. This river, with its
dependencies of Lac Vaseux, Rice Lake, and Yellow Lake, contains a
Chippewa population of three hundred and eighty-two souls. We observed
here the unio purpureus, which the Indians use for spoons, after rubbing
off the alatæ and rounding the margin. We also examined the skin of the
sciurus tredacem striatus of Mitchill.
We reached the forks of the St. Croix about two o'clock P. M. The
distance from Yellow River is about thirteen miles; it required five and
a half hours to accomplish this. The water was, indeed, so low, that the
men had often to wade; and, on reaching this point, we were to lose half
its volume, or more, for the Namakagun[195] fork, which enters here,
carries in more than half the quantity of water.
[195] From _nama_, a sturgeon, and _kagun_, a yoke or wier. I
explored this stream in 1831, having reached it after ascending the
Mauvais or Maskigo of Lake Superior. _Vide_ Personal Memoirs:
Lippincott, Grambo, & Co., 1851.
I found the chief Kabamappa and his followers encamped at the forks,
awaiting my arrival, who received me with a salute. He disclaimed all
connection with the movement of the Blackhawk. He stated facts, however,
which showed him to be well acquainted with the means which that chief
had used to bring the Indians into an extensive league against the
United States. He readily assented to the measures proposed to the upper
bands, for bringing the Sioux and Chippewas into more intimate and
permanent relations of peace and friendship.
With respect to the ascent of the St. Croix, in the direction of the
Brulé, his exclamation was _iskutta-iskutta_, meaning it is dried up, or
there is no water. Dry the channel, indeed, looked, but by leading the
canoes around the shoals, all the men walking in the water, and picking
out channels, we advanced about seven miles before the time of
encampment. The next morning (Aug. 1) a heavy fog detained us in our
encampment, till five o'clock, when we recommenced the ascent of a
similar series of embarrassments from very low water, rapid succeeding
to rapid, till two o'clock P. M., when we reached the summit of a
plateau, and found still water and comparatively good navigation. Five
hours canoeing on this summit brought us to Kabamappa's village at the
Namakowágon, or sturgeon's dam, where we encamped. The chief gave us his
population at 88 souls, of whom 28 were men, including the minor chief,
Mukudapenas,[196] and his men. We had now got above all the strong
rapids, and proceeded from our encampment at four o'clock, A. M., on the
2d. The river receives two tributaries, from the right hand, on this
summit, namely, the Buffalo and Clearwater, and, at the distance of
about ten miles above the Namakowágon, is found to be expanded in a
handsome lake of about six miles in extent, called Lake St. Croix. This
is the source of the river. We were favored with a fair wind in passing
over it, and having reached its head debarked on a marshy margin, and
immediately commenced the portage to the Brulé, or Misakoda River.[197]
[196] From _mukuda_, black, and _penaisee_, a bird, the name of the
rail.
[197] From _misk_, red or colored, _muscoda_, a plain, and _auk_, a
dead standing tree, as a tree burned by fire or lightning. From the
French translation of the word, by the phrase _Brulé_; the Indian
meaning is clearly shown to be burnt, scorched, or parched--a term
which is applied to metifs of the mixed race.
I had now reached the summit between the St. Croix and Lake Superior.
The elevation of this summit has not been scientifically determined; but
from the great fall of the Brulé, cannot be less than 600 feet. The
length of the Brulé is about 100 miles, in which there are 240 distinct
rapids. Some of these are from eight to ten feet each. Four of them
require portages, at which all the canoes are discharged. The river
itself, on looking down it, appears to be a perfect torrent, foaming and
roaring; and it could never be used by the traders at all, were it not
that it had abundance of water, being the off-drain for an extensive
plateau of lakes and springs. To give an adequate idea of this foaming
torrent, it is necessary to conceive of a river flowing down a pair of
stairs, a hundred miles long.
The portage from the St. Croix to it begins on marsh, ascending in a
hundred yards or so, to an elevated sandy plain, which has been covered,
at former times, with a heavy forest of the pinus resinosa; that having
been consumed, there is left here and there a dry trunk, or _auk_, as
the Indians call it. The length of the portage path is 3,350 yards, or
about two miles. At this distance, we reach a small, sandy-bottomed
brook, of four feet wide and a foot deep, of most clear crystalline cold
water, winding its way, in a most serpentine manner, through a boggy
tract, and overhung with dense alder bushes. It is a good place to slake
one's thirst, but appears like anything else than a stream to embark on,
with canoes and baggage. Nobody but an Indian would seem to have ever
dreamed of it. Yet on this brook we embarked. It was now six o'clock in
the evening. By going a distance below, and damming up the stream, a
sufficient depth of water was got to float the canoes. The axe was used
to cut away the alders. The men walked, guiding the canoes, and carrying
some of the baggage. In this way we moved slowly, about one mile, when
it became quite dark, and threatened rain. The voyageurs then searched
about for a place on the bog dry enough to sleep on, and came, with joy,
and told me that they had found a kind of bog, with bunches of grassy
tufts, which are called by them _tete de femme_. The very poetry of the
idea was something, and I was really happy, amid the intense gloom, to
rest my head, for the night, on these fair tufts. The next morning we
were astir as soon as there was light enough to direct our steps. After
a few miles of these intricacies, we found a brisk and full tributary,
below which, the descent is at once free, and on crossing the first
narrow geologic plateau, the rapids begin; the stream being constantly
and often suddenly enlarged, by springs and tributaries from the right
and left. To describe the descent of this stream, in detail, would
require graphic powers to which I do not aspire, and time which I cannot
command. We were two days and a part of a night in making the descent,
with every appliance of voyageur craft. It was after darkness had cast
her pall over us, on the evening of the 4th of August, before we reached
still water. The river is then a deep and broad mass of water, into
which coasting vessels from the Lake might enter. Some four miles from
the foot of the last rapids, it enters the Fond du Lac of Lake Superior.
Some time before reaching this point, we had been apprised of our
contiguity to it, from hearing the monotonous thump of the Indian drum;
and we were glad, on our arrival, to find the chief, Mongazid,[198] of
Fond du Lac, with the military barge of Lieut. Allen, left at that place
on our outward trip, which he had promised to bring down to this point.
[198] From _mong_, a loon, and _ozid_, his foot. The name is in
allusion to the track of the bird on the sand.
Having thus accomplished the objects committed to my trust, and rejoined
the track described in my prior narrative, I rested here on the next day
(5th), being the Sabbath; and then proceeded through Lake Superior, to
my starting-point at Sault de Ste Marie.[199]
[199] On passing through Lake Superior, I learned from an Indian the
first breaking out of Asiatic cholera in the country, in 1832, and
the wide alarm it had produced.
APPENDIX.
No. 1.
THE EXPEDITION TO THE SOURCES OF THE
MISSISSIPPI IN 1820.
I. OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE EXPEDITION OF 1820.
1. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.
I. Announcement of the Return of the Expedition. By Hon. LEWIS
CASS.
II. General Report to the Department of War. By Hon. LEWIS CASS.
III. Further Explorations of Western Geography recommended. By Hon.
LEWIS CASS.
IV. Personal Testimonial on the close of the Expedition. By Hon.
LEWIS CASS.
2. TOPOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY.
V. Results of Observations for Latitudes and Longitudes during the
Expedition of 1820. By DAVID B. DOUGLASS, Capt. Engineers, U. S.
A.
3. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.
VI. Report on the Copper Mines of Lake Superior. By HENRY R.
SCHOOLCRAFT.
VII. Observations on the Mineralogy and Geology of the country
embracing the sources of the Mississippi River and the Great
Lake Basins. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
VIII. Report in reply to a Resolution of the U. S. Senate on the Value
and Extent of the Mineral Lands on Lake Superior. By HENRY R.
SCHOOLCRAFT.
IX. Rapid Glances at the Geology of Western New York, beyond the
Rome summit, in 1820. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
X. A Memoir on the Geological Position of a Fossil Tree in the
secondary rocks of the Illinois. Albany: E. & E. Hosford,
pp. 18, 1822. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
4. BOTANY.
XI. List of Plants collected by Capt. D. B. Douglass at the sources
of the Mississippi River. This paper has been published in the
4th vol. p. 56 of Silliman's Journal of Science. By Dr. JOHN
TORREY.
5. ZOOLOGY.
XII. A Letter embracing Notices of the Zoology of the Northwest,
addressed to Dr. Mitchell on the return of the Expedition. By
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
(1.) FRESH-WATER CONCHOLOGY.
XIII. Species of Bivalves collected by Mr. Schoolcraft and Capt.
Douglass in the Northwest. Published in the 6th vol. Amer.
Journ. of Science, pp. 120, 259. By D. H. BARNES.
XIV. Fresh-water Shells collected by Mr. Schoolcraft in the valleys
of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. American Philosophical
Transactions, vol. 5. By Mr. ISAAC LEA.
(2.) FAUNA: ICHTHYOLOGY: REPTILIA.
XV. Summary Remarks respecting the Zoological Species noticed in the
Expedition. By Dr. SAMUEL L. MITCHELL.
XVI. Mus Busarius. Medical Repository, vol. 21, p. 248. By Dr. SAMUEL
L. MITCHELL.
XVII. Sciurus Tredecem Striatus. Med. Rep. vol. 21. By Dr. SAMUEL L.
MITCHELL.
XVIII. Proteus of the Lakes. Am. Journ. Science, vol. 4. By Dr. SAMUEL
L. MITCHELL.
6. METEOROLOGY.
XIX. Memoranda on Climatic Phenomena, and the distribution of Solar
Heat, in 1820. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
7. INDIAN LANGUAGES AND HISTORY.
XX. A Pictographic mode of communicating ideas by the Northwestern
Indians. By Hon. LEWIS CASS.
XXI. Inquiries respecting the History, &c. of the Indians of the
United States. Detroit, 1822. By Hon. LEWIS CASS.
XXII. A Letter on the Origin of the Indian Tribes of America, and the
Principles of their Mode of uttering Ideas. By Dr. J. M'DONNELL,
Belfast, Ireland.
XXIII. Difficulties of studying the Indian Tongues of the United
States. Schoolcraft's Travels in the Central Portions of the
Mississippi Valley, p. 381. By Dr. ALEXANDER WOLCOTT, Jr.
XXIV. Examinations of the Elementary Structure of the
Odjibwa-Algonquin Language. First paper. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
XXV. A Vocabulary of the Odjibwa-Algonquin. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
APPENDIX.
1. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.
I.
DETROIT, September 14, 1820.
SIR: I am happy to be enabled to state to you that I reached this place
four days since, with some of the gentlemen who accompanied me on my
late tour, after a very fortunate journey of four thousand miles, and an
accomplishment, without any adverse accident, of every object intrusted
to me. The party divided at Green Bay, with a view to circumnavigate
Lake Michigan, and I trust they may all arrive here in the course of a
week.
As soon as possible, I shall transmit to you a detailed report upon the
subject.
Since my arrival, I have learned that Mr. Ellicott, professor of
mathematics, at the military academy, is dead. I cannot but hope that
the office will not be filled until the return of Captain Douglass. I do
not know whether such an appointment would suit him; but from my
knowledge of his views, feelings, and pursuits, I presume it would. And
an intimate acquaintance with him during my tour enables me to say that
in every requisite qualification, as far as I can judge, I have never
found a man who is his superior. His zeal, talents, and acquirements are
of the first order, and I am much deceived if he do not soon take a
distinguished rank among the most scientific men in our country. His
situation as an assistant professor to Colonel Mansfield, and his
connection with the family of Mr. Ellicott, furnish additional reasons
why he should receive this appointment.
Very respectfully, sir,
I have the honor to be
Your obedient servant,
LEWIS CASS.
Hon. J. C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
II.
DETROIT, October 21, 1820.
SIR: I had the honor to inform you some time since that I had reached
this place by land from Chicago, and that the residue of the party were
daily expected. They arrived soon after, without accident, and this long
and arduous journey has been accomplished without the occurrence of any
unfavorable incident.
I shall submit to you, as soon as it can be prepared, a memoir
respecting the Indians who occupy the country through which we passed;
their numbers, disposition, wants, &c. It will be enough at present to
say, that the whole frontier is in a state of profound peace, and that
the remote Indians, more particularly, exhibit the most friendly
feelings towards the United States. As we approach the points of contact
between them and the British, the strength of this attachment evidently
decreases, and about those points few traces of it remain. During our
whole progress but two incidents occurred which evinced in the slightest
degree, an unfriendly spirit. One of these was at St. Mary's, within
forty-five miles of Drummond's Island, and the other within thirty miles
of Malden. They passed off, however, without producing any serious
result.
It is due to Colonel Leavenworth to say, that his measures upon the
subject of the outrage committed by the Winnebago Indians, in the
spring, were prompt, wise, and decisive. As you have long since learned,
the murderers were soon surrendered; and so impressive has been the
lesson upon the minds of the Indians, that the transaction has left us
nothing to regret, but the untimely fall of the soldiers.
In my passage through the Winnebago country, I saw their principal
chiefs, and stated to them the necessity of restraining their young men
from the commission of acts similar in their character to those
respecting which a report was made by Colonel Smith. I have reason to
believe that similar complaints will not again be made, and I am certain
that nothing but the intemperate passions of individuals will lead to
the same conduct. Should it occur, the act will be disavowed by the
chiefs, and the offenders surrendered with as much promptitude as the
relapsed state of the government will permit.
The general route which we pursued was from this place to
Michilimackinac by the southern shore of Lake Huron. From thence to
Drummond's Island and by the River St. Mary's to the Sault. We there
entered Lake Superior, coasted its southern shore to Point Kewena,
ascended the small stream, which forms the water communication across
the base of the point, and, after a portage of a mile and a half, struck
the lake on the opposite side. Fifty miles from this place is the mouth
of the Ontonagan, upon which have been found large specimens of copper.
We ascended that stream about thirty miles, to the great mass of that
metal, whose existence has long been known. Common report has greatly
magnified the quantity, although enough remains, even after a rigid
examination, to render it a mineralogical curiosity. Instead of being a
mass of pure copper, it is rather copper imbedded in a hard rock, and
the weight does not probably exceed five tons, of which the rock is the
much larger part. It was impossible to procure any specimens, for such
was its hardness that our chisels broke like glass. I intend to send
some Indians in the spring to procure the necessary specimens. As we
understand the nature of the substance, we can now furnish them with
such tools as will effect the object. I shall, on their return, send you
such pieces as you may wish to retain for the Government, or to
distribute as cabinet specimens to the various literary institutions of
our country. Mr. Schoolcraft will make to you a detailed report upon
this subject, in particular, and generally upon the various
mineralogical and geological objects to which his inquiries were
directed. Should he carry into effect the intention, which he now
meditates, of publishing his journal of the tour, enriched with the
history of the facts which have been collected, and with those
scientific and practical reflections and observations, which few men are
more competent to make, his work will rank among the most important
accessions which have ever been made to our national literature.
From the Ontonagon we proceeded to the Fond du Lac, passing the mouths
of the Montreal, Mauvais, and Brulé Rivers, and entered the mouth of the
St. Louis, or Fond du Lac River, which forms the most considerable water
communication between Lake Superior and the Mississippi.
The southern coast of the lake is sterile, cold, and unpromising. The
timber is birch, pine, and trees of that description which characterize
the nature of the country. The first part of the shore is moderately
elevated, the next, hilly, and even mountainous, and the last a low,
flat, sandy beach. Two of the most sublime natural objects in the United
States, the Grand Sable and the pictured rocks, are to be found upon
this coast. The former is an immense hill of sand, extending for some
miles along the lake, of great elevation and precipitous ascent. The
latter is an unbroken wall of rocks, rising perpendicularly from the
lake to the height of 300 feet, assuming every grotesque and fanciful
appearance, and presenting to the eye of the passenger a spectacle as
tremendous as the imagination can conceive, or as reason itself can well
sustain.
The emotions excited by these objects are fresh in the recollection of
us all; and they will undoubtedly be described, so that the public can
appreciate their character and appearance. The indications of copper
upon the western part of the coast, are numerous; and there is reason to
suppose that silver, in small quantities, has been found.
The communication by the Montreal with the Chippewa River, and by the
Mauvais and Brulé Rivers with the St. Croix, is difficult and
precarious. The routes are interrupted by long, numerous, and tedious
portages, across which the boats and all their contents are transported
by the men. It is doubtful whether their communication can ever be much
used, except for the purposes to which they are now applied. In the
present state of the Indian trade, human labor is nothing, because the
number of men employed in transporting the property is necessary to
conduct the trade, after the different parties have reached their
destination, and the intermediate labor does not affect the aggregate
amount of the expense. Under ordinary circumstances, and for those
purposes to which water communication is applied in the common course of
civilized trade, these routes would be abandoned. From the mouth of the
Montreal River alone to its source, there are not less than forty-five
miles of portage.
The St. Louis River is a considerable stream, and for twenty-five miles
its navigation is uninterrupted. At this distance, near an establishment
of the Southwest Company, commences the Grand Portage about six miles in
length, across spurs of the Porcupine ridge of mountains. One other
portage, one of a mile and a half, and a continued succession of falls,
called the Grand Rapids, extending nine miles, and certainly
unsurmountable except by the skill and perseverance of the Canadian
boatmen, conduct us to a comparatively tranquil part of the river. From
here to the head of the Savannah River, a small branch of the St. Louis,
the navigation is uninterrupted, and after a portage of four miles, the
descent is easy into Lake au Sable, whose outlet is within two miles of
the Mississippi.
This was until 1816 the principal establishment of the British Northwest
Company upon these waters, and is now applied to the same purpose by the
American Fur Company.
From Lac au Sable, we ascended the Mississippi to the Upper Red Cedar
Lake, which may be considered as the head of the navigation of that
river. The whole distance, 350 miles, is almost uninhabitable. The first
part of the route the country is generally somewhat elevated and
interspersed with pine woods. The latter part is level wet prairie.
The sources of this river flow from a region filled with lakes and
swamps, whose geological character indicates a recent formation, and
which, although the highest table-land of this part of the Continent, is
yet a dead level, presenting to the eye a succession of dreary
uninteresting objects. Interminable marshes, numerous ponds, and a few
low, naked, sterile plains, with a small stream, not exceeding sixty
feet in width, meandering in a very crooked channel through them, are
all the objects which are found to reward the traveller for the
privations and difficulties which he must encounter in his ascent to
this forbidding region.
The view on all sides is dull and monotonous. Scarcely a living being
animates the prospect, and every circumstance recalled forcibly to our
recollection that we were far removed from civilized life.
From Lac au Sable to the mouth of the St. Peter's, the distance by
computation is six hundred miles. The first two hundred present no
obstacles to navigation. The land along the river is of a better quality
than above; the bottoms are more numerous, and the timber indicates a
stronger and more productive soil. But near this point commence the
great rapids of the Mississippi, which extend more than two hundred
miles. The river flows over a rocky bed, which forms a continuous
succession of rapids, all of which are difficult and some dangerous. The
country, too, begins here to open, and the immense plains in which the
buffaloes range approach the river. These plains continue to the Falls
of St. Anthony.
They are elevated fifty or sixty feet above the Mississippi, are
destitute of timber, and present to the eye a flat, uniform surface,
bounded at the distance of eight or ten miles by high ground. The title
of this land is in dispute between the Chippewas and Sioux, and their
long hostilities have prevented either party from destroying the game in
a manner as improvident as is customary among the Indians. It is
consequently more abundant than in any other region through which we
travelled.
From the post, at the mouth of the St. Peter's, to Prairie du Chien, and
from that place to Green Bay, the route is too well-known to render it
necessary that I should trouble you with any observations respecting it.
The whole distance travelled by the party between the 24th of May and
the 24th of September exceeded 4,200 miles, and the journey was
performed without the occurrence of a single untoward accident
sufficiently important to deserve recollection.
These notices are so short and imperfect that I am unwilling to obtrude
them upon your patience. But the demands upon your attention are so
imperious, that to swell them into a geographical memoir would require
more time for their examination than any interest which I am capable of
giving the subject would justify.
I propose hereafter to submit some other observations to you in a
different shape.
Very respectfully, sir,
I have the honor to be
Your obedient servant,
LEWIS CASS.
Hon. J. C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
III.
Copy of a letter from Gov. Lewis Cass to Hon. John C. Calhoun, Secretary
of War, dated
DETROIT, September 20, 1820.
SIR: In examining the state of our topographical knowledge, respecting
that portion of the Northwestern frontier over which we have recently
passed, it occurs to me that there are several points which require
further examination, and which might be explored without any additional
expense to the United States.
The general result of the observations made by Capt. Douglass, will be
submitted to you as soon as it can be prepared. And I believe he will
also complete a map of the extensive route we have taken, and embracing
the whole of the United States, bounded by the Upper Lakes and by the
waters of the Mississippi, and extending as far south as Rock Island and
the southern extremities of Lakes Michigan and Erie. The materials in
his possession are sufficient for such an outline, and he is every way
competent to complete it. But there are several important streams,
respecting which it is desirable to procure more accurate information
than can be obtained from the vague and contradictory relations of
Indians and Indian traders. The progress of our geographical knowledge
has not kept pace with the extension of our territory, nor with the
enterprise of our traders. But I trust the accurate observations of
Captain Douglass will render a resort to the old French maps for
information respecting our own country entirely unnecessary.
I beg leave to propose to you, whether it would not be proper to direct
exploring parties to proceed from several of our frontier posts into the
interior of the country, and to make such observations as might lead to
a correct topographical delineation of it. An intelligent officer, with
eight or ten men, in a canoe, would be adequate to this object. He would
require nothing more than a compass to ascertain his course, for it is
not to be expected that correct astronomical observations could be
taken. In ascending or descending streams, he should enter in a journal
every course which he pursues, and the length of time observed by a
watch. He should occasionally ascertain the velocity of his canoe, by
measuring a short distance upon the bank, and should also enter in his
journal his supposed rate of travelling. This, whenever it is possible,
should be checked by the distance as estimated by traders and
travellers. By a comparison of these data, and by a little experience,
he would soon be enabled to ascertain with sufficient precision, the
length of each course, and to furnish materials for combination, which
would eventually exhibit a perfect view of the country. I do not know
any additional expense which it would be necessary to encounter. An
ordinary compass is not worth taking into consideration. A necessary
supply of provisions, a small quantity of powder, lead, and tobacco, to
present occasionally to the Indians, and a little medicine, are all the
articles which would require particular attention. Officers employed
upon such services should be directed to observe the natural appearances
of the country; its soil, timber, and productions; its general face and
character; the height, direction, and composition of its hills; the
number, size, rapidity, &c., of its streams; its geological structure
and mineralogical products; and any facts which may enable the public to
appreciate its importance in the scale of territorial acquisitions, or
which may serve to enlarge the sphere of national science.
It is not to be expected that officers detached upon the duties can
enter into the detail of such subjects in a manner which their
importance would render desirable. But the most superficial observer may
add something to the general stock; and to point their inquiries to
specific objects, may be the means of eliciting facts, which in other
hands may lead to important results. The most important tributary stream
of the Upper Mississippi is the Saint Peter's. The commanding officer at
the mouth of that river might be directed to form an expedition for
exploring it.
It is the opinion of Captain Douglass, and it is strongly fortified by
my personal observation, and by the opinion of others, that Lieut.
Talcott, of the Engineers, now at the Council Bluffs, would conduct a
party upon this duty in a very satisfactory manner. He might ascend the
St. Peter's to its source, and from thence cross over to the Red River,
and descend the stream to the 49th parallel of latitude, with directions
to take the necessary observations upon so important a point.[200]
Thence up that branch of the Red River, interlocking with the nearest
water of the Mississippi, and down this river to Leech Lake. From this
lake, there is an easy communication to the River de Corbeau, which he
could descend to the Mississippi, and thence to St. Peter's.[201]
[200] This is the origin of Major Long's second expedition.
[201] Explored by the preceding narrative in 1831-1833.
The St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, entering the Mississippi above and
below the Falls of St. Anthony, might, in like manner, be explored by
parties from the same post.[202] The former interlocks with the Mauvais
and Brulé Rivers, but a descent into Lake Superior would not probably be
considered expedient, so that the party would necessarily ascend and
descend the same stream.[202]
[202] Explored by the preceding narrative in 1831-1833.
The Chippewa interlocks with the Montreal and Wisconsin Rivers, and
consequently the same party could ascend the former and descend the
latter stream.
A party from Green Bay might explore Rocky River from its source to its
mouth.
A correct examination of Green Bay and of the Menomonie River might be
made from the same post.
The St. Joseph and Grand River, of this peninsula, could be examined by
parties detached from Chicago.
It is desirable, also, to explore the Grand Traverse Bay, about sixty
miles south of Michilimackinac, on the east coast of Lake Michigan.
These are all the points which require particular examination.
Observations made in the manner I have suggested, and connected with
those already taken by Captain Douglass, would furnish ample materials
for a correct chart of the country.
It is with this view that it might be proper, should you approve the
plan I have submitted to you, to direct, that the reports of the
officers should be transmitted to Captain Douglass, by whom they will be
incorporated with his own observations, and will appear in a form best
calculated to promote the views which you entertain upon the important
subject of the internal geography of our country.
IV.
DETROIT, October 3, 1820.
SIR: On the eve of separating from my associates in our late tour, I owe
it to them and to myself, that I should state to you my opinion
respecting Captain Douglass and Mr. Schoolcraft.
I have found them, upon every occasion, zealous in promoting the
objects of the Expedition, indefatigable in their inquiries and
observations, and never withholding their personal exertions. Ardent in
their pursuit after knowledge, with great attainments in the departments
of literature to which they have respectively devoted themselves, and
with powers which will enable them to explore the whole field of
science, I look forward with confidence to the day when they will assume
distinguished stations among our scientific men, and powerfully aid in
establishing the literary fame of their country.
Should any object of a similar character again require similar talents,
I earnestly recommend their employment. Whoever has the pleasure of
being associated with them, will find how easily profound acquirements
may be united with that urbanity of manners, and those qualities of the
heart, which attach to each other those who have participated in the
fatigues of a long and interesting tour.
Very respectfully, sir,
I have the honor to be
Your obedient servant,
LEWIS CASS.
Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
2. TOPOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY.
Topographical materials were collected by Capt. Douglass, U.S.A., for a
map of the northwestern portions of the United States, embracing the
complete circumnavigation of the great lake basins, and accurate
delineations of the sources of the Mississippi, as low down as the
influx of the River Wisconsin. Being provided with instruments from the
Military Academy of West Point, astronomical observations were made at
every practical point over the vast panorama traversed by the
Expedition. A line of some four thousand miles of previously unexplored
country was visited; his notes and memoranda for a topographical memoir
were full and exact; and they were left, I am informed, in a state of
nearly perfect elaboration, accompanied by illustrations, and many
drawings of scenery. Having written to his family recently, for the
astronomical observations, they were transmitted by his son in a letter,
of which the following is an extract:--
GENEVA, JUNE 23, 1854.
DEAR SIR: I inclose you herewith, on another page, the results of my
father's observations of latitude and longitude, so far as I have been
able to collect them. His calculations indicate great pains and labor to
obtain accurate results. They are too voluminous to copy. I trust,
however, that I have been as particular as was necessary in the inclosed
memoranda. If anything else is wanting, I should like you to inform me.
I am, sir, with great respect,
Your obedient servant,
MALCOLM DOUGLASS.
V.
_Results of Observations for Latitude and Longitude during the
Expedition of 1820._ By DAVID B. DOUGLASS, Capt. Engineers, U.S.A.
{By 3 sets of observations at Cunningham's }
{ Island, 1819, and reduced by }
{ exact measurement on the Boundary }
{ Bay }
{ }
Mean {By 1 set of observations at Gibraltar }
latitude { Island (Put-in Bay), taken, like the }
of { preceding, in 1819, and reduced as } 42° 19´ 20´´
Detroit { before }
{ }
{By 1 set of observations taken on }
{ Sugar Island, and reduced as before }
{ }
{By mean results of 2 sets of
observations--May} 17 and 21, 1820
}
{By mean observation, Sept. 29, 1820 }
Mean longitude of Detroit, by 6 sets of observations,
May 17 and 19, 1820 82 39 00
Latitude of Presque Isle, Lake Huron, June 5, 1820 45 19 45
Latitude of Mackinaw, by 4 sets of observations,
June 7 and 11, 1820, by meridian observations,
Sept. 12, 1820 45 50 54
Height of Fort Holmes. From the water
to the brow of the hill near Robinson's
Folly, nearly on a level with
Fort Mackinaw 115.8
Thence to the top of the block H of Fort
Holmes 260.9
-----
Total height, 376.7 feet
Longitude of Mackinaw, by several sets of observations,
Sept. 12, 1820 84 28 40
Mean latitude of Sault de St. Marie, June 16, 1820 46 26 45
Latitude of Turtle Camp, on Lake Superior, June
22--primitive bluff (Granite Point.--S.) 46 41 15
Latitude of Keweena Camp 47 02 30
Mean latitude of Sandy River, July 4, 1820 46 55 24
Mean longitude (by 25 observations for degrees,
and 25 observations for time). In time, 6 h. 3 m.
48 sec. In degrees 90 57 00
Latitude of the gallais[203] on the Grand Portage of
St. Louis, July 6, 1820 46 39 34
Latitude of camp at head of Grand Portage, July
8, 1820 46 41 07
Latitude of camp at west end of Savanna Portage 46 51 47[204]
Mean latitude of Sandy Lake post, from observations,
July 16 and 25 46 45 35
Mean longitude of Sandy Lake post, from 4 sets
of observations, July 15 and 16 93 21 30
Latitude of Wolverine Camp, July 23, 1 day from
Sandy Lake 47 4 15
Latitude of halting-place above forks of Leech
River on the Mississippi, July 20 47 24 00[205]
Latitude of camp at Lake Winnipec, July 20 47 30 56
Latitude of halting-place near first return camp,
July 21 47 27 10
Latitude of return camp; near the above, same
day 47 26 40
Latitude of camp at Buffalo hunting-ground, above
Pe-can-de-quaw Lake, July 28 and 29 46 00 00
Breadth of river at camp on the Buffalo Plain,
148 yards
Latitude of halting-place between the Great Falls
and St. Francis River 45 25 43
Breadth of river at camp above Falls of St. Anthony,
200 yards
Mean latitude of Fort St. Anthony, new site, July
31, by 5 sets of observations 44 53 20
Mean longitude of Fort St. Anthony, new site, July
31, by 3 sets of observations 92 55 45
Latitude of Fort Prairie du Chien, Aug. 6 and 7. 43 03 19[206]
Latitude of Fox and Ouisconsin Portage, Aug.
14 and 15, 43° 42´ 36´´; say 43 42 00
Latitude of camp near mouth of River De Loup,
Aug. 17 44 6 44
Latitude of Fort Howard, Green Bay, Aug. 21 44 31 38
Longitude of Fort Howard (some error), probably
between 87° 45´ 30´´ and 87 46 00
Latitude of camp at Sturgeon Portage, Lake Michigan,
Aug. 23 44 47 43
Latitude of camp 3 miles north of the Manetowag,
Aug. 24 44 12 47
Latitude of camp south of the Sheboyegan, Aug. 25 43 41 26
Latitude of camp at Milwaukie, Aug. 26 43 01 35
Mean latitude of Fort Dearborn, Chicago, by 6 sets
of equal altitudes, Aug. 31, and meridian altitude
41 54 06
Mean longitude of Fort Dearborn, 3 sets of
observations. In time, 5 h. 50 m. 8 sec. In
degrees 87 32 30
Longitude of Detroit, calculated from above 82 54 53
Latitude of camp near head of Lake Michigan,
Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 41 38 48
Mean latitude of the extreme south point of Lake
Michigan, 4 sets of observations and meridian
observation 41 37 28
Latitude of camp next north of the St. Joseph's,
near Kekalamazo, Sept. 3 42 32 16
Latitude of camp at Maskegon River, Sept. 4 43 13 41
Latitude of camp near Point aux Salles, Lake
Michigan, Sept. 5 44 5 17
Latitude of camp at Grand Traverse Bay, Lake
Michigan, Sept. 7 45 34 24
[203] _Galet_, in the Canadian patois, means a smooth, flat
rock.--H. R. S.
[204] A little doubtful.
[205] A little doubtful.
[206] Or 20´´.
3. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.
VI.
_Report on the Copper Mines of Lake Superior._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
To the Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
VERNON (Oneida County, N. Y.), November 6, 1820.
SIR: I have now the honor to submit such observations as have occurred
to me, during the recent expedition under GOV. Cass, in relation to the
copper mines on Lake Superior; reserving, as the subject of a future
communication, the facts I have collected on the mineralogy and geology
of the country explored generally.
The first striking change in the mineral aspect of the country north of
Lake Huron, is presented near the head of the Island of St. Joseph, in
the River St. Mary, where the calcareous strata of secondary rocks are
succeeded by a formation of red sandstone, which extends northward to
the head of that river at Point Iroquois, producing the falls called the
_Sault de Ste. Marie_, fifteen miles below; and thence stretching
northwest, along the whole southern shore of Lake Superior, with the
interruptions noted, to Fond du Lac.
This extensive stratum is perforated at various points by upheaved
masses of sienitic granite and trap, which appear in elevated points on
the margin of the lake at Dead River, Keweena Point, Presque Isle, and
the Chegoimagon Mountains. It is overlaid, in other parts, by a stratum
of gray or neutral-colored sandstone, of uncommon thickness, which
appears in various promontories along the shore, and, at the distance of
ninety miles from Point Iroquois, constitutes a lofty perpendicular and
caverned wall, upon the water's edge, called the Pictured Rocks.
So obvious a change in the geological character of the rock strata, in
passing from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, prepares the observer to
expect a corresponding one in the imbedded minerals and other natural
features--an expectation which is realized during the first eighty
leagues, in the discovery of various minerals. The first appearances of
copper are seen at Keweena Point, two hundred and seventy miles beyond
the Sault de Ste. Marie, where the debris and pebbles along the shore of
the lake contain native copper disseminated in particles varying in size
from a grain of sand to a mass of two pounds' weight. Many of the
detached stones of this Point are also colored green by the carbonate of
copper, and the rock strata exhibit traces of the same ore. These
indications continue to the River Ontonagon, which has long been noted
for the large masses of native copper found upon its banks, and about
the contiguous country.
This river is one of the largest of thirty tributaries, mostly small,
which flow into the lake between Point Iroquois and Fond du Lac. It
originates in a district of mountainous country intermediate between the
Mississippi River and lakes Huron and Superior. After running in a
northern direction for about one hundred and twenty miles, it enters the
latter at the computed distance of fifty miles west of the portage of
Keweena, in north latitude 46° 52´ 2´´, according to the observations of
Capt. Douglass. It is connected, by portages, with the Monomonee River
of Green Bay, and with the Chippewa River of the Mississippi. At its
mouth there is a village of Chippewa Indians of sixteen families, who
subsist chiefly on the fish taken in the river. Their location,
independent of that circumstance, does not appear to unite the ordinary
advantages of an Indian village of the region.
A strip of alluvial land of a sandy character extends from the lake up
the river three or four leagues, where it is succeeded by hills of a
broken, sterile aspect, covered, chiefly, with a growth of pine,
hemlock, and spruce. Among these hills, which may be considered as
lateral spurs of the Porcupine Mountains, the copper mines, so called,
are situated, at the computed distance of thirty-two miles from the
lake, and in the centre of a region characterized by its wild, rugged,
and forbidding appearance. The large mass of native copper lies on the
west bank of the river, at the water's edge, at the foot of an elevated
bank, part of which appears to have slipped into the river, carrying
with it the mass of copper, together with detached blocks of sienitic
granite, trap-rock, and other species common to the soil at that place.
The copper, which is in a pure and malleable state, lies in connection
with serpentine rock, one face of which it almost completely overlays.
It is also disseminated in masses and grains throughout the substance of
the rock. The surface of the metal, unlike most oxidable metals which
have been long exposed to the atmosphere, presents a metallic
brilliancy, which is probably attributable to the attrition of the
semi-annual floods of the river.
The shape of the rock is very irregular; its greatest length is three
feet eight inches; its greatest breadth, three feet four inches, with an
average thickness of twelve inches. It may, altogether, contain eleven
cubic feet.[207] It exceeds, in size, the great mass of native iron
found some years ago on the banks of Red River, in Louisiana. I have
computed the weight of metallic copper in the rock at twenty-two hundred
pounds, which is about one-fifth of the lowest estimate made of it by
former visitors. Henry, who visited it in 1766, estimated its weight at
five tons. The quantity may, however, have been much diminished since
its discovery, and the marks of chisels and axes upon it, with the
discovery of broken tools, prove that portions have been cut off and
carried away. Notwithstanding this reduction, it may still be considered
one of the largest and most remarkable bodies of native copper on the
globe, and is, so far as known, only exceeded in weight by a specimen
found in a valley in Brazil, weighing twenty-six hundred and sixty-six
Portuguese pounds. Viewed as a subject of scientific interest, it
presents illustrative proofs of an important character. Its connection
with a rock which is foreign to the immediate section of country where
it lies,[208] indicates a removal from its original bed; while the
intimate connection of the metal and matrix, and the complete
envelopment of masses of the copper by the rock, point to a common and
contemporaneous origin, whether that be referable to volcanic agency or
water. This conclusion admits of an obvious application to the beds of
serpentine and other magnesian rock found in other parts of the lake.
[207] This copper rock now (1854) lies in the yard of the War Office
at Washington.
[208] A locality of serpentine rock has since been discovered at
Presque Isle, on Lake Superior.
Several other large masses of native copper have been found, either on
this river or within the basin of the lake, at various periods since the
country has been known, and taken into different parts of the United
States and of Europe. A recent analysis of one of these specimens, at
the University of Leyden, proves it to be native copper in a state of
uncommon purity, and uncombined with any notable portion of either gold
or silver.
A mass of copper, weighing twenty-eight pounds, was discovered on an
island in Lake Superior, eighty miles west of the Ontonagon. It was
taken to Michilimackinac and disposed of. The War Department was
formerly supplied with a specimen from this mass, and the analysis above
alluded to is also understood to have been made from a portion of it. A
piece weighing twelve pounds was found at Winnebago Lake. Other
discoveries of this metal have been made, within the region, at various
times and places.
The existence of copper in the region of Lake Superior appears to have
been known to the earliest travellers and voyagers.
As early as 1689, the Baron La Hontan, in concluding a description of
Lake Superior, adds: "That, upon it, we also find copper mines, the
metal of which is so fine and plentiful that there is not a seventh part
lost from the ore."--_New Voyages to North America_, London, 1703.
In 1721, Charlevoix passed through the lakes on his way to the Gulf of
Mexico, and did not allow the mineralogy of the country to escape him.
"Large pieces of copper are found in some places on its banks [Lake
Superior], and around some of the islands, which are still the objects
of a superstitious worship among the Indians. They look upon them with
veneration, as if they were the presents of those gods who dwell under
the waters. They collect their smallest fragments, which they carefully
preserve, without, however, making any use of them. They say that
formerly a huge rock of this metal was to be seen elevated a
considerable height above the surface of the water, and, as it has now
disappeared, they pretend that the gods have carried it elsewhere; but
there is great reason to believe that, in process of time, the waves of
the lake have covered it entirely with sand and slime. And it is certain
that in several places pretty large quantities of this metal have been
discovered without being obliged to dig very deep. During the course of
my first voyage to this country, I was acquainted with one of our order
(Jesuits) who had been formerly a goldsmith, and who, while he was at
the mission of Sault de Ste. Marie used to search for this metal, and
made candlesticks, crosses, and censers of it, for this copper is often
to be met with almost entirely pure."--_Journal of a Voyage to North
America._
In 1766, Captain Carver procured several pieces of native copper on the
shores of Lake Superior, or on the Chippewa and St. Croix Rivers, which
are noticed in his travels, without much precision, however, as to
locality, &c. He did not visit the southern shores of Lake Superior,
east of the entrance of the Brulé, or Goddard's River, but states that
virgin copper is found on the Ontonagon. Of the north and northeastern
shores, he remarks: "That he observed that many of the small islands
were covered with copper _ore_, which appeared like beds of copperas, of
which many tons lay in a small space."--_Three Years' Travels, &c._
In 1771 (four years before the breaking out of the American Revolution),
a considerable body of native copper was dug out of the alluvial earth
on the banks of the Ontonagon River by two adventurers, of the names of
Henry and Bostwick, and, together with a lump of silver ore of eight
pounds' weight, it was transported to Montreal, and from thence shipped
to England, where the silver ore was deposited in the British Museum,
after an analysis had been made of a portion of it, by which it was
determined to contain 60 per cent. of silver.
These individuals were members of a company which had been formed in
England for the purpose of working the copper mines of Lake Superior.
The Duke of Gloucester, Sir William Johnson, and other gentlemen of rank
were members of this company. They built a vessel at Point aux Pins, six
miles above the Sault Ste. Marie, to facilitate their operations on the
lake. A considerable sum of money was expended in explorations and
digging. Isle Maripeau and the Ontonagon were the principal scenes of
their search. They found silver, in a detached form, at Point Iroquois,
fifteen miles above the present site of Fort Brady.
"Hence," observes Henry, "we coasted westward, but found nothing till we
reached the Ontonagon, where, besides the detached masses of copper
formerly mentioned, _we saw much of the same metal imbedded in stone_.
"Proposing to ourselves to make a trial on the hill, till we were better
able to go to work upon the solid rock, we built a house, and sent to
the Sault de Ste. Marie for provisions. At the spot pitched upon for the
commencement of our operations, a green-colored water, which tinges iron
of a copper color, issued from the hill, and this the miners called a
_leader_. In digging, they found frequent masses of copper, some of
which were of three pounds' weight. Having arranged everything for the
accommodation of the miners during the winter, we returned to the Sault.
"Early in the spring of 1772, we sent a boat-load of provisions, but it
came back on the 20th day of June, bringing with it, to our surprise,
the whole establishment of miners. They reported that, in the course of
the winter, they had penetrated forty feet into the face of the hill,
but, on the arrival of the thaw, the clay, on which, on account of its
stiffness, they had relied, and neglected to secure it by supporters,
had fallen in. That, from the detached masses of metal which, to the
last, had daily presented themselves, they supposed there might be
ultimately reached a body of the same, but could form no conjecture of
its distance, except that it was probably so far off as not to be
pursued without sinking an air shaft. And, lastly, that the work would
require the hands of more men than could be fed in the actual situation
of the country.
"Here our operations, in this quarter, ended. The metal was probably
within our reach, but, if we had found it, the expense of carrying it to
Montreal must have exceeded its marketable value. It was never for the
exportation of copper that our company was formed, but always with a
view to the silver, which it was hoped the ores, whether of copper or
lead, might in sufficient quantity contain."--_Travels and Adventures of
Alexander Henry._
[In the summer of 1832, being detained by head winds at the mouth of
Miner's River, on Lake Superior, I observed the names of several persons
engraved on the sand rock, but much obliterated by the water's dashing
over the rock. Tradition represents that Henry's miners were detained
there, and that they made explorations of the river, which is named from
the circumstance. The stream is a mere brook, coming over the shelving
sand rock, which is a part of the precipitous range of the Pictured
Rocks.]
Sir A. Mackenzie passed through Lake Superior, on his first voyage of
discovery, in 1789. He remarks: "At the River Tennagon (Ontonagon) is
found a quantity of virgin copper. The Americans, soon after they got
possession of the country, sent an agent thither; and I should not be
surprised to hear of their employing people to work the mine. Indeed, it
might be well worthy the attention of the British subjects to work the
mines on the north coast, though they are not supposed to be so rich as
those on the south."--_Voyages from Montreal through the Continent of
North America._
It is difficult to conceive what, however, is apparent, from the
references of Dr. Franklin to the subject, that the supposed mineral
riches of Lake Superior had an important bearing on the discussions for
settling the ultimate northern boundary of the United States. The
British ambassadors had, it seems, from an old map which is before me,
claimed a line through the Straits of Michilimackinac and the Illinois
and Mississippi rivers, to the Gulf of Mexico.
The attention of the United States Government appears first to have been
turned toward the subject during the administration of President John
Adams, when the sudden augmentation of the navy rendered the employment
of copper in the equipment of ships an object of moment. A mission was
therefore authorized to proceed to Lake Superior, of the success of
which, as it has not been communicated to the public, nothing can, with
certainty, be stated; but from inquiries which have been made during the
recent expedition, it is rendered probable that the actual state of our
Indian relations, at the time, arrested the advance of the officer into
the region where the most valuable beds of copper were supposed to
exist, and that the specimens transmitted to Government were procured
through the instrumentality of some friendly Indians, employed for the
purpose.
Such are the lights which those who have preceded me in this inquiry
have thrown upon the subject, all of which have operated in producing
public belief in the existence of extensive copper mines on Lake
Superior. Travellers have generally coincided that the southern shore of
the lake is most metalliferous, and that the Ontonagon River may be
considered as the seat of the principal mines. Mr. Gallatin, in his
report on the state of American manufactures in 1810, countenances the
prevalent opinion, while it has been reiterated in some of our literary
journals, and in the numerous ephemeral publications of the times, until
public expectation has been considerably raised in regard to them.
Under these circumstances, the recent expedition under Gov. Cass entered
the mouth of the Ontonagon River on the 27th of June, having coasted
along the southern shore of the lake from the head of the River St.
Mary. We spent four days upon the banks of that stream, in the
examination of its mineralogy, during which the principal part of our
party was encamped at the mouth of the river. Gov. Cass, accompanied by
such persons as were necessary in the exploration, proceeded, in two
light canoes, to the large mass of copper which has already been
described. We found the river broad, deep, and gentle for a distance,
and serpentine in its course; then becoming narrower, with an increased
velocity of current, and, before reaching the Copper Rock, full of
rapids and difficult of ascent. We left our canoes at a point on the
rapids, and proceeded on foot, across a rugged tract of country, around
which the river formed an extensive semicircle. We came to the river
again at the locality of copper. In the course of this curve the river
is separated into two branches of nearly equal size. The copper lies on
the right-hand fork, and it is subsequently ascertained that this branch
is intercepted by three cataracts, at which the river descends over
precipitous cliffs of sandstone. The aggregate fall of water at these
cataracts has been estimated at seventy feet.
The channel of the river at the Copper Rock is rapid and shallow, and
filled with detached masses of rock, which project above the water. The
bed of the river is upon sandstone, similar to that under the Palisades
on the Hudson. The waters are reddish, a color which they evidently owe
to beds of ferruginous clay. The Copper Rock lies partly in the water.
Other details in the geological structure and appearance of the country
are interesting; but they do not appear to demand a more particular
consideration in this report.
During our continuance upon this stream, we procured from an Indian a
separate mass of copper weighing nearly nine pounds; which will be
forwarded to the War Department. This specimen is partially enveloped
with a crust of green carbonate of copper. Small fragments of quartz and
sand adhere to the under side, upon which it would appear to have fallen
in a liquid state. Several smaller pieces of this metal were procured
during our excursion up the Ontonagon, or along the shores of the lake
east of this stream.
It may be added that discoveries of masses of native copper, like those
of gold and other metals, are generally considered indicative of the
existence of mines in the neighborhood. The practical miner regards them
as signs which point to larger bodies of the same metals, in the earth,
and he is often determined by discoveries of this nature in the choice
of the spot for commencing his labors. The predictions drawn from such
evidence are more sanguine in proportion to the extent of the discovery.
They are not, however, unerring indications, and appear liable to many
exceptions. Metallic masses are sometimes found at great distances from
their original repositories; and the latter, on the contrary, sometimes
occur in the earth, or imbedded in rock strata, where there have been no
great external discoveries.
From all the facts, which I have been able to collect on Lake Superior,
and after a full deliberation upon them since my return, I have drawn
the following conclusions:--
1. That the diluvial soil along the banks of the Ontonagon River,
extending to its source, and embracing the contiguous region, which
gives origin to the Monomonee River of Green Bay, and to the Wisconsin,
Chippewa, and St. Croix Rivers of the Mississippi, contains very
frequent, and several extraordinary masses of native, or metallic
copper. But that no body of this metal, which is sufficiently extensive
to become the object of profitable mining operations, has yet been found
at any particular place. This conclusion is supported by the facts
adduced, and, so far as theoretical aids can be relied upon, by an
application of those facts to the theories of mining. A further extent
of country might have been embraced, along the shores of Lake Superior,
but the same remark appears applicable to it.
2. That a more intimate knowledge of the mineralogical resources of the
country, may be expected to result in the discovery of valuable ores of
copper, in the working of which occasional masses and veins of the
native metal, may materially enhance the advantages of mining. This
inference is rendered probable by the actual state of discoveries, and
by the geological character of the country.
These deductions embrace all I have to submit on the mineral geography
of the country, so far as regards the copper mines. Other considerations
arise from the facilities which the country may present for mining--its
adaptation to the purposes of agriculture--the state and disposition of
the Indian tribes, and other topics which a design to commence
metallurgical operations would suggest. But I have not considered it
incumbent upon me to enter into details upon these subjects. It may, in
brief, be remarked that the remote situation of the country does not
favor the pursuit of mining. It would require the employment of a
military force to protect such operations. For, whatever may be their
professions, the Indian tribes of the north possess strong natural
jealousies, and in situations so remote, are only to be restrained from
an indulgence in malignant passions, by the fear of military
chastisement.
In looking upon the southern shore of Lake Superior, the period appears
distant, when the advantages flowing from a military post upon that
frontier, will be produced by the ordinary progress of our
settlements--for it presents but few enticements for the
agriculturalist. A considerable portion of the shore is rocky, and its
alluvions are, in general, of too sandy and light a character for
profitable husbandry. With an elevation of six hundred and forty-one
feet above the Atlantic, and drawing its waters from territories
situated north of the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, Lake
Superior cannot be represented as enjoying a climate favorable to the
productions of the vegetable kingdom. Its forest trees are chiefly those
of the fir kind, mixed with varieties of the betula, lynn, oak, and
maple. Meteorological observations indicate, however, a warm summer, the
average observed heat of the month of June being 69. But the climate is
subject to a long and severe winter, and to sudden transitions of the
summer temperature. We saw no Indian corn among the natives.
A country lacking a fertile soil, may still become a rich mining
country, like the county of Cornwall in England, the Hartz Mountains in
Germany, and a portion of Missouri, in our own country. But this
deficiency must be compensated by the advantages of geographical
position, a contiguous or redundant population, partial districts of
good land, or a good market. To these, the mineral districts of Lake
Superior can advance but a feeble claim, while it lies upwards of three
hundred miles beyond the utmost point of our settlements, and in the
occupation of savage tribes whose hostility has been so recently
manifested.
Concerning the variety, importance, and extent of its latent mineral
resources, I think little doubt can remain. Every fact which has been
noticed tends to strengthen the belief that future observations will
indicate extensive mines upon its shores, and render it an attractive
field of mineralogical discovery. In the event of mining operations, the
facilities of a ready transportation of the crude ores to the Sault de
Ste. Marie, will point out that place as uniting, with a commanding
geographical position, superior advantages for the reduction of the
ores, and the general facilities of commerce. At this place, a fall of
twenty-two feet, in the river, in the distance of half a mile, creates
sufficient power to drive hydraulic works to any extent; while the
surrounding country is such as to admit of an agricultural settlement.
I accompany this report with a geological sketch of a vertical section
of the left bank of the Mississippi at St. Peter's, embracing a
formation of native copper. This formation was first noticed by the
officers of the garrison, who directed the quarrying of stone at this
spot. The masses of copper found are small, none exceeding a pound in
weight.
I have the honor to be, sir,
With great respect,
Your ob't servant,
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
VII.
_Observations on the Geology and Mineralogy of the Region embracing the
Sources of the Mississippi River, and the Great Lake Basins, during the
Expedition of 1820. Illustrated with Geological Profiles, and Numerous
Diagrams and Views of Scenery._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, U. S. Geol. and
Minera. Exp.
To the Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.
WASHINGTON, April 2, 1822.
SIR: I have the honor, herewith, to submit the general report of my
observations on the geology and mineralogy of the region visited by the
recent expedition to the sources of the Mississippi River. I transmitted
to the Department on the 6th of November, 1820, a report on the
existence of Copper Mines in the Basin of Lake Superior, together with
specimens of the native metal, which were politely taken charge of at
Albany by General Stephen Van Rensselaer, M. C. Will it be consistent
with the views of the Department to print these reports?
I have the honor to be, sir,
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
REPLY.
WAR DEPARTMENT, April 6, 1822.
SIR: I have received your interesting report on the geology and
mineralogy of that section of the western country embraced by the late
expedition of Gov. Cass; and, although I have not had it in my power, as
yet, to peruse it with attention, I will see you, at any time you
please, on the subject of your letter respecting it.
I am, sir,
Respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
J. C. CALHOUN.
Mr. HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
ALBANY, March, 1822.
SIR: Agreeably to your appointment as a member of the expedition to
explore the sources of the Mississippi, by the way of the Lakes, I
proceeded to join the party organized for that purpose at Detroit, by
His Excellency Lewis Cass. Diurnal notes were kept of the changes in the
geological features of the regions visited; of the mineralogy of the
country; and of such facts as could be ascertained, with the means at
command, to determine its general physical character and value.[209]
[209] The two geological profiles of the Mississippi Valley and the
Lake Basins accompanying the original are here omitted; as, also,
most of the illustrative views of scenery which accompanied the
original.
I have heretofore reported to you the facts and appearances which
indicate the existence of the ores of copper, and of valuable deposits
of copper in its native form, in the basin of Lake Superior--a point
which constituted one of the primary objects to which my attention was
called--and I now proceed to state such particulars in the topics
confided to me as fell within my observation.
In generalizing the facts, it must be observed that the expedition had
objects of a practical character relative to the number, disposition,
and feelings to be learned respecting the Indian tribes; that the
transit over large portions of the country was necessarily rapid; and
that few opportunities of elaborate or long-continued observations
occurred at any one point. The topography was committed to a gentleman
who is every way qualified for that topic, who was well supplied with
instruments, and who will do ample justice to that department. I make
these remarks to prepare you for a class of observations which are
necessarily technical, and quite imperfect, and to which it is felt that
it will not be an easy task to impart a high degree of interest,
whatever may have been the anticipations.
To prepare the mind to appreciate the account which I give of changes
and developments in the physical structure of the country, it may be
observed that the American continent has experienced some of the most
striking mutations in its structure _at_ and _north_ of the great chain
of lakes. That chain is itself rather the evidence of disruptions and
upheavals of formations, which give its northern coasts, to some extent,
the character of ancient--very ancient--volcanic areas of action. These
lakes form--except Erie and Ontario--the general boundaries between the
primitive and secondary strata. But, however striking this fact may, at
particular localities, appear--such as at the Straits of St. Mary, of
which the east and west shores are, geologically, of different
construction--yet nothing in the grand phenomena of the whole region
visited is so remarkable as the boulder stratum, which is spread,
generally, from the north to the south. Some of the blocks of rock are
enormous, and would seem to defy any known cause of removal from their
parent beds; others are smaller, and have had their angles removed, and
far the greater number of these transported boulders are quite smooth
and rounded by the force of attrition. This drift stratum has been
tossed and scattered from its northern latitudes over the surface of the
limestones and sandstones of the south. It is mixed with the diluvial
soils, in Michigan and elsewhere; but it is evident that, in its
diffusion south, the heavier pieces have settled first, while
comparatively minute boulders have been carried over or dropped in the
plains and prairies of Ohio, Illinois, and more southerly regions.
Nobody, with an eye to geology, can mistake the heavy boulder deposits
which mark the southern shores of Huron, and become still more abundant
on the St. Mary's, the shores of Lake Superior, and along the channels
of the River St. Louis and the Upper Mississippi.
Lake Superior has been the central theatre of volcanic upheavals; but
they must have operated at very remote periods, for there is not only no
evidence of existing volcanic fires, but the heavy debris everywhere
bespeaks long intervals of quietude, and slow elementary degradation.
Some of the upheavals were made after the deposition of the sandstone
rocks, which are, as at the foot of the Porcupine Mountains, raised up
to stand nearly vertical; while other districts of the granitic rock, as
at Granite Point, had been elevated before the deposition of the
sandstone rock, which is accurately adjusted to its asperities, and
remains quite horizontal.
The granitical series of strata, which is apparent in northern New York
in the Kayaderasseras Mountains, and at the Thousand Islands of the St.
Lawrence, reappear on the north shores of Huron and Superior, underlie
the bed of the latter, and rise up in the rough coast between the
Chocolate River and Kewaiwenon, cross the Mississippi at the Petite
Roche, above the Falls of St. Anthony, and put out spurs as low down as
the source of the Fox, the St. Croix, and the head of the St. Peter's
Rivers.
These glimpses of some of the leading points in the geological structure
of the regions visited, will enable you to follow my details more
understandingly. These details begin at Detroit. From this place the
expedition passed, by water, along the southern shores of Lakes St.
Clair, Huron, and Superior, to the Fond du Lac; thence, up the River St.
Louis, to the Savanne summit. Thence we proceeded across the portage to
Sandy Lake, which has an outlet into the Mississippi, and followed up
the latter, through the lesser Lake Winnipek, to the entrance of the
Turtle River, in Cass, or upper, Red Cedar Lake, which is laid down by
Pike in north latitude 47° 42´ 40´´.[210] The state of the water was
unfavorable to going higher.
[210] Pike's Expedition. This observation is corrected by Capt.
Douglass to 47° 27´ 10´´; the point of observation being, however, a
few miles south.
From this point, which formed the terminus of the expedition, we
descended the Mississippi, making portages around the Falls of Pekagama
and St. Anthony, to Prairie du Chien. An excursion was made by me down
the Mississippi to the mineral district of Dubuque. We ascended the
Wisconsin, to the portage into the Fox River, and traced the latter down
to its entrance into Green Bay. At this point, the expedition separated;
a part proceeding north, through the bay, to Michilimackinac, and a part
going south, along the west shores of Lake Michigan, to Chicago, the
latitude of which is placed by Capt. Douglass in 41° 54´ 06´´. At this
place, a further division took place. Dr. Wolcott, having reached his
station, remained. Governor Cass proceeded across the peninsula of
Michigan to Detroit on horseback, leaving Capt. Douglass and myself to
complete the survey of Lake Michigan. We rejoined the northern party
detached at Green Bay, under Mr. Trowbridge and Mr. Doty, at
Michilimackinac; and, after repassing the southern coast of Lakes Huron
and St. Clair, reached Detroit.
Topographically, a very wide expanse of wilderness country had been
seen. The entire length of route computed to have been traversed,
exceeds four thousand miles, in the course of which we had crossed
nineteen portages, over which all the baggage and canoes were conveyed
on the shoulders of men. We encountered actual resistance from the
Indians at only one point.[211] I kept my journals continually before
me, and had my pencil in hand every morning as soon as it was light
enough to discern objects. I began my geological observations at
Detroit.
[211] _Vide_ Narrative Journal.
This ancient city, founded by the French in 1701, stands upon an
argillaceous stratum, which is divided, topographically, into an upper
and lower bank. Wherever this clay has been examined by digging, it
discloses pebbles of various species of rock, denoting it, as far as
these extend at least, to be a part of the great drift stratum.
In digging a well near the old Council House, in the northeast part of
the city, the top soil appeared to be less than two feet. The workmen
then passed through a stratum of blue clay, of eight or ten feet, when
they struck a vein of coarse sand, six or eight inches in thickness,
through which the water entered profusely. The digging was carried
through another bed of blue clay, twenty or twenty-two feet in depth,
when the men reached a stratum of fine yellow sand, into which they dug
three feet and stopped, having found sufficient water. The whole depth
of the well is thirty-three feet. The water is clear and rapid. No
vegetable or other remains were found, and but few primitive pebbles.
In another well, situated near the centre of the town, the depth of
which is twelve feet, the top soil was found to be two feet and a half;
then a bed of gravel, seven feet; a vein of blue clay, eight inches, and
the residue a whitish-blue clay, very compact and hard; a copious supply
of water having been found. The water is, however, slightly colored, and
is of a quality called hard.
In some places, this clay drift yields balls of iron pyrites, which
renders the water unpalatable. At what depth the rock would be struck,
if the excavation were continued, can only be conjectured. A well has
been dug, a short distance below the city, upwards of sixty feet,
chiefly through clay and gravel, without reaching the rock; but abraded
fragments of granite and hornblende rocks were thrown from the greatest
depths.
The bed of the river opposite the city has been stated to consist of
limestone rock, but without any proof or much probability. From the fact
of its affording a good anchorage to vessels, I am inclined to think
that it is wholly composed of clay and gravel.
DETROIT FLUVIATILE CLAY.--The argillaceous stratum of Detroit extends
along both banks of the river to its head; passes around the shores of
Lake St. Clair, and up the River St. Clair to Fort Gratiot--a distance
of seventy miles. In this distance there are some moderate elevations
and depressions in the surfaces of the soil, but no very striking
changes in its general character and composition. The boulder stratum is
prominent at Gros Point, at the foot of Lake St. Clair, where the shore
exhibited some heavy blocks of granite, and other foreign rock.
ST. CLAIR FLATS OF PLASTIC CLAY.--At the mouth of the River St. Clair,
the current is divided into several channels, and spread over a
considerable tract of low ground, which is covered with grasses and
aquatic plants. These channels have worn their way through beds of tough
blue clay, called the flats, over which there is sometimes not over
seven feet eight inches of water in the ship channel. They consequently
form an impediment to commerce. The depth is, however, always increased
in the spring season, when twelve inches more may be generally relied
on. Frequently, during the droughts of summer, a change of wind, and its
steady continuance for some time, will allow ships to pass without
lighters. The permanent removal of this bar is, however, an object of
national importance, which cannot but be felt, as the tonnage of the
lakes increases.
ANCIENT DUNE; A BURIED FOREST.--The principal spot where the lands, in
the immediate vicinity of the water, assume any considerable or abrupt
elevation, is included between Black River of the St. Clair and Lake
Huron. Here the outlet of the lake, which is rapid, washes the base of a
ridge, or ancient dune, elevated fifty or sixty feet above the water.
Fort Gratiot occupies the upper part of this elevation. The lower part
consists of the blue clay stratum, corresponding in character with that
found in the wells of Detroit. It is overlaid by a deposit of sand,
forming two-thirds of the entire height. This elevation is crowned with
a light forest of oak and other species. At the line of junction
between the sand and clay, a number of trees are seen to be
horizontally imbedded, projecting their roots and trunks in a striking
manner above the water. These trees, on inspection, are merely
preserved, not petrified. They appear to have been exposed to view, in
modern times, by the wearing away of the bank. Certainly, none of the
old travellers mention them.
The mode of this formation may be clearly seen. Winds, at some ancient
period, have been the agent of blowing the sands, as they were washed up
by the lake, and redepositing them on part of a prostrated forest,
resting directly on the clay stratum. The trees, thus buried in dry
sand, have been preserved. In process of time, the river encroached upon
these antique beds, exposing them to view. There are also antique
fresh-water shells found in similar positions near this spot. No rock
is, thus far, found _in sitû_ in ascending the lakes. The old surface of
the country is wholly of diluvial formation, except where it shows lake
action.
HURON COAST FROM FORT GRATIOT TO MICHILIMACKINAC.--About two hundred and
thirty miles lie stretched out between these two points. Lake Huron
charms the eye, with the view of its freshness and oceanic expanse. But
the entrance is without rock scenery, and the student of its geology
must be a patient gleaner along its shores. Long coasts of sand and
gravel extend before the eye, and they are surmounted, at a moderate
elevation, with a dense foliage, which limits the view of its structure
to a narrow line. Portions of this coast are heavily loaded with the
primitive debris[212] from the North. These are found, in some places,
in heavy masses, but all are more or less abraded, showing that they
have been transported from their original beds. In one of these, I
observed crystals of staurotide.
[212] In 1824, an Indian brought me a specimen of native silver found
on this part of the coast. It was imbedded in a boulder of mixed
granite and steatite.
The first section of this coast reaches from Fort Gratiot to Point aux
Barques, a distance of about seventy-five miles. Nearly midway lies the
White Rock, a very large boulder of whitish-gray semi-crystalline
limestone, lying off the shore about half a mile, in water of about one
and a half fathom's depth. It is the effect of gulls lighting upon this
rock, and not the intensity of the color of the stone, that has
originated the name--which is a translation of the _Roche Blanche_ of
the older _voyageurs_. The Detroit clay-formation still characterizes
the coast.
FIRST EMERGENCE OF ROCK, IN PLACE, ABOVE THE SURFACE.--We are passing,
in this section, along and near to the outcrop of the secondary strata
of the peninsula, but these strata are covered with a heavy deposit of
diluvial clays, sands, and pebble drift. The first emergence of fixed
rocks, above the line of the drift, occurs after passing Elm Creek in
the advance to Ship Point (_Pointe aux Barques_). It is a species of
coarse gray, loosely compacted sandstone, in horizontal layers. This
rock continues to characterize the coast to and around the Ship Point
promontory into Saganaw Bay. It possesses a few fossil remains of
corallines; but the rock is not of sufficient compactness and durability
for architectural purposes. It is conjectured to be one of the outlying
series of the coal measures, of which this coast exhibits, further on,
other evidences.
SAGANAW BAY.--The phenomena of this large body of water, which is some
sixty miles long, appear to indicate an original rent in the
stratification, having its centre of action very deep. If the peninsula
of Michigan be likened to a huge fish's head, this bay may be considered
as its open mouth. We crossed the inner bay from Point aux Chenes, where
it is estimated to be twenty miles across.[213] The traverse is broken
by an island, to which the Indians, with us, applied the name of
Sha-wan-gunk.[214] It is composed of a dark-colored limestone, of dull
and earthy fracture and compact structure. It presents broken and
denuded edges at the water level. I observed in it nodular masses of
chalcedony and calc. spar. The margin of the island bears fragments of
the boulder stratum.
[213] Ships make the traverse where it is sixty miles wide.
[214] The reason of this name I did not learn. It is apparently the
same name as that bestowed on a mountain range in Orange and Ulster
Counties, New York, lying south of the Catskills, where it is
sometimes called, for short, Shongum. The meaning is, evidently,
something like South-land-place. The local _unk_ may be translated
hill, island, continent, &c. &c.
HIGHLANDS OF SAUBLE.--On crossing the bay, these highlands present
themselves to view in the distance. They are the north-eastern verge of
the most elevated central strata of the peninsula. Their structure can
only be inferred from the formations along the margin of the lake,
extending by Thunder Bay and Presque Isle, and the Isles of Bois Blanc
and Round Island to Michilimackinac. At Thunder Bay, the compact
limestone of the Saganaw Islands reappears, and is constantly in sight
from this point to Presque Isle. It exists in connection with bituminous
shale, at an island in Thunder Bay. It is of a dark carbonaceous
character on the main opposite Middle Island, at a point which is called
by the Indians _Sho-sho-ná-bi-kó-king_, or Place of the Smooth Rock. I
noticed at this point the cyathophyllum helianthoides in abundance, and
easily detached them from the rock. The more compact portions of this
formation in the approach to Presque Isle, disclosed the ammonite, two
species of the gorgonia, and the fragment of a species of chambered
shell, whose character is indeterminate.
Much of the coast was footed, as the winds were adverse, and its debris
thus subjected to a careful scrutiny. Wherever the limestone was broken
up or receded from the water, long lines of yellow beach-sand and
lake-gravel, including members of the erratic block stratum, intervened.
In some localities, local beds of iron sand occur.
MICHILIMACKINAC.[215]--The approach to this island was screened from our
view by the woody shores and forests of Bois Blanc, an island of some
twelve miles in length lying off the main land; and the view of it first
burst upon us in the narrow channel between it and Round Island. It is a
striking geological monument of mutations. Here the calcareous rock,
which had before exhibited itself in low ledges along the shore is piled
up in masses, which reach an extreme altitude of three hundred and
twelve feet. About two hundred feet of this elevation is precipitous on
its south, east, and west edge. A hundred feet or more is piled up on
its centre, part rock and part soil, in a crowning shape. The highest
part of this apex, which is surmounted by the ruins of Fort Holmes,
consists of the drift stratum, among which are boulders of sienite, and
other foreign rocks. A locality of these abraded boulder-rocks, near the
Dousman farm, is worthy of a visit from all who take an interest in the
phenomena of boulders dispersed over the continent. The fishermen
represent the water around this island to be eighty fathoms in depth.
Yet, across these waters, to the utmost altitude of the island, these
blocks of foreign rock have been transported. No force capable of
effecting this is now known. And the argument of their having been
transported on cakes of ice, in the nascent periods of the globe, is
rendered stronger by these appearances than any geological proofs which
I have yet seen.
[215] The name, as pronounced by the Indians, is Mich-en-i-mack-in-ong,
meaning Place of Turtle Spirits, a notion of their mythology. It was
anciently deemed a sacred spot, or one where Monetoes revealed
themselves.
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF THE MACKINAC LIMESTONE.--Nothing appears so
completely to puzzle the observer as the first glance at this rock. It
is different in appearance from the calcareous rocks, to which my
attention has heretofore been called in Western New York, and in
Missouri and Illinois. The difficulty is to find a point of comparison.
I walked entirely around the island, partly in water, the northern
shores being comparatively low. There appeared to be three layers. The
first, which rises up from the depths of the lake, scarcely, if at all,
reaches the water level. Upon this is superimposed a vesicular rock, of
which the vesicles are filled with carbonate of lime in the state of
agaric mineral. By exposure to the air, this substance readily
decomposes, and assumes an almost limey whiteness, and sometimes a
complete pulverulent state. The reticular, or vesicular lines, by which
the mass is held together, are thus weakened, and large masses of the
craggy parts fall, and assume the condition of debris at the water's
edge. Some conditions of the reticulated filaments are covered with
minute crystals of cal. spar; others of minutely crystallized quartz.
There appear, at other localities, in low positions, layers of quartz in
the condition of a coarse bluish, flinty, striped agate. The entire
stratum appears to be a reproduced mass, which is plainly denoted, if I
mistake not, by some imbedded masses of an elder lime-rock. The whole
stratum is too shelly and fissured to be of value for economical
purposes. It yields neither quicklime nor building stone.
Fort Mackinac is erected on the summit of this stratum. The two objects
of curiosity, called the Arched Rock, and the point called Robinson's
Folly, are evidences of this tendency of the cliffs to disintegration.
The superior stratum which constitutes the nucleus of the Fort Holmes'
summit, contains more silex, diffused throughout its structure. It is,
however, of a loose, though hard and shelly character; and has, in the
geological mutations of the island been chiefly demolished and washed
away. The monumental mass of this period of demolition, called the Sugar
Loaf, is a proof that it contained, either by its shape, or otherwise, a
superior power of resisting these means of ancient prostration. Striking
as it now appears, this is the simple story which it tells. Its apex is
probably level, or nearly so, with the Fort Holmes's summit. Over the
whole island, after these demolitions, the drift stratum was deposited.
The German geognosts apply the term _mushelkalk_, to this species of
calcareous rock. It is, apparently, the magnesian limestone of English
writers.
ANCIENT WATER LINES.--Such marks appear on the most compact parts of the
cliffs, denoting the water to have stood, during the ancient boundaries
of the lake, at higher levels.
LAKE ACTION.--It is known that strong currents set into the Straits of
Michilimackinac, and out of it, from Lake Michigan, at this point. The
fishermen, who set their nets at four hundred feet in the waters, often
bring up, entangled in their nets, large compact masses of limestone,
which have been fretted into a kind of lacework, by the rotatory motion
of little pebbles and grains of sand, kept in perpetual motion by the
water at the bottom of the lake.
ORGANIC IMPRESSIONS.--There are cast up among the lake debris of this
island, casts of some species of orthocaratites, ammonites, and
madrepores, which appear to be derived from the calcareous rocks in
place in the basin of Lake Huron. But the rock strata of the island
itself appear to be singularly destitute of these remains. The only
species which I have noticed, is one that was thrown up from a well
attempted to be dug, on the apex of Fort Holmes, by the British troops,
while they held possession of the island in 1813, 1814, and 1815. But
this is uniformly fragmentary. It has the precise appearance of the head
of a trilobite, but never reveals the whole of the lateral lobes, nor
any of the essential connecting parts. It is silicious.
GYSEUS FORMATION.--Evidences of the extension of this formation to this
vicinity were brought to my notice; in consequence of which I visited
the St. Martin's Islands, which belong to the Mackinac group. Masses of
gypsum were found imbedded in the soil, both of the fibrous and compact
variety. These islands are low diluvial formations. Similar masses are
found on Goose Island; and the mineral has been found at Point St.
Ignace on the main land.
Taken in connection with the discovery of this mineral, at a subsequent
part of the journey on Grand River, the indications of the series of the
saline group of rocks, so prevalent in the Mississippi Valley, are quite
clear up to this extreme point, which is, however, very near the
northern verge of this group.
HONEYCOMBED ROCKS.--As evidences of existing lake action, it has already
been mentioned that the fishermen bring up, from great depths in the
straits, pieces of compact limestone, completely fretted and excavated
by small pebbles, which are kept in motion by the strong currents which
prevail at profound depths. The process of their formation by these
currents is such, as in some instances to give the appearance of
cellepores, and analogous forms of organic life. I have seen nothing in
these carious forms which does not reveal the mechanical action of these
waters.
PSEUDOMORPHIC FORMS.--Amongst the limestone debris, of recent date,
found on these shores, are pieces of rock which have an appearance as if
they had been punctured with a lancet, or blade of a penknife. These
incisions are numerous, and from their regularity, appear to have been
moulded on some crystals which have subsequently decayed. Yet, there are
difficulties in supposing such to have been the origin of these small
angular orifices.
Whenever these masses are examined by obtaining a fresh fracture, they
are found to consist of the compact gray and semi-granular rock of the
inferior Mackinac group, but in no instance of the vesicular or
silicious varieties. These blocks appear to be identical in character
with the White Rock, before noticed.
NORTH SHORE OF LAKE HURON.--The next portion of the country examined was
that of the north shores of the lake, extending from Michilimackinac to
Point Detour, the west Cape of the Straits of St. Mary's, a distance
computed to be forty miles. The calcareous rock, such as it appears in
the inferior stratum of Mackinac, extends along this coast. The first
three leagues of it, consist of an open traverse across an arm of the
lake. Goose Island offers a shelter to the voyager, which is generally
embraced. It consists of an accumulation of pebbles and boulders on a
reef, with a light soil, resting on the lower limestone. It does not,
perhaps, at any point, rise to an elevation of more than eight or ten
feet above the water. Outard Point, a short league, or rather three
miles further, exhibits the same underlying formation of rock, which is
found wherever solid points put out into the lake, during the entire
distance. The chain of islands called Chenos, extends about twenty
miles, and affords shelter during storms to boatmen and canoemen, who
are compelled to pass this coast. Large masses of the rock, with its
angles quite entire, lie along parts of the shore, and appear to have
been but recently detached. The intervals between these blocks and
points of coast, are formed of the loose sand and pebbles of the lake,
which are more or less affected by every tempest. The only organic
remains and impressions are drift-specimens, which have been driven
about by the waves, and are abraded. Broken valves of the anadonta,
occasionally found in similar positions, denote that this species exists
in the region, but that the outer localities of the coast are entirely
unfavorable to their growth.
DRUMMOND ISLAND.--This island, now in the possession of British troops,
who removed from Michilimackinac in 1816, is the western terminus of the
Manatouline chain. We did not visit it, but learn from authentic
sources, that it is a continuation of the nether Mackinac limestone--and
that the locality abounds in loose petrifactions, which appear to have
belonged to an upper stratum of the rock, now disrupted.[216]
[216] Dr. John Bigsby, in a memoir read before the London Geological
Society, has described and figured several of these. In a memoir by
Charles Stokes, Esq., of London, read before this Society in June,
1837, some of its most striking fossils are figured and described,
with references to the prior discoveries of Dr. Bigsby, Captain
Bayfield, and Dr. Richardson. Six new species of the Arctinoceras,
and five of the Huronia, Ormoceras, and Orthocerata, are figured and
described in the most splendid manner. This memoir is essential to
all who would understand its fossil history, and that of the North
generally.
STRAITS OF ST. MARY'S.--These straits, and the river which falls into
their head, connect Lakes Huron and Superior. They appear to occupy the
ancient line of junction between the great calcareous and granitic
series of rocks on the continent. The limestone, which has been noticed
along the north shore of the Huron from Michilimackinac, and which
continues, with interruptions of water only, from Detour to Drummond
Island, and the Manatoulines, is to be noticed up the straits as high as
Isle a la Crosse, where the last locality of a pure carbonate of lime
appears to occur. The island of St. Joseph is chiefly primitive rock,
and its south end is heavily loaded with granitic, porphyritic, and
quartz boulders. The north shores of the river, opposite and above this
island, are entirely of the granitic series, which continues to Gros
Cape of Lake Superior. On reaching the _Nebeesh_,[217] or Sailor's
Encampment Island, sandstone rocks of a red color present themselves,
and are found also on the American side of the river, and continue to
characterize it to the Falls, or Sault de Ste. Marie,[218] and to Point
Iroquois and Isle Parisien in Lake Superior.
[217] Strong water.
[218] Reached somewhere about 1641, by the French missionaries.
The Sault of St. Mary's is _upon_ and _over_ this red sandstone. The
river makes several successive leaps, of a few feet at a time, in its
central channel, falling, altogether, about twenty-two feet in half a
mile. This gives it a foaming appearance, and the volume pours a heavy
murmur on the ear.[219] It is, of course, a complete interruption to the
navigation of vessels, which can, however, come to anchor near its foot,
while barges may be pushed up, empty, on the American shore. The
water-power created by such a change of level, is such as must commend
the spot, at a future period, to manufacturers, lumbermen, and miners.
The foot of these falls is heavily incumbered, both with masses of the
disrupted sand-rock[220] and granitic and conglomerate boulders.