are made happy; and, in like manner, the suffixed personal pronouns
_plural_, mark the distinctions between we, ye, they, &c.; for it is a
rule of the language, that a strict concordance must exist between the
number of the verb and the number of the pronoun. The termination of the
verb consequently always indicates whether there be one or many objects
to which its energy is directed. And as animate verbs can be applied
only to animate objects, the numerical inflections of the verb are
understood to mark the number of persons. But this number is
indiscriminate, and leaves the sense vague until the pronominal suffixes
are superadded. Those who, therefore, contend for the _sense_ of the
relative pronoun "who" being given in the last-mentioned phrase, and all
phrases similarly formed by a succedaneum, contend for something like
the following form of translation: "He makes them happy--him!" or
"Him--he (meaning 'who') makes them happy."
The equivalent for _what_, is _waygonain_.
What do you want? Waygonain wau iauyun?
What have you lost? Waygonain kau wonetöyun?
What do you look for? Waygonain nain dahwau bundahmun?
What is this? Waygonain ewinain maundun?
What will you have? Waygonain kad iauyun?
What detained you? Waygonain kau oon dahme egöyun?
What are you making? Waygonain wayzhetöyun?
What have you there? Waygonain e-mau iauyun?
The use of this pronoun, like the preceding, appears to be confined to
simple interrogative forms. The word _auneen_, which sometimes supplies
its place, or is used for want of the pronoun _which_, is an adverb, and
has considerable latitude of meaning. Most commonly, it may be
considered as the equivalent for _how_, in what manner, or at what time.
What do you say? Auneen akeedöyun?
What do you call this? Auneen aizheneekaudahmun
maundun?(i.)
What ails you? Auneen aindeeyun?
What is your name? Auneen aizheekauzoyun?
Which do you mean, this or that? (an.) Auneen ah-ow ainud, woh-ow
gämau ewaidde?
Which do you mean, this or that? (in.) Auneen eh-eu ewaidumun oh-oo
gämau ewaidde?
Which boy do you mean? Auneen ah-ow-ainud?
By adding to this word the particle _de_, it is converted into an adverb
of place, and may be rendered _where_.
Where do you dwell? Auneende aindauyun?
Where is your son? Auneende ke gwiss?
Where did you see him? Auneende ke waubumud?
Where did you see it? Auneende ke waubundumun?
Where are you going? Auneende azhauyun?
Where did you come from? Auneende ka oonjeebauyun?
Where is your pipe? Auneende ke döpwaugun?
Where is your gun? Auneende ke baushkizzigun?
By a still further modification, it is rendered an adverb of inquiry of
the cause or motive.
Why do you do so? Auneeshween eh eu todumun?
Why do you say so? Auneeshween eh eu ekeedoyun?
Why are you angry? Auneeshween nishkaudizzeyun?
Why will you depart? Auneeshween wee matyauyun?
Why will you not depart? Auneeshween matyauseewun?
Why have you come? Auneeshween ke peëzhauyun?
Tell me why? Weendumowishin auneeshween?
Wherefore is it so? Auneeshween eh-eu izzhewaibuk?
(in.)
Wherefore did you strike him? Auneeshween ke pukketaywud?
3. Demonstrative pronouns are either animate or inanimate, and may be
arranged as follows:--
ANIMATE. INANIMATE.
Mau-bum (impersonal), } This. Maun-dun (inanimate proper).
Woh-ow (personal), } Oh-oo (inanimate conventional).
Ah-ow, That. Eh-eu.
Mau-mig, These. Mau-min.
Ig-eu (personal), } Those. In-eu (inanimate proper).
I-goo (impersonal), } O-noo (inanimate conventional).
These words are not always used merely to ascertain the object, but
often, perhaps always, when the object is present to the sight, have a
substantive meaning, and are used without the noun. It creates no
uncertainty, if a man be standing at some distance to say, _Ah-ow_; or
if a canoe be lying at some distance, to say, _Eh-eu_; the meaning is
clearly, that _person_, or that _canoe_, whether the noun be added or
not. Or, if there be two animate objects standing together, or two
inanimate objects lying together, the words _maumig_ (a.), or _maumin_
(i.), if they be near, or _ig-eu_, (a.), or _in-eu_ (i.), if they be
distant, are equally expressive of the _materiality_ of the objects, as
well as their relative position. Under other circumstances the noun
would be required, as where two animate objects of diverse character--a
man and a horse for instance--were standing near each other; or a canoe
and a package of goods were lying near each other--and, in fact, under
all circumstances--the noun _may_ be used after the demonstrative
pronoun, without violating any rule of grammar, although not without the
imputation, in many instances, of being over-formal and unnecessarily
minute. What is deemed redundant, however, in oral use, and amongst a
people who supply much by sight and gesticulation, becomes quite
necessary in writing the language; and, in the following sentences, the
substantive is properly employed after the pronoun:--
This dog is very lean, Gitshee bukaukuddoozo woh-ow
annemoosh.
These dogs are very lean, Gitshee bukaukuddoozowug o-goo
annemooshug.
Those dogs are fat, Ig-eu annemooshug ween-in-oowug.
That dog is fat, Ah-ow annemoosh ween-in-oo.
This is a handsome knife, Gagait onishishin maundun mokomahn.
These are handsome knives, Gagait wahwinaudj o-noo mokomahnun.
Those are bad knives, Monaududön in-euwaidde mokomahnun.
Give me that spear, Meezhishin eh-eu ahnitt.
Give me those spears, Meezhishin in-eu unnewaidde
ahnitteen.
That is a fine boy, Gagait kwonaudj ah-ow kweewezains.
Those are fine boys, Gagait wahwinaudj ig-euwaidde
kweewezainsug.
This boy is larger than that, Nahwudj mindiddo woh-ow kweewezains
ewaidde dush.
That is what I wanted, Meeh-eu wau iauyaumbaun.
This is the very thing I wanted, Mee-suh oh-oo wau iauyaumbaun.
In some of these expressions, the pronoun combines with an adjective, as
in the compound words _ineuwaidde_ and _igeuwaidde_, _those yonder_
(in.), and _those yonder_ (an.). Compounds which exhibit the full
pronoun in coalescence with the adverb _ewaidde_, yonder.
2. NATURAL HISTORY.
V.
ZOOLOGY.
1. _Limits of the Range of the Cervus Sylvestris in the Northwestern
parts of the United States._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT. (Northwest
Journal.)
2. _Description of the Fringilia Vespertina, discovered by Mr.
Schoolcraft in the Northwest._ By WILLIAM COOPER. (Annals of the
New York Lyceum of Natural History.)
3. CONCHOLOGY.--_List of Shells collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, in the
Western and Northwestern Territory._ By WILLIAM COOPER.
HELIX.
1. HELIX ALBOLABRIS, _Say_. Near Lake Michigan.
2. HELIX ALTERNATA, _Say_. Banks of the Wabash, near and above the
Tippecanoe. Mr. Say remarks, that these two species, so common in the
Atlantic States, were not met with in Major Long's second expedition,
until their arrival in the secondary country at the eastern extremity of
Lake Superior.
PLANORBIS.
3. PLANORBIS CAMPANULATUS, _Say_. Itasca (or La Biche) Lake, the source
of the Mississippi.
4. PLANORBIS TRIVOLVIS, _Say_. Lake Michigan. These two species were
also observed by Mr. Say, as far east as the Falls of Niagara.
LYMNEUS.
5. LYMNEUS UMBROSUS, _Say_, Am. Con. iv. pl. xxxi. Fig. 1. Lake
Winnipec, Upper Mississippi, and Rainy Lake.
6. LYMNEUS REFLEXUS, _Say_, l. c. pl. xxxi. Fig. 2. Rainy Lake, Seine
River, and Lake Winnipec.
7. LYMNEUS STAGNALIS. Lake a la Crosse, Upper Mississippi.
PALUDINA.
8. PALUDINA PONDEROSA, _Say_. Wisconsin River.
9. PALUDINA VIVIPARA, _Say_, Am. Con. i. pl. x. The American specimens
of this shell are more depressed than the European, but appear to be
identical in species.
MELANIA.
10. MELANIA VIRGINICA, _Say_. Lake Michigan.
ANODONTA.
11. ANODONTA CATARACTA, _Say_. Chicago, Lake Michigan. This species, Mr.
Lea remarks, has a great geographical extension.
12. ANODONTA CORPULENTA, _Nobis_. Shell thin and fragile, though less so
than others of the genus; much inflated at the umbones, margins somewhat
compressed; valves connate over the hinge in perfect specimens; surface
dark brown, in old shells; in younger, of a pale dingy green, and
without rays, in all I have examined; beaks slightly undulated at the
tip. The color within is generally of a livid coppery hue, but
sometimes, also, pure white.
Length of a middling sized specimen, four and a half inches, breadth,
six and a quarter. It is often eighteen inches in circumference round
the border of the valves, with a diameter through the umbones of three
inches. Inhabits the Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien to Lake
Pepin.
This fine shell, much the largest I have seen of the genus, was first
sent by Mr. Schoolcraft, to the Lyceum, several years ago. So far as I
am able to discover, it is undescribed, and a distinct and remarkable
species. It may be known by its length being greater in proportion to
its breadth than in the other American species, by the subrhomboidal
form of the posterior half, and generally, by the color of the nacre,
though this is not to be relied on. It appears to belong to the genus
SYMPHYNOTA of Mr. Lea.
ALASMODONTA.
13. ALASMODONTA COMPLANATA, _Barnes_. SYMPHYNOTA COMPLANATA, _Lea_.
Shell Lake, River St. Croix, Upper Mississippi. Many species of shells
found in this lake grow to an extraordinary size. Some of the present
collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, measure nineteen inches in circumference.
14. ALASMODONTA RUGOSA, _Barnes_. St. Croix River, and Lake Vaseux, St.
Mary's River.
15. ALASMODONTA MARGINATA, _Say_. Lake Vaseux, St. Mary's River; very
large.
16. ALASMODONTA EDENTULA? _Say_. ANODON AREOLATUS? _Swainson_. Lake
Vaseux. The specimens of this shell are too old and imperfect to be
safely determined.
UNIO.
17. UNIO TUBERCULATUS, _Barnes_. Painted Rock, Upper Mississippi.
18. UNIO PUSTULOSUS, _Lea_. Upper Mississippi, Prairie du Chien, to Lake
Pepin.
19. UNIO VERRUCOSUS, _Barnes_, _Lea_. St. Croix River of the Upper
Mississippi.
20. UNIO PLICATUS, _Le Sueur_, _Say_. Prairie du Chien, and River St.
Croix.
The specimens of U. PLICATUS sent from this locality by Mr. Schoolcraft
have the nacre beautifully tinged with violet, near the posterior border
of the shell, and are also much more ventricose than those found in more
eastern localities, as Pittsburg, for example; at the same time, I
believe them to be of the same species. Similar variations are observed
in other species; the specimens from the south and west generally
exhibiting a greater development.
21. UNIO TRIGONUS, _Lea_. From the same locality as the last, and like
it unusually ventricose.
22. UNIO EBENUS, _Lea_. Upper Mississippi, between Prairie du Chien and
Lake Pepin.
23. UNIO GIBBOSUS, _Barnes_. St. Croix River, Upper Mississippi,
24. UNIO RECTUS, _Lamarck_. U. PRÆLONGUS, _Barnes_. Upper Mississippi,
from Prairie du Chien to Lake Pepin, and the River St. Croix. The
specimens collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, vary much in the color of the
nacre. Some have it entirely white, others rose purple, and others
entirely of a very fine dark salmon color. This species inhabits the St.
Lawrence as far east as Montreal.
25. UNIO SILIQUOIDEUS, _Barnes_, and U. INFLATUS, _Barnes_. Upper
Mississippi, between Prairie du Chien and Lake Pepin. Large, ponderous,
and the epidermis finely rayed.
26. UNIO COMPLANATUS, _Lea_. U. PURPUREUS, _Say_. Lake Vaseux, St.
Mary's River. Lake Vaseux is an expansion of the River St. Mary, a
tributary of the upper lakes. This shell does not appear to exist in any
of the streams flowing into the Mississippi.
27. UNIO CRASSUS, _Say_. Upper Mississippi, Prairie du Chien.
28. UNIO RADIATUS, _Barnes_. Lake Vaseux. The specimen is old and
imperfect, but I believe it to be the U. RADIATUS of our conchologists,
which is common in Lake Champlain and also inhabits the St. Lawrence.
29. UNIO OCCIDENS, _Lea_. U. VENTRICOSUS, _Say_, Am. Con. U.
VENTRICOSUS, _Barnes?_ Wisconsin and St. Croix Rivers, and Shell Lake.
Epidermis variously colored, and marked with numerous rays.
30. UNIO VENTRICOSUS, _Barnes_. Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien
to Lake Pepin and Shell Lake. The varieties of this, and the preceding
pass insensibly into each other. Those from Shell Lake are of
extraordinary size.
31. UNIO ALATUS, _Say_. SYMPHYNOTA ALATA, _Lea_. Upper Mississippi, and
Shell Lake. Found also in Lake Champlain, by the late Mr. Barnes.
32. UNIO GRACILIS, _Barnes_. SYMPHYNOTA GRACILIS, _Lea_. Upper
Mississippi, and Shell Lake. The specimens brought by Mr. Schoolcraft
are larger and more beautiful than I have seen from any other locality.
VI.
BOTANY.
1. _A List of Species and Localities of Plants collected in the
Northwestern Expeditions of Mr. Schoolcraft of 1831 and 1832._
By DOUGLASS HOUGHTON, M. D., Surgeon to the expeditions.
The localities of the following plants are transcribed from a catalogue
kept during the progress of the expeditions, and embrace many plants
common to our country, which were collected barely for the purpose of
comparison. A more detailed account will be published at some future
day.
_Aster tenuifolius_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
" _sericea_, Nuttall. River de Corbeau, Missouri Ter.
" _lævis?_ Willdenow. St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
" _concolor_, Willdenow. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
" (_N. Spec._). Sources of Yellow River, Northwest Ter.
_Andropogon furcatus_, Willdenow. Sources of Yellow River, Northwest
Ter.
_Alopecurus geniculatus_, Linnæus. Sault Ste. Marie, M. T.
_Aira flexuosa._ Sault Ste. Marie, M. T.
_Allium tricoccum_, Aiton. Ontonagon River of Lake Superior.
" _cernuum_, Roth. River de Corbeau to the sources of the
Miss.
" (_N. Spec._). St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
_Amorpha canescens_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
_Artemisia canadensis_, Mx. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
" _sericea_, Nuttall. Keweena Point, Lake Superior.
" _gnaphaloides_, Nuttall. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
_Arabis hirsuta_, De Candolle. Upper Mississippi.
" _lyrata_, Linn. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Arundo canadensis_, Mx. Lake Superior.
_Arenaria lateriflora_, Linn. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
_Alnus glauca_, Mx. St. Croix River to the sources of the Miss.
_Alliona albida_, Walter. Yellow River, Northwest Ter.
_Aronia sanguinea._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Alectoria jubata._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Aletris farinosa._ Prairies of Michigan Ter.
_Bidens beckii_, Torrey. St. Croix River to the sources of the Miss.
_Bunias maritima_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
_Baptisia coerulea_, Michaux. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
_Blitum capitatum._ Northwest Ter.
_Betula papyracea_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of
the Miss.
" _glandulosa._ Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
_Bartramia fontana._ Lake Superior.
_Bromus canadensis_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
_Batschia canescens._ Plains of the Mississippi.
" " Var. (or _N. Spec._). Lake Superior.
_Carex paucifolia._ Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
" _scirpoides_, Schkuhr. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
" _limosa_, Linn. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
" _curata_, Gmelin. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
" (apparently _N. Spec._ allied to _C. scabrata_.) Sources of the
Miss.
" _washingtoniana_, Dewy. Lake Superior.
" _lacustris_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
" _oedere_, Ehrhart. Leech Lake.
" _logopodioides_, Schkuhr. Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
" _rosea_, Var. Lake Superior.
" _festucacea_, Schkuhr. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
_Cyperus mariscoides_, Elliott. Upper Mississippi.
" _alterniflorus_, Schwinitz. River St. Clair, Mich. Ter.
_Cnicus pitcheri_, Torrey. Lakes Michigan and Superior.
_Coreopsis palmata_, Nuttall. Prairies of the Upper Mississippi.
_Cardamine pratensis._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Calamagrostis coarctata_, Torrey. Lake Winnipec.
_Cetraria icelandica._ Lakes Superior and Michigan.
_Corydalis aurea_, Willdenow. Cass Lake, Upper Mississippi.
" _glauca_, Persoon. Lake Superior.
_Cynoglossum amplexicaule_, Michaux. Sault Ste. Marie.
_Cassia chamoecrista._ Upper Mississippi.
_Corylus americana_, Walter. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
" _rostrata_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
_Cistus canadensis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of
the Miss.
_Cornus circinata_, L'Heritier. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
_Cypripedium acaule_, Aiton. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
_Cymbidium pulchellum_, Swartz. Lake Superior to the sources of
the Miss.
_Corallorhiza multiflora_, Torrey. Lake Superior.
_Convallaria borealis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of
the Mississippi.
" _trifolia_, Linn. Lake Superior.
_Cenchrus echinatus_, Linn. Upper Mississippi.
_Cerastium viscosum_, Linn. Lake Superior.
" _oblongifolium_, Torrey. Michigan Ter.
_Campanula acuminata_, Michaux. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
_Chrysosplenium oppositifolium._ Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
_Cinna arundinacea_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
_Drosera linearis_, Hooker. Lake Superior.
" _rotundifolia._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
" _americana_, Muhlenberg. Lake Superior to the sources of
the Miss.
_Dracocephalum virginicum_, Willdenow. Red Cedar River, Northwest
Territory.
_Delphinium virescens_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
_Danthonia spicata_, Willdenow. Mauvais River of Lake Superior.
_Dirca palustris_, Willdenow. Ontonagon River of Lake Superior.
_Equisetum limosum_, Torrey. Lake Superior.
" _palustr_e, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
" _variegatum_, Smith. Lake Michigan.
_Erigeron integrifolium_, Bigelow. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Miss.
" _purpureum_, Willdenow. Falls of Peckagama, Upper
Miss.
" (_N. Spec._). Sources of St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
_Erigeron heterophyllum_, Var. or (_N. Spec._). Sources of St. Croix
River, Northwest Ter.
_Eryngium aquaticum_, Jussieu. Galena, Ill.
_Euphorbia corollata_, Willdenow. Red Cedar River.
_Eriophorum virginicum_, Linn. Lake Superior.
" _alpinum_, Linn. Lake Superior.
" _polystachyon_, Linn. Lake Superior.
_Empetrum nigrum_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Erysimum chiranthoides_, Linn. Lake Superior:
_Eriocaulon pellucidum_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Euchroma coccinea_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
_Elymus striatus_, Willdenow. St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
" _virginicus_, Linn. St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
_Festuca nutans_, Willdenow. Lake Winnipec.
_Glycera fluitans_, Brown. Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
_Gyrophora papulosa_. Lake Superior.
_Gentiana crinita_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
_Geranium carolinianum_. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
_Galium lanceolatum_, Torrey. Red Cedar River to the Mississippi.
_Gerardia pedicularis_. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
" _maritima_, Rafinesque. Lake Michigan.
_Galeopsis tetrahit_, Var. Falls of St. Mary, Mich. Ter.
_Gnaphalium plantaginium_, Var. Sources of the Mississippi.
_Goodyera pubescens_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
_Hippophæ canadensis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
" _argentea_, Pursh. Lake Superior.
_Hedeoma glabra_, Persoon. Lake Michigan to the sources of the
Miss.
_Hydropeltis purpurea_, Michaux. Northwest Ter.
_Hippuris vulgaris_. Yellow River to sources of the Mississippi.
_Hudsonia tomentosa_, Nuttall. Lake Superior.
_Hypericum canadense_. Lake Superior.
" _prolificum_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
_Hieracium fasciculatum_, Pursh. Pukwàewa Lake, Northwest Ter.
_Hierochloa borealis_, Roemer & Schultes. Lake Superior.
_Holcus lanatus_. Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
_Houstonia longifolia_, Willdenow. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
_Heuchera americana_, Linn. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
_Hypnum crista-castrensis._ Sources of the Mississippi.
_Hordeum jubatum._ Upper Red Cedar Lake.
_Helianthus decapetalis._ Northwest Ter.
" _gracilis_, Torrey. Upper Lake St. Croix, Northwest Ter.
_Hyssopus anisatus_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
" _scrophularifolius_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
_Inula villosa_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
_Ilex canadensis_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Juncus nodosus._ St. Mary's River.
" _polycephalus_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Koeleria nitida_, Nuttall. Lake Winnipec.
_Lycopodium dendroideum_, Michaux. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Mississippi.
" _annotinum_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Mississippi.
_Lonicera hirsuta_, Eaton. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
" _sempervirens_, Aiton. Lake Superior.
_Lechea minor._ Upper Mississippi.
_Linhea borealis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Lathyrus palustris._ Lake Superior.
" _decaphyllus_, Pursh. Leech Lake.
" _maritimus_, Bigelow. Lake Superior.
_Lobelia kalmii_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
" _claytoniana_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
" _puberula?_ Michaux. Yellow River, Northwest Ter.
_Liatris scariosa_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
" _cylindrica_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
_Lysimachia revoluta_, Nuttall. Lake Superior.
" _thyrsifolia_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Ledum latifolium_, Aiton. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Myrica gale_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
_Malva (N. Spec.)._ Upper Mississippi.
_Monarda punctata_, Linnæus. Upper Mississippi.
" _oblongata_, Aiton. Upper Mississippi.
_Microstylis ophioglossoides_, Willdenow. Lac la Biche [Itasca].
_Myriophyllum spicatum._ Lake Superior.
_Mitella cordifolia_, Lamarck. Lake Superior.
_Menyanthes trifoliata._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
_Myosotis arvensis_, Sibthorp. St. Clair River, Mich. Ter.
_Nelumbium luteum_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
_OEnothera biennis_, Var. Bois Brulé River of Lake Superior.
" _serrulata_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
_Psoralea argophylla_, Pursh. Falls of St. Anthony.
_Primula farinosa_, Var. _Americana_, Torrey. Lakes Huron and
Superior.
" _mistassinica_, Michaux. Keweena Point, Lake Superior.
_Pingwicula_ (_N. Spec._). Presque Isle, Lake Superior.
_Parnassia americana_, Muhlenberg. Lake Michigan.
_Pedicularis gladiata_, Michaux. Fox River.
_Pinus nigra_, Lambert. Lake Superior.
" _banksiana_, Lambert. Lake Superior.
_Populus tremuloides_, Michaux. Northwest Ter.
" _lævigata_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
_Prunus depressa_, Pursh. Lakes Superior and Michigan.
_Petalostemon violaceum_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
" _candidum_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
_Potentilla tridentata_, Aiton. Lake Superior.
" _fruticosa_, Linnæus. Lakes Superior and Michigan.
_Pyrola uniflora_, Mauvais River of Lake Superior.
_Polygonum amphibium_, Linnæus. St. Croix River.
" _cilinode_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
" _articulatum_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
" _coccinium_, Willdenow. St. Croix River.
_Polygala polygama_, Walter. Northwest Ter.
_Phlox aristata_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
_Poa canadensis._ Upper Mississippi.
_Pentstemon gracile_, Nuttall. Upper Red Cedar Lake.
" _grandiflorum_, Nuttall. Falls of St. Anthony.
_Physalis lanceolata_, Var. (or _N. Spec._). Lac la Biche [Itasca].
_Quercus coccinea_, Wangenheim. Upper Red Cedar Lake.
" _obtusiloba_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
_Ranunculus filiformis_, Michaux. Falls of St. Mary, Mich. Ter.
" _pusillus_, Pursh. Mich. Ter.
" _prostratus_, Lamarck. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
" _lacustris_, Beck & Tracy. Upper Mississippi.
_Rudbeckia hirta_, Linnæus. Upper Mississippi and Michigan Ter.
" _digitata_, Aiton. Upper Mississippi.
_Rubus parviflorus_, Nuttall. Lake Superior to the sources of the
Miss.
" _hispidus_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
" _saxatilis_, Var. _canadensis_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Rosa gemella_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
" _rubifolia_, Brown. Michigan Ter.
_Ribes albinervum_, Michaux. Sources of the St. Croix River.
_Saururus cernuus_, Linnæus. Upper Mississippi.
_Streptopus roseus_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Sisymbrium brachycarpum_, Richardson. Lake Superior.
" _chiranthoides_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
_Swertia deflexa_, Smith. Bois Brulé River of Lake Superior.
_Silphium terebinthinaceum_, Elliott. Michigan Territory to the Miss.
" _gummiferum_. Fox River to the Mississippi.
_Stachys aspera_, Var. Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Sterocaulon paschale._ Lake Superior.
_Struthiopteris pennsylvanica_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
_Scirpus frigetur?_ Lake of the Isles, Northwest Ter.
" _palustris_, Linnæus. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
_Salix prinoides_, Pursh. Mauvais River of Lake Superior.
" _longifolia_, Muhlenberg. Upper Mississippi.
_Spiræa opulifolia_, Var. _tomentella_, De Candolle. Lake Superior.
_Sorbus americana_, Willdenow. Lake Huron to the head of Lake
Superior.
_Smilax rotundifolia_ Linnæus. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
_Silene antirrhina_, Linnæus. Lac la Biche.
_Saxifraga virginiensis_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Scutellaria ambigua_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
_Solidago virgaurea_, Var. _alpina._ Lake Superior.
_Stipa juncea_, Nuttall. Usawa R.
_Symphora racemosa_, Michaux. Source of the Miss. R.
_Senecio balsamitæ_, Var. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Miss.
_Sagittaria heterophylla_, Pursh. Upper Miss.
_Tanacetum huronensis_, Nuttall. Lakes Michigan and Superior.
_Tussilago palmata_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
_Tofeldia pubens_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
_Triglochin maritimum_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
_Thalyctrum corynellum_, De Candolle. St. Louis River.
_Triticum repens_, Linnæus. Leech Lake.
_Troximon virginicum_, Pursh. Lake Winnipec.
_Talinum teretifolium_, Pursh. St. Croix River.
_Tradescantia virginica._ Upper Mississippi.
_Utricularia cornuta_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
" _purpurea_, Walter. Lac Chetac, N. W. Ter.
_Uraspermum canadense_, Lake Superior to the Miss.
_Viola lanceolata_, Linnæus. Sault Ste. Marie.
" _pedata_, Var. (or _N. Spec._). Lac la Biche, sources of the
Miss.
_Viburnum oxycoccus_, Pursh. Lake Superior.
" _lentago._ Lake Superior.
_Vernonia novoboracensis_, Willdenow. Upper Miss.
_Verbena bracteosa_, Michaux. Upper Miss.
" _stricta_, Ventenat. Upper Miss.
_Zapania nodiflora_, Michaux. Galena, Illinois.
_Zigadenus chloranthus_, Richardson. Sandy shores of Lake Michigan.
_Zizania aquatica_, Pursh. Illinois to the sources of the Miss.
VII.
MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.
1. _A Report on the Existence of Deposits of Copper in the Geological
Basin of Lake Superior._ By Dr. D. HOUGHTON.
FREDONIA, N. Y., November 14, 1831.
SIR: In fulfilment of the duties assigned to me in the late expedition
into the Indian country, under the direction of H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq.,
Indian Agent, I would beg leave to transmit to you the following
observations relative to the existence of copper in the country
bordering on the southern shore of Lake Superior.
It is without doubt true that this subject has long been viewed with an
interest far beyond its actual merit. Each mass of native copper which
this country has produced, however insulated, or however it may have
been separated from its original position, appears to have been
considered a sure indication of the existence of that metal in beds;
and hence we occasionally see, upon maps of that section of our country,
particular portions marked as containing "copper mines," where no copper
now exists. But, while it is certain that a combination of circumstances
has served to mislead the public mind with regard to the geological
situation and existing quantity of that metal, it is no less certain
that a greater quantity of insulated native copper has been discovered
upon the borders of Lake Superior, than in any other equal portion of
North America.
Among the masses of native copper which have engaged the attention of
travellers in this section of country, one, which from its great size
was early noticed, is situated on the Ontonagon River, a stream which
empties its waters into the southern part of Lake Superior, 331 miles
above the Falls of the Ste. Marie. The Ontonagon River is, with some
difficulty, navigable by batteaux 36 miles, at which place, by the union
of two smaller streams--one from an easterly and the other from a
westerly direction--the main stream is formed. The mass of copper is
situated on the western fork, at a distance of six or eight miles from
the junction.
The face of the country through the upper half of the distance from Lake
Superior is uneven, and the irregularity is given it by hills of marly
clay, which occasionally rise quite abruptly to the height of one or two
hundred feet. No rock was observed _in situ_, except in one place,
where, for a distance, the red sandstone was observed, forming the bed
of the river.
The mass of copper lies, partly covered by water, directly at the foot
of a clay hill, from which, together with numerous boulders of the
primitive rocks, it has undoubtedly been washed by the action of the
water of the river. Although it is completely insulated, there is much
to interest in its examination. Its largest surface measures three and a
half by four feet, and this, which is of malleable copper, is kept
bright by the action of the water, and has the usual appearance of that
metal when worn. To one surface is attached a small quantity of rock,
singularly bound together by threads of copper, which pass through it in
all directions. This rock, although many of its distinctive characters
are lost, is evidently a dark colored serpentine, with small
interspersed masses of milky quartz.
The mass of copper is so situated as to afford but little that would
enable us to judge of its original geological position. In examining the
eastern fork of the river, I discovered small water-worn masses of
trap-rock, in which were specks of imbedded carbonate of copper and
copper black; and with them were occasionally associated minute specks
of serpentine, in some respects resembling that which is attached to the
large mass of copper; and facts would lead us to infer that the trap
formation which appears on Lake Superior east of the Ontonagon River,
crosses this section of country at or near the source of that river, and
at length forms one of the spurs of the Porcupine Mountains.
Several smaller masses of insulated native copper have been discovered
on the borders of Lake Superior, but that upon Ontonagon River is the
only one which is now known to remain.
At as early a period as before the American Revolution, an English
mining company directed their operations to the country bordering on
Lake Superior, and Ontonagon River was one point to which their
attention was immediately directed. Traces of a shaft, sunk in the clay
hill, near a mass of copper, are still visible--a memento of ignorance
and folly.
Operations were also commenced on the southern shore of Lake Superior,
near the mouth of a small stream, which, from that circumstance, is
called Miners' River. Parts of the names of the miners, carved upon the
sandstone rock at the mouth of the river, are still visible. What
circumstance led to the selection of this spot does not now appear. No
mineral traces are at this day perceptible, except occasional
discolorations of the sandstone rock by what is apparently a mixture of
the carbonates of iron and copper; and this is only to be observed where
water, holding in solution an extremely minute portion of these salts,
has trickled slowly over those rocks.
It does not, in fact, appear that the red sandstone, which constitutes
the principal rock formation of the southern shore of Lake Superior, is
in any instance metalliferous in any considerable degree. If this be
true, it would require but little reflection to convince one of the
inexpediency of conducting mining operations at either of the points
selected for that purpose; and it is beyond a doubt true, that the
company did not receive the least inducement to continue their labors.
In addition to these masses of native copper, an ore of that metal has
long been known to the lake traders as the green rock, in which the
characteristic substances are the green and blue carbonates of copper,
accompanied by copper black. It is situated upon Keweena Point, 280
miles above the falls of the Ste. Marie. The ore is embraced by what is
apparently a recently formed crag; and, although it is of a kind and so
situated as to make an imposing appearance, there is little certainty of
its existence in large quantities in this formation. The ore forms a
thin covering to the pebbles of which the body of the rock is composed,
and is rarely observed in masses separate from it. The crag is composed
of angular fragments of trap-rock, and the formation is occasionally
traversed by broad and continuous belts of calc. spar, here and there
tinged with copper. Although the ore was not observed in any
considerable quantity, except at one point, it apparently exists in
minute specks through a greater part of the crag formation, which
extends several miles, forming the shore of the lake.
This examination of the crag threw new interest upon the trap formation,
which had been first observed to take the place of the sandstone at the
bottom of a deep bay, called Montreal Bay, on the easterly side of
Keweena Point. The trap-rock continues for a few miles, when the crag
before noticed appears to lie directly upon it, and to form the
extremity of the point; the crag, in turn, disappears, and the trap-rock
is continued for a distance of six or eight miles upon the westerly side
of the point, when the sandstone again reappears.
The trap-rock is of a compact granular texture, occasionally running
into the amygdaloid and toadstone varieties, and is rich in imbedded
minerals, such as amethystine quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian,
chalcedony, agate, &c., together with several of the ores of copper.
Traces of copper ore in the trap-rock were first noticed on the easterly
side of Keweena Point, and near the commencement of the trap formation.
This ore, which is an impure copper black, was observed in a vein of
variable thickness, but not in any part exceeding two and a half inches.
It is sufficiently compact and hard to receive a firm polish, but it is
rather disposed to break into small irregular masses. A specimen
furnished, upon analysis, 47.5 per cent. of pure copper.
On the western side of Keweena Point, the same ore appears under
different circumstances, being disseminated through the body of the
trap-rock, in grains varying in size from a pin's head to a pea.
Although many of these grains are wholly copper black, they are
occasionally only depositions of the mineral upon specks of carnelian,
chalcedony, or agate, or are more frequently composed, in part, of what
is apparently an imperfect steatite. The ore is so connected with, and
so much resembles in color the rock, of which it may be said to be a
constituent part, that they might easily, during a hasty examination, be
confounded. A random specimen of the rock furnished, upon analysis, 3.2
per cent. of pure copper. The rock continues combined with that mineral
for nearly the space of three miles. Extremely thin veins of copper
black were observed to traverse this same rock; and in enlargements of
these were discovered several masses of amorphous native copper. The
latter mineral appeared in two forms--the one consisting of compact and
malleable masses, varying from four to ten ounces each; and the other,
of specks and fasciculi of pure copper, binding together confused masses
of copper green, and partially disintegrated trap-rock; the latter was
of several pounds' weight. Each variety was closely embraced by the
rock, although the action of the water upon the rock had occasionally
exposed to view points of the metal. In addition to the accompanying
copper green, which was in a disintegrated state, small specks of the
oxide of copper were associated in most of the native specimens.
Circumstances would not permit an examination of any portion of the trap
formation, except that bordering directly upon the lake. But facts would
lead us to infer that that formation extends from one side of Keweena
Point to the other, and that a range of thickly wooded hills, which
traverses the point, is based upon, if not formed of that rock. An
Indian information, which, particularly upon such a subject, must be
adopted with caution, would sanction the opinion that the prominent
constituents are the same wherever the rock is observed.
After having duly considered the facts which are presented, I would not
hesitate to offer, as an opinion, that the trap-rock formation was the
original source of the masses of copper which have been observed in the
country bordering on Lake Superior; and that, at the present day,
examinations for the ores of copper could not be made in that country
with hopes of success, except in the trap-rock itself; which rock is not
certainly known to exist upon any place upon Lake Superior, other than
Keweena Point.
If this opinion be a correct one, the cause of, failure of the mining
company in this region is rendered plain. Having considered each
insulated mass of pure metal as a true indication of the existence of a
bed in the vicinity, operations were directed to wrong points; when,
having failed to realize their anticipations, the project was abandoned
without further actual investigation. We would be induced to infer that
no attempts were made to learn the original source of the metal which
was discovered, and thus, while the attention was drawn to insulated
masses, the ores, ordinary in appearance, but more important _in sitû_,
were neglected; and perhaps, from the close analogy in appearance to the
rock with which they were associated, no distinction was observed.
What quantity of ore the trap-rock of Keweena Point may be capable of
producing, can only be determined by minute and laborious examination.
The indications which were presented by a hasty investigation are here
embodied, and with deference submitted to your consideration.
I have the honor to be,
Sir, your obedient, servant,
DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.
Hon. LEWIS CASS, _Secretary of War_.
2. _Remarks on the Occurrence of Native Silver and Ores of Silver in the
Stratification of the Basins of Lakes Huron and Superior._ By HENRY R.
SCHOOLCRAFT.
Traces of this metal which have been found in the drift and boulder
stratum of both Lakes Huron and Superior, indicate the existence of the
metal in place. During my residence at St. Mary's, two specimens of its
occurrence were brought to my notice. The first of these consisted of
points of native silver in a moderately large mass of native copper,
found in 1823, near the entrance of the _Nama_ or Sturgeon River into
Keweena Lake, of the large peninsula of that name, in Lake Superior.
Like the majority of such masses of the region, it had no adhering
portion of rock or vein stone, from which a judgment might be formed of
its original position.
I had, the prior year, set up my mineralogical cabinet in my office, and
stated to the Indians, who roved over large tracts, my solicitude to
collect specimens of the mineral productions of the country of every
description, and, indeed, of its zoology, always acknowledging their
comity, in bringing me specimens in any department of natural history,
by some small present; and I found this to be a means of extending my
inquiries.
Subsequently, I received a boulder specimen from the shores of Lake
Huron, containing veins of native silver. Part of the metal had been
detached. I submitted these specimens to the Lyceum of Natural History
at New York, in 1825. The following remarks are taken from their annals.
_Mineralogical and Chemical Characters._--By examining this mineral, it
will be perceived to possess the color, lustre, malleability, and other
obvious characters of native silver. It is so soft as to be easily cut
by the knife; and in a state of purity which permits it to spread under
the hammer. These characters serve to distinguish it from antimonial
silver, which is not _malleable_; from native antimony which tarnishes
on exposure, &c. The metal occurs in thin, massive veins in the rock.
These veins sometimes intersect, but never cross each other. It is also
disseminated in small particles through the stone, or spread in
flattened masses over its surface. Some of these masses were detached by
the discoverer, but have been preserved, and are presented to the Lyceum
with the more solid and undisturbed portions.
By submitting a small portion of the metal to the action of nitric acid,
I obtained an imperfect solution. On repeating the experiment, and
adding a little sulphuric acid, the action was more brisk, and a clear
and apparently perfect solution effected. By standing, however, a pulpy,
white precipitate appeared at the bottom of the glass. This was
collected and submitted to the action of the blowpipe, on a basis of
charcoal. The result gave a number of minute, metallic globules,
possessing greater lustre, malleability, and ductility, than the
original mass. I repeated the latter experiment, adding to the
nitro-sulphuric solution muriate of soda. A more perfect precipitation
of the white powder was effected; but the results with the blowpipe
remained the same.
_Geognostic Position._--It is a rolled mass. An opinion of the specific
character of the rock may be dubious, from the smallness of the
specimen. It appears to have been detached from a stratum of gneiss, and
is essentially composed of quartz. The blackish color of some parts of
this latter mineral would, at first glance, lead us to attribute this
color to the presence of hornblende; but, on closer examination, it will
be perceived to be owing to a dark-colored steatite, which, in certain
parts of the rock, is well developed, soft, and easily cut. A little
calcspar is intermingled with the steatite.
_Locality._--I am indebted to the politeness of Lieut. Lewis S.
Johnston, of the British Indian Department, at Malden (U. C.), for the
opportunity of adding this specimen to the mineralogical cabinet of the
Lyceum. This gentleman, as he informed me, obtained it from an Indian,
who picked it up on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron, near Point
aux Barques, in Michigan Territory. That part of Lake Huron was
cursorily examined by me, in the year 1820, in the course of the
expedition conducted by Gov. Cass, through the upper lakes, &c. I
consider it remarkable, even in a region abounding in rolled rocks, for
the great number and variety of granite, gneiss, hornblende, and trap
boulders, scattered along the shores of the lake. The water here is
generally shallow and dangerous to approach in vessels; these boulder
stones sometimes extending and presenting themselves above water for a
mile or more from land. But we could not satisfy ourselves by an
examination necessarily partial, that either of the primitive species
mentioned, existed there in any other condition than as rolled masses,
or displacements of rock strata, contiguous, perhaps, but not observed.
Dr. Bigsby has informed me, that he observed the gneiss _in sitû_, on
the northwestern shores of this lake. The nearest rock in place, and
that which in fact constitutes the abraded and caverned promontory of
Point aux Barques, is gray sandstone.
The occurrence of this metal in the copper-bearing and other
metalliferous rocks of this region, may be confidently affirmed.[273]
[273] At the date of this publication, it is known that this metal
occurs, both as a constituent of the mass copper in Lake Superior,
and is also developed in veins in the stratification.
3. _A General Summary of the Localities of Minerals observed in the
Northwest in 1831 and 1832._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
CLASS I. _Bodies not metallic, containing an acid._
1. CALCAREOUS SPAR. Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in small
globular masses, in the trap-rock; also forming veins in the same
formation. Some of the masses break into rhombic forms, and possess a
certain but not perfect degree of transparency; others are opaque, or
discolored by the green carbonate of copper. Also in the trap-rock
between Fond du Lac and Old Grand Portage, Lake Superior, in perfect,
transparent rhombs, exhibiting the property of double refraction. Also,
at the lead mines, in Iowa County, in the marly clay formation, often
exhibiting imperfect prisms, variously truncated.
2. CALCAREOUS TUFA. Mouth of the River Brulé, of Lake Superior. In
small, friable, broken masses, in the diluvial soil. Also, in the gorge
below the Falls of St. Anthony. In detached, vesicular masses, amidst
debris.
3. COMPACT CARBONATE OF LIME. In the calcareous cliffs of horizontal
formation, commencing at the Falls of St. Anthony. Carboniferous.
4. SEPTARIA. In the reddish clay soil, between Montreal River and
Lapointe, Lake Superior.
5. GYPSUM. In the sandstone rock at the Point of Grand Sable West, Lake
Superior. In orbicular masses, firmly imbedded. Not abundant. Granular,
also imperfectly foliated.
6. CARBONATE OF MAGNESIA. Serpentine rock, at Presque Isle, Lake
Superior. Compact.
7. HYDRATE OF MAGNESIA? With the preceding.
CLASS II. _Earthy compounds, amorphous or crystalline._
8. COMMON QUARTZ. Huron Islands, Lake Superior; also the adjoining
coast. In very large veins or beds. White, opaque.
9. GRANULAR QUARTZ. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Mississippi. _In sitû._
10. SMOKY QUARTZ. In the trap-rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior,
crystallized. In connection with amethystine quartz.
11. AMETHYST. With the preceding. Also, at the Pic Bay, and at
Gargontwa, north shore of Lake Superior, in the trap-rock, in perfect
crystals, of various intensity of color.
12. CHALCEDONY. Keweena Point, Lake Superior. In globular or orbicular
masses, in amygdaloid rock. Often, in detached masses along the shores.
13. CARNELIAN. With the preceding.
14. HORNSTONE. In detached masses, very hard, on the shores of Lake
Superior. Also, at Dodgeville, Iowa County, Mich. Ter., in fragments or
nodular masses in the clay soil.
15. JASPER. In the preceding locality. Common and striped, exceedingly
difficult of being acted on by the wheel. Not observed _in sitû_.
16. AGATE. Imbedded in the trap-rocks of Lake Superior, and also
detached, forming a constituent of its detritus. Variously colored.
Often made up of alternate layers of chalcedony, carnelian, and
cacholong. Sometimes zoned, or in fortification points. Specimens not
taken from the rock are not capable of being scratched by quartz or
flint, and are incapable of being acted on by the file; consequently,
_harder_ than any of the described species.
17. CYANITE. Specimens of this mineral, in flat, six-sided prisms,
imbedded in a dark primitive rock, were brought out from Lac du Flambeau
outlet, where the rock is described as existing _in sitû_. The locality
has not been visited, but there are facts brought to light, within the
last two or three years, to justify the extension of the primitive to
that section of country.
18. PITCHSTONE. A detached mass of this mineral, very black and
lava-like, was picked up in the region of Lake Superior, where the
volcanic mineral, trachyte, is common among the rolled masses. Neither
of these substances have been observed _in sitû_.
19. MICA. Huron Islands, Lake Superior. In granite.
20. SCHORL. Common. Outlet of Lac du Flambeau. Also, in a detached mass
of primitive rock at Green Bay.
21. FELDSPAR. Porcupine mountains, Lake Superior.
22. BASALT. Amorphous. Granite Point, Lake Superior.
23. STILBITE. Amygdaloid rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior.
24. ZEOLITE. Mealy. With the preceding.
25. ZEOLITE. Radiated. Lake Superior. This mineral consists of fibres,
so delicate and firmly united as to appear almost compact, radiating
from a centre. Some of the masses produced by this radiation measure 2.5
inches in diameter. They are of a uniform, pale, yellowish red. This
mineral has not been traced _in sitû_, being found in detached masses of
rock, and sometimes as water-worn portions of radii. Its true position
would seem to be the trap-rock.
26. ASBESTUS. Presque Isle, Lake Superior. In the serpentine formation.
27. HORNBLENDE. Very abundant as a constituent of the primitive rocks on
the Upper Mississippi, and in the basin of Lake Superior. Often in
distinct crystals.
28. DIALLAGE, GREEN. Lake Superior. In detached masses, connected with
primitive boulders. _Harder_ than the species.
29. SERPENTINE, COMMON. Presque Isle, Lake Superior.
30. SERPENTINE, PRECIOUS. With the preceding. Color, a light pistachio
green, and takes a fine polish. Exists in veins in the common variety.
31. PSEUDOMORPHOUS SERPENTINE. With the preceding. This beautiful green
mineral constitutes a portion of the veins of the precious serpentine.
Its crystalline impressions are very distinct.
32. ARGILLITE. River St. Louis, northwest of Lake Superior. Nearly
vertical in its position.
CLASS III. _Combustibles._
33. PEAT. Marine sand formation composing the shore of Lake Superior,
between White-fish Point and Grand Marais. Also, on the island of
Michilimackinac.
CLASS IV. _Ores and Metals._
34. NATIVE COPPER. West side of Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded
in a vein with carbonate of copper, and copper black, in the trap-rock.
35. COPPER BLACK. With the preceding.
36. CARBONATE OF COPPER, GREEN. With the preceding.
These two minerals (35 and 36) characterize the trap-rock of the
peninsula of Keweena, Lake Superior, from Montreal Bay, extending to and
around its extremity, west, to Sand-hill Bay. The entire area may be
estimated to comprise a rocky, serrated coast of about seventy-five
miles in length, and not to exceed seven or eight miles in width. The
principal veins are at a point called Roche Verd, and along the coast
which we refer to as the Black Rocks. At the latter, native copper is
one of the constituents of the vein.
Green and blue carbonate of copper was also observed in limited
quantity, in small rounded masses, at one of the lead diggings near
Mineral Point, Iowa County.
37. CHROMATE OF IRON. Presque Isle, Lake Superior.
38. SULPHURET OF LEAD. Lead mines of Iowa County, Michigan Territory.
39. EARTHY CARBONATE OF LEAD. Brigham's mine, Iowa County, Mich. Ter.
Also, in small masses, of a yellowish white, dirty color, and great
comparative weight, at several of the lead mines (diggings) in the more
westerly and southern parts of the county.
4. _Geological Outline of the Taquimenon Valley of Lake Superior._ By
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
The River Takquimenon originates on a plateau between the northern
shores of Lake Michigan and the southeastern coast of Lake Superior. At
a central point on this plateau, there lies a lake of moderate size,
which, in the translated Indian phrase, is called Heartsblood Lake. A
little to the west of this lake, and, perhaps, connected with it,
originates the head stream of the North Manistic River of Lake Michigan,
running southwest. Towards the northeast the Takwymenon takes its way,
winding through level grassy plains, till it reaches the rim of the
geological basin that circumscribes Lake Superior. The height of this
point is conjectural. It is probably one hundred and fifty feet above
the level of the lake.
To comprehend the geography of the region, it is necessary to advert to
the fact that the sandstone formation, which appears in the picturesque
form of the Pictured Rocks, is last seen in its range eastward at La
Pointe des Grande Sable, where its surface is of a compact structure and
dull red color. Between this locality and the bold cape of Point
Iroquois, at the head of St. Mary's River, there intervenes an extensive
formation of gravel, boulders, and sand. The length of this line of
coast is about ninety miles, its breadth to the basinic rim, perhaps
thirty. It is covered with small pines, spruce, birch, and poplar, with
frequent sphagnous tracts and ponds; the lake shore, where the sands are
continually accumulated, being higher than the interior portions. It
has, from early days, been a favorite resort for beaver, from which it
is called by the natives, Namikong, meaning, excellent place of beavers.
This tract of the Namikong is primarily due to diluvial formations, with
a comparatively recent hem of lake action, consisting of sands and
pebbles pushed up by the waves of Lake Superior. Through this tract,
from the plateaux, four small rivers make their way to the lake. They
are, in their order, from west to east, the river of Grand Mauvais, the
Twin River, the Shelldrake, and the Tacquimenon, which enters the lake
fifteen miles from Point Iroquois.
Of these streams, the Tacquimenon carries the largest body of water into
the lake. It is already a stream of seventy feet wide, and three feet
deep, when it reaches the rim of sandstone rocks referred to. Over
these, it is plunged, at a single perpendicular leap, forty feet,
falling like a curtain. It drops into a vast concavity in the sand rock,
where the water is of unfathomable depth, black and still. I had reached
this point in a canoe manned by Indians. They had urged their way up a
very rapid brawling bed for six miles above the lower falls, and when we
reached this still, deep, and dark basin, they said that care was
required to keep from under the suction of the falling sheet.
The lower falls of the stream are probably twelve or fourteen feet. They
are broken into several fan-shaped cascades, and present a picturesque
appearance--an idea which has also impressed the Chippewas, for they
refer to it as a favorite locality of fairies. Hence their name for it.
Immediately below these falls the river winds about, making a peninsula,
which is covered with deciduous trees and a fertile soil. The amount of
water power at this point is such as must command attention whenever the
country justifies settlement.
5. _Suggestions respecting the Geological Epoch of the Deposit of
Sandstone Rock at St. Mary's Falls._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
Lake Superior presents to the eye the singular spectacle of a body of
pure translucent water, five hundred miles in length from east to west,
and one hundred and eighty or two hundred miles wide. This vast mass of
water is thought to have an extreme depth--I know not on what
principles--of nine hundred feet deep. It lies at an elevation of six
hundred feet above the Atlantic ocean, at high water.
From this depth there has been protruded from its bottom two species of
formations, which were thus elevated by volcanic forces, namely, the
trap and the granitical series. Cones and high mural cliffs, with large
rents, make this basis one of great inequalities. To fill up these, the
sedimentary rocks, by a natural law of gravitation, let fall the
dissolved and suspended matter which constitutes the horizontal strata,
such as the neutral and deep-colored sandstones. This process also gives
origin to grauwackes and the grauwacke slates and the argillites. But
these horizontal deposits do not all retain their horizontality. They
were tilted up by other volcanic forces, after the deposition and
hardening of the sandstones, as we see them at the north foot of the
Porcupine Mountains and along the rugged valley of the St. Louis River.
This secondary upheaval or series of upheavals, is conceived to furnish
proof of epochs. Strata of the same mineral constitution and system of
formation which are upheaved, are clearly of posterior age to the
horizontal. Some of these strata of the secondary, epoch have only had
their horizontality disturbed, while others are quite vertical. Yet, the
disturbances of an epoch are only relative, and it remains true that any
disturbance, however slight, in the fundamental series, throws the epoch
beyond the newer fletz and tertiary formations.
Some theory of this kind is necessary in scrutinizing the position of
the St. Mary's sandstone, which is manifestly of the palaozoic era. It
has felt the impulse of disturbance, although it appears to be little.
Evidences of this are most perceptible in the British Channel, on the
north side of the Island of St. Joseph. This channel, and, indeed, the
entire course of the river up to Lake Superior, is the line of
juxtaposition between the rocks of elder and the secondary epoch. At the
extreme foot of Sugar Island occurs the remains of a stratum of the
sandstone era, consisting of white quartz filled with coarse red jasper
pebbles. I observed remains of this stratum of remarkable rock, which
have been broken off and swept away in the basin of Lake Huron,
deposited in boulder masses on its southern shores.
The sandstone of St. Mary's is, structurally, brittle, fissile, and
worthless, as a building material. Its substructure is complicated and
made up of thin layers exactly deposited, as if from watery suspension,
but deposited without disturbance. These sub-layers of construction, are
sometimes cut off by parallel lines at right angles, or by new series of
layers diagonally formed, or in echelon.
3. INDIAN TRIBES.
VIII.
CONDITION AND DISPOSITION.
1. _Official Report of an Expedition through Upper Michigan and Northern
Wisconsin in 1831._
SAULT STE. MARIE, Sept. 21, 1831.
SIR: In compliance with instructions to endeavor to terminate the
hostilities between the Chippewas and Sioux, I proceeded into the
Chippewa country with thirteen men in two canoes, having the necessary
provisions and presents for the Indians, an interpreter, a physician to
attend the sick, and a person in charge of the provisions and other
public property. The commanding officer of Fort Brady furnished me with
an escort of ten soldiers, under the command of a lieutenant; and I took
with me a few Chippewas, in a canoe provided with oars, to convey a part
of the provisions. A flag was procured for each canoe. I joined the
expedition at the head of the portage, at this place, on the 25th of
June; and, after visiting the Chippewa villages in the belt of country
between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, in latitudes 44° to 46°,
returned on the 4th of September, having been absent seventy-two days,
and travelled a line of country estimated to be two thousand three
hundred and eight miles. I have now the honor to report to you the route
pursued, the means employed to accomplish the object, and such further
measures as appear to me to be necessary to give effect to what has been
done, and to insure a lasting peace between the two tribes.
Reasons existed for not extending the visit to the Chippewa bands on the
extreme Upper Mississippi, on Red Lake, and Red River, and the River De
Corbeau. After entering Lake Superior, and traversing its southern
shores to Point Chegoimegon, and the adjacent cluster of islands, I
ascended the Mauvaise River to a portage of 8-¾ miles into the
Kaginogumac, or Long Water Lake. This lake is about eight miles long,
and of very irregular width. Thence, by a portage of 280 yards, into
Turtle Lake; thence, by a portage of 1,075 yards, into Clary's Lake, so
called; thence, by a portage of 425 yards, into Lake Polyganum; and
thence, by a portage of 1,050 yards, into the Namakagon River, a branch
of the River St. Croix of the Upper Mississippi. The distance from Lake
Superior to this spot is, by estimation, 124 miles.
We descended the Namakagon to the Pukwaewa, a rice lake, and a Chippewa
village of eight permanent lodges, containing a population of 53
persons, under a local chief called Odabossa. We found here gardens of
corn, potatoes, and pumpkins, in a very neat state of cultivation. The
low state of the water, and the consequent difficulty of the navigation,
induced me to leave the provisions and stores at this place, in charge
of Mr. Woolsey, with directions to proceed (with part of the men, and
the aid of the Indians) to _Lac Courtorielle_, or Ottowa Lake, and there
await my arrival. I then descended the Namakagon in a light canoe, to
its discharge into the St. Croix, and down the latter to Yellow River,
the site of a trading-post and an Indian village, where I had, by
runners, appointed a council. In this trip I was accompanied by Mr.
Johnson, sub-agent, acting as interpreter, and by Dr. Houghton, adjunct
professor of the Rensselaer school. We reached Yellow River on the 1st
of August, and found the Indians assembled. After terminating the
business of the council (of which I shall presently mention the
results), I reascended the St. Croix and the Namakagon, to the portage
which intervenes between the latter and Lac Courtorielle. The first of
the series of carrying-places is about three miles in length, and
terminates at the Lake of the Isles (_Lac des Isles_); after crossing
which, a portage of 750 yards leads to _Lac du Gres_. This lake has a
navigable outlet into Ottowa Lake, where I rejoined the advanced party
(including Lieutenant Clary's detachment) on the 5th of August.
Ottowa Lake is a considerable expanse of water, being about twelve miles
long, with irregular but elevated shores. A populous Chippewa village
and a trading-post are located at its outlet, and a numerous Indian
population subsists in the vicinity. It is situated in a district of
country which abounds in rice lakes, has a proportion of prairie or
burnt land, caused by the ravages of fire, and, in addition to the small
fur-bearing animals, has several of the deer species. It occupies,
geographically, a central situation, being intermediate, and commanding
the communications between the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, and
between Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi. It is on the great
slope of land descending towards the latter, enjoys a climate of
comparative mildness, and yields, with few and short intervals of
extreme want, the means of subsistence to a population which is still
essentially erratic. These remarks apply, with some modifications, to
the entire range of country (within the latitudes mentioned) situated
west and south of the high lands circumscribing the waters of Lake
Superior. The outlet of this Lake (Ottowa) is a fork of Chippewa River,
called Ottowa River.
I had intended to proceed from this lake, either by following down the
Ottowa branch to its junction with the main Chippewa, and then ascending
the latter into Lac du Flambeau, or by descending the Ottowa branch only
to its junction with the northwest fork, called the Ochasowa River; and,
ascending the latter to a portage of sixty _pauses_, into the Chippewa
River. By the latter route time and distance would have been saved, and
I should, in either way, have been enabled to proceed from Lac du
Flambeau to Green Bay by an easy communication into the Upper
Ouisconsin, and from the latter into the Menomonie River, or by Plover
Portage into Wolf River. This was the route I had designed to go on
quitting Lake Superior; but, on consulting my Indian maps, and obtaining
at Ottowa Lake the best and most recent information of the distance and
the actual state of the water, I found neither of the foregoing routes
practicable, without extending my time so far as to exhaust my supplies.
I was finally determined to relinquish the Lac du Flambeau route, by
learning that the Indians of that place had dispersed, and by knowing
that a considerable delay would be caused by reassembling them.
The homeward route by the Mississippi was now the most eligible,
particularly as it would carry me through a portion of country occupied
by the Chippewas, in a state of hostility with the Sioux, and across the
disputed line at the mill. Two routes, to arrive at the Mississippi,
were before me--either to follow down the outlet of Ottowa Lake to its
junction with the Chippewa, and descend the latter to its mouth, or to
quit the Ottowa Lake branch at an intermediate point, and, after
ascending a small and very serpentine tributary, to cross a portage of
6,000 yards into Lake Chetac. I pursued the latter route.
Lake Chetac is a sheet of water about six miles in length, and it has
several islands, on one of which is a small Chippewa village and a
trading-post. This lake is the main source of Red Cedar River (called
sometimes the _Folle Avoine_), a branch of the Chippewa River. It
receives a brook at its head from the direction of the portage, which
admits empty canoes to be conveyed down it two _pauses_, but is then
obstructed with logs. It is connected by a shallow outlet with Weegwos
Lake, a small expanse which we crossed with paddles in twenty-five
minutes. The passage from the latter is so shallow that a portage of
1,295 yards is made into Balsam of Fir or _Sapin_ Lake. The baggage is
carried this distance, but the canoes are brought through the stream.
Sapin Lake is also small; we were thirty minutes in crossing it. Below
this point, the river again expands into a beautiful sheet of water,
called Red Cedar Lake, which we were an hour in passing; and afterward
into _Bois François_, or Rice Lake. At the latter place, at the distance
of perhaps sixty miles from its head, I found the last fixed village of
Chippewas on this stream, although the hunting camps, and other signs of
temporary occupation, were more numerous below than on any other part of
the stream. This may be attributed to the abundance of the Virginia deer
in that vicinity, many of which we saw, and of the elk and moose, whose
tracks were fresh and numerous in the sands of the shore. Wild rice is
found in all the lakes. Game, of every species common to the latitude,
is plentiful. The prairie country extends itself into the vicinity of
Rice Lake; and for more than a day's march before reaching the mouth of
the river, the whole face of the country puts on a sylvan character, as
beautiful to the eye as it is fertile in soil, and spontaneously
productive of the means of subsistence. A country more valuable to a
population having the habits of our northwestern Indians could hardly be
conceived of; and it is therefore cause of less surprise that its
possession should have been so long an object of contention between the
Chippewas and Sioux.
About sixty miles below Rice Lake commences a series of rapids, which
extend, with short intervals, 24 miles. The remainder of the distance,
to the junction of this stream with the Chippewa, consists of deep and
strong water. The junction itself is characterized by commanding and
elevated grounds, and a noble expanse of waters. And the Chippewa River,
from this spot to its entrance into the Mississippi, has a depth and
volume, and a prominence of scenery, which mark it to be inferior to
none, and superior to most of the larger tributaries of the Upper
Mississippi. Before its junction, it is separated into several mouths,
from the principal of which the observer can look into Lake Pepin.
Steamboats could probably ascend to the falls.
The whole distance travelled, from the shores of Lake Superior to the
mouth of the Chippewa, is, by estimation, 643 miles, of which 138 should
be deducted for the trip to Yellow River leaving the direct practicable
route 505 miles. The length of the Mauvaise to the portage is 104; of
the Namakagon, from the portage, 161; of the Red Cedar, 170; of the
Chippewa, from the entrance of the latter, 40. Our means of estimating
distances was by time, corrected by reference to the rapidity of water
and strength of wind, compared with our known velocity of travelling in
calm weather on the lakes. These estimates were made and put down every
evening, and considerable confidence is felt in them. The courses were
accurately kept by a canoe compass. I illustrate my report of this part
of the route by a map protracted by Dr. Houghton. On this map, our
places of encampment, the sites and population of the principal Indian
villages, the trading-posts, and the boundary lines between the Sioux
and Chippewa, are indicated. And I refer you to it for several details
which are omitted in this report.
The present state of the controversy between the Sioux and the Chippewas
will be best inferred from the facts that follow. In stating them, I
have deemed it essential to preserve the order of my conferences with
the Indians, and to confine myself, almost wholly, to results.
Along the borders of Lake Superior, comparatively little alarm was felt
from the hostile relation with the Sioux. But I found them well informed
of the state of the difficulties, and the result of the several
war-parties that had been sent out the last year. A system of
information and advice is constantly kept up by runners; and there is no
movement meditated on the Sioux borders, which is not known and
canvassed by the lake bands.
They sent warriors to the scene of conflict last year, in consequence of
the murder committed by the Sioux on the St. Croix. Their sufferings
from hunger during the winter, and the existence of disease at Torch
Lake (_Lac du Flambeau_), and some other places, together with the
entire failure of the rice crop, had produced effects, which were
depicted by them and by the traders in striking colors. They made these
sufferings the basis of frequent and urgent requests for provisions.
This theme was strenuously dwelt upon. Whatever other gifts they asked
for, they never omitted the gift of food. They made it their first,
their second, and their third request.
At Chegoimegon, on Lake Superior (or _La Pointe_, emphatically so
called), I held my first and stated council with the Indians. This is
the ancient seat of the Chippewa power in this quarter. It is a central
and commanding point, with respect to the country lying north, and west,
and south of it. It appears to be the focus from which, as radii from a
centre, the ancient population emigrated; and the interior bands
consequently look back to it with something of the feelings of parental
relation. News from the frontiers flies back to it with a celerity which
is peculiar to the Indian mode of express. I found here, as I had
expected, the fullest and most recent information from the lines.
Mozojeed, the principal man at Ottowa Lake, had recently visited them
for the purpose of consultation; but returned on the alarm of an attack
upon his village.
The Indians listened with attention to the message transmitted to them
from the President, and to the statements with which it was enforced.
Pezhickee, the venerable and respected chief of the place, was their
speaker in reply. He lamented the war, and admitted the folly of keeping
it up; but it was carried on by the Chippewas in self-defence, and by
volunteer parties of young men, acting without the sanction of the old
chiefs. He thought the same remark due to the elder Sioux chiefs, who
probably did not sanction the crossing of the lines, but could not
restrain their young men. He lived, he said, in an isolated situation,
did not mingle in the interior broils, and did not deem himself
responsible for acts done out of his own village, and certainly not for
the acts of the villages of Torch Lake, Ottowa Lake, and the St. Croix.
He had uniformly advised his people to sit still and remain at peace,
and he believed that none of his young men had joined the war-parties of
last year. The Government, he said, should have his hearty co-operation
in restoring peace. He referred to the sub-agency established here in
1826, spoke of its benefits, and wished to know why the agent had been
withdrawn, and whether he would be instructed to return? In the course
of his reply, he said that formerly, when the Indians lived under the
British government, they were usually told what to do, and in very
distinct terms; but they were now at a loss. From what had been said and
done at the treaty of Fond du Lac, he expected the care and protection
of the American government, and that they would advance towards, instead
of (as in the case of the sub-agency) withdrawing from them. He was
rather at a loss for our views respecting the Chippewas, and he wished
much for my advice in their affairs.
I thought it requisite to make a distinct reply to this point. I told
him that when they lived under the British government, they were
justified in shaping their course according to the advice they received;
but that, on the transfer of the country, their allegiance was
transferred with it. And when our Government hoisted its flag at
Mackinac (1796), it expected from the Indians living within our
boundaries the respect due to it; and it acknowledged, at the same time,
the reciprocal obligations of care and protection. That it always aimed
to fulfil these obligations, of which facts within his own knowledge and
memory would afford ample proofs. I referred him to the several efforts
the Government had made to establish a lasting peace between the
Chippewas and Sioux; for which purpose the President had sent one of his
principal men (alluding to Gov. Cass), in 1820, who had visited their
most extreme northwestern villages, and induced themselves and the Sioux
to smoke the pipe of peace together at St. Peter's. In accordance with
these views, and acting on the information then acquired, the President
had established an agency for their tribe at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1822.
That, in 1825, he had assembled at Prairie du Chien all the tribes who
were at variance on the Upper Mississippi, and persuaded them to make
peace, and, as one of the best means of insuring its permanency, had
fixed the boundaries of their lands. Seeing that the Chippewas and Sioux
still continued an harassing and useless contest, he had sent me to
remind them of this peace and these boundaries, which, I added, you,
Perikee, yourself agreed to, and signed, in my presence. I come to bring
you back to the terms of this treaty. Are not these proofs of his care
and attention? Are not these clear indications of his, views respecting
the Chippewas? The chief was evidently affected by this recital. The
truth appeared to strike him forcibly; and he said, in a short reply,
that he was now _advised_; that he would hereafter feel himself to be
advised, &c. He made some remarks on the establishment of a mission
school, &c., which, being irrelevant, are omitted. He presented a pipe,
with an ornamented stem, as a token of his friendship, and his desire of
peace.
I requested him to furnish messengers to take belts of wampum and
tobacco, with three separate messages, viz: to Yellow River, to Ottowa
Lake, and to Lac du Flambeau, or Torch Lake; and also, as the water was
low, to aid me in the ascent of the Mauvaise River, and to supply guides
for each of the military canoes, as the soldiers would here leave their
barge, and were unacquainted with the difficulties of the ascent. He
accordingly sent his oldest son (Che-che-gwy-ung) and another person,
with the messages, by a direct trail, leading into the St. Croix
country. He also furnished several young Chippewas to aid us on the
Mauvaise, and to carry baggage on the long portage into the first
intermediate lake west of that stream.
After the distribution of presents, I left Chegoimegon on the 18th of
July. The first party of Indians met at the Namakagon, belonging to a
Chippewa village called Pukwaewa; having, as its geographical centre and
trading-post, Ottowa Lake. As I had directed part of the expedition to
precede me there, during my journey to Yellow River, I requested these
Indians to meet me at Ottowa Lake, and assist in conveying the stores
and provisions to that place--a service which they cheerfully performed.
On ascending the lower part of the Namakagon, I learned that my
messenger from Lake Superior had passed, and, on reaching Yellow River,
I found the Indians assembled and waiting. They were encamped on an
elevated ridge, called Pekogunagun, or the Hip Bone, and fired a salute
from its summit. Several of the neighboring Indians came in after my
arrival. Others, with their chiefs, were hourly expected. I did not
deem it necessary for all to come in, but proceeded to lay before
them the objects of my visit, and to solicit their co-operation in an
attempt to make a permanent peace with the Sioux, whose borders we then
were near. Kabamappa, the principal chief, not being a speaker,
responded to my statements and recommendations through another person
(Sha-ne-wa-gwun-ai-be). He said that the Sioux were of bad faith; that
they never refused to smoke the pipe of peace with them, and they never
failed to violate the promise of peace thus solemnly made. He referred
to an attack they made last year on a band of Chippewas and half-breeds,
and the murder of four persons. Perpetual vigilance was required to meet
these inroads. Yet he could assert, fearlessly, that no Chippewa
war-party from the St. Croix had crossed the Sioux line for years; that
the murder he had mentioned was committed within the Chippewa lines; and
although it was said, at the treaty of Prairie du Chien, that the first
aggressor of territorial rights should be punished, neither punishment
was inflicted by the Government, nor had any atonement or apology thus
far been made for this act by the Sioux. He said his influence had been
exerted in favor of peace; that he had uniformly advised both chiefs and
warriors to this effect; and he stood ready now to do whatever it was
reasonable he should do on the subject.
I told him it was not a question of recrimination that was before us. It
was not even necessary to go into the inquiry of who had spilt the first
blood since the treaty of Prairie du Chien. The treaty had been
violated. The lines had been crossed. Murders had been committed by the
Chippewas and by the Sioux. These murders had reached the ears of the
President, and he was resolved to put a stop to them. I did not doubt
but that the advice of the old chiefs, on each side, had been pacific. I
did not doubt but that his course had been _particularly_ so. But rash
young men, of each party, had raised the war-club; and when they could
not go openly, they went secretly. A stop must be put to this course,
and it was necessary the first movement should be made _somewhere_. It
was proper it should be made here, and be made at this time. Nothing
could be lost by it; much might be gained; and if a negotiation was
opened with the Sioux chiefs while I remained, I would second it by
sending an explanatory message to the chiefs and to their agent. I
recommended that Kabamappa and Shakoba, the war-chief of Snake River,
should send jointly wampum and tobacco to the Petite Corbeau and to
Wabisha, the leading Sioux chiefs on the Mississippi, inviting them to
renew the league of friendship, and protesting their own sincerity in
the offer. I concluded by presenting him with a flag, tobacco, wampum,
and ribbons, to be used in the negotiation. After a consultation, he
said he would not only send the messages, but, as he now had the
protection of a flag, he would himself go with the chief Shakoba to the
Petite Corbeau's village. I accompanied these renewed offers of peace
with explanatory messages, in my own name, to Petite Corbeau and to
Wabisha, and a letter to Mr. Taliaferro, the Indian agent at St.
Peter's, informing him of these steps, and soliciting his co-operation.
A copy of this letter is hereunto annexed. I closed the council by the
distribution of presents; after which the Indians called my attention to
the conduct of their trader, &c.
Information was given me immediately after my arrival at Yellow River,
that Neenaba, a popular war-leader from the Red Cedar fork of Chippewa
River, had very recently danced the war-dance with thirty men at Rice
Lake of Yellow River, and that his object was to enlist the young men of
that place in a war-party against the Sioux. I also learned that my
message for Ottowa Lake had been promptly transmitted through Neenaba,
whom I was now anxious to see. I lost not an hour in reascending the St.
Croix and the Namakagon. I purchased two additional canoes of the
Indians, and distributed my men in them, to lighten the draught of
water, and facilitate the ascent; and, by pushing early and late, we
reached Ottowa Lake on the fifth day in the morning. Neenaba had,
however, delivered his message, and departed. I was received in a very
friendly and welcome manner, by Mozojeed, of the band of Ottowa Lake;
Wabezhais, of the Red Devil's band of the South Pukwaewa; and Odabossa,
of the Upper Namakagon. After passing the usual formalities, I prepared
to meet them in council the same day, and communicate to them the
objects of my mission.
In the course of the conference at this place, I obtained the
particulars of a dispute which had arisen between the Chippewas of this
quarter, which now added to their alarm, as they feared the latter would
act in coincidence with their ancient enemies, the Sioux. The reports of
this disturbance had reached me at the Sault, and they continued, with
some variations, until my arrival here. The following are the material
facts in relation to this new cause of disquietude: In the summer of
1827, Okunzhewug, an old woman, the wife of Kishkemun, the principal
chief of Torch Lake, a man superannuated and blind, attended the treaty
of Butte des Morts, bearing her husband's medal. She was treated with
the respect due to the character she represented, and ample presents
were directed to be given to her; among other things, a handsome hat.
The latter article had been requested of her by a young Menomonie, and
refused. It is thought a general feeling of jealousy was excited by her
good reception. A number of the Menomonies went on her return route as
far as the Clover Portage, where she was last seen. Having never
returned to her village, the Chippewas attributed her death to the
Menomonies. Her husband died soon after; but she had numerous and
influential relatives to avenge her real or supposed murder. This is the
account delivered by the Chippewas, and it is corroborated by reports
from the traders of that section of the country. Her singular
disappearance and secret death at the Clover Portage, is undisputed; and
whether caused or not by any agency of the Menomonies, the belief of
such agency, and that of the most direct kind, is fixed in the minds of
the Chippewas, and has furnished the basis of their subsequent acts in
relation to the Menomonie hunting-parties who have visited the lower
part of Chippewa River. Two women belonging to one of these parties
were killed by a Chippewa war-party traversing that part of the country
the ensuing year. The act was disclaimed by them as not being
intentional, and it was declared they supposed the women to be Sioux. On
a close inquiry, however, I found the persons who committed this act
were relatives of Okunzewug, which renders it probable that the murder
was intentionally perpetrated. This act further widened the breach
between the two hitherto fraternal tribes; and the Chippewas of this
quarter began to regard the Menomonie hunting-parties, who entered the
mouth of the Chippewa River, as intruders on their lands. Among a people
whose means of verbal information is speedy, and whose natural sense of
right and wrong is acute, the more than usual friendship and apparent
alliance which have taken place between the Menomonies and Sioux, in the
contest between the Sacs and Foxes, and the murder by them jointly of
the Fox chief White Skin and his companions at a smoking council, in
1830, have operated to increase the feeling of distrust; so much so,
that it was openly reported at Chegoimegon, at Yellow River, and Ottowa
Lake, that the Menomonies had formed a league with the Sioux against the
Chippewas also, and they were fearful of an attack from them. A
circumstance that had given point to this fear, and made it a subject of
absorbing interest, when I arrived at Ottowa Lake, was the recent murder
of a Menomonie chief by a Chippewa of that quarter, and the demand of
satisfaction which had been made (it was sometimes said) by the Indian
agent at Prairie du Chien, and sometimes by the commanding officer, with
a threat to march troops into the country. This demand, I afterward
learned from the Indians at Rice Lake, and from a conversation with
General Street, the agent at Prairie du Chien, had not been made, either
by himself or by the commanding officer; and the report had probably
arisen from a conversation held by a subaltern officer in command of a
wood or timber-party near the mouth of the Chippewa River, with some
Chippewas who were casually met. Its effects, however, were to alarm
them, and to lead them to desire a reconciliation with the Menomonies. I
requested them to lose no time in sending tobacco to the Menomonies, and
adjusting this difference. Mozojeed observed that the murder of the
Menomonie had been committed by a person _non compos_, and he deplored
the folly of it, and disclaimed all agency in it for himself and his
band. The murderer, I believe, belonged to his band; he desired a
reconciliation. He also said the measures adopted at Yellow River, to
bring about a firm peace with the Sioux, had his fullest approbation,
and that nothing on his part should be wanting to promote a result in
every view so wise and so advantageous to the Indians. In this
sentiment, Wabezhais and Odabossa, who made distinct speeches, also
concurred. They confirmed their words by pipes, and all the assembly
made an audible assent. I invested Mozojeed with a flag and a medal,
that he might exert the influence he has acquired among the Indians
beneficially for them and for us, and that his hands might thus be
officially strengthened to accomplish the work of pacification. I then
distributed presents to the chiefs, warriors, women, and children, in
the order of their being seated, and immediately embarked, leaving them
under a lively and enlivened sense of the good-will and friendship of
the American government, on this first official visit to them, and with
a sincere disposition, so far as could be judged, to act in obedience to
its expressed and known wishes.
The Indians at Torch Lake being dispersed, and my message to them not
having been delivered, from this uncertainty of their location, I should
have found reasons for not proceeding in that direction, independent of
the actual and known difficulties of the route at that time. I was still
apprehensive that my appearance had not wholly disconcerted the
war-party of Neenaba, and lost no time in proceeding to his village on
the Red Cedar fork. We found the village at Lake Chetac, which in 1824
was 217 strong, almost totally deserted, and the trading-house burnt.
Scattering Indians were found along the river. The mutual fear of
interruption was such that Mr. B. Cadotte, Sen., the trader at Ottowa
Lake, thought it advisable to follow in our train for the purpose of
collecting his credits at Rice Lake.
While at breakfast on the banks of Sapin Lake, a returning war-party
entered the opposite side of it; they were evidently surprised, and they
stopped. After reconnoitring us, they were encouraged to advance, at
first warily, and afterward with confidence. There were eight canoes,
with two men in each; each man had a gun, war-club, knife, and
ammunition-bag: there was nothing else except the apparatus for
managing the canoe. They were all young men, and belonged to the
vicinity of Ottowa Lake. Their unexpected appearance at this place gave
me the first information that the war-party at Neenaba had been broken
up. They reported that some of their number had been near the mill, and
that they had discovered signs of the Sioux being out, in the moose
having been driven up, &c. In a short conference, I recited to them the
purpose of the council at Ottowa Lake, and referred them to their chiefs
for particulars, enjoining their acquiescence in the proposed measures.
I found at Rice Lake a band of Chippewas, most of them young men, having
a prompt and martial air, encamped in a very compact form, and prepared
at a moment's notice, for action. They saluted our advance with a
smartness and precision of firing that would have done honor to drilled
troops. Neenaba was absent on a hunting-party; but one of the elder men
pointed out a suitable place for my encampment, as I intended here to
put new bottoms to my bark canoes. He arrived in the evening, and
visited my camp with forty-two men. This visit was one of ceremony
merely; as it was late, I deferred anything further until the following
day. I remained at this place part of the 7th, the 8th, and until 3
o'clock on the 9th of August. And the following facts present the result
of several conferences with this distinguished young man, whose
influence is entirely of his own creation, and whose endowments,
personal and mental, had not been misrepresented by the Indians on my
route, who uniformly spoke of him in favorable terms. He is located at
the most advanced point towards the Sioux borders, and, although not in
the line of ancient chiefs, upon him rests essentially the conduct of
affairs in this quarter. I therefore deemed it important to acquire his
confidence and secure his influence, and held frequent conversations
with him. His manner was frank and bold, equally free from servility and
repulsiveness. I drew his attention to several subjects. I asked him
whether the saw-mill on the lower part of the Red Cedar, was located on
Chippewa lands? He said, Yes. Whether it was built with the consent of
the Chippewas? He said, No; it had been built, as it were, by stealth. I
asked him if anything had been subsequently given them in acknowledgment
of their right to the soil? He said, No; that the only acknowledgment
was their getting tobacco to smoke when they visited the mill; that the
Sioux claimed it to be on their side of the line, but the Chippewas
contended that their line ran to a certain bluff and brook below the
mill. I asked him to draw a map of the lower part of Chippewa River,
with all its branches, showing the exact lines as fixed by the treaty at
Prairie du Chien, and as understood by them. I requested him to state
the facts respecting the murder of the Menomonie, and the causes that
led to it; and whether he, or any of his band, received any message from
the agent or commanding officer at Prairie du Chien, demanding the
surrender of the murderer? To the latter inquiry he answered promptly,
No. He gave in his actual population at 142; but it is evident that a
very considerable additional population, particularly men, resort there
for the purpose of hunting a part of the year.
The day after my arrival, I prepared for and summoned the Indians to a
council, with the usual formalities. I opened it by announcing the
objects of my visit. Neenaba and his followers listened to the terms of
the message, the means I had adopted to enforce it, and, finally, to the
request of co-operation on the part of himself and band, with strict
attention. He confined his reply to an expression of thanks, allusions
to the peculiarity of his situation on an exposed frontier, and general,
sentiments of friendship. He appeared to be mentally embarrassed by my
request to drop the war-club, on the successful use of which he had
relied for his popularity, and whatever of real power he possessed. He
often referred to his young men, over whom he claimed no superiority,
and who appeared to be ardently attached to him. I urged the principal
topic upon his attention, presenting it in several lights. I finally
conferred on him, personally, a medal and flag, and directed the
presents intended for his band to be laid, in gross, before him.
After a pause, Neenaba got up, and spoke to the question, connecting it
with obvious considerations, of which mutual rights, personal safety,
and the obligation to protect the women and children, formed the basis.
The latter duty was not a slight one. Last year, the Sioux had killed a
chief on the opposite shore of the lake, and, at the same time, decoyed
two children, who were in a canoe, among the rice, and killed and
beheaded them. He said, in allusion to the medal and flag, that these
marks of honor were not necessary to secure his attention to any
requests made by the American government. And after resuming his seat
awhile (during which he overheard some remarks not pleasing to him, from
an Indian on the opposite side of the ring), he finally got up and
declined receiving them until they were eventually pressed upon him by
the young warriors. Everything appeared to proceed with great harmony,
and the presents were quickly distributed by one of his men. It was not,
however, until the next day, when my canoes were already put in the
water, that he came with his entire party, to make his final reply, and
to present the peace-pipe. He had thrown the flag over one arm, and held
the war-club perpendicularly in the other hand. He said that, although
he accepted the one, he did not drop the other; he held fast to both.
When he looked at the one, he should revert to the counsels with which
it had been given, and he should aim to act upon those counsels; but he
also deemed it necessary to hold fast the war-club; it was, however,
with a determination to use it in defence, and not in attack. He had
reflected upon the advice sent to the Chippewas by the President, and
particularly that part of it which counselled them to sit still upon
their lands; but while they sat still, they also wished to be certain
that their enemies would sit still. And the pipe he was now about to
offer, he offered with a request that it might be sent to the President,
asking him to use his power to prevent the Sioux from crossing the
lines. The pipe was then lit, handed round, the ashes knocked out, and a
formal presentation of it made. This ceremony being ended, I shook hands
with them, and immediately embarked.
On the second day afterward, I reached the saw-mill, the subject of such
frequent allusion, and landed there at 7 o'clock in the morning. I found
a Mr. Wallace in charge, who was employed, with ten men, in building a
new dam on a brook of the Red Cedar, the freshet of last spring having
carried away the former one. I inquired of him where the line between
the Sioux and Chippewas crossed. He replied that the line crossed above
the mill, he did not precisely know the place; adding, however, in the
course of conversation, that he believed the land in this vicinity
originally belonged to the Chippewas. He said it was seven years since
any Sioux had visited the mill; and that the latter was owned by persons
at Prairie du Chien.
The rapids of the Red Cedar River extend (according to the estimates
contained in my notes) about twenty-four miles. They commence a few
miles below the junction of Meadow River, and terminate about two miles
below the mills. This extension of falling water, referred to in the
treaty as a fixed point, has led to the existing uncertainty. The
country itself is of a highly valuable character for its soil, its game,
its wild rice, and its wood. We found the butternut among those species
which are locally included under the name of _Bois franc_, by the
traders. The land can, hereafter, be easily brought into cultivation, as
it is interspersed with prairie; and its fine mill privileges will add
to its value. Indeed, one mile square is intrinsically worth one hundred
miles square of Chippewa country, in some other places.
The present saw-mills (there are two), are situated 65 miles from the
banks of the Mississippi. They are owned exclusively by private
citizens, and employed for their sole benefit. The boards are formed
into rafts; and these rafts are afterward attached together, and floated
down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they command a good price. The
business is understood to be a profitable one. For the privilege, no
equivalent has been paid either to the Indians or to the United States.
The first mill was built several years ago, and before the conclusion of
the treaty of Prairie du Chien, fixing boundaries to the lands. A permit
was given for building, either verbal or written, as I have been
informed, by a former commanding officer at Prairie du Chien. I make
these statements in reference to a letter I have received from the
Department since my return, but which is dated June 27th, containing a
complaint of one of the owners of the mill, that the Chippewas had
threatened to burn it, and requesting me to take the necessary
precautionary measures. I heard nothing of such a threat, but believe
that the respect which the Chippewas have professed, through me, for the
American government, and the influence of my visit among them, will
prevent a resort to any measures of violence; and that they will wait
the peaceable adjustment of the line on the rapids. I will add that,
_wherever_ that line may be determined, in a reasonable probability, to
fall, the mill itself cannot be supplied with logs for any length of
time, if _it is now so supplied_, without cutting them on Chippewa
lands, and rafting them down the Red Cedar. Many of the logs heretofore
sawed at this mill, have been rafted _up stream_, to the mill. And I
understood from the person in charge of it, that he was now anxious to
ascertain new sites for chopping; that his expectations were directed up
the stream, but that his actual knowledge of the country, in that
direction, did not embrace a circumference of more than five miles.
The line between the Chippewa and Sioux, as drawn on the MS. map of
Neenaba, strikes the rapids on Red Cedar River at a brook and bluff a
short distance below the mill. It proceeds thence, across the point of
land between that branch of the main Chippewa, to an island in the
latter; and thence, up stream, to the mouth of Clearwater River, as
called for by the treaty, and from this point to the bluffs of the
Mississippi Valley (where it corners on Winnebago land), on Black River,
and not to the "_mouth_" of Black River, as erroneously inserted in the
5th article of the treaty; the Chippewas never having advanced any
claims to the lands at the mouth of Black River. This map, being drawn
by a Chippewa of sense, influence, and respectability, an exact copy of
it is herewith forwarded for the use of the Department, as embracing the
opinions of the Chippewas on this point. The lines and geographical
marks were drawn on paper by Neenaba himself, and the names translated
and written down by Mr. Johnston.
It is obvious that the adjustment of this line must precede a permanent
peace on this part of the frontiers. The number of Chippewas
particularly interested in it is, from my notes, 2,102; to which, 911
may be added for certain bands on Lake Superior. It embraces 27
villages, and the most influential civil and war chiefs of the region.
The population is enterprising and warlike. They have the means of
subsistence in _comparative_ abundance. They are increasing in numbers.
They command a ready access to the Mississippi by water, and a ready
return from it by land. Habits of association have taught them to look
upon this stream as the theatre of war. Their young men are carried into
it as the natural and almost only means of distinction. And it is in
coincidence with all observation to say that they are now, as they were
in the days of Captain Carver, the terror of the east bank of this
river, between the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers. No other tribe has
now, or has had, within the memory of man, a village or permanent
possession on this part of the shore. It is landed on in fear. It is
often passed by other nations by stealth, and at night. Such is not an
exaggerated picture. And with a knowledge of their geographical
advantages, and numbers, and distribution, on the tributary streams,
slight causes, it may be imagined, will often excite the young and
thoughtless portion of them to raise the war-club, to chant the
war-song, and follow the war-path.
To remove these causes, to teach them the folly of such a contest, to
remind them of the treaty stipulations and promises solemnly made to the
Government, and to the Sioux, and to induce them to renew those
promises, and to act on fixed principles of political faith, were the
primary objects committed to me; and they were certainly objects of
exalted attainment, according as well with the character of the
Government as with the spirit and moral and intellectual tone of the
age. To these objects I have faithfully, as I believe, devoted the means
at my command. And the Chippewas cannot, hereafter, err on the subject
of their hostilities with the Sioux, without knowing that the error is
disapproved by the American government, and that a continuance in it
will be visited upon them in measures of severity.
Without indulging the expectation that my influence on the tour will
have the effect to put an end to the spirit of predatory warfare, it may
be asserted that this spirit has been checked and allayed; and that a
state of feeling and reflection has been produced by it, which cannot
fail to be beneficial to our relations with them, and to their relations
with each other. The messages sent to the Sioux chiefs, may be
anticipated to have resulted in restoring a perfect peace during the
present fall and ensuing winter, and will thus leave to each party the
undisturbed chase of their lands. The meditated blow of Steenaba was
turned aside, and his war-party arrested and dispersed at the moment it
was ready to proceed. Every argument was used to show them the folly and
the insecurity of a continuance of the war. And the whole tenor and
effect of my visit has been to inform and reform these remote bands. It
has destroyed the charm of their seclusion. It has taught them that
their conduct is under the super-vision of the American government; that
they depend on its care and protection; that no other government has
power to regulate trade and send traders among them; finally, that an
adherence to foreign counsels, and to anti-pacific maxims, can be
visited upon them in measures of coercion. That their country, hitherto
deemed nearly inaccessible, can be penetrated and traversed by men and
troops, with baggage and provisions, even in midsummer, when the waters
are lowest; and that, in proportion as they comply with political
maxims, as benevolent as they are just, will they live at peace with
their enemies, and have the means of subsistence for an increased
population among themselves. The conduct of the traders in this quarter,
and the influence they have exerted, both moral and political, cannot
here be entered upon, and must be left to some other occasion, together
with statistical details and other branches of information not arising
from particular instructions.
It may be said that the Indians upon the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers,
and their numerous branches, have been drawn into a close intercourse
with Government. But it will be obvious that a perseverance in the
system of official advice and restraints, is essential to give
permanence to the effects already produced, and to secure a firm and
lasting peace between them and the Sioux. To this end, the settlement of
the line upon the Red Cedar Fork is an object which claims the attention
of the Department; and would justify, in my opinion, the calling
together the parties interested, at some convenient spot near the
junction of the Red Cedar River with the Chippewa. Indeed, the handsome
elevation, and the commanding geographical advantages of this spot,
render it one which, I think, might be advantageously occupied as a
military post. Such an occupancy would have the effect to keep the
parties at peace; and the point of land, on which the work is proposed
to be erected, might be purchased from the Sioux, together with such
part of the disputed lands near the mills as might be deemed necessary
to quiet the title of the Chippewas. By acquiring this portion of
country for the purposes of military occupancy, the United States would
be justified in punishing any murders committed upon it; and I am fully
convinced that no measure which could, at this time, be adopted, would
so certainly conduce to a permanent peace between the tribes. I
therefore beg leave, through you, to submit these subjects to the
consideration of the honorable the Secretary of War, with every distrust
in my own powers of observation, and with a very full confidence in his.
I have the honor to be, sir,
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
TO ELBERT HERRING, ESQ., _Com. Ind. Affairs._
2. _Brief Notes of a Tour in 1831, from Galena, in Illinois, to Fort
Winnebago, on the source of Fox River, Wisconsin._ By HENRY R.
SCHOOLCRAFT.
Time admonishes me of my promise to furnish you some account of my
journey from Galena to Fort Winnebago. But I confess, that time has
taken away none of those features which make me regard it as a task.
Other objects have occupied so much of my thoughts, that the subject has
lost some of its vividness, and I shall be obliged to confine myself
more exclusively to my notes than I had intended. This will be
particularly true in speaking of geological facts. Geographical features
impress themselves strongly on the mind. The shape of a mountain is not
easily forgotten, and its relation to contiguous waters and woods is
recollected after the lapse of many years. The succession of plains,
streams, and settlements is likewise retained in the memory, while the
peculiar plains, the soils overlaying them, and all the variety of their
mineral and organic contents, require to be perpetuated by specimens and
by notes, which impose neither a slight nor a momentary labor.
Limited sketches of this kind are, furthermore, liable to be
misconceived. Prominent external objects can only be brought to mind,
and these often reveal but an imperfect notion of the pervading
character of strata, and still less knowledge of their mineral contents.
Haste takes away many opportunities of observation; and scanty or
inconvenient means of transporting hand specimens, often deprive us of
the requisite data. Indeed, I should be loath to describe the few facts
I am about to communicate, had you not personally visited and examined
the great carboniferous and sandstone formation on the Mississippi and
Wisconsin, and thus got the knowledge of their features. The parallelism
which is apparent in these rocks, by the pinnacles which have been left
standing on high--the wasting effects of time in scooping out valleys
and filling up declivities--and the dark and castle-looking character of
the cherty limestone bluffs, as viewed from the water, while the shadows
of evening are deepening around, are suited to make vivid impressions.
And these broken and denuded cliffs offer the most favorable points for
making geological observations. There are no places inland where the
streams have cut so deep. On gaining the height of land, the strata are
found to be covered with so heavy a deposit of soil, that it is
difficult to glean much that can be relied on respecting the interior
structure.
The angle formed by the junction of the Wisconsin with the Mississippi,
is a sombre line of weather-beaten rocks. Gliding along the current, at
the base of these rocks, the idea of a "hill country," of no very
productive character, is naturally impressed upon the observer. And this
impression came down, probably, from the days of Marquette, who was the
first European, that we read of, who descended the Wisconsin, and thus
became the true discoverer of the Mississippi. The fact that it yielded
lead ore, bits of which were occasionally brought in by the natives, was
in accordance with this opinion; and aided, it may be supposed, in
keeping out of view the real character of the country. I know not how
else to account for the light which has suddenly burst upon us from this
bank of the Mississippi, and which has at once proved it to be as
valuable for the purposes of agriculture as for those of mining, and as
sylvan in its appearance as if it were not fringed, as it were, with
rocks, and lying at a great elevation above the water. This elevation is
so considerable as to permit a lively descent in the streams, forming
numerous mill-seats. The surface of the country is not, however, broken,
but may be compared to the heavy and lazy-rolling waves of the sea after
a tempest. These wave-like plains are often destitute of trees, except a
few scattering ones, but present to the eye an almost boundless field of
native herbage. Groves of oak sometimes diversify those native meadows,
or cover the ridges which bound them. Very rarely does any rock appear
above the surface. The highest elevations, the Platte Mounds, and the
Blue Mound, are covered with soil and with trees. Numerous brooks of
limpid water traverse the plains, and find their way into either the
Wisconsin, Rock River, or the Mississippi. The common deer is still in
possession of its favorite haunts; and the traveller is very often
startled by flocks of the prairie-hen rising up in his path. The surface
soil is a rich black alluvion; it yields abundant crops of corn, and, so
far as they have been tried, all the cereal gramina. I have never,
either in the West or out of the West, seen a richer soil, or more
stately fields of corn and oats, than upon one of the plateaux of the
Blue Mound.
Such is the country which appears to be richer in ores of lead than any
other mineral district in the world--which yielded forty millions of
pounds in seven years--produced a single lump of ore of two thousand
cubic feet--and appears adequate to supply almost any amount of this
article that the demands of commerce require.
The River of Galena rises in the mineral plains of Iowa county, in that
part of the Northwestern Territory which is attached, for the purposes
of temporary government, to Michigan. It is made up of clear and
permanent springs, and has a descent which affords a very valuable
water-power. This has been particularly remarked at the curve called
Mill-seat Bend. No change in its general course, which is southwest, is,
I believe, apparent after it enters the northwest angle of the State of
Illinois. The town of Galena, the capital of the mining country,
occupies a somewhat precipitous semicircular bend, on the right (or
north) bank of the river, six or seven miles from its entrance into the
Mississippi. Backwater, from the latter, gives the stream itself the
appearance, as it bears the name, of a "river," and admits steamboat
navigation thus far. It is a rapid brook immediately above the town, and
of no further value for the purpose of navigation. Lead is brought in
from the smelting furnaces, on heavy ox-teams, capable of carrying
several tons at a load. I do not know that water _has been_, or that it
_cannot_ be made subservient in the transportation of this article from
the mines. The streams themselves are numerous and permanent, although
they are small, and it would require the aid of so many of these, on any
projected route, that it is to be feared the supply of water would be
inadequate. To remedy this deficiency, the Wisconsin itself might be
relied on. Could the waters of this river be conducted in a canal along
its valley from the portage to the bend at Arena, they might, from this
point, be deflected in a direct line to Galena. This route would cut the
mine district centrally, and afford the upper tributaries of the
Pekatolika and Fever Rivers as feeders. Such a communication would open
the way to a northern market, and merchandise might be supplied by the
way of Green Bay, when the low state of water in the Mississippi
prevents the ascent of boats. It would, at all times, obviate the
tedious voyage, which goods ordered from the Atlantic cities have to
perform through the straits of Florida and Gulf of Mexico. A railroad
could be laid upon this route with equal, perhaps superior advantages.
These things may seem too much like making arrangements for the next
generation. But we cannot fix bounds to the efforts of our spreading
population, and spirit of enterprise. Nor, after what we have seen in
the way of internal improvement, in our own day and generation, should
we deem anything too hard to be accomplished.
I set out from Galena in a light wagon, drawn by two horses, about ten
o'clock in the morning (August 17th), accompanied by Mr. B. It had
rained the night and morning of the day previous, which rendered the
streets and roads quite muddy. A marly soil, easily penetrated by rain,
was, however, as susceptible to the influence of the sun, and, in a much
shorter period than would be imagined, the surface became dry. Although
a heavy and continued shower had thoroughly drenched the ground, and
covered it with superfluous water, but very little effects of it were to
be seen at this time. We ascended into the open plain country, which
appears in every direction around the town, and directed our course to
Gratiot's Grove. In this distance, which, on our programme of the route,
was put down, at fifteen miles, a lively idea of the formation and
character of the country is given. The eye is feasted with the
boundlessness of its range. Grass and flowers spread before and beside
the traveller, and, on looking back, they fill up the vista behind him.
He soon finds himself in the midst of a sylvan scene. Groves fringe the
tops of the most distant elevations, and clusters of trees--more rarely,
open forests--are occasionally presented. The trees appear to be almost
exclusively of the species of white oak and rough-bark hickory. Among
the flowers, the plant called rosin-weed attracts attention by its
gigantic stature, and it is accompanied, as certainly as substance by
shadow, by the wild indigo, two plants which were afterwards detected,
of less luxuriant growth, on Fox River. The roads are in their natural
condition; they are excellent, except for a few yards where streams are
crossed. At such places there is a plunge into soft, black muck, and it
requires all the powers of a horse harnessed to a wagon to emerge from
the stream.
On reaching Gratiot's Grove, I handed letters of introduction to Mr. H.
and B. Gratiot. These gentlemen appear to be extensively engaged in
smelting. They conducted me to see the ore prepared for smelting in the
log furnace; and also the preparation of such parts of it for the ash
furnace as do not undergo complete fusion in the first process. The ash
furnace is a very simple kind of air furnace, with a grate so arranged
as to throw a reverberating flame upon the hearth where the prepared ore
is laid. It is built against a declivity, and charged, by throwing the
materials to be operated upon, down the flue. A silicious flux is used;
and the scoria is tapped and suffered to flow out, from the side of the
furnace, before drawing off the melted lead. The latter is received in
an excavation made in the earth, from which it is ladled out into iron
moulds. The whole process is conducted in the open air, with sometimes a
slight shed. The lead ore is piled in cribs of logs, which are roofed.
Hammers, ladles, a kind of tongs, and some other iron tools are
required. The simplicity of the process, the absence of external show in
buildings, and the direct and ready application of the means to the end,
are remarkable, as pleasing characteristics about the smelting
establishment.
The ore used is the common sulphuret, with a foliated, glittering and
cubical fracture. It occurs with scarcely any adhering gangue. Cubical
masses of it are found, at some of the diggings, which are studded over
with minute crystals of calcareous spar. These crystals, when examined,
have the form of the dog-tooth spar. This broad, square-shaped, and
square-broken mineral, is taken from _east and west leads_, is most easy
to smelt, and yields the greatest per centum of lead. It is estimated to
produce fifty per cent. from the log furnace, and about sixteen more
when treated with a flux in the ash furnace.
Miners classify their ore from its position in the mine. Ore from _east
and west leads_, is raised from clay diggings, although these diggings
may be pursued under the first stratum of rock. Ore from _north and
south leads_, is termed "sheet minerals," and is usually taken from rock
diggings. The vein or sheet stands perpendicularly in the fissure, and
is usually struck in sinking from six to ten feet. The sheet varies in
thickness from six or eight inches, in the broadest part, to not more
than one. The great mass found at "Irish diggings" was of this kind.
I observed, among the piles of ore at Gratiot's, the combination of zinc
with lead ore, which is denominated _dry bone_. It is cast by as
unproductive. Mr. B. Gratiot also showed me pieces of the common ore
which had undergone desulphuration in the log furnace. Its natural
splendor is increased by this process, so as to have the appearance of
highly burnished steel. He also presented me some uniform masses of
lead, recrystallized from a metallic state, under the hearth of the ash
furnace. The tendency to rectangular structure in these delicate and
fragile masses is very remarkable. Crystallization appears to have taken
place under circumstances which opposed the production of a complete and
perfect cube or parallelogram, although there are innumerable rectangles
of each geometric form.
In the drive from Gratiot's to Willow Springs, we saw a succession of
the same objects that had formed the prominent features of the landscape
from Galena. The platte mounds, which had appeared on our left all the
morning, continued visible until we entered the grove that embraces the
site of the springs. Little mounds of red earth frequently appeared
above the grass, to testify to the labors of miners along this part of
the route. In taking a hasty survey of some of the numerous excavations
of Irish diggings, I observed among the rubbish small flat masses of a
yellowish white amorphous mineral substance of great weight. I have not
had time to submit it to any tests. It appears too heavy and compact for
the earthy yellow oxide of lead. I should not be disappointed to find it
an oxide of zinc. No rock stratum protrudes from the ground in this part
of the country. The consolidated masses, thrown up from the diggings,
appear to be silicated limestone, often friable, and not crystalline.
Galena is found in open fissures in this rock.
We reached the springs in the dusk of the evening, and found good
accommodations at Ray's. Distance from Galena thirty miles.