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Transcriber's Note:

  Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
  been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal
  signs=.  Superscripts are prefixed with a ^caret.  In Table D on
  page 283, a symbol for "per" has been replaced with the word per.

  Footnote numbering, which in the original restarted at "1" with every
  chapter, has been prepended with OP (Original Preface), NP
  (New Preface), M (Memoir), or the Roman chapter number (e.g. VI-7 for
  the 7th note of chapter 6).

  The table on pages 346 and 347 has been split to reduce the line
  lengths.

  In Footnote M-6, 1892 should probably be 1792.

  On page 216, the barometer reading for August 25th seems to be missing
  a digit.

  This book is the first of three volumes.  Volume 2 is available at
  http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/43775.  Volume 3 is available at
  http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/43776. It contains an Index and Maps.




  Pike's Expeditions.
  VOLUME I.




  EDITION LIMITED TO ELEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY COPIES.


       Nos. 1 to 150 on Handmade Paper.
       Nos. 151 to 1150 on Fine Book Paper.

       No. ____




  [Illustration: Z. M. Pike]




     THE EXPEDITIONS
     OF
     ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE,

     To Headwaters of the Mississippi River,
     Through Louisiana Territory, and in New Spain,
     During the Years 1805-6-7.

     A NEW EDITION,
     NOW FIRST REPRINTED IN FULL FROM THE ORIGINAL OF 1810,
     WITH COPIOUS CRITICAL COMMENTARY,
     MEMOIR OF PIKE, NEW MAP AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS,
     AND COMPLETE INDEX,

     BY
     ELLIOTT COUES,
     Late Captain and Assistant Surgeon, United States Army,
     Late Secretary and Naturalist, United States Geological Survey,
     Member of the National Academy of Sciences,
     Editor of Lewis and Clark,
     etc., etc., etc.

     IN THREE VOLUMES.
     VOL. I.
     Memoir of the Author--Mississippi Voyage.

     NEW YORK:
     FRANCIS P. HARPER.
     1895.




     COPYRIGHT, 1895,
     BY
     FRANCIS P. HARPER,
     New York.

     All rights reserved.




Dedication.

TO THE PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE U. S. M. P. S.


Fellow Soldiers and Citizens:

In presuming to claim your protection and patronage for the following
production, I feel less diffidence, knowing that the very institution
of the society will plead in my favor, it being avowedly formed for
the promotion of military knowledge.

The work is merely a volume of details, and if it should be found
that in the relation I have delivered myself with perspicuity and
exactitude, it is the highest meed of praise that I claim. When I
touched on abstract subjects, or presumed to hypothesize, I have
merely suggested doubts without conclusions, which, if deemed worthy,
may hereafter be analyzed by men of genius and science. It being a
work which has arisen from the events of youthful military exertions,
the author, perhaps, has the most just and well-founded ground for a
hope that it may receive the solicited approbation of your honorable
institution.

I am, gentlemen, with the greatest respect and high consideration,

     Your obedient servant,

     Z. M. PIKE,

     Major 6th Regt. Infantry,
     M. U. S. M. P. Society.




CONTENTS OF VOL I.


                                                                 PAGES

     ORIGINAL PREFACE,                                            i-iv

     NEW PREFACE,                                             v-xviii*

     MEMOIR OF ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE,                       xix-cxiv

     PART I.

     THE MISSISSIPPI VOYAGE.

     CHAPTER I.

     ITINERARY: ST. LOUIS TO ST. PAUL, AUGUST 9TH-SEPTEMBER
     21ST, 1805,                                                  1-81

     CHAPTER II.

     ITINERARY, CONTINUED: ST. PAUL TO LEECH LAKE,
     SEPTEMBER 22D, 1805-JANUARY 31ST, 1806,                    82-151

     CHAPTER III.

     ITINERARY, CONCLUDED: LEECH LAKE TO ST. LOUIS,
     FEBRUARY 1ST-APRIL 30TH, 1806,                            152-215

     CHAPTER IV.

     WEATHER DIARY OF THE MISSISSIPPI,                         216-220

     CHAPTER V.

     CORRESPONDENCE AND CONFERENCES,                           221-273

     CHAPTER VI.

     COMMERCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI,                              274-286

     CHAPTER VII.

     GEOGRAPHY OF THE MISSISSIPPI,                             287-336

     CHAPTER VIII.

     ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE MISSISSIPPI,                           337-354

     CHAPTER IX.

     VOCABULARY OF MISSISSIPPIAN PLACE-NAMES,                 355, 356




PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION.


To the Public:

Books of travels, journals, and voyages have become so numerous, and
are so frequently impositions on the public, that the writer of the
following sheets feels under an obligation to explain, in some
measure, the original circumstances that led to the production of this
volume. Soon after the purchase of Louisiana by an enlightened
administration, measures were taken to explore the then unknown wilds
of our western country--measures founded on principles of scientific
pursuits, combined with a view of entering into a chain of
philanthropic arrangements for ameliorating the condition of the
Indians who inhabit those vast plains and deserts. His Excellency,
Meriwether Lewis, then a captain of the first regiment of infantry,
was selected by the President of the United States, in conjunction
with Captain C. Clarke [Wm. Clark], to explore the then unknown
sources of the Missouri, and I was chosen to trace the Mississippi to
its source, with the objects in view contemplated by my instructions;
to which I conceived my duty as a soldier should induce me to add an
investigation into the views of the British traders in that quarter as
to trade, and an inquiry into the limits of the territories of the
United States and Great Britain. As a man of humanity and feeling, I
made use of the name of my government to stop the savage warfare which
had for ages been carried on by two of the most powerful nations of
aborigines in North America. Why I did not execute the power vested in
me by the laws of the country, to ruin the British traders and enrich
myself, by seizing on the immense property of the North West Company,
which I found in the acknowledged boundary of the United States, will
be explained by my letter to Hugh M'Gillis, Esq., to whom I own
eternal gratitude for his polite and hospitable treatment of myself
and party.

In the execution of this voyage I had no gentleman to aid me, and I
literally performed the duties (as far as my limited abilities
permitted) of astronomer, surveyor, commanding officer, clerk, spy,
guide, and hunter; frequently preceding the party for miles in order
to reconnoiter, and returning in the evening, hungry and fatigued, to
sit down in the open air, by firelight, to copy the notes and plot the
courses of the day.

On my return from the Mississippi voyage, preparations were making for
a second, which was to be conducted by another gentleman of the army;
but General Wilkinson solicited as a favor that which he had a right
to command, viz., that I would agree to take charge of the expedition.
The late dangers and hardships I had undergone, together with the idea
of again leaving my family in a strange country, distant from their
connections, made me hesitate; but the ambition of a soldier, and the
spirit of enterprise which was inherent in my breast, induced me to
agree to his proposition. The great objects in view by this
expedition, as I conceived in addition to my instructions, were to
attach the Indians to our government, and to acquire such geographical
knowledge of the southwestern boundary of Louisiana as to enable our
government to enter into a definitive arrangement for a line of
demarkation between that territory and North Mexico.

In this expedition I had the assistance of Lieutenant James [D.]
Wilkinson, and also of Dr. John H. Robinson, a young gentleman of
science and enterprise, who volunteered his services. I also was
fitted out with a complete set of astronomical and mathematical
instruments, which enabled me to ascertain the geographical situation
of various places to a degree of exactitude that would have been
extremely gratifying to all lovers of science, had I not been so
unfortunate as to lose the greater part of my papers by the seizure
of the Spanish government.

With respect to the great acquisitions which might have been made to
the sciences of botany and zoology, I can only observe that neither my
education nor taste led me to the pursuit; and if they had, my mind
was too much engrossed in making arrangements for our subsistence and
safety to give time to scrutinize the productions of the countries
over which we traveled, with the eye of a Linnaeus or Buffon; yet Dr.
Robinson did make some observations on those subjects, which he has
not yet communicated. With respect to the Spanish part, it has been
suggested to me by some respected friends that the picture I drew of
the manners, morals, etc., of individuals generally of New Spain, if a
good likeness, was certainly not making a proper return for the
hospitality and kindness with which those people honored me. Those
reasons have induced me to omit many transactions, and draw a veil
over various habits and customs which might appear in an unfavorable
point of view, at the same time that I have dwelt with delight on
their virtues.

There have not been wanting persons of various ranks who have
endeavored to infuse the idea into the minds of the public that the
last voyage was undertaken through some sinister designs of General
Wilkinson; and although this report has been amply refuted by two
letters from the Secretary of War, published with this work, yet I
cannot forbear, in this public manner, declaring the insinuation to be
a groundless calumny, arising from the envenomed breasts of persons
who, through enmity to the general, would, in attempting his ruin,
hurl destruction on all those who, either through their official
stations or habits of friendship, ever had any connection with that
gentleman.

As a military man--as a soldier from the time I was able to bear
arms--it cannot be expected that a production of my pen can stand the
test of criticism; and I hope, by this candid appeal to the justice
and indulgence of the learned, to induce them to spare their censure
if they cannot award their praise.

The gentleman who prints this work knows under what a variety of
disadvantages it has gone to the press.[OP-1] At a distance during its
publication, and engaged in my professional duties, it was impossible
to give to it that attention which, in order to reach its proper
degree of correctness, such a work necessarily would require.

     Z. M. PIKE.

FOOTNOTE:

[OP-1] The publisher owes it to truth, and to Colonel Pike, to state that
he very much doubts whether any book ever went to press under so many
disadvantages as the one now presented to the public. Some of those
disadvantages must be obvious to every man who reads the work; but
there are many others of a nature not sufficiently interesting for
publication, yet of sufficient magnitude to <DW44> the work, embarrass
the publisher, and impose more anxiety than has fallen to his lot in
the various books which he has published. It is, however, confidently
believed that, notwithstanding all those circumstances, the Journal
and its Appendixes will be found particularly interesting and pregnant
with important information.




PREFACE TO THE NEW EDITION.


Pike's expeditions were the first military and the second governmental
explorations which were pushed to any considerable extent in our then
newly acquired territory of Louisiana. The name and fame of the
brilliant young soldier who impersonated the authority of the United
States over all the ground between British and Spanish possessions are
thus inseparably linked with those of Lewis and Clark in the beginning
of our history of the Great West--a West so great that it reached from
the Mississippi to the Pacific. The two movements were similar in
scope and plan; both were in the nature of claiming possession of
property; they were alike fruitful of permanent good results; but they
differed entirely in the circumstances under which each was devised,
and to a marked degree in their respective purposes. Lewis and Clark's
enterprise originated with the President of the United States; and
though both of the men to whom that most memorable exploration was
confided were officers of the regular army, their military
organization was entirely subservient to affairs of state, being
simply designed to secure the most efficient discipline in the
discharge of certain civilian duties. Jefferson had invested heavily
in real estate; the Louisiana purchase had been made with the people's
money; he naturally wished to know what sort of a bargain he had made
with Napoleon; so he sent Lewis and Clark to explore the vast extent
of country he had bought. While their faces were still fixed on the
setting sun, which for them still dipped behind the shining snow-caps,
Pike set forth on his first journey northward; while they were
homeward bound from the South Sea by way of the mighty Missouri and
the rugged Roche Jaune, he was pressing on his second way toward the
Mexican mountains. Both his expeditions originated with the
commander-in-chief of the army; both were as strictly military in
method as in purpose. Pike was the simon-pure and simple soldier, who
had been ordered by his general to carry our flag among British
traders and Sioux, Ojibways, and other Indians of the Northwest, in
the first instance; in the second place, to display that emblem of
authority among the Osages, Pawnees, and Comanches, and plant that
standard of the republic on the still disputed boundary of New Spain
in the Southwest. All else that he accomplished was incidental to
Wilkinson's main aim. How daring were Pike's exploits, these volumes
testify. Their moral effect was enormous; their results proved
far-reaching; and some of these are still in evidence of intrepid
adventure pushed to successful issue.

If the record of Pike's expeditions be overshadowed by the history of
still greater and partly prior achievement, we may remember that its
luster is dimmed only in comparison with the incomparable story of
Lewis and Clark. If this witness of arduous duty ardently done in the
service of his country stand dumb before that startling tragedy which
set the seal of sacrifice upon a devoted life, we may reflect that
such a consummation of noble aspirations but capped the climax of
unswerving patriotism and unwavering fidelity to lofty ideals when it
transfigured the already celebrated explorer into a national hero and
a popular idol. Pike's personality is not less picturesque than is his
career unique; our interest in his character becomes vivid as we study
its manifestations, and perhaps even outgrows that regard we may
bestow upon those of his achievements which have passed into permanent
history. The present volumes tell his own story, in his own way; they
are autobiographical in all that relates to the principal incidents
and most stirring scenes of his life, before that final catastrophe
which turned the tide of international warfare. If the narrative
never halted at the point of an unaccustomed pen it would not be
Pike's, and it would lack a certain quality which not even a Biddle
could impart to the more polished and finished history of Lewis and
Clark. It now seems probable that both books will endure, side by
side, so long as any interest in the beginnings of our Great West
finds a place in the hearts of the people.

Pike anticipated Lewis and Clark by about four years in bringing the
results of his partly simultaneous explorations before the public.
Since the first appearance of his work, there has never been a time
when it has not been cited by scholars as an original authority in the
many matters of historical, geographical, ethnological, and related
interests of which it treats. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that Pike
has never been so widely or so well known as he deserves to be in his
double character of traveler and author. The soldier could hardly
desire greater fame than fell to the happy lot of the hero of York,
victorious in death; but what of his life? Who was this General Pike
before that? Who was Lieutenant or Captain Pike--where did he go
exploring--what did he discover--how should we know? In searching
contemporaneous records of the War of 1812 for biographical data in
the preparation of the Memoir which introduces these volumes, it was
always the great soldier--General Pike--whom I found, with scant
recognition, if anything more than mere mention, of the still greater
explorer--the youthful, the dashing and winning, the ardent and
enthusiastic lieutenant, who dreamed of glory till his dream came
true. The fact would seem to be that Pike's death on the field of
battle, under exceptionally thrilling circumstances, obscured rather
than accentuated those earlier exploits which set his title to fame in
the clearest and truest light. Probably no good general would have
failed in what Pike accomplished on the day of his death; but how many
subalterns in their twenties have won imperishable renown by
achievements in the field of exploration? One purpose I had in view in
preparing a new edition of this work will have been subserved if I
have succeeded in eliminating a certain popular aberration, in
calculating aright the parallax of Pike as viewed from different
standpoints, and in thus placing his name in proper historical
perspective.

Nearly or quite all that an editor might be expected to say in his
preface concerning the subject-matter of his author will be found to
have been said already in one place or another in the course of the
extensive and minute commentary which appears upon almost every page
of the present edition. Nevertheless, so few are the persons who have
any clear or coherent ideas on the subject of Pike's performances,
that it will be to consult the convenience of most readers who may
take up this book to give here a brief statement of his journeyings.

Pike conducted two entirely separate and distinct expeditions. One of
them, in 1805-6, was from St. Louis by way of the Mississippi to the
headwaters of this river, and return--for the most part by the same
way he went. This round trip, which I have called the "Mississippi
Voyage," forms Pt. 1 of his book. The other expedition was taken
westward from St. Louis into the interior parts of the then Louisiana,
to the sources of the Arkansaw river, and among the Rocky mountains of
present Colorado. In so far as Pike protracted this exploration of his
own volition, it forms Pt. 2 of his book, which I have designated the
"Arkansaw Journey." But at one point in the course of this journey
Pike was captured by the Spaniards, and conducted against his will by
a roundabout way through Mexico to the then Spanish-American boundary
between Texas and Louisiana. This episode, unflattering to Pike's
sensibilities, if not wholly unforeseen by him, he saw fit to make the
subject of Pt. 3 of his book; I have entitled it the "Mexican Tour."

I. In July, 1805, Pike was ordered by General Wilkinson to explore and
report upon the Mississippi river from St. Louis to its source, select
sites for military posts, treat with the Indians, make peace if
possible between the Sioux and Ojibways, and find out what he could
about the British traders who still occupied posts in our newly
acquired territory. Excepting these establishments of the Northwest
Company, there were then no white settlements on or near the river
beyond the village of Prairie du Chien, and our flag had never flown
in that quarter. Pike navigated his boats to the vicinity of present
Little Falls, but could get them no further. He there built a
stockade, in which some of his men were left for the winter, and with
the rest pushed on by land along the river to Lower Red Cedar
Lake--Sandy lake--Grand rapids and Pokegama falls--mouth of Leech Lake
river--up the latter to Leech lake--and thence to Upper Red Cedar (now
Cass) lake, at the mouth of Turtle river. This was the furthest point
he reached. He considered the Leech Lake drainage-area--which I have
called the Pikean source--to be the true origin of the Mississippi,
and remained in ignorance of the fact that this river flowed into Cass
lake from such lakes as Bemidji and Itasca, though these and others
were already known to some of the whites. Returning from Cass to Leech
lake, and thence, by a more direct overland route than he had before
taken, to the Mississippi in the vicinity of Lower Red Cedar lake, he
descended the river to his stockade, picked up the men who had
wintered there, and as soon as the ice broke up started in boats for
St. Louis, which he reached in safety with all his party in April,
1806.

II. In July, 1806, Pike left St. Louis on his second expedition. He
ascended the Missouri to the Osage, and the latter to the villages of
the Indians of that name. Thence he continued westward overland,
entered Kansas, and proceeded to the Pawnee village on the Republican
river, near the present Kansas-Nebraska line. Turning southward, he
reached the Arkansaw river at the present site of Great Bend. There he
dispatched his junior officer, Lieutenant Wilkinson, with a few men,
to descend the Arkansaw, while with the rest of his company he
ascended the same river into Colorado, as far as Pueblo. From this
point he made an unsuccessful side-trip which had for its object the
ascent of the since famous peak which bears his name, and returned to
his camp at Pueblo. Thence pushing up the Arkansaw, he was halted by
the Grand canyon, at the site of present Canyon City. He then made a
detour to the right, which took him up Oil creek into South Park. He
traversed this park, along the South Platte and some of its
tributaries, left it by way of Trout Creek pass, and was thus again
brought to the Arkansaw. He pushed up this river till he viewed its
sources, in the vicinity of present Leadville, turned about, and with
great difficulty descended it to the very camp he had left at Canyon
City. This part of his journey was not accomplished without much
hardship, and ended in chagrin; for he had fancied himself on the
headwaters of that Red river whose sources he had been pointedly
instructed to discover. Nothing was known at that time, to Americans,
of the origin of that great branch of the Mississippi which was called
Red river lower down; nor was it known till years afterward that what
the Spaniards had called high up by a name equivalent to Red river was
really that main fork of the Arkansaw which is now designated the
Canadian river, whose sources are in the mountains not far from Santa
Fe. _This_ was the river which Pike might have found, had his search
been more fortunately directed, though neither he nor any other
American was aware of that fact at the time. Nevertheless, he
determined to carry out his orders to the letter, and with more
courage than discretion pushed southward from his camp at Canyon City
to discover an elusive Red river. He passed up that tributary of the
Arkansaw which is now called Grape creek, and thus into the Wet
Mountain valley. There the party suffered almost incredibly from cold
and hunger; some of the men were frozen and crippled for life. But
Pike managed to extricate himself and most of his companions from
their perilous situation by crossing the Sangre de Cristo range
through the Sand Hill pass into the San Luis valley, where he found
himself on the Rio Grande del Norte. He descended this river to the
Rio Conejos, and there established himself in a stockade--in part at
least for the purpose of tarrying while he sent a small party back for
those of the men who had been left behind, both at Canyon City and in
Wet Mountain valley.

The secret which underlay Pike's ostensible instructions from General
Wilkinson, and the mystery which is supposed to have enshrouded his
movements on this portion of his second expedition, are fully
discussed in my notes, at various points in Pike's narrative or in my
Memoir, where the subject obtrudes. Without going into any particulars
here, it is to be said simply that Pike may have been ordered to
proceed to Santa Fe--or as near that capital of Spanish New Mexico as
he could go with the force at his command--without being informed of
whatever ulterior designs the general of the army may have
entertained.

III. Pike was captured in his stockade, with the few men he had left
about him, by Spanish dragoons, under the orders of General
Allencaster, then governor of New Mexico. The message he received from
his captors was disguised under the form of a polite invitation to
visit the governor at Santa Fe. On the 27th of February, 1807, he left
his post as a prisoner in the hands of a half-hostile foreign power,
accompanied by the remnant of his men. They were treated with great
forbearance--nay, with distinguished consideration; nevertheless, Pike
was brought to book before the authorities, and required to explain
how he had happened to invade Spanish territory with an armed force.
Governor Allencaster then ordered him to report to General Salcedo at
Chihuahua; he was accordingly escorted by the military down the Rio
Grande from Santa Fe to El Paso, and thence by the usual route
southward, in what was then New Biscay, to the first named city. From
this capital he was conducted, still under guard, through a portion of
what is now the State of Durango, around by the Bolson de Mapimi,
thence northward throughout Coahuila, and so on to San Antonio.
Continuing through Texas, he was finally delivered out of the hands
of his Spanish hosts and captors, on crossing the river which in part
bounds our present State of Louisiana; and ended his long
peregrination at Natchitoches, among his own countrymen.

At this point the author's narrative ends abruptly, so far as any
itinerary of his movements is concerned. We are not even told what
became of the men who did not accompany him to Natchitoches--those who
were left behind when he started from the Rio Conejos, either at that
point, or in the Wet Mountain valley, or on the Arkansaw. It had been
understood, and was fully expected, that they were all to follow him
through Mexico under Spanish escort. It is probable that they did so,
and that all were finally restored to the United States. But at the
last word we have on the subject from Pike himself, eight persons were
still detained in Mexico. (See p. 855.)

       *       *       *       *       *

If the reader will now turn to p. xxxvi, he will find there and on
some following pages an analysis of the original edition of Pike's
work, together with an exposition of the wholly exceptional editorial
difficulty of reproducing such a complicated affair in anything like
good book form. The author, like many another gallant soldier, versed
in the arts of war, was quite innocent of literary strategy, though
capable of heading an impetuous assault upon the parts of speech. He
may have acquired an impression, by no means confined to his own
profession, that a book is made by putting manuscript in a
printing-press and stirring it about with a composing-stick, which,
like a magic wand that some kind fairy waves in an enchanted castle,
will transfigure the homeliness of the pen into a thing of beauty and
a joy forever. Pike seems to have labored under some such delusion in
preparing his copious materials for the press, and no one appears
either to have advised him in these premises or to have revised the
proofs. The result was innumerable errors, both of the writing and of
the printing, most of which might have been eliminated with due care.

In the original edition, which has never before been reprinted in
full, or in anything like its own make-up, the three separate
itineraries above noted followed one another consecutively, with only
the interruption of certain meteorological tables. These itineraries
made about one-half of the volume in bulk, but perhaps only about
one-third of the total _ems_. They were called "Parts," respectively
enumerated I., II., III., and were the only portions of the whole
which were printed in large type, as the main "body" of the work. The
greater remainder of the author's materials were then thrown into the
form of three Appendixes, one for each of the three foregoing Parts,
each one being necessarily displaced from its proper connection, and
all being set in small type. The contents of these Appendixes were
miscellaneous and multifarious, but reducible in the main to two
sorts: (1) Formal retraversing of the ground gone over in the
itineraries, with reference to geography, ethnology, commerce,
military and political topics, and related matters which came under
Pike's observation; (2) Letters and other documents upon a variety of
subjects, representing what may be regarded as the officialities of
Pike's Expeditions.

The determination to edit Pike with the omission of nothing whatever
which the work originally contained, and to preserve as far as seemed
reasonably possible the shape in which it came from his own hand,
involved a problem whose solution was one of no ordinary difficulty.
The division of the book into three Parts was perfectly sound, and by
all means to be preserved. The main departure from Pike's plan that
seemed to be required was simply to bring each Appendix into direct
connection with its own Part, and set it in uniform typography, as
being of equal value and interest with the itinerary. Having made
these transpositions, I found it an easy matter to introduce
chapter-heads which should co-ordinate the whole of the contents. Each
of the three itineraries could be conveniently divided into three
chapters, covering as many stages of the several journeys; and in like
manner it was found that the contents of each of the three Appendixes
could be naturally grouped under a few heads, thus carrying out the
plan of chaptering the whole book. To effect this result required no
change whatever in the course of the itineraries, and in the
appendicial matters involved only some few unimportant transpositions,
mainly for the purpose of rearranging the official correspondence in
the chronological sequence of the letters and other documents of which
it consisted. But even in this small matter I have been at the pains
of pointing out the position which each separate piece occupied in the
original edition--perhaps with needless scrupulosity. A glance at the
tables of contents of this edition will show how well or ill the
remodeling has been done.

The transpositions thus effected, together with the repeatedly broken
and sometimes blank pagination of the original, made it obviously
impossible to indicate in this edition the former numeration of the
pages. Otherwise, in editing Pike's text, I have been guided by the
same principles which I applied to my recent redaction of Lewis and
Clark. I do not think that any editor may feel free to rewrite his
author. It would be an unwarrantable liberty to sacrifice an author's
individuality upon the altar of literary style. And especially in the
case of an old book--one whose intrinsic merits survive what are "the
defects of its qualities," and thus cause it to reappear in a new
guise--is it desirable that the reader should feel sure he is offered
a genuine text. At the same time, the essentials of genuineness are
different from its factitious ear-marks, and may be preserved with
fidelity by an editor who, nevertheless, feels free to disregard
non-essentials. Pike's is both a rare and a curious book; yet we need
not venerate its abounding misprints, or burn the incense of
admiration in the face of its frequently solecistic grammar, or even
kowtow to its peculiar punctuation. Such things as these are assuredly
among the non-essentials of a pure text, always amenable to editorial
revision, and always open to the welcome attentions of a friendly
printer. But for the rest, as I lately said on a similar occasion, "I
have punctiliously preserved the orthography of proper names in all
their variance and eccentricity; and wherever I have amplified any
statement in the text, or diverted the sense of a passage by a hair's
breadth, square brackets indicate the fact."

A few words may be expected in this connection upon the new matter, by
the introduction of which the single volume of Pike has been extended
to three volumes, thus more than doubling the original text. I have
seldom, if ever, studied a work whose author seemed to me in so great
need of an interpreter. Pike was not always precise in his statements
of fact, and sometimes failed to convey his own meaning with entire
lucidity. Much was thus left to be supplied by the imagination of the
reader, or to be clarified by the exercise of his critical faculties,
whether or no he were sufficiently informed in the premises to follow
his author intelligently. In subjecting the text to a scrutiny,
perhaps exceptionally close and rigid, I have desired in the first
place to inform myself of the exact significance which the author
intended his words to have, thus putting myself as nearly as possible
in his place, and always, as I trust, in full sympathy with him,
however diverse from his views any of my own opinions may have been.
Coming to such understanding of the work in hand--one whose
accomplishment is now nearly a century old--my duty seemed to be to
criticise the subject-matter from the standpoint of to-day, however
copious might prove to be the additional information required, or to
whatever extent the resulting commentary might be protracted. This
part of my work is represented by the notes with which the present
edition has been freighted, and which are typographically
distinguished from the main text. These notes bespeak their own
variety and perhaps comprehensiveness; but of their value or interest
it is not for me to express any opinion.

Aside from this main exercise of an editorial function to the best of
my ability, I have been induced to add another to the several good
memoirs of Pike which we already possessed--notably Whiting's and
Greely's. In the preparation of this I have been able to avail myself
of much hitherto unpublished documentary material and other sources of
information which have not before been utilized for this purpose.
Under the circumstances of its present connection this biography could
be prepared with little regard to Pike as an explorer, for these
volumes cover all such ground; and thus I could dwell for the most
part upon other aspects of his life and character, such as those which
led up to his conspicuous adventures, and especially those of the War
of 1812 which closed with his death a career of military honor and
renown.

At the time when Pike first appeared in print, it was the fashion to
regard an index to a book rather as an elegant superfluity, or a
luxury of leisurely authorship, than as the imperative obligation and
absolute necessity which we now find it to be, whenever anything else
than fiction or poetry becomes a candidate for public favor. Pike has
never been indexed before; and many who now see how lengthy is the
list of proper names of persons, places, and other things, may for the
first time become aware of the extent and variety of information of
which this author's work has proved to be either the prolific source
or the pregnant occasion.

All of the plates which illustrated the original edition of Pike have
been reproduced in facsimile. They consist of a portrait of the author
and six maps. To these are now added a facsimile of an autograph
letter, and a new map, both prepared expressly for the present
edition. The letter requires no further remark than that it is
believed to be the first one ever published, and that it is also
printed in its proper connection in the text of my Memoir, with many
other hitherto unpublished documents. The new map, which I have
legended as a Historico-geographical Chart of the Upper Mississippi
River, has been compiled and drawn under my direction by Mr. Daniel W.
Cronin, a skillful draughtsman of the U. S. Geological Survey, and is
copyrighted by my publisher. It is based primarily upon the Map of
the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca to the Falls of St. Anthony,
compiled from surveys and reconnoissances made under the direction of
Major F. U. Farquhar and Captain Charles J. Allen, U. S. A., and from
the U. S. Land Surveys, published in fifteen sheets, on the scale of
inch to mile, by the Engineer Department of the Army, in 1881. The
hydrographic data from this source are supplemented from the latest
map of Minnesota published by the U. S. General Land Office, from the
sectional maps of Minnesota and of the Upper Mississippi lately issued
by Jewett and Son of St. Paul, and from various other sources, in
protracting the branches of the main stream and locating the lakes,
etc., beyond the area shown on the Engineer charts. The Jewett maps
are the best ones I have seen among those published by private
enterprise; the map of Minnesota for which a certain Chicago firm is
responsible is the worst of all those which have appeared of late
years. My corner-map of the Infant Mississippi or "Cradled Hercules,"
on a much larger scale than the rest, is reduced from Brower's map of
the Itasca State Park, with the author's kind permission; the names
given to the numerous features of the Itascan source of the
Mississippi are those now officially recognized, with the addition of
a few which I have myself bestowed in the course of my notes on Pike,
among other results of my recent tour of observation. In lettering the
main part of this chart, my idea was, first, to illustrate Pike, by
marking his camps with their dates, along the river, and also his
trail, where he went overland; it is believed that this has been done
with all the accuracy that a map of this scale permits, except for the
route from Leech lake back to the Mississippi, which has never
been--and probably never will be--ascertained with all desirable
exactitude. Secondly, I intended to give the actual present names of
all the natural and artificial features which are delineated; and
thirdly, to add to these designations all the synonymy and other
historical data which the map could conveniently carry. Though there
is theoretically no end to the information of this kind which might
be put upon a map, the practical limitations in any given case are
obvious; and overcrowded lettering would be rather confusing than
helpful to the reader. In general, the historical data which have been
selected to be legended are in direct connection with and support of
Pike's text and of my commentary thereupon. Only those who have long
experienced the practical difficulty of making a good printer or
draughtsman misspell words in order to reproduce historical forms
literally can appreciate the obstacles to complete success in such an
undertaking; but I indulge the hope that this chart, whatever its
imperfections may be, will be found useful enough to warrant the great
pains which have been taken to approximate accuracy.

As in editing Lewis and Clark, so in working upon Pike, I have been
encouraged and assisted by many friends, not all of whom have I the
pleasure of knowing personally. I am under special obligations to Mr.
Alfred J. Hill of St. Paul, Minn., whose knowledge of the history and
geography of the Upper Mississippi region is not less accurate than
extensive. Mr. Hill has been good enough to accompany me throughout
Pt. 1 of the work, and give me the benefit of his close scrutiny of
the press-proofs, in the form of constant suggestion and criticism,
besides frequent references to other available sources of information
which I might have overlooked. His valued co-operation to this extent
increases very appreciably the confidence which the reader may feel in
all that relates to the Mississippi Voyage.[NP-1] Mr. R. I. Holcombe,
county historian of Missouri, now of the U. S. Marshal's office in St.
Paul, has criticised those pages of Pt. 2 which relate to the Osage
river. The same friendly attentions have been bestowed upon the whole
of Pike's route in Colorado by Mr. Wm. M. Maguire of Denver; and upon
various points concerning the pueblos of New Mexico and Arizona, by
Mr. F. W. Hodge of the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology. Hon. J. V. Brower
of St. Paul, Commissioner of the Itasca State Park, has made me free to
use his map of the park in connection with the new historico-geographical
chart of the Upper Mississippi. The Hon. the Secretaries of War and of
State have granted permission to examine official archives of their
respective Departments; this research, in the War Department, has been
facilitated by Mr. John Tweedale, Chief Clerk, and Mr. David Fitz
Gerald, Librarian; in the State Department, by Mr. W. W. Rockhill,
Chief Clerk; Mr. Andrew H. Allen, Chief of the Bureau of Rolls and
Library, and Mr. Walter Manton of the same Bureau. Gen. A. W. Greely,
Chief Signal Officer, U. S. Army; Gen. T. L. Casey, late Chief of
Engineers, U. S. Army, and Mr. W. W. Winship, Chief Draughtsman of the
same; Major J. W. Powell, late Director of the U. S. Geological
Survey, and Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, Smithsonian
Institution; Mr. Henry Gannett and Mr. A. H. Thompson of the same
Survey; Prof. G. Brown Goode, Director of the U. S. National Museum,
and Prof. Otis T. Mason of that Museum; Prof. Harry King, of the U. S.
General Land Office; Hon. D. M. Browning, Commissioner of Indian
Affairs, and Mr. R. F. Thompson of the same Bureau; Mr. L. O. Howard,
Chief of the Division of Entomology of the U. S. Department of
Agriculture; Mr. A. R. Spofford, Librarian of Congress; Prof. N. H.
Winchell, Director of the Geological Survey of Minnesota; Hon. Charles
Aldrich, Curator of the Iowa State Historical Department; Mr. R. G.
Thwaites, Secretary of the Historical Society of Wisconsin; Mr. D. L.
Kingsbury, Acting Secretary of the Historical Society of Minnesota;
Hon. C. C. James, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Ontario, and Hon.
A. Blue of the Bureau of Mines of Ontario, have each rendered valued
official or personal favors, or both. I am also indebted in various
ways, most of which are indicated in their respective connections in
the course of my notes, to ex-President Benjamin Harrison; Mr. W. H.
Harrison of North Bend, O.; Mrs. B. H. Eaton of El Paso, Tex.;
Governor A. W. McIntire of Colorado; R. T. Durrett, LL. D., of
Louisville, Ky.; Prof. E. D. Cope of Philadelphia; Mr. James Bain,
Jr., of the Public Library of Toronto; Mr. L. P. Sylvain, Assistant
Librarian of Parliament, Ottawa; Lieutenant J. R. Williams of the
Third Artillery, U. S. A.; Lieutenant H. M. Chittenden of the Corps of
Engineers, U. S. A.; Rev. O. S. Bunting of Trenton, N. J.; Prof. J. D.
Butler of Madison, Wis.; Mr. W. P. Garrison of the New York Nation;
Judge Thos. H. Bacon of Hannibal, Mo.; Judge Nathan Richardson of
Little Falls, Minn.; Mr. Charles Hallock of Hallock, Minn.; Mr. H. D.
Harrower of New York, N. Y.; Mr. T. H. Lewis of St. Paul, Minn.; Mr.
C. H. Small of Pueblo, Col.; Mr. Geo. R. Buckman of Colorado Springs,
Col.; Mr. D. Bosse of Great Bend, Kas., and Mr. Luther R. Smith of
Washington, D. C. Mrs. Mary B. Anderson of Washington, D. C., has
taken great pains in preparing under my direction an index, of
somewhat unusual extent and special difficulty, which I am led to
believe will be found exceptionally accurate. Mr. Robert M. Trulan and
Mr. H. E. Gore-Kelly of the Mershon Printing Company, Rahway, N. J.,
have read the proofs with untiring zeal as well as professional skill.
Mr. Francis P. Harper has set no limit to the extent to which my
editorial work might be protracted, leaving the substance of these
volumes entirely to my discretion; and I have returned the compliment
by deferring to his judgment in all that relates to the manufacture of
a book which may be found worthy to stand by the side of Lewis and
Clark.

     ELLIOTT COUES.

     SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
     WASHINGTON, D. C.,
     _June 30th, 1895_.

FOOTNOTE:

[NP-1] Since these words were penned Mr. Hill has made the long portage,
alas! His death occurred at St. Paul, on the 15th inst.




MEMOIR OF

ZEBULON MONTGOMERY PIKE.

BY ELLIOTT COUES.


The best Life of Pike we have had is that which was prepared by Henry
Whiting and published in 1845 in Jared Sparks' Library of American
Biography, vol. xv. (or new series vol. v.), pp. 217-314. This
excellent memoir might be now reproduced, were it not mainly occupied
with the account of those expeditions to which these volumes are
devoted, and thus for the most part superfluous in the present
connection. It still continues to be a main source of our information
concerning the events of Pike's life before and after those exploits
of 1805-7 which immortalized his name, and is particularly valuable in
all that relates to his closing career, as the biographer was himself
a distinguished soldier and competent military critic.[M-1]

But I have much new matter to offer, derived from a thorough
examination of the archives of the War Department, which include many
original and hitherto unpublished documents in Pike's case,[M-2] from
diligent search among contemporaneous records of the war of 1812-15,
and from various other sources.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Pike family resided in New Jersey for several generations. One
Captain John Pike acquired his military title in Indian warfare.
Zebulon Pike, the father of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, had been a
captain in the Revolutionary army, and had served in the levies of
1791, when he was made a captain of infantry Mar. 5th, 1792; he was
assigned to the Third sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792, and to the 3d
Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; he became major Mar. 21st, 1800, and was
transferred to the 1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; he was brevetted
lieutenant-colonel July 10th, 1812, and honorably discharged June
15th, 1815. He died July 27th, 1834. His son, Zebulon Montgomery, was
born at Lamberton, afterward a south part of Trenton, N. J., Jan. 5th,
1779.[M-3]

During Zebulon Montgomery's childhood his parents removed to a place
in Bucks Co., Pa., near the Delaware river, and thence to Easton, Pa.
Whiting says that he was remembered by some of his schoolmates who
were living in 1845, "as a boy of slender form, very fair complexion,
gentle and retiring disposition, but of resolute spirit. Instances are
mentioned in which his combative energies were put to a test, which
would reflect no discredit upon his subsequent career." He had only a
common school education, which appears to have been as slight in
quality as it was short in duration, though he was at one time under
the tuition of a Mr. Wall, a person of local repute in mathematics. He
entered the army as a raw, shy country youth, of the most slender
acquirements in any direction, whose main making of a man was
ambition.

The records of young Pike's earliest military service are variant in
some particulars not of much consequence. In one of his letters,
printed beyond, p. lxv, he says that he entered the army when he was
15 years old. This would be in or about 1794, and doubtless refers to
his cadetship. According to his biographer, he entered his father's
company as a cadet, date not given; was commissioned as an ensign of
the 2d Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; promoted to be a first lieutenant in
the same regiment Apr. 24th, 1800, and arranged to the 1st Infantry in
1802. In Heitman's Historical Register[M-4] it appears that Zebulon
Montgomery Pike, of New Jersey, was first appointed from New Jersey to
be a second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry, Mar. 3d, 1799; was next
promoted to be first lieutenant of the same regiment, Nov. 1st, 1799;
and then transferred to the 1st Infantry, Apr. 1st, 1802. Whatever may
have been the facts in the discrepant cases of the earlier dates,
there is no uncertainty from April 1st, 1802, when the name and rank
became First Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, 1st Regiment of U. S. Infantry. It
was as such that this young officer was first detailed for detached
service in the exploration of the Mississippi, by order of General
James Wilkinson, dated from the Commanding General's headquarters at
St. Louis, Mo., July 30th, 1805.

Pike had not before been distinguished from any other meritorious and
zealous subaltern, though his qualities had already attracted
favorable attention. His selection by General Wilkinson for this duty
was the beginning of all his greatness. The letter in which the detail
was made will be found elsewhere (vol. ii, pp. 842-844). The principal
other dates of Pike's brief but brilliant military career may be
conveniently given here, though in so doing I anticipate events which
will come up again in their regular order: His promotion to a
captaincy in his regiment occurred by routine Aug. 12th, 1806, when he
was voyaging up the Osage, early in his second expedition. He became
major of the 6th Infantry May 3d, 1808, in less than a year after his
return from his tour in Mexico--a journey which was directly
continuous with his second, or Arkansaw expedition, but one which,
having been involuntarily performed, he chose to separate formally
from the other, and to make known as his "third" expedition. He became
the lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Infantry Dec. 31st, 1809. From Apr.
3d, 1812, to July 3d of that year, he was on duty as deputy
quartermaster-general. He became the colonel of the 15th Infantry July
6th, 1812, and was appointed to be brigadier-general Mar. 12th, 1813.
But before this appointment was confirmed General Pike had been killed
at the head of the troops he led to the assault on York, Upper Canada,
April 27th, 1813, aged 34 years, 3 months, 22 days.

I am favored by Lieutenant J. R. Williams, of the army, with the
following copy of the rough draught of a hitherto unpublished letter
from General John R. Williams of Detroit to Major Amos Holton, giving
an interesting picture of Pike, framed in his early environment:

                              DETROIT, May 20, 1845.

     MAJOR AMOS HOLTON,
     DEAR SIR,

     I have recd your esteemed favor of the 14th April last, on
     the interesting subject of your contemplated publication of
     a Biographical memoir, illustrative of the Character and
     services of the late Brigadier Genl. Zebulon Montgomery
     Pike of the U. S. Army. The half Sheet of the Albany Argus
     which you designed to accompany your letter, and which
     gives an account of a night battle on the Champlain
     frontier, I regret to say, has not been received.

     The period of my acquaintance with the subject of your
     contemplated memoir, is indeed distant and remote; and
     altho' those days are still cherished in my recollection as
     the halcyon and pristine days of my youth and vigor, Yet, I
     cannot but be truly sensible that many interesting
     incidents have escaped my recollection in the lapse of
     forty-five years.

     Soon after my arrival at Camp Allegheny in the month of May
     1800 I became acquainted with Lieut. Zebulon Montgomery
     Pike of the 2d Regt. U. S. Infy, he was shortly afterwards
     appointed Adjutant of the Regiment, in which Capacity he
     served during the Years 1800 & 1801. No officer could be
     more attentive prompt and efficient in the execution of the
     several duties of his office--nor was there any more
     emulous to acquire a perfect knowledge of the Military
     profession, nor more zealous, ardent and persevering in the
     pursuit of scientific improvement.

     It was these qualities and disposition of mind that laid
     the foundation of the subsequent Character and fame of
     Zebulon M. Pike and would probably have introduced him had
     he lived, to the highest honors, at least, in the military
     profession under the Republic.

     I then understood that his only means of Education had been
     such as could be obtained in Garrison under the eye of his
     father then Major Pike at the several posts he commanded,
     notwithstanding these disadvantages he was a tolerable good
     english scholar and wrote a good hand when I knew him and
     had also acquired by his own persevering industry a
     tolerably good knowledge of the french language--this I
     know from the fact of having frequently corrected, at his
     own request, several of his translations from Fenelon's
     Telemachus.

     Pike was very gentlemanly in his deportment--manners
     agreeable & polished, rather reserved in general and
     somewhat taciturn except when incited to conversation on
     some topic in which he felt interest and considered worthy
     of his attention he had less levity in his character than
     even many of his brother officers Senior to him in Years
     and Rank. His appearance was military yet somewhat peculiar
     he generally leaned or inclined his head on one side so
     that the tip of his Chapeau touched his right shoulder when
     on parade--His Stature was about five feet eight inches
     tolerably square and robust for his Age which I think must
     have been Twenty Years in 1800. His Complexion was then
     Ruddy, eyes blue, light hair and good features his habits
     were in keeping with his character, uniformly abstemious
     and temperate his attention to duty unremitted. At that
     period the most vexatious evil and obstacle that attended
     the maintenance of discipline in the Army was the general
     and extensive use of Ardent Spirits, Whiskey among the Men
     which was constantly being introduced in Camp by the Men &
     Women attached to the service and other hangers on around
     the Camp--On one occasion returning to Camp from Pittsburgh
     about ten o'clock in the evening Pike and myself being
     desirous of detecting the Soldiers in their Clandestine
     manoeufvres in the introduction of whiskey approaching the
     Camp silently through the bushes and occasionally halting
     to listen succeeded in capturing several fellows with jugs
     & bottles of their favorite beverage, not however without a
     race after them. On another occasion while going down the
     Ohio river in flats--The flats always halted for the night
     at some convenient place furnishing good ground &
     conveniences for Bivouacking for the Night a guard being
     mounted and Sentinels placed at suitable points around the
     Camp. The Soldiers were then permitted to Land build fires
     and bivouac on shore if they thought proper to do so in
     preference to remaining in the flats crowded as they
     were--there was about 70 men detailed for the purpose of
     managing Ten flats containing the Provisions under my
     Charge. The Signal for embarking in the Morning was the
     Reveille at day break and the General immediately after. It
     being then about the 20 December the weather was Cold and a
     good deal of ice drifting in the River. The men generally
     preferred the Company boats where they had to labor less
     than in those of the Commissariat where they had to labor
     constantly to keep up in the line agreeably to the order
     regulating the movement of the troops. One morning they
     appeared to be desirous of escaping from the Commissariat
     boats to their respective Company boats in hopes of getting
     rid of the duty to which they were detailed and left the
     boats as fast as they were ordered to embark until Pike
     observing their disobedience seized and threw several fire
     brans at those in the Act of leaving the boats to which
     they had been detailed and called to me to assist him by
     which means the men were taught a lesson which was not
     required to be repeated the residue of the journey down the
     River.

     This prompt and decided course on the part of Pike was not
     only well timed but very important as it prevented much
     disorder and Confusion which would inevitably have ensued
     had he taken the ordinary and regular but slow steps to
     punish the Mutineers, to bring them to a sense of duty. the
     moment of departure had arrived, the boats were unmoored,
     and those which had precedence were already under way
     floating down the rapid current of the Ohio; The Colonels
     boat particularly, to whom he would have had to Report was
     already at some distance--The alternative then, which he
     adopted as quick as lightning was not only judicious but
     necessary and indispensible under the Circumstances of the
     Case. It operated a Salutary and instantaneous effect upon
     the insubordinate Soldiery which at once brought them to a
     sense of duty and order. This circumstance in my opinion
     speaks volumes in favor of Pike. The quickness and decision
     which characterized the transaction furnishes an index to
     his character neither to be mistaken nor misunderstood.

     After our arrival at a point equidistant between Fort
     Massac & the Confluence of the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers,
     about eighteen miles below Fort Massac the Army landed on
     the 5th January 1801 at a high Bluff on the right Bank of
     the River where they encamped cleared the ground which was
     covered with heavy timber laid out an encampment after the
     plan of Greenville built with log huts which was named
     Wilkinsonville.

     Some time in the summer of 1801 he obtained a furlow to
     visit Cincinnati as it was believed, on a matrimonial
     expedition at which time he was married to his present
     relict Mrs. Pike.

     During the period alluded to, the duties of the Adjutant
     were arduous and unremitting--especially during the
     encampment on the Allegheny in addition to guard and police
     duty--We had Battalion drill twice or thrice a week and
     Company drill every day; and Officer drill once or twice a
     week, thus you can perceive that our time was industriously
     appropriated to the acquisition of military knowledge--We
     had also the advantage of being drilled by officers that
     served under the gallant Genl. Wayne and who composed part
     of his Army at the memorable and decisive Battle of the
     20th of August 1794 at the Miami Rapids--

     Colonel John Francis Hamtramck[M-5] of the 1st Regt U. S.
     Infy acted as Brigadier Genl. under Genl. Wilkinson being
     the senior Colonel of the U. S. Army--his remains now lie
     within a stone's throw of my Office, near the Roman
     Catholic Church of St Anne--As a Memorial of affection the
     principal Town above this City and within the County of
     Wayne bears his name Hamtramck as he was much beloved by
     the inhabitants of this Country.

     Allow me here to make mention of the principal Officers
     composing the Command at Camp Allegheny. Colo. David
     Strong, Commandg 2d Regt Infy, Major Moses Porter with his
     Co. of Artillery--Major Turner Brigade Inspector Captains
     Graeton, Sedgwick, Shoemaker, (Visscher, stationed at fort
     Fayette) Grey, Lukens, Claiborne--Lieuts. Rand, Whipple,
     Schiras, Hook, Meriwether Lewis, Wilson--John Wilson--Z. M.
     Pike, Dill--& to which was added at Wilkinsonville Lieuts.
     Williams, Brevoort, Hughes, Hilton Many Blue & Others
     together with a Battalion of the 4th Regt. under Major
     Butler--making in the aggregate a force of about 1000
     effective men.[M-6]

     During the summer and autumn we were visited by Genl.
     Wilkinson & his staff Composed of Lieuts Walbach & Macomb &
     Lieut. Colo. Williams of the Engineer Corps.[M-7] about this
     period sickness among the troops and many deaths occurred
     in consequence of which the Troops were removed by order
     of Genl. Wilkinson to Cumberland Heights[*] a season of
     inactivity and a prospect unfavorable to Military life
     prevailing--many Officers resigned and sought to obtain a
     livelihood by other means than the profession of arms.
     These and other subsequent events are matters of history
     and I shall therefore close these short notes by pointing
     to the subsequent life and services of the lamented Zebulon
     M. Pike.

     My opportunities of acquaintance with him arose from the
     Circumstance of having messed with Captain Peter Shoemaker
     and himself about Eight Months without intermission we
     three being the only members of the Mess.

     In conclusion, it may not be inappropriate to remark that
     the period alluded to was during a state of peace. Yet,
     whilst the prospect lasted that the Troops might soon
     expect active service against the frontiers of the then
     possessions of Spain--The Zeal, Ardor, Enterprize and
     ambition of our Army could not have been surpassed; and
     would have sustained a comparison with the best and most
     glorious days of the Revolution, or of the late War with
     Britain, or the later achievements of our Braves against
     the forces of Mexico.

     You are at liberty to use these notes in such manner as
     will meet the object you have in view.

                    With respectful Consideration
                    I am Dear Sir Your Obedt Servt
                    JNO. R. WILLIAMS.

     MAJOR AMOS HOLTON
     Washington City, D. C.

                    transmitted the foregoing by
                    Mail Augt 26th 1846.[M-8]

[*] Mr. Jefferson having been elected President of the U. S. The
policy of the Government changed instead of wresting the posts on the
west bank of the Mississippi from Spain by force of Arms as was
previously contemplated--They were eventually obtained by peaceable &
Successful negociation. (Orig. note.)



The "matrimonial expedition" to which the foregoing letter quaintly
alludes was successful, like Pike's other expeditions of later date
and greater celebrity. The young lieutenant was married in 1801 (day
of the month not ascertained) to Clarissa Brown, daughter of General
John Brown of Kentucky. Whiting says that the issue of this connection
was "three daughters and one son. Only one of these children reached
the maturity of life, a daughter, who married Symmes Harrison, the son
of General [William Henry] Harrison, and became a widow, many years
since, with several children." Whiting continues with the following
statements, embodying perhaps as much as has hitherto been published
of Pike's domestic relations:

     Mrs. Pike withdrew to the seclusion of a family residence
     [at North Bend] on the Ohio River just below Cincinnati,
     soon after the fall of her gallant husband, where she has
     since lived. It is well recollected by most of the officers
     who served on Lake Ontario in the early part of the
     campaign of 1813, that he regarded her with enthusiastic
     sentiments, believing her to share in all his ardent
     longings after distinction, and willing to make any
     sacrifice for their fulfilment. No doubt it was with a
     heart strengthened by such feelings, that she parted with
     him on the eve of the expedition in which he fell; though
     she may have felt, during her long widowhood, that the
     sacrifice, with all its honorable alleviations, has been at
     times as much as that heart could bear.

     There was found an interesting memorandum on one of the
     blank pages of a copy of "Dodsley's Economy of Human
     Life,"[M-9] which General Pike habitually carried about
     with him. After affectionately alluding to his wife, and
     his son then living, he lays down two maxims, which he
     wishes may ever be present to the mind of his child, "as he
     rises from youth to manhood." "First: Preserve your honor
     free from blemish. Second: Be always ready to die for your
     country." This son was cut off too soon to exemplify the
     former in his life, or the latter in his death; but the
     father, in his life and in his death, exemplified them
     both.

On seeking for information in regard to General Pike's daughter and
her children, I first wrote to ex-President Benjamin Harrison, by whom
I was favored with prompt reply, in part as follows:

                              674 NORTH DELAWARE STREET,
                              INDIANAPOLIS, IND., May 24, 1894.

     MY DEAR SIR:

     I have your letter of May 21st. My uncle, Symmes Harrison,
     married the daughter of General Pike and left several
     children; but I do not think I know of but one who
     survives--William Henry Harrison, who lives in the
     neighborhood of the old Pike homestead on the Ohio River,
     about two and a half miles below my grandfather's old home
     at North Bend.... I cannot give you the names of General
     Pike's children; I was too young to have any knowledge of
     them. Possibly my eldest sister, Mrs. Bettie H. Eaton, who
     is now residing at El Paso, Texas, may be able to give you
     some information about the Pike family.

                    Very truly yours,
                    [Signed] BENJAMIN HARRISON.

Mrs. Bettie Harrison Eaton was kind enough to reply to my further
inquiries, in a letter dated El Paso, Tex., July 2d, 1894, from which
I quote in substance:

     My cousin's, William Henry Harrison's, mother was a
     daughter of General Pike, whose maiden name was Clarissa
     Harlowe Pike. She was married to my uncle, John Cleves
     Symmes Harrison, but in what year I do not know. Indeed, I
     know very little about the Pike family, as I always
     understood that my aunt was General Pike's only child; if
     he had others I never heard of them. I remember her very
     slightly, as I was quite a little girl when she died. Her
     mother, Mrs. General Pike, of whom I have a better memory,
     was a tall, dignified, rather austere looking woman, who
     always dressed in deep black, wearing always a large black
     Canton crape shawl and a black crape turban on her head,
     which to my childish eyes gave her a somewhat awe-inspiring
     appearance. She was a highly educated and accomplished
     woman, and a fine French scholar. She kept for many years a
     diary, which was written in French. My cousin, to whom I
     refer you, lives on the old Pike homestead, and could
     probably give you the dates you wish, as he no doubt has
     the family Bible, and the old graveyard where the family
     are buried is on the place.

On applying to William Henry Harrison of North Bend, O., I received a
brief note dated Sept. 10th, 1894, in which the following information
is given: "My house burned some years ago, when all General Pike's
private papers were lost. He had but one child, my mother Clara. His
wife's maiden name was Clara Brown; she was the daughter of Captain
John Brown of Revolutionary fame."

       *       *       *       *       *

With thus much--none too complete, but all that I have in
hand--concerning Pike's private life, we return to his public career.
The unnumbered extant notices to which the fame that he acquired gave
rise are mainly and most naturally devoted to the consideration of the
Mississippian, Arkansan, and Mexican exploits which form the matter of
the present volumes, but which need not occupy the present biographer,
as they speak for themselves. These cover the dates of 1805-6-7; and
before taking up Pike's life in 1808, we may next consider the
bibliography of the books to which his expeditions gave rise.

The earliest one of these, forerunner of the regular edition of 1810,
is entitled:

     _An Account | of a | Voyage | up the Mississippi River,
     from St. | Louis to its source; | made under the orders of
     the War De- | partment, by Lieut. Pike, of the Uni- | ted
     States Army, in the Years 1805 and | 1806. Compiled from
     Mr. Pike's Jour- | nal. |_

     Pamphlet, 8vo., pp. 1-68, no date, no author, no editor, no
     publisher, no printer, no place of publication; title,
     verso blank, pp. 1, 2; text, pp. 3-67, with colophon
     ("Finis."); p. 68 being "Extract of a letter from N.
     Boilvin [Nicholas Boivin] Indian agent, | to the Secretary
     of War, dated St. Louis, | Oct, 6, 1806. |"

This is an extremely rare tract. I have handled two copies, one of
which I own, title page gone; the other being a perfect example in the
Library of Congress at Washington. There is a third in the Ridgway
Library of Philadelphia; and Sabin's Bibl. Amer. cites a fourth, in
the library of the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester, Mass.
These are all that I know of, though of course others exist. The
authorship and circumstances of publication remain unknown, to me at
least. Sabin gives the date 1807; this is probably correct, certainly
true within a year, but questionable. I adopt it, in view of its
probability, and in the absence of conclusive evidence against it,
though Whiting says 1808. But early in 1808 Pike was already arranging
for the publication of his own book, which appeared in 1810. Pike does
not even allude to this publication, either in his own book, or in any
of the manuscripts I have seen in which the latter is mentioned. On
consultation with Mr. A. R. Spofford over the general aspect and
"make-up," no definite conclusion could be reached by that
exceptionally well-versed librarian. It is supposed by some, not
without plausibility, to have been a government publication; but Mr.
Spofford's ignorance of the fact, if it be such, is against this
supposition; for a publication which he cannot recognize on sight as
having been issued in Washington is unlikely. The tract looks as if it
formed a part of something else; witness the peculiar set of the title
page, the conclusion of the Pike matter on p. 67, and the appearance
on p. 68 of the Boivin letter, having no obvious connection with the
rest. However all this may really have been, there is no question of
the genuineness of this unauthenticated narrative. Pike never penned
it--he could not write so well as the anonymous author of this tract
did. But whoever wrote it had Pike's original manuscript journal or
note-book before him, and followed him closely, faithfully, and
accurately. Pike's case is put in the third person by the writer, who
gives in narrative form a better account of the Mississippi voyage
than Pike's slender literary attainments enabled him to write for
himself. This "text of 1807," as I shall call it, when I have occasion
to cite it in my commentary, is an invaluable check upon Pike's own
itinerary; he cannot have been unaware of its existence, and the
friendly hand which thus first gave to the world the best account
extant of the Mississippi voyage should not have been ignored when
Pike came to write out his notes for publication in the princeps
edition of his several expeditions, of date 1810.[M-10]

       *       *       *       *       *

Immediately upon his escape from his Spanish captors and hosts, and
his return to his native land, Pike set about writing his book. This
was finished--or at any rate so far advanced that a contract for its
publication had been made--early in 1808 (see letter of May 27th,
1808, beyond, p. lxi). The original edition of his Expeditions is as
follows:

     _[1810.]--An Account of Expeditions | to the | Sources of
     the Mississippi, | and through the | Western Parts of
     Louisiana, | to the Sources of the | Arkansaw, Kans, La
     Platte, and Pierre | Jaun, Rivers; | performed by order of
     the | Government of the United States | during the years
     1805, 1806, and 1807. | And a Tour through | the | Interior
     Parts of New Spain, | when conducted through these
     Provinces, | by order of | the Captain-General, | in the
     Year 1807. | ---- | By Major Z. M. Pike. | Illustrated by
     maps and charts. | ---- | Philadelphia: | Published by C.
     and A. Conrad, Co. No. 30, Chesnut Street. Somer- | vell &
     Conrad, Petersburgh. Bonsal, Conrad, & Co. Norfolk, | and
     Fielding Lucas, Jr. Baltimore. | ---- | John Binns,
     Printer......1810. | One Vol. 8vo._

     CONTENTS.

     Portrait of Pike, frontispiece.

     Title, backed with copyright, pp. [1], [2].

     To the Public, being Preface by Pike and publisher's
     Apology, pp. [3]-[5]; blank, p. [6].

     Dedication, To the President and Members of the U. S. M. P.
     S., one leaf not paginated, verso blank (= pp. 7, 8).

     Part I., being the Mississippi Voyage: Pike's Itinerary,
     pp. 1-105; blank, p. 106; Meteorological Tables, 5
     unnumbered leaves, raising pages to 116, last blank.

     Part II., being the Arkansaw Journey: Instructions to Pike,
     pp. 107-110; Pike's Itinerary, pp. 111-204.

     Part III., being the Mexican Tour: Pike's Itinerary, pp.
     205-277; p. 278 blank; one blank leaf; Meteorological
     Table, one unpaged leaf.

     Appendix to Part I., pp. 1-66 (last not numbered) + 2 folding
     Tables; contains Documents Nos. 1-18, and some others (No.
     18, pp. 41-66, is Observations, etc., on the Mississippi
     Voyage); the folders are Tables C and F (other tables being
     on pages), respectively to face p. 40 and p. 66.

     Appendix to Part II., pp. 1-53 (p. 54 blank), + 1 folding
     Table to face p. 53; contains (No. 1) A Dissertation, etc.,
     on the Arkansaw Journey, pp. 1-18; (No. 2) Lieut.
     Wilkinson's Report on his Arkansaw Expedition, pp. 19-32;
     and other Documents to No. 15.

     Appendix to Part III., pp. 1-87 (p. 88 blank); contains
     (No. 1) Geographical, Statistical, and General
     Observations, etc., on the Mexican Tour, pp. 1-51, by far
     the most important thing in the book; No. 2, pp. 52, 53, a
     certain Vocabulary belonging to the Mississippi Voyage, and
     therefore to App. to Part I.; with other Documents to No.
     19.

     Map, Falls of St. Anthony, page size.

     Map, Mississippi river, about 29-7/8 x 9 inches.

     Map, the First Part of Pike's Chart of Louisiana, folding,
     about 171/2 x 171/2 inches, called Plate I.

     Map, the Second Part of Pike's Chart of Louisiana, folding,
     about 17 x 151/2 inches, called Plate II.

     Map, Internal Provinces of New Spain, about 181/4 x 173/4
     inches.

     Map, Sketch of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, about 15-5/8 x
     12-7/8 inches.

     Total pages 8 + 278 + 10 + 4 + 66 + 54 + 88 = 508, some not paginated,
     a few blank; 5 sets of pagination. Inserts 1 portrait, 3
     folding tables, 6 maps (5 folding) = 10. Folders all may be
     found in a separate vol. in some copies.

It has been said, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Pike's pen
proved mightier than his sword, and pistols too, in putting bookmaking
to confusion and editors to despair. It would be hard to find a match
for the disorder in which Pike's materials were set forth in print,
especially in the several Appendixes: Even the patient printer would
not let it go without published apology. No editor has hitherto been
found expert or rash enough to reproduce anything like the original
arrangement of the "Parts," "Appendixes" with their numerous pieces,
folding "Tables," etc. The English editor, who first undertook to
bring something like cosmos out of this chaos, created a new book by
weaving as much as he could of the matter of the Appendixes into the
main text, or into footnotes thereto, thereby greatly reducing the
bulk of the appendicial texts. But these contained documents which
proved refractory to such treatment; the plan could not be fully
carried out, for there was a residuum which still called for an
Appendix. In fact, the real bulk of Pike's cargo is in these
Appendixes; his Itineraries--the only portions of his book which were
printed in large type, as main text--being less important, if not less
interesting, than the rest of the freight. In approaching my own
editorial labors, my intention was to adhere as closely as possible to
the arrangement of the original. This I flatter myself I have
succeeded in doing, with a few important exceptions to which attention
is pointedly directed in my notes. These transpositions, with the
introduction of chapter-heads, and co-ordination of all of the
original book in uniform typography, have probably effected the
required result.

In 1811 Pike's work was also published, from another MS. copy, with
many modifications, in a handsome quarto edition, as follows:

     _[1811.]--Exploratory Travels | through the | Western
     Territories | of | North America: | comprising a | Voyage
     from St. Louis, on the Mississippi, | to the | Source of
     that River, | and a | Journey through the Interior of
     Louisiana, | and the | North-eastern Provinces of New
     Spain. | Performed in the years 1805, 1806, 1807, by Order
     of the Government of the United States. | ---- | By Zebulon
     Montgomery Pike, | Major 6th Regt. United States Infantry.
     | ---- | London: | Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme,
     and Brown, | Paternoster-Row. | ---- | 1811. |_

     One vol., 4to. Half-title, 1 leaf, verso blank; title, 1
     leaf, verso blank; advertisement, dated Jan. 28th, 1811,
     and signed Thomas Rees, pp. v-ix; Congressional matters
     taken from the App. to Part III. of the orig. ed., pp.
     xi-xviii; contents, pp. xix, xx; main text, pp. 1-390;
     Appendix, pp. 391-436; colophon, J. G. Barnard, Printer,
     Skinner-street, London. The copy examined has only two
     maps--the Mississippi, reduced to 4to page size; Louisiana
     and New Mexico, prepared by putting together two of Pike's
     orig. maps and reducing the result to 10-1/8 x 13-7/8
     inches. Folding tables reset to page size.

This is the standard English edition, prepared under the careful and
able editorship of Dr. Thomas Rees, from a manuscript copy transmitted
to England at the time that the original manuscript went to press in
America. This edition, and not the American of 1810, is the basis of
the French and Dutch versions, and is also the one which was textually
reprinted as the Denver edition of 1889. Dr. Rees made Pike a much
better book than the author made for himself. The very great
differences from the American original, due to the English editor's
literary skill, are modestly set forth in the latter's Advertisement.
It appears from this that the MS. transmitted to England "was divided
into six parts, comprising the three journals which follow, and the
observations pertaining to each in a separate portion." As the
appendicial matters were received "in the desultory manner in which
they were originally composed, the editor judged it for the advantage
of the work to restore them, as nearly as he possibly could, in
distinct paragraphs, to the places they had first occupied in the
journal, thus rendering it unnecessary to lead the reader a second
time over the same ground." In other words, Dr. Rees picked the
helter-skelter Appendixes to pieces, and wove most of their contents
into the main text, as already said. The accounts of the Indians on
the Upper Mississippi, and the Observations on New Spain, he
"preserved in their original state. The Notes and Appendixes, with
some variation of arrangement, have been printed after the
manuscripts, but a few articles have been omitted, as containing only
repetitions of what had already appeared in the body of the work. With
respect to the language and style of the Author, the Editor felt he
had a much more delicate task to perform than in the disposal of the
materials." He therefore preserved Pike's language in substance, but
corrected his grammar freely. Dr. Rees' avowal of the trouble he had
with proper names of persons and places will surprise no one who reads
the present edition and sees with what extraordinary perversions of
Indian, French, and Spanish names both Dr. Rees and myself had to
contend. Dr. Rees speaks also of the "ignorant and careless
transcriber" of the copy which reached him, and observes further: "It
is mortifying to find that in America, where the Author was
accessible, and might readily have elucidated any accidental
obscurities in his manuscript, the work has been printed in very
nearly as incorrect a state as it appeared in the present editor's
copy. The sheets of the American Edition reached here some time after
his own had been in the printer's hands, but its numerous errors,
discreditable certainly to the American press, left him little to
regret that they had not arrived at an earlier period." For the rest,
Dr. Rees remarks that he furnished "some cursory notes, which are
distinguished by the letter E," and adds: "In the account of New Spain
he has subjoined the population of several places from Humboldt's
recent 'Essai Politique,' in order to furnish the reader with the
means of instant comparison. It is pleasing to observe how nearly
these statements agree in the most material instances; and the
circumstance affords no slight evidence of the general accuracy of
Major Pike's information." He is charitable enough to refrain from
adding what else this circumstance evidences. Dr. Rees' further
introduction to his main text consists of the Congressional papers,
which in the orig. ed. form a part of the App. to Pt. 3, and which are
given this prominence, apparently, to authenticate the whole work in
the eyes of the English public by these officialities. In the copy of
the Rees edition which I have handled I find but two maps, reduced as
above said.

This was followed in 1812 by a French version, the title and collation
of which are here given:

     _[1812]--Voyage | au | Nouveau-Mexique, | a la suite a'une
     expedition ordonnee | par le Gouvernement des Etats-Unis, |
     pour reconnoitre les sources des rivieres | Arkansas,
     Kanses, la Platte et Pierre-jaune, | dans l'interieur de la
     Louisiane occidentale. | Precede | a'une Excursion aux
     Sources du Mississippi, | Pendant les annees 1805, 1806, et
     1807. | Par le Major Z. M. Pike. | Traduit de l'anglais |
     Par M. Breton, Auteur de la Biblioth. geographique. | Orne
     d'une Nouvelle Carte de la Louisiane, en trois parties. |
     Tome Premier [Second]. | A Paris, | Chez D'Hautel,
     Libraire, Rue de la Harpe, n^o. 80, | pres le College de
     Justice. | -- | 1812. |_

     Two vols., 8vo. Vol. I., pp. i-xvi, 1-368; Vol. II., pp.
     1-373, with 3 maps. In Vol. I. the half title p., backed de
     l'imprimerie de L. Hausmann, Rue de la Harpe, N^o. 80, is
     pp. i, ii; full title p., verso blank, is pp. iii, iv;
     Preface du Traducteur, pp. v-xiv; sub-title, Voyage au
     Mississippi, backed with errata, pp. xv, xvi; Avertissement
     de l'auteur, pp. 1-6; Wilkinson's instructions to Pike of
     July 30th, 1805, abstracted from one of the pieces of App.
     to Pt. 3 of the orig. ed., pp. 7, 8; main text of the
     Mississippi Voyage, pp. 9-236, ending Pt. 1 of the orig.
     ed.; thence the Arkansaw Journey, with separate sub-title,
     Voyage au Nouveau-Mexique, pp. 237-368, ending Vol. I.,
     with end of Pt. 2 of the orig. ed.--In Vol. II., half title
     p. backed blank, pp. 1, 2: full title, backed blank, pp. 3,
     4; main text, pp. 5-373, beginning at date of Feb. 27th,
     1807, when Pike was starting on his involuntary Mexican
     tour; this tour ending on p. 236, with end of the main
     text of Pt. 3 of the orig. ed.; thence to end of vol.
     various matters from the Appendixes of Pts. 2 and 3,
     including Lieutenant Wilkinson's Arkansaw Report, pp.
     325-363, and a piece of padding, pp. 293-324, this last
     being Remarques Additionelles sur le sol, les productions
     et les habitans de la Nouvelle-Espagne, of which the editor
     says that "ces details sont extraits en partie de
     l'excellente histoire d'Amerique par Winterbotham, et de
     l'ouvrage de l'abbe Clavigero." These 32 pages of padding
     have no business in the book; I suppose they were wanted to
     balance the bulk of the two volumes. The maps of this
     edition are three in number, supposed to belong in Vol. II.
     They are the Mississippi and the two Arkansaw maps,
     prepared by Antoine Nau, redrawn and re-engraved, with
     French names instead of English ones; the size is about the
     same as that of the original; the execution is rather
     better. The editor apologizes, Vol I., p. xiii, for not
     reproducing Pike's two maps of Mexico, because he would not
     venture "d'attenter a la propriete de M. de Humboldt," _i. e._,
     steal Humboldt's thunder. For it seems that Humboldt
     thought Pike had done so, and he had just previously so
     expressed himself in a reclamation in Le Moniteur. Humboldt
     compliments Pike pro forma, and proceeds to protest: "Mais
     les cartes du Mexique, publiees sous son [Pike's] nom, ne
     sont que des reductions de ma grande carte de la
     Nouvelle-Espagne, sur laquelle le voyageur a trace sa route
     de Santa-Fe par Cohahuila a Nacodolhes [Nacogdoches or
     Natchitoches]."

Humboldt's direct and unqualified charge of plagiarism against Pike,
which has never been answered and is probably unanswerable, is
reiterated in that one of his works entitled: Personal Narrative of
Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent during the
Years 1799-1804. By Alexander de Humboldt and Aime Bonpland. Written
in French by Alexander de Humboldt, and translated into English by
Helen Maria Williams, Philadelphia, M. Carey, 1 vol., 8vo, Dec. 23d,
1815, on p. xxii of which we read: "Mr. Pike displayed admirable
courage in an important undertaking for the investigation of western
Louisiana; but unprovided with instruments, and strictly watched on
the road from Santa Fe to Natchitoches, he could do nothing towards
the progress of the geography of the provincias internas. The maps of
Mexico, which are annexed to the narrative of his journey, are
reduced from my great map of New Spain, of which I left a copy, in
1804, at the secretary of state's office at Washington." In this
connection Humboldt also makes the same well-founded charge against
Arrowsmith, saying, p. xxi: "My general map of the kingdom of New
Spain, formed on astronomical observations, and on the whole of the
materials which existed in Mexico in 1804, has been copied by Mr.
Arrowsmith, who has appropriated it to himself, by publishing it on a
larger scale under the title of New Map of Mexico, compiled from
original Documents, by Arrowsmith. It is very easy to recognize this
map from the number of chalcographical errors with which it abounds,"
etc.

Of all forms of dishonesty, literary larceny is the most futile,
because the surest of detection. Plagiarism is worse than a crime--it
is a blunder. If the matter stolen is worth stealing, the transaction
is certain to be exposed, sooner or later. The distinction between the
use and misuse of the literary labors of another is so plain and
simple that it cannot be misunderstood. It depends solely upon whether
acknowledgment be made or not. Plagiarism acknowledged is no
plagiarism--one has only to say "by your leave," to appropriate with
impunity whatever he desires. But this instant formula is
indispensable. Subsequent apology or explanation is impossible.
Humboldt took Pike red-handed; this the present biographer deplores;
but he can neither discover nor invent a defense. Pike's senselessness
in this matter aggravates the offense. To have acknowledged his
indebtedness to Humboldt and Bonpland, and then utilized their work to
any extent he chose, would have been shrewd policy, as well as honest
conduct; for Humboldt's was already a name to conjure with, and the
hitherto nameless young writer could not have done better for himself
than to cite such high authority in connection with his own work.[M-11]
I have reluctantly satisfied myself that Pike's map of New Spain is
no other than Humboldt's Carte Generale du Royaume de la Nouvelle
Espagne, with Nau's errors and some little further modification.

The Dutch edition of Pike, 1812-13, is as follows:

     _[1812-13.]--Reize | naar | Nieuw-Mexico | en de
     Binnenlanden van | Louisiana, | Voorgegaan door eenen togt
     | naar de Bronnen der | Mississippi, | gedaan op last van
     het Gouver- | nement der Vereenigde Staten | in de jaren
     1805, 1806 en 1807, | door den Majoor | Z. M. Pike. | -- |
     Uit het Engelsch vertaald. | -- | Eerste [Tweede] Deel. |
     met Kaarten. | -- | Te Amsterdam, bij | C. Timmer. |
     MCDCCCXII [MDCCCXIII]. | Stilsteeg, N^o. 18. |_

     Two vols., 8vo. Vol. I., 1812 (notice misprint of date on
     title page), pp. i-viii, 1-327. Vol. II., 1813, two prel.
     leaves, and pp. 1-374, with three maps. Printed at
     Amsterdam by A. Breeman & Co. In Vol. I., title leaf, verso
     blank, pp. i, ii; Voorberigt van den Vertaler (Translator's
     Preface), pp. iii-viii, dated Amsterdam, Nov. 7th, 1812;
     main text, pp. 1-327, of which the Mississippi voyage runs
     to p. 218 inclusive, and the remainder finishes the
     Arkansaw journey, these being respectively Pt. 1 and Pt. 2
     of the orig. ed. In Vol. II. a half title and a full title
     make each one unpaged leaf, and the main text runs pp.
     1-374, being Pt. 3 of the orig. ed. The three maps belong
     in this vol.

The general form and style of this version are most like those of the
French translation, from which, however, the Dutch differs in various
particulars. It appears to have been based upon the English quarto
rather than upon the original Philadelphia octavo, and to have been
translated independently therefrom, as the French also was. Both the
Dutch and the French editions follow the English one in working the
matter of the Appendixes into the main text--in fact, _no_ edition
that I know of has hitherto followed the awkward and exasperating form
of Pike's own book. The anonymous Dutch translator introduces a new
preface, and a few short footnotes, not reproducing those of the
French translator; the three maps are re-engraved from those prepared
by Antoine Nau, as in the French edition, but with lettering of the
names in Dutch instead of French.

The foregoing English, French, and Dutch editions were speedily
followed by a German version. This seems to be a scarce book; I have
not yet been able to find a copy. I presume that, like the French and
Dutch, it was modeled upon the London quarto; but with what
modifications, if any, aside from translation into another language, I
have no idea.

The latest and best edition of Pike which has hitherto appeared in the
United States, was published in 1889, as follows:

     _[1889.] Exploratory Travels | through the | Western
     Territories | of | North America: | comprising a | Voyage
     from St. Louis, on the Mississippi, | to the | Source of
     that river, | and a | Journey through the Interior of
     Louisiana, | and the | North-eastern Provinces of New
     Spain. | Performed in the years 1805, 1806, 1807, by Order
     of the Government of the United States. | -- | By Zebulon
     Montgomery Pike, | Major 6th Regt. United States Infantry.
     | -- | London: | Paternoster-Row. | -- | 1811. | -- |
     Denver: | W. H. Lawrence & Co. | 1889. |_

     One vol., large 4^to. Engr. portrait, frontispiece,
     answering to pp. i, ii; title, verso copyright, pp. iii,
     iv; introduction (new, by Wm. M. Maguire, Denver, 1889),
     pp. v-xii; missing, pp. xiii, xiv; Report of Committee,
     etc. (1808), pp. xv-xxii (abstracted from Doc. No. 6 and
     accompanying papers of Appendix III. of the original);
     contents, pp. xxiii, xxiv, or pp. 23, 24; main text, pp.
     25-351; blank, p. 352; Appendix, pp. 353-394; Mississippi
     map, reduced, opp. p. 24; 1st Louisiana map, reduced, opp.
     p. 146; 2d do., do., opp. p. 208; maps of Falls of St.
     Anthony and of Mexico not found; folding tables reset to
     page size.

As appears from the foregoing title and collation, this is a faithful
and complete reprint of the English quarto. The title page is
facsimiled with the camera, down to the publishers' names; the text
is identical throughout, barring such slight literal or punctual
differences as are necessarily incident to resetting type. The only
noticeable change from the London edition is that Dr. Rees'
advertisement is replaced by a new introduction, from the pen of
William M. Maguire, Esq., of Denver. This is a valuable feature; my
only regret is that so competent and conscientious an editor as Mr.
Maguire--one familiar with much of Pike's route, and enthusiastic on
the subject--did not give the work that extended critical revision
which would have forestalled my own commentary and left me to exercise
my editorial wits in some other direction. As it is, I am indebted to
my valued correspondent in several particulars which appear in their
proper connections in the course of my notes.

It is needless to cite here the multiplied notices of Pike and of his
travels or his book which appear in ordinary biographical and
encyclopedic publications. But, aside from Whiting's Memoir, already
adduced, I may notice some special articles of more or less recent
date.

The Pacific Railroad Reports, XI. 1855, pp. 19-22, contain a notice of
Pike's Expeditions, by the late eminent geographer, General Gouverneur
Kemble Warren. The routes are traced correctly, except in the instance
of sending Pike over the Continental Divide to headwaters of the
Colorado of the West; for General Warren says: "It appears that
Lieutenant Pike has the honor of being the first American explorer
that reached the sources of this large river [the Arkansaw], and the
second that crossed the divide between the waters of the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans." The first clause of this statement is correct; in the
second, the writer was misled.

"Mungo-Meri-Paike" is not the name of the celebrated Ethiopian
explorer who was born at Fowlshiels, in Selkirkshire, Scotland, Sept.
20th, 1771, and became known to fame as Mungo Park, but a
phonetization of the way "Montgomery Pike" reverberated in Spanish
ears. Colonel James F. Meline's Two Thousand Miles on Horseback,
etc., New York, Hurd and Houghton, 1867, exploits Pike in an
interesting manner, especially in Letter xxix, pp. 234-245. Meline's
contribution to the present biography is particularly valuable, as it
gives some documentary evidence of the Spanish view of Pike's invasion
of New Mexico. Most of this we have in Pike's book; but one of the
papers which Colonel Meline presents, both in the original Spanish and
in an English version, must find a place here; I give it in English,
from Meline's pp. 243-245.[M-12] It is Governor Allencaster's report to
General Salcedo, of date Santa Fe, N. M., Apr. 1st, 1807: compare Pike
at p. 607 and following pages; also, p. 809.

The Topeka Commonwealth, a Kansan newspaper, during the summer and
autumn of 1877 published a series of articles by Noble L. Prentis.
These were afterward gathered in a volume entitled: A Kansan Abroad,
what purports to be the second edition of which appeared in 1878,
Topeka, Geo. W. Martin, sm. 8vo, pp. 240. One of the articles in this
book, pp. 191-214, is thus described by its author, who seems to have
been something of a wag: "The sketch, Pike of Pike's Peak, was first
delivered at Topeka, February 19th, 1877, under the patronage of the
Kansas State Historical Society. Afterward, in the cheerful month of
March, the author went around the country with his production in the
form of a 'lecture.' It was not as funny as was expected, and, as a
lecture, was not an overwhelming success. It now appears for the first
time in print; and may it find more readers than it ever did hearers."
In this wish I concur with pleasure; for Mr. Prentis evidently had
read his Pike with interested attention, and his essay is one of the
best short biographies of our hero that I have seen. I have occasion
to cite it twice in the present memoir.

In his Explorers and Travellers, forming a volume of the Men of
Achievement series, New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1893, Art. VI.,
pp. 163-193, General A. W. Greely, Chief Signal Officer, U. S. A., who
himself illuminates achievement in exploration, has given an
appreciative sketch of Pike's career, in the main correct, though
inaccurate in certain particulars. If I here specify two of these, it
is in no spirit of detraction, but with the good feeling that General
Greely reciprocated when I called his attention to them. It is said,
p. 173, that "Pike visited Red Lake and passed to the north, which
carried him to the drainage-basin of the Red River"; but Pike was
never out of the Mississippian watershed on that voyage, his furthest
point being Cass lake. This was formerly known as Red Cedar lake,
whence perhaps General Greely's misapprehension. Again, it is said, p.
183, that Pike "doubtless crossed into Middle Park [in Colorado] and
saw the head-waters of the Colorado"; but Pike went directly from
South Park back into the valley of the Arkansaw, and never viewed a
Pacific watershed. The general's summary, p. 175, of Pike's results on
the Mississippi is judicious--a conservative estimate,  with a
generosity which none would wish to have been withheld:

     Pike had more than carried out his orders to explore the
     sources of the great river, and did something more than
     give to the world the first definite and detailed
     information as to the upper river and its tributaries. He
     discovered the extent and importance of the British trade
     in that country, brought the foreign traders under the
     license and customs regulations of the United States, and
     broke up for all time their political influence over the
     Indians. He did much to restrain the unlawful sale of
     liquor to Indians by domestic traders, and not only
     inspired the Indians with respect for Americans, but also
     induced them to at least a temporary peace between
     themselves. He replaced a foreign flag by the ensign of his
     own country, and for the first time brought into this great
     territory the semblance of national authority and
     government.

Hon. Alva Adams of Pueblo, Col., delivered an address before the
students and faculty of Colorado College, Colorado Springs, July 12th,
1894, which was published under the title: The Louisiana Purchase and
its first Explorer, Zebulon Montgomery Pike, 8vo, pp. 23. This is a
spirited oration, befitting the occasion and inspiring to read. It is
true that Pike's book appeared in 1810, thus anticipating by four
years the publication of Lewis and Clark; but can Governor Adams have
forgotten who first explored the Louisiana Purchase, and returned from
their expedition to the Pacific at noon of Sept. 23d, 1806? At that
date Pike was at the Pawnee village on the Republican river; and on
the 4th of October he had the news of Lewis and Clark's return to St.
Louis. His western expedition had been in progress only since July
15th, 1806. If Governor Adams had Pike's Mississippi voyage in mind,
that does not alter the case. Lewis and Clark started up the Missouri
May 24th, 1804; and when Pike began to navigate the Mississippi, Aug.
9th, 1805, Lewis and Clark were on Jefferson river, in Montana.
Furthermore, Pike was preceded in exploring Louisiana, from Missourian
waters to those of the Rio Grande, by James Pursley, who had himself
been preceded by Jean Baptiste Lalande, as we are duly informed by
Pike himself; and it is probable that French traders reached Santa Fe
by the same way half a century before Pike.

The Annals of Iowa, 3d series, Vol. I. No. 7, Oct., 1894, pp. 531-36,
contains an article entitled: Pike's Explorations. This is anonymous,
but was written by my much esteemed friend, Hon. Charles Aldrich,
editor of the Annals and curator of the Iowa State Historical
Department at Des Moines. The article is clear and concise; and it
traces Pike's several journeys with absolute accuracy.

       *       *       *       *       *

We return from this bibliographical excursus to resume the thread of
Pike's biography--would that there had been many more years to
chronicle in the gallant and patriotic, but all too brief, life of the
young soldier! No longer lieutenant, but captain, since Aug. 12th,
1806, Pike was delivered out of the hands of "our friends the enemy"
on the Sabine river, to which he had been escorted by his Spanish
captors, June 29th, 1807; and arrived at Natchitoches about 4 p. m.,
July 1st. The following letter was received at the War Department
Sept. 29th, 1807; it is not included in the Appendix to Pt. 3 of the
book, and has probably never been published. I print verbatim from a
copy of the original now on file in the office of the secretary of
war:

                              NATCHITOCHES 15 July. 1807.

     SIR

     I arrived here a few days since with part of my command
     only, the ballance being yet in New Spain, but expect them
     daily; as the Capt. General assured me they should follow
     me in a short period; he detaining them I presume, to put
     them through an _examination_, when he conceived they would
     be more easily _intimidated_ into some equivocal
     expressions; which might palliate the unjustifyable conduct
     of the Spanish Government with respect to the expidition
     which I had the honor to command.

     Whatever may be the sentiments of the Executive of the
     United States as to the conduct of the Spaniards to
     _myself_ and _command_, I am bound to submit. Yet I am
     conscious that our Honor and Dignity, as a nation will not
     permit us to tranquilly view, the violation of our
     Territories; infringements of Treaties; Hostile
     communications to our Savages; and oppression of our
     Citizens; in various Instances: all of which I can make
     manifest.

     The unreasionable Ideas of the Vice Roy, & His Excelly the
     Capt. Genl. (the immediate representatives of his Catholic
     Majesty on our Spanish Frontiers) as it respects the line
     of Demarkation, is such that in my humble oppinion almost
     precludes the possibility of a thought that they can ever
     be amicably adjusted.

     On that subject I flatter myself I have acquired some
     important and interesting information.

     Although the Capt. Genl. seized on (what he conceived all)
     my papers, I yet possess by a little strategem, the whole
     of my Journals; courses; and distances; and many other
     Geographical; Historical; and Philosophical notes; which I
     presume will be worthy of particular notice.

     I conceive by a fortuitous event, that information has been
     acquired of the Spanish Kingdom of New Spain, which a
     foreigner never yet possessed; and which in case of a
     rupture between the United States, and that Govt, will be
     of the highest importance: but should peace still continue
     to bless those happy climes, will afford pleaseing subjects
     of contemplation, for the statesmen, the philosopher; and
     the Soldier.

     I received from Genl. Wilkinson, some Conditional Orders on
     my Arrival at the place [this place--Natchitoches]; to
     which I have replied; but as the destination of that
     Gentleman, was uncertain, I thought it my duty to make a
     short report to you: I shall remain here waiting for my men
     a short time longer (as I expect some important information
     by their hands) when I shall march by the way of Kentucky,
     for the City of Washington. My papers being in such a
     mutilated and deranged state it will require some time to
     arrange them & (to which object every moment shall be
     devoted) likewise at Washington: I can obtain some
     necessary assistance as it would take one person a great
     length of time to make fair copies, and draughts of the
     plans, Journals &c &c of a tour of upwards of 4000 Miles--

     The Surveys of Capns Lewis & Clark; mine of the
     Mississippi; Osage; upper Arkensaw; L'Platte; and Kans
     rivers; with Lieut Wilkinson's, & Mr. Freemans, of the
     lower parts, of the Red, and Arkensaw rivers; together with
     the notes I intend takeing on my route from hence up the
     Mississippi; will I presume form a mass of matter; which
     will leave but _three_, more objects, to be desired in
     forming a compleate chart of Louisiana.

     I am Sir with High Consideration

                    Your obl. Sert.
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Capt.

     The Honl.
     HENRY DEARBORNE
     Sect. W. Dept.

While at Natchitoches, Captain Pike made it one of his first concerns
to move in the matter of Captain Nolan's men, then prisoners in
Mexico: see beyond, pp. 609, 657, 660, 666, 767, 811. The case is
little known, and has not proved an easy one to recover. But through
the kind attentions of the eminent historian, Reuben T. Durrett, LL.
D., president of the Filson Club of Louisville, Ky., I am put in
possession of an article which appeared in the Natchez Herald of Aug.
18th, 1807, setting forth the facts in full. This I have the pleasure
of presenting, literally according to the type-written copy which Dr.
Durrett transmits, Apr. 12th, 1895:

                              NACHITOCHES, July 22, 1807.

     DEAR SIR--Inclosed you have a statement of the situation of
     the companions of the deceased Philip Nolan, and a short
     account of the ineffectual application I made, to rescue
     them from the eternal slavery, which it is to be feared, is
     destined for them, unless our government should be pleased
     to interfere in their behalf. Certainly the court of Spain
     would be too generous to refuse liberty to a few
     debilitated and half-lost wretches, who have at least
     expiated their crime, (if any) tenfold.

     As I promised on my arrival in the United States, to give
     their friends an account of their situation, I could
     conceive no more certain and expeditious a method than
     through the medium of your Herald, and therefore wish you
     to give this communication publicity; and hope the Editors
     of the Gazettes of the states in which the friends of those
     unfortunate young men may belong, will republish it, that
     their connections may receive the melancholy assurances of
     some being in existence, and that others are beyond the
     power of tyranny and oppression.

                    I am, &c.,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE.

     In a late involuntary tour which I made through part of his
     Catholic majesty's dominions of New Spain, whilst at St.
     Affe [Santa Fe], the capitol of N. Mexico and Chihuahua, I
     met with a number of the poor unfortunate companions of the
     deceased Nolan. One of whom gave me the following cursory
     statement of their treatment, &c. since their being taken,
     and on their joint application, I addressed a letter to his
     excellency Nemeio [_sic_] Salcedo, in their favor, of which
     an extract is subjoined, with the verbal reply of the
     general.

     "We crossed the Mississippi on the 1st day of November,
     1800, at the Walnut hills [Nogales], and in January
     following arrived at the river Brassus [Brazos], in the
     provinces of Texus, and proceeded to build pens [for the
     capture of mustangs]. In March, 1801, we began to run wild
     horses, and having caught several hundreds of them we
     selected the handsomest and let the ballance go. On the 22
     of March, we were attacked at break of day, by sixty
     regular troops, and two hundred and forty militia and
     Indians, with one field piece. Our commander, (Nolan) being
     killed, we capitulated in the evening, on the assurance
     that Nolan was killed, who only was to blame, we should be
     conducted to Naggadoches [Nacogdoches], from whence there
     was no doubt, we would have permission to return to our
     country, as soon as the circumstances were stated to the
     governor of St. Antonio. We remained there under promises
     and daily expectations of being released until July, when
     we were all put in heavy irons.

     "In August we were marched, in irons, to St. Antonio
     [Texas]; and in December through the province of Coqquella
     [Coahuila] and [New] Biscay, into the vice-royalty of
     Mexico, to the city of St. Louis Potosi, where we remained
     fourteen months, ironed, and in close confinement. In
     February, 1803, we were dispatched to Chihuahua, where
     after some time, our irons were struck off. From which to
     the present time, we have experienced various treatment,
     sometimes enjoying the liberty of the town, sometimes the
     barracks, and for three months in irons and close
     confinement.

     "David Fero, from near Albany, state of New York, has been
     alternately in irons, the guard-house, limits of the fort
     or procedie [presidio]--is now confined to the limits of a
     fort called Cayome [_sic_], eight leagues distant from
     Chihuahua--in bad health. [See beyond, pp. 660, 665, 811.]

     "Simon M'Coy, of the Oppelousas, or Natchez, a carpenter by
     profession, has the liberty of the town of Chihuahua--in
     good health.

     "Joseph Reed, state of Kentucky, in the province of Biscay,
     but in what part and how situated unknown.

     "Solomon Cooley [Colly of pp. 609, 613, beyond], of the
     state of Connecticut, a taylor by profession, carries on
     his business in the town of St. Affee, which is his limits.

     "William Danton, of Natchez, residence and situation
     unknown.

     "Charles King, of Natchez, works at the carpenter's trade,
     is confined by night to the quartel at Chihuahua--in good
     health.

     "Ephriam Blackburn, of Natchez, is in some of the procedios
     of the province of Biscay--situation unknown.

     "Joel Pears, of North Carolina, deceased at Chihuahua.

     "John Waters, of Winchester, Virginia, a hatter, and
     carries on his business at Chihuahua, has embraced the
     Roman Catholic faith, after betraying a well concerted plan
     of his companions to effect their escape, and in which it
     is supposed they would have succeeded: his treachery caused
     them a close confinement in irons, and in a loathsome
     prison for three months--he is hated and despised, not only
     by his own countrymen but by every honest Spaniard in the
     place.

     "Ellis Bean, of Granger county, state of Tennessee, a
     hatter, formerly carried on his business in the city of
     Chihuahua, but being detected in an intrigue with the
     daughter of an officer, and refusing to marry her, was in
     close confinement at St. Jeronime [San Jeronimo], a few
     leagues distant, in good health.

     "Thomas House, of Jefferson county, Tennessee, blacksmith,
     confined to the quartel at night, but at that time was at
     the hospital, in a very bad state of health.

     "Stephen Richards, of Natchez, has inlisted in the Spanish
     service, was lately at Baton Rouge with his father, in the
     quality of a citizen--belongs to the troops at Nagadoches."

     [Here follows the above-mentioned letter from Pike to his
     Excellency, General Salcedo, given beyond, pp. 810-812.]

     This letter I presented personally, & after the general had
     learned its contents, through an interpreter, he observed
     in reply That having found those men, on his arrival from
     Europe, to take the command of the internal provinces of
     New Spain, in the dungeons of St. Louis Potosi, he had
     demanded them of the Vice-Roy, and brought them to
     Chihuahua, where their irons were struck off, and every
     indulgence allowed them which his responsibility would
     admit--that he had felt a particular desire to serve Fero,
     but whose haughtiness of soul would not permit him to be
     under any obligation to the government, further than his
     allowance of twenty-five cents per day. That he had
     reported their situation to the King, and consequently must
     await the orders of his majesty; that with respect to the
     letters, they had always been permitted to correspond
     through him, with their friends--but that I might use my
     own pleasure as to taking letters, but he thought the
     peculiar delicacy of my own situation, should prevent me
     from taking any written communication out of the country.

     Thus ended the conference, and thus stands the situation of
     those unfortunate men at present. But as I knew some part
     of the general's information to be incorrect, and
     especially as it related to the freedom of communication
     with their friends, I felt no such peculiar delicacy as to
     prevent my bringing out letters--but brought every one
     intrusted to my care.

                     [Signed] Z. M. PIKE.

The records I have examined do not show Captain Pike's movements for
the next few months. But imagination easily forges the missing links
of the return of an intrepid and successful explorer who had been a
captive in foreign lands, given up by his friends as lost to them
forever--a loved husband, whom _domus et placens uxor_ awaited--a
hero, whose story remained to be told to a public eager to hear of El
Dorado. He was in Washington soon--most likely before the end of the
year, certainly in Jan., 1808--and already in hot water. For he took
a header into the political caldron, which perpetually boils there,
but had been superheated for him in consequence of his supposed
confidential relations with his military commander-in-chief.[M-13] His
name came before Congress in a way which ruffled his plumes, and
extorted the following mettlesome effusion:

                              WASHINGTON 22 Feby 08.

     SIR

     The Honorable John Rowan of the House of representatives
     from Kentucky; has this day made some observations before
     that Honarable body from which a tacit inference might be
     drawn that my late Tour to the Westward was founded on
     Views intirely unknown to the Government; and connected
     with the nefarious plans of Aaron Burr and his associates.
     Had those insinuations arisen in any other quarter I should
     have concieved that my early choice of the military life,
     the many ardious and confidential duties I have performed,
     with the perfect knowledge which the Goverment must have of
     my military and political Character; would have been a
     sufficient justification for me to have passed over them in
     silence: but comeing from so respectable a source. I feel
     it a duty to myself; my family; and my profession; to
     request of you a testimonial which may shut the mouth of
     Calumny--and strike dumb the voice of slander. I have
     therefore to request of you Sir! to Honor me with a
     communication which may be calculated to present to the
     Speaker of the House of representatives; or a Committee of
     their Body, who have been appointed to inquire whether any,
     or what, extra Compensation should be made me & my
     Companions; for our late Voyages of Discovery, and
     exploration; and that I may have permission to give
     publicity to this letter which I have the Honor to address
     you, and your answer.

                    I am Sir with High Consideration
                    Your ob^t. Ser^t.
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE Cap^t 1^st.
                    UStates Reg^t. Infy

     The Hon.
     HENRY DEARBORNE
     Sec. War. Dep^t.

On the same sheet of paper which has this letter, General Dearborn
drafted a reply, with many interlineations and erasures, to be copied
in a fair clerk's hand and signed by himself. In its final form, as
received by Captain Pike, it was published, with other papers relating
to Congressional action, as a part of Document No. 6 of the App. to
Pt. 3 of the orig. ed. of this work: see p. 844. Its first form is as
follows:

                              Feb: 24. 1808, WAR DEPT.

     SIR. In answer to your letter of the 22^d Inst. I with
     pleasure observe that alth'o the two exploring expeditions
     you have performed were not previously ordered by the
     President of the U. S. there were frequent communications
     on the subject of each, between Gen^l. Wilkinson & this
     Department, of which the President of the U. S. was
     aquainted from time to time, and it will be no more than
     what justice requires to say, that your conduct in each of
     those expeditions met the approbation of the President; and
     that the information you obtained and communicated to the
     Executive in relation to the sources of the Mississippi &
     the natives in that quarter and the country generally as
     well on the uper Mississippi as that between the Arkansas &
     the Missouri, and on the borders of the latter extensive
     river to its source, and the adjacent countries, has been
     considered as highly interesting in a political,
     geographical & historical view. And you may rest assured
     that your services are held in high estimation by the
     President of the U. S.; and if opinion of my own can afford
     you any satisfaction I can very frankly declare that I
     consider the public very much indebted to you for the
     enterprising persevering and judicious manner in which you
     have performed them.

                    [No signature.]

To the above Pike made reply at once:

                              WASHINGTON CITY 26 Feby 08

     SIR!

     Suffer me to offer through you, to the president of the
     United States the effusions of a Heart impress'd with
     Gratitude for the very honarable testimonial of his
     approbation received by the Medium of Your Communication of
     the 24 Inst.

     The Confidence of the Executive, and the respect of our
     fellow Citizens, must be the grand desiderata of every man
     of Honor, who wears a sword in the republican Armies of the
     United States; to acquire which has been the undeviateing
     pursuit of the earliest part of my life, & shall mark the
     colour of my future actions.

     Suffer me to add Sir! that I feel myself deeply impressed
     by the Sentiments of personal respect and consideration
     with which you was pleased to Honor me--and shall always be
     proud to be considered as one who holds for your person and
     character Sentiments of the Sincerest Respect & Esteem

                    I am Sir
                    Your ob Sert
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE Capt

     The Hon^l.
     HEN. DEARBORNE
     Sec War Dep^t.

Meanwhile Captain Pike was panting for promotion--dear to every
soldiers heart, and in his case well deserved. His majority was in
sight but not in hand. There appears to have been a technical obstacle
in his way. We often smile at the witticism expressed in the phrase:
"the United States and New Jersey." Like most such things, it is not
new. Being a Jerseyman, Captain Pike was required to establish the
fact that he was not an alien to the United States--not for that
reason, perhaps--still he was required to produce certain evidence of
citizenship, as the following curious correspondence shows:

                              NEW-JERSEY. TRENTON 23^d March 1808.

     It appears by the records of this State, that Cap^t. John
     Pike, in the Year 1666, was one of the Original purchasers
     of & Settlers in Woodbridge--a magistrate & member of
     Council under the Proprietory government.--I have been well
     acquainted with Major Zebulon Pike, from my Childhood and
     with Capt. John Brown (Lieuten^t. of Cavalry in the
     revolutionary War) also a Native of Woodbridge--and whose
     daughter Cap^t. ZM. Pike married; so that Cap^t Pike has
     good reason to claim New-Jersey, not only as his Native
     State, but as the residence of his family for near a
     Century & a half.

                    [Signed] Joseph Bloomfield

The above certificate of Governor Bloomfield was inclosed by Pike to
the War Department with the following letter:

                              WASHINGTON CITY 4 Apl 1808

     SIR!

     Having received the enclosed document from Gov^r.
     Bloomfield on the 27^th Ult^o.--who has particularly
     interested himself in my promotion in the profession my
     inclination has induced me to persue; I should not have
     conceived it necessary to have laid it before you had I not
     understood that you expressed a doubt as to the place of my
     nativity; and whether, the state of Jersey, was that of
     which I had a right to claim a Citizenship. I had not
     conceived that it would be requisite for a native of
     America who had served his country in Arms for Years (And
     his forefathers before him) to establish the Locality of
     his birth right but the prevoy prevoyance of my respected
     friend His Excells Gov^r. Bloomfield has laid it in my
     power to satisfy Gen^l. Dearborne on that Subject--I hope
     I shall be pardoned for thus intrudeing myself on the time
     of the Sec^y of War, and beg leave to offer assurances of
     High respect & Esteem----

                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE

     The Hon^l.
     HEN^RY DEARBORNE.
     Sec^y War Dep^t.

Having thus proven that he was a citizen of New Jersey and of the
United States, the captain could feel that the coveted majority was
his. His commission as major of the 6th Infantry, of date May 3d,
1808, was acknowledged by him in the following letter, which I have
also chosen as the one to be reproduced in facsimile for the present
work:

  [Illustration: Facsimile of Letter]


                              WASHINGTON 5 May. 1808

     SIR

     I have the Honor to acknowledge the receiipt of yours,
     notifying me of my appointment to a Majority in the 6th
     Regt. of Infantry in the Service of the United States. You
     will please Sir! to receive this as my acceptance of the
     same, and believe me to be

                     With High Consideration
                     Your Ob^t. Ser^t.
                     [Signed] Z. M. PIKE

     The Hon^l.
     HENRY DEARBORNE
     Sec. War Dep.

Among other things which had engaged Major Pike's attention was of
course his book--that story of his adventures which he had fondly
dreamed would immortalize his name, and respecting which his dream was
realized. He had already made such progress in his literary work that
he entered into official correspondence with the Secretary of War on
that subject. For instance:

                              WASHINGTON, 14^th, April 1808.

     SIR:--

     [A two-page letter concluding thus:]

     I shall in a day or two address an unofficial letter to the
     President, requesting the favour of his advice, on the
     Subject of the publication of my Voyages, on which, he
     having read them, in Manuscript, will be a Competent
     Judge--In this I shall speak as having the permission of
     your Department for the publication.--

                    I am Sir,
                    with great Consideration,
                    Your obt. servt.
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE Captain.

The inside history of books which the world will not let die is always
interesting. Here is a letter which speaks for itself:

                              PHILADELPHIA 27 May. 1808.

     D^r. SIR!

     I have entered into an agreement with the firm of Conrad,
     Lucas & C^o of this place to print and publish my Tours,
     for which I allow them 20 pr. Cent on all the sales, and
     pay besides the expences of printing &c.--This, with bad
     debts and other Casualties will leave to myself but an
     extreame small profit but as a soldiers views are more
     Generally directed to fame than interest I hope that one
     object will at least be accomplished.--The Work will not
     exceed four dollars pr. Copy but the exact price we cannot
     yet ascertain but hope Gen^l. Dearborne will give it all
     the patronage which he may deem it entitled to; and Signify
     to Mess^rs. Conrad and Lucas the number of Copies you
     will take on ^ac of your Department. I have taken the
     Liberty of encloseing under cover to you a letter addressed
     to Nau [the draughtsman] which the Secy can read, and if he
     does not wish to retain that man, in the Service of the
     Goverment at the present time he will be good enough to
     have the letter presented to him, and should the Goverment
     wish his services in the Autumn or after he has done my
     business he can return to Washington: But if he cannot be
     spared by the Depart^t. the letter can be distroyed look
     out for another person--

     I beg leave to remind the Secy of War of the applications
     which have been made in favour of my friend Doc^r.
     Robinson--and hope he may yet be brought in for a Company
     Vice some one who did not accept.

     Will Gen^l. Dearborne accept of my sincere acknowledgements
     for the many favours he has conferred on me and believe me
     to be with sincere respect and Esteem.

                    His ob^t Ser^t
                    [Signed] Z M PIKE

The War Department proved to be a liberal subscriber; for General
Dearborn indorsed the above in his own handwriting, "We will take 50
copies."

Matters thus being satisfactorily arranged for the publication of his
book, Major Pike seems to have returned at once, or very soon, to
military duty in his new rank--unless he went to see his wife on leave
of absence. We find him at Belle Fontaine in August of this year, as
evidenced by a letter I will transcribe in part, epitomizing the rest:

                              CAMP BELLE FONTAIN--
                              18 Aug^t. 1808.

     SIR!

     Co^l. Hunt[M-14] deceased last night at half past 12 O. C.
     after an illness of some weeks--He has left a distressed
     widow and nine children unprovided for, and unprotected.
     [The letter recommends military appointments for Col.
     Hunt's two sons, George and Thomas; states that the command
     of the district has devolved on Capt. James House of the
     artillery; that Capt. Clemson's company of the 1st Infantry
     had marched 10 days before for Fire Prairie, 25 miles up
     the Missouri, and Capt. Pinckney's company was to march in
     about 10 days for the Des Moines r., which would leave only
     one company of artillery at Belle Fontaine; wishes to know
     when he shall have definite orders to join his battalion in
     New Jersey; expects to be at Pittsburgh next October; and
     continues:] which is my anxious wish as from appearances we
     shall again have to meet the European Invaders of our
     country and if I know myself, I feel anxious to have the
     honor of being amongst the first to rencounter their
     boasted phalanx's--and to evence to them that the sons are
     able to sustain the Independence handed down to us by our
     Fathers

                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Maj^r.
                    6^th Reg^t Inf

Before the year closed Major Pike had come East, and found his hands
full, no doubt, in presenting to Congress the claims of himself and
his men to the generous consideration of that body, in the little
matter of an appropriation for their benefit. Those who have ever had
occasion to cool their heels in the halls of greatness, till the
mercury of their hopes congealed in the bulbs of their thoroughly
refrigerated boots, will best appreciate Pike's plight. The novelist's
realism of little Miss Flite in Chancery is out-realized in the Bleak
House on Capitol Hill, which William McGarrahan haunted for a
lifetime, and from which his injured ghost may not yet be freed. The
following letter was written when Pike had not lost hope:

                              CAPITOL HILL, 2 Decem^r. 08.

     SIR

     I am informed by M^r. Montgomery that some members of the
     committee (on the resolutions moved in favour of my late
     exploreing parties) wish to have our members officially
     notified; and the time we were employed in each Expedition,
     which information you requested from General
     Wilkinson--Inclosed you have a return of the party on each
     tour and the commencement & expiration, but as all the
     intervening time between my return from the source of the
     Mississippi to our departure to the West we were employed
     in prepareing for the second tour; I submit to your
     Judgment whether the whole should not be engrossed--Also
     there being a number of men still in new Spain the time
     will necessarily be extended to them. [This matter makes
     chap. vi., pp. 840-855, beyond.]

     The Committee meet to-morrow morning will Gen^l. Dearborne
     have the goodness to furnish them with the necessary
     information by that time--I would have waited on you
     personally but am this day to set on General Court Martial
     which convenes at 9 OC. A. M.

                    I am Sir with High Respect
                    & Esteem your ob. ser^t
                    [Signed] Z M PIKE Maj^r.
                    6 Reg^t Infy

     The Hon^l.
     HENRY DEARBORNE
     Sec W. Dep^t.

Nothing came of this move. Pike was less fortunate than Lewis and
Clark. The difference did not all depend upon merit; simply, he had no
political "pull." His expeditions originated with General Wilkinson;
they were military movements with which the President had nothing to
do. Jealousy is the most nearly universal of human weaknesses, in high
as well as low places; besides which, Thomas Jefferson had his own
opinion of James Wilkinson. Whatever Major Pike may have thought of
it, he certainly lost little time in dancing attendance on Congress;
he was not built for a lobbyist. In Dec., 1808, we find him on
military duty at Fort McHenry, Md., as appears from various official
letters of his before me, but which need not be transcribed, as they
represent merely the routine correspondence of an army officer. At
some period in 1809 he was transferred to the West; and he was on duty
as military agent in New Orleans from Sept. 13th, 1809, to Mar. 10th,
1810, or later, by virtue of the following order:

                              CAMP TERRE AU BOEUF,
                              Sep^t. 13^th. 1809--

     SIR

     The Situation of the public service and the impossibility
     of finding a suitable Character in private life to
     undertake the temporary duties of Military Agent, Obliges
     me to impose that Office on you.... [instructions follow.]

                    [Signed] J. WILKINSON

     Maj^r. Z. M. PIKE

During his tour of duty in New Orleans Major Pike became
lieutenant-colonel of the 4th Infantry Dec. 31st, 1809. One of
Lieutenant-Colonel Pike's letters shows that he did not forget
"Baroney," his quondam companion in arms on the Arkansaw:

                              NEW ORLEANS
                              March 4^th. 1810

     SIR

     Ensign Vasquez of the 2^d Infantry who was late Interpreter
     on the tour of Discovery to the source of the Arkansaw &^c
     presented himself to me at this place. After being three
     years in the United States service without receiving any
     settlement I made a statement of his accounts and gave him
     an advance in Cash and a draft for the balance, in order
     that if the form of settlement did not meet your
     approbation they might be corrected. He has been absent
     going on four years, and begs permission to return to St
     Louis to see his Aged parents, which I hope will be granted
     him by the Hon^l. Secretary of War. The French language is
     his proper one; but he speaks Spanish very well, and is
     beginning with the English, but very imperfectly as yet.
     Under those circumstances I should conceive his services
     would be most important on the Spanish Frontiers. As he is
     about to embark for the City of Washington, I shall furnish
     him with a duplicate of this letter, and remain Sir, with

                    the highest Respect & Esteem
                    Your Obdt. Servt.
                    Z. M. PIKE

     The Hon^l WILLIAM EUSTIS}
     Secretary War Department}

There is little to mark Lieutenant-Colonel Pike's career in 1810-11,
or until the breaking out of the war of 1812. From many letters I have
seen by which he can be traced in these years, uneventful for him, I
select one which shows the workings of his mind at this time, as well
as his readiness to ventilate the views which he entertained.
Characters such as his have visions which they may freely express
without carrying conviction to others. The following communication was
received at the War Department from Mississippi Territory:

                              CANTONMENT, WASHINGTON June 10, 10

     SIR

     Although, it may be deemed unmilitary in me (a Subordinate
     in Command) to address myself immediately to the War
     Department yet the purport of this Communication being
     principally of a private nature, I presume it will not, be
     deemed a great deviation from propriety.--I entered the
     Army at the early age of fifteen, and have continued to
     pursue my profession with enthusiasm to the present time a
     period upwards of Sixteen years during which I have had
     every practical experience which the times offered of
     becoming a Soldier.--Together with a Careful perusal of
     numerous Millitary authors in the French & English
     languages.--But hapily for my Country her Councils have
     been guided by Such Judicious Measures; That the
     opportunity which I have so long panted for, of Calling
     into Action, The Experience I possess, has never
     Occured.--Knowing that it must be the interest of the U.S
     to keep at peace with the world, and despairing of ever
     being Call^d Into actual service I should some time since
     have resign^d the sword and became a farmer, (The only
     proffession I can acquire) only for the unsettled state of
     our foreign affairs.--Fortune has at length placed me
     (Through the instrumentality of General Hampton) at the
     Head of the Compleatest body of Infantry in the US.--If
     this Regiment should be Consolidated and the Co^l. not
     join, I should be very happy to retain the Command and
     remain in this quarter.--If not I would hope to be ordered
     to join my Regiment in New England, a quarter of the Union
     I should be gratify^d. in spending some time in.--Should I
     remain here and be permitted to introduce the modern
     Discipline--into the Corps I would pledge my existance it
     would be equal to any in the U S. in one year. This is a
     subject of much diversity of Oppinion, as many gentlemen
     wish to Confine us to Stuben.[M-15]--The value of whose
     system no man appreciates more justly than myself. But the
     Battle of Jena but too fatally evinced to the Prusian
     Monarch that the mordern improvements in the Art of War had
     been such, as entirely to overturn the principles of
     manourvres of the Malboroughs--Eugenes and Fredericks. The
     Millitary Establishment of the United States can only be
     viewed as the nuclues of an Army in Case of War, from
     whence Could be drawn Staff Officers well versed in tactics
     and police--In the foregoing observations I mean to cast no
     reflections on my superior officers;--but Conceive at the
     same time the Ideas may not be deemed obtrusive On the
     Hon^l Secty of War.--Whilst makeing this unofficial
     Communication I think it my duty to intimate the situation
     in which the neighbouring province of Florida now stands.
     The Goverment is in a Compleat state of Lethargie.--The
     Citizens are forrming committees and appear to be disposed
     to offer their allegiance to the U S. when if it should be
     refused, they will Make it a tender to Great Britain this
     would have been done some time since had they not feared
     the Isle of Cuba.--That Cuba is competant to keep them in
     Subjection by force is extremely doubtful; But what line of
     Conduct the U. S will persue on the Occasion is an
     important question.--our views should only be turned to the
     effect our interferance would have abroad for we have
     disposible force in this territory & Orleans when joined to
     the Malcontents amply sufficient to secure possession of
     the province; But with respect to the effect this would
     have on Mexico is seriously to be taken into concideration
     Mexico including all the possessions of Spain North of
     Terra Firma [Tierra Firme], must constitute ere long a
     great and independant power of at least seven millions of
     souls, with more of the precious metals than any other
     nation in the world will it not be an object of the first
     Magnitude for the U S to secure the trade, friendship and
     alliance of this people. They never will become a maratime
     or manufactoring nation they are at present pastorial and
     On trial will prove Warlike. I hesitate not to say they Can
     pour forth thousans of Calvary surpass'd by none in the
     World. To this power We might become the Carryers and
     Manifactories, for which no Nation Could vie with us; which
     would be sources of immence Wealth.--And an Augmentation of
     our power.--To this very important object I humby Conceive
     a too early attention Cannot be paid--On this subject I
     have probaly intruded my oppinion on Mr. Eustis, but I
     could not forbear giveing those intimations which I
     conceived might be beneficial to my Country.--I had a
     brother in the Millitary Academy from whom I have not heard
     for some time should he merit the favour of his
     Country;--or if his Fathers Thirty Years service or my own
     claim some small indulgence for him, I hope he may be
     appointed an Ensign of Infantry and sufferd to join the
     Regiment to which I may be attached; the latter part of
     this request is not made from a desire that I may have it
     in my power to shew him any favour;--far from it,--but
     that, I may have him near me to Restrain the Disposition
     which all youths evince for irregularities. And point out
     to him the paths of propriety and Honor, also that he may
     benefit [by] the few years he can appropriate to study by
     the use of a variety of Millitary Authors I have
     collected.--Such are my reasons for wishing my brother with
     me. I hope this may meet the approbation of the Hon^be
     Secr^ty.--And this letter may be attributed to its true
     motives, and that the Honble Secty may beleive me as I am
     from Duty and inclination Sincerely devoted to my Country
     and his obedt

                    Hble Sert--
                    [Signed] Z M PIKE

     The Hon^l.
     WM. EUSTIS
     Secy War Dep^t--

Lieutenant-Colonel Pike's "despair of ever being called into service"
was of short duration. He was soon to be called upon to lay down his
life for his country on the battlefield. From April 3d, 1812, to July
3d of that year he had been deputy quartermaster-general. He was
promoted to the colonelcy of the 15th Infantry July 6th, 1812. The war
was upon us. Colonel Pike's qualifications for the command of a
regiment may be best estimated in the terms of his military
biographer, General Whiting, who says, pp. 309-311:

     Probably no officer in the army, at that time, was held in
     higher estimation. This was not because he had seen much
     actual service, for he had hardly been in the presence of
     the enemy before the day on which he fell. It was on the
     promise, rather than the fulfilment, that the public mind
     rested his character for boldness and enterprise; and his
     fitness to direct and control men had been determined, to
     an extent that warranted much confidence, by his
     expeditions in the north-west and the south-west. He had
     there given such proofs of those qualities, as established
     a reputation in advance. He had exhibited, moreover, an
     indefatigable activity in the drill of his regiment,
     requiring of all under his command an unwearied devotion to
     duty, and an exact and prompt obedience to orders.

     His regiment became an example of zeal, discipline, and
     aptitude in movements; his men had an unbounded belief in
     his capacity, and his officers looked up to him with
     unusual respect and affection. He inspired that confidence
     in all under his orders, which is almost a certain evidence
     that it is merited.

     At the opening of the war of 1812, we were almost without
     any fixed guides in tactics and discipline. The standard of
     the latter part of the revolution, and of subsequent times,
     "Old Steuben," which had been approved by Washington, and
     had led to some of the best triumphs of the closing years
     of that glorious period, had become obsolete, even before
     any substitute was provided. Hence, when new regiments came
     into service by scores in 1812, nothing was prescribed for
     regulation or for drill. The old regiments had their forms
     and customs, which preserved in them the aspect of
     regulars. But even these presented no uniform example. Some
     adopted the "nineteen manoeuvres" of the English; others,
     the ninety-and-nine manoeuvres of the French; while a few
     adhered to old Dundas; and fewer still to older Steuben.

     Nothing was laid down by the proper authority; therefore
     all manner of things were taken up without any authority at
     all. Amid this confusion, or wide latitude of choice,
     General Pike, though brought up in the old school, was
     often tempted, by his ambitious desire for improvement, to
     run into novelties. With a prescribed rule, he would have
     been the most steady and uncompromising observer of it.
     But, in such a competition for beneficial change, he most
     naturally believed himself as capable as others of changing
     for the better.

     In this spirit of innovation, the 15th regiment underwent
     many changes, and exhibited, even in times when novelties
     and singularities were no rarities, perhaps the widest
     departure from common standards of any regiment in service.
     Adopting the French system of forming in three ranks, his
     third rank was armed in a manner peculiar to itself, having
     short guns, being the ordinary musket cut off some inches,
     and long pikes. It was said, by the wags of the day, that
     his own name suggested the manner, and the regiment was
     often called "Pike's regiment of pikes."

These pikes presented a formidable appearance on drill and dress
parade, when the men could display their tactics with the precision of
automata. They were even retained in the assault of Fort York. But at
the first engagement after the fall of General Pike, the men threw
them away, together with the cut-off pieces, and picked up English
muskets to fight with. The experiment of putting his regiment on
snow-shoes which Pike tried--doubtless remembering their
serviceability to himself and his company on the upper Mississippi in
the winter of 1805-6--does not seem to have proven any more lasting or
decided a success.

Colonel Pike's sword was stronger than his pen, as we know; but he
could sharpen either weapon on occasion, as the following spirited
repulse of a newspaper attack on his regiment will show:[M-16]

                      CAMP NEAR PLATTSBURG [N. Y.], _Oct. 12th, 1812_.

     SIR:

     However incompatible it may be with the character and
     profession of a soldier, to enter into the party politics
     of the day, yet when the honor of the government, the corps
     he commands, and his personal fame are wantonly attacked,
     and attempted to be sacrificed to satiate the malignant
     venom of party purposes, it becomes his duty as a man, a
     patriot, to come forward and boldly contradict the base
     calumniator. The following piece "from the Connecticut
     Herald" and republished in the New York Herald of October
     3d, is not only calculated to bring disrepute on the
     government, but to hold up our army as a mob wanting in
     discipline as well as in patriotism. The piece alluded to
     is as follows, viz.:

     "The multiplied proof of folly, or of madness, or some
     worse cause, that have driven the nation into a ruinous,
     offensive war, are accumulating with every day's
     experience. Barely to enumerate the evidence would occupy
     columns. Two or three facts of recent occurrence, which
     have come to my knowledge, are in point and worthy of
     record. It is then a fact (for I state it on the best
     authority) that either the national treasury is so
     miserably empty, or the proper department so deficient in
     duty, that the army under General Dearborn, which has so
     long been idling away their time near Albany, was not only
     unpaid, but unprovided with the common necessaries of a
     camp; and when, a few days since, a part of these troops
     were ordered to the frontiers, one whole regiment (Colonel
     Pike's) absolutely refused, and deliberately stacked their
     arms, declaring they would not move until paid. In this
     refusal they were justified by their colonel, and an old
     soldier, who admitted they ought not to march unless the
     government would first pay the arrears due them. It
     fortunately happened that Mr. Secretary Gallatin was then
     at Albany, and on learning the state of affairs at the
     encampment, he borrowed $20,000 from one of the banks on
     his private credit, by which means the troops were paid,
     and cheerfully followed their commander."

     In contradiction to this statement it will be sufficient to
     give the following facts:

     [Firstly]--That the regimental paymaster had in his hands
     funds to pay the whole regiment up to the 31st. And [that]
     within three days of the period when the troops moved,
     three companies were paid previous to the march and the
     balance so soon as the troops halted a sufficient time to
     give the officers an opportunity to adjust the rolls and
     prepare the accounts of the recruits.

     Secondly--That those funds were received by the regimental
     paymaster from the district paymaster, Mr. Eakins, who was
     then at Albany, and not from Mr. Gallatin whom, it is
     believed, did not arrive till after the regiment moved from
     Greenbush.

     These facts can be corroborated by every officer of the
     15th Infantry, who one and all deem the paragraph published
     in the Herald a base calumny, a direct attack on their
     honor as soldiers, and declare that the author, whoever he
     may be, has asserted gross untruths. As for myself, I have
     had the honor to serve in the army from the rank of
     volunteer to the station I now hold, during the
     Administration of Gen. Washington, Mr. Adams, Mr.
     Jefferson, and Mr. Madison, and can affirm that I have
     known some troops under the three first to have been upward
     of a year without a payment, and under the latter for eight
     months. This was owing to the dispersed state of our troops
     on the western frontiers. But never did I hear of a corps
     shewing a disposition to refuse to do their duty, because
     they had not received their pay; nor do I believe the
     American army has been disgraced by an instance of the kind
     since the Revolutionary War. But ask any man of
     consideration, what time it requires to organize an army,
     or a corps of new recruits--if, owing to the want of a
     knowledge of the officers to forms of returns, accounts,
     etc., it will not be some time before a new corps can be as
     well equipt, or appear as much like soldiers, as an old
     one? Every soldier will reply that it will require two
     years at least to teach both officers and men to reap the
     same benefit from the same supplies as old soldiers. And
     although at this time the 15th regiment has been as
     regularly supplied as any other corps with clothing, pay,
     arms, and accoutrements, even to watch coats to protect the
     centinel against the winter storms, yet were there an old
     regiment laying by their side, who had received the same
     supplies, they would most indubitably be better equipped
     and make themselves more comfortable, having the saving of
     two or more years' supplies on hand. But whether ill or
     well supplied, the soldiers and officers have too just a
     sense of the duty they owe their country and their own
     honor, ever to refuse to march against the enemy. And the
     colonel begs leave to assure the author of the above
     paragraph, that he hopes he will forbear any future attempt
     to injure his reputation by praising an action which, if
     true, must have forever tarnished the small claim he now
     has to a military character.

                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE,
                    _Colonel 15th U. S. Infantry_.

Colonel Pike seldom had occasion to make proclamations of a
politico-military character. But one such which he issued while he was
in command of a district may be here cited. It is not dated, in the
printed form before me, but was no doubt given out in Jan., 1813, as
it appears in Niles' Register for the week ending Jan. 30th, III. No.
22, p. 344:

     _To all whom it may concern._ The state of hostility which
     exists between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United
     States makes it necessary that the intercourse which may
     take place between this country and the adjacent province
     of Canada should be regulated on the principles which
     govern belligerent nations. I have had it in charge from
     the commanding general, Chandler [John Chandler, of New
     Hampshire, d. 1841] that no person should be permitted to
     pass in or out of Canada without his permission, or, in his
     absence, the permission of the commandant of the district
     of Champlain. This order has been communicated to the
     commanding officer on the lines, and will be strenuously
     enforced.

     Some members of the community have been found so void of
     all sense of honor, love of country, or any other principle
     which has governed the virtuous of all nations and ages, as
     to hold correspondence with and give intelligence to our
     enemies. It therefore becomes my duty to put the laws in
     full force. The two following sections of the rules and
     articles of war, which are equally binding on the citizen
     and the soldier, are published for the information of the
     public, that no one may plead ignorance, as from this time
     henceforward they shall be enforced with the greatest
     severity.

     "Art. 56. Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with money,
     victuals, or ammunition, or shall knowingly harbor or
     protect an enemy shall suffer DEATH, or such other
     punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a
     court-martial.

     "Art. 57. Whosoever shall be convicted of holding
     correspondence with, or giving intelligence to, the enemy,
     either directly or indirectly, shall suffer DEATH, or such
     other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a
     court-martial."

                    [Signed] _Z. M. Pike, Col. 15th Regt. Inf.
                    Commanding West Lake Champlain_.

During the winter of 1812-13, when the 15th regiment was stationed on
the northern frontier, in view of the operations to be undertaken
against the posts of the enemy on the lakes, great confidence in this
well-disciplined and zealous body of troops was felt by General Henry
Dearborn, formerly secretary of war, and then the senior major-general
of the army, in immediate command. As we have just seen, General Pike
was in charge of a military district on Lake Champlain; his command
was then of about 2,500 men. Various desultory demonstrations against
the enemy had proved futile, in some cases fatuous and disgraceful.
The War Department determined upon a more consistent and apparently
feasible plan of concerted operations, which had in view the reduction
of all the British posts on the St. Lawrence river and Lake Ontario.
The capture of Kingston (site of old Fort Frontenac) was a measure of
first importance. The garrison was supposed to be small, and lulled in
a sense of security, owing to the rigors of the season and the
numerical insignificance of our troops at Sackett's Harbor; nor was
Kingston likely to be re-enforced from below, as the British forces
were menaced on the Lower St. Lawrence by Pike's troops on Lake
Champlain. It was proposed to transport these in sleighs to the foot
of Lake Ontario with such promptitude that the movement could not be
counteracted. General Dearborn also proposed to concentrate other
forces at Sackett's Harbor, to which place his headquarters at Albany
were to be moved at once. This was in Feb., 1813. But while these
measures were pending, Sir George Prevost, Governor-General of the
Canadas, prorogued the Parliament then in session, and moved to
Kingston with re-enforcements for that place. According to General
Dearborn's dispatches of Mar. 3d from Sackett's Harbor, this
demonstration seemed so alarming that operations against Kingston were
suspended in favor of others which had regard to the safety of
Sackett's Harbor; though it appears in General Armstrong's History of
the War that Sir George Prevost had executed a clever ruse with few
troops, and "countervailed his antagonist only by dexterous and
well-timed reports," Whiting's Pike, p. 290 _seq._

The proposed attack on Kingston over the ice having been abandoned,
the Secretary of War's alternative plan of reducing in succession the
several posts on and about Lake Ontario engaged General Dearborn's
attention. The Secretary indicated the order in which the successive
attacks were to be made, viz.: Kingston and York on Lake Ontario;
George and Erie on the Niagara river. But this sequence was not
strictly regarded by General Dearborn, who determined to attack
Kingston last instead of first; considering the rotation of the
assaults to be of minor consequence, in view of the main features of a
campaign which had for its object the reduction of all the posts named
in the order of the Secretary. The general commanding, on consultation
with Commodore Isaac Chauncey, concluded to make York the initial
point of attack; George to come next, and then Kingston.

     The prospect held out by this plan of the campaign was
     certainly very promising. It had all such probabilities in
     its favor as could be commanded by those who control only
     one side of the current of events. The force that could and
     would be brought to bear on each point of attack was ample,
     and left as little to hazard as prudence would suggest. The
     plan was founded on the best principles of strategy, and
     highly creditable to the generalship which dictated it. Had
     it been carried out with the spirit and perseverance with
     which it was commenced, there was every reasonable prospect
     of a successful issue. The causes of its failure were
     obvious: delays, without proper objects, after the capture
     of Fort George; and a change of command, wholly unnecessary
     and inexpedient, which led to the waste of nearly an entire
     season of inactivity (Whiting, p. 297).

As noted by this military critic and historian, General Dearborn was
relieved from command early in July, 1813, his successor being
enjoined to rest on his arms, except in the event of certain
improbable contingencies which never arose, until the arrival of
General Wilkinson, who did not reach Fort George until September, or
resume operations until Oct. 1st; so that "nearly three months were
utterly wasted by a body of 4,000 troops."

But I have digressed from the attack on Fort York, with which alone
are we here concerned.

In the latter part of April, 1813, the navigation of Lake Ontario was
open, and no molestation was apprehended, as it was known that Sir
James Yeo's fleet was not operative. Agreeably with the plan of the
campaign above briefly noted, therefore, General Dearborn embarked on
board Commodore Chauncey's fleet, with about 1,700 troops, under the
immediate command of Brigadier-General Pike, Apr. 25th. On the morning
of the 27th the fleet reached York harbor, where it was intended to
debark for the assault on Fort York. This military post defended the
place which had been known as Toronto till 1793, and was then called
York till 1834, when it resumed its aboriginal name.

       *       *       *       *       *

The true signification of the Iroquois word which has settled in the
form _Toronto_, after long fluctuation of all its vowels, is
uncertain, or at any rate, is still questioned. It is now most
frequently translated "trees in the water," or by some equivalent
phrase, with reference to the formerly wooded, long, low spit of land
which still encompasses the harbor of Ontario's metropolis.
Irrespective of its etymology, the various connotations of _Toronto_
in successive historical periods are to be carefully discriminated. If
we turn to old maps, we see that the present Georgian bay of Lake
Huron was Toronto bay; the present Lake Simcoe was Toronto lake;
present Severn river and the Humber were each of them Toronto river.
In the seventeenth century, Toronto was the official designation of a
region between Lake Simcoe and the Georgian bay--the country of the
Hurons, on the large peninsula which intervenes between Lake Huron and
Lake Ontario. The comparatively narrow neck of this peninsula offered,
by means of Humber river and certain portages, a convenient way to
pass between these two great lakes--it was, in fact, an Indian
thoroughfare. The mouth of the Humber consequently became an Indian
rendezvous, and the name of the whole region thus became best known in
connection with the locality of the present city. As the southern
terminus of this highway, on Lake Ontario, offered an eligible site
for a trading-post, advantage was taken of such an opportunity to cut
off trade from Chouagen (Oswego) by planting the original
establishment of the Whites near the mouth of the Humber. Such was the
French Fort Rouille, built in 1749, and named in compliment to Antoine
Louis Rouille, Comte de Jouy, then colonial minister. This post was
destroyed in 1756, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the
English. It became better known as Fort Toronto than it had been by
its proper French name, and later on passed into history as Old Fort
Toronto, in distinction from the two other establishments to which the
name was successively bequeathed. Fort Rouille, by whatever name
called, was never lost sight of entirely. Lossing's Field Book of the
War of 1812, New York, 1868, p. 593, has a cut which shows its
appearance when it had been to some extent renovated in 1812-13. The
exact site is now marked by a monument, lying alongside which is an
inscribed stone. These memorials are pointed out to visitors, on the
lake shore, in the southwest corner of the present Exposition grounds,
on the western side of the city of Toronto. After the abandonment of
old Fort Rouille the region round about remained for nearly half a
century a wild whose solitude may have been only relieved by the
lodges of a few Misisagas--those Indians of Ojibwa affinities who had
become members of the Iroquois confederation in 1746, three years
before the fort was built. In 1791, Upper and Lower Canada were
instituted by parliamentary measures which Pitt guided to success; the
latter was practically the province of Quebec; the former became the
province of Ontario, the refuge and future home of the United Empire
Loyalists. For the capital of Ontario, a site was to be chosen in then
unbroken wilds. The first provincial Parliament of the new province of
Upper Canada was held in May, 1793, at Newark, the present town of
Niagara, where the river of that name enters Lake Ontario. But this
place was ineligible; the river became an international boundary; the
guns of the United States Fort Niagara could be trained upon Newark;
and in August of the same year the seat of government of the new
province was transferred to the new site which had been surveyed to
that end by Bouchette, and selected for the purpose by General and
Governor John Graves Simcoe (b. Feb. 25th, 1752, d. Oct. 6th, 1806).
To this place Simcoe gave the name of York, after the duke, second son
of George III. The evolution of this embryo of future greatness was
slow; for many years "Little York," or "Muddy York," as it was styled
by some in derision, had but a few hundred inhabitants; its
maintenance was mainly due to the United Loyalists already mentioned.
In April, 1813, the works by which York was defended, and which
General Pike carried by assault, were those called Fort York; later
they were known as Fort Toronto, or "the Fort at Toronto." The town
which Simcoe had christened York did not resume the original
designation of the locality till 1834, when it was incorporated as the
city of Toronto.

This magnificent metropolis, which so admirably illustrates the effect
of American momentum upon English stability, is situated upon the
north side of Lake Ontario, 39 miles northeast of Hamilton (which
occupies the _fond du lac_) and 310 miles west-southwest of Montreal;
at the observatory the position is calculated to be in latitude 43 deg.
39' 35" N. and longitude 79 deg. 23' 39" W. of the Greenwich meridian.
The city extends westward from the vicinity of the Don in the
direction of the Humber, across the small stream known as Garrison
creek. It thus has several miles of lake front on the south, at the
bay or harbor of Toronto, partly shut off from the lake by low land
which was once a peninsula, and some small islands, with an entrance
only from the west; but the peninsula has been artificially cut off
from the mainland. At its end stood a blockhouse, in a position known
as Gibraltar point; another blockhouse stood at the mouth of the Don,
on the left or east bank of that river. One now drives a few blocks
from any hotel in the heart of the city to "old" Fort York, at present
dismantled, but very much in evidence still of the scene of General
Pike's victory and mortal hurt. The visitor will be warned off the
premises by the functionary who has these _disjecta membra_ in charge,
as Lossing had been before I was; but may nevertheless keep on the
main street or road through the frowning earthworks, and will
presently find himself on Garrison Common. This is the large level
piece of ground, the middle of the lake front of which is occupied by
the present barracks, or "new fort." At points included within the
present garrison and parade ground were the positions of two outer
defenses of old Fort York, respectively called at that time the
Western and the Half Moon battery; these were the first and second
obstacles for Pike to surmount in advancing upon the main defenses of
York. Crossing Garrison Common in a few minutes we enter the
Exposition grounds, at the further corner of which, to the left, and
directly upon the lake shore, stand the Rouille monument and inscribed
cairn already mentioned, together with a historical cabin; a pier juts
into the lake close by these objects. The direct distance between the
Rouille monument and old Fort York is about 6,000 feet--little over a
mile by the road; the present barracks are nearly midway between those
two places. Old Fort York occupies a position about the mouth of
Garrison creek, between Front Street and the water's edge, at the foot
of Tecumseh Street, and close to Queen's Wharf, in the midst of
railroad tracks, freight houses, and depots. The magazine, which was
exploded at the cost of many American and some British lives, stood in
a depression at or near the mouth of the creek, with its top nearly on
a level with higher ground on either hand; it is said that its
existence was not suspected by the enemy. It was a comparatively large
structure of its kind, solidly built of heavy stone masonry, and
contained a great quantity of powder, shot, and shell. All the
positions here in mention may be inspected in a leisurely drive of an
hour. Those who have not been over the ground, or have not a city map
at hand, will be helped to a clear understanding of the situation by
the diagram given in Lossing, p. 590; together with the sketches there
given of York, of Fort York, of the magazine which was blown up by
General Sheaffe's order, and of the Western battery whose explosion
was accidental. Of the latter, the picture represents the remains as
they were in 1860.

The conflicting accounts of uninformed, unconsciously biased, or
willfully mendacious writers have shrouded in obscurity the clear and
intelligible relation which can be given of the battle of York.
Especially have the two explosions which occurred during the assault
been confounded and falsified in history. It is necessary, at the
outset, to dissociate in mind these two catastrophes, namely: (1) The
accidental explosion of a portable magazine at the Western battery
during the advance of the Americans upon the main works. (2) The
intentional explosion of the fixed magazine during the retreat of the
British from the main works. The latter was somewhat premature, owing
to overmuch zeal of the soldier who had been ordered to fire the
train; but it was premeditated.

A diligent comparison of many different descriptions of the battle of
York has satisfied me that the account in Whiting, Pike's most formal
biographer, leaves much to be desired, and that Lossing's relation is
decidedly preferable in most particulars. The latter gives, on the
whole, the clearest and truest picture which any modern historian has
painted. Lossing consulted the official reports of the commanders,
both British and American; the accounts given by Thompson, Perkins,
James, Auchinleck, Armstrong, Christy, Ingersoll, and others;
Whiting's Biography of Pike; Hough's County histories; Roger's
Canadian History; Smith's Canada; Cooper's Naval History; Niles'
Register; the Portfolio; the Analectic Magazine; he had some
manuscripts of actors in the scene, besides various verbal relations;
and he went over the ground in person. In the following sketch I shall
lean more heavily upon Lossing than upon Whiting; but for numerous
particulars shall refer back of both to contemporaneous records and
official reports, on both sides. I shall also adduce a certain obscure
author, P. Finan, who is among those who witnessed the fight, and who
describes what he saw in his little-known Journal of a Voyage to
Quebec in the Year 1825, with Recollections of Canada during the late
American War in the Years 1812-13, Newry, printed by Alexander
Peacock, 1828. H. A. Fay's Collection of Official Documents, etc., 1
vol., 8vo, New York, 1817, gives General Dearborn's and Commodore
Chauncey's reports to the Secretary of War and of the Navy,
respectively, and the terms of the capitulation after the capture.
Brannan's Official Letters, etc., 1 vol., 8vo, Washington, 1823, gives
in full Pike's vigorous and rigorous brigade order, pp. 144-146; the
reports said of Dearborn and of Chauncey; and various other items.
These and many other materials are also contained in earlier form in
Niles' Weekly Register, IV. Mar.-Sept., 1813. What here follows is
derived mainly from the sources I have thus indicated, but also
includes a certified copy of the most important one of the original
Sheaffe documents in the Archives of Ontario at Ottawa.

General Pike's brigade order for the attack on York appears as follows
in Niles' Register, IV. pp. 229, 230:

                              SACKETT'S HARBOR, April 25, 1813.

     BRIGADE ORDER. When the debarkation shall take place on the
     enemy's shore, Major Forsyth's light troops, formed in four
     platoons, shall be first landed. They will advance a small
     distance from the shore, and form the chain to cover the
     landing of the troops. They will not fire unless they
     discover the approach of a body of the enemy, but will make
     prisoners of every person who may be passing, and send them
     to the general. They will be followed by the regimental
     platoons of the first brigade, with two pieces of Brooks'
     artillery, one on the right and one on the left flank,
     covered by their musketry, and the small detachments of
     riflemen of the 15th and 16th Infantry. Then will be landed
     the three platoons of the reserve of the first brigade,
     under Major Swan.[M-17] Then Major Eustis, with his train of
     artillery, covered by his own musketry. Then Colonel
     M'Clure's volunteers, in four platoons, followed by the
     21st regiment, in six platoons. When the troops shall move
     in column, either to meet the enemy or take a position, it
     will be in the following order, viz.: First, Forsyth's
     riflemen, with proper front and flank guards; the regiments
     of the first brigade, with their pieces; then three
     platoons of reserve; Major Eustis' train of artillery;
     volunteer corps; 21st regiment; each corps sending out
     proper flank guards. When the enemy shall be discovered in
     front, the riflemen will form the chain, and maintain their
     ground until they have the signal (the preparative) or
     receive orders to retire, at which they will retreat with
     the greatest velocity, and form equally on the two flanks
     of the regiments of the first brigade, and then renew their
     fire. The three reserve platoons of this line under the
     orders of Major Swan, 100 yards in the rear of the colors,
     ready to support any part which may show an unsteady
     countenance. Major Eustis and his train will form in the
     rear of this reserve, ready to act where circumstances may
     dictate.

     The second line will be composed of the 21st Infantry in
     six platoons, flanked by Colonel M'Clure's volunteers,
     equally divided as light troops. The whole under the orders
     of Colonel Ripley.[M-18]

     It is expected that every corps will be mindful of the
     honor of the American arms, and the disgraces which have
     recently tarnished our arms; and endeavor, by a cool and
     determined discharge of their duty, to support the one and
     wipe off the other. The riflemen in front will maintain
     their ground at all hazards, until ordered to retire, as
     will every corps of the army. With an assurance of being
     duly supported, should the commanding general find it
     prudent to withdraw the front line, he will give orders to
     retire by the heads of platoons, covered by the riflemen;
     and the second line will advance by the heads of platoons,
     pass the intervals, and form the line, call in the light
     troops, and renew the action. But the general may find it
     proper to bring up the second line on one or both flanks,
     to charge in columns, or perform a variety of manoeuvres
     which it would be impossible to foresee. But as a general
     rule, whatever may be the directions of lines at the
     commencement of the action, the corps will form as before
     directed. If they then advance in line, it may be in
     parallel eschelons of platoons, or otherwise, as the ground
     or circumstances may dictate.

     No man will load until ordered, except the light troops in
     front until within a short distance of the enemy, and then
     charge bayonets; thus letting the enemy see that we can
     meet them in their own weapons. Any man firing or quitting
     his post without orders, must be put to instant death, as
     an example may be necessary. Platoon officers will pay the
     greatest attention to the coolness and aim of their men in
     the fire; their regularity and dressing in the charge.
     Courage and bravery in the field do not more distinguish
     the soldier than humanity after victory; and whatever
     examples the savage allies of our enemies may have given
     us, the general confidently hopes that the blood of an
     unresisting or yielding enemy will never stain the weapons
     of the soldiers of his column.

     The unoffending citizens of Canada are many of them our own
     countrymen, and the poor Canadians have been forced into
     the war. Their property must therefore be held sacred, and
     any soldier who shall so far neglect the honor of his
     profession as to be guilty of plundering the inhabitants,
     shall, if convicted, be punished with death. But the
     commanding general assures the troops that, should they
     capture a large quantity of public stores, he will use his
     best endeavors to procure them a reward from his
     government.

     This order shall be read at the head of each corps and
     every field officer shall carry a copy, in order that he
     may at any moment refer to it; and give explanations to his
     subordinates.

     All those found in arms in the enemy's country, shall be
     treated as enemies; but those who are peaceably following
     the pursuits of their various avocations, friends--and
     their property respected.

                    By order of Brigadier-general Z. M. PIKE.

     CHARLES G. JONES,[M-19]
     Assistant aid-de-camp.

Of quite another character than the foregoing order is the next word
which reaches us from General Pike--probably from the last letter he
ever wrote. It is always the soldier, but now the son and not the
officer who speaks, in this letter addressed to his father. The
extract is undated and unsigned, but was penned at Brownsville, near
Sackett's Harbor, on the day before the expedition sailed from the
latter place. I cite from Niles' Register of Saturday, July 10th,
1813, p. 304, these affecting passages:

"I embark to-morrow in the fleet at Sackett's Harbor, at the head of a
column of 1,500 choice troops, on a secret expedition. If success
attends my steps, honor and glory await my name--if defeat, still
shall it be said we died like brave men, and conferred honor, even in
death, on the AMERICAN NAME.

"Should I be the happy mortal destined to turn the scale of war, will
you not rejoice, O my father? May Heaven be propitious, and smile on
the cause of my country. But if we are destined to fall, may my fall
be like Wolfe's--to sleep in the arms of victory."

His aspiration was answered, for he turned the scale of war; his dream
of glory came true, for he fell asleep, like Wolfe, in the arms of
victory!

Commodore Isaac Chauncey's fleet, which conveyed the American troops
from Sackett's Harbor to York, consisted of 14 vessels: the Madison,
flagship; Oneida, Fair American, Hamilton, Governor Tompkins,
Conquest, Asp, Pert, Julia, Growler, Ontario, Scourge, Lady of the
Lake, and the transport Raven.

On that fateful 27th of April, 1813, about seven o'clock in the
morning, when this fleet had reached York, the intention was to land
the troops at old Fort Rouille, whence the advance to the assault of
Fort York would have been only about a mile, along the lake front,
over the level ground of present Garrison Common. But a strong east
wind drove the boats "a considerable distance" leeward, to some wooded
point in the direction of the Humber. Exactly how far this was does
not appear; but there is evidence that it was not more than some
fraction of a mile--probably not as far west of Fort Rouille as the
latter was west of Fort York. General Dearborn says, "about a mile and
a half" from Fort York, which would be about half a mile west of Fort
Rouille; and the place called Grenadier Point has been named in this
connection. Doubtless the whole of the troops were not landed at
precisely the same spot. General Dearborn remained with the fleet,
which was to bombard York after landing the troops under the command
of General Pike. The former's official report to Hon. John Armstrong,
Secretary of War, dated Headquarters, York, Upper Canada, Apr. 28th,
1813, includes this passage (Brannan, p. 149):

     I had been induced to confide the immediate command of the
     troops in action to General Pike, from a conviction that he
     fully expected it, and would be much mortified at being
     deprived of the honor, which he highly appreciated.

As rendered in Niles' Register, IV. p. 179, it is to the same effect,
but somewhat differently worded:

     To the general I had been induced to confide the immediate
     attack, from a knowledge that it was his wish and that he
     would have been mortified had it not been given to him.

We will hear from Pike himself once more before he falls. It is before
any landing has been effected. Forsyth's boats are nearing the shore;
they are fired upon from the woods, but have not yet answered a shot.
Pike is standing on the deck of the flagship, surrounded by his staff,
straining his eager eyes impatiently at the boats, which he sees have
been driven beyond the intended point of debarkation. "'By God! I
can't stay here any longer!' and addressing himself to his
staff--'Come, jump into the boat!' which we immediately did, the
commodore having reserved a boat specially for him and his suite; the
little coxswain was ordered immediately to steer for the middle of the
fray, and the balls whistled gloriously around; probably their number
was owing to seeing so many officers in one boat; but we laughed at
their clumsy efforts as we pressed forward with well-pulled oars."[M-20]

The first troops which effected a landing were Forsyth's[M-21] Rifles,
conveyed in two boats. Their debarkation was promptly resisted by a
choice body of light troops from Fort York, consisting of a company of
Glengary Fencibles, with some Indians, under Major Givens. From an
advantageous position in the woods which had been taken up, the enemy
opened a galling fire as our troops left the boats. Concerning this
opening engagement I cite Whiting, pp. 300-303:

     The riflemen were formed on the bank as promptly as
     possible, when the boats returned to the fleet for other
     troops. In the meantime, this gallant little band, assisted
     by some few other troops that were thrown on shore in other
     boats, sustained the brunt of the combat. The numbers in
     this initial struggle were about equal, and it became a
     fair and close fight, to be turned either way as
     re-enforcements should happen to arrive. The British light
     troops were choice men, and commanded by a brave officer.

     Forsyth's men were undisciplined, but had seen some
     desultory service on the Ogdensburg frontier, and had
     unbounded confidence in their leader, who was rather an
     extraordinary man, and regarded as a most promising
     partisan officer. He had peculiar notions as to the manner
     of training men. The common rules of discipline were looked
     upon by him with the utmost contempt. All he seemed to
     require of those under him was, that they should be good
     marksmen, and ready to follow him....

     At the time of this expedition, Major Forsyth was a fat
     man, probably weighing some 200 pounds. The uniform of his
     men was green, and, at the time he landed, he wore a
     broad-skirted coat of that color, which was unbuttoned and
     thrown back, displaying a white vest spread over his ample
     chest, that afforded a mark for an enemy equal to the
     chalked circle of a common infantry target. He had on his
     head a broad-brimmed black hat. Soon after the landing, the
     armorer of his regiment, a favorite of both himself and his
     men, was killed. The skill of this man was such as enabled
     him to give the rifle its most deadly character; and the
     efficiency of the regiment was consequently supposed, both
     by officers and men, to depend much upon him. When he fell,
     every man felt as if a deed had been perpetrated by the
     enemy that demanded revenge; and the whole detachment, from
     Major Forsyth down to the most indifferent marksman,
     entered into the combat with a fierce spirit of retaliation
     that, no doubt, contributed much to the obstinacy of the
     stand they made, and the unusual loss sustained by the
     enemy immediately opposed to them.

     Taking to the woods in which the British light troops were
     posted, the riflemen, after their loose manner, placed
     themselves behind trees, and thus carried on the contest
     with their more concentrated, better ordered, and,
     therefore, more exposed opponents. It is said that Major
     Forsyth continued, throughout the action, to move to and
     fro, armed only with a light sword, immediately in the rear
     of his men, pointing out with an earnest solemnity that
     partook both of sorrow and anger, to one rifleman and
     another, some one of the enemy, and exclaiming that he was
     the man who had killed the favorite armorer. This
     suggestion was almost sure to be fatal to the enemy thus
     specially branded with the guilt of having taken off the
     best man of the corps. The British light troops were nearly
     all left on the ground they first occupied, being too
     strong to retreat while the landing was only partially
     made, and too much exposed to stand before such expertness
     of aim, rendered so fierce and unyielding by one of the
     chance shots of an opening fight.

The force under Forsyth was soon supported by Major King's[M-22]
battalion of the 15th Infantry, consisting of three companies--Captain
John Scott's, Captain White Youngs', and that of Captain John Lambert
Hoppock, who had been mortally wounded in the boats. When General Pike
had landed with the whole body of his troops, the attacking force was
represented by the 6th, 15th, 16th, and 21st Infantry, Colonel
Maclure's 3d regiment of New York Militia, and several pieces of
artillery.

At the first sharp collision, as we have seen, the British were
defeated, not without much loss on both sides. On their retreat, the
bugles sounded the advance, and the troops pressed forward along the
lake shore toward Fort York, which was meanwhile bombarded from the
fleet. One of General Pike's staff says: "Our march was by the lake
road in sections, but the route was so much intersected by streams and
rivulets, the bridges over which had been destroyed by the enemy as
they retreated, that we were considerably retarded in our progress. We
collected logs, and by severe efforts at length contrived to pass over
one field piece and a howitzer, which were placed at the head of our
column, in charge of Captain Fanning[M-23] of the 3d Artillery; and thus
we proceeded through a spacious wood, as we emerged from which we were
saluted by a battery of 24-pounders. The general then ordered one of
his aids (Fraser) and a sergeant to proceed to the right of the
battery, in order to discover how many men were in the works. We did
so, and reported to him the number, and that they were spiking their
own guns. The general immediately ordered Captain Walworth of the 16th
[_sic_] with his company of grenadiers to make the assault. Walworth
gallantly ordered his men to trail arms and advance at the accelerated
pace; but at the moment when they were ordered to recover and charge
the enemy, the enemy broke in the utmost confusion, leaving several
men wounded on the ground which they abandoned."

This first serious obstacle to Pike's advance was the Western battery
already described, p. lxvii, where the explosion occurred before
Captain Walworth[M-24] could carry out the order to charge this work.
This accident caused some loss of life to the defenders, but none to
the assaulters. Lossing has, concerning it:

     The wooden magazine of the battery, that had been
     carelessly left open, blew up, killing some of the men, and
     seriously damaging the defences. The dismayed enemy spiked
     their cannon and fled to the next, or Half Moon battery.
     Walworth pressed forward, when that, too, was abandoned,
     and he found nothing within but spiked cannon. Sheaffe and
     his little army, deserted by the Indians, fled to the
     garrison near the governor's house, and there opened fire
     upon the Americans. Pike ordered his troops to halt, and
     lie flat upon the grass, while Major Eustis,[M-25] with his
     artillery battery, moved to the front, and soon silenced
     the great guns of the enemy.

Finan is more circumstantial in describing the casualty which did so
much to decide the fate of the day:

     While this part of our force was contending with the enemy
     in the woods, an unfortunate accident occurred in the
     battery opposed to the fleet which proved a death blow to
     the little hope that might have been entertained of a
     successful issue to the proceedings of the day. A gun was
     aimed at one of the vessels, and the officers, desirous of
     seeing if the ball would take effect, ascended the bastion:
     In the meantime the artilleryman, waiting for the word of
     command to fire, held the match behind him, as is usual
     under such circumstances; and the traveling magazine, a
     large wooden chest, containing cartridges for the great
     guns, being open just at his back, he unfortunately put
     the match into it and the consequence, as may be supposed,
     was dreadful indeed! Every man in the battery was blown
     into the air, and the dissection of the greater part of
     their bodies was inconceivably shocking! The officers were
     thrown from the bastion by the shock, but escaped with a
     few bruises; the cannons were dismounted, and consequently
     the battery was rendered completely useless.

     I was standing at the gate of the garrison when the poor
     soldiers who escaped the explosion with a little life
     remaining, were brought in to the hospital, and a more
     afflicting sight could scarcely be witnessed. Their faces
     were completely black, resembling those of the blackest
     Africans; their hair frizzled like theirs, and their
     clothes scorched and emitting an effluvia so strong as to
     be perceived long before they reached one. One man in
     particular presented an awful spectacle: he was brought in
     a wheelbarrow, and from his appearance I should be inclined
     to suppose that almost every bone in his body was broken;
     he was lying in a powerless heap, shaking about with every
     motion of the barrow, from which his legs hung dangling
     down, as if only connected with his body by the skin, while
     his cries and groans were of the most heart-rending
     description.

     Although Spartan valour was evinced by our little party, it
     proved unavailing against the numbers that pressed them
     upon all sides; and in consequence of the loss of the
     battery, and the reduction that had been made in the number
     of our troops, their ground was no longer tenable; but
     after nobly and desperately withstanding their enemies for
     several hours, a retreat towards the garrison became
     inevitable, although every inch of the ground was
     obstinately disputed.

It is remarkable that Whiting's relation of the attack has nothing
about this marked affair; it is in fact impossible to follow the
course of events in his narrative, between the conclusion of the
opening engagement and the final explosion of the main magazine.
Lossing, having brought our troops to a halt, when they were lying
upon the grass, continues with the result of Major Eustis' operations:

     The firing from the garrison ceased and the Americans
     expected every moment to see a white flag displayed from
     the blockhouse in token of surrender. Lieut. Riddle[M-26] was
     sent forward to reconnoitre. General Pike, who had just
     assisted, with his own hands, in removing a wounded soldier
     to a comfortable place, was sitting upon a stump conversing
     with a huge British sergeant[M-27] who had been taken
     prisoner, his staff standing around him. At that moment was
     felt a sudden tremor of the ground, followed by a
     tremendous explosion near the British garrison. The enemy,
     despairing of holding the place, had blown up their powder
     magazine, situated upon the edge of the water at the mouth
     of a ravine, near where the buildings of the Great Western
     Railway stand. The effect was terrible. Fragments of
     timber, and huge stones of which the magazine walls were
     built, were scattered in every direction over a space of
     several hundred yards. When the smoke floated away, the
     scene was appalling. Fifty-two Americans lay dead, and 180
     were wounded. So badly had the affair been managed that 40
     of the British also lost their lives by the explosion.[M-28]

General Armstrong states, in his History of the War of 1812, that
General Sheaffe said this explosion was accidental, his own soldiers
having been involved in its effects. General Whiting repeats this. But
both Armstrong and Whiting are clearly in error. If General Sheaffe
ever said this, he said what he knew was untrue. His words--such as
they may have been--may have referred to the earlier explosion at the
Western battery and been mistaken to apply to the main explosion. We
have his own reiterated writings, that the magazine was exploded by
his order. One of these statements is made in a hurried letter, whose
almost illegible handwriting betrays the state of mind to which this
gentleman had been reduced. It was written while he was on his retreat
to Kingston, and is addressed to his superior officer, Sir George
Prevost. The published text before me reads in part as follows
(italics editorial):

                              HALDIMAND, 30th April.

     MY DEAR SIR GEORGE,--I have the mortification of reporting
     to you that York is in the possession of the enemy, it
     having on the 27th inst. been attacked by a force too
     powerful to resist with success. Sixteen vessels of various
     descriptions full of men, including their new ship the
     Madison, formed their flotilla. The Grenadiers of the
     King's suffered first in the action with the enemy (in
     which Captain W. Neale was killed), and afterwards
     severely, in connection with other corps, by the accidental
     explosion of a battery magazine, which at the same time
     disabled the battery. _I caused our grand magazine to be
     blown up...._

     I am, my dear Sir George, your very faithfully devoted servant,
                    R. H. SHEAFFE.

Another letter from General Sheaffe, dated Kingston, May 5th, when he
had become more composed in mind than he seems to have been during
his inglorious if not disgraceful flight, gives a more coherent
account and many further details. I cite it in full, from the original
MS. now in the Department of Archives at Ottawa, as kindly copied and
certified for me by Mr. L. P. Sylvain of the Library of Parliament:

                              KINGSTON, 5^th May, 1813.

     SIR,

     I did myself the honour of writing to Your Excellency on my
     route from York to communicate the mortifying intelligence
     that the Enemy had obtained possession of that place on the
     27^th of April, and I shall now enter into a fuller
     detail, than I was enabled to do at the date of that
     letter.

     In the evening of the 26^th of April I received
     information that many Vessels had been seen from the
     Highlands to the Eastward of York, soon after daylight the
     next morning the Enemy's Vessels were discovered lying to
     not far from the shore of the peninsula in front of the
     town; they soon afterwards, sixteen in number of various
     descriptions, made sail with a fresh breeze from the [_p.
     2_] eastward, led by the Ship lately built at Sackett's
     harbour, and anchored off the point where the french fort
     [Rouille] formerly stood; many boats full of troops were
     soon discovered assembling near the Commander's Ship,
     apparently with an intention of effecting a landing on the
     ground off which he was anchored: our troops were ordered
     into the Ravine in the rear of the Government Garden and
     fields; Major Givens and the Indians with him were sent
     forward through the wood to oppose the landing of the
     Enemy--the Company of Glengary Light Infantry was directed
     to support them, and the Militia not having arrived at the
     Ravine, The Grenadiers of the King's Regiment and the small
     portion of the Royal Newfoundland Fencibles belonging to
     the Garrison of York were moved on, led by L^t Colonel
     Heathcote of that corps, commanding the Garrison; this
     movement was directed to be made within the wood, [_p. 3_]
     parallel to the Lake-side, and only so far from it, as not
     to be discovered by the Enemy's Vessels, several of which
     were not at a great distance from the shore: Captain
     Eustace's company of the King's Regiment, and some Militia
     that were quartered at the east end of the town, and had
     been left there during the night, lest the Enemy might make
     some attempt on that flank, were ordered, with the
     exception of a small party of the Militia, to join these
     troops--which was soon effected: while these operations
     were going on Major General Shaw, Adjudant General of
     Militia led a portion of the Militia on a road at the back
     of the wood to watch our rear, and to act according to
     circumstances; by some mistake he led the Glengary company
     away from the direction assigned to it, to accompany this
     detachment, so that it came late into action, instead of
     being near the Indians at its commencement; the movement of
     the other troops was retarded [_p. 4_] by the difficulty of
     the wood, while the Enemy being aided by the wind, rapidly
     gained the shore under cover of a fire from the commodore's
     ship and other vessels, and landed in spite of a spirited
     opposition from major Givens and his small band of Indians;
     the Enemy was shortly afterwards encountered by our handful
     of troops, Captain McNeal of the King's Regiment was early
     killed while gallantly leading his Company which suffered
     severely: the troops fell back. I succeeded in rallying
     them several times, and a detachment of the King's with
     some Militia, whom I had placed near the edge of the wood
     to protect our left Flank repulsed a column of the Enemy
     which was advancing along the bank at the Lake side: but
     our troops could not maintain the contest against the
     greatly superior and increasing numbers of the Enemy--they
     retired under cover of our batteries, which were engaged
     with some of their Vessels, that had begun to beat up
     towards [_p. 5_] the harbour, when their troops landed,
     occasionally firing, and had anchored at a short distance
     to the westward of the line from the Barracks to Gibraltar
     Point; from that situation they kept up a heavy fire on our
     batteries, on the Block House and Barracks, and on the
     communications between them, some of their Guns being
     thirty two pounders; to return their fire, we had two
     complete twelve pounders, and old condemned guns without
     trunnions (---- eighteen ---- pounders) which, after being
     proved had been stocked and mounted under the direction of
     Lieut. Ingouville of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, whom
     I had appointed Assistant Engineer; a twelve pounder of the
     same description was added during the Engagement; with
     these defective means the Enemy was kept at bay for some
     time, _when, by some unfortunate accident, the traveling
     Magazine at the Western battery blew up and killed and
     wounded a considerable number of men_ [italics editorial];
     many of them belonging to the [_p. 6_] Grenadier Company of
     the King's Regiment, the battery was crippled, the platform
     being torn up, and one of the eighteen pounders overturned:
     the Magazine was replaced and the battery restored to some
     order, but it was evident that our numbers and means of
     defence were inadequate to the task of maintaining
     possession of York against the vast superiority of force
     brought against it, though providentially little mischief
     had hitherto been done by the long continued cannonade of
     the Enemy, except to some of the buildings: _the troops
     were withdrawn towards the town, and the grand Magazine was
     at the same time blown up_ [italics editorial], the Enemy
     was so near to it, that he sustained great loss, and was,
     for a time, driven back by the explosion; some of our own
     troops were not beyond the reach of fragments of the
     stone, though they escaped with very little injury; Captain
     Loring, my aide-de-camp, received a severe contusion, and
     [_p. 7_] the horse he rode was killed.

     The troops were halted at a ravine not far to the westward
     of the ship yard, I there consulted with the Superior
     Officers, and it being too apparent that a further
     opposition would but render the result more disastrous,
     some of the Enemy's vessels indicating an intention to move
     up the harbour, in order to co-operate with their land
     forces, I ordered the troops of the line to retreat on the
     road to Kingston, which was effected without any annoyance
     from the Enemy; when we had proceeded some miles we met the
     Light Company of the King's Regiment on its march for Fort
     George, I had sent an express the preceding evening to
     hasten its movement, but it was at too great a distance to
     be able to join us at York.

     The ship on the stocks and the naval stores were destroyed
     to prevent the Enemy from getting possession of them. [_p.
     8_] An attempt to set fire to the Gloucester that was
     fitting out for purposes of transport, proved abortive; she
     was aground a mere hulk, her repairs not being half
     finished: I have been informed that the enemy succeeded in
     getting her off, and putting her into a state to be towed
     away; a number of shipwrights having arrived from Sackett's
     harbour with the expectation of employing them in a similar
     task on our new ship.

     The accounts of the number of the Enemy landed vary from
     eighteen hundred and ninety to three thousand [!], our
     force consisted of a Bombardier and twelve Gunners of the
     Royal Artillery to assist whom men were drawn from other
     corps, two companies of the 8th or King's Regiment, one of
     them, the Grenadiers, being on its route for Fort George,
     about a company in number, of the Royal [_p. 9_]
     Newfoundland regiment, and one of the Glengary Light
     Infantry, and about three hundred Militia and Dock Yard
     men; the quality of some of these troops was of so superior
     a description, and their general disposition so good, that
     under less unfavourable circumstances we might have
     repulsed the Enemy in spite of his numbers, or have made
     him pay dearly for success; as it was, according to the
     reports that have reached me, his loss was much greater
     than ours, a return of which I have the honour of
     transmitting, except of that of the Militia, of which a
     return has not yet been received; but I believe it to have
     been inconsiderable: Donald McLean Esqr Clerk of the House
     of Assembly gallantly volunteered his services with a
     musket, and was killed.

     [_p. 10_] Captain Jarvis of the Incorporated Militia, a
     meritorious Officer, who had a share in the successes at
     Detroit and Queenston, had been sent with a party of
     Militia in three batteaux for the Militia Clothing, which
     had been left on the road from Kingston, he came to me
     during the action to report his arrival, and soon
     afterwards he was severely wounded: a few of the Indians
     (Missasagus & Chipeways) were killed and wounded, among the
     latter were two chiefs.

     Thinking it highly probable that the Enemy would pay an
     early visit to York, I had remained there long beyond the
     period I had originally assigned for my departure to fort
     George, in order to expedite the preparations which the
     means in my power enabled me to make for the defence of the
     place; Your [_p. 11_] Excellency knows that I had intended
     to place Colonel Myers, Acting Quarter Master General, in
     the command there, at least for a time; I afterwards learnt
     that Colonel Young was in movement towards me with the 8th
     or King's Regt. I then decided to give him the Command to
     avoid the inconvenience of seperating (_sic_) the head of a
     department from me, and being informed that he was to move
     up by himself as speedily as possible, I was for some time
     in daily expectation of seeing him; at length, having
     reason to believe that he was to accompany one of the
     divisions of his Regiment, I wrote to him both by the land
     and by the water route to come to me without delay; about
     the 25th of April I received certain intelligence, of what
     had been [_p. 12_] before rumoured, that he was detained at
     Kingston by a severe illness, and on the 26th I learnt that
     Colonel Myers was to leave Fort George that day for York, I
     therefore determined to wait for his arrival, and to leave
     him in the command until Colonel Young might be in a state
     to relieve him; it was in the evening of the same day that
     I heard of the approach of the Enemy: I have thought it
     proper to enter into this explanation, as Your Excellency
     may have expected that I had returned to Fort George before
     the period at which the attack was made on York. I propose
     remaining here until I shall have received Your
     Excellency's Commands.

                     I have the honour to be,
                     With great respect,
                     Your Excellency's
                     Most obedient
                     humble servant
                     [Signed] R. H. SHEAFFE.
                     M. Gen. Command.

     His Excellency
     SIR. GEORGE PREVOST. Bt
     et. et. et.

     Certified a true copy of the original letter in the
     Department of Archives, Ottawa.

               [Signed] L. P. SYLVAIN, Assist. Libr., Nov. 2d, 1894.

Here is the clear and intelligible testimony of the British commanding
general to the facts that there were two explosions, one of which was
accidental and destructive to his own men, the other designed and
executed by his own command. It is believed to have been a little
premature, in the confusion of an evacuation that was nothing short of
a rout, before the defenders were quite out of reach of its effects;
but that they suffered little from what wrought such havoc with the
Americans, is incontestable. The ethics of the catastrophe I leave to
be discussed by professional military critics; but it seems to me that
General Sheaffe was justified in inflicting the utmost possible injury
upon the enemy, and that he would have been chargeable with culpable
neglect of duty if he had allowed valuable munitions of war to fall
into their hands.

Before resuming the main thread of this painful narration I will
introduce two accounts, both by eye-witnesses.

One of these is contained in an extract of a letter from a field
officer in the force which landed at York, name not given, to the War
Department, as published in Niles' Register, IV. p. 193. It is
explicit regarding both explosions, though loose in statement of
numbers killed by each, and in some other respects:

     The column of attack consisted of the 6th, 15th, 16th, and
     21st regiments of infantry, and a detachment of the light
     and heavy artillery. Major Forsyth's corps of riflemen, and
     Lieut. Col. M'Clure's corps of volunteers acted on the
     flanks. There was a long piece of woods to go through,
     which offered many obstructions to our heavy ordnance. As
     was expected, we were there annoyed on our flanks by a part
     of the British and Indians, with a six-pounder and two
     howitzers. One of the enemies batteries [the Western]
     accidentally blew up, by which they lost 50 men of the 8th
     regiment. A part of our force was detached from our column,
     as it came into the open ground, who carried the second
     battery by storm. The troops were halted a few minutes to
     bring up the heavy artillery to play on the blockhouse.
     General Sheaffe, despairing of holding the town, ordered
     fire to be put to the magazine, in which there were 500
     barrels of powder, many cart loads of stone, and an immense
     quantity of iron, shells and shot. The explosion was
     tremendous. The column was raked from front to rear.
     General Pike and his three aids, and 250 officers and men
     were killed or wounded in the column. Notwithstanding this
     calamity and the discomfiture that might be expected to
     follow it, the troops gave three cheers, instantly formed
     the column, and marched on toward the town. General
     Sheaffe fled and left his papers and baggage behind
     him.[M-29]

Finan gives a vivid picture of what he saw of the catastrophe. It must
be taken with some allowance, perhaps, for the force of the impression
which the terrible scene made upon him at the moment, and the
subsequent insistence with which his memory dwelt upon such a
spectacle; but it can hardly be much overdrawn:

     The governor's house, with some smaller buildings, formed a
     square, at the center battery, and under it the grand
     magazine, containing a large quantity of powder, was
     situated. As there were only two or three guns at this
     battery, and it but a short distance from the garrison, the
     troops did not remain in it, but retreated to the latter.
     When the Americans commanded by one of their best generals,
     Pike, reached this small battery, instead of pressing
     forward, they halted, and the general sat down on one of
     the guns; a fatal proceeding--for, in a few minutes, his
     advance guard, consisting of about 300 men and himself,
     were blown into the air by the explosion of the grand
     magazine.

     Some time before this horrible circumstance took place, the
     vessels had commenced firing upon the garrison, which
     obliged the females, and children, &c. to leave it; we
     therefore retired into the country, to the house of an
     officer of the militia, where we remained a short time; but
     feeling anxious to know the fate of the day, I left the
     house without the knowledge of my mother, and was
     proceeding toward the garrison when the explosion took
     place. I heard the report, and felt a tremendous motion in
     the earth, resembling the shock of an earthquake; and,
     looking towards the spot, I saw an immense cloud ascend
     into the air. I was not aware at the moment what it had
     been occasioned by, but it had an awfully grand effect; at
     first it was a great confused mass of smoke, timber, men,
     earth, &c. but as it rose, in a most majestic manner, it
     assumed the shape of a vast balloon. When the whole mass
     had ascended to a considerable height, and the force by
     which the timber, &c. were impelled upwards became spent,
     the latter fell from the cloud and spread over the
     surrounding plain. I stopped to observe the cloud, which
     preserved its round shape while it remained within my view.
     I then advanced towards the garrison, but had not proceeded
     much farther until I discovered our little party collected
     in a close body between the town and that place, which
     latter they had been obliged to evacuate.

It is said, "Death loves a shining mark." One of the missiles that
hurtled down on that devoted band sought out their heroic leader with
fatal effect. A piece of rock fell on General Pike's back, and "broke
in upon the very springs of life," to use Whiting's words. A sadly
realistic memento of the speedily fatal injury reaches us from one of
his aids, who was by his side and was himself gravely wounded.
Lieutenant Fraser says, in a private letter he wrote by Pike's special
injunction, which appeared in the Aurora, and afterward in Niles'
Register, IV. p. 225: "Without the honor of a personal acquaintance, I
address you at the particular order of the late General Pike. After he
had been mortally wounded, his words were exactly these: '... I am
mortally wounded--my ribs and back are stove in--write my friend D...
and tell him what you know of the battle--and to comfort my ....' Some
things else he said, on which I shall again write you; and many
things he said for your ear have escaped me through the severity of my
own bruises."

The dying general was carried to a boat at the lake side and conveyed
to the Pert, whence he was taken aboard the flagship Madison. Some
recorded words of his last moments need not be scanned with critical
eye. When those who bore their fallen leader reached the boat the
huzza of the troops fell upon his ears. "What does it mean?" he feebly
asked. "Victory!" was the reply; "the Union Jack is coming down,
General--the Stars and Stripes are going up!" The dying hero's face
lighted up with a smile of ecstasy. His spirit lingered a few hours.
Before the end came, the British flag was brought to him. He made a
sign to place it under his head; and thus he expired.[M-30]

Military history hardly furnishes a closer parallel than that between
the death of Pike before York and of Wolfe before Quebec. Each led to
the assault; each conquered; each fell in the arms of victory; each is
said to have pillowed his head on the stricken colors of the
defenders. On the other hand, no contrast could be more obtrusive than
that between the fall of Brock before Queenstown Heights and the
conduct of his successor, Sheaffe, at York. The latter fled on the
heels of disaster across the Don and on toward Kingston; even his
personal baggage and papers fell into the hands of his enemy; the very
terms of the surrender of York were agreed upon by others, in the
absence of its late defender. But it is needless to pursue this
subject. General Sheaffe has by none been more severely criticised
than by British writers.

When General Pike fell, the command devolved by seniority upon
Colonel Pearce,[M-31] of the 16th Infantry, until General Dearborn
arrived upon the scene. Lieutenant Riddle's detachment was so near the
place of explosion that it escaped the deadly shower; but the
Americans scattered in dismay at the catastrophe. They were rallied by
Brigade-Major Hunt and Lieutenant-Colonel Mitchell of the 3d
Artillery. The column was formed again and led into the captured town
without further resistance. Colonel Pearce sent a flag, demanding
immediate and unconditional surrender--and surrender it was, with the
single stipulation that private property should be respected. As soon
as practicable General Dearborn left the fleet for York, where he was
in command before night fell. His first dispatch to the Secretary of
War appears as follows in the text of Fay's Collection, p. 81, and is
substantially the same in Niles' Register, IV. p. 178:

                              HEADQUARTERS, YORK, CAPITAL OF U. C.
                              April 27, 1813--8 o'clock, P. M.

     SIR--We are in full possession of this place, after a sharp
     conflict, in which we lost some brave officers and
     soldiers. General Sheaffe commanded the British troops,
     militia, and Indians, in person.--We shall be prepared to
     sail for the next object of the expedition, the first
     favourable wind. I have to lament the loss of the brave and
     active Brig. Gen. Pike.

                    I am, &c.
                    H. DEARBORN.

     Hon. J. ARMSTRONG.

The official reports of General Dearborn and of Commodore Chauncey to
their respective Secretaries of War and of the Navy appear in full in
Niles' Register, IV. pp. 178-180; in Brannan's Official Letters, pp.
146-149, and in Fay's Collection of Official Documents, pp. 81-85. The
text of Dearborn's in Niles is in greater part as follows:

                              HEADQUARTERS, YORK, CAPITAL OF UPPER CANADA,
                              April 28, 1813.

     SIR:

     After a detention of some days by adverse winds, we arrived
     at this place yesterday morning, and at eight o'clock
     commenced landing the troops, about three miles westward
     from the town, and one mile and a half from the enemy's
     works. The wind was high and in unfavorable direction for
     the boats, which prevented the landing of the troops at a
     clear field, the scite of the ancient French fort Toronto
     [Rouille]. It prevented, also, many of the armed vessels
     from taking positions which would have most effectually
     covered our landing, but everything that could be done was
     effected.

     The riflemen under Major Forsyth first landed, under a
     heavy fire from the Indians and other troops. General
     Sheaffe commanded in person. He had collected his whole
     force in the woods near the point where the wind compelled
     our troops to land. His force consisted of 700 regulars and
     militia, and 100 Indians. Major Forsyth was supported as
     promptly as possible; but the contest was sharp and severe
     for nearly half an hour, and the enemy were repulsed by a
     number far inferior to theirs. As soon as General Pike
     landed with 700 or 800 men and the remainder of the troops
     were pushing for the shore, the enemy retreated to their
     works. Our troops were now formed on the ground originally
     intended for their landing, advanced through a thick wood,
     and after carrying one [the Western] battery by assault,
     were moving in columns toward the main work; when within 60
     rods of this, a tremendous explosion took place from a
     magazine previously prepared, which threw out such immense
     quantities of stone as most seriously to injure our troops.
     I have not yet been able to collect the returns of the
     killed and wounded; but our loss will I fear exceed 100
     [see p. xci]; and among those I have to lament the loss of
     that brave and excellent officer, Brigadier-General Pike,
     who received a concussion from a large stone, which
     terminated his valuable life within a few hours. His loss
     will be severely felt.

     Previously to this explosion the enemy had retired into the
     town, excepting a party of regulars, to the number of 40,
     who did not escape the effects of the shock....

     General Sheaffe moved off with the regular troops and left
     the commanding officer of the militia to make the best
     terms he could. In the mean time all further resistance on
     the part of the enemy ceased, and the outlines of a
     capitulation were agreed on....

                    I have the honor to be, Sir, &c.,
                    [Signed] HENRY DEARBORN.

     HON. GEN. JOHN ARMSTRONG,
     Secretary of War, Washington.

The "Terms of capitulation entered into on the 27th of April, 1813,
for the surrender of the town of York, in Upper Canada, to the Army
and Navy of the United States, under the command of Major-General
Dearborn and Commodore Chauncey," appear as follows, in Niles'
Register, IV. p. 180--omitting the clauses which relate to the
disposition of individuals as prisoners of war:

     That the troops, regular and militia, at this post, and the
     naval officers and seamen, shall be surrendered prisoners
     of war. The troops, regular and militia, to ground their
     arms immediately, on parade, and the naval officers and
     seaman to be immediately surrendered.

     That all public stores, naval and military, shall be
     immediately given up to the commanding officers of the army
     and navy of the United States. That all private property
     shall be guaranteed to the citizens of the town of York.

     That all papers belonging to the civil officers shall be
     retained by them. That such surgeons as may be procured to
     attend the wounded of the British regulars and Canadian
     militia shall not be considered prisoners of war.

These articles bear the signatures of: Lieutenant-Colonel G. E.
Mitchell,[M-32] 3d U. S. Artillery; Major S. S. Conner,[M-33] aid-de-camp
to General Dearborn; Major William King, 15th U. S. Infantry;
Lieutenant Jesse D. Elliott, U. S. Navy; Lieutenant-Colonel W.
Chewitt, commanding 3d regiment of York Militia; Major W. Allen (or
Allan), of the same; and F. Gaurreau, "lieut. M. Dpt."--the last name
perhaps misprinted.

General Pike's body was prepared at York and conveyed to Sackett's
Harbor for interment. It was first buried at Fort Tompkins, at a
little distance from the shiphouse, together with that of his
aid-de-camp, Captain Nicholson,[M-34] who had been mortally wounded by
his side. Among the defenses of Sackett's Harbor was one named Fort
Pike, which stood on Black River bay. A view of this work, as it was
in 1855, is given by Lossing. Madison Barracks was built close by Fort
Pike, soon after the war, and in the burying-ground there were
deposited the remains of several officers, to whose memories a simple
wooden monument was erected in 1819. Lossing figures this, p. 617, as
it was when he examined it in July, 1855, "more leaning than the Pisa
tower." In 1860 it was rapidly crumbling into dust; the urn which had
surmounted it was gone, and the inscription was illegible. A part of
the legend on the west panel, copied by Lossing at his previous visit,
had been: "In memory of Brigadier General Z. M. Pike, killed at York,
U. C. 27th April, 1813."

A tablet to the memory of General Pike has for many years been set in
St. Michael's church, at Trenton, N. J. For a description of this
object and a copy of the inscription I am indebted to the courteous
attentions of the rector, Rev. O. S. Bunting. It consists of a marble
slab, about 36 inches high by 20 inches wide, inserted in the outer
wall of the church on the east side, the base being about two feet
from the ground. On this slab is carved in relief an urn, which
occupies the whole surface, as nearly as the shape of an urn can fill
a rectangle; and on the urn is engraven the following inscription:

     Sacred
     to the memory of
     GEN. Z. M. PIKE,
     of the U. S. Army,
     who fell in defence
     of his country
     on the 27th April
     A. D. 1813,
     at York
     Upper Canada.

On the base is inscribed: "This small tribute of respect is erected by
his friend, Z. R." The stone is in a good state of preservation, and
its position affords considerable security. Mr. Bunting has no
particulars of the erection of the tablet, and does not identify
"Z. R."

Upon the fall of York, the press of the whole country teemed with
jubilant notices of the auspicious event--the first signal success of
our arms after a period of defeat, doubt, and almost despair. The
death of Pike was on every tongue, in terms of affection for the man
and honor to his name, coupled with expressions of horror and
detestation of the manner in which he and so many of his companions
had met their fate. The feeling in the latter regard was spontaneous
and natural under the circumstances--it appears differently in the
cold gray light of history. Among uncounted tributes to Pike's memory,
a few may be selected for reproduction in the present biography.

The editor of Niles' Register was in the habit of dedicating a
completed volume. The fourth volume, from Mar. to Sept., 1813, is
inscribed: "In Testimony of Respect to the Memory of ZEBULON
MONTGOMERY PIKE, Brigadier-General: who fell gloriously before York,
in Upper Canada. And JAMES LAWRENCE, Captain in the Navy: Killed on
board the Chesapeake frigate, fighting the Shannon. This volume of the
Weekly Register, is dedicated. The former happily expired on the
conquered flag of the foe, the latter died exclaiming, 'Don't give up
the ship.'"

The same volume prints the following tribute in No. 14, for the week
ending June 5th, 1813, pp. 228, 229:

     It has been the lot of few men, unassisted by many
     adventitious circumstances to acquire and possess that high
     confidence and respect of all classes of his
     fellow-citizens, the late General Pike so happily enjoyed.
     Without the splendor of achievement that surrounds the
     fortunate hero, and commands the applause of the populace,
     the lamented man forced his way into the public affection
     by the power of his virtues and strength of his talents
     alone. Careless of popularity, a great and good name was
     "buckled on him" by a discriminating people. He was an
     _aegis_ of the army; and the soldiery looked upon him with
     admiration and reverence; love, mixed with the fear of
     offending his nice ideas of right, governing them all. He
     was a severe disciplinarian; but had the felicity to make
     his soldiers assured that his strictness had for its object
     their glory--their ease--their preservation and safety.
     With a mind conscious of its own rectitude, he was not
     easily diverted from his purpose; and difficulty only
     invigorated exertion. To all the sweetness of a familiar
     friend, he added a strength of remark and pungency of
     observation, that delighted all around him. Though the camp
     was his delight, he was fitted for any company; and could
     make himself agreeable on every proper occasion. His
     courage was invincible, for it was the result of his
     reason; and his death is a proof of it. The pride of his
     countrymen in arms, the pattern for a military life, he
     fell, at the moment of victory, on the first opportunity
     that had been afforded to reduce to practice the perfection
     of his theory--"but he fell like a man." His transcendent
     qualities were opening to the view; but they were nipped in
     the bud by the base stratagem of a beaten foe.[M-35] His name
     is unperishable; and will descend to posterity with the
     Warrens, Montgomerys and Woosters, of the other war. Though
     dead, he shall yet speak to the army of the United States.
     His scheme of tactics and practice of discipline shall be
     the criterion of the soldier's worth. He has left behind
     him many accomplished scholars, who, "while memory holds
     her seat," shall teach his rules to others, and sacredly
     preserve them as landmarks whereby to govern themselves.
     The labors of the illustrious dead are not lost. His body
     has descended to the tomb, and the gallant spirit taken its
     flight to Him that gave it--but his virtues shall live, and
     be with us, many generations.

Mr. Niles' eulogy concludes with a dramatic incident which commends
itself for insertion here, in further illustration of the strong hold
General Pike acquired upon public sentiment:

     It may not be amiss, perhaps, to notice a humble mark of
     respect offered by the managers of the Baltimore theatre, a
     few evenings ago, to the memory of the general. The house
     was crowded in consequence of several spectacles designed
     in honor of the day (the review of the Baltimore brigade).
     Between the second and third acts of the play the curtain
     slowly, but unexpectedly, rose to solemn music, and
     exhibited a lofty obelisk on which was inscribed "Z. M.
     Pike, Brigadier General--Fell gloriously before York--March
     [April] 27, 1813." On the left hand of the monument was
     that elegant actress, Mrs. Green, in character as Columbia,
     armed, kneeling on one knee, and pensively pointing with
     her spear to the name of the hero. Her dress was uncommonly
     splendid and very appropriate to the idea [she] designed to
     sustain. On the other side was a lady, an elegant figure,
     dressed in the deepest mourning, gracefully leaning against
     the pedestal, immovably fixed, "in all the solemn majesty
     of woe." The curtain being fairly raised, a death-like
     silence for a considerable time reigned in the house, the
     music excepted; which did not interrupt the pleasing
     melancholy by any ill-timed boisterousness: but soon the
     feelings of the people burst forth in one unanimous
     expression of applause, such has been rarely witnessed,
     certainly never surpassed in any country, on a similar
     occasion.

In the House of Representatives of the national Congress, on Tuesday,
July 27th, 1813, the following resolution was submitted by Mr. Nelson:

     _Resolved_, That a committee be appointed to examine and
     report on the propriety of conferring public honors on the
     memory of James Lawrence, late of the U. States frigate
     Chesapeake, and of Zebulon M. Pike, late a
     brigadier-general in the armies of the U. States, whose
     distinguished deaths in the service of their country add
     lustre to the character of the American nation; the
     propriety of adopting, as the peculiar children of the
     Republic, the sons of those distinguished heroes; and the
     propriety of making provision for the support and comfort
     of the families of these deceased officers.

Among the many measures which were adopted to honor General Pike's
name and fame, there is perhaps none more marked than the action of
the officers of the regiment of which he was the colonel. We have a
glimpse of the hearts that still beat for him in the proceedings
recorded in the Register of May 14th, 1814, VI. p. 176:

                              BURLINGTON, _April 29, 1814_.

     At a meeting of the Board of Honor of the 15th, or Pike's
     regiment held on the 24th inst., it was resolved, that the
     following articles of the constitution governing said Board
     be carried into effect.--"Article 2d. Each succeeding 27th
     April, the day on which the immortal Pike fell; the
     standard will be dressed in mourning; each officer to wear
     crape, and all unnecessary duties dispensed with during the
     day, as a token of respect for our departed friend and
     commander," and that captain Vandalsem, captain Barton, and
     lieutenant Goodwin be a committee of arrangement for the
     day.[M-36]

     Agreeably to the above resolution, the regiment formed at
     eleven o'clock a. m. on the grand parade, and proceeded in
     funeral order through town, to the court house square, and
     from thence through Pearl street, to the cantonment, where
     by the request of the commanding officer, lieutenant
     Goodwin delivered the following pertinent address:

     Fellow soldiers--Thus far have we solemnized this day in
     commemoration of the immortal father of our regiment, our
     beloved Pike. When our political horizon was darkened by
     the confusion that pervaded the whole world, he was among
     the first that advanced to meet our barbarous and unjust
     enemy. Stimulated by a love of country, and a thirst for
     glory, he solicited with ardor, the honor of facing the
     enemy's batteries on all occasions, he panted to invade in
     the just cause of his country, and lived with the lively
     hope of perpetuating our freedom and handing it down
     unpolluted to future generations.

     As an officer, the remotest corners of our country are
     filled with his fame. Let the learned record his deeds, and
     let us improve the principles he has left imprinted in our
     minds, and like him live but "for honor and happiness in
     this life, and fame after death." Nor let us confound him
     with the list of ordinary heroes. He will compare with
     [Joseph] Warren and [Richard] Montgomery, for like them he
     fell at the head of his column, bravely fighting in his
     country's cause.

     With body shattered by an inhuman and unequalled explosion,
     he smiled in death, while our flag waved triumphant in his
     sight, and expired without regret, on a pillow purchased
     with his life.

     May the omnipotent hand which directs all things, cause his
     spirit to hover around our councils in the field, and at
     all times be with his beloved regiment.

     After which the regiment fired three vollies and retired to
     their quarters.

                    WHITE YOUNGS,[M-37] capt 15th inf.
                    President of the Board, _pro tem._

                    DANL. E. BURCH,[M-38] lt. 15th inf.
                    Secretary of the Board, _pro tem._

Within some months, probably, of General Pike's death, a man-of-war
was named in his honor. The Register for Aug. 7th, 1813, p. 374,
describes it: "The _General Pike_ is a strong, stout, and well built
vessel. Length on deck 140 feet, beam 37 feet, burthen about 900
tons--has 14 ports on a side, and carries on the main deck long
24's--has also long 24's on the forecastle and poop, (one each),
moving on a circle, and four guns on her top gallant forecastle; in
all 34 guns." General A. W. Greely, who interested himself to procure
the information, tells me that this frigate, a twin ship with the
_Madison_, was built in 63 days and launched on Lake Ontario, at
Sackett's Harbor, where she barely escaped destruction by fire, owing
to the mistaken zeal of an officer who applied the torch, supposing
the American victory to be a defeat; and that it does not appear that
the vessel was ever brought into action.

I have already alluded to the Fort Pike on Lake Ontario. There was
another Fort Pike, the name of which still finds place in current
gazetteers. This was a military post on Petites Coquilles island, in
Orleans parish, Louisiana, 35 miles E. N. E. of New Orleans. While it
is not probable that all the counties, towns, etc., called "Pike" were
named for our hero, certainly most of them bear his own name, alone or
in combination or composition. There is a Pike county in Alabama,
Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri,
Ohio, and Pennsylvania. There are about 20 Pike townships in different
counties of Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Pike is
the name of several small places in Illinois, New York, North
Carolina, and Ohio. Pike City is a village in Sierra Co., Cal. Pike
Creek is a township of Shannon Co., Mo., and another township, of
Morrison Co., Minn., besides designating the stream itself which flows
through the latter: see beyond, pp. 104, 123, 316. Pike Five Corners
is a hamlet of Wyoming Co., N. Y. Pikeland is a station on the
Pickering Valley R. R., in Chester Co., Pa. Pike Mills is a hamlet in
Pike township, Potter Co., Pa. Pike rapids are those in the
Mississippi, otherwise Knife rapids: see pp. 100, 104, 122. Pike's bay
is the gulf at the southern part of Cass lake: see pp. 157, 158, 324.
Pike's fork of the Arkansaw river, is present Grape creek: see pp.
463, 482. Pike's island, in the Mississippi at the mouth of the
Minnesota river, is historic: see pp. 76, 197, 239. Pike's mountain is
the range of bluffs opposite Prairie du Chien: see p. 37. Pike's Peak
is not only the famous mountain so called, but a hamlet in Brown Co.,
Ind., a hamlet in Wayne Co., Mich., and a mining-camp in Deer Lodge
Co., Mont. Pike Station is a village in Wayne Co., O. Piketon is a
hamlet in Stoddard Co., Mo., and a village in Pike Co., O. Piketon or
Pikeville is the capital of Pike Co., Ky. Pikesville or Pikeville is a
village in Baltimore Co., Md.; a hamlet in Pike township, Berks Co.,
Pa.; the capital of Marion Co., Ala.; a post-office of Pike Co., Ind.;
a hamlet in Pikeville township, Wayne Co., N. C.; a village in Darke
Co., O.; and the capital of Bledsoe Co., Tenn. Some of these places
are no doubt named for other persons of the same surname; some are
called for the pike, a fish, as is the case with several Pike rivers,
creeks, or ponds not included in the above list; and some may refer to
a turnpike road, or have yet another implication.

To those of the foregoing geographical and political names which
commemorate our hero is to be added the designation of "Pikes" as an
epithet of the "Forty-niners" and later emigrants who navigated the
great plains with their "prairie schooners." Thus Mr. Prentis, in the
address already cited, says, pp. 193, 194:

     To these people thus described, and to all who bore to them
     a family resemblance, and who in 1849 and in subsequent
     years crossed the Plains to California, came to be applied,
     by whom I know not, the general name of "Pikes." Various
     explanations have been given of the origin of the name. The
     most reasonable one is, that, there are in Missouri and
     Illinois two large counties named Pike, and separated from
     each other by the Mississippi river. In 1849 an immense
     emigration set in from these counties to California. In
     consequence, the traveler bound for the States, meeting
     teams, and asking the usual question, "Where are you from?"
     was answered frequently with, "Pike county" meaning in some
     cases one Pike county, in some cases the other. This led to
     the general impression that everybody on the road was from
     Pike county, or that the inhabitants of Pike had all taken
     the road. Hence the general name of "Pikes," as applied to
     emigrants, especially to those traveling from Missouri,
     and, generally, those migrating from southern Illinois and
     southern Indiana. Thus the popular song--the only poetry I
     ever heard of applied to this class of "movers," commences:

     "My name it is Joe Bowers,
     I've got a brother Ike;
     I'm bound for Californy,
     And I'm all the way from Pike."

Pike County, Ill., and Pike County, Mo., are certainly both named for
the general, and I have no doubt that Mr. Prentis' explanation of
"Pikes" is correct. With the above doggerel compare the slang phrase
noted beyond, p. 454, and duly legended as the head-line of p. 457.

Another curious word, to which Pike has given rise indirectly, is
"Peaker," as a designation of persons who came to the vicinity of
Pike's Peak. Thus, we read in Colonel Meline's book, p. 89: "Most of
the people who have settled on these farms [between Colorado Springs
and Denver] were disappointed 'Peakers'--either those who had thrown
down the shovel to take up the plough, or those who, with exhausted
means, found a long mountain journey still before them after they had
reached the Peak."

There is a sameness about the many published portraits of Pike which
shows that they were probably all taken from one original painting.
Lossing's cut looks a little different from the rest, as it faces the
other way, but it is the same picture reversed in copying, no doubt
with the camera lucida. There is no mistaking the extremely long,
large nose, above the full compressed lips, denoting the forceful
character which Pike displayed conspicuously throughout his career,
whether in leading a handful of men through an unbroken wilderness, or
in heading the columns which assaulted an intrenched foe. The same
uniform coat, with its epaulets, its high standing, embroidered
collar, unbuttoned across the breast and the flap turned down on one
side, appears in all these likenesses. Such are inserted in some of
the editions of Pike's work; one of the reproductions forms the
frontispiece of an early popular history of the war, and is called "a
striking likeness" on the title page. They are all doubtless traceable
to the painting which has long hung and still hangs in the historical
gallery of Independence Hall at Philadelphia, alongside the portraits
of Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and many other noble men who loved
and lived for their country. The painting which hangs in one of the
rooms of the Minnesota Historical Society at St. Paul is believed to
be a copy of this, though it differs in the introduction of a spirit
hand, extended from an invisible arm, holding a wreath over the
head--an attempt at symbolism in which the unknown artist has not been
very successful. This portrait is dim and much cracked. I am informed
by Mr. William M. Maguire of Denver, that a prominent citizen of
Colorado has recently executed a bronze bust of Pike, to be placed in
Manitou. Facsimiles of Pike's signature are seldom seen in print;
Lossing gives one with the portrait on p. 586 of his Field Book. I am
not aware that any facsimile of a letter in Pike's handwriting has
hitherto been published. That one which is given in the present volume
was selected from among many I have examined in the archives of the
War Department, both for its intrinsic historical interest, and for
the unusually well-formed signature it bears--that of one who died, as
he had lived, for his country--of one whose fame that country will
never permit to perish.

FOOTNOTES:

[M-1] Henry Whiting of Massachusetts entered the army as a cornet of
Light Dragoons Oct. 29th, 1808; he became a second lieutenant Sept.
15th, 1809, and a first lieutenant Aug. 20th, 1811; was transferred to
the 5th Infantry May 17th, 1815; promoted to be captain Mar. 3d, 1817;
and transferred to the 1st Artillery June 1st, 1821. He became major
and quartermaster Feb. 23d, 1835; lieutenant-colonel and deputy
quartermaster-general, July 7th, 1838; colonel and assistant
quartermaster-general, Apr. 21st, 1846. He was repeatedly brevetted
for faithful and meritorious service, and on Feb. 23d, 1847, received
the brevet of brigadier-general for gallantry in the battle of Buena
Vista. General Whiting died Sept. 16th, 1851.

[M-2] Access to these records was given in the following terms:

                              WAR DEPARTMENT,
                              WASHINGTON, D. C.,
                              January 29, 1894.

     SIR:

     As requested in your letter of the 22nd instant, I take
     pleasure in advising you that you will be afforded an
     opportunity at such time as you may call at the Department
     to examine for historical purposes such records as are on
     file covering the expedition of Z. M. Pike, a publication
     of whose travels you state first appeared in 1810.

                    Very respectfully,
                    [Signed] DANIEL S. LAMONT,
                    Secretary of War.

     DR. ELLIOTT COUES,
     Smithsonian Institution,
     Washington, D. C.

[M-3] See beyond, p. lix, for a document bearing on the Pike family, in
connection with a letter of Zebulon M. Pike, both introduced in their
proper chronological order in this memoir. But I find no better place
than this for a letter from his father, which has never been published
before and will be read with interest:

                              Indiana Territory
                              Dear born County
                              July 15^th 1807

     Sir

     I have taken the liberty of making out my accounts of Pay
     Forrage and Subsistance from the 1^t of January to the 31^t
     ins^t and forwarded them to the Pay Master for payment
     which I pray may meet your approbation

     Permit me to request the Honor of a few lines informing if
     Z. M. Pike received orders for His Government on His late
     exploring expedition, from The President, Yourself, or
     Gen^l Wilkinson, and if any or how late the last
     information or communications from Him. I need not mention
     how disagreeable a state of Suspense is, nor, to move your
     sympathy, to say more than that the anxiety and concern,
     exhibited for His safety, by an affectionate Mother and
     Wife, is Great. By way of consolation to the former, I have
     thought proper to extend the probable Period of His return,
     untill this month; Mrs Pike is now begining to lose
     confidence in my opinion, consequently my consolating
     influence is daily lesening, and Her afflictions
     increasing----

     I decline in Strength as regular as Time paseth and However
     Painfull the reflection, It is by the Bounty of my Country
     Life is rendered Tolerable

     Be assured I write in Pain as well that I am

                    Your Very Obed^t. Serv^t.
                    Zeb^n Pike----

     Henry Dear born
     Secretary of War----

This letter is endorsed in General Dearborn's handwriting: "Tell him
his son is safe, and is probably at Natchitoches"--where Captain Pike
had in fact arrived July 1st, 1807. The Secretary of War at the same
time ordered attention to the matter of Major Pike's pay and
allowances, mentioned in the letter.

[M-4] Historical Register of the United States Army, from its
Organization, September 29th, 1789, to September 29th, 1889. By F. B.
Heitman, Clerk, Adjutant General's office, War Department, Washington,
D. C., 1890, 1 vol., large 8vo, pp. 890. I make a point throughout
Pike of identifying as far as possible the officers whose names appear
in his text, giving in brief their official records, and doing the
same for those who are mentioned in my own writing. I am indebted to
Heitman's invaluable work for most such matter.

[M-5] This officer was a native of Canada, appointed to the army from
New York. He had served as a captain in the Revolutionary Army when he
was commissioned as a major of Infantry Sept. 29th, 1789; he was
assigned to the 1st Infantry Mar. 3d, 1791, and arranged to the Second
sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792; he became lieutenant-colonel commandant of
the First sub-Legion Feb. 18th, 1793, and colonel of the 1st Infantry
Apr. 1st, 1802; his death occurred Apr. 11th, 1803. (Another John
Francis Hamtramck, of Indiana, was a sergeant in the 1st Infantry
before he became a cadet at West Point, where he was graduated in
1819, continued to be an officer of the army till 1848, and died in
1858.)

[M-6] The time when these officers were together at Camp Alleghany must
have been prior to Aug. 19th, 1801, when Lieutenant-Colonel David
Strong died. He was from Connecticut; entered the army as a captain of
Infantry Sept. 29th, 1789; became major of the 2d Infantry Nov. 4th,
1791; was arranged to the Second sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792; promoted
to be lieutenant-colonel Feb. 19th, 1793, and held that rank in the 2d
Infantry from Nov. 1st, 1796.--Moses Porter, of Massachusetts, had
served in the Revolutionary Army when he became a lieutenant of
Artillery Sept. 29th, 1789; he was promoted to be captain Nov. 4th,
1791; major May 26th, 1800, and colonel Mar. 12th, 1812; brevetted
brigadier-general Sept. 10th, 1813, for distinguished services, and
died April 14th, 1822.--Edward D. Turner, of Massachusetts, entered
the army as an ensign of the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th, 1791; became a
lieutenant July 13th, 1792; captain, Nov. 11th, 1793, and was brigade
inspector from Nov. 1st, 1799, to April 1st, 1802; he resigned Nov.
30th, 1805.--Richard Humphrey Greaton (not "Graeton"), of
Massachusetts, was made a lieutenant in the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th,
1791; became captain Feb. 18th, 1793, and was honorably discharged
June 1, 1802.--Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, became an ensign
of the 2d Infantry Mar. 4th, 1791; lieutenant, July 30th, 1792;
captain, Dec. 29th, 1793, and was honorably discharged June 1st,
1802.--Peter Shoemaker, of Pennsylvania, appointed ensign in the 2d
Infantry Apr. 11th, 1793; became lieutenant Mar. 3d, 1793; captain,
Mar. 3d, 1799, and was honorably discharged June 1st, 1802.--Nanning
John Visscher, of New York, entered the army as an ensign in the 2d
Infantry Mar. 16th, 1792; became lieutenant May 1st, 1794, and captain
Nov. 1st, 1799; he was honorably discharged June 1st, 1802; was
afterward made a captain of Rifles Apr. 26th, 1809; resigned Nov.
30th, 1812, and died Dec. 12th, 1821.--Archibald Gray (not "Grey"), of
Virginia, was made an ensign of Infantry Mar. 7th, 1792; lieutenant,
May 1st, 1794; was assigned to the 2d Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; became
captain Nov. 1st, 1799, and resigned July 1st, 1801.--Jesse Lukens, of
Pennsylvania, was appointed an ensign in the Second sub-Legion Feb.
23d, 1793; became lieutenant Oct. 1st, 1793; was assigned to the 2d
Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; promoted to be captain Mar. 3d, 1799, and
died May 21st, 1801.--Ferdinand Leigh Claiborne, of Virginia, was made
an ensign of the First sub-Legion Feb. 23d, 1793; lieutenant, June
30th, 1794; assigned to the 1st Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796; promoted to
be captain Oct. 23d, 1799, and resigned Jan. 1st, 1802; he was
afterward a colonel and brigadier-general of Volunteers in the war of
1812-14, and died in February, 1815.--Benjamin Rand, of Massachusetts,
became ensign in the Second sub-Legion May 12th, 1794; was assigned to
the 2d Infantry as such Nov. 1, 1796; became lieutenant Mar. 10th,
1797, and resigned Dec. 29th, 1800.--John Whipple became an ensign in
the 2d Infantry July 10th, 1797; a lieutenant Mar. 2d, 1799; was
transferred to the 1st Infantry April 1st, 1802; made captain Apr.
11th, 1803, and resigned Jan. 31st, 1807.--Peter Shiras (not
"Schiras"), of Pennsylvania, was commissioned a second lieutenant of
the 2d Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; promoted to be first lieutenant Nov.
22d, 1799, and honorably discharged June 1, 1802.--Moses Hook, of
Massachusetts, was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the 1st
Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; became first lieutenant Oct. 23d, 1799;
captain, Mar. 13th, 1805, and resigned Jan. 20th, 1808. (Merriwether
Lewis intended to take this officer with him, in the event of William
Clark's declination of his invitation: on this point, see Lewis and
Clark, ed. 1893, pp. xxiv, lxx.)--John Wilson, of Pennsylvania, was a
second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry from Mar. 3d, 1799, to Nov. 22d,
1799, when he became first lieutenant; he was honorably discharged
June 1st, 1802.--James Dill, of Pennsylvania, was made a second
lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Mar. 3d, 1799; a first lieutenant Nov.
1st, 1799, honorably discharged June 15th, 1800.--The above named
Lieut. Williams is not fully identified.--Henry B. Brevoort, of New
York, was commissioned a second lieutenant of the 3d Infantry Feb.
16th, 1801, and retained as an ensign in the 2d Infantry May 7th, 1802
(?); was second lieutenant of the same July 1st, 1802; first
lieutenant Nov. 30th, 1805; captain May 1st, 1811; major in the 45th
Infantry Apr. 15th, 1814, and honorably discharged June 15th,
1815.--Daniel Hughes, of Maryland, was made an ensign of the 9th
Infantry Jan. 8th, 1799; a second lieutenant Mar. 3d. 1799, and
honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; he was reappointed second
lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801, and transferred to the
1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; became first lieutenant Mar. 23d, 1805;
captain, Dec. 15th, 1808; major of the 2d Infantry Feb. 21st, 1814 and
was honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.--The Lieutenant "Hilton" is
probably an error.--For James B. Many see note 38, p. 210.--Uriah
Blue, of Virginia, was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the 8th
Infantry July 12th, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800;
reappointed as a second lieutenant in the 2d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801,
and honorably discharged again June 1st, 1802; reappointed as first
lieutenant of the 7th Infantry May 3d, 1808; became captain May 9th,
1809; major of the 39th Infantry Mar. 13th, 1814; was honorably
discharged June 15th, 1815, and reinstated Dec. 2d, 1815, as a captain
in the 8th Infantry, to rank as such from May 9th, 1809, and with
brevet of major from Mar. 13th, 1814; he resigned Dec. 3d, 1816, and
died in May, 1836.--Edward Butler, of Pennsylvania, had been a captain
in the levies of 1791, when he was made a captain of Infantry Mar.
5th, 1792, and arranged to the Fourth sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1892;
acted as adjutant and inspector from July 18th, 1793, to May 13th,
1794; was assigned to the 4th Infantry Nov. 1st, 1796, and transferred
to the 2d Infantry April 1st, 1802; died May 9th, 1803. (For Williams
and "Hilton" see these names in Index.)

[M-7] John De Barth Walbach was a native of Germany, who was
commissioned from Pennsylvania as a lieutenant of Light Dragoons Jan.
8th, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800. He re-entered the
service as a lieutenant of the 2d Artillerists and Engineers Feb.
16th, 1801, and was retained in the Artillerists April 1st, 1802; he
became captain Jan. 31st, 1806, and was transferred to the Corps of
Artillery May 12th, 1814. During the war he served in various
capacities, with ranks of major and colonel, and was among those
retained as captain of Artillery May 17th, 1815. He became major Apr.
25th, 1818, and was transferred to the 1st Artillery June 1st, 1821;
promoted to be lieutenant-colonel May 30th, 1832, and to be colonel of
the 4th Artillery March 19th, 1842. He was repeatedly brevetted for
gallant, meritorious, and faithful services; his latest brevet being
that of brigadier-general Nov. 11th, 1823. General Walbach died June
10th, 1857. An unpublished letter before me, from General Wilkinson to
the Secretary of War, dated St. Louis, Nov. 26th, 1805, refers to
Lieutenant Walbach in the following terms: "In every cavalry
arrangement I must beg leave to call Walbach to your recollection, as
the ablest horse officer in America, not only in the choice of
animals, but in equipping, training, forming, and heading them to
action."

Alexander Macomb was commander-in-chief of the army from May 29th,
1828, to his death, June 25th, 1841. He was brevetted major-general
Sept. 11th, 1814, and received the thanks of Congress Nov. 3d, 1814,
for distinguished and gallant conduct at Plattsburgh, N. Y. General
Macomb entered the army as a cornet of Light Dragoons Jan. 10th, 1799;
attained the rank of brigadier-general in 1814, and major-general in
1828.

Jonathan Williams, of Massachusetts, was appointed from Pennsylvania a
major of the 2d Artillerists and Engineers Feb. 16th, 1801; he served
as inspector of fortifications from Dec. 14th, 1801, to June 1st,
1802, and was retained as major of Engineers April 1st, 1802. He
resigned June 20th, 1803; was made lieutenant-colonel and chief
engineer Apr. 19th, 1805, and promoted to be colonel Feb. 23d, 1808.
He resigned again July 31st, 1812, and died May 20th, 1815.

[M-8] Note by Lieutenant J. R. Williams, May 19th, 1894: "The foregoing
is a literal copy of the rough draft of John R. Williams' letter to
Major Holton. The fair copy of course is not in my possession, but I
have reason to believe the fair copy must contain several of the
peculiar errors of the writer, whose early education was wholly
French, so that he never, as far as I know, capitalized the initial
letters of such words as _English_ and _French_. John R. Williams,
writer of this letter, entered the 2d U. S. Infantry as a cadet early
in 1800, but appears to have resigned in about six months. He was
subsequently connected with the same regiment for about a year in the
capacity of agent of the contractor for commissary supplies. The title
of general, by which he is well remembered in Detroit, was acquired by
his connection with the militia of Michigan for about 40 years, as
adjutant-general and major-general."

[M-9] This is a remarkable book, which has had a very exceptional
career, the end of which is not even yet. Robert Dodsley, b. 1703, d.
Sept. 23d, 1764, was in early life a menial in the service of Hon.
Mrs. Lowther, but became by his natural talents a wealthy publisher,
as well as a prolific author. In the latter capacity he was scarcely
rated as more than a hack writer in his lifetime, during which he was
probably never suspected of having written an immortal book. Whether
this was a stroke of his own genius or not is questionable; but he
should have the full credit of the book, until an extraneous source of
his inspiration can be instanced. The OEconomy of Human Life was
first published anonymously in a collection of miscellanies, in 1745,
and soon acquired great repute, in part at least due to the fact that
it was commonly attributed to Lord Chesterfield. It ran through many
editions in various styles, some of them finely illustrated. The
earlier ones all preserved the author's anonymity, and in more than
one reprint of very late years his incognito is formally preserved. An
anonymous edition of 1806, which I have handled, consists only of Book
I, Parts i-vii, entitled as follows: The | OEconomy | of | Human
Life, | translated from an | Indian Manuscript, | written by an
Ancient Bramin | -- | London: | printed for W. Gardiner, Pall-Mall;
and | Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, Poultny. | 1 vol., 12mo, pp. i-x, 1
leaf, pp. 1-116, and many engr. head- and tail-pieces. Another, of
1809, with the authorship avowed, is as follows: The | Economy | of |
Human Life. | In Two Books. | -- | By Robert Dodsley. | -- | With six
elegant engravings by Mackenzie, | from designs by Craig and Unwins. |
-- | London: | [etc., 4 lines of printers' names] | -- | 1809. 1 vol.,
16mo, 1 prel. leaf, vignette title, pp. i-xviii, 5-188; portrait and
memoir of Dodsley, and 5 full-page engravings; said to have been pub.
Jan. 31st, 1809. The copy Pike had was most probably one of the cheap
American reprints which appeared about this time. Dodsley's book
consists of philosophical and moral reflections or aphorisms in curt,
sententious style, of distinctly Oriental flavor; it is feigned to be
based upon manuscripts of immense antiquity, discovered in the capital
of Tibet by an emissary of the emperor of China, and in some occult
manner received in England and translated. I liked the thing so much
that I lately brought out a new edition myself, preserving the
author's feigned origin of the book and his own incognito, transposing
some of the pieces, adding a new "foreword" in antique style, and
modifying the title to--Kuthumi: The True and Complete Oeconomy of
Human Life, etc. In this guise Dodsley's book forms No. 5 of my Biogen
Series, Boston, Estes and Lauriat, 1886; 1 vol., small square 8vo, pp.
i-x, 1-123.

[M-10] Another good editorial version of Pike's Mississippi itinerary
appeared in the tract entitled: Materials for the Future History of
Minnesota, etc., the same being Part V. of the publications of the
Minn. Hist. Soc., 8vo, St. Paul, 1856, pp. about 142. The five
separately issued Parts, dating 1850-56, were in 1872 collectively
republished in a second edition, forming Vol. I. of the Collections of
the Minn. Hist. Soc., 8vo, pp. 1-519. In this reprint the article is
entitled: Pike's Explorations in Minnesota, 1805-06, and occupies pp.
368-416, or 48 pages, being thus about as extensive as the text of
1807. The editor says that his aim was "to make judicious extracts"
from Pike's journal; and he certainly succeeded in this intention. The
editor's name does not appear; but as the footnotes which explain or
amplify various points in the text are signed "W.," an initial of Mr.
J. Fletcher Williams, who was secretary of the society and editor of
its publications for many years, the work is presumably his, being
thus an authentic as well as a genuine account of the Mississippi
voyage. This publication therefore ranks side by side with the
original unknown editor's performance, though the two are separated by
an interval of half a century.

[M-11] Thomas W. Field, Essay towards an Indian Bibl., etc., 1873, p.
313, throws the mantle of charity in the following terms: "Captain
Pike could be charged with no association in this misdemeanor, as the
work was edited and published in his absence on duty." This is true
only in so far as the forerunner of the Mississippi voyage is
concerned (see above, p. xxxiii,) and conveys an erroneous impression
regarding Pike's princeps edition, in which the plagiarism occurs. For
Pike wrote this book himself, and necessarily knew everything there
was in it. See beyond, p. lxi, where the circumstances under which it
was prepared are adduced from hitherto unpublished documents.

[M-12] "REPORT OF A LATE OCCURRENCE IN THIS PROVINCE OF NEW MEXICO.

"On the 15th of February last two Indians of the Ute tribe arrived and
brought into my presence an Anglo-American, a young man of genteel
appearance [joben de presencia fina, as Dr. Robinson appeared to be],
whose statement I heard, and even invited him to dine with me, in
order to satisfy myself he was what I supposed him to be as to
intelligence and good breeding.

"I did not believe him, and suspecting the truth of his statement as
to the nature of his escort, I sent out a small regular detachment and
some provincial troops to reconnoitre, who not only fell in with a
first lieutenant with six soldiers in an excellent fort built on the
Conejos not far from its junction with the Del Norte, two days'
journey from the capital of this province, towards the same direction
[acia el mismo rumbo], but overcoming the obstacles of deep snows,
succeeded in finding the sergeant [Meek] and corporal [meaning Private
Miller] belonging to the detachment, making a total of thirteen
soldiers, two of them [Dougherty and Sparks] with frozen feet, and
having lost nearly all their fingers. [Compare p. 510, beyond.]

"On the 2d of March last, the above-mentioned lieutenant, whose name
is Mungo-Meri-Paike, came in with six men of his detachment, and on
the 18th the remainder of his men. Without any resistance they
acquiesced in the notification made them, that being in my territory
it was absolutely necessary that they should appear before me.

"They did so, with their arms, and I assured them that in no respect
should they be treated as prisoners, saving only that, in accordance
with the orders of the general commanding, it was necessary that they
should appear before him and fully explain the objects of their
mission.

"Paike showed me his instructions from General Wilkinson, his journal,
and a rough sketch of a chart of all the rivers and countries he had
explored.

"Placing all which papers in a trunk, of which I requested him to
retain the key, I delivered the same to the officer [Capitan Antonio
D'Almansa: see p. 611] commanding his escort--not to be opened save in
presence of the aforesaid general commanding.

"From all which circumstances, from what I gathered from Robinson and
from the above named officer, I conclude distinctly that the
expedition of July [last--1806] was specially designed to conciliate
two Indian tribes in behalf of the U. S. Government, to make them
liberal presents, and drawing them into friendship, treaty, and
commerce, to place them under the Anglo-American protection--all this
referring especially to the Comanche tribe, the most powerful of our
allies.

"Furthermore, that the Anglo-American government considers as included
within the boundaries of Louisiana all the rivers that empty into the
Mississippi, and all the territories that extend to the head waters of
the Rio Colorado [meaning that Red r. which is the branch of the
Arkansaw now called the Canadian r. as Meline explains in a footnote],
which rises a few leagues from the pueblo of Taos further to the north
in this province; that it is their intention this year or the next to
establish forts or settlements on all these rivers, in order to
monopolize all the trade and commerce carried on by a large number of
tribes in the province.

"The detachment of Anglo-American troops referred to, went to
Chihuahua to appear before the commanding general, guarded by an
escort, being allowed to carry their arms and ammunition on account of
the danger of hostile Apaches on the route.

"All of which is submitted to the general commanding, reminding him of
the representation made in my communication of the 4th of January last
year, concerning the necessity of placing this province on a
respectable footing, and of having frontier posts and positions thrown
out to oppose the ambitious views of the aforesaid Anglo-American
government, exposing also the wretchedly defenseless condition
actually existing, and so found for years past by whomsoever has been
in command.

"SANTA FE, _April 1st, 1807_."

[M-13] The reputation of General Wilkinson for honor and patriotism went
under a cloud, from which it has never been cleared, in connection
with the Burr conspiracy. He was technically acquitted, from lack of
evidence to convict; but the proof that he was a mercenary traitor
subsequently appeared. General Winfield Scott is reported to have
called him an "unprincipled imbecile." Governor Adams has lately put
the case bluntly, but as I believe truthfully, Address, July 12th,
1894, p. 20: "General Wilkinson, then in command of the western army,
has been proven by recently discovered documents to have been 'a
rascal through and through.' He was in sympathy and perhaps in the
confidence of Burr. Wearing the uniform and sword of an American
officer, he was in the pay of Spain, and conspired to create out of
the colonies west of the mountains a Spanish empire. It was Wilkinson
who sent Pike west; but no matter how guilty may have been his
superior in command, Pike certainly had no knowledge of his schemes.
Pike was innocent of any stain. He was a patriot as pure and sincere
as Wilkinson was a traitor base and ungrateful." While there is no
question of Pike's perfervid patriotism, we may doubt that his
lamb's-wool was as white as all that; in fact, Governor Adams himself
goes on to say: "It is not entirely clear that Pike was as innocent as
he professed of his whereabouts when captured in the San Luis valley.
Some believe he knew he was upon the Rio Grande, and not upon the Red
[river], as he pretended to believe. But had it been the Red instead
of the Rio Grande, what right had he to be on the south [_i. e._,
west] side of the river, his rude fort being several miles south
[west] of the stream and under an abeyance treaty upon forbidden
ground? The Spaniards believed that Pike carried secret orders to
intrude upon their territory."

This belief of the Spaniards was well founded: compare my notes at p.
499, p. 504, p. 563, and p. 571. Colonel Meline corroborates the
general tenor and purport of these observations, in the following
terms, p. 313 of his work already cited:

"Wilkinson's bulky and diffuse published memoirs may be searched in
vain for any information concerning Pike's expedition, and his silence
on the subject is, to say the least, suggestive.

"Of his complicity with Burr but little doubt is now entertained and
proofs are not wanting of the existence of his designs upon Mexico,
from the period of his note in cypher to Governor Gayoso de Lemas
(February, 1797), and his dealings with [Captain Philip] Nolan, down
to the conspiracy of 1806.

"It has been stated that Wilkinson himself planned the exploring
expedition of Pike, in order to obtain for his own purposes a more
perfect knowledge of the country, and that he availed himself of his
official authority to have it ordered by the Government. [See note 2,
p. 564.]

"The Mississippi Herald of September 15th, 1807, published the
affidavit of Judge Timothy Kibby, of the Louisiana Territory, acting
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the district of St.
Charles.

"The affidavit sets forth--

"'That in confidential conversation the general (Wilkinson) speaking
of Pike's Expedition, upon inquiry, replied, smiling, that it was of a
_secret nature_, and that Lieutenant Pike himself was not apprised of
the ultimate object of the expedition, but that his destination was
Santa Fe, treating with the Indians as he advanced.

"'He (Wilkinson) intimated that Lieutenant Pike had been dispatched by
_his orders_; that the plan was his own, not emanating from the
Government, but assented to.'"

With these pertinent particulars I could--but need not--forbear to
couple the racy characterization given by Mr. Prentis, p. 198 of his
Kansan Abroad:

"The military officer in charge of the western country at that time
[1806] was General James Wilkinson, a restless, bombastic, fussy old
gentleman, with a rare faculty for getting into difficulties. As an
officer in the Revolutionary army, he was concerned in the [Thomas]
Conway cabal, a plot to supplant Washington, and place in his stead
General Gates, an officer who afterwards got beautifully thrashed by
the British at Camden. He turned up in the army, after being for a
while a merchant at Lexington, Kentucky, in 1791; received Louisiana
from the French in 1803, and contrived to get mixed up in the Burr
business to such an extent that nobody knows to this day, I believe,
which side he was on. He was investigated, court-martialed, and
acquitted; went into the war of 1812; served on the Canadian frontier;
was a conspicuous failure; was court-martialed again [subjected to a
court of inquiry], and again acquitted; and finally, there being in
those days no chance to enter the lecture field, he wrote his memoirs
[1816], and retired to the City of Mexico, where he died.

"General James Wilkinson in his day was probably the subject of more
uncomplimentary remarks than any man of his caliber in the country,
and I deem it no more than justice to say for him, that, with all his
faults, he was the steadfast friend of Zebulon M. Pike."

I may add, that left-hand compliments to this notorious individual
have been current from that day to this, and are still in order. One
of the keenest of them is attributed to a distinguished contemporary
who, it is said, favored his appointment to the command of the army as
the only way of "keeping him out of mischief"!

The following is the formal official record of General Wilkinson: Of
Maryland, appointed from that State colonel and adjutant-general in
Gates' army during the Revolutionary war with brevet of
brigadier-general from Nov. 6th, 1777; lieutenant-colonel commanding
the 2d Infantry Oct. 22d, 1791; brigadier-general March 5th, 1792;
commander-in-chief of the army from Dec. 15th, 1796, to July 13th,
1798, and from June 15th, 1800, to Jan. 27th, 1812; brevet
major-general, July 10th, 1812; major-general, Mar. 2d, 1813;
honorably discharged June 15th, 1815; died Dec. 28th, 1825.

[M-14] Thomas Hunt of Massachusetts had been a captain in the
Revolutionary Army when he was made a captain of the 2d Infantry Mar.
4th, 1791; he was assigned to the Second sub-Legion Sept. 4th, 1792;
was promoted to a majority Feb. 18th, 1793; was in the 1st Infantry
Nov. 1st, 1796; made a lieutenant-colonel Apr. 1st, 1802, and colonel
April 11th, 1803; he died Aug. 18th, 1808, and it fell to the part of
Pike to announce his death to the War Department.

[M-15] Baron Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben,
the Prussian-American general, b. Magdeburg, Nov. 17th, 1730, d. New
York, Nov. 28th, 1794. He entered the Prussian military service in
1744, rising to the rank of adjutant-general and staff officer, 1762;
was distinguished at Prague, Rossbach, Kunersdorf, 1757-1759, and at
the siege of Schweidnitz; and later, in 1764, was grand marshal to the
Prince of Hohenzollern. In 1777 he came to the United States, reaching
Portsmouth, N. H., Dec. 1st; was appointed by Washington
inspector-general, with the rank of major-general, May 5th, 1778; and
reorganized the army. He served at Monmouth and Yorktown, and was a
member of the court-martial on Andre in 1780. His manual for the army
was approved by Congress in 1779; in 1790 he was voted by that body a
life-annuity of $2,500; and New York State gave him 16,000 acres near
Utica. Various places are named Steuben or Steubenville. Life by F.
Bowen in Sparks' Amer. Biogr. Life by F. Kapp, N. Y., 1860.

[M-16] Cited from Hezekiah Niles' Weekly Register, III. No. 9, pp. 133,
134, Oct. 31st, 1812, into which it was copied from the Philadelphia
Aurora, headed "15th Regiment. To the editor of the Aurora." I copy
literally from the Register, but with modern punctuation, as I shall
do in subsequent extracts from the same source.

[M-17] William Swan appears in Heitman's Register as major of the "2
inf" in 1813. On the supposition that this is a typographical error
for 21st Infantry, which was engaged at York, the record may be given
as that of the above-named Major Swan: Of Massachusetts, appointed
from that State a first lieutenant of the 15th Infantry Jan. 8th,
1799; honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; reappointed first
lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801; captain Nov. 15th,
1807; deputy-quartermaster-general April 3d, 1812; major "2 inf" _i. e._
21st Infantry, Jan. 20th, 1813; colonel and quartermaster-general
from Aug. 7th, 1813, to June 9th, 1814; lieutenant-colonel 20th
Infantry March 13th, 1814; transferred to the 4th Infantry Apr. 30th,
1814; resigned June 9th, 1814; died June 12th, 1872.

[M-18] Eleazar Wheelock Ripley, b. Hanover, N. H., Apr. 15th, 1782,
appointed from Massachusetts lieutenant-colonel 21st Infantry Mar.
12th, 1812; colonel of that regiment Mar. 12th, 1813; brigadier-general
Apr. 15th, 1814; and brevet major-general July 25th, 1814, for
gallantry at the battle of Niagara Falls. On the 3d of November, 1814,
he was by resolution of Congress given a gold medal in testimony of
appreciation of his conduct at the battles of Chippewa, Niagara, and
Erie. He resigned Feb. 1st, 1820; was Democratic member of Congress
from Louisiana 1835-39: and d. in that State Mar. 2d, 1839.

[M-19] Of New York, appointed a captain of the 29th Infantry Mar. 24th,
1813; resigned Mar. 14th, 1814.

[M-20] From the narrative of Lieutenant Fraser, one of Pike's staff
officers, who was wounded by his side; it was published in the
Philadelphia Aurora, and copied into Niles' Register of Saturday, June
5th, 1813, IV. pp. 225, 226, from which I quote.

[M-21] Benjamin Forsyth of North Carolina originally entered the army as
a second lieutenant of the 6th Infantry Apr. 24th, 1800, but was very
soon honorably discharged. He was reappointed as a captain of Rifles
July 1st, 1808; became major Jan. 20th, 1813, and was brevetted
lieutenant-colonel for distinguished services Feb. 6th, 1813. He was
killed in action at Odelltown, N. Y., June 28th, 1814. "The death of
this officer was in harmony with his character. After the taking of
York, finding that the official account of the action gave him little
credit for the conspicuous share he had in it, he became sick and
inactive, and kept himself in sullen seclusion among his own men,
apparently determined that no services should be rendered, either by
himself or his men, since they were so inadequately rewarded, or so
unduly estimated. He did little or nothing the residue of that
campaign. Having been promoted before the following campaign, he, on
the Champlain frontier, was put in command of an advanced party, which
was to engage the enemy and then fall back, in order to draw him into
an ambush. Lieutenant-Colonel Forsyth was the last man who was likely
to fulfill such a plan. As soon as he opened the fight with the enemy,
his instructions to fall back were either forgotten or ignored. His
spirit could not brook a retreat, even for an ultimate advantage. He
rushed on and fell, and lost, with his life, all the success that
would probably have followed more prudence, or strict obedience to
orders." (Whiting, _l. c._)

[M-22] William King of Delaware was appointed from Maryland a second
lieutenant of the 5th Infantry May 3d, 1808; became first lieutenant
Sept. 30th, 1810; captain, 15th Infantry, July 2d, 1812; major, Mar.
3d, 1813. He was made colonel of the 3d Rifles Feb. 21st, 1814; was
transferred to the 4th Infantry May 17th, 1815; honorably discharged
June 1st, 1821; and died Jan. 1st, 1826.

Two officers named John Scott, both of New Jersey, both of the 15th
Infantry, appear in Heitman's Register. The captain above said was
appointed as such Mar. 12th, 1812, resigned Aug. 15th, 1813, and died
in 1839. The other John Scott did not rise above the rank of a
subaltern. Possibly a single record in this case appears as those of
two different persons. For Captain White Youngs, see note 37, p.
cix. Captain Hoppock's name appears as "Hopsock" in some places.

[M-23] Alexander C. W. Fanning of Massachusetts was appointed to a
cadetship at West Point April 14th, 1809; he was made a first
lieutenant of the 3d Artillery Mar. 12th, 1812, and promoted to be a
captain Mar. 13th, 1813; transferred to the corps of artillery May
12th, 1814, and to the 2d Artillery June 2d, 1821; became major of the
4th Artillery Nov. 3d, 1832, and lieutenant-colonel Sept. 16th, 1838;
he was transferred to the 2d Artillery May 24th, 1841. On Aug. 15th,
1814, he was brevetted major for gallant conduct at Fort Erie; on Aug.
15th, 1824, he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel for 10 years' faithful
service in one grade; and on Dec. 31st, 1834, he was brevetted colonel
for gallant and meritorious conduct in battle near the Withlachoochee
under General Clinch and in defending Fort Mellon, Florida; he died
Aug. 18th, 1846.

[M-24] John Walworth of New York was appointed from that State first
lieutenant of the 6th (_sic_--Heitman) Infantry Dec. 12th, 1808; was
made captain Jan. 1st, 1810; major of the 33d Infantry May 1st, 1814,
and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.

[M-25] Abram Eustis of Virginia, appointed from Massachusetts a captain
of light artillery May 3d, 1808, became major of the same Mar. 15th,
1810. He was transferred to the 4th Artillery June 1st, 1821; became
lieutenant-colonel of the 2d Artillery May 8th, 1822; was transferred
to the 4th Artillery Aug. 2d, 1822; became colonel of the 1st
Artillery Nov. 17th, 1834, and brigadier-general June 30th, 1834; he
died June 27th, 1843.

[M-26] David Riddle of Pennsylvania, who had been appointed a second
lieutenant of the 15th Infantry, was at that time a first lieutenant,
ranking as such from Mar. 13th, 1813. He was transferred to the 8th
Infantry May 17th, 1815, and became captain Dec. 3d, 1816, when he had
already been twice brevetted, for distinguished services at the battle
of Niagara Falls, and for gallant conduct in the sortie from Fort
Erie.

[M-27] Lossing says elsewhere that one of the officers told him his own
life was probably saved by the bulk of this sergeant, who was blown
against him. This officer was Lieutenant Fraser, one of Pike's aids,
whose own words on the subject are given in Niles' Register, IV. p.
226: "The general had just aided in removing a wounded man with his
own hands, and sat down on a stump with a British sergeant we had
taken prisoner, whom the general, with Captain Nicholson and myself,
were examining, when the explosion took place. The general, Captain
Nicholson, and the British sergeant, were all mortally wounded, and I
was so much bruised in the general crash, that it is surprising how I
survived; probably I owe my escape to the corpulency of the British
serjeant, whose body was thrown upon mine by the concussion."

[M-28] The figures, vary, as usual. The official report gives our loss
as 38 killed and 222 wounded by the explosion; which, added to 14
killed and 32 wounded in battle gives a total of 306 army casualties
on our side in the whole affair; to which add 3 killed and 11 wounded
of the navy, making 320 in all. Whiting's figures for killed and
wounded, on the American side, are 320; on the British, in killed,
wounded, and taken, "about 500." The tabular exhibit in Niles'
Register, IV. p. 238, is as follows:

     _Killed in battle_--1 subaltern, 2 sergeants, 1 corporal, 2
     musicians, 8 privates                                          14

     _Killed by the explosion_--1 captain, 4 sergeants, 4
     corporals, 29 privates                                         38
                                                                   ---
     _Total killed_                                                 52
                                                                   ===
     _Wounded in battle_--2 captains (one since dead), 1
     subaltern, 3 sergeants, 4 corporals, 22 privates               32

     _Wounded by the explosion_--1 brig. gen. (since dead), 1
     aid-de-camp, 1 acting aid, 1 volunteer aid, 6 captains, 6
     subalterns, 11 sergeants, 9 corporals, 1 musician, 185
     privates                                                      222
                                                                   ---
     _Total wounded_                                               254
                                                                   ===
     _Total killed and wounded_                                    306

     _Of the navy_--2 midshipmen and 1 seaman killed, 11 seamen
     wounded                                                        14
                                                                   ===
     _Total killed and wounded_                                    320

[M-29] The statement that General Sheaffe's retreat was so precipitate
that he lost his papers is confirmed by General Dearborn in a letter
to the Secretary of War, dated Niagara, May 3d, 1813 (Niles' Register,
_ibid._): "York was a magazine for Niagara, Detroit, etc., and
notwithstanding the immense amount which was destroyed by them, we
found more than we could bring off. Gen. Sheaffe's baggage and papers
fell into my hands; the papers are a valuable acquisition. A SCALP was
found in the executive and legislative council chamber, suspended near
the speaker's chair in company with the mace, etc."

This "scalp incident," as it came to be known, and as I may remark in
passing, became the probably groundless pretext for a storm of abuse
of British methods of warfare. In the feverish state of public opinion
which the startling climax of the battle of York excited almost to
frenzy, it was regarded as adding insult to injury, and furthermore
taken as a proof that our dead and wounded would be handed over by the
British to their Indian allies, to be dealt with according to the
customs of savage warfare. Thus, the usually temperate and judicious
editor of the Register could permit himself to say: "The '_mace_' is
the emblem of authority, and the _scalp's_ position near it is truly
symbolical of the _British_ power in _Canada_. Horrible and infamous
wretches! But the reign of the murderers is nearly at an end," p. 190.
And again, p. 259, with "scalp" in large capitals, and various other
typographical methods of relieving his state of mind: "BRITISH
HUMANITY. When major-general _Dearborn_ stated that a SCALP had been
found in the _government-house of Upper Canada_, suspended near the
mace, the emblem of power, many persons affected to doubt the fact;
but most men believed, not only because General Dearborn had stated
the circumstance, but because it was strictly characteristic of the
_British_ government, which is as base and deliberately wicked as any
other in the civilized world. But the horrible fact is further and
conclusively established by commodore _Chauncey_, whose testimony will
not be disputed, openly, by those who _pretended_ to disbelieve gen.
Dearborn. Let us hear no more of '_British humanity_ and
_religion_'--nor permit these great attributes to be lavished upon
murderous villains. It is fact, horrible fact, that the legislature of
'_unoffending Canada_' did sanction (by hanging up in their hall, in
evidence of their authority, a _human scalp_) the murders of our
people by the savages. Great Heaven!" This senseless outburst
concludes with the following letter:

              _U. S. Ship Madison, Sackett's Harbor, 4th June, 1813._

SIR--I have the honor to present to you by the hands of lieutenant
Dudley, the British standard taken at York on the 27th of April last,
_accompanied by the mace, over which hung a human_ SCALP.--Those
articles were taken from the _parliament house_ by one of my officers
and presented to me. The scalp I caused to be presented to general
Dearborn, who I believe still has it in his possession. I also send by
the same gentleman, one of the British flags taken at Fort George on
the 27th of May.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, sir, your most obedient
humble servant,

                    [Signed] ISAAC CHAUNCEY.

     HONORABLE WM. JONES,
     _Secretary of the Navy, Washington_.

It may be here added that the practice of scalping is by no means
confined to the aborigines of North America. Among white Americans, it
has never been too uncommon to excite remark, still less reprobation;
and though it may not have been a regularly recognized and practiced
incident of our warfare with Indians of late years, one has only to
read any of the chronicles of our earlier warrings with Indian,
English, or French foes, to perceive the entire reciprocity of the
custom. It fell into desuetude, on our part, less from any disrepute
than from sheer indifference. Instances are not lacking during the
last century, of our skinning whole Indians, tanning their hides, and
manufacturing the leather into various articles of use or joy; and
when we ceased to scalp as a rule, it was simply because scalps were
no longer worth the trouble of taking. I am myself no stranger to
reeking Apache scalps, taken both by citizens and soldiery. I knew a
young officer of our army who, in a spirit of bravado, fastened an
Apache scalp to each of his spurs, and wore them with the long black
hair trailing at his heels during one of his hunts for Indians in
Arizona. The legislature of one of our Territories passed a bill
offering a reward of a certain sum of money for every "buck" Indian's
scalp which should be produced, and a certain other sum for the scalp
of "anything in the shape of an Indian," _i. e._, woman or child. The
British general, Henry Hamilton, while lieutenant-governor at Detroit,
had a regular tariff of prices both for prisoners and for scalps which
he purchased from Indians and from white renegades, thus acquiring the
soubriquet of "the hair-buying general," applied to him by George
Rogers Clark. Honors are so easy on this score that they do not count
in the game of war which the British played with their American
cousins.

[M-30] "A distinguished officer who was in the battle at York states
that, as he passed the general, after he was wounded, he cried, 'Push
on, my brave fellows, and avenge your general.' As he was breathing
his last the British standard was brought to him; he made a sign to
have it placed under his head, and died without a groan."

[M-31] Cromwell Pearce of Pennsylvania. He had been appointed from his
State a first lieutenant of the 10th Infantry May 3d, 1799, and
honorably discharged June 15th, 1800. His colonelcy of the 16th
Infantry dated from April 25th, 1813; he was honorably discharged June
15th, 1815, and died April 2d, 1852.

[M-32] George E. Mitchell of Maryland became major of the 3d Artillery
May 1st, 1812, and lieutenant-colonel Mar. 3d, 1813; he was brevetted
colonel May 5th, 1814, for gallant conduct in repelling the attack of
British forces on Fort Oswego, N. Y.; transferred to corps of
Artillery May 12th, 1814, and to 3d Artillery June 1st, 1821; he
resigned the same day, and died June 28th, 1832.

[M-33] Samuel S. Conner of New Hampshire was appointed from
Massachusetts major of the 21st Infantry, Mar. 12th, 1812; became
lieutenant-colonel of the 13th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1813; resigned July
14th, 1814, and died Dec. 17th, 1820.

[M-34] Benjamin Nicholson of Maryland, who languished of his wounds till
May 13th. He had been appointed a first lieutenant of the 14th
Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, and promoted to be captain Mar. 3d, 1813.

[M-35] This is but a mild sample of the epithets by which Sheaffe's
firing of the magazine was stigmatized in phrases current at a time
when invective was invoked till language was exhausted. In the cooling
of overheated passions a sense of humor stole in to the relief of
surcharged feelings, and execration of the shocking catastrophe
subsided from the sublime to the ridiculous. "And it was not until
after the capture of Fort George," says Whiting, p. 306, "that this
explosion ceased to haunt, like a dreadful spectre, the American army.
While preparing for that capture, it seemed to be a settled conviction
in the mind of the commander-in-chief, that explosions were to be the
ordinary means of warfare with the British. On the point opposite Fort
Niagara, and not far from Fort George, stood a lighthouse, which was
made of stone. The common impression was, that these stones were to be
discharged upon our heads whenever we made the attempt to land; it
being taken for granted that we should land between that and a
neighboring wood, as the open grounds there were completely commanded
by the guns of our fort. Many British deserters came over during the
month which elapsed between the capture of York and Fort George. The
question asked of each was, whether the lighthouse were _mined_. No
answer intimated that it was; still it was determined to land at a
safe distance from it, though the point chosen afforded the enemy an
excellent cover, where his batteries could be silenced only by our
vessels. After the landing had been effected, the lighthouse was
approached by stragglers with much caution, until some one, more hardy
or more curious than the rest, entering into it, found within its
recesses, instead of a Guy Fawkes, some women and children, who had
taken shelter there from the dangers of the day."

[M-36] Henry H. Van Dalsem of New Jersey became a captain of the 15th
Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, and resigned June 15th, 1815.

Joseph L. Barton of New Jersey was appointed a first lieutenant of the
15th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, promoted to be captain July 30th, 1812,
and honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.

Abraham Godwin of New Jersey was appointed a second lieutenant of the
15th Infantry Mar. 12th, 1812, became first lieutenant May 13th, 1813,
and was honorably discharged June 15th, 1815.

[M-37] White Youngs of New York was made a captain of the 15th Infantry
Mar. 12th, 1812; transferred to the 8th Infantry May 17th, 1815;
brevetted major Sept. 11th, 1814, for gallant conduct at Plattsburgh,
N. Y.; resigned Mar. 8th, 1819, and died Dec. 8th, 1822.

[M-38] Daniel E. Burch of New Jersey was appointed from that State
ensign in the 15th Infantry Oct. 7th, 1812; became third lieutenant
Mar. 13th, 1813, and second lieutenant Aug. 15th, 1813: he was
regimental paymaster from Mar. 12th, 1814, to June 15th, 1815, and
honorably discharged June 15th, 1815. He re-entered the service as
second lieutenant of the 7th Infantry Jan. 5th, 1817; became first
lieutenant June 7th, 1817, and captain June 30th, 1820; acted as
assistant quartermaster from Oct. 25th, 1822, to June 27th, 1831;
resigned Apr. 30th, 1833, and died May 8th, 1833.




PIKE'S EXPEDITIONS.




Part I.

_THE MISSISSIPPI VOYAGE._




CHAPTER I.

ITINERARY: ST. LOUIS TO ST. PAUL, AUGUST 9TH-SEPTEMBER 21ST, 1805.


Sailed from my encampment, near St. Louis, at 4 p. m., on Friday, the
9th of August, 1805, with one sergeant, two corporals, and 17
privates, in a keel-boat 70 feet long, provisioned for four months.
Water very rapid. Encamped on the east side of the river, at the head
of an island.[I-1]

_Aug. 10th._ Embarked early; breakfasted opposite the mouth of the
Missouri, near Wood creek.[I-2] About 5 p. m. a storm came on from the
westward; the boat lay-to. Having gone out to march with two men
behind a cluster of islands, one of my soldiers swam a channel in the
night, to inform me that the boat had stopped during the storm. I
remained on the beach all night. Distance 281/2 miles.[I-3]

_Sunday, Aug. 11th._ In the morning the boat came up and stopped
opposite the Portage De Sioux.[I-4] We here spread out our baggage to
dry; discharged our guns at a target, and scaled out our
blunderbusses. Dined at the cave below the Illinois, at the mouth of
which river we remained some time. From the course of the Mississippi,
the Illinois[I-5] might be mistaken for a part of it. Encamped on the
lower point of an island,[I-6] about six miles above the Illinois; were
much detained by passing the east side of some islands above the
Illinois; and were obliged to get into the water and haul the boat
through.

_Aug. 12th._ In the morning made several miles to breakfast; about 3
o'clock p. m. passed Buffaloe [Cuivre or Copper river] or riviere au
Boeuf, about five miles above which commences a beautiful cedar
cliff. Having passed this, the river expands to nearly two miles in
width, and has four islands, whose lowest points are nearly parallel;
these we called the Four Brothers. Encamped on the point of the east
one. It rained very hard all night. Caught one catfish. Distance 293/4
miles.[I-7]

_Aug. 13th._ Late before we sailed; passed a vast number of islands;
left one of our dogs on shore; were much detained by sand-bars, and
obliged to haul our boat over several of them; observed several
[Indian] encampments which had been lately occupied. Rained all day.
Distance 27 miles.[I-8]

_Aug. 14th._ Hard rain in the morning; but a fine wind springing up,
we put off at half-past six o'clock. Passed a camp of Sacs, consisting
of three men with their families. They were employed in spearing and
scaffolding a fish,[I-9] about three feet in length, with a long flat
snout; they pointed out the channel, and prevented us from taking the
wrong one. I gave them a small quantity of whisky and biscuit; and
they, in return, presented me with some fish. Sailed on through a
continuation of islands for nearly 20 miles; met a young gentleman,
Mr. Robedoux,[I-10] by whom I sent a letter to St. Louis; encamped on an
island; caught 1,375 small fish. Rained all day. Distance 28
miles.[I-11]

_Aug. 15th._ Still raining in the morning. From the continued series
of wet weather, the men were quite galled and sore. Met a Mr.
Kettletas of N. Y., who gave me a line to Mr. Fisher of the Prairie
Des Chein [du Chien]. Passed a small [elsewhere named Bar] river to
the W., with a sand-bar at its entrance; also, passed Salt [elsewhere
called Oahahah] river, which I do not recollect having seen on any
chart; it is a considerable stream, and at high water is navigable for
at least 200 miles. Left another dog. Distance 26 miles.[I-12]

_Aug. 16th._ Embarked early, but were so unfortunate as to get fast on
a log; and did not extricate ourselves until past eleven o'clock,
having to saw off a log under the water. At three o'clock arrived at
the house of a Frenchman, situate on the W. side of the river,
opposite Hurricane island. His cattle appeared to be in fine order,
but his corn in a bad state of cultivation. About one mile above his
house, on the W. shore, is a very handsome hill, which he informed me
was level on the top, with a gradual descent on either side, and a
fountain of fine water. This man likewise told me that two men had
been killed on the Big Bay, or Three Brothers; and desired to be
informed what measures had been taken in consequence thereof. Caught
three catfish and one perch. Encamped four miles above the house.
Distance 18 miles.[I-13]

_Aug. 17th._ Embarked and came on remarkably well; at ten o'clock
stopped for breakfast, and in order to arrange our sail; when the wind
served, we put off and continued under easy sail all day. Passed three
batteaux. Distance 39 miles.[I-14]

_Sunday, Aug. 18th._ Embarked early; about eleven o'clock passed an
Indian camp, on the E. side. They fired several guns; but we passed
without stopping. Very hard head winds part of the day. Caught six
fish. Distance 23 miles.[I-15]

_Aug. 19th._ Embarked early and made fine way; but at nine o'clock, in
turning the point of a sand-bar, our boat struck a sawyer. At the
moment, we did not know it had injured her; but, in a short time
after, discovered her to be sinking; however, by thrusting oakum into
the leak and bailing, we got her to shore on a bar, where, after
entirely unloading, we with great difficulty keeled her sufficiently
to cut out the plank and put in a new one. This at the time I
conceived to be a great misfortune; but upon examination we discovered
that the injury resulting from it was greater than we were at first
induced to believe; for upon inspection we found our provisions and
clothing considerably damaged. The day was usefully and necessarily
employed in assorting, sunning, and airing those articles. One of my
hunters, Sparks, having gone on shore to hunt, swam the river about
seven miles above and killed a deer; but finding we did not come, he
returned down the river, and joined us by swimming. Whilst we were at
work at our boat on the sand-beach, three canoes with Indians passed
on the opposite shore. They cried, "How-do-you-do?" wishing us to give
them an invitation to come over; but receiving no answer they passed
on. We then put our baggage on board and put off, designing to go
where the young man had killed the deer; but after dark we became
entangled among the sand-bars, and were obliged to stop and encamp on
the point of a beach. Caught two fish. Distance 14 miles.[I-16]

_Aug. 20th._ Arrived at the foot of the rapids De Moyen[I-17] at seven
o'clock. Although no soul on board had passed them, we commenced
ascending them immediately. Our boat being large and moderately
loaded, we found great difficulty. The river all the way through is
from three-quarters to a mile wide. The rapids are 11 miles long, with
successive ridges and shoals extending from shore to shore. The first
has the greatest fall and is the most difficult to ascend. The
channel, a bad one, is on the east side in passing the two first bars;
then passes under the edge of the third; crosses to the west, and
ascends on that side, all the way to the Sac village. The shoals
continue the whole distance. We had passed the first and most
difficult shoal, when we were met by Mr. Wm. Ewing,[I-18] who I
understand is an agent appointed to reside with the Sacs to teach them
the science of agriculture, with a French interpreter, four chiefs and
15 men of the Sac nation, in their canoes, bearing a flag of the
United States. They came down to assist me up the rapids; took out 14
of my heaviest barrels, and put two of their men in the barge to pilot
us up. Arrived at the house of Mr. Ewing, opposite the village, at
dusk. The land on both sides of the rapids is hilly, but a rich soil.
Distance 16 miles.[I-19]

_Aug. 21st._ All the chief men of the village came over to my
encampment, where I spoke to them to the following purport:

"That their great father, the president of the United States, wishing
to be more intimately acquainted with the situation, wants, &c., of
the different nations of the red people, in our newly acquired
territory of Louisiana, had ordered the general to send a number of
his young warriors in different directions, to take them by the hand,
and make such inquiries as might afford the satisfaction required.

"That I was authorized to choose situations for their trading
establishments; and wished them to inform me if that place would be
considered by them as central.

"That I was sorry to hear of the murder which had been committed on
the river below; but, in consideration of their assurances that it was
none of their nation, and the anxiety exhibited by them on the
occasion, I had written to the general and informed him of what they
had said on the subject.

"That in their treaty they engaged to apprehend all traders who came
among them without license; for that time, I could not examine their
traders on this subject; but that, on my return, I would make a
particular examination.

"That if they thought proper they might send a young man in my boat,
to inform the other villages of my mission," etc.

I then presented them with some tobacco, knives, and whisky. They
replied to the following purport:

"That they thanked me for the good opinion I had of their nation, and
for what I had written the general. That themselves, their young
warriors, and the whole nation, were glad to see me among them.

"That as for the situation of the trading-houses, they could not
determine, being but a part of the nation. With respect to sending a
young man along, that if I would wait until to-morrow, they would
choose one out. And finally, that they thanked me for my tobacco,
knives, and whisky."

Not wishing to lose any time, after writing to the general[I-20] and my
friends, I embarked and made six miles above the village. Encamped on
a sand-bar. One canoe of savages passed.

_Aug. 22d._ Embarked at 5 o'clock a. m. Hard head winds. Passed a
great number of islands. The river very wide and full of sand-bars.
Distance 23 miles.[I-21]

_Aug. 23d._ Cool morning. Came on 51/4 miles, where, on the west shore,
there is a very handsome situation for a garrison. The channel of the
river passes under the hill, which is about 60 feet perpendicular,
and level on the top; 400 yards in the rear there is a small prairie
of 8 or 10 acres, which would be a convenient spot for gardens; and on
the east side of the river there is a beautiful prospect over a large
prairie, as far as the eye can extend, now and then interrupted by
groves of trees. Directly under the rock is a limestone spring, which,
after an hour's work, would afford water amply sufficient for the
consumption of a regiment. The landing is bold and safe, and at the
lower part of the hill a road may be made for a team in half an hour.
Black and white oak timber in abundance. The mountain continues about
two miles, and has five springs bursting from it in that distance.

Met four Indians and two squaws; landed with them; gave them one quart
of _made_ whisky [_i. e._, about three-fourths water], a few biscuit,
and some salt. I requested some venison of them; they pretended they
could not understand me; but after we had left them they held up two
hams, and hallooed and laughed at us in derision. Passed nine horses
on shore, and saw many signs of Indians. Passed a handsome prairie on
the east side, and encamped at its head.[I-22]

Three batteaux from Michilimackinac stopped at our camp. We were told
they were the property of Mr. Myers Michals. We were also informed
that the largest Sac village was about 21/2 miles out on the prairie;
and that this prairie was called halfway from St. Louis to the prairie
Des Cheins.

_Aug. 24th._ In the morning passed a number of islands. Before dinner,
Corporal Bradley and myself took our guns and went on shore; we got
behind a savannah, by following a stream we conceived to have been a
branch of the river, but which led us at least two leagues from
it.[I-23] My two favorite dogs, having gone out with us, gave out in the
prairie, owing to the heat, high grass, and want of water; but,
thinking they would come on, we continued our march. We heard the
report of a gun, and supposing it to be from our boat, answered it;
shortly after, however, we passed an Indian trail, which appeared as
if the persons had been hurried, I presume at the report of our guns;
for with this people all strangers are enemies. Shortly after we
struck the river, and the boat appeared in view; stayed some time for
my dogs; two of my men volunteered to go in search of them. Encamped
on the west shore, nearly opposite a chalk bank. My two men had not
yet returned, and it was extraordinary, as they knew my boat never
waited for any person on shore. They endeavored to strike the
Mississippi ahead of us. We fired a blunderbuss at three different
times, to let them know where we lay. Distance 231/2 miles.[I-24]

_Sunday, Aug. 25th._ Stopped on the Sand-bank prairie on the E. side
[about New Boston, Ill.], from which you have a beautiful prospect of
at least 40 miles down the river, bearing S. 38 deg. E. Discovered that
our boat leaked very fast; but we secured her inside so completely
with oakum and tallow as nearly to prevent the leak. Fired a
blunderbuss every hour, all day, as signals for our men. Passed the
river Iowa. Encamped at night on the prairie marked Grant's prairie
[below Muscatine, Ia.]. The men had not yet arrived. Distance 28
miles.[I-25]

_Aug. 26th._ Rain, with a very hard head wind. Towed our boat about
nine miles, to where the river Hills join the Mississippi. Here I
expected to find the two men I had lost, but was disappointed. The
mercury in Reamur [Reaumur] at 13 deg.; whereas yesterday it was 26 deg. [=611/4
and 901/2 Fahr.] Met two peroques [_sic_[I-26]] full of Indians, who
commenced hollowing [hallooing] "How do you do?" etc. They then put to
shore and beckoned us to do likewise, but we continued our course.
This day very severe on the men. Distance 281/2 miles.[I-27]

_Aug. 27th._ Embarked early; cold north wind; mercury 10 deg.; the wind so
hard ahead that we were obliged to tow the boat all day. Passed one
peroque of Indians; also, the Riviere De Roche [Rock river], late in
the day. Some Indians, who were encamped there, embarked in their
canoes and ascended the river before us. The wind was so very strong
that, although it was down the stream, they were near sinking.
Encamped about four miles above the Riviere De Roche, on the W. shore.
This day passed a pole on a prairie on which five dogs were hanging.
Distance 22 miles.[I-28]

_Aug. 28th._ About an hour after we had embarked, we arrived at the
camp of Mr. James Aird,[I-29] a Scotch gentleman of Michilimackinac. He
had encamped, with some goods, on the beach, and was repairing his
boat, which had been injured in crossing [descending] the rapids of
the Riviere De Roche, at the foot of which we now were. He had sent
three boats back for the goods left behind. Breakfasted with him and
obtained considerable information. Commenced ascending the rapids.
Carried away our rudder in the first rapid; but after getting it
repaired, the wind raised and we hoisted sail. Although entire
strangers, we sailed through them with a perfect gale blowing all the
time; had we struck a rock, in all probability we would have bilged
and sunk. But we were so fortunate as to pass without touching. Met
Mr. Aird's boats, which had pilots, fast on the rocks. Those shoals
are a continued chain of rocks, extending in some places from shore to
shore, about 18 miles in length.[I-30] They afford more water than those
of De Moyen, but are much more rapid.

_Aug. 29th._ Breakfasted at the Reynard village, above the rapids;
this is the first village of the Reynards.[I-31] I expected to find my
two men here, but was disappointed. Finding they had not passed, I lay
by until four o'clock, the wind fair all the time. The chief informed
me, by signs, that in four days they could march to Prairie Des
Cheins; and promised to furnish them with mockinsons [moccasins], and
put them on their route. Set sail and made at least four knots an
hour. I was disposed to sail all night; but the wind lulling, we
encamped on the point of an island, on the W. shore. Distance 20
miles.[I-32]

_Aug. 30th._ Embarked at five o'clock; wind fair, but not very high.
Sailed all day. Passed four peroques of Indians. Distance 43
miles.[I-33]

_Aug. 31st._ Embarked early. Passed one peroque of Indians; also, two
encampments, one on a beautiful eminence on the W. side of the river.
This place had the appearance of an old town. Sailed almost all day.
Distance 311/2 miles.[I-34]

_Sunday, Sept. 1st._ Embarked early; wind fair; arrived at the lead
mines [Dubuque, Ia.] at twelve o'clock. A dysentery, with which I had
been afflicted several days, was suddenly checked this morning, which
I believe to have been the occasion of a very violent attack of fever
about eleven o'clock. Notwithstanding it was very severe, I dressed
myself, with an intention to execute the orders of the general
relative to this place. We were saluted with a field-piece, and
received with every mark of attention by Monsieur [Julien] Dubuque,
the proprietor. There were no horses at the house, and it was six
miles to where the mines were worked; it was therefore impossible to
make a report by actual inspection. I therefore proposed 10 queries,
on the answers to which my report was founded.[I-35]

Dined with Mr. D., who informed me that the Sioux and Sauteurs[I-36]
were as warmly engaged in opposition as ever; that not long since the
former killed 15 Sauteurs, who on the 10th of August in return killed
10 Sioux, at the entrance of the St. Peters [Minnesota river]; and
that a war-party, composed of Sacs, Reynards, and Puants
[Winnebagoes[I-37]], of 200 warriors, had embarked on an expedition
against the Sauteurs; but that they had heard that the chief, having
had an unfavorable dream, persuaded the party to return, and that I
would meet them on my voyage. At this place I was introduced to a
chief called Raven, of the Reynards. He made a very flowery speech on
the occasion, which I answered in a few words, accompanied by a small
present.

I had now given up all hopes of my two men, and was about to embark
when a peroque arrived, in which they were, with a Mr. Blondeau, and
two Indians whom that gentleman had engaged above the rapids of Stony
[Rock] river. The two soldiers had been six days without anything to
eat except muscles [mussels], when they met Mr. James Aird, by whose
humanity and attention their strength and spirits were in a measure
restored; and they were enabled to reach the Reynard village, where
they met Mr. B. The Indian chief furnished them with corn and shoes,
and showed his friendship by every possible attention. I immediately
discharged the hire of the Indians, and gave Mr. Blondeau a passage to
the Prairie des Cheins. Left the lead mines at four o'clock. Distance
25 miles.[I-38]

_Sept. 2d._ After making two short reaches, we commenced one which is
30 miles in length; the wind serving, we just made it, and encamped on
the E. side [near Cassville, Wis.], opposite the mouth of Turkey
river. In the course of the day we landed to shoot pigeons. The moment
a gun was fired, some Indians, who were on the shore above us, ran
down and put off in their peroques with great precipitation; upon
which Mr. Blondeau informed me that all the women and children were
frightened at the very name of an American boat, and that the men held
us in great respect, conceiving us very quarrelsome, much for war, and
also very brave. This information I used as prudence suggested. We
stopped at an encampment about three miles below the town, where they
gave us some excellent plums. They dispatched a peroque to the
village, to give notice, as I supposed, of our arrival. It commenced
raining about dusk, and rained all night. Distance 40 miles.[I-39]

_Sept. 3d._ Embarked at a pretty early hour. Cloudy. Met two peroques
of family Indians; they at first asked Mr. Blondeau "if we were for
war, or if going to war?" I now experienced the good effect of having
some person on board who could speak their language; for they
presented me with three pair of ducks and a quantity of venison,
sufficient for all our crew for one day; in return, I made them some
trifling presents. Afterward met two peroques, carrying some of the
warriors spoken of on the 2d inst. They kept at a great distance,
until spoken to by Mr. B., when they informed him that their party had
proceeded up as high as Lake Pepin without effecting anything. It is
surprising what a dread the Indians in this quarter have of the
Americans. I have often seen them go round islands to avoid meeting my
boat. It appears to me evident that the traders have taken great pains
to impress upon the minds of the savages the idea of our being a very
vindictive, ferocious, and warlike people. This impression was perhaps
made with no good intention; but when they find that our conduct
toward them is guided by magnanimity and justice, instead of operating
in an injurious manner, it will have the effect to make them reverence
at the same time they fear us. Distance 25 miles.[I-40]

_Sept. 4th._ Breakfasted just below the Ouiscousing [Wisconsin
river[I-41]]. Arrived at the Prairie des Cheins about eleven o'clock;
took quarters at Captain Fisher's, and were politely received by him
and Mr. Frazer.

_Sept. 5th._ Embarked about half-past ten o'clock in a Schenectady
boat, to go to the mouth of the Ouiscousing, in order to take the
latitude [which I found to be 43 deg. 28' 8" N.], and look at the
situation of the adjacent hills for a post. Was accompanied by Judge
Fisher, Mr. Frazer, and Mr. Woods. We ascended the hill[I-42] on the
west side of the Mississippi, and made choice of a spot which I
thought most eligible, being level on the top, having a spring in the
rear, and commanding a view of the country around. A shower of rain
came on which completely wet us, and we returned to the village
without having ascended the Ouiscousing as we intended. Marked four
trees with A. B. C. D., and squared the sides of one in the center.
Wrote to the general.

_Sept. 6th._ Had a small council with the Puants, and a chief of the
lower band of the Sioux. Visited and laid out a position for a post,
on a hill called the Petit Gris [Gres],[I-43] on the Ouiscousing, three
miles above its mouth. Mr. Fisher, who accompanied me, was taken very
sick, in consequence of drinking some water out of the Ouiscousing,
The Puants never have any white interpreters, nor have the Fols Avoin
[Folle Avoine (Menominee)[I-44]] nation. In my council I spoke to a
Frenchman and he to a Sioux, who interpreted to some of the Puants.

_Sept. 7th._ My men beat all the villagers jumping and hopping. Began
to load my new boats.

_Sept. 8th._ Embarked at half-past eleven o'clock in two batteaux. The
wind fair and fresh. I found myself very much embarrassed and cramped
in my new boats, with provision and baggage. I embarked two
interpreters, one to perform the whole voyage, whose name was Pierre
Rosseau [Rousseau[I-45]]; and the other named Joseph Reinulle
[Reinville[I-46]], paid by Mr. Frazer to accompany me as high as the
falls of St. Anthony. Mr. Frazer[I-47] is a young gentleman, clerk to
Mr. Blakely of Montreal; he was born in Vermont, but has latterly
resided in Canada. To the attention of this gentleman I am much
indebted; he procured for me everything in his power that I stood in
need of, dispatched his bark canoes, and remained himself to go on
with me. His design was to winter with some of the Sioux bands. We
sailed well, came 18 miles, and encamped on the W. bank.[I-48]

I must not omit here to bear testimony to the politeness of all the
principal inhabitants of the village. There is, however, a material
distinction to be made in the nature of those attentions: The kindness
of Messrs. Fisher, Frazer, and Woods, all Americans, seemed to be the
spontaneous effusions of good will, and partiality to their
countrymen; it extended to the accommodation, convenience, exercises,
and pastimes of my men; and whenever they proved superior to the
French, openly showed their pleasure. But the French Canadians
appeared attentive rather from their natural good manners than sincere
friendship; however, it produced from them the same effect that
natural good will did in the others.

_Sept. 9th._ Embarked early. Dined at Cape Garlic, or at Garlic river;
after which we came on to an island on the E. side, about five miles
below the river [Upper] Iowa, and encamped. Rained before sunset.
Distance 28 miles.[I-49]

_Sept. 10th._ Rain still continuing, we remained at our camp. Having
shot at some pigeons, the report was heard at the Sioux lodges, the
same to whom I spoke on the 6th at the Prairie [du Chien]; when La
Fieulle [Feuille[I-50]] sent down six of his young men to inform me
"that he had waited three days with meat, etc., but that last night
they had began to drink, and that on the next day he would receive me
with his people sober." I returned him for answer "that the season was
advanced, time was pressing, and if the rain ceased I must go on." Mr.
Frazer and the interpreter went home with the Indians. We embarked
about one o'clock.[I-51] Frazer, returning, informed me that the chief
acquiesced in my reasons for pressing forward, but that he had
prepared a pipe (by way of letter) to present me, to show to all the
Sioux above, with a message to inform them that I was a chief of their
new fathers, and that he wished me to be treated with friendship and
respect.

On our arrival opposite the lodges, the men were paraded on the bank,
with their guns in their hands. They saluted us with ball with what
might be termed three rounds; which I returned with three rounds from
each boat with my blunderbusses. This salute, although nothing to
soldiers accustomed to fire, would not be so agreeable to many
people; as the Indians had all been drinking, and as some of them even
tried their dexterity, to see how near the boat they could strike.
They may, indeed, be said to have struck on every side of us. When
landed, I had my pistols in my belt and sword in hand. I was met on
the bank by the chief, and invited to his lodge. As soon as my guards
were formed and sentinels posted, I accompanied him. Some of my men
who were going up with me I caused to leave their arms behind, as a
mark of confidence. At the chief's lodge I found a clean mat and
pillow for me to sit on, and the before-mentioned pipe on a pair of
small crutches before me. The chief sat on my right hand, my
interpreter and Mr. Frazer on my left. After smoking, the chief spoke
to the following purport:

"That, notwithstanding he had seen me at the Prairie [du Chien], he
was happy to take me by the hand among his own people, and there show
his young men the respect due to their new father [President
Jefferson]. That, when at St. Louis in the spring, his father [General
Wilkinson] had told him that if he looked down the river he would see
one of his young warriors [Pike] coming up. He now found it true, and
he was happy to see me, who knew the Great Spirit was the father of
all, both the white and the red people; and if one died, the other
could not live long. That he had never been at war with their new
father, and hoped always to preserve the same understanding that now
existed. That he now presented me with a pipe, to show to the upper
bands as a token of our good understanding, and that they might see
his work and imitate his conduct. That he had gone to St. Louis on a
shameful visit, to carry a murderer; but that we had given the man his
life, and he thanked us for it. That he had provided something to eat,
but he supposed I could not eat it; and if not, to give it to my young
men."

I replied: "That, although I had told him at the Prairie my business
up the Mississippi, I would again relate it to him." I then mentioned
the different objects I had in view with regard to the savages who had
fallen under our protection by our late purchase from the Spaniards;
the different posts to be established; the objects of these posts as
related to them; supplying them with necessaries; having officers and
agents of government near them to attend to their business; and above
all to endeavor to make peace between the Sioux and Sauteurs. "That it
was possible on my return I should bring some of the Sauteurs down
with me, and take with me some of the Sioux chiefs to St. Louis, there
to settle the long and bloody war which had existed between the two
nations. That I accepted his pipe with pleasure, as the gift of a
great man, the chief of four bands, and a brother; that it should be
used as he desired." I then eat of the dinner he had provided, which
was very grateful. It was wild rye [rice?] and venison, of which I
sent four bowls to my men.

I afterward went to a dance, the performance of which was attended
with many curious maneuvers. Men and women danced indiscriminately.
They were all dressed in the gayest manner; each had in the hand a
small skin of some description, and would frequently run up, point
their skin, and give a puff with their breath; when the person blown
at, whether man or woman, would fall, and appear to be almost
lifeless, or in great agony; but would recover slowly, rise, and join
in the dance. This they called their great medicine; or, as I
understood the word, dance of religion, the Indians believing that
they actually puffed something into each others' bodies which
occasioned the falling, etc. It is not every person who is admitted;
persons wishing to join them must first make valuable presents to the
society to the amount of $40 or $50, give a feast, and then be
admitted with great ceremony. Mr. Frazer informed me that he was once
in the lodge with some young men who did not belong to the club; when
one of the dancers came in they immediately threw their blankets over
him, and forced him out of the lodge; he laughed, but the young
Indians called him a fool, and said "he did not know what the dancer
might blow into his body."

I returned to my boat; sent for the chief and presented him with two
carrots of tobacco, four knives, half a pound of vermilion, and one
quart of salt. Mr. Frazer asked liberty to present them some rum; we
made them up a keg between us, of eight gallons--two gallons of whisky
[the rest water]. Mr. Frazer informed the chief that he dare not give
them any without my permission. The chief thanked me for all my
presents, and said "they must come free, as he did not ask for them."
I replied that "to those who did not ask for anything, I gave freely;
but to those who asked for much, I gave only a little or none."

We embarked about half-past three o'clock; came three miles, and
encamped on the W. side.[I-52] Mr. Frazer we left behind, but he came up
with his two peroques about dusk. It commenced raining very hard. In
the night a peroque arrived from the lodges at his camp. During our
stay at their camp, there were soldiers appointed to keep the crowd
from my boats, who executed their duty with vigilance and rigor,
driving men, women, and children back, whenever they came near my
boats. At my departure, their soldiers said, "As I had shaken hands
with their chief, they must shake hands with my soldiers." In which
request I willingly indulged them.

_Sept. 11th._ Embarked at seven o'clock, although raining. Mr.
Frazer's canoes also came on until nine o'clock. Stopped for
breakfast and made a fire. Mr. Frazer stayed with me; finding his
peroques not quite able to keep up, he dispatched them. We embarked;
came on until near six o'clock, and encamped on the W. side. Saw
nothing of his peroques after they left us. Supposed to have come 16
miles this day.[I-53] Rain and cold winds, all day ahead. The river has
never been clear of islands since I left Prairie Des Chein. I
absolutely believe it to be here two miles wide. Hills, or rather
prairie knobs, on both sides.

_Sept. 12th._ It raining very hard in the morning, we did not embark
until ten o'clock, Mr. Frazer's peroques then coming up. It was still
raining, and was very cold; passed the Racine[I-54] river; also a
prairie called Le Cross [La Crosse], from a game of ball played
frequently on it by the Sioux Indians. This prairie is very handsome;
it has a small square hill, similar to some mentioned by Carver. It is
bounded in the rear by hills similar to [those of] the Prairie Des
Chein.

On this prairie Mr. Frazer showed me some holes dug by the Sioux, when
in expectation of an attack, into which they first put their women and
children, and then crawl themselves. They were generally round and
about 10 feet in diameter; but some were half-moons and quite a
breastwork. This I understood was the chief work, which was the
principal redoubt. Their modes of constructing them are: the moment
they apprehend or discover an enemy on the prairie, they commence
digging with their knives, tomahawks, and a wooden ladle; and in an
incredibly short space of time they have a hole sufficiently deep to
cover themselves and their families from the balls or arrows of the
enemy. They [enemies] have no idea of taking those subterraneous
redoubts by storm, as they would probably lose a great number of men
in the attack; and although they might be successful in the event, it
would be considered a very imprudent action.

Mr. Frazer, finding his canoes not able to keep up, stayed at this
prairie to organize one of them, intending then to overtake us. Came
on three miles further.[I-55]

_Sept. 13th._ Embarked at six o'clock. Came on to a sand-bar, and
stopped to dry my things. At this place Mr. Frazer overtook me. We
remained here three hours; came on to the foot of the hills, at le
Montaigne qui Trompe a l'Eau [_sic_], which is a hill situated on the
river. Rain all day, except about two hours at noon. Passed Black
river. Distance 21 miles.[I-56]

_Sept. 14th._ Embarked early; the fog so thick we could not
distinguish objects 20 yards. When we breakfasted we saw nothing of
Mr. Frazer's canoes. After breakfast, at the head of an island, met
Frazer's boats. Wind coming on fair, we hoisted sail, and found that
we were more on an equality with our sails than our oars. The birch
canoes sailed very well, but we were able to outrow them. Met the
remainder of the war-party of the Sacs and Reynards before noted,
returning from their expedition against the Sauteurs. I directed my
interpreter to ask "How many scalps they had taken?" They replied,
"None." He added, "They were all squaws"; for which I reprimanded him.
Passed the mountain which stands in the river; or, as the French term
it, which soaks in the river. Came to the Prairie Le Aisle
[_sic_[I-57]], on the west.

Mr. Frazer, Bradley, Sparks, and myself, went out to hunt. We crossed
first a dry flat prairie; when we arrived at the hills we ascended
them, from which we had a most sublime and beautiful prospect. On the
right, we saw the mountains which we passed in the morning and the
prairie in their rear; like distant clouds, the mountains at the
Prairie Le Cross; on our left and under our feet, the valley between
the two barren hills through which the Mississippi wound itself by
numerous channels, forming many beautiful islands, as far as the eye
could embrace the scene; and our four boats under full sail, their
flags streaming before the wind. It was altogether a prospect so
variegated and romantic that a man may scarcely expect to enjoy such a
one but twice or thrice in the course of his life. I proposed keeping
the hills until they led to the river, encamping and waiting the next
day for our boats; but Mr. Frazer's anxiety to get to the boats
induced me to yield. After crossing a very thick bottom, fording and
swimming three branches of the river, and crossing several morasses,
we at twelve o'clock arrived opposite our boats, which were encamped
on the east side. We were brought over. Saw great sign of elk, but had
not the good fortune to come across any of them. My men saw three on
the shore. Distance 21 miles.[I-58]

_Sunday, Sept. 15th._ Embarked early. Passed the riviere Embarrass
[Zumbro river], and Lean Clare [_i. e._, l'Eau Claire; Clear, White
Water, or Minneiska river], on the W., which is navigable 135 miles.
Encamped opposite the river Le Boeuf [Beef or Buffalo river], on the
W. shore.[I-59] At the head of this river the Chipeways inhabit, and
it is navigable for peroques 40 or 50 leagues. Rained in the
afternoon. Mr. Frazer broke one of his canoes. Came about three miles
further than him. Distance 25 miles.

_Sept. 16th._ Embarked late, as I wished Mr. Frazer to overtake me,
but came on very well. His canoes overtook us at dinner, at the grand
encampment [71/2 miles[I-60]] below Lake Pepin. We made the sandy
peninsula on the east at the entrance of Lake Pepin, by dusk; passed
the Sauteaux [Chippewa[I-61]] river on the east, at the entrance of the
lake. After supper, the wind being fair, we put off with the
intention to sail across; my interpreter, Rosseau, telling me that he
had passed the lake twenty times, but never once in the day; giving as
a reason that the wind frequently rose and detained them by day in the
lake. But I believe the traders' true reason generally is their fears
of the Sauteurs, as these have made several strokes of war at the
mouth of this river, never distinguishing between the Sioux and their
traders. However, the wind serving, I was induced to go on; and
accordingly we sailed, my boat bringing up the rear, for I had put the
sail of my big boat on my batteau, and a mast of 22 feet. Mr. Frazer
embarked on my boat. At first the breeze was very gentle, and we
sailed with our violins and other music playing; but the sky afterward
became cloudy and quite a gale arose. My boat plowed the swells,
sometimes almost bow under. When we came to the Traverse
[crossing-place], which is opposite Point De Sable [Sandy point], we
thought it most advisable, the lake being very much disturbed and the
gale increasing, to take harbor in a bay on the east. One of the
canoes and my boat came in very well together; but having made a fire
on the point to give notice to our boats in the rear, they both ran on
the bar before they doubled it, and were near foundering; but by
jumping into the lake we brought them into a safe harbor. Distance 40
miles.[I-62]

_Sept. 17th._ Although there was every appearance of a very severe
storm, we embarked at half-past six o'clock, the wind fair; but before
we had hoisted all sail, those in front had struck theirs. The wind
came on hard ahead. The sky became inflamed, and the lightning seemed
to roll down the sides of the hills which bordered the shore of the
lake. The storm in all its grandeur, majesty, and horror burst upon
us in the Traverse, while making for Point De Sable; and it required
no moderate exertion to weather the point and get to the windward side
of it. Distance three miles.[I-63]

There we found Mr. Cameron,[I-64] who had sailed from the prairie
[Prairie du Chien] on the 5th; he had three bark canoes and a wooden
one with him. He had been lying here two days, his canoes unloaded and
turned up for the habitation of his men, his tents pitched, and
himself living in all the ease of an Indian trader. He appeared to be
a man of tolerable information, but rather indolent in his habits; a
Scotchman by birth, but an Englishman by prejudice. He had with him a
very handsome young man, by the name of John Rudsdell, and also his
own son, a lad of fifteen.

The storm continuing, we remained all day. I was shown a point of
rocks [Maiden Rock, 400 feet high[I-65]] from which a Sioux maiden
cast herself, and was dashed into a thousand pieces on the rocks
below. She had been informed that her friends intended matching her to
a man she despised; having been refused the man she had chosen, she
ascended the hill, singing her death-song; and before they could
overtake her and obviate her purpose she took the lover's leap! Thus
ended her troubles with her life. A wonderful display of sentiment in
a savage!

_Sept. 18th._ Embarked after breakfast. Mr. Cameron, with his boats,
came on with me. Crossed the lake, sounded it, and took an observation
at the upper end. I embarked in one of his canoes, and we came up to
Canoe river,[I-66] where there was a small band of Sioux under the
command of Red Wing, the second war chief in the nation. He made me a
speech and presented a pipe, pouch, and buffalo skin. He appeared to
be a man of sense, and promised to accompany me to St. Peters [the
Minnesota river]; he saluted me, and had it returned. I made him a
small present.[I-67]

We encamped on the end of the island, and although it was not more
than eleven o'clock, were obliged to stay all night. Distance 18
miles.[I-68]

_Sept. 19th._ Embarked early; dined at St. Croix[I-69] river. Messrs.
Frazer and Cameron having some business to do with the savages, we
left them at the encampment; but they promised to overtake me, though
they should be obliged to travel until twelve o'clock at night. Fired
a blunderbuss for them at Tattoo. The chain of my watch became
unhooked, by lending her to my guard; this was a very serious
misfortune.[I-70]

_Sept. 20th._ Embarked after sunrise. Cloudy, with hard head winds; a
small shower of rain; cleared up in the afternoon, and became
pleasant. Encamped on a prairie on the east side, on which is a large
painted stone, about eight miles below the Sioux village. The traders
had not yet overtaken me. Distance 261/2 miles.[I-71]

_Sept. 21st._ Embarked at a seasonable hour; breakfasted at the Sioux
village on the east side [near St. Paul,[I-72] capital of Minnesota].
It consists of 11 lodges, and is situated at the head of an island
just below a ledge of rocks [Dayton bluff, in the city]. The village
was evacuated at this time, all the Indians having gone out to the
lands to gather fols avoin [folle avoine, wild rice: see note 44,
page 39]. About two miles above, saw three bears swimming over the
river, but at too great a distance for us to have killed them; they
made the shore before I could come up with them. Passed a camp of
Sioux, of four lodges, in which I saw only one man, whose name was
Black Soldier. The garrulity of the women astonished me, for at the
other camps they never opened their lips; but here they flocked around
us with all their tongues going at the same time. The cause of this
freedom must have been the absence of their lords and masters. Passed
the encampment of Mr. Ferrebault [Faribault[I-73]], who had broken his
peroque and had encamped on the west side of the river, about three
miles below St. Peters [under the bluff below Mendota]. We made our
encampment on the N. E. point of the big [Pike's] island opposite
[Fort Snelling or] St. Peters.[I-74] Distance 24 miles.

The Mississippi became so very narrow this day, that I once crossed
in my batteaux with forty strokes of my oars. The water of the
Mississippi, since we passed Lake Pepin, has been remarkably red; and
where it is deep, appears as black as ink. The waters of the St.
Croix and St. Peters appear blue and clear, for a considerable
distance below their confluence.

I observed a white flag on shore to-day, and on landing, discovered
it to be white silk; it was suspended over a scaffold, on which were
laid four dead bodies, two inclosed in boards, and two in bark. They
were wrapped up in blankets, which appeared to be quite new. They were
the bodies, I was informed, of two Sioux women who had lived with two
Frenchmen, one of their children, and some other relative; two of whom
died at St. Peters and two at St. Croix, but were brought here to be
deposited upon this scaffold together. This is the manner of Sioux
burial when persons die a natural death; but when they are killed they
suffer them to lie unburied. This circumstance brought to my
recollection the bones of a man I found on the hills below the St.
Croix; the jaw bone I brought on board. He must have been killed on
that spot.

FOOTNOTES:

[I-1] Roster of the party: 1. Lieutenant Z. M. Pike, 1st lieut. 1st
regt. U. S. Infantry, comdg.--2. Non-comm. officers: (1) Sergeant
Henry Kennerman; (2) Corporal Samuel Bradley; (3) Corporal William E.
Meek.--3. Privates: (1) John Boley; (2) Peter Branden; (3) John Brown;
(4) Jacob Carter; (5) Thomas Dougherty; (6) William Gorden; (7)
Solomon Huddleston; (8) Jeremiah Jackson; (9) Hugh Menaugh; (10)
Theodore Miller; (11) John Mountjoy; (12) David Owings; (13) Alexander
Roy; (14) Patrick Smith; (15) John Sparks; (16) Freegift Stoute; (17)
David Whelply. This detail for detached service was made July 1st,
1805; returned Apr. 30th, 1806, without change, excepting Bradley
promoted, _vice_ Kennerman reduced to the ranks. Voyage of the 9th was
between St. Louis Co., Mo., and Madison Co., Ill., past Caberet's isl.
to camp on Illinois side at head of Chouteau's isl.

The above roster of the Mississippi Expedition is derived from the
Return of Persons, etc., which formed a part of one of the Papers
accompanying a Congressional Committee Report which was given as No.
6, pp. 64-68 of the Appendix to Part 3 of the orig. ed. of this work.
It appears in full, in its proper connection, at or near the end of
the main text of the present edition.

The letter of instructions from General Wilkinson, dated St. Louis,
July 30th, 1805, in obedience to which Lieutenant Pike proceeded upon
the Mississippi Expedition, likewise formed one of the Papers
accompanying the same Congressional Committee Report. It was given
nowhere else in the orig. ed. of this book; though the corresponding
instructions Pike received for his second (Arkansaw) Expedition were
prefixed to the main text of his narrative. The Mississippi order
appears in full, in its original position, near the end of the main
text of the present edition.

[I-2] Or Du Bois r., Madison Co., Ill., notable in history as that at
whose mouth Lewis and Clark had their winter camp of 1803-4, whence
their expedition started May 14th, 1804. At this date it was said to
be opp. the mouth of the Missouri; it is now opp. the large Mobile
isl. and the Missouri enters 2 m. below Wood r., through the Amazon
bend.

[I-3] In undertaking to follow a traveler, the first thing to ascertain
is his "personal equation"--_i. e._, the probable error of his
mileages. Pike traveled entirely by his watch, and all his distances
are guesses based upon rate of progress--so many hours, so many miles.
The way to approximate accuracy in this matter is to take him between
two fixed points whose actual distance apart is ascertained, see what
he makes of this, and adjust him accordingly. From St. Louis to
Keokuk, by the present usual steamboat channel of the Miss. r., is
2021/4 m.; say to the foot of Des Moines rapids, roundly 200 m. Pike's
figures, as nearly as these can be got at, make this distance about
250 m. Hence we must discount his mileages 20 per cent., or one-fifth,
as a rule. Taking one thing with another--changes in the channel in
the course of the century, good or bad water, Pike's own feelings,
errors of manuscript or print, etc., we shall find this deduction to
work well; with the aid of such topographical data as we have, it will
enable us to set most of his camps pretty closely. On the 10th, Pike
gets left to bivouac on the bank at a point in Jersey Co., Ill.,
opposite Portage des Sioux, Mo., his barge being storm-bound somewhere
above Alton, Ill., perhaps in the vicinity of Clifton or Randolph. The
distance between Alton, first notable point above the Mo. r., and
Grafton, last notable point below the Illinois r., is 16 m. Besides
Alton and Clifton, places passed on the N. side are Shields' branch,
Hop Hollow, Falling Rock cr., and Piasa cr.--some of the present isls.
above Mobile isl. are Maple, Ellis, Search's, Piasa, and Eagle's
Nest--the latter off Portage des Sioux.

[I-4] Portage des Sioux (or de Sioux) is that place in St. Charles Co.,
Mo., where the Mo. r. comes nearest to the Miss. r. before their
confluence. It was the site of an early settlement on the S. bank of
the Miss. r., one Francois Saucier having first built on the spot,
1769 or 1770; the village was already there in Pike's time, and still
perpetuates the old F. name of the hostile Sioux's crossing-place
(_ca._ 1780) between the two great rivers, also called Sioux Portage
or Portage of the Sioux: see Beck's Gaz.; or Wetmore's, p. 254.

[I-5] First great tributary of the Miss. r. above the Mo. r., falling
in at Calhoun pt., Calhoun Co., Ill., opp. Camden, Jersey Co., Ill.;
Mason's isl. the largest one of several more in the Miss. r. just
below the mouth of the Ill. r. In coming S. the Miss. r. makes a great
bend E. and then nearly N. to the confluence, whence it turns again to
a course approx. coincident with that which the Ill. r. holds; hence
Pike's remark that the one might be mistaken for a part of the other.
The river has had many names; the present is in form a French plural,
_sc._ Riviere des Illinois, _sc._ of the people who lived on
it--Illin, Illini, Illinoct, Illinoac, Illinoet, Illiniwek, Illeni,
Illenois, Ilinois, Islinois, Islenois, etc. Pike's map has Illenois;
Franquelin's, 1688, R. des Ilinois. Another aboriginal name, Theakiki,
Teakiki, etc., whence Kankakee, was applied to one of the branches of
this river. The Ill. r. sometimes shared the name St. Louis with the
Mississippi and the Ohio. It was called R. de Seignelay by Hennepin,
in compliment to the marquis of that name; and once known as the
Divine r. The importance of this river as a water-way from the Great
Lakes to the Mississippi is second only to that of the Wisconsin, and
would be first if the long projected connection of St. Louis with
Chicago by water were made. The use of these two rivers for this
purpose was originally almost simultaneous; for Joliet and Marquette
reached the Miss. r. from Green bay by the Wisc. r. June 15th or 17th,
1673, came down the Miss. r. past the mouth of the Ill. r. in July
that year, continued down to or near the Arkansaw, turned up the Miss.
r. July 17th, reached the Ill. r., and went up the latter to L.
Michigan, Aug.-Sept., 1673. One of Joliet's maps, 1674, clearly shows
the Wis. r. and Ill. r. connections of the Miss. r. with L. Michigan
and Green bay respectively. Michael Accault's party, consisting of
himself, Antoine Auguelle, and L. Hennepin, dispatched by La Salle
from Fort Crevecoeur on the Ill. r., Feb. 29th, 1680, reached its
mouth Mar. 7th, 1680; La Salle did the same himself Feb. 6th, 1682.
The latter--one of the very greatest men in the early history of
American discovery and exploration--came upon the Ill. r. in Dec.,
1679, and made the first French establishment on Lower Mississippian
waters in Jan., 1680, at the Illinois village Pimetoui, close to
present Peoria.

[I-6] Among the islands (or their modern representatives) past which
Pike struggled may be named Perry, Squaw, Enterprise, and Iowa; the
present channel is W. of all these excepting Squaw, taking through
Hatchet chute to Rock ldg. and Milan, Calhoun Co., Ill. That island
whose foot is now nearest 6 m. from the Illinois r. is Dardenne; but
camp was more probably a mile short of this, where is now Bolter's
isl., as it is called--properly Boulder's.

[I-7] About 21 m., Bolter's isl. to the Four Brothers, at Cap au Gres.
The present run of the principal islands is: Dardenne, Two Branch,
Criminal, Peruque, Sweden, all below the mouth of Buffalo, Copper or
Cuivre r. Dardenne cr. falls in on the left hand going up, right bank,
opp. the island of that name; it appears as Dardonne on Owen's map.
Peruque cr. occupies a corresponding position opp. Peruque and Sweden
isls.; Nicollet's map has Perruque. R. au Cuivre or aux Boeufs of
the French, Copper and Buffalo r. of others ("Quiver" r. of Lewis and
Clark's map, 1814), is a large stream which courses from Montgomery
into Lincoln Co., Mo., and then, with its Big cr. branch, separates
the latter from St. Charles Co.; it falls into Cuivre slough, which
cuts off Cuivre isl., 3 m. long. At the upper end of this slough is
the mouth of the creek mapped by Nicollet as M^cLean's, now as Bob,
Bobb, Bobs, Bobbs, etc., cr. Some of the named places along the river
are Brock's, Dixon's, Fruitland, Thomason's, Beck's, Two Branch,
Martin's, Hastings, Beech's, and Bogtown--all insignificant, mostly
mere landings, and all in Calhoun Co., Ill., excepting Beck's. Pike's
Four Brothers are represented by islands Nos. 499, 500, 501, and 502,
of late surveys, not now abreast; all are small, and the largest one
is called Sarah Ann. Pike's "beautiful cedar cliff" is Cap au Gres
rock, opposite a hamlet of the same name in Lincoln Co., Mo.; Dogtown,
Ill., is under the cliff. The phrase is commonly rendered Cap au Gre
or Cap au Gris, by mistaking F. gres, a noun, meaning sandstone, for
F. _gris_, adj., gray. Long of 1817, as pub. 1860 and again 1890, has
a Little Cape Gris; Beltrami, II. p. 196, renders Great Cape Gray. The
exact distance to this place from Grafton is 27 m.; from Alton, 43 m.;
from St. Louis 66 m.

[I-8] Cap au Gres to Hamburg, Calhoun Co., Ill., 22 m.; river crooked,
and channel still more so; late start and much obstruction; Pike may
hardly have reached Hamburg, but was in that vicinity, and we may set
him there, in the absence of any datum for greater precision. The
"vast" number of islands he passed have their modern representatives
in such as: Sandy, 21/2 m. long, with Turner's near it; Stag and Maple,
abreast; Sterling; Westport, 31/2 m. long, with Kickapoo and Kelly's
alongside it. Along this whole way, on the left hand going up, in
Lincoln Co., Mo., runs a long slough approx. parallel with the river.
This is the discharge of Bryant's cr., which approaches the river opp.
Hamburg, gets from the hills and runs in the bottom down to Sandy
isl.; it is called Bayou au Roi on some maps, Bayou Roy on others.
Nicollet charts it with his usual accuracy, but without name. The
principal places passed are the villages of Sterling and Westport,
Lincoln Co., Mo.; Gilead, back up on the hill, in Calhoun Co., Ill.;
lesser ones are the landings, wood-piles, or what-not, called Asbury,
Turner's, Hogtown, and Red's. The St. L., Keok. and N. W. R. R. runs
in the bottom along the bayou; stations Foley, Apex, Elsberry, and
Dameron.

[I-9] _Polyodon spatula_, or _Spatularia spatula_, the paddlefish, also
called spoon-billed cat or duck-billed cat, common in Mississippian
waters. It sometimes attains a length of 5 or 6 feet; the shape
resembles that of the sturgeon, but the skin is scaleless, like a
cat's. One of the Relations ascribed to Hennepin, and pub. 1697,
speaks of this fish as the "long-beaked sturgeon," and says it was
spawning Apr. 24th. Hennepin doubtless became acquainted with it when
he was first on the Mississippi, under Accault, in 1680: see, _e. g._,
Shea's Tr. of Henp., 1880, p. 359.

[I-10] Doubtless one of the brothers mentioned in Lewis and Clark: see
ed. 1893, pp. 1209, 1236, 1243.

[I-11] From Hamburg to Clarksville is 141/2 m., Louisiana or
Louisianaville, 241/2; Pike went about 20, say to Krider's bend, and his
camp was on an island which we may take to be that now called
Krider's, 6 m. above Clarksville, 4 m. below Louisiana. The
"continuation of islands" is now the following in ascending series,
omitting about a dozen small ones; Mosier's or Mozier's, and Howard's,
together, the former 13/4 m. long; Tilden's; McCoy's or Cock; Slim and
Grimes, the former 31/4 m. long; <DW53>, 1 m.; Carroll's or Carle's, 13/4;
Amaranth, small; Eagle, 1 m.; Clarksville, 2 m., opposite the town;
Pharr's, 13/4 m.; and Krider's, 1 m. Above Mosier's isl. and ldg., on
the E., is the outlet of Hamburg bay, 31/2 m. above the town; Bay cr.
falls into it. Behind Slim isl. is the chute of that name, into which
falls the large creek called Guin's, Guinn's, Gwin's, etc.; and at the
head of the island is the mouth of Ramsey's cr., another large one.
These streams are both in Pike Co., Mo.; and as soon as Pike passes
opposite Clarksville he has Pike Co., Ill., on his right, so that he
sails many miles with a county of his own on each side. Clarksville,
Mo., is something of a town, on the edge of the river, under the hill
around which Calumet cr. comes to fall in just above; and 3 m. higher
comes Little Calumet cr. on the same side. Opposite Clarksville is the
lower opening of that immense slough whose character is not less
remarkable than its name. This runs for more than 30 m. alongside the
river, clear through Pike Co., Ill., and into Adams Co., forming a
maze of channels which intersect one another and thus cut off various
islands, besides opening into the Mississippi at several places; some
of these lesser sloughs are called Spring Lake, Atlas, Cocklebur,
Swift, <DW53>, Mud, Five Points, Crooked, Running, and Swan. This
collateral water-course also receives a series of creeks, among which
are those called Big or Big Stew, Six Mile, Honey or Hadley, Ashton or
Fall, and Harkness. This whole affair is commonly called the Snicarty
or Sny Carte; it is Suycartee Slough on Owen's map, and has other
variants too numerous to recount. All these words or phrases are
perversions of F. Chenal Ecarte, lit. cut-off channel. For this and
the corresponding formation of the name Sniabar or Snibar, given to a
creek and town in Missouri, see my note, N. Y. Nation, Jan. 19th,
1893, and Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. 29. The embankment built to
defend the river from the slough is known as the Sny levee.

[I-12] About 20 m., setting Pike in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Pike
Co., Ill.; camp perhaps a little beyond this town, but just about
opposite the boundary between Pike Co., Mo., and Ralls Co., Mo. On the
Illinois side we have nothing worthy of note but the snaky Snicarty,
back of which are the villages Atlas and Rockport. But the Missouri
side offers some interesting things. On decamping from Krider's isl.,
Pike passes in quick succession two creeks, Louisiana and Salt river,
all on his left, all within 6 m. 1. Pike elsewhere cites both these
creeks, and says the first of them is the one he calls Bar r.; this is
now Buffalo cr., falling in 2 m. below Louisiana; the bar at its
mouth, whence the name, is present Buffalo isl. 2. The next creek is
that immediately above, whose mouth is Louisiana; this is called Noir
cr. on most of the maps before me, but Bear cr. on the latest G. L. O.
map; which name the natives prefer I am not informed. 3. Louisiana is
quite a town, which dates back to Nicollet's time, at least, as he
marks it on the beautiful map he made before 1840. The Chic. and Alton
R. R. bridges the river at the mouth of Noir or Bear cr. This was
built 1872-73 (Act of Congr., Mar. 3d, 1871); the town or station Pike
is on the Illinois side, opp. Louisiana. The C. B. and Q. R. R. sends
a branch here; the St. L., Keok. and N. W. R. R. also runs through
Louisiana. 4. Next is Salt r., which Pike elsewhere calls Oahahah, and
others Auhaha, 2 m. above Louisiana. This seems to have been known
long before the time Pike's remark would suggest; if I mistake not, it
is laid down on some maps before 1700. It is a large river; the French
were along here in 1680-90, and I can put my finger on an old F.
Riviere au Sel. Salt r., with its branches, is big enough to water
five or six modern counties, before it falls in through Pike Co.
Present islands in Pike's course of to-day, from Salt r. upward, are
Angle, South, and North Fritz between Hickory chute and Scott's ldg.,
Atlas, Blackbird, and Denmark, between a couple of Snicarty openings
and Mundy's ldg. or Ashburn sta.; then the very large Gilbert's isl.,
21/2 m. long, which lies between Gilbert's and Tompkins' ldg. on the
Missouri side, and Cincinnati ldg. on the other. A good deal of
engineering work was done at this bad place to close Gilbert's chute
and throw the main channel over against the Illinois side.

[I-13] Cincinnati Landing, Pike Co., Ill., to Hannibal, Marion Co., Mo.,
12 m. direct, and not much more by river, as its course is quite
straight. The Frenchman's house, 4 m. beyond which Pike went to camp,
was a germ of Hannibal, sown under the handsome hill, just above a
little run which Nicollet and Owen both map as Bear cr., opposite
Hurricane isl. This place is mapped by Pike as Hurricane Settlement;
he speaks of it again under date of Apr. 26th, 1806. It is now a
notable railroad center; the Wabash R. R. built the bridge in 1871
(Act of Congr., July 25th, 1866). On the Illinois side there was a
place called Douglasville, which seems to have been a forerunner of
the town or station Shepherd; while Hannibal itself has also the St.
L., Keok. and N. W. R. R. skirting the Miss. r., the Hann. and St.
Jo., the St. L. and Hann., and the Mo., Kas. and Tex. To reach this
then French embryo, Pike proceeded with present Pike Co., Ill., on his
right the whole way, but with Ralls Co. on his left, to past Saverton
in the latter county, and so on to Marion Co., Mo. He passed the
positions of the islands now called Taylor's, Cottel's, King's, and
Glasscock's; and after he had interviewed the Frenchman he went on
past the present position of the mouth of Bayou St. Charles, off which
are Turtle, Glaucus, and other islands, to camp in Marion Co., Mo.,
about where the present boundary between Pike and Adams cos., Ill.,
strikes the river--that is to say, opposite Armstrong isl., near the
beginning of the Snicarty. The St. Charles or Charles is old in
history; I have seen the name ascribed to Hennepin, 1680, but have not
myself so found it. Pike's Hurricane isl. is probably not now
determinable, if existent, unless he means a large tract of
bottom-land opposite Hannibal, isolated by the Snicarty. Glasscock's
isl. is now or was lately the only well-founded island on the river
near the mouth of Bear cr. It is said in Holcombe's Hist. Marion Co.,
1884, p. 902, that an island opposite the mouth of Bear cr.
disappeared in 1849. Judge Thos. W. Bacon, who came to Hannibal in
1847, informs me _in lit._ Mar. 21st, 1894, that he remembers no such
island; "there was a sand-bar visible at low water just above the
mouth of Bear cr., and it disappeared long ago, but no such fugitive
formation could properly be termed an island. Along the N. front of
the site of Hannibal was once an incipient island--a sand-bar with
growing willows extending from the N. end almost to the mainland. This
gradually disappeared except at the lower end, where it prolonged and
merged into a granite gravel bed or bar visible at low water, which
was dredged away by the government." Pike is probably mistaken in
using the name Hurricane in the present connection. There were a
Hurricane ldg., isl., and cr. lower down, in Lincoln Co.; but Judge
Bacon informs me he never heard the name applied to Hannibal. Nor is
it true that this town was ever called Stavely's ldg., except as a
piece of fugitive sarcasm in the newspapers of a rival town, arising
in the habit of one John W. Stavely, a saddler of Hannibal, who used
to haunt the landing when steamers arrived. It could not well have
been first known as a "landing," because the first steamer to arrive
there, the Gen. Putnam, Moses D. Bates, master, came in 1825, while
Hannibal was platted in 1819 by its present name, shortly after Pike
Co. was organized (Dec. 14th, 1818). The classical term is said to be
traceable to Antoine Soulard, surveyor-general, who is also said to
have named Fabius r. for the great Roman cunctator. But this is
dubious; old forms Fabas and Fabbas suggest Sp. _fabas_ beans. Bay St.
Charles was called Scipio r., as attested by the hamlet of Port Scipio
at its mouth.

[I-14] This stretch of "39" m. needs to be warily discussed. The whole
distance from Hannibal to Keokuk by the river channel is only 61 m. Pike
makes it from his camp of the 16th to that of the 19th 39 + 23 + 4 = 76
m.; he also started from a little above Hannibal on the 17th, and did
not quite make Keokuk on the 19th; for he only got to the foot of the
Des Moines rapids after breakfast on the 20th. The whole way would
have been about 80 of his miles against say 60 of actual travel, or
the proportion of 4:3, as already noted, p. 2; and we may confidently
set him down on the 17th halfway between Hannibal and Keokuk. Now from
Hannibal to La Grange is 30 m. and from La Grange to Keokuk is 31 m.;
La Grange, Lewis Co., Mo., at the mouth of Wyaconda r., is the
required location of camp of the 17th. This is 10 m. above Quincy, the
seat of Adams Co., Ill., one of the best known cities on the river,
though not as old as some of them. The C. B. and Q. R. R. bridged the
river just above the city in 1867-68; a West Quincy grew up on the
Missouri side, and the present importance of the place requires no
comment. A very short distance above Quincy Pike passes from Marion
into Lewis Co., Mo. But the most important point of this day's voyage
is one to which the above text does not even allude. Pike elsewhere
speaks of a certain Jaustioni river, as the then boundary between the
U. S. and the Sac nation, 7 m. above the Frenchman's house at
Hurricane Settlement, on the W. side; and he traces this river on his
map by the name Jauflione. Now there are five large streams which
enter the Miss. r. on the W. within 3 m. of one another, by four
separate mouths, in Marion Co., say 2 to 5 miles below W. Quincy, and
the proportionate distance above Hannibal. They are now known as (1)
South Two Rivers; (2) North Two Rivers; (3) a branch of the
latter--these three emptying practically together, just below Fabius
isl.; (4) South Fabius; and (5) North Fabius rivers, which fall into a
slough whose two mouths are opposite Orton's isl. Pike has left us no
data to decide which of these he means by Jaustioni or Jauflione,
especially as the positions of the several outlets have no doubt
changed since 1805. They are all at present, or were very recently,
considerably more than the "seven" miles above Hannibal, being
entirely beyond the Bayou St. Charles, itself about 7 m. long. Pike's
queer names, Justioni or Jaustioni, and Jauflione (latter in early
text, 1807, p. 4, and on map), are found also as Jeffreon, and usually
as Jeffrion. Some form of the name, the meaning of which I have never
learned, endured for many years; thus Jauflione r. appears in Morse's
Univ. Gaz., 3d ed. 1821, p. 350, though it had mostly disappeared from
ordinary maps of about that date. The river thus designated has a
history which will bear looking up. Judge Thos. H. Bacon of Hannibal
refers me to certain documents bearing on French Colonial history to
be found in Amer. State Papers, VI. 1860, pp. 713-14, and 830-34, also
repub. in Holcombe's Hist. Marion Co., 1884. On p. 834 is: "July 10th,
1810. Board met. Present John B. C. Lucas, Clement B. Penrose, and
Frederick Bates, Commissioners. Charles Gratiot, assignee of Mathurin
Bouvet, claiming 84 arpents of land front on the Mississippi river and
in depth from the river back to the hills in the district of St.
Charles.... The Board order that this claim be surveyed, provided that
it be not situated above the mouth of the River Jeffrion conformably
to the possession of Mathurin Bouvet," etc. As Bouvet's claim was
ultimately confirmed to Gratiot, Jeffrion r. must have been above Salt
r. The next considerable river above Salt r. is that one of the "Two
Rivers" called South r.; but this is hardly 30 m. long, and an Act of
Dec. 31st, 1813, describes Jeffrion r. as over 30 m. long. The next
one is North Two Rivers; undoubtedly it is this one which was known as
the Jeffrion in Territorial days. When the region was first settled it
was called the Two Rivers country, and the title of a certain Two
Rivers Baptist Association preserves this designation. The Governor of
Louisiana Territory was required to divide it into districts (Act of
Congr., Mar. 26th, 1804, sec. 13); Holcombe's Hist. Marion Co., p. 37,
says that Governor Wm. Clark by proclamation reorganized the districts
into counties Oct. 1st, 1812; and doubtless the Jeffrion would be
there again in mention. Bouvet's settlement on Bay Charles is
unquestionable in location; it was described as about 34 leagues above
St. Louis, and was a place with which the commissioners must have been
officially acquainted. In history B. Charles is nearly a century older
than St. Louis, and it was for many years a better known locality.
Present North r. is the only one that answers the historical and
geographical requirements of the north one of Two Rivers of early
Territorial times and of the Jeffrion r. of French Colonial days.
Holcombe, p. 148, gives an account of Kentucky prospectors on the
Jeffrion in 1817. The name of the Sac chief Black Hawk occurs in
connection with an incident on Two Rivers in 1812. But the most
satisfactory and in fact a conclusive identification of North Two
Rivers with the Jauflione is derivable from the terms of our treaty
with the Sacs and Foxes of 1804. This will be found in Statutes at
Large, VII. p. 84, _seq._: A Treaty between the United States of
America and the United Tribes of Sac and Fox Indians, made Nov. 3d,
1804, ratified Jan. 25th, 1805, and proclaimed Feb. 21st, 1805. Among
the "articles of a treaty made at St. Louis in the district of
Louisiana between William Henry Harrison, governor of the Indiana
territory and of the district of Louisiana [etc., etc.] of the one
part, and the chiefs and head men of the united Sac and Fox tribes of
the other part," there is one defining the boundary thus: "ARTICLE 2.
The general boundary or line between the lands of the United States
and of the said Indian tribes shall be as follows, to wit: Beginning
at a point on the Missouri river opposite to the mouth of the
Gasconade river; thence in a direct course so as to strike the river
Jeffreon at the distance of thirty miles from its mouth, and down the
said Jeffreon to the Mississippi," etc., etc. In company with Mr.
Robert F. Thompson of the Bureau of Indian Affairs at Washington I
made a special examination of maps in his office with reference to
this point, and among them found one, prepared for office use in
determining boundaries indicated in the terms of Indian treaties, on
which the boundary in mention had been drawn from the Missouri
opposite the mouth of the Gasconade directly to a point supposed to be
30 m. up the _North_ Two Rivers, which I had on other grounds
determined the Jauflione or Jeffreon to be. This river empties in
Fabius township, in the N. W. 1/4 of Sect. 3, T. 58 N., R. 5 W.,
Marion Co., Mo.

On this extraordinary cession see a note by L. C. D[raper] in Minn.
Hist. Coll., III. Part 2, p. 143, 1874.

At the upper end of St. Charles bayou, called Bayou chute, a couple of
miles below Two Rivers, was the site of a place that rejoiced on paper
in the name of Marion City. They started a railroad there, were liable
to wash-outs, and inspired Charles Dickens' idea of his quizzical
"Eden." If one would like to see how uncounted "cities" were laid out
in gaudy prints--some consisting in a hovel or two, some without even
that--let him look over Featherstonhaugh's diverting relations of the
'30's, when he traveled in these parts, then overrun with a set of the
neediest, greediest, and most unscrupulous landsharks that ever lived
on calomel, whisky, and the gullibility of their fellows. Marion City
is located on one of the maps before me, but not on any of the others.
A little above it are Fabius and Orton isls., already mentioned, and
opposite these is Ward's isl., larger than either of the other two. A
couple of miles above Quincy begins the group of Cottonwood isls.,
opposite a large horseshoe-shaped slough which seems to be an old
cut-off of the river; it is connected with the Fabius r. outlets, and
receives Durgan's (_i. e._, Durkee's) cr. At Quincy is the lower
outlet of a very extensive snicarty, 12 or 15 m. direct, and much more
by its sinuosities; this begins at Canton (above La Grange) and
connects at various points with Canton chute, itself some 10 m. long.
La Grange, where Pike camps, was so called from the hill under which
it nestled, and the English of which would be Barn hill. The original
settlement was named Wyaconda or Waconda, from the river at whose
mouth it was made; thus Nicollet's map marks Wiyakonda instead of La
Grange, preserving the Indian name of the place. This river is a large
one which, with its branches, traverses Scotland and Clark cos. before
entering Lewis Co. Before settlement a certain tract of country below
La Grange had been called Waconda prairie, or in some similar form of
the Indian word, as Wacondaw of Maj. Thos. Forsyth, 1819; and this is
what Pike's map presents as the "Small Prairie."

[I-15] About two-thirds of the way from La Grange to Keokuk--say to Fox
prairie, at the mouth of Fox r., site of Gregory's Landing, Clark Co.,
Mo. The principal place passed is Canton, Lewis Co., Mo., 7 m. above
La Grange, opposite the head of Canton chute. Some other places that
were started, such as Satterfield, would be hard to find on a
latter-day map. Tully is now practically a part of Canton; Tully isl.
exists, 3 or 4 m. above Canton, and Satterfield's creek is a branch of
Fox r. Near there, one Dodd kept for some years a woodyard on the
Illinois side, and the steamboat channel among the sand-bars and
islands in his vicinity acquired the name of Dodd's crossing.

[I-16] About 10 m., from Gregory's ldg. to "the point of a beach" within
the present city limits of Keokuk, Lee Co., Ia., immediately above the
mouth of Des Moines r., which for some distance separates the States
of Missouri and Iowa; opposite is Hancock Co., Ill. The place where
Pike got sawyered was very likely between Hackley's and Fox isls. The
place is a bad one; there has been a good deal of engineering work
done in damming Hackley's chute, and jettying the channel over to the
other side. Fox r. (once called R. Puante, whence also Stinking cr.)
is not mentioned by Pike in the present connection; but he speaks of
it elsewhere, and lays it down on his map without name, marking an
Indian village on the Illinois side between its mouth and that of Des
Moines r. The present or a very recent arrangement of its discharge is
by Fox slough, a small snicarty that begins at Alexandria and runs 5
m. down to Gregory's ldg. This cuts off a piece of bottom which the
railroad traverses between the points said, besides Fox and several
lesser islands.

[I-17] For the origin of this name, involving a spurious etymology by
association with Trappist monks, see Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. 20.
The always careful and accurate Nicollet made the matter quite plain:
see his Rep. 1843, p. 22. Some form of the old Indian name is used by
the earliest French travelers in these parts. One of the oldest maps I
have seen, dressee par J. B. Franquelin dans 1688 pour etre presentee
a Louis XIV., letters R. des Moingana, and marks the Indian village of
Moingoana. One of Joliet's maps has Moeng8ena. Joliet and Marquette
passed its mouth going down the Miss. r. in 1673, on or about June
25th; Accault, Auguelle, and Hennepin passed it going up the Miss. r.
early in 1680. Besides the many early variants of the phrase which
settled into Des Moines, we find R. of the Outontantas, 8tantas,
8t8ntes, Otentas, etc., R. of the Peouareas, Paotes, etc., R. of the
Maskoutens, etc., Nadouessioux, etc. This is the largest river Pike
has come to since he left the Illinois, and the only tributary of the
Missouri which he charts with any detail; he lays it down with 20 of
its branches, and marks the positions on it of old Forts Crawford and
St. Louis. We observe that he calls it De Moyen; and this gives
occasion for a blunder not less amusing than to call it Trappist r.
would be. For our hero was ambitious of French scholarship, and on
consulting his dictionary to find out about _moyen_, he set the stream
down as _Means_ r. in his French-English vocabulary of geographical
names. Another author, or his printer, got it Demon r. Beltrami, 1828,
renders Le Moine and Monk r. Pike's editor of the early text, 1807,
has des Moines, p. 4. The stream is a large and very important one,
too much so to be entered upon in a mere note like this; but I may
observe that it is historically less significant than those of similar
extent on the Illinois and Wisconsin side of the Mississippi, because
several of the latter were highways during the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. The mouth of the Des Moines became of course the
scene of early settlement, but not all the places started there
survived. Nicollet's map shows three--Keokuck, Montebello, Warsaw.
Owen's, somewhat later, has also Nassau and Churchville, immediately
at the debouchure, where there came to be also a Buenavista.
Publishing in 1847, but having written of 1835, the always
entertaining Featherstonhaugh speaks of "a sorry settlement on the
left bank, called Keokuk, after a celebrated Sauk chief, inhabited
altogether by a set of desperados"--a diagnosis which will no doubt be
better relished by the Hamiltonians, Varsovians, and Alexandrians than
by the present polished Keokukites. He should have made one exception,
however, for he found there the famous George Catlin, Nov. 4th, 1835:
see his book, II. p. 42. Besides Keokuk, Lee Co., Ia., at the foot of
the rapids above the mouth of the Des Moines, the three places which
have grown into urban reality are: Hamilton, Hancock Co., Ill.,
directly opposite Keokuk; Warsaw, Hancock Co., Ill., 2 m. below the
mouth, and directly opposite this, Alexandria, Clark Co., Mo. Three
States as well as three counties thus met here. Pike continues with
Illinois on his right, but now has Iowa instead of Missouri on his
left.

Fort Edwards was a position of importance for some years. This
military post was built on the east side of the Mississippi, 3 m.
below the foot of the rapids, and directly opposite the two islands
which divided the outlet of the Des Moines into three channels. Half a
mile S. W. from the fort was Cantonment Davis, its precursor,
abandoned when the works were completed. The locality is practically
Warsaw. A full description of this establishment, as it was at the
time of Long's visit in August, 1817, is given in his report, as
printed in Minn. Hist. Col., II. Part 1, 1860; 2d ed. 1890, pp. 77-80.
It had been building since June, 1816, and was not quite finished in
1817.

[I-18] Some light--at least that light in which he was regarded--is
thrown on Mr. Ewing by a letter before me from General James Wilkinson
to General Henry Dearborn, Secretary at War, dated St. Louis, Dec. 3d,
1805: "In a former letter you have asked me who this Ewing was? I can
give you no further Information than that I found Him in a place,
which He is utterly unqualified to fill--He is I understand placed at
the River Desmoin, to teach the Indians the Arts of Agriculture, but
has I believe given but a wretched example--This is I think the Third
visit he has made since my arrival to this place, and I expect his
disbursements which are supplied by Mr. Chouteau may exceed
expectation--He appears to be a young man of innocence, levity &
simplicity--without experience or observation."

[I-19] The rapids named from their situation above the mouth of Des
Moines r. have also been known as the Lower rapids, in distinction
from those higher up about the mouth of Rock r. These formidable
obstacles to navigation have been overcome by modern engineering
skill, but Pike's curt notice of the channel is clearly recognizable.
The river was bridged by the Wabash road between Hamilton and Keokuk,
in 1869-70 (Act of Congr., July 25th, 1866); the town lock and chain
are within a mile or so of the bridge. Then succeed the English,
Lamalee, and Spanish chains, and the Upper chain at the head of the
rapids. The distance is about 11 m. Sandusky, Ia., was located between
the English and Lamalee chains; Nashville, Ia., at the Spanish chain;
Solferino, Ia., above the last; at or near one of these last two is
Galland, Ia.; and on the Illinois side is a place called Sonora. On
that side Cheney cr. falls in at Hamilton, and higher up are two
others, known as Golden's and Quarry Sugar, but which used to be
called Wagoner's and Larry's; while on the Iowan side Price's cr.
falls in at the middle lock, Lamalee's at Sandusky, and several
smaller ones at various points. The railroad and canal hug the Iowan
side. At the head of the rapids the river makes a sharp bend; in the
concavity of this bend stands Nauvoo, Ill., originally a Mormon
settlement; it used to be called also Commerce. This is the place
where Mr. Ewing had his establishment when he entertained Pike; the
latter charts it as "U. S. Agricultural Estab^t." The Sac village
opposite was on the site of the present town of Montrose, Ia. A large
creek runs through this town. There are some islands at the head of
the rapids, between Nauvoo and Montrose, one of which, No. 401 of the
Miss. Surv. chart, is called Montrose. At the head of the bend, still
opp. Nauvoo, is the lower end of Dobson's slough, which receives a
stream charted by Nicollet and Owen as Sugar cr., but later dedicated
to his Satanic majesty by the name of Devil's or Big Devil cr., called
by Beltrami Manitou cr. Devil's isl. is the name of the large tract,
nearly 4 m. long, which is isolated by Dobson's slough, certain
sections of which latter are known as Big River and Potter's.

[I-20] James Wilkinson: see elsewhere for this letter, which formed Doc.
No. 1, App. to Pt. 1. of the orig. ed. of this work. Pike's 5 or 6 m.
takes him past Dobson's slough and Devil's or Sugar cr. and isl., and
the sand-bar on which he camped is now represented by Niota isl., 21/2
m. long, or one of the small ones close by. The locality is the
well-known one of the city of Madison, or Fort Madison, seat of Lee
Co., Ia. Opposite this city, in Hancock Co., Ill., are two little
places, one called Niota, and the other Appannose (Nicollet),
Appanoose (G. L. O. map), Appanooce (Miss. Surv. chart), etc. A
certain creek which falls in by Niota and is known as Tyson's cr.
seems to be the never-identified one which Lewis and Clark mapped in
1814 as Sand Bank cr.

A history of Lee Co., pub. Chicago, 1879, says that the city of Fort
Madison was so called from the old fort and trading-post of that name.
The author speaks of the tradition that this establishment was built
by Zachary Taylor, when this distinguished general, afterward
president of the United States, was a lieutenant in the army; and
attempts to refute this tradition by an appeal to the War Department
for the facts in the case. But unluckily, the information he derived
from this source was erroneous; for the Hon. Geo. W. McCrary, then
secretary of war, told him that the adjutant-general of the army
reported to him (McCrary) that Fort Madison was erected by Pike in
1805. Whereas, besides imperishable renown, Pike erected nothing in
1805 but his stockade on Swan r., and various patriotic flag-poles.
The difference between selecting or recommending a site for a fort,
and building one on that site, is obvious at sight. But Pike did not
even select or recommend this spot for a fort, the lowest one of
several which he did pick out being at Burlington: see next note. Z.
Taylor was a 1st lieut. of the 7th Infantry in 1808, appointed from
Ky.; which fact, as far as it goes, supports the tradition. The
Andreas Hist. Atl. of Ia. has it that the fort for which the town was
named was built in 1808; evacuated and burned by hostile Indians, 1813
(qu. 1812?). On Monday, Aug. 4th, 1817, when Long visited the ruins of
Fort Madison, there was nothing left but some old chimneys, a covert
way leading from the main garrison to some sort of an elevated outwork
in the rear, and a number of fruit-trees on the ground which had been
a garden: see Minn. Hist. Soc. II., Part 1, 1860, 2d ed. 1890, p. 75.
In the fall of 1832 one Peter Williams settled on the present site of
the town. The old trading-house there was called Le Moine factory. The
old fort stood close to the river, and as I judge within a third of a
mile of the present State penitentiary.

[I-21] About 18 m., to a position above the mouth of Skunk r., a little
below the Burlington bluffs; he calls it 51/4 m. to the locality he
presently describes with particularity, and which will be recognized
as the site of Burlington, seat of Des Moines Co., Ia. After passing
Madison on his left, with Niota and Appanoose on his right, he goes up
by Pontoosuc and Dallas, both in Hancock Co., Ill., and then has
Henderson Co., Ill., on his right. Further up, on the left, Lee Co. is
separated from Des Moines Co., Ia., by Skunk r. This is a large
stream, whose present pleasant name translates the Indian word
rendered Shikagua by Nicollet, and Shokauk by Featherstonhaugh; Lewis
and Clark map it as Polecat r. Beltrami, 1828, calls it Polecat r. and
River of the Bete Puante. Green Bay is a small place in Lee Co., on a
sort of slough which discharges into the river behind Lead isl., and
which is called Green bay. This is connected in some way, which for me
remains occult, with a creek called by Nicollet Lost cr.; it is a part
of the intricate waters between Skunk r. and that stream which runs
through Madison past the State penitentiary, where the bridge that was
built in 1887-88 strikes the Iowa side. Jollyville was a place on the
same waters, but seems to have been lost like the creek. Some of the
islands besides Lead, the present positions of which Pike passed, if
not these islands themselves, are now known as Dutchman, Hog, Polk,
Thompson, Peel, and Twin, the latter at the mouth of Skunk r. His camp
I suppose to have been about on the spot where one Sauerwein used to
keep his woodyard, about halfway between Twin isls. and the mouth of
Spruce (or Spring) cr. This is nearly opp. the middle of the great
island now called Burlington, formerly Big, being 7 m. long, separated
from the Illinois mainland by Shokokon slough, on which there is or
was a place called by this latter name. A number of creeks make into
this slough, among them those called Dug Out, Honey (Camp cr. of
Nicollet and Owen), and Ellison's. A place called Montreal started
near Ellison's cr., but does not seem to have survived. What Pike maps
as "Sand bank Creek," at a place he calls "Sand Bay," seems to be Dug
Out cr., or the next one below, which falls into the slough behind
Thompson's isl., near Dallas City.

[I-22] This is the prairie through which meanders Henderson r., 6 m.
above Burlington. The Sac village was on its north bank. The prairie
and the village are lettered on the map as per text; the river is
shown there, without name; the Burlington bluffs are delineated,
marked "Positions for a Fort." The present city was built across the
mouth of Hawkeye cr., a rivulet which makes in above the steepest part
of the bluff, where the Flint hills recede a little from the river; it
extends to the larger Flint cr. or r., at whose mouth it may be said
to be situated. Across the Mississippi is East Burlington, Ill., at
the head of Shokokon slough; the bridge which the C., B. and Q. R. R.
built in 1867-68 spans the river and connects the two places. There
are numerous islands above Burlington, the principal of which are
O'Connell's, Rush, and Otter. Above Henderson r. there is nothing of
special note till we reach Oquawka, seat of Henderson Co., Ill.,
reckoned 13 m. by the channel above Burlington. Pike omits his
customary mileages to-day, but did not get beyond Oquawka, which is at
the head of the prairie on which he camped; for here begin some steep
banks, known before and since Pike's day as the Yellow banks. He marks
them on his map, and they are mentioned by the same name in Forsyth's
narrative of 1819.

[I-23] We are not told which side of the river this was, and the
sentence is otherwise ambiguous, as all streams hereabouts are
branches of the river. We know he means a bayou or slough, by
following which he expected soon to regain the Mississippi ahead of
his boats, and I suppose that Huron slough, on the Iowa side, led him
astray. The slough itself is not long, merely cutting off Huron and
some smaller islands for four miles; but this receives Iowa slough,
which meanders toward the river, and so would take Pike and Bradley
away from the river if they followed it up. This supposition is
strengthened by Pike's using the word "savannah," which with him means
rather marsh or bog than prairie, and he would hardly have applied it
to the better ground on the Illinois side if he had gone there and
been misled by Henderson r. Moreover, he continues to camp on the west
side, as he would naturally do after loss of the two men who went to
find his dogs; and also he expected to recover the men at the place
above where the hills first come down to the river, which is at
Muscatine, Ia. He does not say who these men were; they were not
recovered till Sept. 1st, at Dubuque.

[I-24] This mileage is excessive, as are all those hence to Rock Island
or Davenport, the distance of which by the channel is 70 m. from
Oquawka, though Pike makes it 92. Moreover, the distance from Oquawka
to New Boston, directly opposite the mouth of the Iowa r., is only 18
m., and Pike remains below the Iowa r. to-day. What with sloughing it,
losing his dogs, and waiting for his men, he did not get much beyond
Keithsburg, Mercer Co., Ill., which we may safely take as to-day's
datum-point. This is built under a bank at the mouth of Pope's cr.,
and so far answers the requirements of Pike's camp opposite it. The
situation is in Louisa Co., Ia., but a little distance over the
boundary of Des Moines Co. Excepting Keithsburg, no notable point is
passed to-day. A place called Huron was started on the slough of that
name, but it never came to anything. Huron isl. is called Thieves'
isl. on some maps. The large one (No. 355) opp. Keithsburg, and
crossed by the railroad, is separated from the Iowan side by Black
Hawk slough.

[I-25] Pike delineates "Sand Bank" on his map directly opposite the
mouth of Iowa r. This is the site of New Boston, Mercer Co., Ill. The
bank comes immediately upon the river with a frontage of 2 m., and
Edwards r. falls in at the foot of the bank, 31/2 m. above Pope's r. At
New Boston the Mississippi turns sharply, so that the mouth of Iowa r.
is rather on the S. than W.; and the bank on which is the town recedes
northward, leaving low ground between itself and the Mississippi,
watered by the ramifications of Sturgeon bay, Illinois slough, Swan
lake, etc. This is what Pike means by his "Sand-bank prairie on the E.
side." As to that "marked Grant's prairie," I should observe that no
such name appears on the map as published; Pike referred to his
immense original draft in water-colors, now preserved in the War
Department, and from which the small printed map was reduced with the
omission of too many details. What he means by Grant's prairie is the
lowlands on the Iowa side before you come to Muscatine, which is the
point where the hills first reach the river-side. Compare Apr. 26th,
1806. Grant's prairie is now known as Muscatine isl., being virtually
cut off by Muscatine slough, whose lower mouth is hardly 2 m. above
the Iowa r., though the upper entrance is at Muscatine--a distance of
some 18-20 m. At one point this slough dilates into a body of water
which is now called Keokuk lake, but which was charted by Nicollet as
"L. Maskuding or in the Prairie." Here are obviously the origin and
meaning of the name "Muscatine." The town now so called was once known
as Bloomington. I suspect that "Grant's" prairie in Pike may be
intended for _Grande_ prairie; thus Beltrami calls it Grande Prairie
Mascotin, II. p. 196, and Forsyth has Grand Mascoutin. There was a
place started by the name of Port Louisa on the Iowan side of the
river, near one of the openings of Muscatine slough; but it seems to
have disappeared after bequeathing the name to the county, whose seat
is now Wapello. As to Pike's "28" miles to-day, that is best disposed
of by observing that to-morrow he drags his boat "nine miles, to where
the river Hills join the Mississippi," _i. e._, to Muscatine. So he
camps on the Iowan side, a certain distance below Muscatine. We shall
not be far out if we set him exactly on the boundary between Louisa
and Muscatine cos., opp. the lower end of Blanchard's isl., behind the
middle of which Copperas or Copper cr. falls in on the Illinois side.

The great Iowa r. should not be passed without remark. For the name in
its extreme fluidity, see Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. 20. Some still
more singular forms of the word than those there noted reach us from
the time when the French writers and cartographers used the figure 8
for the letters _ou_; so that "Iowa" was liable to appear as Ay8ay
(Ayouay), or in some such form: Neill cites forms sing. and pl. as
Aye8ias, Ayo8ois, Ayooues, Ayavois, Ayoois, Ayouez, Ayoes, Aaiaoua, to
which I can add Aiavvi; another series of words flows from the
introduction of J or j: thus Pike, early text, 1807, p. 5, has Jowa,
and I have noticed also Ajoe, Jaway, Joway, Jowah, etc. Beltrami,
1828, has Yawoha, Yahowa, and Yawowa. This river-system waters a great
portion of the State, on courses S., S. E., and E. Pike says elsewhere
that in ascending it 36 m. you come to a fork, the right-hand branch
of which is called Red Cedar r. Waiving any question of distance, this
is correct; and moreover, Red Cedar is the larger of the two forks,
though by a very unusual freak of nomenclature the united stream Iowa
takes the name of the lesser fork. He further says that Red Cedar r.
branches out 300 m. from its mouth; which triple forking is "called
the Turkey's foot." This term seems to have lapsed; the situation is
in Black Hawk Co., above Cedar Falls, and one of the turkey's toes is
called Shell Rock r. The notable town of Cedar Rapids is lower down,
in Linn Co. The confluence of Iowa r. proper with Red Cedar is at
Fredonia, Louisa Co.; Pike's map represents this by the
pitchfork-shaped object, though it is not lettered with any name. He
marks a village of Iowas "about 10 miles up," on the "right" bank,
_i. e._, on the right-hand side going up, left bank. Iowa r. presents the
anomaly of a great river with nothing to speak of at its mouth (New
Boston is across the Mississippi). "Iowa City" seems never to have got
much beyond its original wood-pile, and a similar "city" which
Nicollet charts by the name of Black Hawk would be hard to find now.
There is, however, a little place called Toolsboro, under the hill on
the left bank, 2 m. above the mouth of the Iowa.

[I-26] Pirogues: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 4. Pike uses this form
consistently. The most amusing variant of the word I have noticed
occurs in Shea's Hennepin's Descr. Louisiana, Eng. tr., 1880, p. 156,
where we read, "a number of parrakeets and about eighty cabins full of
Indians," and an editorial note informs us that "the French printer
put peroquets, but Margry's Relation gives the real word, 'pirogues,'
'canoes.'"

[I-27] The distance between Muscatine and Rock Island is 28 or 29 m. by
the channel. As Pike has 6 or 8 m. to go before reaching Muscatine,
makes "281/2" to-day, and "22" to-morrow, we can confidently set him
down to-night halfway between these two places--say vicinity of
Montpelier, Muscatine Co., Ia., 4 or 5 m. below Buffalo, Ia., and
Andalusia, Ill. There is no specially notable point in this whole
stretch, after Muscatine is passed; the most of a place is Fairport,
Ia., 3 m. above Tahma or Sweetland cr. Several places that were
started seem to have died young, if they were not stillborn; we find
on older maps such as Geneva, somewhere between Muscatine and Fairport
on the Iowa side, and Wyoming, apparently in the same position as
Fairport now is. Between Muscatine and Fairport the river is or was
recently divided into Drury slough, Wyoming slough, and Hersey chute
betwixt these. Pine cr. falls in on the Iowan side, 21/2 m. above
Fairport. Opposite Fairport the long Andalusia slough opens, running
down on the Illinois side all the way from Andalusia, a distance of 9
m. Pike's camp was probably on the Iowan side (still in Muscatine
Co.); across the river he has Rock Island Co., Ill.

[I-28] Actually about 16 m., to one of the most definite locations of
the voyage thus far, in the heart of the present city of Davenport,
seat of Scott Co., Ia., and directly opposite Rock Island, seat of
Rock Island Co., Ill. Soon after passing present site of Montpelier,
Pike went from Muscatine into Scott Co., Ia. Next are the two towns
directly opposite each other, of Buffalo, Ia., and Andalusia, Ill.;
the former is marked N. Buffalo on Nicollet's map; the other is called
Rockport on Owen's map, or Rockport was then where Andalusia is now.
Linwood, Ia., is a small place 2 m. above Buffalo; and 3 m. above this
was the site of Rockingham, Ia. This last was started directly
opposite the mouth of Rock r., but never flourished. In fact there is
probably no place on the Mississippi where more mushroom towns have
been projected on paper by unscrupulous speculators than about the
mouth of Rock r.; and we observe that they mostly had resounding
names, well known in other parts of the world. A certain
Stephensonville is marked on Nicollet's map, apparently in the present
position of the city of Rock Island. In the mouth of Rock r. is a
triangular island, dividing the two outlets, and opposite this is
Credit isl. (No. 312), 11/2 m. long. Pike's camp in Davenport was
probably about opposite the lower point of Rock isl., 21/2 m. long; this
is No. 307 of the Engineers' chart, and its lower end was utilized for
the bridge built in 1869-72 by the C., R. I. and P. R. R. (Act of
Congr., July 26th, 1868).

La Riviere de Roche, or a la Roche, of the French, which Pike and
others call Stoney or Stony and Rocky or Rock r., and which is now
known by the latter name, is the second largest in Illinois. It arises
in Wisconsin, in the region S. of Lake Winnebago, leaves that State at
Beloit, and holds a general S. W. course through Illinois to the
Mississippi. It used to be called Kickapoo r.--a name traceable to R.
des Kicapous of Franquelin's map, 1688. Pike gives its source as near
Green bay of L. Michigan, and ascribes a length of 450 m., 300 of them
navigable. His map letters "The largest Sac Vill." on its S. side near
the mouth, about the present position of Milan, and delineates the
extensive rapids of the Miss. r., above its mouth, which the text of
the 28th describes. Rock r. afforded one of the five or six principal
waterways between the Great Lakes and the Miss. r., the connection
being made above the Horicon marshes by portage from the small stream
which falls into L. Winnebago at Fond du Lac. But this way was less
eligible than the Fox-Wisconsin route.

[I-29] See Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, pp. 1202, 1203, 1211. James Aird
and his brother George were among the Sioux traders at the mouth of
the Minnesota or St. Pierre r. in 1803 and thereafter; others
similarly engaged then and there were Archibald Campbell, Duncan
Graham, and Francis M. Dease.

[I-30] Davenport, Ia., to Le Claire, Ia., 16 m. by water; Rock Island,
Ill., to Port Byron, Ill., 17 m.; actual extent of the rapids somewhat
less than either of these distances. The chains, in ascending series,
are called Lower, Moline, Duck Creek, Winnebago, Campbell's, St.
Louis, Crab Island, Sycamore, Smith's, Upper. The principal islands
are: Rock, No. 307, 21/2 m. long, with the little ones called Papoose
(No. 308), Benham's, and Sylvan, alongside; Campbell's, opp.
Watertown, Ill.; Spencer's, opp. Hampton, Ill., on the Iowan side; and
Fulton's. A number of creeks make in on both sides; among them are
Duck, Crow, and Spencer's, on the Iowan side, and the one on the
Illinois side which falls in by Watertown, name unknown to me. The
rapids were formerly guarded by Fort Armstrong, occupying an eligible
site on the extreme lower end of Rock isl. A good account of this
post, as it was in 1817, is found in Long's Expedition of that year,
printed in 1860 and reprinted in 1890, in Part I of II. of the Minn.
Hist. Coll., pp. 67-73. The places on the Illinois side are: Moline,
31/2 m. above Rock Island; Watertown, 5 m. above Moline; Hampton, 1 m.
above Moline; Rapids City, 41/2 m. above Hampton; Port Byron, 1 m.
further; land distances less than by river-channel. On the Iowan side,
between Davenport and Le Claire, are places called Gilberttown or
Gilbert, opp. Moline, and Valley City or Pleasant Valley, opp.
Hampton. Pike does not say where he camped at the head of the rapids;
but it was no doubt at Le Claire, as the channel ran on the Iowan
side.

[I-31] This Fox Indian village is located on Pike's map, but without
name. It was on the Iowan side, above the rapids--not at Le Claire,
but somewhat further up, at or near present town of Princeton, Scott
Co., Ia. Forsyth in 1819 speaks of "the Little Fox village, 9 miles
above the rapids." A mile above Princeton, on the Illinois side, is
Cordova, marked Cordawa on Owen's map, and Berlin on Nicollet's.

[I-32] At 4 m. above Cordova, Pike passed on the left or Iowan side a
river whose name is perhaps the most remarkable thing about it:
Wabisapencun, Pike's map; Wabisipinekan, Pike's text, further on;
Wabisapincun, Lewis and Clark's map of 1814; Wapisipinacon, Long's;
Wabezipinikan, Nicollet's; Wabesapinica, Featherstonhaugh's;
Wapsipinicon, Owen's and U. S. Eng'rs'; Wapsipinecon, G. L. O. No two
original authors agree, and when one tries to copy another he is
liable to be foiled by his printer. But the river runs on just the
same, through several Iowan counties, on a general S. E. course,
approximately parallel in most of its extent with Red Cedar r. It also
does duty as the boundary between Scott and Clinton cos., Ia., along
most of their apposed extent. There are several islands about its
mouth; one of them is called Adams. Opposite the mouth of the W----n
r., for a space of about 8 m. along the Illinois side of the
Mississippi, the hills recede, leaving a low place in which the body
of water known as Marais d'Osier, or Lake Willowmarsh, is situated:
see Pike's map, in the interval between his "High Prairie" (ending at
Cordova) and his "Rocky Hills" (beginning about Albany). Beltrami, II.
196, calls this Marais d'Oge, and says it was "inhabited by a savage
of the same name"! Beltrami's bosom friend, Major Long, has a still
more startling rendition of the phrase, as Mer a Doge, in Minn. Hist.
Coll., II. Part 1, 1860, 2d ed. 1890, p. 67. It appears as Mare de Oge
on an Illinois atlas before me. From Le Claire to Albany is 18 m.;
Pike probably did not get quite so far as this, but for convenience of
keeping tally we will assume that he did, and set him on the lower
point of the great Beaver isl. (No. 291), at the mouth of Comanche
slough, directly opposite Albany, Whiteside Co., Ill.; nearest place
on the other side is Comanche or Camanche, Clinton Co., Ia. Beaver
isl. is 3 m. long, and extends up to Clinton, the county seat.

[I-33] The distance by river-channel from Albany to Dubuque is reckoned
72 m. Pike's figures are 43 + 311/2 + 25 = 991/2 m. The required reduction of
mileage is about one-fourth off; applying which to the "43" m. of the
30th, we find Pike somewhere in the vicinity of Apple r., and may most
conveniently set him at its mouth. Decamping on the 30th, he first
made the stretch of Beaver isl., past Cedar and Cat-tail crs., right,
and came to Clinton. The original name of this city, or of its site,
was New York; both these terms seem to point back to the time when
Governor Dewitt C. Clinton was popular. The river was spanned here by
the bridge built by the C. and N. W. R. R. in 1864-65, utilizing
island No. 290. Two or three miles above stand, facing each other,
Lyons, Clinton Co., Ia., and Fulton, Whiteside Co., Ill.; around the
other side of the hill N. of Fulton, Otter cr. falls in. The line of
hills on the Iowan side comes to the river a mile above Lyons, but at
once recedes again, leaving along the river-side what is called the
Pomme de Terre, Potato, or Ground Apple prairie, at the head of which
Elk r. or cr. falls in, 8 m. above Lyons. The recession of the hills
on the Illinois side from Fulton is much greater for a space of 16 m.,
where there is low ground for some miles back from the river, sloughy
the whole way near the river, and thus making various islands, the
largest of which are called Fulton and Savanna. Near the head of
Fulton isl. is a little place named Thompson, in Carroll Co., Ill. The
line of Whiteside and Carroll cos. strikes the river about halfway
between Fulton (town) and Thompson. On the Iowan side, the line of
Clinton and Jackson cos. is between Elk r. and Sabula. The latter
town, or its site, used to be called Charleston. It naturally grew
after 1881, when the C., M. and St. P. R. R. built the bridge here,
under Act of Congr., Apr. 1st, 1872. The site of Sabula is called
Prairie du Frappeur, Beltrami, II. p. 196, where it is said to have
been "inhabited by a savage of that name." Before crossing the river,
the track ran for a couple of miles on Savanna isl., at the head of
which Plum r. falls in; and immediately above this point is Savanna,
Carroll Co., Ill., 21/2 m. from Sabula. The high ground comes close to
the river at Savanna, but on the Iowan side there is sloughy bottom
for 4 m. above Sabula, all this lowland being known as Keller's isl.;
above this, higher ground comes to the river-side at Keller's bar.
Rush or Big Rush cr. falls in on the Illinois side 5 m. above Savanna,
and 2 m. further is the mouth of La Pomme or Apple r., nearly up to
the boundary between Carroll and Jo Daviess cos., Ill. One Arnold used
to have his landing a mile below Apple r., about where we suppose Pike
to have camped.

[I-34] Whatever the exact distance represented by this mileage, we have
to set the Expedition down in a very unhealthy place to-night, as will
presently appear. Soon after decamping from Apple r.,--that is, in 5
miles' distance by the channel, Pike passes on his left a notable
stream, which he elsewhere calls the Great Macoketh. This is Makokety
r. of Nicollet, Maquoketa r. of others, whose name is now usually
spelled Makoqueta. This is also the designation of the county seat of
Jackson, situated upon the river. It falls in opposite Sand prairie,
about where the line between Carroll and Jo Daviess cos. strikes the
river. The "beautiful eminence on the W." which Pike observed is
Leopold hill, near Bellevue, Jackson Co., Ia. This town existed before
Nicollet's map was made, as he marks it by name. The locality called
Cheniere by Beltrami II. 196, was hereabouts. He gives it on the W.,
10 m. above his R. la Pomme. The hills begin to approach the river
four or five miles below Bellevue, and so continue with little
interruption to Dubuque. The trough of the river is similar on the
Illinois side, but the hills do not hug the river so closely, leaving
a stretch of sloughy bottom, especially at the delta of the Galena r.
This is the insalubrious place of encampment. The Galena was long
named, and is still sometimes called, Fever r. The same slough by
which it discharges receives Smallpox cr.; and on the Iowan side,
opposite Harris slough, which is the upper end of the Fever delta, a
creek falls in known as Tete du Mort, or Tete des Morts. It must have
been a choice region of saturnine and miasmatic poisons, as the
victims of lead-palsy and ague-cake who lived on Fever r. had the
option of moving down on Smallpox cr. or over to Death's-head cr. The
place to avoid is pointed out to Mississippian tourists by Pilot Knob,
an isolated eminence on the prairie near the variolous creek, 3 m. S.
of the city of Galena, which is about the same distance up the febrile
stream. The cranial creek is said to have been so named on account of
the number of skulls which resulted from an Indian fight there. On
this point Beltrami, 1828, II. p. 160, has "a place called the
Death's-heads; a field of battle where the Foxes defeated the
Kikassias [Kaskaskias?], whose heads they fixed upon poles as trophies
of their victory. We stopped at the entrance of the river la Fievre, a
name in perfect conformity with the effect of the bad air which
prevails there." Nor do I know what terrors may be hidden under the
name of Sinsinawa cr., which makes in a mile or two higher up, on the
Illinois side. Two of the sloughs at the delta are called respectively
Harris' and Spratt's; a third is Stone slough. One Gordon established
a ferry here, many years ago, and a place on the Iowan side, close to
the boundary between Jackson and Dubuque cos., is still known as
Gordon's ferry. Regarding the nomenclature of Galena r., we should not
omit to cite here Keating's Long's Exp. of 1823, published 1824, I. p.
212, where it is stated that Smallpox cr. and Fever r. are the same:
"a small stream, called by the Indians Mekabea Sepe, or Small-pox
river; it is the Riviere de la Fievre, which is said to enter the
Mississippi opposite to Dubuque's mines." Probably not much weight
attaches to this observation, which Major Long only made
parenthetically, and evidently at second-hand information, in speaking
of a badger which his party had killed and cooked; though it is also
quite possible that Galena r. once rejoiced in both names, one of
which was later conferred upon the small creek which enters its delta.
That Long knew the Galena as La Fievre r. is certain, for he uses the
latter name, though without any accent, in the narrative of his voyage
of 1817, in speaking of reaching it on Monday, July 28th, of that
year. See Minn. Hist. Coll., II. Part 1, 1860; 2d ed. 1890, p. 66. It
appears that Long's MS. of his voyage of 1817 was placed in Prof.
Keating's hands when the latter was preparing for publication the
history of Long's Expedition of 1823. This source of information was
freely drawn upon; in fact, I do not see that Prof. Keating did not
fully avail himself of this opportunity to editorially embody in the
narrative of 1823 the whole substance of the 1817 materials, in so far
as Major Long went over the same ground in the two expeditions. But
the earlier narrative contains considerable matter not pertinent to
the later one, inasmuch as Major Long in 1817 traversed a long section
of the Mississippi that he did not retrace in 1823. On this particular
account, as well as for more general reasons, it was desirable and
eminently fitting that Long's Expedition of 1817 should be published;
and that was first done in long after-years by my friend, the late
Rev. Edw. D. Neill, the veteran Minnesota historian, who received the
MS. for this purpose from Dr. Edwin James, then of Burlington, Ia.
(who d. Oct. 28th, 1861). As originally published under Dr. Neill's
careful editorship, the article was entitled: "Voyage in a Six-Oared
Skiff to the Falls of Saint Anthony in 1817. By Major Stephen H. Long,
Topographical Engineer United States Army," and formed Part 1 of Vol.
II. of the Minn. Hist. Coll., 1860 (about 80 pages); 2d ed. 1890,
half-title and introductory note by E. D. N., one leaf; journal, pp.
9-83; map and appendix, prepared by A. J. Hill, pp. 84-88. Major
Long's movements of 1817 occupied 76 days, of which the journal here
printed covers the period from July 9th to Aug. 15th, both inclusive,
or 38 days; as it picks up Major Long after his return to Prairie du
Chien from a tour of the Fox-Wisconsin portage, takes him from that
Prairie to the falls, and returns him to Bellefontaine, near the mouth
of the Missouri. The objects of this voyage were to meander the upper
Mississippi and take its topography, with special reference to the
selection of military sites. It was performed in a boat furnished by
Governor William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St. Louis.
Its most important single result was the speedy occupation of the
mouth of St. Peter's r. for a military post, at first called Fort St.
Anthony, and in 1824 named Fort Snelling; but the narrative is replete
with matter of permanent historical and scientific interest. Major
Long was a conscientious, competent, and well-equipped explorer, as
all three of his important and memorable expeditions attest. The
present expedition is the only one of which we have the account from
his own pen, as Dr. James and Prof. Keating, respectively, were the
authors of the other two. Stephen Harriman Long, of New Hampshire, was
appointed from that State a second lieutenant of Engineers Dec. 12th,
1814, and brevetted major of Topographical Engineers Apr. 29th, 1816,
though his actual majority in that corps was not reached till July
7th, 1838. He became colonel Sept. 9th, 1861, was retired June 1st,
1863, and died at Alton, Ill., Sept. 4th, 1864.

[I-35] This Dubuque matter formed a part of Doc. No. 2 of App. to Part 1
of the orig. ed., p. 5, and will be found beyond: see Chap. v. Art. 3.
The document was transmitted to General Wilkinson by Pike from Prairie
du Chien.

[I-36] Chippewas, or Ojibways--of whom Pike has much to say in this
volume. The French nickname he uses, found also as Saulteurs,
Saulteux, Saltiaux, Sautiers, Saltiers, Soutors, Soters, etc., was not
given because these Indians were better jumpers than any others, but
because the band of Chippewas whom it originally designated lived
about the Sault de Sainte Marie, or St. Mary's falls, of Lake
Superior. The term afterward became synonymous with Chippewas or
Ojibways in a broad sense. On the map of Champlain's Voy., Paris,
1632, the Sault is marked du Gaston, for the brother of Louis XIII.,
and there located between Mer Douce and Grand Lac, _i. e._, between
Lakes Huron and Superior. The chute seems to have been first heard of
about 1616-18, from one Etienne Brusle, or Stephen Broolay. In 1669,
when the Jesuits reached the place, they changed the name to
compliment the B. V. M. There is no doubt that Ojibwa or Ojibway is
preferable to Chippewa or Chippeway, as a name of the tribe; but the
latter is best established, both in official history and in geography,
and may be most conveniently retained. These are the same word,
etymologically, and are mere samples of the extraordinary profusion of
forms in which the name exists. Very likely 50 different combinations
of letters could be produced, some of them bearing little resemblance
to one another. The meaning of the name is in chronic dispute. The
linguistic sages seem to be agreed that the word has something to do
with _puckering_; but whether it refers to the place which is puckered
up between the two lakes above said, or to the way the moccasins of
these Indians were puckered along a peculiar seam, or to the habits of
these Indians of torturing with fire till the skins of their prisoners
were puckered by burning to a crisp, are questions much agitated. The
learned Anglojibway, Hon. W. W. Warren, historian of his tribe, takes
the latter view, saying: "The word is composed of _o-jib_, 'pucker
up,' and _ub-way_, 'to roast,' and it means, 'to roast till puckered
up.'" Mr. Warren adduces also the name Abboinug, literally Roasters,
given by the Ojibways to the Sioux, from the same horrid practice. He
says that the Ojibways, as a distinct tribe or people, denominate
themselves Awishinaubay. Probably the best account we possess of these
Indians is that given in the Minn. Hist. Coll., V. of which is almost
entirely devoted to the subject (pp. 1-510, 1885). This consists of
Warren's history, based on traditions, and of Neill's, based on
documents. The two thus admirably complement each other, and are
preceded by a memoir of Warren, by J. Fletcher Williams.

[I-37] Our name of these Siouan Indians comes from their Algonkin
appellation, which reached us through an assortment of French forms
like Ouinipigou (as Vimont, Relation, 1640), etc., several of which
have served as the originals of place-names now fixed in current
usage. The term Puants, meaning Stinkers, was the French nickname. It
is found as Puans, Pauns, Pawns, Paunts, etc., originated very early,
and was much in vogue. On the old map cited in the foregoing note
appears the legend "La Nation des Puans," though these Indians, with
their Green bay, are marked on it N. instead of S. of Lakes Superior
and Huron. The Stinkards gave occasion for a Latin synonym, as seen in
the phrase "Magnus Lacus Algonquiniorum seu Lacus Foetentium" of De
Creux's map, Hist. Canada, Paris, 1664. They were also called Gens de
Mer, Sea People. Jean Nicolet of Cherbourg in France, in the service
of Champlain's Hundred Associates, believed to have been the first
white man to enter Green bay, in July, 1634, calls them by their own
name of themselves, which he renders Ochunkgraw, and which later
acquired a variety of forms: see note 44, p. 39, and Butterfield's
Disc. N. W., 1881, _passim_, esp. p. 38.

[I-38] Pike did not get far from Dubuque, if he left at 4 p. m. He
probably stopped at the first convenient place to camp above the
bluff, in the vicinity of Little Makoqueta r.--perhaps on the spot
where Sinipi, Sinipee, or Sinope was started. In bringing him up to
Dubuque from the Galena delta we have not much to note: Suisinawa,
Sinsinawa, or Sinsinniwa r., right; Menomonee cr., right, and Catfish
cr., left, between which is Nine Mile isl.; Massey, Ia., town at
Dodge's branch; East Dubuque, Ill., rather below the large city of
Dubuque. This is the oldest establishment in Iowa, as the Canadian
Frenchman Julien Dubuque came there in 1788; extinction of Indian
title and permanent settlement not till 1833; town incorporated 1837;
city charter, 1840; pop. 3,100 in 1850: for the rest, see any
gazetteer or cyclopedia. With this day's journey Pike finishes
Illinois, which has been on his right all the way, and takes Wisconsin
on that side; but Iowa continues on his left. The interstate line runs
on the parallel of 42 deg. 30' N., which cuts through Dubuque.

[I-39] From Dubuque to Cassville is only 30 m., and Pike was somewhat
advanced beyond Dubuque when he started. "The mouth of Turkey river,"
opp. which he camped, is of course a fixed point; and this shows the
required reduction of his "40" miles to somewhat under 30.
Determinations like these would be proof, were any needed, of the
proposition advanced at the start, that the set of mileages with which
we have to deal require a discount of 20 to 25 per cent. as a rule. In
making his "two short reaches," Pike passed his Little Macoketh, the
Little Makoqueta r., on his left, and the extensive slough on his
right which receives the discharges of Platte and Grant rivers. He
maps the former river: see the unnamed stream on the left, where "M^r.
Dubuques Houfe" and "Lead Mines" are lettered. The other two rivers
are not laid down; they run in Grant Co., Wis. Beltrami, II. 196, has
a locality on the W. said to be 16 m. above Dubuque's mines, and to be
called Prairie Macotche, "from the name of a savage who inhabited it."
This item is no doubt imaginary; but Macotche is clearly the same word
as Makoqueta. Pike's "long reach" is the 15 m. or more where the river
is straight; it begins about Specht's Ferry (opp. which the Potosi
canal was dug for an outlet of Grant r.) and extends to Turkey r. On
the left, about halfway along this stretch, is the town of Waupeton
(Wahpeton, Warpeton, etc.), at or near which the boundary between
Dubuque and Clayton cos. strikes the Mississippi; the town of
Buenavista, Clayton Co., Ia., is 31/2 m. higher, between Plum and
Panther crs. On the right a snicarty 11 m. long connects Grant r. with
Jack Oak slough, at the head of which Cassville is situated, at the
mouth of Furnace cr., and obliquely opposite the mouth of Turkey r.
Some places which started along the river have failed, or changed
their names; I do not now find Osceola, which maps mark near the mouth
of Platte r.; nor Lafayette, which started about the present site of
Potosi, and is now marked by some dilapidated chimneys you will
observe when the C., B. and Q. train stops at a sort of station there;
nor Frenchtown and Finlay, both on the Iowan side, the latter at the
mouth of a creek called Bastard on a map of 1857; nor Frankford, at or
near Buenavista; nor Winchester, about the mouth of Turkey r. Whether
by accident or design, Grant r. is lettered "Le Grand R." on
Nicollet's map. The Fox village, whose women and children were so
frightened at the sight of the Americans, is marked by Pike on the N.
side of Turkey r., near its mouth, about where Winchester seems to
have stood. Present Turkey R. Junction of the C., M. and St. P. R. R.
is on the other side. This stream is "Turkies" r. of Beltrami, II. p.
196.

[I-40] Probably 19 m., Cassville to Clayton, Ia., whence he could go
comfortably for breakfast to Wyalusing, Wis., or still nearer the
Wisconsin r. Above the mouth of Turkey r. the Miss. r. is divided into
two courses, called the Casville slough on the Wisconsin side and the
Guttenberg channel on the Iowan side. The latter is the broadest
course, but the former is, or was some years ago, the main channel.
The two come together 10 m. above Cassville, and a mile or two above
Glen Haven, Wis. Guttenberg, Ia., is 8 m. above Cassville, at the
mouth of Miners, Miner's, or Miners' cr.; it seems to have been
formerly called Prairie La Port, as marked on Nicollet's map. Buck or
Back cr. falls in a mile above. Approaching Clayton the banks are high
and abrupt on the Iowan side, but on the other the hills recede,
leaving a sloughy bottom into which several creeks empty, one of them
Sandy cr., which comes by a sort of sand-bank. In this vicinity there
was a place called Cincinnati, Wis., which seems to have disappeared,
like another called Kilroy, on the Iowan side. Owen's map marks
Killroy, a Clayton Co. map of 1857 has Keleroy, and Nicollet lays down
the sizable creek near which it appears to have been situated, now
known as the Sny Magill. The distance from Clayton to Wyalusing is 3
m.; thence it is about the same to the Wisconsin r.

[I-41] R. des Ouisconsins on Hennepin's map, 1683, and thus near the
modern form, though in the plural for the Indians and with _ou_ for
the letter _w_ that the F. alphabet lacks; in Hennepin's text,
_passim_, Ouscousin, Oviscousin, Onisconsin, Misconsin, etc.,
according to typesetter's fancy; Ouisconsing, Misconsing, etc., in La
Salle, and there also Meschetz Odeba; Miscou, Joliet on one of his
maps, Miskonsing on another; Ouisconching, Perrot; Ouisconsinc,
Lahontan's map; Ouisconsing, Franquelin's map, 1688; Ouisconsin,
Carver; variable in Pike; Owisconsin and Owisconsing in Beltrami;
Wisconsan, consistently, in Long; Wisconsin in Nicollet, and most
writers since his time. Were it not for La Salle's appearance on the
Illinois r. in 1680, and his sending Hennepin down it to the
Mississippi, when he dispatched Michael Accault and Antoine Auguelle
from Fort Crevecoeur to trade with the Chaas, the Wisconsin would
rank first in historical significance as a waterway to the Mississippi
from the Great Lakes; and such priority of date is offset in favor of
the Wisconsin as the best and most traveled route from the lakes to
points below the Falls of St. Anthony. It was already an Indian
highway when it was first known to the whites, and did not cease to be
such when the paddle was exchanged for the paddlewheel. A pretty full
account of the Fox-Wisconsin route will be rendered beyond in this
work. There are accounts of white settlements, or at least
trading-posts, at Prairie du Chien about 1755; but white men may have
lived in this vicinity, if not upon the spot, long before that, for
Franquelin's map of 1688 locates a certain Fort St. Nicolas in what
appears to be the position of P. du Chien, as well as I can judge.
Moreover, Joliet and Marquette reached the Mississippi r. by way of
the Fox-Wisconsin, June 15th or 17th, 1673. Our most definite
information, however, dates from Oct. 15th, 1766, when Carver came to
the spot. He reached it by the Fox-Wisconsin route, went up the
Mississippi as high as the river St. Francis, wintered 1766-67 up the
St. Peter, returned to P. du C. in the summer of 1767, went up the
Mississippi again to the Chippewa r., and by that river back to the
Great Lakes in July, 1767. He called the place Prairie le Chien; at
the time of his visit it was "a large town containing about 300
families," with houses well built after the Indian fashion, and a
great trade center for all the country roundabout. Carver also called
the place Dog Plains. This is plain as a transl. of the F., and nobody
doubts what Prairie du Chien denotes; what it connotes, however, or
its actual implication, is another question which has been much
mooted. Pike states elsewhere in this work that the place--which, by
the way, he seldom if ever calls Prairie du Chien, but de Chein, des
Cheins, etc.--was named for Indian_s_ who lived here, known as
Reynards, etc., and would translate this F. nickname either Fox, Wolf,
or Dog; in one place he has Dog's Plain. But Wolf or Dog does not seem
to have been the name used for this tribe, which, when they were not
called Ottagamies (or by some form of that word) were either the
Reynards of the French or the Foxes of the English and Americans.
Beltrami, II., p. 170, has that "it takes its name from an Indian
family whom the first Frenchmen met there, called Kigigad or Dog." The
whole weight of evidence is on the side of a personal name in the
singular number. Long states that P. du C. was named after an Indian
who lived there and was called the Dog. This may bear on Pike's
statement, and the latter may be explicable upon the understanding
that it refers to certain Indians, not necessarily of the Reynard
tribe, who were called Dog Indians, _i. e._, The Dog's Indians.
Nicollet marks the Indian town by the Chippewa name, Kipy Saging;
Schoolcraft renders this Tipisagi, with reference to the treaty of
Prairie du Chien. At the time of Long's 1823 visit the village had
about 20 dwelling-houses besides the stores, most of them old and some
decaying; the pop. was about 150. He located the place as in lat. 43 deg.
3' 31" N., long. 90 deg. 52' 30" W.; magn. var. 8 deg. 48' 52" E. Long
speaks of one Mr. Brisbois, who had long resided there; of Mr. Rolette
of the Am. Fur Co.; and of Augustin Roque, a half-breed and
whole-fraud, to whom we shall refer again. Fort Crawford began to be
built July 3d, 1816, by the troops under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel William S. Hamilton of North Carolina, who had
attained that rank in the 3d Rifles Feb. 21st, 1814, and who resigned
from the army March 8th, 1817; it would hold four or five companies,
but was a mean establishment, poorly built on a bad site, too near
Rousseau channel and the Kipy Saging slough. Long relates that in 1822
the fort as well as the village was inundated, so that the water stood
three or four feet deep on the parade ground and ran into the
officers' quarters and the barracks, forcing the garrison to camp for
a month on higher ground. One of the blockhouses of the fort was built
on a mound which was large enough to have supported the whole
establishment, though only the stockade ran up to it. Through the
attentions of Wm. Hancock Clark of Detroit, Mich., I am in possession
of a water-color picture of the fort, roughly but tellingly done by
his illustrious grandfather, William Clark, who with Governor Lewis
Cass effected the important treaty of P. du C., Aug. 19th, 1825. This
measures 18 x 15 inches, and shows a part of the stockade straggling
up to that one of the blockhouses which was on the hill or mound, as
described by Long. The general effect upon the beholder is to suggest
something of a cross between a penitentiary and a stockyard, but
unsafe for criminals and too small for cattle. The remains are extant,
and may be observed about 40 rods W. of the railroad track, half a
mile S. of the station of the C., B. and Q. This Fort Crawford must
not be confounded with the earlier one of the same name, built in 1812
or sooner, at the N. end of the town, close to Rousseau channel. This
site was near the positions of the two early French settlements, as
distinguished from the later one that grew up S. of the site of the
second Fort Crawford. Our actual settlement, continued on as the
Prairie du Chien of to-day, only dates from 1835 or thereabouts, after
the cessation of Indian hostilities in that quarter; the town is now
the seat of Crawford Co., Wis. It is in the very S. W. corner of the
county, which is separated from Grant Co. by the Wisconsin r. The
bridge across the Mississippi to N. McGregor was built in 1873-74 and
altered in 1888; C., M. and St. P. R. R.; Act of Congr. legalizing,
June 6th, 1874. Notwithstanding its prominent situation, its
distinguished history, and its comparative antiquity, Prairie du Chien
has never amounted to much, and probably never will. There is nothing
the matter with the place--the trouble is with the people. The place
to-day cuts a lesser figure than it did in Pike's time, when it was
our extreme frontier post in that direction, and it continued to be
such until Fort St. Anthony (Snelling) was built. A part of the
difficulty is ecclesiastical; no priest-ridden community can expect to
keep up with the times. Prairie du Chien is an antique curio,
comparing with the rest of Wisconsin very much as Quebec does with
Ontario--and for similar reasons.

[I-42] The bluff W. bank of the Miss. r., opp. P. du C., was later
called Pike's mountain; which, says Long's MSS. of 1817, No. I, fol.
37, as cited by Keating, 1824, received its name from having been
recommended by the late General Pike, in his journal, "as a position
well calculated for the construction of a military post to command the
Mississippi." But this recommendation is nowhere made in Pike's
journal: it is made in a letter which Pike wrote to General Wilkinson
from P. du C., this date of Sept. 5th, as the above text says, and
which formed in the orig. ed. Doc. No. 2 of the App. to Part I--the
same that covered the Dubuque report. The particular hill that Pike
picked out does not differ from the general range of bluffs which
extend on that side of the river for several miles, all of about the
same elevation. But to be particular, it was that hill which stands
between McGregor and N. McGregor. The original settlement of McGregor
was called in the first instance McGregor's landing. This was 11/2 mile
below N. McGregor, built at the mouth of the creek that comes down by
Pike's mountain. This stream used to be known as Giard or Gayard r.
(latter on Pike's map), and these were common spellings of the name of
a person otherwise known as Gaillard, of mixed French-Indian blood,
said to have been, with Antaya and Dubuque, one of the three first
white settlers at Prairie du Chien, and by Long to have died suddenly
during the latter's expedition up the Wisconsin r. The present name of
the creek is Bloody Run, which may easily have acquired if it did not
deserve the designation in some one or more of the uncounted fierce
collisions of this blood-brued region. But tradition, if not authentic
history, ascribes the origin of the sanguinary title to the Nimrodic
exploits of the celebrated Captain Martin Scott, a mighty hunter who
used to kill so much game in that vicinity that he was said to have
made this stream literally run with blood. But so much used to be told
about Captain Scott--on whom was fathered in those parts the story of
the <DW53> which promised to come down if he would not shoot, elsewhere
connected with the name of Davy Crockett--that the legends concerning
him may pass for what they may be worth. The mouth of this creek is 3
m. below that of Yellow r., and the boundary between Clayton and
Allamakee cos. strikes the Mississippi between the two, though very
near the mouth of the latter.

[I-43] See note _antea_, p. 5, where the phrase Cap au Gres is
mentioned. Pike's term Petit Gris, elsewhere Petit Grey, would be
preferably rendered Petit Cap au Gres, in the peculiar system of
phonetics which our Parisian friends are wont to enjoy. This Little
Sandstone bluff extends up the Wisconsin in the direction of
Bridgeport. A small creek which comes down a break in the bluff, and
empties into the N. side of the Wisconsin a mile above its mouth, is
also named Petit Gris or Gres. There was also a Grand Gres in that
vicinity--to judge from a creek I find on some maps by the name of
Grandgris--perhaps the branch of the Wisconsin now known as Kickapoo
r. Pike's recommendation of the Petit Gres as a military site was
never acted upon.

[I-44] I think Pike never once hits what a grammarian would consider the
proper way to write this phrase. Wherever he happens upon it, the
gender or the number gets awry. The hitch in pluralizing seems to be
because the first _s_ is sounded before the initial vowel of the next
word, but the last _s_ is silent, because the French seldom articulate
their letters at par. _Folle avoine_, literally "fool oat"--a phrase
also reflected in the Latin term _avena fatua_--is the Canadian French
name of the plant known to botanists as _Zizania aquatica_, and to us
common folks as wild rice, wild oats, water-rice, water-oats, Indian
or Canadian rice or oats, etc. My friend Prof. Lester F. Ward, whom I
desired to prepare the botanical definitions for the Century
Dictionary, and who did write them, with the assistance of Mr. F. H.
Knowlton, after the lamented death of Prof. Sereno Watson, Prof. Asa
Gray's successor at Cambridge, defines _Zizania_ as "a genus of
grasses, of the tribe _Oryzeae_. It is characterized by numerous narrow
unisexual spikelets in a long, loose androgynous panicle, each
spikelet having two glumes and six stamens or two more or less connate
styles." This would be news to the Menominees, though these Indians
subsisted so largely upon the seeds of the plant that the French
called them les Folles Avoines, and the English knew them as the
Rice-eaters. This rice grows in profusion in all the lacustrine
regions of the N. W., and is regularly harvested by all the Indians of
that country, to be sold or bartered as well as eaten by them. Its
great size, its purplish spike-like heads when ripe, and its
omnipresence, render it one of the most conspicuous products of the
region. The Indians do not cut the stalk as we reap our cereals,
because the loose grains fall so readily that the easiest way to
gather them is to simply shake or beat them into a canoe. As to the
polyglot council which Pike held with the Puants, we may hope without
believing that the Winnebagoes were deeply impressed by the
combination of New Jersey and Canadian French which fell upon their
ears through the Dakotan tongue. It is true that the Winnebagoes come
of Siouan stock, and so have some linguistic affinity with the Sioux;
but the dialect they acquired is conceded by all philologists to be
peculiar to themselves, and peculiarly difficult to utter. The
Winnebago spoken at this council was probably as different from the
Dakotan as Latin is from its cognate Greek, or even as Pike's French
was from that spoken in Montreal or Paris. The Winnebagoes call
themselves by a name which is rendered Otchagra by Long, Howchungera
by Featherstonhaugh, Hotcangara by Powell; also Ochungarand,
Hohchunhgrah, and in various other ways which authors prefer and
printing-offices permit: see note 37, p. 31. Since Charlevoix they
have been known as Puans, Puants, or Stinkers--and they deserve to be.
Their vernacular is noted for the predominance of the growler or
dog-letter _r_, _litera canina_ of the Latin grammarians.

[I-45] Billon's Ann. St. Louis, 1804-21, pub. 1888, p. 382, is obviously
in error in stating that Pierre Rousseau embarked with Pike at St.
Louis; for here we have him first hired at P. du C. I know nothing
further of the man; but he is doubtless the one from whom Rousseau
channel of the Miss. r., which runs past P. du C. on the Wis. side, as
distinguished from the main steamboat channel past McGregor on the
Iowan side, derived its name.

[I-46] Joseph Reinville or Renville was the name of two persons, father
and son, former French-Canadian, latter half-breed by a Sioux squaw of
the village of Petit Corbeau or Little Raven (Kaposia). Long extolls
him for ability and fidelity as an interpreter, remarking that he had
met with few men that appeared "to be gifted with a more inquiring and
discerning mind, or with more force and penetration," Keating, Exp. of
1823, I. p. 312. Reinville naturally acquired great influence over the
Indians, and when the British decided to use such allies in the war of
1812-14, he was selected by Colonel Robert Dickson as the man who
could be most relied upon to command the Sioux. In his military
capacity he received the rank, pay, and emoluments of a captain in the
British army, and distinguished himself as well by humanity as by
gallantry in war. After this he entered the service of the H. B. Co.;
left it, relinquishing also his British pension, and returned to his
old trading-post near the sources of Red r., where he established the
successful Columbia Fur Co. Reinville had that energy and independence
which enabled him to decide for himself and act upon his decisions; he
therefore made bitter enemies as well as warm friends, whose judgments
of his character and conduct were, of course, as diverse as their
feelings for or against him. Reinville was born at Kaposia, near St.
Paul, about 1779, and died in March, 1846: see sketch of his life by
Rev. E. D. Neill in Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I., 2d ed. 1872, pp.
196-206.

[I-47] This Frazer I do not doubt was a relative of the Robert Frazer,
Frazier, Fraser, etc., who accompanied Lewis and Clark. The latter was
a "Green Mountain boy," and it is highly improbable that two unrelated
Frazers came from Vermont to the Western frontiers in the beginning of
this century. But I can only conjecture what their degree of kinship
was. One Joseph Jack Frazer cut a figure in early Minnesota history,
if we may judge from the sketches of his life and adventures which ran
through the columns of the St. Paul Pioneer, about 1866 or 1867, from
the pen of General Henry Hastings Sibley. In this connection I may be
permitted to note the fact, not generally known, that Robert Frazer
was one of several annalists of that famous expedition, who went so
far as to issue a MS. prospectus of a book he was going to publish
about it, with Captain Lewis' own sanction. But this project failed
for lack of subscribers to what any publisher would now be glad to
accept, could the MSS. be found. See Prof. James D. Butler's review of
my L. and C., N. Y. Nation, Oct. 26th and Nov. 2d, 1893.

[I-48] Pike's was luckier than Long's boat-party of 1823, which started
from P. du C. as Pike did, but did not get much above Yellow r. It
consisted of Thomas Say, the subsequently distinguished naturalist;
Prof. W. H. Keating; Mr. Samuel Seymour, the artist; the rascally
interpreter Roque or Rocque; and Lieutenant Martin Scott, the latter
in command of a corporal and his squad of eight soldiers. These men
tapped a keg of liquor, and got too drunk to navigate--the crew did, I
mean, for it is well known that officers never drink. Yellow r. is
present name of the stream consistently so called since it ceased to
be R. Jaune of the French regime; it has been already mentioned as
falling in on the W., 3 m. above Bloody Run and N. McGregor. Three
miles higher, on the same side, is Paint cr., or Painted Rock cr.,
near a place full of historic interest; for at one point along the
almost unbroken bluffs is the steep escarpment which became known to
the F. as Roche Peinte, or Rochers Peints, and which continues to be
called Painted Rock or Rocks, from the Indian pictographs with which
it was adorned for ages. Beltrami gives it as Pointed Rock, II. p.
196. High places of all sorts, whether the elevation be phallic or
terrene, have always been regarded as great medicine by the untutored,
from the days of the priests of Baal, Moloch, or Jahveh, to those of
the similar shamans and marvel-mongers of Lo. Such theological
jugglery is reflected in the present name of Waucon or Waukon
Junction, near the mouth of Paint cr., where the Chic., Dub. and Minn.
R. R., meandering the river, sends the Waukon branch to Waukon, seat
of Allamakee Co., Ia. A town, or something that tried to be one, by
the prosaic name of Johnsonsport, is to be found on some maps at the
mouth of Paint cr. About 4 m. above Waukon Junction is a place called
Harper's Ferry, suggestive of Virginian emigration. The bluffs hug the
Iowan bank closely to Paint cr. The opposite side is low for some
miles back, with sloughs or bayous known as Marais, Courtois, Sioux,
etc., into which drain several creeks, among them one called
Fisher's--no doubt for the gentleman who entertained Pike--and another
named Pickadee; both these are received in Sioux bayou. But above
Paint cr. the channel runs, or recently did run, on the Wisconsin
side, having an intricate snicarty on the other, whose various courses
are known as Seaman's slough, Big Suck-off, Gordon's bay, Martell's
lake, Center, Harper, St. Paul, Crooked, Ferry, etc., sloughs.
Wherever the channel was in Pike's time, he says that he camped on the
W. side, and I suppose at a point about opposite present town of
Lynxville, Crawford Co., Wis., which is reckoned 17 m. above P. du C.
by comparatively recent hydrographers. To reach this place he passed
Trout cr., which falls in on the right hand nearly opp. Painted Rock,
and the site of Viola, at the mouth of Buck cr., also on the right.

[I-49] Say Island No. 142, or head of No. 143, for a present location
which exactly fits, being on E. side, 4 or 5 m. below mouth of Upper
Iowa r., and opp. De Soto, Wis., on the border of Crawford and Vernon
cos. The camp itself is of little consequence, in comparison with the
notable points passed to reach it, at Pike's Cape Garlic and in that
vicinity. At the head of Harper and Crooked sloughs the channel runs
under the Iowan bluffs to Lansing, Allamakee Co., Ia., 121/2 m. from
Lynxville. On the Wisconsin side for the same distance is a remarkably
labyrinthic snicarty, whose principal run is called Winneshiek slough,
upon which is Ferryville, Crawford Co., Wis., at or near the mouth of
Sugar cr. The series of creeks which fall into these sloughs is as
follows, in ascending order: Kettle, above Polander hollow; Copper,
above Cumming's hollow; Buck (duplicating a name: see last note); the
Sugar cr. just said; and Rush, above Ferryville. The river sweeps
under the bold Iowan headlands, two prominent points of which became
known as Cape Garlic and Cape Winnebago--one from the alliaceous plant
growing there, and the other from the incident about to be cited;
while two of the four streams which fall in through four breaks on
these bluffs were correspondingly called Garlic r. or Cape Garlic cr.,
and Winnebago r. or Cape Winnebago cr. Authors differ as to which is
which; I make the following determinations: 1. At the point where the
main channel of the Mississippi divides into Crooked and Harper
sloughs, 8 m. below Lansing, and near where Heytman had his landing, a
large creek falls in. This is properly Garlic r.--the one on which the
town of Capoli is situated. _Capoli_ means Cape Garlic, being a
perversion of the F. Cap a L'Ail--a phrase that has been peculiarly
unlucky at the hands of compositors and engravers; even on Nicollet's
map it stands by accident Cap a' Lail, though the eminent geographer
himself was un Francais de France, whose mother-tongue was academic.
Beltrami, II. p. 197, expands the phrase to Cape a l'Ail Sauvage. 2.
Three miles above the mouth of Capoli cr. a rivulet falls in between
two eminences; the lower one of these is present Capoli bluff,
formerly Cap Puant or Cape Winnebago; the upper one is now called
Atchafalaga bluff, formerly Cap a l'Ail or Cape Garlic; the rivulet
just said is Pike's Garlic r. 3. At 41/2 m. higher, through a recess in
the highlands falls in the stream now called Village cr., which
Nicollet maps as Cape Winnebago cr. This is the one on which the town
of Village Creek is situated, 3 m. up. Its mouth is exactly a mile
below the mouth of <DW53> or Clear cr., on which Lansing is situated,
under Mt. Hosmer--this "mountain" being that part of the bluffs which
is isolated between the two creeks just said to fall in a mile apart.
With thus much by way of geographical determinations, I must leave to
someone more familiar than I am with the local traditions or actual
history of the place, to identify the exact scene of the following
incident, given in Keating's Long's Exp. of 1823, pub. 1824, I. p.
266: "Two remarkable capes or points were observed on the right bank
of the Mississippi below Iowa river; the lower one is designated by
the name of Cape _Puant_, because at a time when the Sioux and
Winnebagoes (_Puants_) were about to commence hostilities, a party of
the latter set out on an expedition to invade the territory of the
Sioux and take them by surprise; but these being informed of the
design, collected a superior force and lay in ambush near this place,
expecting the arrival of their enemies. As soon as the Winnebagoes had
landed, the Sioux sallied from their hiding-places, pressed upon them
as they lay collected in a small recess between the two capes, drove
them into the river, and massacred the whole party. Garlic cape, just
_above_ [italics mine] this, strikes the voyager by the singularity of
its appearance. In shape it represents a cone cut by a vertical plane
passing through its apex and base; its height is about four hundred
feet." I suppose the "small recess" of this recital to be that between
present Capoli (lower) and present Atchafalaga (upper) bluffs,
respectively former Cape Winnebago (lower) and former Cape Garlic
(upper) bluffs.

[I-50] La Feuille is a name which Pike rarely, and only by accident,
spells correctly. But in writings of the period it was extremely
variable, being found even as Lefei, Lefoi, Lefoy, La Fye, etc. This
French term commonly appears in English as The Leaf, sometimes Falling
Leaf, and is conjecturally a translation of the native name of the
hereditary chiefs of the Kioxa (Kiyuksa) band of Sioux. This has
usually been rendered Wabasha or Wapasha, and explained as derived
from _wapa_, leaf, and _sha_, red. In one place Long has Wauppaushaw.
In Riggs and Pond's Dakota dictionary the name is given as Wapahasha,
and etymologized as from _wapaha_, a standard, and _sha_, red. In
Minn. Hist. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p. 370, J. Fletcher Williams
surmises the origination of the name in the chieftainship of the
Warpekutes, otherwise Leaf Shooters--though why the tribe was so
called, and whether the English term is a proper version of the
aboriginal name, seem never to have been satisfactorily shown. Such
forms of the chief's name as Wabashaw and Wapashaw, etc., are common,
besides which there are some odd and rare ones; _e. g._, Beltrami, II.
p. 180, has: "The Great Wabiscihouwa, who is regarded as the Ulysses
of the whole nation." Three chiefs named Wabasha are known to us in
history. Wabasha I. was famous during the Revolutionary war. Wabasha
II. was his son, and the latter is the one of whom Pike, Long,
Beltrami, and many others speak. He was already a great chief in
Pike's time, who grew in credit and renown with years. He was seen in
1820 by General Henry Whiting, who describes him as a small man with a
patch over one eye, who nevertheless impressed everyone with respect,
and whose profile was said to resemble that of the illustrious Conde.
"While with us at Prairie du Chien," says Whiting, "he never moved, or
was seen, without his pipe-bearer. His people treated him with
reverence. Unlike all other speakers in council, he spoke sitting,
considering, it was said, that he was called upon to stand only in the
presence of his great father at Washington, or his representatives at
St. Louis." He was not a warrior, believing that Indians could prosper
only at peace with one another and with the whites, and declared that
he had never been at war with the latter, though many of his young
men, against his advice, had been led astray in the war of 1812. His
son, Wabasha III., resided at the village below Lake Pepin until 1853,
and in 1872 was living on the Niobrara Reservation.

[I-51] To go up to the mouth of Upper Iowa r., for the conference with
Leaf's band of Sioux, who received the Expedition with almost touching
warmth, as Pike goes on to narrate. His map letters "Upper Iowa
River," and marks "Sioux Vill." on the S. side near the mouth. Pike's
text of 1807, p. 7, has Jowa: Beltrami has Yahowa in text, Yawowa on
map: for other forms see note 25, p. 22. The river is a large one
which, with its tributaries, drains a N. E. portion of Iowa and some
adjoining Minnesota land. The river discharges by a set of sloughs in
such intricate fashion that it is not easy to locate its principal
mouth with entire precision, to say nothing of where it was at Pike's
visit; recent hydrographic surveys, on the scale of a mile to the
inch, show the largest opening at a point exactly 21/2 m. S. of the
inter-State line between Iowa and Minnesota, which runs to the
Mississippi on the parallel of 43 deg. 30' N., through the village of New
Albin, on Winnebago cr., and cuts through Lost slough. Assuming this
position, which is probably right within a fraction of a mile, Pike is
precisely opposite the place where was fought the decisive battle of
Bad Axe, notable in history as finishing the second Black Hawk war.
Black Hawk was the most celebrated chief during the Sac and Fox war,
b. about 1768, at the Sac vill. near the mouth of Rock r. in Illinois,
d. on the Des Moines, in Iowa, Oct. 3d, 1838. In the campaign of 1832
the Indians were defeated on the Wisconsin r. July 21st, by Colonel
Henry Dodge, and again Aug. 2d by General Henry Atkinson. Zach. Taylor
had become colonel of the 1st Infantry Apr. 4th, 1832, and had his
hdqrs. at Fort Crawford, P. du Chien. He moved his forces under
General Atkinson, and caught the Indians opposite the mouth of Upper
Iowa r., as they were preparing to cross the Mississippi; the battle
of Bad Axe was fought, the hostiles were defeated, and their
organization was broken up. Colonel Taylor returned to P. du Chien
with the troops he commanded, and soon afterward received the formal
surrender of the Sac chieftain, whose sagacity was as great as his
courage. Black Hawk was sent by Taylor, with about 60 of his people,
as a prisoner of war to General Winf. Scott, and with some of them was
confined for a while in Fortress Monroe; released June 5th, 1833. The
first stream of any size, on the Wisconsin side, above the scene of
action was named and is still called Bad Axe. A place above Battle cr.
and Battle isl., very near the battle-field, if not actually on the
spot, was started by the name of Victory, which it still bears. This
is directly on the river-bank, at the mouth of a rivulet which makes
in there, about a mile below the spot where one Tippet had his
landing. Tippet's place was nearly opposite the Iowa-Minnesota State
line, and 11/2 m. S. of the lower mouth of Bad Axe r. As the price of
their defeat the S. and F. Inds. were obliged to surrender a large
tract of land, about 9,000 sq. m., along 180 m. of the W. bank of the
Mississippi, and, perhaps, 50 m. broad; this became known as the Scott
or the Black Hawk purchase, and later as the Iowa district; it was
attached to the Territory of Michigan for judicial purposes in 1834,
and the separate Territory of Iowa was made July 4th, 1838.

[I-52] By the river channel barely over the Iowa State line into Houston
Co., Minn., obliquely opposite Tippet's landing, and about a mile
below the mouth of Bad Axe r., which falls in on the Wisconsin side.
Pike continues to have Wisconsin on his right until he crosses the
mouth of St. Croix r.

I suspect that the _Upper_ Iowa r., which Pike has just left, has a
longer historical record than that with which it is generally
credited. Franquelin, 1688, maps a large river above the Wisconsin and
below Root r., thus apparently in the position of the Upper Iowa. He
letters Indians on it as Peoueria and Tapoueri. Perrot's Ayoes r.
seems to be the same, as is certainly the Ioua r. of Lewis and Clark's
map, 1814. Long has Little Ioway r. in 1817, and Upper Iaway r. in
1823.

[I-53] This is not very definite--perhaps Pike forgot to wind up his
watch after the Sioux affair. But we shall be about right to set him
down at Brownsville, Houston Co., Minn.; this is below Root r., which
he passes to-morrow, and within convenient reach of the place, 3 m.
beyond La Crosse, to which he comes on that rainy day. Starting from
the State line, as already said, he first rounds Bad Axe bend, at the
mouth of Bad Axe r., and then comes to the town of Genoa, 81/4 m. above
Victoria. Genoa used to be called Bad Axe; but they do not seem to
have fancied the name, or perhaps the Victorians crowed over them, and
told them stories about George Washington and his little hatchet, so
it was changed. Bad Axe r. is also found with the F. name Mauvaise
Hache: _e. g._, Beltrami, II. p. 178. A mile above Genoa the river
divides in two courses, inclosing an irregularly oval cluster of
islands 61/2 m. long; that on the Minnesota side is Raft channel, which
runs part of the way under bluffs; the one on the Wisconsin side,
which is or was lately the steamboat way, is <DW53>, Raccoon, or Racoon
slough, with a creek of these names coming in about its middle, 3 and
2 m. above Britt's and Warner's ldgs., respectively. The hills are
some miles back on this side, with a break where <DW53> cr. comes in,
and so continue all the way to Prairie La Crosse. Brownsville is at
the mouth of Wild Cat cr., 11/2 m. above the place where the two courses
of the river reunite, or rather begin to separate; and this town is 21
m. by the river-channel above Victoria--for <DW53> slough is very
crooked. Britt's ldg. became the site of a place called Bergen; and
one by the name of Stoddard is on the slough a little above <DW53> cr.,
about opp. Brownsville. The Wisconsin county line between Vernon and
La Crosse comes to the river between Stoddard and Mormon creeks.

[I-54] R. aux Racines of the French; Racine or Root r., the latter name
now most used, though in the case of a well-known Wisconsin city the
F. word persists as the name. Nicollet calls it Hokah or Root r., and
so does Owen. The Franquelin map of 1688 marks a certain R. des
Arounoues, which some authors identify with Lahontan's semi-mythical
R. Morte or Longue, and refer both to Root r.; but this is
questionable. Long speaks (I. p. 247) of Root r. as having its Dakotan
name Hoka, and being supposed to be the same as the Riviere Long or
Riviere Morte of Lahontan, I. p. 112, called by Coxe in 1741, p. 19
and p. 63, Mitschaoywa and Meschaouay. He utterly discredits the
Baron's "180 leagues" of this river, as well as his fabulous nations
"Eokoros," "Essanapes," and "Gnacsitares." Without prejudice to the
perennial question, which it would be a pity to settle now, whether
the Baron was a knave or a fool, or most likely both, it may be
observed that Major Long is mistaken in supposing his Hoka or Root r.
to be the one which Lahontan represents himself to have gone up; for
if he went up any real river, that is Cannon r., as Nicollet urges,
and would clinch his argument by calling it Lahontan r.: see beyond.
Hokah, Racine, or Root r.--to use all three of the sure names--is a
large stream which runs E. through several of the lower tier of
Minnesota counties, and falls in through Houston Co., 31/2 m. directly
S. of La Crosse, though the distance is more than this by the winding
river-channel. Mormon cr. comes into the slough on the Wisconsin side
opposite Root r., immediately below La Crosse prairie. The slough on
the Minnesota side above Root r. is called Broken Arrow--and this, by
the way, is connected with a certain small Target lake; so that no
doubt some actual incident gave rise to both these names. This lake is
the outlet of Pine cr.

[I-55] Three of Pike's river-miles beyond La Crosse bring him to La
Crescent, Houston Co., Minn., close to the border of Winona Co.--not
that he says he camped on the W. side, but he would naturally select
that side in preference to the other, where the various outlets of La
Crosse and Black rivers make such a snicarty. La Crescent is curiously
so called, apparently in rivalry with La Crosse, and perhaps by some
individual who thought he knew what La Crosse means, and was minded to
suggest by the Turkish emblem that the star of the new place was in
the ascendant and the town bound to grow. Thus far, however, it has
been more of an excrescence from La Crosse than a crescence of itself.
_Crosse_, in French, does not mean "cross," but the game of hockey,
shinny, or bandy, and the crooked stick or racket with which it is
played. Pike describes the game beyond, under date of Apr. 20th, 1806.
The F. word for "crescent" is _croissant_. The beautiful Prairie a la
Crosse was so called by the French because the Indians used to play
ball there when they felt safe; and when the enemy appeared they could
scoop holes in it and scuttle into them in a few minutes. The river
which laves this ball-ground on the N. became La Riviere de la Prairie
a la Crosse, which we naturally shorten into La Crosse r. Pike says la
Cross and le Cross, usually. I have seen it spelled Crose. Lewis and
Clark's map of 1814 letters "Prairie La Crosse R." Long has in one
place Prairie de la Cross. Featherstonhaugh turns the phrase into Ball
Game r. It was probably by accident that Long once gave it as La Croix
r.; for he is careful in his statements, and his editor, Keating, is
scholarly. This slip is particularly unlucky, as it is liable to cause
confusion with St. Croix, name of the large river higher up on the
same side. The city of La Crosse was started on the edge of the plain,
immediately over the river, and gave name to the county of which it
became the seat. Two of the islands which the city faces are Grand and
La Plume, respectively 11/4 and 3/4 m. long. Close above La Crosse r.--in
fact, connected with one of its mouths at the place where the town of
North La Crosse was planted--is Black r. This has a long history. La
Salle speaks of it as R. Noire and Chabadeba [Beaver], in his letter
of Aug. 22d, 1682; R. Noire appears on Franquelin's map, 1688;
Hennepin has it under the Sioux name Chabedeba or Chabaoudeba, and the
like, translated Beaver r. Franqulin locates a certain Butte
d'Hyvernement, or wintering-hill, at the mouth of R. Noire; Menard and
Guerin are said to have ascended the latter in 1661. The most
remarkable things about the mouth of Black r. are the extraordinary
length of its delta and the great changes which this has experienced
within comparatively few years. The waters of Black r., though it is
not a very large stream, have found their way into the Mississippi
from La Crosse upward for 12 m. or more. There are now a number of
openings, though the principal one is the lowermost, nearest La
Crosse. Nicollet, writing about 1840, gives this as the "new mouth" of
the Sappah or Black r. (Sapah Watpa of the Sioux), and calls the next
one Broken Gun channel. This is rendered by F. Casse-Fusils in
Beltrami, II. p. 178, who recites the gun-breaking incident. This
channel now opens opposite the mouth of Dakota cr., which falls in
under Mineral bluff, at a place called Dakota. The main former
debouchment seems to have been at a point about 12 m. direct above La
Crosse, through what is now known as Hammond's chute. In Pike's time
the mouth was evidently high up, for he does not pass it till the
13th. The present (or recent) channel is turbid and sloughy for some
miles up from its contracted opening into the Mississippi, reminding
one of the similar but more pronounced expansion of St. Croix r. above
its mouth. The width of the delta, or its extent sideways from the
Mississippi, averages between 3 and 4 m., inclusive of a higher piece
of ground it incloses, called Lytle's prairie or terrace; this is 41/4
m. long and 20-30 feet above high-water mark; Half Way cr. comes
around its lower end. The vicissitudes of Black r. may be among the
reasons why exact identification of some places about its mouth in the
early French writers is not easy. Speaking with reserve, and ready to
stand corrected by anyone who knows more than I do about it, I do not
see why the traditional Butte d'Hyvernement may not have been Mt.
Trempealeau. As for the extent of the Black River basin, this is long
enough to begin in Taylor Co., where waters separate in various
directions, and to run through Clark and Jackson cos.; thence the
river separates La Crosse from Trempealeau Co. till it reaches the
town of New Amsterdam; after which the river enters its delta in La
Crosse Co., and the county line runs 5 or 6 m. to the Mississippi on a
parallel of latitude.

[I-56] From La Crosse to the town of Trempealeau is reckoned 19 m. by
the channel; the mountain is 3 m. further by the same way. Pike was
advanced beyond La Crosse when he started from La Crescent, and his 21
m. no doubt set him snug under the famous hill whose F. name snagged
him when he reached it. This is not the mountain which "deceives"
(_trompe_) in the water, as by mirage or reflection of itself
reversed; but one which rises so abruptly from the water's edge that
it seems to bathe, or at least to soak its feet, in the water, and was
therefore called by the French la Montagne qui Trempe a l'Eau--a
clumsy phrase which we have reduced to Mt. Trempealeau, Mt. Trombalo,
and various other terms not less curious. There is a notable
assortment of names along the river. On decamping and crossing the
bounds of Houston Co. into Winona Co., Minn., Pike comes to the Rising
Sun--though his course is about N., and we are not informed whether
this name advertises a certain stove-polish, or is meant to throw in
the shade both the Turkish crescent and the Christian cross. E. of
Rising Sun is Minnesota isl., on the Wisconsin side. A few miles
further is a place in Minnesota by the Teutonic name of Dresbach, at
the head of Dresbach's isl.; 11/2 m. further is a town with the Siouan
name Dakota; while E. of these (across the Black r. delta in Wis.) is
a place called Onalaska, suggestive of Captain Cook's voyage to the
Aleutian isls. One Winter used to have his ldg. on the Wis. side, 21/2
m. above Dakota, and in the vicinity of the place where Black r.
debouched in Pike's time--Winter's ldg. being a singular verbal
coincidence, almost like a pun upon the old name of hibernation (Butte
d'Hyvernement), which appears on the earlier pages of Mississippian
history. At 3 m. above Winter's ldg. stands Richmond, which was
established under Queen's bluff on the Minn. side. Both of these names
suggest English Colonial history of the times when a certain country
was named Virginia--certainly not to quiz one of the greatest women who
ever graced a crown, but to emphasize a diplomatic euphemism. The
"highest hill" in this vicinity is Queen's bluff, also known as Spirit
rock--not that called Kettle hill by Long in 1817; its elevation was
determined by Nicollet to be 531 feet, but was reduced to 375 feet by
later measurements. The town of Trempealeau, in the Wis. co. of that
name, is midway between Richmond and the mountain; but before Pike
reached the latter, he passed on his left the site of Lamoille, Minn.,
built under the bluff, about 300 feet high, between two creeks whose
names are Trout and Cedar. It is really wonderful how much history is
hidden--or revealed--in mere names. Personal and local words are the
most concrete facts of history. If, for example, those which appear in
this paragraph were set forth at full length in proper historical
perspective, we should have a perfect panorama of scenes and incidents
along 20 m. of the river for 200 yrs. The myrionymous molehill on the
river, which has been dignified by the name of a mountain because there
are no mountains to speak of in Wisconsin or Minnesota, and which has
been belittled by a set of phrases so absurd that it could not be further
ridiculed if one were to call it Mt. Trombonello, or Mt. Trump Low, or
Mt. Tremble Oh, or Mt. Soak-your-feet-in-mustard-water-and-go-to-bed-oh,
has not only conferred titles on a town and a county in Wisconsin, but
also on the river which washes its foot, and which is known by one of
the most unique circumlocutory phrases to be found in geographical
terminology: La Riviere de la Montagne qui Trempe a l'Eau, of the
French; River of the Mountain, etc., Pike; Mont. q. t. a l'E. r.,
Owen; Mountain Island r., Nicollet; Bluff Island r., Long--and so on
through all the chimes that can be rung out of paraphrase. It is now
usually called Trempealeau r., and forms the boundary between this and
Buffalo cos. The Sioux name of the mountain is rendered Minnay
Chonkahah, or Bluff in the Water, by Featherstonhaugh. A more frequent
form of this is Minneshonka. The Winnebago name is given as
Hay-me-ah-chan or Soaking mountain in Hist. Winona Co., 1883. The
island on which the mountain rests has a corresponding series of
names.

Pike passed to-day the place where was once situated an old French
fort, which has lately been unearthed alongside the Chic., Burl. and
N. R. R. The site is on the S. half of the S. E. quarter of Section
20, Township 18 N., Range 9 W., 13/4 m. above the village, and 11/2 m. below
the mountain, of Trempealeau. It was discovered by T. H. Lewis, July,
1885, and by him examined in Nov., 1888, and again in Apr., 1889: see
his article, Mag. Amer. Hist., Sept., 1889, and separate, 8vo. p. 5,
with three cuts, and postscript dated Feb. 22d, 1890. See also T. H.
Kirk, Mag. Amer. Hist., Dec., 1889, article entitled, "Fort Perrot,
Wisconsin, established in 1685, by Nicholas Perrot," with reference to
the evasive Butte d'Hyvernement, or wintering-hill of the Franquelin
map, 1688. The separate of Mr. Lewis' article is entitled, "Old French
Post at Trempeleau, Wisconsin." "Fort Perrot," as a name of this
establishment, must not be confounded with the one often so called on
Lake Pepin.

[I-57] A meaningless phrase as it stands, and one open to various
rendering, as L'Aile, L'Ail, or L'Ile. Pike's text of 1807, p. 12, has
L'aile; Long's of 1807, as printed in Minn. Hist. Coll., II. Part 1,
2d ed. 1890, p. 175, has Aux Aisle; Beltrami's, II. p. 180, gives aux
Ailes. "The site of Winona was known to the French as La Prairie Aux
Ailes (pronounced O'Zell) or the Wing's prairie, presumably because of
its having been occupied by members of Red Wing's band," Hist. Winona
Co., 1883. It is easily recognized by Pike's vivid description: see
next note. Long, _l. c._, calls it "an extensive lawn," and notes the
situation on it in 1817 of an Indian village, whose chief he calls
Wauppaushaw by a rather unusual spelling of the native name of La
Feuille. Forsyth, 1819, names it Wing prairie.

[I-58] From his camp in the vicinity of Trempealeau and Lamoille towns,
a little below the Mountain which, etc., Pike makes it 21 m. to-day
and 25 m. to-morrow to a point opp. the mouth of Buffalo r. He is
therefore to-day a little short of halfway between Trempealeau and
Alma. From Trempealeau to Fountain City is 20 m. by the channel; from
Fountain City to Alma is 22 m. Pike camps to-day at Fountain City,
Buffalo Co., Wis., immediately below the mouth of Eagle cr. The island
at the head of which he breakfasted, and where Frazer's boats came up,
was No. 75, which separates the Homer chute, also called Blacksmith
slough, from the rest of the Mississippi. Though narrow, this is, or
lately was, the steamboat channel. Opposite is town of Homer, Winona
Co., Minn., under Cabin bluff (most probably Kettle hill of Long). At
11/2 m. above Homer, on the same side, is the town of Minneopa. Here the
bluffs recede from the river; here Pike left his boats for an
excursion on the hills. The "Prairie Le Aisle," which he first
crossed, is in Burris valley. The highest point of the hills which he
ascended for his prospect is called the Sugarloaf. Standing there
to-day, we overlook Winona, seat of the county, and at the foot of the
hills between us and the town is Lake Winona, nearly 2 m. long,
discharging into Burris Valley cr. Looking E. from the Sugar-loaf,
down-river, we perceive that the Mountain which, etc., is simply a
point of the bluffs which stands isolated in the delta of Trempealeau
r. To our left of it as we look, and beyond it eastward, stretches the
high prairie between the delta just said and that of Black r. Rambling
further along the hills back of Winona we come to Minnesota City, at a
break in the bluffs through which a rivulet finds its way into Crooked
slough. From this spot Fountain City is in full view, 31/2 air-miles off
on a course N. by E., under Eagle bluff, on the other side of the
river. A portion of these bluffs is probably that called Tumbling Rock
by Forsyth in 1819. We could keep along the hills till they strike the
river about 5 m. further. But Mr. Frazer is anxious to get back to the
boats; very likely Bradley and Sparks are also. So we descend into the
bottom from Minnesota City, flounder across some sloughs, and on
reaching the W. bank of the Mississippi, we signal to our men to come
over in a canoe and ferry us to Fountain City.

[I-59] Fountain City to Alma, 22 m. Camp opp. Alma, in Wabasha Co.,
Minn., amid the intricacies of the Zumbro delta. For many miles above
and below this place--from Chippewa r. down to Winona, say 40 m.--the
Father of Waters, like the father of Shem, Ham, and Japhet, if we can
credit the chronicles of that ancient mariner, gets himself in very
bad form. He reels along as if he would like to take both sides of the
bluffs at once. Great skill has been shown by engineers in trying to
steer him in the way he should go; much money has been spent in
throwing out jetties like friends at each elbow of the staggering
patriarch, to mend his ways; some of his worst lurches have been
dammed as a matter of necessity, and all of them have been otherwise
objurgated as a matter of course by every steamboat captain. The late
General G. K. Warren, who was intrusted with the responsible duty of
surveying the river with reference to the improvement of navigation,
makes a most accurate observation in his preliminary Rep., Ex. Doc.
No. 57, 2d Sess. 39th Congr., p. 19: "It is often remarked, 'What a
slight thing will cause a change of the river.' But it is erroneous to
infer from this that it is easy to make it change as we wish. Effects
are often accumulating unobserved during a state of unstable
equilibrium. A slight cause then disturbs this, and marked changes
take place. But it is exceedingly superficial to attribute the whole
effect to this last cause." In consequence of the great changes in the
river, both natural and artificial, since the days of Pike, we must
not assume the present or quite recent details to be those of Pike's
time; nor should we presume to speak censoriously regarding the
identification of such things as Carver's supposed fortifications of
1766-67. Within the bounds of the solid, if not eternal hills, through
which the water has excavated its trough, we have the great river safe
enough. But these bounds are some miles apart, and between them all is
in the "unstable equilibrium" of which the eminent engineer just cited
speaks. The result is incessant shiftiness or shiftlessness, not only
as regards the sloughy bottoms and snicarties themselves, but in
respect of the sands which accumulate in various places and form banks
or terraces which sometimes take such shapes as to be easily mistaken
for artificial mounds. The cardinal principle of sound archaeology is
to assume every mound to be a natural formation until it is proven to
be the work of man. One of the most notable historical instances in
point is that of the "fortifications" at Bon Homme, on the Missouri
r., which deceived even so accurate an observer as Captain Clark: see
L. and C., ed. 1893, p. 103, _seq._, and pl. Some of the present or
quite recent water-ways in the vicinity of Fountain City are those
known as Pap chute, Betsy, Haddock, and Rollingstone sloughs,
Horseshoe bend, and Fountain City bay, into which Eagle cr. falls,
under Eagle bluff. The hills then come to the river on the Minnesota
side, and so continue past Mt. Vernon to Minneiska. One of the boldest
of these headlands is called Chimney Rock. Some have an altitude of
450 feet. On the other side the bluffs recede above Fountain City,
break to give passage to Eagle c., start again about 21/2 m. from the
river, and thence upward approach gradually till they strike the river
at Alma. The space between these hills and the river bottom is partly
filled by a sand terrace for about 9 m., with an average width of a
mile. On the edge of the upper one of these banks is Buffalo City, 2
m. above which a place was started by the name of Belvidere. The
boundary between Winona and Wabasha cos. comes on a parallel of
latitude to the river at Minneiska, a town named for the river at
whose mouth it is situated, under high bluffs, facing the lower part
of Summerfield or Summerfield's isl., which is 4 m. long. This river
is Pike's "Lean Clare," clearly by typographical error, as he
elsewhere has Riviere l'Eau Clair, almost right, and correctly
translates the phrase by Clear r. and Clear Water r. This is also
White Water r. of Long and others, at present the usual alternative
name of Minneiska r.; Miniskon r., Nicollet; Miniskah r., Owen;
Minneska r., Warren; and so on with the forms of the Indian word.
Clear r. comes into the bottom between the Minneiska bluffs and a
certain isolated hill to the northward, in the vicinity of which Clear
r. is still or was lately connected with one of the lowest sluices of
the Zumbro r. This last is what Pike calls riviere Embarrass (river
Embaras, ed. 1807, p. 13). The French named it Riviere aux Embarras,
from the difficulty they found in attempting to navigate it, and we
have made Zumbro out of this embarrassment. Nicollet calls it Wazi Oju
r., in which he is followed by Owen and others. Its delta extends
practically from Minneiska to Wabasha, a distance of 20 m. by the
Mississippi channel. The opening which Pike takes as the mouth is the
lower one, as he passes it before camping opp. Alma. This delta
incloses one long, narrow sand terrace, continuous for 9 m., and
several similar but smaller banks, as well as an extensive system of
sloughs and islands. The West Newton chute and accompanying islands
are among these; and Pike's camp was at the head of this chute,
directly opposite Alma and the mouth of Buffalo r. The history of this
river dates back to 1680 at least: R. des Boeufs, Hennepin, map,
1683; River of Wild Bulls, Hennep., Engl. transl.; Boeufs R.,
Lahontan, map; Buffaloe or Buffalo r., Pike, Long, Nicollet, Owen,
etc.; Beef r., Warren and others; _cf._ also, R. de Bon Secours of the
early F. writers, whence Good Help r. by translation. Some connect the
two names, as R. des Boeufs ou de Bon Secours, as if the supply of
beef had been a great relief. There were plenty of buffaloes on this
part of the Mississippi in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
and indeed down to some early years of our own. But they were
exterminated or driven off soon after Fort St. Anthony (Snelling) was
built in 1819. Fort St. Antoine appears in earliest connection with
the river. Its own mouth has no doubt been fixed since prehistoric
times by the solid Alma bluffs around which it sweeps into the
Mississippi. But the delta of Chippewa r., whose main discharge is by
a contracted opening 91/2 direct miles above the mouth of Buffalo r.,
extends between these two points, and is meandered by the intricacies
of Beef slough, which such competent professional opinion as Warren's
pronounces to have once divided the main Chippewa: Ex. Doc. No. 57,
etc., p. 13. "The Chippeway river had a large lateral gorge like that
of the St. Croix to fill up before reaching the valley of the
Mississippi, and it now joins the Mississippi by a very complete set
of delta streams, beginning about 15 miles above its mouth. There was
a time when the mouth now known as Beef slough was about equal to the
main Chippeway. In their growth each kept along the bluffs or sides of
the gorge they were filling up, raising their immediate banks and
leaving a depression between them. The bank which the present
Mississippi finally put across the delta was not then there, and large
trees grew up on this intermediate space. The delta having finally
reached the Mississippi, the water was more rapidly raised in Lake
Pepin. This intermediate space was closed up on its third side by the
new forming bank of the Mississippi, and became a lake. The trees in
it then perished, and their submerged parts, preserved by the water,
remain standing in the lake at this time [July 31st, 1865]. This place
is known as Stump lake, and this name it bore among the aboriginal
Sioux (Chan-poksa-m'de). The lower of these two delta mouths became
obstructed and dammed up by the new forming banks of the Mississippi;
the lower part of it then filled up, and it finally broke through its
own banks into Stump lake, so that it now issues therefrom in several
much obstructed channels, almost entirely useless to navigation....
The Trempealeau and Black rivers repeat the operation of the Chippeway
on a smaller scale, the Wisconsin probably on a greater, other streams
doing the same in proportion to their size." In this view of Beef
slough as an obstructed channel of the Chippewa, Beef or Buffalo r. is
simply an affluent of the Chippewa, precisely as the Minneiska is of
the Zumbro, or La Crosse of Black r.; and other such cases of
originally distinct rivers falling into the Mississippi as one by
their deltopoetic processes could easily be cited.

[I-60] "Grand Encampment" is a phrase in use since Carver's Travels
first appeared. Carver first came to Lake Pepin Nov. 1st, 1766. Those
who wish to verify the fact will find it on p. 34 of the Phila. ed. of
1796, which is commoner and therefore more accessible than any of the
earlier ones; the London princeps, 1778, is a rare book; the place is
p. 54 of this ed. On p. 35, Carver says the place was "some miles
below Lake Pepin." This left the location in the air, especially as he
does not say which side of the river; and various authors have raised
such a fog about it that we might be excused if we failed to find it
anywhere. By Pike as above, the place is between Buffalo r. and
Chippewa r.; he starts late, noons on the spot, and gets into Lake
Pepin at dusk. On his return voyage, Apr. 15th, 1806, he stops at the
place; he makes it on the right (west) bank, 9 m. below Lake Pepin.
When Long comes by, in 1823, his boat-party camps opposite the mouth
of Buffalo r., just as Pike did yesterday; on the 30th of June they
find themselves "a few miles" below L. Pepin, and much concerned to
discover Carver's "fortifications": see Keating, I. pp. 276-78. The
upshot of their long discussion is the conclusion that Carver did
really see what he says he saw, but that the works he described were
not at the Grand Encampment, where they found no fortifications. But
this is clearly a non sequitur, or a lucus a non, or a petitio
principii, or an argumentum ad hominem, or whatever may be the logical
definition of an illogical syllogism. It misses the point. The
question is not one of identifying Carver's locality; the question is
whether what he saw there was an artificial work or a natural
formation. The place can be pointed out with the point of a pin stuck
through the map, provided the topography has not changed too much for
that during the century; for the point which now points to Carver's
location is Point Teepeeota of the U. S. survey chart. The point
above, at which Major Long's boat-party landed an hour or two later
that day, and "which appeared to correspond with the description" of
Carver's place, though "their search here was likewise unsuccessful"
(p. 278), is the present site of Wabasha--the place where Nicholas
Perrot is thought to have landed in 1683, and built a log fort, the
first thing of the kind in all that country, afterward marked on some
maps as Fort Perrot. Teepeeota pt. is the projecting end of the long
narrow sand-drift or sand terrace already mentioned as extending 9 m.
or more in the delta of the Zumbro; it strikes the Mississippi
immediately below the Middle mouth of the Zumbro, and in fact
determines the position of that opening. Teepeeota pt. is 41/2 m. direct
above Alma, somewhat more than 5 m. by the channel; it is 3 m. direct
below Wabasah, a little more by the channel; it is 6 m. below the
upper mouth of Chippewa r., say 7 by the channel. The Indian name
would be more correctly rendered Tipiotah--_tipi_ meaning a lodge or
dwelling (such as is called "wigwam" in novels, but seldom so on the
spot) and the rest of the word denoting multitude; the paper-town
there, called Tepeeotah City, went up in smoke, 1859. The island off
Teepeeota pt., but a little lower down, is now called Grand Encampment
isl. Of the accuracy of this identification I do not see how there can
be any question, though time has modified the contour details in the
course of nature, as well as in the course of the engineering work
done there of late years. These fortifications of the river against
its own sands are doubtless the only ones of any magnitude that have
ever been made on the spot, before or since Carver; though there was
nothing to hinder the Sioux from scooping holes in the sand-drift and
scuttling into them when the Chippewas came in sight, as we know they
did at Prairie La Crosse and elsewhere. Under these circumstances, I
think the gentlemen of Major Long's party were as unjust to themselves
in doubting their own identifications (in which they were supported by
Hart, Rolette, and others who knew about the place), as they were to
Carver in saying, p. 277: "No gentleman of the party would be willing
to ascribe to Carver a scrupulous adherence to truth, (personal
observation having convinced them all of the many misrepresentations
contained in his work)." If this is meant to charge Carver with
willful misrepresentation, I think it is unjust as well as ungenerous.
Carver mistook a natural for an artificial work--so did William Clark,
to the extent of drawing one to a scale and describing it in the terms
of military science--so have done many professional archaeologists.
Carver made mistakes, like the rest of us; he was often loose about
distances, dimensions, and such things; he believed more things that
were told him than a less honest and more wary wayfarer would have
taken to be true; but I think that he drew a short bow for so long a
journey, had no occasion to deceive anyone but himself, and always
intended to tell the truth as it seemed to him--in short, I do not see
how his good faith can be seriously questioned. I accept Carver's
statements, as I do those of Pike, Long, and other honest persons, for
what they may prove to be worth.

[I-61] R. des Sauteurs, etc., of the French, _i. e._, River of the
Chippewas, with all the uncounted variations of the latter word, from
such forms as Ouchipouwaictz to the present Chippewa, Chippeway, or
Chipeway. Pike's 1807 text has Sautiaux r., p. 13. Beltrami has
Cypewais in text, Cypoway on map. Present usage among geographers
favors two _p's_ and no _y_; the ethnologists incline rather to
Ojibwa. This one of the major tributaries of the Mississippi now falls
in by its main upper mouth 11/2 m. below the end of Lake Pepin, from the
N., nearly at a right angle; it is somewhat bottle-nosed--that is,
with a contracted orifice of a turgid body of water, though the
dilation is not so great as in the case of the St. Croix. The general
character of the delta has been already discussed in connection with
Beef slough. Pike has this on his right all the way from Alma to L.
Pepin. On his left he passes Grand Encampment isl. and dines near
Point Teepeeota, already described as the point of that sandbank I
should wish to call Carver's Terrace. He next comes to Wabasha, seat
of the Minnesota county of that name, so called from the celebrated
Sioux chief of whom we read much in Long, I. p. 272, and elsewhere;
his name is there spelled Wapasha, and his village was at that time
not on this spot, but lower down (Winona). The site of Wabasha
duplicates the situation at Point Teepeeota; it is in the Zumbro
delta, below the Upper Zumbro outlet, on the point of a sand-bank
identical in formation with Carver's Terrace, though much
smaller--under 3 m. in length, and less than a mile wide. Passing
Wabasha, Pike comes 2 m. to the town now called Read's Landing, at the
uppermost point of the Zumbro floodplain, almost opposite the mouth of
Chippewa r. Nicollet marks "Roques," _i. e._, Augustin Rocque's
trading-house, in about the right position, _i. e._ at present site of
Wabasha, where Rocque's old chimney was evidence in 1884. This person,
whose last name might be spelled with a _g_ as well as his first, very
likely lived on more than one spot in the course of his career.
Featherstonhaugh informs us that "Ruque's" Indian name was
Wajhustachay, and that his house stood on the edge of a high prairie,
50 feet from the water, at S. E. end of L. Pepin, right bank, opp.
Chip. r.; which fits in only with the site of present Read's Landing.
Here the C., M. and St. P. R. R. bridged the Miss. r. in '82 (Act of
Congr., Mar. 28th, '82). As indicated in an earlier note, the Chippewa
is one of the main waterways between the Mississippi and the Great
Lakes; the connection will be more particularly noted hereafter.
Carver went this way in June or July, 1867, after he had wintered up
the St. Peter. For some distance from its mouth this river separates
Pepin from Buffalo Co.

[I-62] Apparently a misprint: Alma to Read's Landing, near the foot of
Lake Pepin, 12 m. by the crooked channel; thence to Wakouta, near the
head of the lake, is only 25 m., and Pike is not yet halfway through.
He says himself that he made 3 m. further to Sandy pt., and then 18 m.
up to Cannon r. He undoubtedly ran for shelter from the gale at or
near Stockholm, Pepin Co., Wis. The channel is or has lately been
along the Minnesota side to Lake City, crossing obliquely to the other
side in passing Stockholm, then leaving for the Minn. side to reach
Point No Point, and so on up this side to Wakouta, Red Wing, and
Cannon r. "_Le lac est petit, mais il est malin_": I faithfully copy
this venerable Jo Miller, and am ready to agree that the lake is not
big, but bad. It is reckoned about 21 m. long, averaging about 21/2
broad; thus it is merely a dilation of the Mississippi, like that of
the St. Croix and some other Mississippian tributaries, though on a
larger scale. The Chippewa r. was concerned in the formation of Lake
Pepin, and the two have had some reciprocal effect. General Warren's
opinion may be here cited, Ex. Doc. No. 57, 1866-67, p. 11: "In order
to better understand the formation of the present bottom-land valley,
and comprehend the existing state of things, we must go back to the
time when, by the elevation of the continent above the ocean, the
present rivers, like the Wisconsin and Chippeway, began to flow into
the channel formed by the present Mississippi bluffs. As soon as the
sediment brought down by their waters had filled up the lateral chasm
by which they joined the Mississippi, this sediment would begin to
obstruct the flow of the Mississippi water, force its channel to the
opposite side, and narrow and dam it back till the water gained
sufficient force to carry the sediment down the valley. The continual
sorting out of this sediment would leave the heavier particles behind,
so that this bar would continually increase in elevation and form a
lake above. There are evidences of the effect of the Wisconsin in
making such a dam in the neighborhood of Prairie du Chien, also by
other affluents above their mouths, which lakes have since been filled
up. In the case of the Chippeway and Lake Pepin this effect still
remains, the affluents above the Chippeway not having been able to
fill up the lake which was formed. It seems almost impossible to doubt
that this is the origin of Lake Pepin, and there are evidences in the
shape of the sand and boulder spits along the Mississippi bluffs above
Lake Pepin, such as are only formed now in it and Lake St. Croix,
which indicate that the lake formerly extended up much higher than
now.... The river now enters Lake Pepin by three principal mouths, and
the land of the delta gently <DW72>s down to and under the water. It
has advanced very slowly, if at all, since first visited by white men.
The largest sized cottonwood trees, dying of old age, are found on the
islands within two miles of the head of the lake. The small willows on
the low and extreme points seem of an almost uniform size and age; and
are small more, perhaps, from the unfavorable condition in which they
are placed than from want of time to grow since the land was formed.
The bottom in the shoal places at the head of Lake Pepin is composed
of soft mud, and not of sand. It seems probable that nearly all the
other islands of the Mississippi were formed in similar lakes by
advancing deltas, until finally the lakes were filled up. Lake Pepin
has almost no current, and deepens gradually down to near the point of
entrance of the Chippeway, and then rapidly shoals and narrows to form
again the flowing river." Lake Pepin is curved on itself, more so than
the old-fashioned Italic letter _{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}_,
there being a bend in the middle
reach which is oblique between the straight and approximately parallel
reaches at the two ends--say W. N. W. and E. S. E., then N. and S.,
then nearly W. and E. The lake nearly fills the space between the
bluffs in which it is embedded, but there are several pieces of arable
bottom-land in places where the bluffs recede, furnishing the sites of
a corresponding number of settlements, mostly at points where creeks
or brooks fall in between gaps in the hills. Such are Pepin and
Stockholm, Pepin Co., Wis.; Maiden Rock City and Bay City, Pierce Co.,
Wis.; Lake City, Wabasha Co., Minn.; Florence, Frontenac, and Wakouta
or Wacouta, Goodhue Co., Minn. Maiden Rock City is under the line of
bluffs, about 400 feet high, to several of which the Winona legend
attaches; but this town is at the mouth of Rush cr., and thus nearly 5
m. by the railroad above that bluff to which the names of Maiden's
Rock, Maiden's Head, and Lover's Leap more particularly belong. This
is directly opposite Sandy point, and only about 2 m. by rail above
the village of Stockholm; being that one of the series of quite
similar bluffs which has a remarkable vertical escarpment, at a point
where there is little room to spare for the track between the talus at
its foot and the lake shore. A good view is obtained as the cars
recede from it. Rush cr. is mapped both by Pike and by Nicollet,
without name; it seems to be that called Porcupine-Quill cr. by
Schoolcraft, and is perhaps Marchessau r. of Featherstonhaugh. A
similar stream, also mapped by Pike and by Nicollet, without name, and
now known as Pine or Mill Pine cr., falls in 11/2 m. below Rush cr.
Three other small streams, known as Bogus cr., Lost cr., and Roaring
r., fall in below Stockholm on the Wisconsin side; on which side, near
the head of the lake, at the place called Bay City, is Isabel cr. (the
Clear Water cr. of Nicollet, and perhaps the Rocher Rouge r. of
Featherstonhaugh). On the Minnesota side a creek falls in below and
another above Lake City; Wells cr. (the Sandy Point cr. of Pike, and
the Sand Point r. of Nicollet), falls in at the point indicated by
these names, a mile or more below Frontenac; while at Wacouta we find
a stream mapped by Nicollet without name, formerly called Bullard's
and now known as Ida cr. The most prominent part of the Minnesota
shore, where the channel sweeps around the convexity of the bold
headland, is fittingly called Point No Point--as the up-bound
passenger discovers when the boat rounds it. This is immediately above
Frontenac, opp. Maiden Rock City, and about the junction of the middle
with the upper reach of the lake. This body of water is between two
States and four counties. The line between Pepin and Pierce cos.,
Wis., strikes it at or near Maiden Rock City; that between Wabasha and
Goodhue, Minn., comes to the lake below Frontenac, about Lake City.

Lake Pepin is commonly said to have been "discovered by Hennepin" in
1680. This statement is exactly one-third right and two-thirds wrong,
and does a double injustice, because it ignores two of the three white
men who were simultaneously on the spot. These were: 1. Michael
Accault, the bourgeois or leader of the party, who afterward
flourished under the style of Le Sieur d'Accault, d'Acau, d'Ako,
Dacan, etc. 2. His man Antoine Auguelle, commonly called Le Picard, or
Picard du Gay. 3. His ecclesiastical functionary Louis Hennepin, a
monk of the Franciscan order, whom La Salle got rid of by sending him
along with Accault and Auguelle, when this Chaas trading-party started
from Fort Crevecoeur on the Illinois r., Feb. 29th, 1680; they
reached the Miss. r. at the mouth of the Illinois, Mar. 7th, 1680, and
came to Lake Pepin in June of that year. It is a pity that the
reverend father's vanity, servility, and envy prevented him from
sticking to his ghostly trade; but he was ambitious of authorship,
like many another religious worldling, and jealous of La Salle. So he
set about a book for the glory of a trinity composed of Louis
Hennepin, Louis XIV., and God. It has made much trouble for
geographers and historians, who would willingly have waited for all
the information that it contains till this should have been imparted
by some less bigoted, less bombastic, and more veracious chronicler
than this Recollect priest, who recollected a good many things that
never happened, and forgot some of those that did occur. Hennepin is
the able philologist who discovered that the Indians called their
solar deity by the name of the then King of France, and who followed
up this discovery by naming the whole country Louisiana. He is the
same unscrupulous courtier who represents the king's arms to have been
cut in the bark of an oak west of Lac des Assenipoils, ca. lat. 60 deg.
N.: see his map, place marked "Armes du Roy telle quel^le sont
grauee sur l'escorce d'vn Chesne a lendroit marque--A". The tree may
be there yet, but the monk never was. Lahontan's fables are
entertaining, like La Fontaine's; Hennepin's are a bore. When this
little Louis is not wheedling the great Louis, he is apt to be
whining; he was troubled with gumboils, from dental caries, and did
not always remember the excellent injunction he received from Father
Gabriel--_viriliter age et comfortetur cor tuum_; which an Englishman
might freely render, "Be a man and keep your courage up." This
missionary lachrymosely named the lake, to which Accault, Auguelle,
and himself were taken by the Indians, Lac des Pleurs, a phrase which
appears in Engl. transls. of his book as Lake of Tears, "which we so
named," as Shea's text reads, p. 198, "because the Indians who had
taken us, wishing to kill us, some of them wept the whole night, to
induce the others to consent to our death"--_hinc illae lacrymae_.
Hennepin, by the way, says further, _ibid._: "Half a league below the
Lake of Tears, on the south side, is Buffalo river." This would make
R. aux Boeufs = Chippewa r.: see note 59, p. 58, for some
bearings on the case. The obscurity of the origin of the name Lake
Pepin has not been cleared up, so far as I know. Lesueur came here
Sept. 14th, 1700, and "Pepin" is found in La Harpe's MS. relation of
Lesueur's journey of July 12th-Dec. 13th, 1700. It is unlikely that
this name, by whomever given, was bestowed with direct reference to
any person of the Carlovingian dynasty; they were all dead and gone
ages before the lake was discovered, when nobody but historical
researchers took any interest in those defunct monarchs. St. Croix's
and St. Pierre's rivers were certainly named for contemporaneous
individuals, and so probably was Lake Pepin. There were a number of
Frenchmen by the name of Pepin, Papin, etc., in the country in later
years, and some one or more of them may have come before 1700. Carver
first came here Nov. 1st, 1766; he notes the remains of an old F.
factory, "where it is said Capt. St. Pierre resided." Old Ft. St.
Antoine may have been on the lake rather than at the mouth of R. des
Boeufs ou de Bon Secours; and the lake was once called Lac de Bon
Secours, or Bonsecours, a phrase which has been translated Lake Good
Help and Lake Relief. Fort Beauharnois was built on the lake, after
Sept. 17th, 1727, when La Perriere du Boucher landed on Pointe au
Sable or elsewhere; the exact site is unknown. This was an extensive
and substantial structure, and was named in honor of the then Governor
of Canada; it included a mission-house which the ecclesiastical
functionaries of Boucher's outfit called St. Michael, after an
archangel of that denomination. This was the fourth French
establishment; the other three having been Fort L'Huillier, 1700,
built by Lesueur, on the Blue Earth r., a branch of St. Pierre's; the
fort on Isle Pelee, below Hastings, by Lesueur also, in 1695; and the
fort below the foot of Lake Pepin, at or near present Wabasha, built
by Perrot, 1683.

[I-63] To a position 11/2 m. below present Frontenac, Goodhue Co., Minn.,
about the mouth of Sand Point r. of Nicollet, now called Wells cr.;
this is below present Point No Point, and Frontenac is between. The
county was named by the Legislative Assembly of Minnesota, in 1853,
for James M. Goodhue, b. Hebron, N. H., Mar. 31st, 1810, came to St.
Paul, Minn., Apr. 18th, 1849, founded the Pioneer newspaper, d. 8.30
p. m., Friday, Aug. 27th, 1852: see his obit. by E. D. Neill, Minn.
Hist. Soc. Coll., I (orig. ed. 1850-56), 2d ed. 1872, pp. 245-53.

[I-64] Pike calls him Murdock Cameron on Apr. 12th: see that date; text
of 1807 has Mordock Cameron, p. 59 and p. 64: see also L. and C., ed.
1893, pp. 239, 1222. This is the same Cameron of whom Featherstonhaugh,
Canoe Voyage, etc., I. 1847, p. 314, speaks at length, and whose death
in 1811 is given as follows: "Passed a place on the right bank [of St.
Pierre's r., above the Waraju] where Milor [F.'s voyageur] buried his
bourgeois, a Mr. Cameron, in 1811. He was an enterprising, sagacious
Scotchman who had amassed a good deal of property by trafficking with
the Indians;... and whilst upon one of his expeditions he was taken
ill in his canoe, was landed, and died in the woods." Fgh. does not
hint at foul play here; for the suspicions in the case, see Long, as
cited in my L. and C. Cameron was buried on a bluff near Lac qui
Parle, the lake where his trading-post was, and "Cameron's grave" has
continued to be an identified spot from that day to this. Cameron's
name appears as that of one of the four witnesses to Pike's Sioux
treaty of Sept. 23d on one of the manuscript copies of that document
before me. The "Milor" mentioned here was a Canadian French half-breed
who became very well known as a resident of Mendota, Minn., where he
died about 1860, "after a long life full of adventure and daring
exploits," as J. F. Williams says, Minn. Hist. Coll., I. 2d. ed. 1872,
p. 375.

[I-65] Those of a sentimental turn who may like to have the
full-rounded legend of the maiden Winona will find the romance related
in a scholarly yet sympathetic vein by Prof. Keating, in Long of 1823,
pub. 1824, I. pp. 280-85. Beltrami, II. p. 183, calls the girl
Oholoaitha, her lover Anikigi, comparing the pair to the muse of
Mitylene and Phaon. Whether the tragic event is fact or fancy is
another question I see no use of raising. There is no inherent
improbability in the case; any girl could have thrown herself over the
rock with more ease than she had climbed it for that purpose, and
suicide is not less frequent among squaws than various other peoples
of both sexes. In the case of Indian women the most usual causes are
said to be grief, anger, and revenge, though in some cases the
suicidal resolve is more deliberate, and rather a matter of social
etiquette or of a religious code than of emotional insanity. I
understand that hanging is the customary method of taking one's self
off; and that the smallest tree which will answer the purpose is
preferred, because it is an article of belief that the ghost thus
discarnated must drag the instrument of death about for a period, and
a woman naturally prefers to lighten the load as much as possible.
Supposing Winona to have taken the fatal leap, it is reasonable to
infer from the faith in such affairs that she is there yet, chained to
the rock like another Andromeda; for the bluff is too big for her to
budge an inch, even with the assistance of a possible Perseus. There
is unimpeachable precedent for her performance in the classics, not
entirely dissociated from the name and fame of the gifted poetical
archetaera Sappho; and rocks reputed to be the scenes of lovers' leaps
abound in history and geography.

[I-66] That much-named river, whereto hangs a tale of great length.
Pike here has the right name of it, though it is now usually called
Cannon r., by perversion of the French Riviere aux Canots: Cano,
Canot, Canon, Canow r. of various writers; Riviere au Canon, Canoe r.,
Cannon r., Pike, _passim_; Canon r., Long's map; Eamozindata or High
Rock r., Long's text, 1824, I. p. 263; Inyan Bosndata r., Natural
Obelisk r., Standing Rock r., Lahontan r., Cannon r., Nicollet, text
and map. It is commonly supposed that the stream marked R. aux Raisins
on Franquelin's map of 1688 is this river, and I see no objection to
this identification; for though the name is suspiciously like a
mistake for R. aux Racines, the river is laid down as above the
Chippewa, and can hardly have been intended for Root r. The main
question is whether R. Morte and R. Longue (Long r.), Lahontan,
1686-87, are names to be added to the synonyms of this stream. The
Baron Lahontan, "Lord Lieutenant of the French colony at Placentia in
Newfoundland," gives an account of himself on the Miss. r. in Letter
XVI. of his book, pp. 104-141 of the English ed., Lond., 1735. This
letter is "Dated at Missilimakinac, May 28th, 1689, containing an
Account of the Author's Departure from, and Return to Missilimackinac.
A Description of the Bay of Puante, and its Villages. An Ample
Description of the Beavers; followed by the journal of a remarkable
Voyage upon the Long River, and a Map of the adjacent Country."
According to this relation Lahontan came by the Fox-Wisconsin route to
Prairie du Chien Oct. 23d, 1686, thus hard upon the heels of Accault's
party, who had Hennepin along: "On the 3d [of Nov.] we entered the
Mouth of the Long River, which looks like a lake full of Bull-rushes;
we found in the middle of it a narrow Channel," etc. He continued his
journey, on paper if not on the river, and returned to the Mississippi
Mar. 2d, 1687; dropped down to the Missouri Mar. 17th; went up the
Missouri to the Osage r.; down the Missouri to the Mississippi again
Mar. 25th; down the Mississippi to the Wabash, and back up to the
Illinois Apr. 7th; up the Illinois to Fort Crevecoeur Apr. 16th;
arrived at "Chekakou" Apr. 24th; and made Michilimackinac soon
afterward. The whole _crux_ of Lahontan's relation is in his Long r.,
which he professes to have ascended a great distance to the countries
of the Eororos, Esanapes, and Gnacsitares, where he also got wind of
equally peculiar people called Mozeemlek and Tahuglauk. The main
feature of his map is the "Morte or River Longue," represented as
larger than that portion of the Mississippi which he traces, and as
heading in a great lake which connects across high mountains by
numerous large streams with another great river which runs off his map
due W. _De te fabula narratur._ But there is nothing to forbid us to
suppose that Lahontan went up to or toward, or even ascended, some
such stream as Cannon r., and then simply tacked this on to St.
Peter's r. by hearsay. We must in justice observe that all he
professes to know about Long r. above the point he says he ascended it
he acknowledges he got from the natives; and he is careful to separate
his map into two parts by a heavy line lettered "The Division of the
Two Maps," _i. e._, his own and one "drawn upon Stag-skins by y^e
Gnacsitares." Such a piece of patch-work would easily make his Long r.
out of Cannon or some similar stream, run on to the whole course of
St. Peter's above the Mankato or Blue Earth r. Fortunately we have
little to do with the Baron's crazy-quilt, but I must here quote
Nicollet, because he sees reason to believe that Lahontan really did
ascend Cannon r., and has signalized his conclusion by naming it
Lahontan r. on his map. Though the gentle Nicollet's quality of mercy
was never strained, yet his judgments, even his special pleadings,
deserve always the most respectful consideration. Nicollet says, in
substance, Rep. pp. 20, 21, that he was forced to this conclusion
after surveying the Undine region; that the principal statements of
the Baron "coincided remarkably well with what I have laid down as
belonging to Cannon river.... His account, too, of the mouth of the
river is particularly accurate"; the objection that the Baron says
that he navigated Long r. in November and December, when it is usually
frozen, is in part overcome by the fact that it is one of the last to
freeze, and the last resort of the wild fowl; and while he must
convict the Baron of "gross exaggeration of the length of the river,"
of its numerous population, and other pretended information, he would
conclude "that if La Hontan's claims to discoveries are mere fables,
he has had the good fortune or the sagacity to come near the truth."
As this musty old straw has never been threshed over to find any more
grains of wheat in it than Nicollet believed he had garnered, no one
else is likely in the future to make more of it than this; and our
alternative seems to be to accept Nicollet's results, or _noll. pros._
the whole case. I incline to the former, partly from my habitual
inclination to account for as many historical names as possible,
partly because I have so much confidence in Nicollet. It does not seem
to have occurred to him that his view of the case would be
strengthened by the original though probably not new suggestion I have
made, to the effect that fables of the St. Peter, tacked on to some
facts of Cannon r., would explain Lahontan's Long r.

[I-67] The present town of Redwing or Red Wing, Goodhue Co., Minn.,
commemorates this chieftain, and preserves the site of his village
with entire exactitude. Pike's tabular statement, bound in this work,
calls him Talangamane, L'Aile Rouge, and Red Wing; his tribe, Minowa
Kantong, Gens du Lac, and People of the Lakes. Beltrami, II. p. 186,
makes one Tantangamani "the unnatural father of the unhappy
Oholoaitha." "Major Long arrived on the evening of the 30th [of June,
1823] at an Indian village, which is under the direction of Shakea,
(the man that paints himself red;) the village has retained the
appellation of Redwing, (aile rouge,) by which this chief was formerly
distinguished," Keating's Long, I. p. 251, where the name which Pike
renders "Talangamane" is given as that of Red Wing's son, Tatunkamene,
and translated Walking Buffalo. "The Redwing chief is, at present
[1823], very much superannuated, but he is still much respected on
account of his former distinguished achievements," _ibid._, p. 260.
More about him to come in Pike, beyond.

[I-68] Frontenac to Red Wing, some 13 miles by present channel, whence
it is a couple of miles further to the head of the island opp. Cannon
r. camp. Pike coasts the Minnesota shore till he finishes with the
lake at the mouth of Bullard's or Ida cr., a streamlet that makes in
at a town called after the chief Wakouta, Wacouta, Wakuta, etc. Here
he enters one of the channels by which the Mississippi finds its way
into the lake, no doubt the middle one, then as now the main one,
which, however, soon joins the south one; the north channel is
narrower, crookeder, shoaler, and connected with some expansions known
as Upper and Lower lakes and Goose bay. The town of Red Wing is
situated on the S. side of a sharp bend the river makes in coming from
the Cannon, on a plain under bluffs that nearly encompass the town;
one of these is specially notable as the isolated elevation forming a
conspicuous landmark on the very brink of the river. This is Barn
bluff, or Barn mountain, so named by tr. of F. La Grange; it is 3/4 of a
mile long and 345 feet above low water mark; "upon the highest point
of the Grange. Major Long, who ascended it in 1817, observed an
artificial mound, whose elevation above its base was about five feet,"
Keating, I. p. 296. Nicollet made the altitude 322 feet, with
commendable caution; Owen gave 350 feet, almost correctly. This word
_Grange_ is often found as Gange: thus Beltrami has in text, p. 189,
mountain of the Gange, and Gange r.; latter also on map, and I suppose
Ganges r. could be found, even at this distance from India. About the
mouth of Cannon r., opp. Pike's camp, there was a place called
Remnichah; both Nicollet and Owen chart Remnicha r. or cr. as a stream
falling in close to the mouth. While Remnicha or Hhemnicha was a name
of Red Wing's village, it also covered the whole tract from Barn bluff
to Cannon r. Mr. A. J. Hill informs me of "a small ravine or coulee
which ran through Red Wing's village, and in 1854, when I lived there,
was called the Jordan. It only headed a few blocks back, and is now
doubtless a sewer or filled up." So Nicollet's Remnicha r. is that now
known as Hay cr., above which a certain Spring cr. makes in on the
same side. Present town of Trenton, Pierce Co., Wis., is about a mile
above camp.

[I-69] Discovery of the St. Croix r. is commonly attributed to
Accault's party, already mentioned as consisting of himself, Auguelle,
and Hennepin, prisoners in the hands of the Sioux at the time. The
date is 1680; day in question. According to La Salle's letter of Aug.
22d, 1682, written at Fort Frontenac, in Margry's Relations, II. p.
245 _seq._, it was very shortly after the 22d of April, 1680, when the
Indians who were carrying them off had come up the Mississippi to 8
leagues below the falls of St. Anthony, and then determined to finish
their journey by land to their village at Mille Lacs. As the St. Croix
is more than 24 m. below Minneapolis, this party must have passed its
mouth about the date said. The Memoir of Le Sieur Daniel Greysolon Du
Luth to the Marquis of Seignelay, 1685 (Archives of the Ministry of
the Marine), states that in June, 1680, he entered a river 8 leagues
from the end of Lake Superior, ascended it, made a half league
portage, and fell into "a very fine river," which took him to the
Mississippi r. This was the St. Croix, which Du Luth thus certainly
descended to its mouth at that time. He heard of the captivity of his
countrymen with indignation and surprise, hired a Sioux to show him
where they were, and rescued them; he says that he put them in his
canoes and carried them to Michelimakinak, whence, after wintering
there, they set out for the settlements Mar. 29th, 1681. It is quite
possible that before the great triangular duel which La Salle, Du
Luth, and Hennepin managed to arrange among themselves over the
operations of 1680, the St. Croix was seen by the missionary Menard,
who in 1661 may have reached the Mississippi by way of the St. Croix
or some other way, and was soon after lost. Marquette is not in
question here, as he came by the Wisconsin to the Mississippi and went
down the latter. So with any other person who reached the Mississippi
prior to 1680. Excepting the Menard matter, which is uncertain, the
case narrows to Accault's party and Du Luth, within some weeks of each
other, late spring and early summer of 1680; the facts appear to be
that the former first passed the mouth of the St. Croix, and the
latter first descended this river. Hennepin first named the river R.
de Tombeau, Descr. Louis., 1683, map; this is translated Tomb r., as,
_e. g._, Shea's Hennepin, 1880, p. 199, where we read: "Forty leagues
above [Chippewa r.] is a river full of rapids, by which, striking
northwest [read N. E.], you can proceed to Lake Conde [L. Superior], as
far as Nimissakouat [in Margry Nemitsakouat, in the Nouv. Dec.
Nissipikouet, being the Bois Brule] river, which empties into that
lake. This first river is called Tomb river because the Issati [Sioux]
left there the body of one of their warriors, killed by a rattlesnake,
on whom, according to their custom, I put a blanket." Some translate
Grave r. On Franquelin's map, 1688, the St. Croix is lettered R. de la
Magdelaine, though a certain Fort St. Croix appears about its head; by
whom it was first called Magdalene r. I am not informed. Lahontan's
map shows nothing here; he was too full of his fabulous Long r. to
concern himself much with real rivers. Next come Lesueur and his
people, 1695; he had first reached the Mississippi in 1683, and on
this his second appearance (his third being in 1700) they built the
trading-house called Fort Lesueur on Pelee isl., just below the mouth
of the St. Croix, as already noted. His editor, so far as this trip is
concerned, is the clever carpenter Penicaut, a sensible,
fair-and-square man. Just here comes in the question of the first
application of the _name_ St. Croix. The river was already so called
and the name in use before 1700; thus, Nicolas Perrot's prise de
possession, a document dated at Fort St. Antoine, May 8, 1689,
mentions the Riviere-Sainte-Croix. The Carte du Canada ou de la
Nouvelle France, par Guillame de L'Isle, Paris, 1703, traces the river
and letters it "L. & R. Ste. Croix," _i. e._, as some have translated
it, Lake and River Holy Cross; said lake being, of course, the
dilation of the same bottle-nosed river, which issues from a
contracted orifice, but is a mile or two wide higher up. But whatever
the theological proclivity to suppose this name to have been given for
the usual instrument of the execution of Roman malefactors, later put
by the Emperor Constantine on his banner, and afterward used for other
purposes, it is certain that the Christian crucifix is not directly
implied in the name. It is a personal designation, connoting one
Sainte Croix or Saint Croix, a trader named in La Harpe's MSS. of
Lesueur's third voyage as a Frenchman who had been wrecked there; for
we read: "September 16 he [Lesueur] passed on the east a large river
called Sainte-Croix, because a Frenchman of that name was shipwrecked
at its mouth." Hennepin names Sainte Croix as one of six men who
deserted La Salle. A letter written in June, 1684, by Du Luth to
Governor De la Barre (who succeeded Frontenac in 1682), states that
the writer had met one Sieur de la Croix and his two companions. This
case resembles those of La Crosse r. already noted, and St. Pierre r.,
noted beyond. It may be summed in the statement that St. Croix r., St.
Pierre r., and Lake Pepin, were all three so named for persons, by
Lesueur or his companions, not earlier than 1683 and not later than
1695; best assignable date, 1689. The river has also been called
Hohang or Fish r. (_cf._ Sioux Hogan-wanke-kin). The character of St.
Croix's r. as a waterway to the Great Lakes is elsewhere discussed.
This stream now forms the boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota
from its mouth to beyond 46 deg. N., where it splits up into small streams
in Burnett Co., Wis. Its general course is not far from S.--it is due
S. for many miles before it falls into the Mississippi; which latter,
for a great distance above their confluence, has a general bearing S.
E. Immediately at the mouth of the St. Croix, on the E., is Prescott,
Pierce Co., Wis., the site of which was once recommended by Long for a
military post; on the W. is Point Douglas, Washington Co., Minn.; and
across the Mississippi, a very little higher up, is Hastings, seat of
Dakota Co., Minn., at the mouth of Vermilion r. The above-mentioned
dilation of the river into Lake St. Croix extends some 30 m. up from
its mouth; and as far above this lake as an Indian ordinarily paddled
his canoe in a day was the long-noted Sioux-Chippewa boundary, at a
place which became known as Standing Cedars. Thus the river did duty
in Indian politics before it set bounds to our Minnesota and
Wisconsin. This lake was often called Lower St. Croix l., in
distinction from the sizable body of water at the head of the river
known as Upper St. Croix l. For the route thence by Burnt r. to Lake
Superior, see a note beyond.

[I-70] Especially as it leaves us in the lurch for mileage of the 19th.
But we can easily overhaul him before he gets to St. Paul, which is
only 30 river-miles from Prescott (mouth of St. Croix r.). He did not
go far above this river; for he makes it 261/2 + 8 = 341/2 m. to the Sioux
village, which latter was close to the present city limits of St.
Paul. If we must set a camp for him, it may be assigned to Hastings,
Dakota Co., Minn., 21/2 m. above Prescott, Pierce Co., Wis., and 181/2 m.
below Newport, Washington Co., Minn., in the vicinity of which he will
camp to-morrow. "Tattoo," at which the blunderbuss was fired, is not a
place, as the context and capitalization might suggest, but a certain
military call which is habitually sounded in garrisons and camps in
the evening before taps. It marks the hour when the soldiers are
supposed to retire to their quarters for their devotions before the
lights are put out at taps, and when the officers settle down in
earnest for the night's poker. In approaching the St. Croix from his
camp opposite Cannon r., Pike has bluffs off his right nearly all the
way, and the town of Diamond Bluff, Pierce Co., Wis., is at the point
where they first reach to the river, a mile and a half above the mouth
of Trimbelle r., right, and 11 m. below Prescott. On the left the
bluffs are off the river all the way, and for most of this distance
Vermilion slough, running under the bluffs, cuts off an island 11 m.
long and at its widest near 3 m. broad. The lower outlet of the slough
is below Trimbelle r.; the middle opening is only 3 m. below Prescott;
the upper one is at Hastings. The bottom-land of the principal island
has several bodies of water, one of them called Sturgeon l.,
discharging separately from the main slough; and is traversed
lengthwise by a sand-bank 6 m. long, which may be called Lesueur's
Terrace. For this Prairie or Bald isl. is no doubt that formerly known
as Isle Pelee, on which was built Fort Lesueur, 1695. The middle
opening of Vermilion slough is in common with a lower outlet of
Vermilion r. This is Rapid r. of Long, and Riviere Jaune of the
French; "R. Jaune" appears on Franquelin's map, 1688. The upper
discharge of this river is at Hastings, and thus above the mouth of
the St. Croix; Lake Isabel is a small sheet between the river and the
town. The Minnesota county line between Goodhue and Dakota strikes the
Mississippi just 11/4 m. below the lower mouth of Vermilion r. At the
mouth of the St. Croix the Mississippi ceases or rather begins to
separate Wisconsin from Minnesota; so that henceforth Pike proceeds in
the latter State.

[I-71] Hastings to Newport, 181/2 m. by the channel; camp a mile and a
half beyond this, vicinity of present Red Rock, Washington Co., at the
point on the small strip of prairie where the Sioux had their
celebrated red medicine-stone; this was the "large painted stone" Pike
observed. It gave name to Red Rock, having meanwhile become a
historical object. We read in Long, I. p. 287: "a stone which is held
in high veneration by the Indians on account of the red pigment with
which it is bedawbed, it is generally called the painted stone.... It
is a fragment of syenite, which is about four and a half feet in
diameter.... The Indians frequently offer presents to the Great Spirit
near this stone," etc. The party found near the stone an eagle's
feather, roots of _Psoralea esculenta_, and willow sticks painted red;
they secured a fragment of the idol for their mineralogical
collection. At the time of this visit (1823) there was an Indian
burying-ground a short distance above--in sight from the spot--if that
place can be called a burying-ground where the bodies are not buried
in the ground but scaffolded in the air; a mode of disposition of the
dead which might be called hypsitaphy, in distinction from bathytaphy
or ordinary underground interment. See Pike's remarks on Sioux burial
on the 21st. To reach the sacred spot, hallowed by association with
the deepest religious emotions of the untutored aboriginal mind, Pike
left Hastings, where the river was bridged by the C., M. and St. P. R.
R. in 1871 (Act of Minn. Legisl., Feb. 7th, 1867), and soon passed the
site of Nininger, Dakota Co., a small town built at the lower point of
a steep bluff which fronts the river's edge on the S., at the mouth of
the rivulet which serves as the upper discharge of Lake Rebecca or
King l.--in fact the whole bottom on his left is an island 23/4 m. long,
extending from Hastings to Nininger, being cut off by the slough of
which King l. is a dilation. On the right, in Washington Co., bluffs
front the river for a mile or more, to the lower opening of Boulanger
slough, which cuts off an island 21/2 m. long. The immediate frontage of
the Nininger bluffs on the river is less than a mile, for they recede
at the lower opening of Nininger slough. The river thus winds from
side to side of its bed, with alternation of bluffs and bottom on each
side. Above Nininger slough the river makes a great loop to the left;
the whole irregular curve is subtended on the right by Grey Cloud
slough, about 4 m. long direct, and longer by its meanders, thus
cutting off Grey Cloud isl., of the same length, and over 2 m. wide in
some places; town site Grey Cloud, Washington Co., on the river bank
on this island, which also presents at its northern end a limestone
rock, 50 to 75 feet above low-water mark, and a mile or more long;
this is probably the Medicine Wood of Forsyth, 1819. Near the middle
of the loop, on the other side, is the _nominis umbra_ site of Pine
Bend, Dakota Co., where the river runs under the hills. This loop was
formerly called Detour de Pin or des Pins, whence its modern names
Pine bend and Pine turn. The hills border the river pretty closely for
5 m. further, to Merrimac, opposite which is an island of the same
name; within 11/2 m. of this on the right hand, opposite an island of
its own name, is Newport, Washington Co.

[I-72] Newport to St. Paul--to a steamboat ldg. about the foot of
Wabasha or Robert st.--is 81/2 m. by the channel, and considerably more
than halfway up to Pike's camp on the island at the mouth of St.
Peter's or the Minnesota r. Thus, though Pike calls to-day's voyage
"24 miles," it is nearer 14. One who then swept around the bold bend
of the river at St. Paul saw a germ of that great metropolis in the
humble Sioux village, though only prescience could have divined what
time would make of the site above it. A later account than Pike's is
given in Keating's Long's Exp. of 1823, pub. 1824, I. p. 289: "Passed
an Indian village consisting of ten or twelve huts, situated at a
handsome turn on the river, about 10 miles below the mouth of the St.
Peter; the village is generally known by the name of the Petit
Corbeau, or Little Raven, which was the appellation of the father and
grandfather of the present chief. He is called Chetanwakoamene (the
good sparrow-hunter). The Indians designate this band by the name of
Kapoja, which implies that they are deemed lighter and more active
than the rest of the nation." This was a band of Mdewakantonwan Sioux
(the Minowa Kantong of Pike), for which, as well as for the celebrated
chief himself, see notes beyond. The term which Keating renders Kapoja
is now Kaposia, as a designation of the locality of South Park, a
place on the west bank of the river; but the old Sioux village was on
the east bank, below Frenchman's bar, in the low ground formerly
called by the French Grand Marais, rendered by Beltrami Great March
(for Great Marsh, II. p. 197), and now rejoicing in the epithet of
Pig's Eye marsh or lake. Pig's Eye was the soubriquet of one Peter
Parrant, a whisky-seller who squatted on the bottom in 1838, below
Carver's Cave in the Dayton bluff. The whole region about the mouth of
St. Peter's r. had been a Sioux focus and stamping-ground for
generations before any of the localities thereabouts received names
from us. The curious origin of the name St. Paul for the present
capital was in this wise: The limits of the military reservation about
Fort Snelling were authoritatively fixed in 1839. The whisky-traders,
loafers, and squatters about the place became so troublesome that the
U. S. Marshal of Wisconsin was directed to remove all such intruders,
who were given till next spring to decamp; and on May 6th, 1840, the
troops were called out to complete the eviction by the destruction of
cabins. In the words of E. D. Neill, Minn. Hist. Soc., II. Part 2,
1864, 2d ed. 1881, p. 142: "The squatters then retreated to the
nearest point below the military reserve, and there they became the
inglorious founders of a hamlet, which was shortly graced with the
small Roman Catholic chapel of St. Paul, the name of which is retained
by the thrifty capital of Minnesota, which has emerged from the
groggeries of 'certain lewd fellows of the baser sort.'" The chapel
above mentioned was built by Rev. Lucian Galtier, on what is now
Catholic block; it fronted on Bench street. It was dedicated Nov. 1st,
1841. The first marriage bans were those of one Vital Guerin,
described as "a resident of St. Paul;" and thus the priest named the
place as well as the house, although it was also called for a time St.
Paul Landing, because some stores had been put up close by, which
caused steamboats to stop there. In 1848, when Minnesota acquired
Territorial organization, and the capital was fixed at St. Paul, no
such place could be found on ordinary maps; it was some obscure
settlement, supposed to be somewhere about the mouth of St. Peter's
r., or in the vicinity of St. Anthony's falls, perhaps at a place
known as White Rock, or Iminijaska, where some bluffs were more easily
discernible than any village. Even down to 40 years ago, or a little
before 1858, when Minnesota acquired statehood, St. Paul had only
replaced tepees with a sprinkling of log cabins; and people scrambled
up the bluff by digging their toes into the ground. The site of the
city is one which would hardly have been anticipated as such; nor
would the original features of the locality be easily recognized now
after all the grading and terracing that has been done to convert the
stubborn hills and intractable hollows into a beautiful city of over
190,000 inhabitants. But all this was to be, and is well worth all
that it cost. Among the natural features which should be noted in this
connection, especially as they have given rise to conflicting
historical statements, are Carver's Great Cave in Dayton's bluff, and
Nicollet's New (Fountain) Cave, halfway thence to Fort Snelling; but
for these, as well as for a third cave close to Carver's, see a note
beyond, at date of Apr. 12th, 1806, when Pike's text brings the matter
up.

[I-73] Jean Baptiste Faribault, b. Berthier, Lower Canada, 1774, d.
Faribault, Minn., Aug. 20th, 1860, being at the time the oldest white
resident of the present State. Jean Baptiste was the youngest one of
10 children of Bartholomew (who was b. in Paris and came to Canada in
1754); he was in business in Quebec 1790-97, at the latter date
entered the employ of J. J. Astor as an agent of the N. W. Co., and
was engaged in the Indian trade at various points in the Mississippi
region for about 50 years, for the most part on his own account. One
of the posts he established was at the mouth of the Minnesota r.,
where Pike found him. In 1814 he married a half-breed daughter of
Major Hause (then Superintendent of Indian Affairs), by whom he had
eight children. His Indian name was Chahpahsintay, meaning Beaver
Tail. His eldest son, Alexander, founded the present town of
Faribault, Minn. Mr. J. B. Faribault "espoused the cause of the U. S.
during the war of 1812, and lost many thousand dollars thereby, as
well as narrowly escaping with his life on several occasions. He
labored all his life to benefit the red man, teach him agriculture and
the arts of industry, and protect his interests. He had an unbounded
influence over them; his advice was never disregarded. He was
prominent at all treaties, and rendered the U. S. many valuable
services," says J. F. Williams, Minn. Hist. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p.
377: see also _ibid._, p. 468. An extended memoir of Faribault, by
General H. H. Sibley, occupies pp. 168-79 of III. of the Minn. Hist.
Coll., 1874.

[I-74] The history of the discovery of St. Peter's r., off the mouth of
which Pike is now camped, is involved in some obscurity, which modern
research has not wholly cleared up, though the main facts have
probably been certified. (1) It has been conceded since Carver's time
that Hennepin missed the river. Discovery has not been traced back of
Lesueur's time. Lesueur was first on the Mississippi hereabouts in
1683; next in 1695, when he built on Pelee isl., just below the St.
Croix; and again in 1700; both these rivers are noted in the treatise
of Nicolas Perrot, and before 1700 the river of St. Pierre had been so
named. (2) Charlevoix's account, Hist. N. Fr., Paris, 1744, IV. pp.
165, 166, is in substance: In 1700 Lesueur, sent by D'Iberville to
establish himself in the Sioux country and take possession of a
copper-mine _que le Sueur y avait decouverte_, had already discovered
there, some time before; ascended St. Peter 40 leagues to Riviere
Verte (now Blue Earth r.) which comes in on the left hand as you go
up; ascended this Green r. 1 league; built a fort and wintered there,
1700-1; in April, "1702," for which read 1701, went up Green r. 3/4
league to his mine and in 22 days got out over 30,000 lbs. of ore, of
which 4,000 selected lbs. were sent to France; there was a mountain of
this mineral 10 leagues long, etc. (3) The Amer. Philos. Society's
copy of the MS. of Benard de la Harpe is carefully digested by Keating
in Long's Exp., I. pp. 317-322. This MS. is entitled: "Journal
historique concernant l'etablissement des Francais a la Louisianne,
tire des memoires de Messrs. d'Iberville et de Bienville, etc., par M.
Benard de la Harpe." The original of this copy was in the hands of Dr.
Sibley, who certifies to the correctness of the copy in a note
annexed, dated Natchitoches, Oct. 29th, 1805. Some of the contents of
this MS. are: (_a_) Lesueur and d'Iberville, with 30 hands, reached
the mouth of the Mississippi Dec., 1699. Lesueur was sent there by M.
l'Huillier, fermier general, under orders to establish himself at a
place near the sources of the Mississippi, where he had _previously_
discovered a green ore, _i. e._, in 1695. The substance of the 1695
discovery is: Lesueur built a fort on an island (Isle Pelee, now
Prairie isl.) in the Mississippi over 200 m. above the Illinois, by
order of Count Frontenac; and the same year he went to Montreal with
the Chippewa chief Chingouabe and the Sioux chief Tioscate, the latter
the first of his nation that ever was in Canada, and received very
kindly by the authorities in view of what they hoped to make out of
his country. With this Sioux chief Lesueur had intended to reascend
the Mississippi in 1696; but the former died at Montreal after 33
days' illness. Lesueur, thus released from an obligation to go back
with the chief to the country where he had discovered the ore,
determined to go to France to ask leave to open mines; this voyage he
made, and had his permit in 1697. June, 1697, he embarked at La
Rochelle for Canada; was captured by the British on the Newfoundland
banks and carried to Portsmouth; after peace, returned to Paris for a
new commission, which was issued to him in 1698; went to Canada with
this; various obstacles threw him back to Europe; and meanwhile part
of the men whom he had left in charge in 1695 abandoned their posts
and proceeded to Montreal. Thus operations on the mines were suspended
from 1695 to 1700, for Lesueur and d'Iberville, with their 30 workmen,
as we have seen, only reached the mouth of the Mississippi in Dec.,
1699. (_b_) The MS. we are following states, under date of Feb. 10th,
1702, that Lesueur was that day come to the mouth of the Mississippi
with 2000 quintaux of blue and green earth. This he certainly had got
on his tour of Dec., 1699-Feb., 1702, from and back to the mouth of
the Mississippi, and he had got it from the mine he opened and worked
on Riviere Verte or Blue Earth r., the principal branch of St.
Peter's. The MS. contains a narrative of this tour from July 12th to
Dec. 13th, 1700. It appears that Lesueur moved as follows: July 13th,
mouth of the Missouri; Sept. 1st, mouth of the Wisconsin; Sept. 14th,
mouth of the Chippewa (on one of whose branches he had found a 60-lb.
mass of copper during his previous journey); same day, Lake Pepin, so
designated in the MS.; 16th, passed La Croix r., so called from a
Frenchman wrecked there; 19th, entered St. Peter's r.; Oct. 1st had
ascended this for 441/4 leagues, and then entered Blue r., so called for
the color of the earth on its banks; started an establishment at or
more probably near the mouth of Blue r., at what the MS. gives as lat.
44 deg. 13' N.; Oct. 14th, finished the works, which were named Fort
L'Huillier; Oct. 26th, went to the mine with three canoes, which he
loaded with  earth taken from mountains near which were mines
of copper, samples of which L'Huillier had assayed at Paris in 1696.
Lesueur wintered there, 1700-1, and, as we have seen, was back to the
mouth of the Mississippi Feb. 10th, 1702. (_c_) From these historical
data Keating in Long, 1823, I. p. 320, infers that St. Peter's and the
Blue (Blue Earth) rivers were those streams which Lesueur had ascended
in 1695, which date is consequently assigned to the discovery, without
reference back to 1683. This inference is made "from the circumstance
that they are mentioned as well known, and not as recently discovered;
and more especially from the observation of la Harpe, that the eastern
Sioux having complained of the situation of the fort [L'Huillier],
which they would have wished to see at the confluence of the St. Peter
and Mississippi, M. le Sueur endeavoured to reconcile them to it. 'He
had foreseen,' says la Harpe, 'that an establishment on the Blue river
would not be agreeable to the eastern Sioux, who are the rulers of all
the other Sioux, because they were the first with whom the French
traded, and whom they provided with guns; nevertheless, as this
undertaking had not been commenced with the sole view of trading for
beavers, but in order to become thoroughly acquainted with the quality
of the various mines _which he had previously discovered there_
[italics Keating's], he replied to the natives that he was sorry he
had not been made sooner acquainted with their wishes, &c., but that
the advanced state of the season prevented his returning to the mouth
of the river.' No mention is made in this narrative of the stream
being obstructed with ice, a circumstance which, had it really
occurred, would, we think, have been recorded by de la Harpe, who
appears to have been a careful and a curious observer, and who
undoubtedly saw le Sueur's original narrative." (4) On the foregoing
data Nicollet, Rep. 1843, p. 18, has some judicious remarks in fixing
Lesueur's locality with precision: "On the left bank of the Mankato
[Green, Blue, or Blue Earth r.], six miles from its mouth, in a rocky
bluff composed of sandstone and limestone, are found cavities in which
the famed blue or green earth, used by the Sioux as their principal
pigment, is obtained. This material is nearly exhausted, and it is not
likely that this is the spot where a Mr. Lesueur (who is mentioned in
the Narrative of Major Long's Second Expedition, as also by Mr.
Featherstonhaugh) could, in his third voyage, during the year 1700,
have collected his 4000 pounds of copper earth sent by him to France.
I have reason to believe that Lesueur's location is on the river to
which I have affixed his name, and which empties into the Mankato
three-quarters of a league above Fort L'Huillier, built by him and
where he spent a winter. This location corresponds precisely with that
given by Charlevoix, whilst it is totally inapplicable to the former.
Here the blue earth is abundant in the steep and elevated hills at the
mouth of this river, which hills form a broken country on the right
side of the Mankato. Mr. [J. C.] Fremont and myself have verified this
fact: he, during his visit to Lesueur river; and I, upon the locality
designated by Mr. Featherstonhaugh, where the Ndakotahs formerly
assembled in great numbers to collect it, but to which they now seldom
resort, as it is comparatively scarce--at least so I was informed by
Sleepy-eye, the chief of the Sissitons, who accompanied me during this
excursion." (5) Featherstonhaugh's remarks, Canoe Voyage, etc., I. p.
280 and p. 304, seem to me less judicious than likely to make the
judicious grieve; in fine, they are singularly obtuse to have come
from so British a man and so clever a story-teller. He heads a page in
caps, "THE COPPER-MINE, A FABLE;" he has in text, "finding the
copper-mine to be a fable"; again: "that either M. le Sueur's green
cupreous earth had not corresponded to the expectations he had raised,
or that the whole account of it was to be classed with Baron
Lahontan's" fables, etc. This sort of talk would befog the whole
subject, were it not obvious that it has no bearing whatever upon the
historico-geographical case we are discussing. The question is _where_
Lesueur went, and _when_ he got there--not at all what he found there.
It is obtuse, I say, because unintentionally misleading, for F'gh to
say that, when he reached the bluff whence the pigment had been taken,
"Le Sueur's story lost all credit with me, for I instantly saw that it
was nothing but a continuation of the seam which divided the sandstone
from the limestone ... containing a silicate of iron of a
blueish-green color." In the first place, F'gh was not at exactly the
right spot, which Nicollet has pointed out. Secondly, though Lesueur
should have been mistaken or mendacious about any copper-mine being in
that region--though he should not have collected 30,000 lbs. of ore in
22 days, or even a gunny-sack full of anything in a year--though the
mountains should shrink to bluffs, and the whole commercial features
of the case turn into the physiognomy of the wild-cat--that would not
affect the historical and geographical facts, viz.: Lesueur ascended
the St. Peter's to the Mankato, and this as far at least as its first
branch, thus exploring both these rivers in 1700. Item, he had been to
if not also up the river of St. Pierre in 1695; and it had been known
since his first voyage in 1683. (6) As to the name Riviere St. Pierre,
or de St. Pierre, which we have translated St. Peter, or St. Peter's
r., the former obscurity of its origin has, I think, been almost
entirely cleared up. Keating's Long, 1824, I. p. 322, has: "We have
sought in vain for the origin of the name; we can find no notice of
it; it appears to us at present not unlikely that the name may have
been given by le Sueur in 1795 [slip for 1695], in honor of M. de St.
Pierre Repantigni, to whom La Hontan incidentally alludes (I. p. 136)
as being in Canada in 1789 [_i. e._, 1689]. This person may have
accompanied le Sueur on his expedition." Keating does not cite in this
connection the remark of Carver, ed. 1796, p. 35: "Here [at Lake
Pepin] I discovered the ruins of a French factory, where it is said
Captain St. Pierre resided, and carried on a very great trade with the
Naudowessies [Sioux], before the reduction of Canada." This person was
Jacques Le Gardeur St. Pierre, who in 1737 commanded the fort on Lake
Pepin (Fort Beauharnois). One Fort St. Pierre was built at Rainy l.
late in 1731; J. Le G. St. Pierre was there in 1751: for extended
notice of him, see Neill, Macalester Coll. Cont., No. 4, 1890, pp.
136-40. His father was Captain Paul St. Pierre, who was sent to the
French post (Maison Francoise) at La Pointe (Chaquamegon bay) in 1718.
Nicollet, Rep. 1843, p. 68, cites Carver, and states: "I have no
hesitation in assigning its [the name's] origin to a Canadian by the
name of De St. Pierre, who resided for a long time thereabouts." The
name appears for the first time in Perrot's report, of the date 1689,
which is also the most probable date of naming the St. Croix r. and
Lake Pepin. The only question left is, whether the river was not named
to compliment _Pierre_ Lesueur himself. Whoever the St. Pierre whose
name the river bears may prove to be, the name is a personal one,
which we should not have translated into English St. Peter; for it
certainly has nothing to do with the legendary saint so styled, whose
career is connected with the crowing of cocks three times more than
with the course of any river. Had the stream been named by some priest
for such a sadly overworked patron as the apocryphal first Bishop of
Rome, we should have heard all about it in the Jesuit Relations or
elsewhere. (7) The suggestion that the name St. Pierre is a perversion
of _sans pierres_ ("without stones"), may be dismissed as too good to
be true; for it is a settled principle of sound philology that the
easiest etymologies are the most likely to have been invented to fit
the case, _ex post-facto_. (8) As to native names, Nicollet says,
_l. c._: "The name which the Sioux give to the St. Peter's river is
_Mini-sotah_; and to St. Peter's, as a station [Mendota],
_Mdote-mini-sotah_. The adjective _sotah_ is of different translation.
The Canadians translate it by a pretty equivalent French word,
_brouille_--perhaps most properly rendered into English by _blear_;
as, for instance, _mini sotah_, blear water, or the entrance of blear
water. I have entered into this explanation, because the word _sotah_
really means neither clear nor turbid, as some authors have asserted;
its true meaning being readily found in the Sioux expression
_ishta-sotah_, blear-eyed.... The Chippeways are more accurate; by
them, the St. Peter's river [is called] _Ashkibogi-sibi_, the Green
Leaf river." It occurs to me that the distinction Nicollet draws would
correspond to _translucent_, as distinguished on the one hand from
colorless or transparent water, and on the other from opaque or turbid
water. I may also refer to the old medical term, _gutta serena_, for
forming cataract of the eye, when clear vision is obscured by a degree
of opacity that does not entirely exclude light. As applied to water,
Sioux _sotah_ may be about equivalent to Greek glaukos, Latin
_glaucus_, variously rendered "gray," "bluish-green," etc., and
Nicollet's "blear-eyed" be equivalent to what was called _glaucoma_
(glaukoma). Notice what Pike says above of the color of the
water; but it must be added that, when he speaks of the Mississippi as
"remarkably red," we must understand only a reddish-yellow hue of its
shoal portions, imparted by its sands; and by "black as ink," only the
darker color of deeper places where the sands do not show through. The
name Mini-sota has a number of variants: for example, Carver, who
wintered on it Nov., 1766-Apr., 1767, has "the River St. Pierre,
called by the natives the Waddapawmenesotor"; with which compare
Watapan Menesota of Long, Watpamenisothe of Beltrami, and the title of
Featherstonhaugh's diverting book, "A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay
Sotor," etc. It has become fixed of late years, since an Act of
Congress, approved June 19th, 1852 (Stat. at Large, X. p. 147),
decreed that the noble river should bear the name of the State through
which it flows. (9) The Minnesota r. appears on various old maps of
Louisiana (not on Hennepin's, 1683). Franquelin's, 1688, traces it
without any name, but letters it with the name of the Indians, "Les
Mascoutens Nadouescioux," _i. e._, Sioux of the Prairie, Gens du Large
of the French, collectively, as distinguished from Gens du Lac. De
L'Isle's map, 1703, has "R. St. Pierre."




CHAPTER II.

ITINERARY, CONTINUED: ST. PAUL TO LEECH LAKE, SEPTEMBER 22D,
1805-JANUARY 31ST, 1806.


_Sunday, Sept. 22d._ Employed in the morning measuring the river. About
three o'clock Mr. Frazer and his peroques arrived; and in three hours
after Petit Corbeau, at the head of his band, arrived with 150
warriors.

They ascended the hill in the point between the Mississippi and St.
Peters, and gave us a salute, _a la mode savage_, with balls; after
which we settled affairs for the council next day. Mr. Frazer and
myself took a bark canoe, and went up to the village, in order to see
Mr. Cameron. We ascended the St. Peters to the village, and found his
camp. He engaged to be at the council the next day, and promised to
let me have his barge. The Sioux had marched on a war excursion; but,
hearing by express of my arrival, they returned by land. We were
treated very hospitably, and hallooed after to go into every lodge to
eat. Returned to our camp about eleven o'clock, and found the Sioux
and my men peaceably encamped. No current in the river.[II-1]

_Sept. 23d._ Prepared for the council, which we commenced about twelve
o'clock. I had a bower or shade, made of my sails, on the beach, into
which only my gentlemen (the traders) and the chiefs entered. I then
addressed them in a speech, which, though long and touching on many
points, had for its principal object the granting of land at this
place, falls of St. Anthony, and St. Croix [river], and making peace
with the Chipeways. I was replied to by Le Fils de Pinchow, Le Petit
Corbeau, and l'Original Leve. They gave me the land required, about
100,000 acres, equal to $200,000, and promised me a safe passport for
myself and any [Chippewa] chiefs I might bring down; but spoke
doubtfully with respect to the peace. I gave them presents to the
amount of about $200, and as soon as the council was over, I allowed
the traders to present them with some liquor, which, with what I
myself gave, was equal to 60 gallons. In one half-hour they were all
embarked for their respective villages.

The chiefs in the council were: Le Petit Corbeau, who signed the
grant; Le Fils de Pinchow, who also signed; Le Grand Partisan; Le
Original Leve, war-chief; gave him my father's [General Wilkinson's]
tomahawk, etc.; Le Demi Douzen, war-chief; Le Beccasse; Le Boeuf que
Marche.

It was somewhat difficult to get them to sign the grant, as they
conceived their word of honor should be taken for the grant without
any mark; but I convinced then it was not on their account, but my
own, that I wished them to sign it.[II-2]

_Sept. 24th._ In the morning I discovered that my flag was missing
from my boat. Being in doubt whether it had been stolen by the
Indians, or had fallen overboard and floated away, I sent for my
friend, Original Leve, and sufficiently evinced to him, by the
vehemence of my action, by the immediate punishment of my guard
(having inflicted on one of them corporeal punishment), and by sending
down the shore three miles in search of it, how much I was displeased
that such a thing should have occurred. I sent a flag and two carrots
of tobacco, by Mr. Cameron, to the Sioux at the head of the St.
Peters; made a small draft of the position at this place; sent up the
boat I got from Mr. Fisher to the village on the St. Peters, and
exchanged her for a barge with Mr. Duncan. My men returned with the
barge about sundown. She was a fine light thing; eight men were able
to carry her. Employed all day in writing.

_Sept. 25th._ I was awakened out of my bed by Le Petit Corbeau, head
chief, who came up from his village to see if we were all killed, or
if any accident had happened to us. This was in consequence of their
having found my flag floating three miles below their village, 15
miles hence, from which they concluded some affray had taken place,
and that it had been thrown overboard. Although I considered this an
unfortunate accident for me, I was exceedingly happy at its effect;
for it was the occasion of preventing much bloodshed among the
savages. A chief called Outard Blanche[II-3] had his lip cut off, and
had come to Petit Corbeau and told him, "that his face was his
looking-glass, that it was spoiled, and that he was determined on
revenge." The parties were charging their guns and preparing for
action, when lo! the flag appeared like a messenger of peace sent to
prevent their bloody purposes. They were all astonished to see it. The
staff was broken. Then Petit Corbeau arose and spoke to this effect:
"That a thing so sacred had not been taken from my boat without
violence; that it would be proper for them to hush all private
animosities, until they had revenged the cause of their eldest
brother; that he would immediately go up to St. Peters, to know what
dogs had done that thing, in order to take steps to get satisfaction
of those who had done the mischief." They all listened to this
reasoning; he immediately had the flag put out to dry, and embarked
for my camp. I was much concerned to hear of the blood likely to have
been shed, and gave him five yards of blue stroud, three yards of
calico, one handkerchief, one carrot of tobacco, and one knife, in
order to make peace among his people. He promised to send my flag by
land to the falls, and make peace with Outard Blanche. Mr. Frazer went
up to the village. We embarked late, and encamped at the foot of the
rapids. In many places, I could scarce [almost] throw a stone over the
river. Distance three miles.[II-4]

_Sept. 26th._ Embarked at the usual hour, and after much labor in
passing through the rapids, arrived at the foot of the falls [of St.
Anthony, in the city of Minneapolis], about three or four o'clock;
unloaded my boat, and had the principal part of her cargo carried over
the portage. With the other boat, however, full loaded, they were not
able to get over the last shoot, and encamped about 600 yards below. I
pitched my tent and encamped above the shoot. The rapids mentioned in
this day's march might properly be called a continuation of the falls
of St. Anthony, for they are equally entitled to this appellation with
the falls of the Delaware and Susquehanna. Killed one deer. Distance
nine miles.[II-5]

_Sept. 27th._ Brought over the residue of my lading this morning. Two
men arrived from Mr. Frazer, on St. Peters, for my dispatches. This
business of closing and sealing appeared like a last adieu to the
civilized world. Sent a large packet to the general, and a letter to
Mrs. Pike, with a short note to Mr. Frazer. Two young Indians brought
my flag across by land; they arrived yesterday, just as we came in
sight of the falls. I made them a present for their punctuality and
expedition, and the danger they were exposed to from the journey.
Carried our boats out of the river as far as the bottom of the hill.

_Sept. 28th._ Brought my barge over, and put her in the river above
the falls. While we were engaged with her, three-quarters of a mile
from camp, seven Indians, painted black, appeared on the heights. We
had left our guns at camp, and were entirely defenseless. It occurred
to me that they were the small party of Sioux who were obstinate, and
would go to war when the other part of the bands came in. These they
proved to be. They were better armed than any I had ever seen, having
guns, bows, arrows, clubs, spears, and some of them even a case of
pistols. I was at that time giving my men a dram, and giving the cup
of liquor to the first, he drank it off; but I was more cautious with
the remainder. I sent my interpreter to camp with them to wait my
coming, wishing to purchase one of their war-clubs, which was made of
elk-horn, and decorated with inlaid work. This, and a set of bows and
arrows, I wished to get as a curiosity. But the liquor I had given him
beginning to operate, he came back for me; refusing to go till I
brought my boat, he returned, and (I suppose being offended) borrowed
a canoe and crossed the river. In the afternoon we got the other boat
near the top of the hill, when the props gave way, and she slid all
the way down to the bottom, but fortunately without injuring any
person. It raining very hard, we left her. Killed one goose and a
raccoon.

_Sunday, Sept. 29th._ I killed a remarkably large raccoon. Got our
large boat over the portage, and put her in the river, at the upper
landing. This night the men gave sufficient proof of their fatigue, by
all throwing themselves down to sleep, preferring rest to supper. This
day I had but 15 men out of 22; the others were sick.

This voyage could have been performed with great convenience if we had
taken our departure in June. But the proper time would be to leave the
Illinois as soon as the ice would permit, when the river would be of a
good height.

_Sept. 30th._ Loaded my boat, moved over, and encamped on the island.
The large boats loading likewise, we went over and put on board. In
the meantime I took a survey of the Falls, Portage, etc. If it be
possible to pass the falls at high water, of which I am doubtful, it
must be on the east side, about 30 yards from shore, as there are
three layers of rocks, one below the other. The pitch off either is
not more than five feet; but of this I can say more on my return. (It
is never possible, as ascertained on my return.)

_Oct. 1st._ Embarked late. The river at first appeared mild and
sufficiently deep; but after about four miles the shoals commenced,
and we had very hard water all day; passed three rapids. Killed one
goose and two ducks. This day the sun shone after I had left the
falls; but whilst there it was always cloudy. Distance 17 miles.[II-6]

_Oct. 2d._ Embarked at our usual hour, and shortly after passed some
large islands and remarkably hard ripples. Indeed the navigation, to
persons not determined to proceed, would have been deemed
impracticable. We waded nearly all day, to force the boats off shoals,
and draw them through rapids. Killed three geese and two swans. Much
appearance of elk and deer. Distance 12 miles.[II-7]

_Oct. 3d._ Cold in the morning. Mercury at zero. Came on very well;
some ripples and shoals. Killed three geese and one raccoon [_Procyon
lotor_]; also a brelaw,[II-8] an animal I had never before seen.
Distance 151/2 miles.[II-9]

_Oct. 4th._ Rained in the morning; but the wind serving, we embarked,
although it was extremely raw and cold. Opposite the mouth of Crow
river [present name] we found a bark canoe cut to pieces with
tomahawks, and the paddles broken on shore; a short distance higher up
we saw five more, and continued to see the wrecks until we found
eight. From the form of the canoes my interpreter pronounced them to
be Sioux; and some broken arrows to be the Sauteurs. The paddles were
also marked with the Indian sign of men and women killed. From all
these circumstances we drew this inference, that the canoes had been
the vessels of a party of Sioux who had been attacked and all killed
or taken by the Sauteurs. Time may develop this transaction. My
interpreter was much alarmed, assuring me that it was probable that at
our first rencounter with the Chipeways they would take us for Sioux
traders, and fire on us before we could come to an explanation; that
they had murdered three Frenchmen whom they found on the shore about
this time last spring; but notwithstanding his information, I was on
shore all the afternoon in pursuit of elk. Caught a curious little
animal on the prairie, which my Frenchman [Rousseau] termed a prairie
mole,[II-10] but it is very different from the mole of the States.
Killed two geese, one pheasant [ruffed grouse, _Bonasa umbellus_], and
a wolf. Distance 16 miles.[II-11]

_Oct. 5th._ Hard water and ripples all day. Passed several old Sioux
encampments, all fortified. Found five litters in which sick or
wounded had been carried. At this place a hard battle was fought
between the Sioux and Sauteurs in the year 1800. Killed one goose.
Distance 11 miles.[II-12]

_Sunday, Oct. 6th._ Early in the morning discovered four elk; they
swam the river. I pursued them, and wounded one, which made his escape
into a marsh; saw two droves of elk. I killed some small game and
joined the boats near night. Found a small red capot hung upon a tree;
this my interpreter informed me was a sacrifice by some Indians to the
_bon Dieu_. I determined to lie by and hunt next day. Killed three
prairie-hens [pinnated grouse, _Tympanuchus americanus_] and two
pheasants. This day saw the first elk. Distance 12 miles.[II-13]

_Oct. 7th._ Lay by in order to dry my corn, clothing, etc., and to
have an investigation into the conduct of my sergeant [Kennerman],
against whom some charges were exhibited. Sent several of my men out
hunting. I went toward evening and killed some prairie-hens; the
hunters were unsuccessful. Killed three prairie-hens and six
pheasants.

_Oct. 8th._ Embarked early and made a very good day's march; had but
three rapids to pass all day. Some oak woodland on the W. side, but
the whole bottom covered with prickly-ash. I made it a practice to
oblige every man to march who complained of indisposition, by which
means I had some flankers on both sides of the river, who were
excellent guards against surprises; they also served as hunters. We
had but one raccoon killed by all. Distance 20 miles.[II-14]

_Oct. 9th._ Embarked early; wind ahead; barrens and prairie. Killed
one deer and four pheasants. Distance 3 miles. [Camp between Plum
creek and St. Augusta.]

_Oct. 10th._ Came to large islands and strong water early in the
morning. Passed the place at which Mr. [Joseph] Reinville and Mons.
Perlier [?] wintered in 1797. Passed a cluster of more than 20 islands
in the course of four miles; these I called Beaver islands, from the
immense sign of those animals; for they have dams on every island and
roads from them every two or three rods. I would here attempt a
description of this wonderful animal, and its admirable system of
architecture, were not the subject already exhausted by the numerous
travelers who have written on this subject. Encamped at the foot of
the Grand [Sauk] Rapids. Killed two geese, five ducks, and four
pheasants. Distance 161/2 miles.[II-15]

_Oct. 11th._ Both boats passed the worst of the rapids by eleven
o'clock, but we were obliged to wade and lift them over rocks where
there was not a foot of water, when at times the next step would be in
water over our heads. In consequence of this our boats were frequently
in imminent danger of being bilged on the rocks. About five miles
above the rapids our large boat was discovered to leak so fast as to
render it necessary to unload her, which we did. Stopped the leak and
reloaded. Near a war-encampment I found a painted buckskin and a piece
of scarlet cloth, suspended by the limb of a tree; this I supposed to
be a sacrifice to Matcho Maniton [_sic_], to render their enterprise
successful; but I took the liberty of invading the rights of his
diabolical majesty, by treating them as the priests of old have often
done--that is, converting the sacrifice to my own use. Killed only two
ducks. Distance 8 miles.[II-16]

_Oct. 12th._ Hard ripples in the morning. Passed a narrow rocky place
[Watab rapids], after which we had good water. Our large boat again
sprung a leak, and we were again obliged to encamp early and unload.
Killed one deer, one wolf, two geese, and two ducks. Distance 121/2
miles.[II-17]

_Sunday, Oct. 13th._ Embarked early and came on well. Passed [first a
river on the right, which we named Lake river (now called Little Rock
river) and then] a handsome little river on the east, which we named
Clear river [now Platte]; water good. Killed one deer, one beaver, two
minks, two geese, and one duck. Fair winds. Discovered one buffalo
sign. Distance 29 miles.[II-18]

_Oct. 14th._ Ripples a considerable [part of the] way. My hunters
killed three deer, four geese, and two porcupines. When hunting
discovered a trail which I supposed to have been made by the savages.
I followed it with much precaution, and at length started a large bear
feeding on the carcass of a deer; he soon made his escape. Yesterday
we came to the first timbered land above the falls. Made the first
discovery of bear since we left St. Louis, excepting what we saw three
miles below St. Peters. Distance 17 miles.[II-19]

_Oct. 15th._ Ripples all day. In the morning the large boat came up,
and I once more got my party together; they had been detained by
taking in the game. Yesterday and this day passed some skirts of good
land, well timbered, swamps of hemlock, and white pine. Water very
hard. The river became shallow and full of islands. We encamped on a
beautiful point on the west, below a fall [Fourth, Knife, or Pike
rapids] of the river over a bed of rocks, through which we had two
narrow shoots to make our way the next day. Killed two deer, five
ducks, and two geese. This day's march made me think seriously of our
wintering ground and leaving our large boats. Distance five
miles.[II-20]

_Oct. 16th._ When we arose in the morning found that snow had fallen
during the night; the ground was covered, and it continued to snow.
This indeed was but poor encouragement for attacking the rapids, in
which we were certain to wade to our necks. I was determined, however,
if possible, to make la riviere de Corbeau [now Crow Wing river], the
highest point ever made by traders in their bark canoes. We embarked,
and after four hours' work became so benumbed with cold that our
limbs were perfectly useless. We put to shore on the opposite side of
the river, about two-thirds of the way up the rapids. Built a large
fire; and then discovered that our boats were nearly half-full of
water, both having sprung such large leaks as to oblige me to keep
three hands bailing. My Sergeant Kennerman, one of the stoutest men I
ever knew, broke a blood-vessel and vomited nearly two quarts of
blood. One of my corporals, Bradley, also evacuated nearly a pint of
blood when he attempted to void his urine. These unhappy
circumstances, in addition to the inability of four other men, whom we
were obliged to leave on shore, convinced me that if I had no regard
for my own health and constitution, I should have some for those poor
fellows, who were killing themselves to obey my orders. After we had
breakfasted and refreshed ourselves, we went down to our boats on the
rocks, where I was obliged to leave them. I then informed my men that
we would return to the camp, and there leave some of the party and our
large boats. This information was pleasing, and the attempt to reach
the camp soon accomplished.

My reasons for this step have partly been already stated. The
necessity of unloading and refitting my boats, the beauty and
convenience of the spot for building huts, the fine pine trees for
peroques, and the quantity of game, were additional inducements. We
immediately unloaded our boats and secured their cargoes. In the
evening I went out upon a small but beautiful creek [_i. e._, Pine
creek of Pike, now Swan river[II-21]] which empties into the falls [on
the W. side], for the purpose of selecting pine trees to make canoes.
Saw five deer, and killed one buck weighing 137 pounds. By my leaving
men at this place, and from the great quantities of game in its
vicinity, I was insured plenty of provision for my return voyage. In
the party [to be] left behind was one hunter, to be continually
employed, who would keep our stock of salt provisions good. Distance
2331/2 [about 111] miles above the falls of St. Anthony.

_Oct. 17th._ It continued to snow. I walked out in the morning and
killed four bears, and my hunter three deers. Felled our trees for
canoes and commenced working on them.

_Oct. 18th._ Stopped hunting and put every hand to work. Cut 60 logs
for huts and worked at the canoes. This, considering we had only two
felling-axes and three hatchets, was pretty good work. Cloudy, with
little snow.

_Oct. 19th._ Raised one of our houses and almost completed one canoe.
I was employed the principal part of this day in writing letters and
making arrangements which I deemed necessary, in case I should never
return.

_Sunday, Oct. 20th._ Continued our labor at the houses and canoes;
finished my letters, etc. At night discovered the prairie on the
opposite side of the river to be on fire: supposed to have been made
by the Sauteurs. I wished much to have our situation respectable
[defensible] here, or I would have sent next day to discover them.

_Oct. 21st._ Went out hunting, but killed nothing, not wishing to
shoot at small game. Our labor went on.

_Oct. 22d._ Went out hunting. About 15 miles up the [Pine] creek saw a
great quantity of deer; but from the dryness of the woods and the
quantity of brush, only shot one through the body, which made its
escape. This day my men neglected their work, which convinced me I
must leave off hunting and superintend them. Miller and myself lay out
all night in the pine woods.

_Oct. 23d._ Raised another blockhouse; deposited all our property in
the one already completed. Killed a number of pheasants and ducks,
while visiting my canoe-makers. Sleet and snow.

_Oct. 24th._ The snow having fallen one or two inches thick in the
night, I sent out one hunter, Sparks, and went out myself; Bradley, my
other hunter, being sick. Each of us killed two deer, one goose, and
one pheasant.

_Oct. 25th._ Sent out men with Sparks to bring in his game. None of
them returned, and I supposed them to be lost in the hemlock swamps
with which the country abounds. My interpreter, however, whom I
believe to be a coward, insisted that they were killed by the
Sauteurs. Made arrangements for my departure.

_Oct. 26th._ Launched my canoes and found them very small. My hunter
killed three deer. Took Miller and remained out all night, but killed
nothing.

_Sunday, Oct. 27th._ Employed in preparing our baggage to depart.

_Oct. 28th._ My two canoes being finished, launched, and brought to
the head of the rapids, I put my provision, ammunition, etc., on
board, intending to embark by day. Left them under the charge of the
sentinel; in an hour one of them sunk, in which was the ammunition and
my baggage; this was occasioned by what is called a wind-shock.[II-22]
This misfortune, and the extreme smallness of my canoes, induced me to
build another. I had my cartridges spread out on blankets and large
fires made around them. At that time I was not able to ascertain the
extent of the misfortune, the magnitude of which none can estimate,
save only those in the same situation with ourselves, 1,500 miles from
civilized society; and in danger of losing the very means of
defense--nay, of existence.

_Oct. 29th._ Felled a large pine and commenced another canoe. I was at
work on my cartridges all day, but did not save five dozen out of 30.
In attempting to dry the powder in pots I blew it up, and it had
nearly blown up a tent and two or three men with it. Made a dozen new
cartridges with the old wrapping-paper.

_Oct. 30th._ My men labored as usual. Nothing extraordinary.

_Oct. 31st._ Inclosed my little work completely with pickets. Hauled
up my two boats, and turned them over on each side of the gateway, by
which means a defense was made to the river. Had it not been for
various political reasons, I would have laughed at the attack of 800
or 1,000 savages, if all my party were within. For, except accidents,
it would only have afforded amusement, the Indians having no idea of
taking a place by storm. Found myself powerfully attacked with the
fantastics of the brain called ennui, at the mention of which I had
hitherto scoffed; but my books being packed up, I was like a person
entranced, and could easily conceive why so many persons who had been
confined to remote places acquired the habit of drinking to excess and
many other vicious practices, which have been adopted merely to pass
time.

_Nov. 1st._ Finding that my canoe would not be finished in two or
three days, I concluded to take six men and go down the river about 12
miles [vicinity of Buffalo cr. (Two Rivers)], where we had remarked
great sign of elk and buffalo. Arrived there about the middle of the
afternoon. All turned out to hunt. None of us killed anything but
Sparks, one doe. A slight snow fell.

_Nov. 2d._ Left the camp with the fullest determination to kill an
elk, if it were possible, before my return. I never had killed one of
those animals. Took Miller, whose obliging disposition made him
agreeable in the woods. I was determined, if we came on the trail of
elk, to follow them a day or two in order to kill one. This, to a
person acquainted with the nature of those animals, and the extent of
the prairies in this country, would appear, what it really was, a very
foolish resolution. We soon struck where a herd of 150 had passed.
Pursued and came in sight about eight o'clock, when they appeared, at
a distance, like an army of Indians moving along in single file; a
large buck, of at least four feet between the horns, leading the van,
and one of equal magnitude bringing up the rear. We followed until
near night, without once being able to get within pointblank shot. I
once made Miller fire at them with his musket, at about 400 yards'
distance; it had no other effect than to make them leave us about five
miles behind on the prairie. Passed several deer in the course of the
day, which I think we could have killed, but did not fire for fear of
alarming the elk. Finding that it was no easy matter to kill one, I
shot a doe through the body, as I perceived by her blood where she lay
down in the snow; yet, not knowing how to track, we lost her. Shortly
after saw three elk by themselves near a copse of woods. Approached
near them and broke the shoulder of one; but he ran off with the other
two just as I was about to follow. Saw a buck deer lying on the grass;
shot him between the eyes, when he fell over. I walked up to him, put
my foot on his horns, and examined the shot; immediately after which
he snorted, bounced up, and fell five steps from me. This I considered
his last effort; but soon after, to our utter astonishment, he jumped
up and ran off. He stopped frequently; we pursued him, expecting him
to fall every minute; by which we were led from the pursuit of the
wounded elk. After being wearied out in this unsuccessful chase we
returned in pursuit of the wounded elk, and when we came up to the
party, found him missing from the flock. Shot another in the body; but
my ball being small, he likewise escaped. Wounded another deer; when,
hungry, cold, and fatigued, after having wounded three deer and two
elk, we were obliged to encamp in a point of hemlock woods, on the
head of Clear [Platte] river. The large herd of elk lay about one mile
from us, in the prairie. Our want of success I ascribe to the
smallness of our balls, and to our inexperience in following the track
after wounding the game, for it is very seldom a deer drops on the
spot you shoot it.

_Sunday, Nov. 3d._ Rose pretty early and went in pursuit of the elk.
Wounded one buck deer on the way. We made an attempt to drive them
into the woods; but their leader broke past us, and it appeared as if
the drove would have followed him, though they had been obliged to run
over us. We fired at them passing, but without effect. Pursued them
through the swamp till about ten o'clock, when I determined to attempt
to make the river, and for that purpose took a due south course.
Passed many droves of elk and buffalo, but being in the middle of an
immense prairie, knew it was folly to attempt to shoot them. Wounded
several deer, but got none. In fact, I knew I could shoot as many
deer as anybody; but neither myself nor company could find one in ten,
whereas one experienced hunter would get all. Near night struck a lake
about five miles long and two miles wide. Saw immense droves of elk on
both banks. About sundown saw a herd crossing the prairie toward us.
We sat down. Two bucks, more curious than the others, came pretty
close. I struck one behind the fore shoulder; he did not go more than
20 yards before he fell and died. This was the cause of much
exultation, because it fulfilled my determination; and, as we had been
two days and nights without victuals, it was very acceptable. Found
some scrub oak. In about one mile made a fire, and with much labor and
pains got our meat to it; the wolves feasting on one half while we
were carrying away the other. We were now provisioned, but were still
in want of water, the snow being all melted. Finding my drought very
excessive in the night, I went in search of water, and was much
surprised, after having gone about a mile, to strike the Mississippi.
Filled my hat and returned to my companion.

_Nov. 4th._ Repaired my mockinsons, using a piece of elk's bone as an
awl. We both went to the Mississippi and found we were a great
distance from the camp. I left Miller to guard the meat and marched
for camp. Having strained my ankles in the swamps, they were extremely
sore, and the strings of my mockinsons cut them and made them swell
considerably. Before I had gone far I discovered a herd of 10 elk;
approached within 50 yards and shot one through the body. He fell on
the spot; but rose again and ran off. I pursued him at least five
miles, expecting every minute to see him drop. I then gave him up.
When I arrived at Clear [Platte] river, a deer was standing on the
other bank. I killed him on the spot, and while I was taking out the
entrails another came up. I shot him also. This was my last ball, and
then only could I kill! Left part of my clothes at this place to scare
the wolves. Arrived at my camp at dusk, to the great joy of our men,
who had been to our little garrison to inquire for me, and receiving
no intelligence, had concluded we were killed by the Indians, having
heard them fire on the opposite bank. The same night we saw fires on
the opposite shore in the prairie; this was likewise seen in the fort,
when all the men moved into the works.

_Nov. 5th._ Sent four of my men with one canoe, loaded with the
balance of nine deer that had been killed; with the other two, went
down the river for my meat. Stopped for the deer, which I found safe.
Miller had just started to march home, but returned to camp with us.
Found all the meat safe, and brought it to the river, where we pitched
our camp.

_Nov. 6th._ At the earnest entreaties of my men, and with a hope of
killing some more game, I agreed to stay and hunt. We went out and
found that all the elk and buffalo had gone down the river from those
plains the day before, leaving large roads to point out their course.
This would not appear extraordinary to persons acquainted with the
nature of those animals, as the prairie had unluckily caught fire.
After Miller left the camp for home, Sparks killed two deer, about six
miles off; and it being near the river, I sent the three men down with
the canoe, to return early in the morning. It commenced snowing about
midnight, and by morning was six inches deep.

_Nov. 7th._ Waited all day with the greatest anxiety for my men. The
river became nearly filled with snow, partly congealed into ice. My
situation can more easily be imagined than described. Went down the
river to where I understood the deer were killed; but discovered
nothing of my men. I now became very uneasy on their account, for I
was well aware of the hostile disposition of the Indians to all
persons on this part of the Mississippi, taking them to be
traders--and we had not yet had an opportunity of explaining to them
who we were. Snow still continued falling very fast, and was nearly
knee-deep. Had great difficulty to procure wood sufficient to keep up
a fire all night. Ice in the river thickening.

_Nov. 8th._ My men not yet arrived. I determined to depart for the
garrison, and when the river had frozen, to come down on the ice with
a party, or, if the weather became mild, by water, with my other
peroques, to search for my poor men. Put up about ten pounds of meat,
two blankets, and a bearskin, with my sword and gun, which made for me
a very heavy load. Left the meat in as good a situation as possible.
Wrote on the snow my wishes, and put my handkerchief up as a flag.
Departed. My anxiety of mind was so great that, notwithstanding my
load and the depth of the snow, I made into the bottom, above our
former hunting-camp, a little before night. Passed several deer and
one elk, which I might probably have killed; but not knowing whether I
should be able to secure the meat if I killed them, and bearing in
mind that they were created for the use and not the sport of man, I
did not fire at them. While I was endeavoring to strike fire I heard
voices, and looking round, observed Corporal Meek and three men
passing. Called them to me, and we embarked together. They were on
their march down to see if they could render us any assistance in
ascending the river. They were much grieved to hear my report of the
other men, Corporal Bradley, Sparks, and Miller.

_Nov. 9th._ Snowed a little. The men carried my pack. I was so sore
that it was with difficulty I carried my gun; fortunately they brought
with them a pair of mockinsons, sent me by one of my soldiers, Owings,
who had rightly calculated that I was bare-foot; also a phial of
whisky, sent by the sergeant; were both very acceptable to me. They
brought also some tobacco for my lost men. We experienced difficulty
in crossing the river, owing to the ice. Moved into the post my
command, who were again encamped out, ready to march up the river. Set
all hands to making sleds, in order that the moment the river closed I
might descend, with a strong party, in search of my lost men. Issued
provisions, and was obliged to use six venison hams, being part of a
quantity of elegant hams I had preserved to take down, if possible,
to the general and some other friends. Had the two hunters not been
found, I must have become a slave to hunting in order to support my
party. The ice still ran very thick.

_Sunday, Nov. 10th._ Continued making sleds. No news of my hunters.
Ice in the river very thick and hard. Raised my tent with puncheons,
and laid a floor in it.

_Nov. 11th._ I went out hunting. Saw but two deer. Killed a remarkably
large black fox. Bradley and Miller arrived, having understood the
writing on the snow, and left Sparks behind at the camp to take care
of the meat. Their detention was owing to their being lost on the
prairie the first night, and not being able to find their deer.

_Nov. 12th._ Dispatched Miller and Huddleston to the lower
hunting-camp, and Bradley and Brown to hunting in the woods. Made my
arrangements in camp. Thawing weather.

_Nov. 13th._ Bradley returned with a very large buck, which supplied
us for the next four days.

_Nov. 14th._ It commenced raining at 4 o'clock a. m.; lightning and
loud thunder. I went down the river in one of my canoes, with five
men, in order to bring up the meat from the lower camp; but after
descending about 13 miles, found the river blocked up with ice.
Returned about two miles and encamped in the bottom where I had my
hunting-camp on the 1st inst. Extremely cold toward night.

_Nov. 15th._ When we meant to embark in the morning, found the river
full of ice and hardly moving. Returned to camp and went out to hunt,
for we had no provision with us. Killed nothing but five prairie-hens,
which afforded us this day's subsistence; this bird I took to be the
same as grouse. Expecting the ice had become hard, we attempted to
cross the river, but could not. In the endeavor one man fell through.
Freezing.

_Nov. 16th._ Detached Corporal Meek and one private to the garrison,
to order the sleds down. No success in hunting, except a few fowl. I
began to consider the life of a hunter a very slavish life, and
extremely precarious as to support; for sometimes I have myself,
although no hunter, killed 600 weight of meat in one day; and I have
hunted three days successively without killing anything but a few
small birds, which I was obliged to do to keep my men from starving.
Freezing.

_Sunday, Nov. 17th._ One of my men arrived; he had attempted to make
the camp before, but lost himself in the prairie, lay out all night,
and froze his toes. He informed us that the corporal and the men I
sent with him had their toes frost-bitten, the former very badly; that
three men were on their way down by land, the river above not being
frozen over. They arrived a few hours before night. Freezing.

_Nov. 18th._ Took our departure down the river on the ice, our baggage
on the sled. Ice very rough. Distance 12 miles. Freezing.

_Nov. 19th._ Arrived opposite our hunting-camp about noon. Had the
meat, etc., moved over. They had a large quantity of meat. I went out
and killed a very large buck. Thawing.

_Nov. 20th._ Departed to return to the stockade, part of our meat on
the sled and part in the little peroque, the river being open in the
middle. Killed four deer. Thawing. Distance five miles.

_Nov. 21st._ Marched in the morning. Came to a place where the river
was very narrow, and the channel blocked up. Were obliged to unload
our peroque and haul her over. The river having swelled a good deal at
this place the ice gave way with myself and two men on it. We seized
the sled that stood by us, with some little baggage on it, and by
jumping over four cracks, the last two feet wide, providentially made
our passage good without losing an individual thing. Encamped opposite
Clear [Platte] river. Killed one deer and one otter. Freezing.

_Nov. 22d._ Were obliged to leave our canoe at Clear river, the river
being closed. Made two trips with our sled. Killed one deer. Distance
five miles.

_Nov. 23d._ Having seen a great deal of buffalo sign, I determined to
kill one the next day--forgetting the elk chase. Encamped nearly
opposite our camp of the 15th and 16th. Thawing. Distance four miles.

_Sunday, Nov. 24th._ Took Miller and Boley and went in pursuit of
buffalo. Came up with some about ten o'clock. In the afternoon wounded
one. Pursued them until night, and encamped on the side of a swamp.
Thawing.

_Nov. 25th._ Commenced again the pursuit of the buffalo, and continued
till eleven o'clock, when I gave up the chase. Arrived at the camp
about sundown, hungry and weary, having eaten nothing since we left
it. My rifle carried too small a ball to kill buffalo; the balls
should not be more than 30 to the pound--an ounce ball would be still
preferable--and the animal should be hunted on horse-back. I think
that in the prairies of this country the bow and arrow could be used
to more advantage than the gun; for you might ride immediately
alongside, and strike them where you pleased, leaving them to proceed
after others. Thawing.

_Nov. 26th._ Proceeded up the river. The ice getting very rotten, the
men fell through several times. Thawing. Distance five miles.

_Nov. 27th._ Took one man and marched to the post. Found all well. My
hunter, Bradley, had killed 11 deer since my departure. Sent all the
men down to help the party up. They returned, accompanied by two
Indians, who informed me they were two men of a band who resided on
Lake Superior, called the Fols Avoins, but spoke the language of the
Chipeways. They informed me that Mr. Dickson's[II-23] and the other
trading-houses were established about 60 miles below, and that there
were 70 lodges of Sioux on the Mississippi. All my men arrived at the
post. We brought from our camp below the balance of 17 deer and 2 elk.

_Nov. 28th._ The Indians departed, much pleased with their reception.
I dispatched Corporal Meek and one private down to Dickson with a
letter, which would at least have the effect of attaching the most
powerful tribes in this quarter to my interest.

_Nov. 29th._ A Sioux, the son of a warrior called the Killeur
Rouge,[II-24] of the Gens des Feuilles, and a Fols Avoin, came to the
post. He said that having struck our trail below and finding some to
be shoe-tracks, he conceived it to be the establishment of some
traders, took it, and came to the post. He informed me that Mr.
Dickson had told the Sioux "that they might now hunt where they
pleased, as I had gone ahead and would cause the Chipeways, wherever I
met them, to treat them with friendship; that I had barred up the
mouth of the St. Peters, so that no liquor could ascend that river;
but that if they came on the Mississippi they should have what liquor
they wanted; also, that I was on the river and had a great deal of
merchandise to give them in presents." This information of Mr. Dickson
to the Indians seemed to have self-interest and envy for its motives;
for, by the idea of my having prevented liquor from going up the St.
Peters he gave the Indians to understand that it was a regulation of
my own, and not a law of the United States; by assuring them he would
sell to them on the Mississippi, he drew all the Indians from the
traders on the St. Peters, who had adhered to the restriction of not
selling liquor; and should any of them be killed the blame would all
lie on me, as he had without authority assured them they might hunt in
security. I took care to give the young chief a full explanation of my
ideas on the subject. He remained all night. Killed two deer.

_Nov. 30th._ I made the two Indians some small presents. They crossed
the river and departed. Detached Kennerman with 11 men to bring up the
two canoes.

_Sunday, Dec. 1st._ Snowed a little in the middle of the day. Went out
with my gun, but killed nothing.

_Dec. 2d._ Sparks arrived from the party below, and informed me they
could not kill any game, but had started up with the little peroque;
also, that Mr. Dickson and a Frenchman had passed my detachment about
three hours before. He left them on their march to the post. Sparks
arrived about ten o'clock at night.

_Dec. 3d._ Mr. Dickson, with an engagee and a young Indian, arrived
at the fort. I received him with every politeness in my power, and
after a serious conversation with him on the subject of the
information given me on the 29th ult., was induced to believe it in
part incorrect. He assured me that no liquor was sold by him, or by
any houses under his direction. He gave me much useful information
relative to my future route, which gave me great encouragement as to
the certainty of my accomplishing the object of my voyage to the
fullest extent. He seemed to be a gentleman of general commercial
knowledge, possessing much geographical information of the western
country, and of open, frank manners. He gave me many assurances of his
good wishes for the prosperity of my undertaking.

_Dec. 4th._ My men arrived with one canoe only. Calculated on
returning them two days later.

_Dec. 5th._ Mr. Dickson, with his two men, departed for their station
[in the vicinity of Thousand Islands, below St. Cloud], after having
furnished me with a letter for a young man of his house on Lake de
Sable [Sandy lake], and _carte blanche_ as to my commands on him.
Weather mild.

_Dec. 6th._ I dispatched my men down to bring up the other peroque
with a strong sled on which it was intended to put the canoe about
one-third, and to let the end drag on the ice. Three families of the
Fols Avoins arrived and encamped near the fort; also, one Sioux, who
pretended to have been sent to me from the Gens des Feuilles, to
inform me that the Yanctongs and Sussitongs,[II-25] two bands of Sioux
from the head of the St. Peters and the Missouri, and the most savage
of them, had commenced the war-dance and would depart in a few days;
in which case he conceived it would be advisable for the Fols Avoins
to keep close under my protection; that making a stroke on the
Chipeways would tend to injure the grand object of my voyage, etc.
Some reasons induced me to believe he was a self-created envoy;
however, I offered to pay him, or any young Sioux, who would go to
those bands and carry my word. He promised to make known my wishes
upon his return. My men returned in the evening without my canoe,
having been so unfortunate as to split her in carrying her over the
rough hilly ice in the ripples below. So many disappointments almost
wearied out my patience; notwithstanding, I intended to embark by land
and water in a few days.

_Dec. 7th._ An Indian by the name of Chien Blanche,[II-26] of the Fols
Avoin tribe, with his family and connections, arrived and encamped
near the stockade. He informed me that he had wintered here for ten
years past; that the sugar-camp near the stockade was where he made
sugar. He appeared to be an intelligent man. I visited his camp in the
afternoon, and found him seated amidst his children and grandchildren,
amounting in all to ten. His wife, although of an advanced age, was
suckling two children that appeared to be about two years old. I
should have taken them to be twins, had not one been much fairer than
the other. Upon inquiry, however, I found that the fairest was the
daughter of an Englishman, by one of the Indian's daughters, lately
deceased; since whose death the grandmother had taken it to the
breast. His lodge was made of rushes plaited into mats, after the
manner of the Illinois. I was obliged to give some meat to all the
Indians who arrived at the stockade, at the same time explaining our
situation. The Chien Blanche assured me it should be repaid with
interest in the course of the winter, but that at that time he was
without anything to eat. In fact, our hunters having killed nothing
for several days, we were ourselves on short allowance.

_Dec. 8th._ An invalid Sioux arrived with the information that the
bands of the Sussitongs and Yanctongs had actually determined to make
war on the Chipeways, and that they had formed a party of 150 or 160
men; but that part of the Sussitongs had refused to go to war, and
would be here on a visit to me the next day. This occasioned me to
delay crossing the river immediately, on my voyage to Lake Sang Sue
[Leech lake], as it was possible that by having a conference with them
I might still prevent the stroke intended to be made against the
Chipeways.

_Dec. 9th._ Prepared to embark. Expecting the Sioux, I had two large
kettles of soup made for them. Had a shooting-match with four prizes.
The Sioux did not arrive, and we ate the soup ourselves. Crossed the
river and encamped above the [Knife or Pike] rapids.[II-27] Wind changed
and it grew cold.

_Dec. 10th._ After arranging our sleds and peroque we commenced our
march. My sleds were such as are frequently seen about farmers' yards,
calculated to hold two barrels or 400 weight, in which two men were
geared abreast. The sleds on the prairie and the peroque were towed by
three men. Found it extremely difficult to get along, the snow being
melted off the prairie in spots. The men who had the canoe were
obliged to wade and drag her over the rocks in many places. Shot the
only deer I saw; it fell three times, and then made its escape. This
was a great disappointment, for upon the game we took now we depended
for our subsistence. This evening disclosed to my men the real danger
they had to encounter. Distance five miles.[II-28]

_Dec. 11th._ It having thawed all night, the snow had almost melted
from the prairie. I walked on until ten o'clock, and made a fire. I
then went back to look for the peroque, and at a remarkable [Little
Elk] rapid in the river, opposite a high piny island, made a fire and
waited for them to come up, when we partly unloaded. I returned and
met the sleds. When we arrived at the place pitched on for our camp, I
sent the men down to assist the peroque. In the afternoon, from about
three o'clock, we heard the report of not less than 50 guns ahead, and
after dusk much shooting on the prairie. I was at a loss to know who
they could be, unless they were Sauteaux, and what could be their
object in shooting after dark. Kept a good lookout. Distance five
miles.[II-29]

_Dec. 12th._ The snow having almost entirely left the prairie, we were
obliged to take on but one sled at a time and treble man it. In the
morning my interpreter came to me with quite a martial air, and
requested that he might be allowed to go ahead to discover what
Indians we heard fire last evening. I gave him permission and away he
went. Shortly after, I went out with Corporal Bradley and a private,
and in about an hour overtook my partizan, on a bottom close to the
river; he was hunting raccoons, and had caught five. We left him; and
after choosing an encampment and sending the private back to conduct
the party to it, the corporal and myself marched on, anxious to
discover the Indians. We ascended the river about eight miles; saw no
Indians, but discovered that the river was frozen over. This pleased
me more, for we would now be enabled to walk three times our usual
distance in a day.

I was much surprised that we saw no Indians. After our return to camp
I was told that a Fols Avoin Indian had met my party and informed them
that in the rear of the hills that bordered the prairie there were
many small lakes which by portages communicated with Lake Superior;
that in one day's march on that course we would find English
trading-houses; that the Chipeways were there hunting; that the Sioux
who had visited my camp on the 29th ult., on hearing the firing, had
prudently returned with his companions to the west side of the
Mississippi, agreeably to my advice. How persons unacquainted with the
searching spirit of trade and the enterprise of the people of the
northwest would be surprised to find people who had penetrated from
Lake Superior to lakes little more than marshes! It likewise points
out the difficulty of putting a barrier on their trade.

All my sleds and peroques did not get up until half-past ten o'clock.
Saw a very beautiful fox, with red back, white tail and breast. My
interpreter called them reynard d'argent [silver fox]. I had no
opportunity of shooting him. Killed six raccoons and one porcupine
[_Erethizon dorsatum_]. Fine day. Distance seven miles.[II-30]

_Dec. 13th._ Made double trips. Embarked at the upper end of the
ripples. It commenced snowing at three o'clock. Bradley killed one
deer, another man killed one raccoon. Storm continued until next
morning. Distance five miles.[II-31]

_Dec. 14th._ We departed from our encampment at the usual hour, but
had not advanced one mile when the foremost sled, which happened
unfortunately to carry my baggage and ammunition, fell into the river.
We were all in the river up to our middle in recovering the things.
Halted and made a fire. Came to where the river was frozen over.
Stopped and encamped on the west shore, in a pine wood ["Pine camp" of
Mar. 4th, 1806]. Upon examining my things, found all my baggage wet
and some of my books materially injured; but a still greater injury
was, that all my cartridges and four pounds of double battle Sussex
powder which I had brought for my own use, were destroyed. Fortunately
my kegs of powder were preserved dry, and some bottles of common
glazed powder, which were so tightly corked as not to admit water. Had
this not been the case, my voyage must necessarily have been
terminated, for we could not have subsisted without ammunition. During
the time of our misfortune, two Fols Avoin Indians came to us, one of
whom was at my stockade on the 29th ult., in company with the Sioux. I
signified to them by signs the place of our encampment, and invited
them to come and encamp with us. They left me and both arrived at my
camp in the evening, having each a deer which they presented me; I
gave them my canoe to keep until spring, and in the morning at parting
made them a small present. Sat up until three o'clock drying and
assorting my ammunition, baggage, etc. Killed two deer. Distance four
miles.

_Sunday, Dec. 15th._ Remained at our camp making sleds. Killed two
deer. Crossed and recrossed several Indian trails in the woods.

_Dec. 16th._ Remained at the same camp, employed as yesterday. Killed
three deer. I wounded a buffalo in the shoulder, and by a fair race
overtook him in the prairie and gave him another shot; but it being
near night left him till morning.[II-32]

_Dec. 17th._ Departed from our agreeable encampment at an early hour.
Found our sleds to be very heavily loaded. Broke one sled-runner and
were detained by other circumstances. Bradley, Rosseau the
interpreter, and myself killed four deer and wounded five others.
Having 11 on hand already, I found it necessary to leave behind some
of my other lading. At night we dug a hole, four feet deep, three feet
wide, and six feet long, in which we put one barrel of pork and one
barrel of flour, after wrapping them up in seven deerskins to preserve
them from the damp; we then filled up the hole and built our fire
immediately over it.[II-33]

_Dec. 18th._ Did not get off until eight o'clock, from the delay in
bringing in our meat. Ice tolerably good. Began to see the Chipeway
encampments very frequently, but had not entirely left the Sioux
country on the western shore. Beautiful pine ridges.

_Dec. 19th._ Were obliged to take to the prairie, from the river's
being open: but the snow was frozen hard and the sleds did not sink
deep, so that we made a pretty good day's journey. Killed one deer
and two otters. River still open. Distance 10 miles.[II-34]

_Dec. 20th._ Traveled part of the day on the prairie and on the ice.
Killed one deer. Heard three reports of guns just at sunset, from the
opposite side of the river. Deposited one barrel of flour. Distance
seven miles.[II-35]

_Dec. 21st._ Bradley and myself went on ahead and overtook my
interpreter, who had left camp very early in hopes that he would be
able to see the river De Corbeau, where he had twice wintered. He was
immediately opposite a large island [Ile de Corbeau[II-36]], which he
supposed to have great resemblance to an island opposite the mouth of
the above river; but finally he concluded it was not the island and
returned to camp. But this was actually the [Riviere de Corbeau or
Crow Wing] river, as we discovered when we got to the head of the
island, from which we could see the river's entrance. This fact
exposes the ignorance and inattention of the French and traders, and,
with the exception of a few intelligent men, what little confidence is
to be placed on their information. We ascended the Mississippi about
five miles above the confluence; found it not frozen, but in many
places not more than 100 yards over, mild and still; it had indeed all
the appearance of a small river of a low country. Returned and found
that my party, having broken sleds, etc., had only made good three
miles, while I had marched 35.

_Sunday, Dec. 22d._ Killed three deer. Owing to the many difficult
places we had to pass, made but 41/2 miles.

_Dec. 23d._ Never did I undergo more fatigue, performing the duties of
hunter, spy, guide, commanding officer, etc., sometimes in front,
sometimes in the rear, frequently in advance of my party 10 or 15
miles. At night I was scarcely able to make my notes intelligible.
Killed two raccoons. From our sleds breaking down, and having to make
so many portages on the road, made but four miles.[II-37]

_Dec. 24th._ Took the latitude of the Isle de Corbeau, and found it to
be in 45 deg. 49' 50" N. [It is above 46 deg.] The Mississippi becomes very
narrow above the river De Corbeau; and, as if it were the forks,
changes its direction from hard W. [read N.] to N. E. generally.[II-38]
Distance 101/2 miles.[II-39]

_Dec. 25th._ Marched, and encamped at eleven o'clock. Gave out two
pounds of extra meat, two pounds of extra flour, one gill of whisky,
and some tobacco per man, in order to distinguish Christmas Day.
Distance three miles. [Not quite to Brainerd yet.]

_Dec. 26th._ Broke four sleds, broke into the river four times, and
had four carrying-places, since we left the river De Corbeau. The
timber was all yellow and pitch pine, of which there were scarcely any
below. Distance three miles.[II-40]

_Dec. 27th._ After two carrying-places we arrived where the river was
completely closed with ice; after which we proceeded with some degree
of speed and ease. Killed one bear. The country on both sides
presented a dreary and barren prospect of high rocks, with dead pine
timber. Snow. Distance 10 miles.[II-41]

_Dec. 28th._ Two sleds fell through the ice. In the morning passed a
very poor country with bare knobs on each side; but toward evening the
bottoms became larger and the pine ridges better timbered. Bradley and
myself marched 10 miles beyond the sleds. Killed one deer. Distance 12
miles.[II-42]

_Sunday, Dec. 29th._ Cold, windy day. Met with no material
interruptions; passed some rapids. The snow blew from the woods on to
the river. The country was full of small lakes, some three miles in
circumference. Distance 21 miles.[II-43]

_Dec. 30th._ The snow having drifted on the ice retarded the sleds.
Numerous small lakes and pine ridges continued. A new species of pine,
called the French sap pine. Killed one otter [_Lutra canadensis_].
Distance 12 miles.[II-44]

_Dec. 31st._ Passed Pine[II-45] river about eleven o'clock. At its
mouth there was a Chipeway's encampment of 15 lodges; this had been
occupied in the summer, but was now vacant. By the significations of
their marks we understood that they had marched a party of 50 warriors
against the Sioux, and had killed four men and four women, which were
represented by images carved out of pine or cedar. The four men were
painted and put in the ground to the middle, leaving above ground
those parts which are generally concealed; by their sides were four
painted poles, sharpened at the end to represent the women. Near this
were poles with deerskins, plumes, silk handkerchiefs, etc.; also, a
circular hoop of cedar with something attached, representing a scalp.
Near each lodge they had holes dug in the ground, and boughs ready to
cover them, as a retreat for their women and children if attacked by
the Sioux.

_Wednesday, Jan. 1st, 1806._ Passed on the bank of the river [1 m.
above Dean brook] six very elegant bark canoes, which had been laid up
by the Chipeways; also, a camp which we conceived to have been
evacuated about ten days. My interpreter came after me in a great
hurry, conjuring me not to go so far ahead, and assured me that the
Chipeways, encountering me without an interpreter, party, or flag,
would certainly kill me. Notwithstanding this I went on several miles
further than usual, in order to make any discoveries that were to be
made; conceiving the savages not so barbarous or ferocious as to fire
on two men (I had one with me) who were apparently coming into their
country, trusting to their generosity; and knowing that if we met only
two or three we were equal to them, I having my gun and pistols and
he his buck-shot. Made some extra presents for New Year's Day.

_Jan. 2d._ Fine warm day. Discovered fresh sign of Indians. Just as we
were encamping at night, my sentinel informed us that some Indians
were coming full speed upon our trail or track. I ordered my men to
stand by their guns carefully. They were immediately at my camp, and
saluted the flag by a discharge of three pieces; when four Chipeways,
one Englishman, and a Frenchman of the N. W. Company, presented
themselves. They informed us that some women, having discovered our
trail, gave the alarm, and not knowing but it was their enemies, they
had departed to make a discovery. They had heard of us and revered our
flag. Mr. [Cuthbert?] Grant, the Englishman, had only arrived the day
before from Lake De Sable [Sandy lake], from which he had marched in
one day and a half. I presented the Indians with half a deer, which
they received thankfully, for they had discovered our fires some days
ago, and believing it to be the Sioux, they dared not leave their
camp. They returned, but Mr. Grant remained all night.

_Jan. 3d._ My party marched early, but I returned with Mr. Grant to
his establishment on [Lower] Red Cedar Lake, having one corporal with
me. When we came in sight of his house I observed the flag of Great
Britain flying. I felt indignant, and cannot say what my feelings
would have excited me to do, had he not informed me that it belonged
to the Indians. This was not much more agreeable to me. After
explaining to a Chipeway warrior called Curly Head [Curleyhead in text
of 1807, p. 33[II-46]] the object of my voyage, and receiving his
answer that he would remain tranquil until my return, we ate a good
breakfast for the country, departed, and overtook my sleds just at
dusk. Killed one porcupine. Distance 16 miles.[II-47]

_Jan. 4th._ We made 28 points[II-48] in the river; broad, good bottom,
and of the usual timber. In the night I was awakened by the cry of the
sentinel, calling repeatedly to the men; at length he vociferated,
"G--d d--n your souls, will you let the lieutenant be burned to
death?" This immediately aroused me. At first I seized my arms, but
looking round I saw my tents in flames. The men flew to my assistance
and we tore them down, but not until they were entirely ruined. This,
with the loss of my leggins, mockinsons, socks, etc., which I had
hung up to dry, was no trivial misfortune, in such a country and on
such a voyage. But I had reason to thank God that the powder, three
small casks of which I had in my tent, did not take fire; if it had I
must certainly have lost all my baggage, if not my life.

_Sunday, Jan. 5th._ Mr. Grant promised to overtake me yesterday, but
has not yet arrived. I conceived it would be necessary to attend his
motions with careful observation. Distance 27 miles.[II-49]

_Jan. 6th._ Bradley and myself walked up 31 points, in hopes to
discover Lake De Sable [Sandy lake]; but finding a near cut of 20
yards for 10 [two?] miles, and being fearful the sleds would miss it,
we returned 23 points before we found our camp. They had made only
eight points. Met two Frenchmen of the N. W. Company with about 180
[qu. 80?] pounds on each of their backs, with rackets [snowshoes] on;
they informed me that Mr. Grant had gone on with the Frenchman. Snow
fell all day and was three feet deep. Spent a miserable night.

_Jan. 7th._ Made but 11 miles, and then were obliged to send ahead and
make fires every three miles; notwithstanding which the cold was so
intense that some of the men had their noses, others their fingers,
and others their toes frozen, before they felt the cold sensibly. Very
severe day's march.

_Jan. 8th._ Conceiving I was at no great distance from Sandy Lake, I
left my sleds, and with Corporal Bradley took my departure for that
place, intending to send him back the same evening. We walked on very
briskly until near night, when we met a young Indian, one of those who
had visited my camp near [Lower] Red Cedar Lake. I endeavored to
explain to him that it was my wish to go to Lake De Sable that
evening. He returned with me until we came to a trail that led across
the woods; this he signified was a near course. I went this course
with him, and shortly after found myself at a Chipeway encampment, to
which I believe the friendly savage had enticed me with an expectation
that I would tarry all night, knowing that it was too late for us to
make the lake in good season. But upon our refusing to stay, he put us
in the right road. We arrived at the place where the track left the
Mississippi, at dusk, when we traversed about two leagues of a
wilderness, without any very great difficulty, and at length struck
the shore of Lake De Sable, over a branch of which our course lay. The
snow having covered the trail made by the Frenchmen who had passed
before with the rackets, I was fearful of losing ourselves on the
lake; the consequence of which can only be conceived by those who have
been exposed on a lake, or naked plain, a dreary night of January, in
latitude 47 deg. and the thermometer below zero. Thinking that we could
observe the bank of the other shore, we kept a straight course, some
time after discovered lights, and on our arrival were not a little
surprised to find a large stockade. The gate being open, we entered
and proceeded to the quarters of Mr. Grant, where we were treated with
the utmost hospitality.

_Jan. 9th._ Marched the corporal [back] early, in order that our men
should receive assurances of our safety and success. He carried with
him a small keg of spirits, a present from Mr. Grant. The
establishment of this place was formed 12 years since by the N. W.
Company, and was formerly under the charge of a Mr. Charles Brusky
[Bousquai[II-50]]. It has attained at present such regularity as to
permit the superintendent to live tolerably comfortable. They have
horses procured from Red river of the Indians; raise plenty of Irish
potatoes; catch pike, suckers, pickerel, and white-fish in abundance.
They have also beaver, deer, and moose; but the provision they chiefly
depend upon is wild oats, of which they purchase great quantities from
the savages, giving at the rate of about $1.50 per bushel. But flour,
pork, and salt are almost interdicted to persons not principals in the
trade. Flour sells at 50 cts.; salt, $1; pork, 80 cts.; sugar, 50
cts.; coffee, ----, and tea, $4.50 per pound. The sugar is obtained
from the Indians, and is made from the maple tree.

_Jan. 10th._ Mr. Grant accompanied me to the Mississippi to mark the
place for my boats to leave that river. This was the first time I
marched on rackets. I took the course of [Sandy] Lake river, from its
mouth to the lake. Mr. Grant fell through the ice with his rackets on,
and could not have got out without assistance.

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

_Sunday, Jan. 12th_. Went out and met my men about 16 miles. A tree
had fallen on one of them and hurt him very much, which induced me to
dismiss a sled and put the lading on the others.

_Jan. 13th._ After encountering much difficulty, we [the main party]
arrived at the establishment of the N. W. Company on Lake de Sable, a
little before night. The ice being very bad on [Sandy] Lake river,
owing to the many springs and marshes, one sled fell through. My men
had an excellent room furnished them, and were presented with potatoes
and fille (cant term for a dram of spirits). Mr. Grant had gone to an
Indian lodge to receive his credits.

_Jan. 14th._ Crossed the lake to the north side, that I might take an
observation; found the lat. 46 deg. 9' 20" N. [it is about 46 deg. 46'].
Surveyed that part of the lake. Mr. Grant returned from the Indian
lodges. They brought a quantity of furs and 11 beaver carcases.

_Jan. 15th._ Mr. Grant and myself made the tour of the lake, with two
men whom I had for attendants. Found it to be much larger than could
be imagined at a view. My men sawed stocks for the sleds, which I
found it necessary to construct after the manner of the country. On
our march met an Indian coming into the fort; his countenance
expressed no little astonishment when told who I was and whence I
came; for the people in this country themselves acknowledge that the
savages hold the Americans in greater veneration than any other white
people. They say of us, when alluding to warlike achievements, that we
"are neither Frenchmen nor Englishmen, but white Indians."

_Jan. 16th._ Laid down Lake De Sable, etc. A young Indian whom I had
engaged to go as a guide to Lake Sang Sue [Leech Lake], arrived from
the woods.

_Jan. 17th._ Employed in making sleds, or _traineaux de glace_, after
the manner of the country. Those sleds are made of a single plank
turned up at one end like a fiddlehead, and the baggage is lashed on
in bags and sacks. Two other Indians arrived from the woods. Engaged
in writing.

_Jan. 18th._ Busy in preparing my baggage for my departure for Leech
Lake, reading, etc.

_Sunday, Jan. 19th._ Employed as yesterday. Two men of the N. W.
Company arrived from Fond du Lac Superior with letters, one of which
was from their establishment in Athapuscow [Athapasca], and had been
since last May on the route. While at this post I ate roasted beavers,
dressed in every respect as a pig is usually dressed with us; it was
excellent. I could not discern the least taste of Des Bois [_i. e._,
of the wood on which beavers feed]. I also ate boiled moose's head:
when well boiled, I consider it equal to the tail of the beaver; in
taste and substance they are much alike.

_Jan. 20th._ The men with the sleds took their departure about two
o'clock. Shortly after I followed them. We encamped at the portage
between the Mississippi and Leech Lake [_i. e._, Willow[II-51]] river.
Snow fell in the night.

_Jan. 21st._ Snowed in the morning, but we crossed [Willow portage]
about nine o'clock. I had gone on a few points when I was overtaken by
Mr. Grant, who informed me that the sleds could not get along, in
consequence of water being on the ice [of Willow river]; he sent his
men forward. We returned and met the sleds, which had scarcely
advanced one mile. We unloaded them and sent eight men back to the
post [on Sandy lake] with whatever might be denominated extra
articles; but in the hurry sent my salt and ink. Mr. Grant encamped
with me and marched early in the morning [of the 22d].

_Jan. 22d._ Made a pretty good day's journey. My Indian came up about
noon. Distance 20 miles.

_Jan. 23d._ Marched about 18 miles. Forgot my thermometer, having hung
it on a tree; sent Boley back five miles for it. My young Indian and
myself killed eight partridges; took him to live with me.

_Jan. 24th._ At our encampment this night Mr. Grant had encamped on
the night of the same day he left me; it was three days' march for us.
In the evening the father of his girl came to my camp and stayed all
night; he appeared very friendly and was very communicative; but
having no interpreter, we made but little progress in conversation. It
was late before the men came up.

_Jan. 25th._ Traveled almost all day through the lands, and found them
much better than usual. Boley lost the Sioux pipestem which I carried
along for the purpose of making peace with the Chipeways; I sent him
back for it; he did not return until eleven o'clock at night. It was
very warm; thawing all day. Distance 44 points.

_Sunday, Jan. 26th._ I left my party in order to proceed to a house or
lodge of Mr. Grant's on the Mississippi [opposite Grand Rapids], where
he was to tarry until I overtook him. Took with me my Indian, Boley,
and some trifling provision; the Indian and myself marched so fast
that we left Boley on the route about eight miles from the lodge. Met
Mr. Grant's men on their return to Lake De Sable, they having
evacuated the house this morning, and Mr. Grant having marched
[thence] for Leech Lake. The Indian and I arrived before sundown [at
Grant's house[II-52]]. Passed the night very uncomfortably, having
nothing to eat, not much wood, nor any blankets. The Indian slept
sound. I cursed his insensibility, being obliged to content myself
over a few coals all night. Boley did not arrive. In the night the
Indian mentioned something about his son, etc.

_Monday, Jan. 27th._ My Indian rose early, mended his mockinsons, then
expressed by signs something about his son and the Frenchman we met
yesterday. Conceiving that he wished to send some message to his
family, I suffered him to depart. After his departure I felt the curse
of solitude, although he truly was no company. Boley arrived about ten
o'clock. He said that he had followed us until some time in the night;
when, believing that he could not overtake us, he stopped and made a
fire; but having no ax to cut wood, he was near freezing. He met the
Indians, who made him signs to go on. I spent the day in putting my
gun in order, mending my mockinsons, etc. Provided plenty of wood;
still found it cold, with but one blanket.

I can only account for the gentlemen of the N. W. Company contenting
themselves in this wilderness for 10, 15, and some of them for 20
years, by the attachment they contract for the Indian women. It
appears to me that the wealth of nations would not induce me to remain
secluded from the society of civilized mankind, surrounded by a savage
and unproductive wilderness, without books or other sources of
intellectual enjoyment, or being blessed with the cultivated and
feeling mind of a civilized fair [one].

_Tuesday, Jan. 28th._ [My party joined Boley and myself at Grant's
house to-day. _Wednesday, Jan. 29th._[II-53] Took Miller and proceeded
ahead of my party; reached Pakagama falls about one o'clock; proceeded
to three deserted Chipeway lodges; found a fine parcel of firewood
split; cut down three sap pines and wove the branches into one of the
lodges to protect ourselves from the storm; had a tolerable night.
_Thursday, Jan. 30th._ Miller and myself] left our encampment at a
good hour; unable to find any trail, passed through one of the most
dismal cypress swamps I ever saw, and struck the Mississippi at a
small lake. Observed Mr. Grant's tracks going through it; found his
mark of a cut-off, agreed on between us; took it, and proceeded very
well until we came to a small lake where the trail was entirely hid.
But after some search on the other side, found it; when we passed
through a dismal swamp, on the other side of which we found a large
lake at which I was entirely at a loss; no trail was to be seen.
Struck a [White Oak[II-54]] point about three miles, where we found a
Chipeway lodge of one man, his wife, five children, and one old woman.
They received us with every mark that distinguished their barbarity,
such as setting their dogs on ours, trying to thrust their hands into
our pockets, etc. But we convinced them that we were not afraid, and
let them know we were Chewockomen[II-55] (Americans), when they used us
more civilly.

After we had arranged a camp as well as possible, I went into the
lodge; they presented me with a plate of dried meat. I ordered Miller
to bring about two gills of liquor, which made us all good friends.
The old squaw gave me more meat, and offered me tobacco, which, not
using, I did not take. I gave her an order upon my corporal for one
knife and half a carrot of tobacco. Heaven clothes the lilies and
feeds the ravens, and the same almighty Providence protects and
preserves these creatures. After I had gone out to my fire, the old
man came out and proposed to trade beaver-skins for whisky; meeting
with a refusal, he left me; when presently the old woman came out with
a beaver-skin; she also being refused, he returned to the charge with
a quantity of dried meat, which, or any other, I should have been glad
to have had. I gave him a peremptory refusal; then all further
application ceased. It really appeared that with one quart of whisky I
might have bought all they possessed. Night remarkably cold; was
obliged to sit up nearly the whole of it. Suffered much with cold and
from want of sleep.

_Friday, Jan. 31st._ Took my clothes into the Indian's lodge to dress,
and was received very coolly; but by giving him a dram unasked, and
his wife a little salt, I received from them directions for my route.
Passed the lake or morass, and opened on meadows through which the
Mississippi winds its course of nearly 15 miles long. Took a straight
course through them to the head, when I found we had missed the river;
made a turn of about two miles and regained it. Passed a fork which I
supposed to be [that coming from] Lake Winipie [or Winipeque, _i. e._,
the main Mississippi river coming from Lake Winnibigoshish], making
the course N. W. The branch we took was Leech Lake branch, course S.
W. and W. Passed a very large meadow or prairie, course W.[II-56] The
[Leech Lake branch of the] Mississippi is only 15 yards wide.
Encamped about one mile below the traverse of the meadow.

Saw a very large animal which, from its leaps, I supposed to have been
a panther; but if so, it was twice as large as those on the lower
Mississippi. He evinced some disposition to approach. I lay down
(Miller being in the rear) in order to entice him to come near, but he
would not. The night was remarkably cold. Some spirits which I had in
a small keg congealed to the consistency of honey.

FOOTNOTES:

[II-1] The village which Pike visited is marked on his map on the west,
upper, or left bank of the Minnesota r., which here runs little E. of
N. into the Mississippi. The hill on the point whence the Sioux
saluted him so savagely was the scene of many a more warlike
demonstration in after-years; for here was built Fort St. Anthony,
later known as Fort Snelling, one of the most important and permanent
military establishments in the United States, and for nearly half a
century the most notable place on the Mississippi above Prairie du
Chien. It was erected on the land which Pike secured by the
transaction his text is about to describe, and which extended thence
up the river to include the falls of St. Anthony, and thus the site of
the present great city of Minneapolis, with St. Paul the twin
metropolis of the Northwest. The location of Fort Snelling is in
Nicollet's opinion "the finest site on the Mississippi river"; and I
should be the last to dissent from this judgment, after my enjoyable
visit to the fort in 1873, at the invitation of General Alexander. The
bluff headland is about 105 feet above the water; the two rivers
separated by this rocky point are respectively over 300 and nearly 600
feet broad. The height of Pilot Knob, across the Minnesota r., is
about 250 feet. The plateau on the point of which the fort is situated
stretches indefinitely S. W.; 8 m. direct N. W. are Minneapolis and
the falls. The Mississippi receives the Minnesota at the point of
greatest convexity of a deep bend to the S., duplicating that bend to
the N. on which St. Paul is situated, the two together forming quite a
figure of =S=. Nothing came of Pike's recommendation of this site for a
military post till a report to the same effect was made by Major Long,
after his expedition of 1817, during which he reached the place at 2
p. m., Wednesday, July 16th. On Feb. 10th, 1819, the Secretary of War,
John C. Calhoun, ordered the 5th infantry to proceed to the
Mississippi and establish regimental headquarters at the mouth of St.
Peter's r. A detachment of troops, mustering 98 rank and file, under
Colonel Henry Leavenworth, who had become lieutenant-colonel of that
regiment Feb. 10th, 1818, was first cantoned at New Hope, near
Mendota, Sept. 24th, 1819, and preparations were begun at once for a
permanent structure. The winter of 1819-20 was disastrous from scurvy.
On May 5th, 1820, camp was shifted to a place near a spring, above the
graveyard, and was thereupon named Camp Coldwater. In the spring of
1820 Jean Baptiste Faribault located himself in the vicinity; Governor
Lewis Cass came from his exploration of the upper Mississippi during
the summer, and Lawrence Taliaferro's Indian agency was established as
Camp St. Peter's. As usual, the colonel commanding and the Indian
agent clashed, notably in the matters of medals and whisky. In August,
1820, Colonel Josiah Snelling, who had become colonel of the regiment
June 1st, 1819, arrived and relieved Colonel Leavenworth of the
command. He determined to build on the point originally selected by
Pike. The corner-stone of Fort St. Anthony is supposed to have been
laid Sept. 10th, 1820; and the building was so far forward in the
autumn of 1822 that the troops moved in, though it was not completed.
It is traditional that a tree on which Pike had cut his name was
ordered to be spared in the process of construction; but, if so, it
soon disappeared. On May 10th, 1823, the first steamboat, the
Virginia, reached the fort. It brought among other notables the
Chevalier Beltrami. On July 3d, 1823, Major Long arrived, en route to
his exploration of St. Peter's r. In 1824 General Winfield Scott
visited the fort on a tour of inspection. It does not appear to have
struck anybody before that the name of a professional saint of the
Prince of Peace was absurdly inapplicable to any military
establishment. General Scott very sensibly reported that the name was
"foreign to all our associations," besides being "geographically
incorrect," and recommended the post to be named Fort Snelling, in
well-deserved compliment to the distinguished officer who had built
it. The story of Fort Snelling, from its inception to the end of all
Indian collisions, is an integral and very prominent part of the
history of Minnesota; it is an honorable record, of which citizens and
soldiery may be equally proud--one replete with stirring scenes and
thrilling episodes, which in the lapse of years tradition has
delighted to set in all the glamour of romance. But the most sober
historians have found a wealth of material in the stern actualities of
Fort Snelling. The facts in the case need no embellishment. The
following are some of the many references that could be given to the
early history of Fort Snelling: Occurrences in and around Fort
Snelling from 1819 to 1840, E. D. Neill, M. H. C., II. Part 2, 1864;
2d ed. 1881, pp. 102-42. Early Days at Fort Snelling, Anon., M. H. C.,
I. Part 5, 1856; 2d ed. 1872, pp. 420-438 (many inaccuracies in dates,
etc.). Running the Gauntlet, _ibid._, pp. 439-56, Anon., believed to
be by W. J. Snelling, son of Josiah Snelling. Reminiscences of Mrs.
Ann Adams, 1821-29, M. H. C., VI. Part 2, 1891, pp. 93-112.
Autobiography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro, written in 1864, M. H. C.,
VI. Part 2, pp. 189-255 (specially interesting, as he was Indian
agent, 1819-40).

[II-2] Pike's speech at this memorable conference, the treaty itself,
and a long letter which Pike addressed to Wilkinson in this connection
on the 23d, 24th, and 25th, formed Docs. Nos. 4 and 5 of the App. to
Part 1 of the orig. ed. These are given in full beyond, Chap. V. Arts.
4, 5, and 6, where the text of the treaty is subjected to a searching
criticism in the light of subsequent events. Here we may conveniently
note the names of the chiefs concerned in the transaction. The best
article I have seen upon this subject is that by Dr. Thomas Foster of
Duluth, in the St. Paul Daily Democrat of May 4th, 1854, as cited by
J. Fletcher Williams in Minn. Hist. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p. 379;
this, however, requires some additions and corrections.

1. Little Crow and Little Raven are English equivalents of Petit
Corbeau, which latter is a French version of the name of the
hereditary chiefs of the Kapoja band, borne by successive individuals
through several generations. Pike's Little Crow is said by Long to
have been son of Little Crow, who was himself son of Little Crow; and
Foster identifies Pike's Little Crow "as the grandfather of the
present chief, Little Crow," _i. e._, of one of this name who was chief
in 1854, adding neatly that "he was the Great Crow of all," _i. e._,
the most celebrated of all those who bore the name. This reference
would seem to cover five generations, from Pike's Little Crow backward
to his grandfather and forward to his grandson. Riggs renders Pike's
Little Crow's name Chatanwakoowamani, Who-walks-pursuing-a-hawk; says
that his son's name was Wamdetanka, or Big Eagle, who flourished in
the thirties; and adds that the dynasty became extinct with
Taoyatidoota (or Towaiotadootah), who was the Little Crow of the Sioux
outbreak of 1862. He was a very black crow indeed, this last of the
_Corvidae_, and was killed by a Mr. Lamson in 1863. Confining attention
now to the one who seems by this reckoning to have been Little Crow
III. of the series I.-V., we find him tabulated by Pike as
Chatewaconamini. We have already found him cited by Long as
Chetanwakoamene, rendered Good Sparrow Hunter. Beltrami, II. p. 191,
presents Chatewaconamani, or the Little Raven, as the chief in 1823.
Featherstonhaugh has a chief he calls Tchaypehamonee, or Little Crow,
living in 1835. Rev. Dr. Neill has in one place Chatonwahtooamany, Petit
Corbeau. Dr. Foster gives the Dakota name as Tchahtanwahkoowahmane,
or the Hawk that Chases Walking. Pike's Little Crow lived many years
after he "touched the quill" (signed his x mark) to the cession, and
was in Washington in 1824. Schoolcraft, who held a council with the
Wahpeton Sioux at Fort Snelling, July 25th, 1832, says, Narr., etc.,
1834, p. 146: "The aged chief Petite [_sic_] Corbeau uttered their
reply. I recognized in this chief one of the signers of the grant of
land made at this place 26 years ago, when the site of the fort was
first visited by the late General Pike." The death of this good man
(in 1834?) occurred from a mortal wound he accidentally inflicted upon
himself in drawing his gun from a wagon, at his village of Kaposia.
The circumstances are narrated with interesting particulars by General
H. H. Sibley, Minn. Hist. Coll., III. 1874, pp. 251-54.

2. The chief here and consistently throughout Pike's book of 1810
called Fils de Pinchow appears in the 1807 text as Fils de Penichon,
Penechon, or Pinechon; but nowhere are we told of whom this eminent
individual was the son. The name seems to have been one to conjure
with; and our curiosity is excited to discover Pinchow I., who was
such a personage that Pike's Fils de Pinchow, or Pinchow II., needed
no other title to glory. On looking up this subject, I find, first,
that "Pinchow," as rendered in the above text, and the three forms
given in the 1807 print, are four variants of a word which is also
written Pinichon, Pinchon, Penition, Pinneshaw, etc., in French or
English; and that these are corruptions of a Dakota word. Thus
Beltrami, II. p. 207, introduces us to one Tacokoquipesceni, or
Panisciowa, as being in 1823 chief of the old village on the St.
Peter's, three miles above its mouth. The shorter name which Beltrami
uses is obviously the same as Pinchow, etc., while the longer one he
uses is the same as that Takopepeshene of which we read in Keating's
Long, I. p. 385: "Wapasha formerly lived in that [old] village, but
having removed from it with the greater part of his warriors, a few
preferred remaining there, and chose one of their number as a leader.
His son Takopepeshene, (dauntless,) now [1823] rules over them." We
read further in Keating's Long, I. p. 419, of the Nanpashene, or
"Dauntless Society," as an association of young braves who feared
nothing: see further in this matter, Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. 96.
So the connection of all these words is obvious, though the genetic
relationships of the individuals bearing the name is not so clear. I
suppose that Pike, Beltrami, and Long all refer to one and the same
individual, _i. e._, to the son of that individual whom the warriors
who preferred to remain at the said village chose as their leader. Dr.
Foster, as above cited, says that Pinchon, or Pinichon, etc., was the
grandfather of one Good Road, and in his tribe the most noted chief of
the eastern Sioux; the name conferred upon this chief being
Tahkookeepayshne, or "What is he afraid of?" implying the affirmation
that he was afraid of nothing. This having been corrupted by the
French to Pinchon, etc., and taken up in English as Pinneshaw, etc.,
was readopted by the Sioux themselves as a common noun, rather than a
proper name, to designate a very brave man; so that they would speak
of such or such a one as a pinneshaw. Recurring now to the individual
whom Pike names Fils de Pinchow, we elsewhere find him listed by Pike
under the name of Wyaganage, as a chief of the Gens du Lac and head of
the village Pike visited at the mouth of the St. Peter's; this is the
Way Ago Enagee whose name appears above as that of a signer by his =x=
mark of the grant of land; and such appears to be the only name by
which he became officially known to us. It is spelled differently in
every one of the several places where I have found it in print or in
manuscript; but in no case irrecognizably.

3. We know no more of the Grand Partisan than this name or title. Dr.
Foster supposes him to have been only a principal soldier--certainly
not a chief.

4. "Le Original Leve" is decidedly original! The queer phrase stands
for L'Orignal Leve, given in the text of 1807 as Le Orignal Leve, and
thus nearly right. The individual thus designated is listed on Pike's
tabular exhibit as Tahamie, Orignal leve, and Rising Moose; he is also
mentioned in Pike's letter to Wilkinson of Sept. 23d-26th, 1805, as
Elan Levie. There is no doubt about the meaning of these phrases; for
_orignal_, _orignac_, _oriniac_, _orenac_, etc., are Basque forms of a
name of the moose, which animal, as well as the elk, is also called
_elan_, while _leve_ certainly implies that the animal had arisen, and
was standing on his legs, not that he was in the act of rising. Dr.
Foster evidently did not know what the French phrase should be, for he
presents Pike's peculiar cacographies, and is brought to book about it
by Mr. Williams; but he gives us some interesting particulars of the
chief who bore these names, and I transcribe his remarks in substance.
Tah'amie, L'Orignal Leve, or Standing Moose is believed to be
identical with an aged Indian whom most old Minnesotians knew by the
name of Tammahhaw, who had but one eye and always wore a stove-pipe
hat. He used to boast that he was the only "American" Sioux--by which
he meant that in the war of 1812, when the Sioux sided with the
British, and Little Crow and Joseph Reinville led a war-party against
the Americans, he refused to join them and went to St. Louis, where he
entered the service of the Americans in the employ of General William
Clark. In 1854 he still treasured a commission he had received in 1814
(or May 6th, 1816?) from General Clark. Dr. Foster remarks that if
there is no mistake in the identity, the friendship Tahamie conceived
for Pike stood the test of time, and the two fought together against
our common enemies--a fact which our government should not overlook.
One Joseph Mojou, an old Canadian of Point Prescott, told Dr. Foster
that Tamahaw was called by the voyageurs "Old Priest," because he was
such a talker on all occasions; and Dr. Foster remarks that the Sioux
word _tamwamda_, which resembles this Indian's name, means to
vociferate, reiterate, harangue, etc. Mr. E. A. C. Hatch informed Dr.
Foster that when he traded with the Winnebagoes, and with Wabasha's
band of Sioux, he knew the Indian and had seen the commission issued
by General Clark; also, that the Winnebagoes, who were acquainted with
this Indian, translated his name Nazeekah in their language--this
being their word for the pike, a fish, and _tammahhay_ being the
Dakotan word for that fish. According to J. F. Williams, Minn. Hist.
Coll., III. 1874, p. 15, Tahama or Tahamie was called by the French Le
Bourgne (Borgne), and by the English One-eye, or the One-eyed Sioux,
and that the loss of the eye occurred by accident in a game during his
boyhood. He was born at Prairie a l'Aile, the present site of Winona,
and died in April, 1860, "at least 85 years old, though some who knew
him well place his age at nearly 100." A daguerreotype likeness of
him, procured at Wabasha in 1859 by Hon. C. S. Bryant, is in the
possession of the Minnesota Historical Society.

5. "Le Demi Douzen" is not named elsewhere in this book, and does not
appear at all in the 1807 edition. If the phrase which represents his
name means Half Dozen, or Six, it would be better written Demie
Douzaine, or Demi-douzaine; but we have seen enough of Pike's French
to be already satisfied that he always saluted the letters of the
French alphabet with blank cartridges. The Indian he calls Demi Douzen
is thoroughly identified by Dr. Foster as the father of the present
(1854) chief Little Six, and the chief of the large Sioux village
which was situated 28 m. up the St. Peter's, 3 or 4 m. this side of
the modern Indian village of Shakopee. The father--the one who
attended Pike's conference--was known as Shahkpay, Half Dozen, and
Six; his son as Shahkpaydan, or Little Six, the former being the
second of the name, or Six II., and the latter the third of the name,
or Six III.; but who was the original Half Dozen, or Six I., founder
of this dynasty, we are not informed. Long speaks of Six II. as
Shakpa, chief of the village Taoapa; and Forsyth calls this one "Mr.
Six, a good-for-nothing fellow."

6. "Le Beccasse" of the above text was a stumbling-block. In the 1807
edition the term appears as Le Bucasse. It looks as if it were meant
for La Becasse, meaning Woodcock. But Dr. Foster (whose text as cited
by Mr. Williams has Le Boccasse) informs us that the phrase should be
written Bras Casse--by which he evidently means Bras Casse, as he
translates Broken Arm. (Pike's tabular exhibit presents a certain Bras
Casse; but this was a _Sauk_ chief, otherwise Pockquinike.) Broken
Arm's Sioux name is believed by Dr. Foster to have been Wahkantahpay;
"and as late as 1825 he was still living at his small village of
Wahpaykootans, on a lake near the Minnesota [river] some five or six
miles below Prairie La Fleche, now Le Sueur."

7. Le Boeuf que [qui] Marche, or Walking Buffalo, as we are informed
by Dr. Foster, was also called Tahtawkahmahnee; "he was a kind of
sub-chief of old Wabashaw (who was not present), being also called Red
Wing; and it is from him that the village at the head of Lake Pepin
derives its name. He was the father [Hancock says uncle] of Wahkootay,
the present [1854] old chieftain of the Red Wing band." Compare note
67, p. 69.

[II-3] Outard Blanche, correctly Outarde Blanche, means White Bustard.
The bustard is a very large bird, many species of which inhabit
Europe, Asia, and Africa, but none America. It may, therefore, be well
to explain that outarde was a name given by the early French in
America to the Canada goose (_Bernicla canadensis_); but that since
this goose is mostly black, the phrase outarde blanche would rather
indicate the snow goose (_Chen hyperboreus_), which when adult is pure
white excepting the tips of the wings. I remember seeing somewhere a
statement, the source of which I cannot now recall, to the effect that
the phrase meant White Buzzard, not White Bustard; in which case the
French form would be Busard Blanc. Major Taliaferro speaks of White
Buzzard in his autobiography, as printed in Minn. Hist. Coll., VI.
Part 2, 1891, p. 225, p. 234, etc. Major Forsyth calls him White
Bustard. However this may be, it is certain that there was a chief of
the name of Mahgossau, who was called Old Bustard, and for many years
known to the whites by the latter designation. For an account of the
stabbing of this chief in a whisky-bout, in the summer of 1820, see
letter of Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian agent at St. Peters, dated Aug.
5th, 1820, in Minn. Hist. Coll., II. Part 2, 1864, 2d ed. 1881, p.
104.

[II-4] Setting camp close to a small stream which falls in on Pike's
left, and which has acquired great celebrity for its pretty little
water-fall. For this is no other than the Minnehaha. It is a wonder
Pike missed Minnehaha falls; or that, if he was informed of them, he
did not take the trouble to go less than a mile up the stream to see
so pretty a spectacle. About 21/2 m. from Fort Snelling, on the road to
Minneapolis, the stream spills over the bluff, with as clear a descent
as water ordinarily makes from the nozzle of a spout. The picturesque
features of this place may be imagined, or easily inspected by
ordinary tourist travel; the poetical and sentimental are well
developed by Longfellow in Hiawatha; the hydrographic are a creek 5
yards wide, falling 43 feet in an unbroken parabolic curve. This was
formerly plain Brown's cr. and Brown's fall; Nicollet named the stream
Cascade cr.; but it will doubtless always be best known by the name
which Longfellow transferred from its original to a new application,
to suit the exigencies of verse. This stream is the discharge of Lake
Minnetonka. In its course it receives the outlet of a chain of lakes
from the W., called Bass (modern), Calhoun (Nicollet), and Harriet
(Nicollet); nearer the falls is a set of smaller lakes, whose modern
names are Diamond, Pearl, Duck, Mother, Amelia, and Rice (latter, the
Lake Ann of times when Fort Snelling was Fort St. Anthony, an
expansion of Brown's cr. itself).

[II-5] The rapids Pike thus ascends to the falls, and the comparative
characters of the two gorges, of the Mississippi and Minnesota
respectively, which unite at Fort Snelling, indicate that in
prehistoric time the falls were located about the position of the
fort. But there has been no natural recession within the brief
historic period--merely a momentary flash on the screen of geologic
duration. The most marked alteration of the falls that we know of was
the accidental result of an unintended interference by man. This
happened from the bursting of a log-boom. "Behind the boom were
thousands of logs two or three feet across and twelve feet long. These
descending by the fall probably acquired a velocity of not less than
64 feet a second, and striking endwise on the debris of the hard
copping rock pulverized it so that the undermining of the soft sand
rock which this debris protected went on with great rapidity," Warren,
Ex. Doc. No. 57, 1866-7, p. 19. On July 5th, 1880, the Minn. Hist.
Soc. celebrated the bi-centennial of the discovery of the falls, and
there is no question that they were first seen of white men by the two
companions of Accault within a few hours of July 5th, 1680, if not by
the light of that very day. The occasion was a buffalo-hunt down river
from the great Sioux town on Lake Buade (Mille Lacs), when the Indians
brought the Picard and the priest (two of their three prisoners)
along. The falls were named by Hennepin Sault de S^t. Antoine de Padoue
(so map, 1683) "in gratitude for the favors done me by the Almighty
through the intercession of that great saint whom we had chosen patron
and protector of all our enterprises," as Shea's tr. Hennep., 1880, p.
200, puts it. What these favors were is not evident in the light of
history; according to Hennepin's own relation, God's gracious designs,
whatever they may have been, were effectually disconcerted by the
Sioux, who took this slavish son of superstition by the nape of the
neck and otherwise subjected him to dire indignities; while as to the
monk Anthony, that Franciscan was born at Lisbon, Aug. 15th, 1195,
died at Padua, June 13th, 1231, and there is not a scintilla of
evidence that he did anything whatever subsequent to this latter date.
We might laugh off even so glaring an anachronism as a mere
theological pleasantry which deceives no one, were it not for the
injustice it does to La Salle, who furnished the sinews of war for
Accault's, Auguelle's, and Hennepin's campaign, and was the only
person who patronized their trip, saving the said Sioux, who turned it
into a personally conducted tour like our modern Cook's. "Saut St.
Antoine" appears on Franquelin's map, 1688. The Sioux called these
falls Minirara, the laughing water, whence Minnehaha. In Dakotan _ira_
means to laugh, and the reduplicated form _irara_ means to laugh much
or often; but _ira_ is compounded of _i_, the mouth, and _ra_, to
curl; and in its application to the falls _rara_, which is simply _ra_
reduplicated, should be translated curling and not laughing waters.
Ungeographical transfer of Minnehaha to Brown's falls is simply
poetical license. The Chip. name was Kakabikah, alluding to the
severed rock. Hennepin calls the falls "something very astonishing,"
indeed "terrible," _more suo crasso_, and exaggerated the descent of
waters to 50 or 60 feet. Carver brings him to book about this, and
reduces the height to 30 feet. Pike's figures are very close indeed,
and his description is the most accurate we had in 1810; Long makes
the height practically the same, but Pike's breadth of 627 yards was
reduced by Say and Calhoun in 1823 to 594. In view of these good
measurements it is surprising that Schoolcraft elevates the falls to
40 feet perpendicular, and narrows the width to 227 yards. He was a
man of great ability and still greater industry, whose acquirements
were extensive and varied; yet he must be taken warily, for there is
many a loose screw in his handiwork, and no structure is stronger than
its weakest joint. The trouble with Schoolcraft is two-fold; he tried
to cover too much ground to go over it thoroughly, and never emerged
from the penumbra of that same theological occultation which kept
Hennepin's wits in total eclipse. The natural beauty of this cataract
was not destined to be a thing of joy forever; one's emotions, on
beholding it now, are those that might be aroused by any mill-tail of
similar dimensions. But the new beauty of utility has been conferred
by human skill and ingenuity in utilizing the vast water-power, to
which Minneapolis measurably owes her matchless progress and present
opulence; pop. 1870, 13,000; 1880, 47,000; 1885, 129,000; now or
lately, 220,000; thus surpassing the 190,000 of her elder sister, St.
Paul--in fact becoming the alter ego of the wonderful pair.
Considering the rapid building up of the fair interurban district, and
consequently the absorption of respective suburbs into mutualities, it
is logical to infer the complete Siamization of the splendid twins,
and a clutch at the laurels of Chicago or New York. By that time such
scenes as the Mississippi has here transferred to the canvas of human
art will be shifted to the Great Falls of the Missouri, where history
will repeat itself in another magnificent metropolis. Everything
begins in watery elements; the force of falling water controls the
course of empire; and the conversion of gravitational potentialities
into electrical potencies realizes dreams of destiny, without the
intercession of saints or the interference of God.

[II-6] Decidedly less than this; it is only 18-20 m. by river or rail
from Minneapolis to Anoka, which Pike does not reach till to-morrow
night; to-day's camp between Casey's isls. and <DW53> cr., in Anoka Co.
if on the right, in Hennepin Co. if on the left. The three rapids he
passed raised him from 792 to 808 feet above sea-level; one of them is
known as Fridley's bar, 5 m. above Minneapolis, 11/2 m. below Durnam's
isl. He had made the usual portage of the falls on the right-hand side
(left bank); and soon after decamping this morning he passed on his
left Bassett's cr., which runs through the city, or recently did
so--what disposition may have since been made of it I do not know.
This was formerly called Falls cr., as by Nicollet, who maps it in
connection with his Lake of the Isles and two other sheets. Either
this or the next above on the same side is also traced on Pike's map,
without name. This next one is Shingle cr., called Omini Wakan cr. by
Nicollet and by Owen; it comes in on the left a mile or more below
Fridley's bar. Half a mile above Durnam's isl., and on the right, is
Rice or Manomin cr., which Nicollet calls Ottonwey r., and connects
with Mde Wakanton l. Pike also traces this one, but by no name. R. R.
station Fridley is near its mouth. (See further under Fridley, in the
index.)

[II-7] About 8 m., to Anoka, seat of that county, a logging town of
6,000 pop., at mouth of Rum r. Pike first passed <DW53> cr., right, and
the most difficult rapids he went up are those named for the same
intelligent and ablutionary quadruped, _Procyon lotor_. <DW53> or Racoon
cr. was formerly known as Peterah cr. Wanyecha (now Elm) cr. falls in
on the left, slightly below Rum r. The latter is a notable stream,
being the main discharge of Mille Lacs, and as such having acquired a
long history. Carver called it Rum r.: "in the little tour I made
about the Falls [of St. A.], after traveling 14 m. by the side of the
Mississippi, I came to a river nearly 20 yards wide which ran from the
north east, called Rum River," he says, p. 45, ed. 1796. This was Nov.
19th, 1767, and the river has oftenest been so designated ever since.
But here is a place where the involuntary exploration which the Sioux
forced on Accault's party comes in, and the Hennepinian canonical
calendar is obtruded as usual, making the following trouble:

"Eight leagues above St. Anthony of Padua's falls on the right, you
find the river of the Issati or Nadoussiou [Sioux], with a very narrow
mouth, which you can ascend to the north for about 70 leagues to Lake
Buade or of the Issati [Mille Lacs] where it rises. We gave this river
the name of St. Francis," Shea's Henp., tr. 1880, p. 201. In French
the name was R. de St. Francois: so Henp., map, 1683; on Franquelin's,
1688, it is "Riviere des Francois ou des Sioux," which turns it over
from the saint to the French nation, possibly less saintly on the
whole--that is, unless Franquelin intended to cover St. Francis de
Sales, St. Francis d'Assisi, and St. Francis de Paola, or unless _des_
be a mis-engravement for _de S_. But Franquelin's earlier map, 1683 or
1684, has only R. des Francois, which is there connected with R. de la
Madelaine (St. Croix r.) by R. du Portage, which latter stands for
present Snake r., a branch of the St. Croix. De L'Isle's map, 1703,
avoids any such question by turning the river entirely over to the
Sioux; he letters R. de Mendeouacanion, _i. e._, Mdewakantonwan or
Gens du Lac. A question affecting the identification of St. Francis
with Rum came up in Carver's time, and is still mooted. Carver says,
_ed. cit._ p. 45: "Reached the River St. Francis, near 60 miles above
the Falls. To this river Father Hennipin gave the name," etc. He
reached it Nov. 21st, 1687. This is the stream next _above_ Rum r. on
the same side, now best known as Elk r. But Pike's map letters "Leaf
R. or S^t. Francis of Carver & Henepen"; Long has it S^t. Francis r.;
even Nicollet gives Wichaniwa or St. Francis. Prof. N. H. Winchell
remarks, Hist. Sketch Expl. and Surv. Minn., 4to, p. 15: "On modern
maps the name of St. Francis is applied to the next stream above the
Rum, and that may have been the river to which Hennepin referred in
his journal, since by a portage the route by it to lake Buade is much
less than the course by the Rum river, and the Indians may have
followed that route." I quite agree with my friend the professor that
the Sioux who took charge of Hennepin's "explorations," in spite of
all the saints on the calendar, may have brought him that way from
Mille Lacs to the Mississippi; but the question is not by what river
he came; the question is, Which river did he call R. de St. Francois
and map by this name? To me Hennepin makes it perfectly clear that he
meant Rum r. Thus he fixes it 8 leagues = 23-1/3 m. above the falls,
which is much closer to the actual position of Rum r. than such a
befogged geographer often comes; item, he makes his St. Francois r.
come from Mille Lacs, as Rum r. does and the other one does not (at
least not uninterruptedly); item, his alternative names, r. of the
Issati or Nadoussiou, point directly to Rum r.; item, for a clincher,
Hennepin's map letters R. de St. Francois precisely along the whole
course of Rum r. from the Mississippi to Lac Buade, _and traces the
other river too_, without any name. You seldom find a case clearer
than this seems to me to be. Carver was simply mistaken in identifying
Hennepin's St. Francis with the other river instead of with his own
Rum r.; and this malidentification on Carver's part seems to have
given later writers an unconscious bias in the wrong direction; Pike
makes the same mistake further on in this book. The strongest
counter-argument to my view is that I differ with Nicollet in this
case. It is always unsafe to disagree with that model of caution and
precision; but I must venture to do so in this instance. For the rest,
add to the synonyms of Rum r. the aboriginal name Iskode Wabo, as
given by Nicollet, and the variants of this phrase; also, R. de l'Eau
de Vie of Pike; also, Missayguani-sibi and Brandy r. of Beltrami. F.
_eau de vie_ is obviously the explanation of the "Audevies Cr." of
Lewis and Clark's map, 1814, though the stream thus designated looks
to my eye too low down for Rum r. The source of this river is noted
beyond, where the case of Mille Lacs comes up.

[II-8] The curious word "brelaw," elsewhere "brelau," which we owe to
Pike, is a corruption of F. _blaireau_, badger. This, of course,
originally denoted the European badger, _Meles taxus_, but was easily
transferred to the generically and specifically different American
badger, _Taxidea americana_. Other forms of similar perversity are
braro, brarow, brairo, braroca, praro, prarow, etc. See L. and C., ed.
1893, p. 64. Pike's original editor of 1807 had _blaireau_, correctly,
but Pike himself seldom got any F. word or phrase exactly right.

[II-9] Less than this, as Crow r. is not yet passed, though Pike is not
much short of that point. There is little to note: pass Cloquet or
Clouquet isl.; camp at head of Goodwin's isl. or foot of Dayton
rapids; a small body of water to the right called L. Itaska, not to be
confounded with L. Itasca! At or near the mouth of Crow r. Pike leaves
both Hennepin and Anoka cos.; he then has Wright on his left and
Sherburne on his right. Dayton, Hennepin Co., is at the mouth of Crow
r. The crossing there was called Slater's ferry.

[II-10] What Pierre Rousseau called a "prairie mole" was the
pocket-gopher of this region, _Thomomys talpoides_. This was first
made known to science by Dr. John Richardson in his paper entitled
"Short Characters of a few Quadrupeds Procured on Capt. Franklin's
late Expedition," published in the Zoological Journal, III. No. 12,
Jan.-Apr. 1828, pp. 516-520. He named it _Cricetus talpoides_, taking
this specific name from its mole-like appearance, and afterwards
called it _Geomys talpoides_, in the Fauna Boreali-Americana, I. 1829,
p. 204. Among the peculiarities of the animal, and indeed of the whole
family to which it belongs, are the strictly subterranean habits, and
the possession of large cheek-pouches external to the mouth and lined
with fur inside: see Coues and Allen, Monographs N. A. Rodentia, 1877,
p. 623. The common mole of the United States, from which Pike saw that
this gopher was very different, is _Scalops aquaticus_, of the
mammalian order _Insectivora_ (not _Rodentia_).

[II-11] To a position about halfway between Elk r., Sherburne Co., and
Monticello, Wright Co.--say Baker's ferry, at head of Dimick's or
Demick's isl., and compare note at date of Apr. 9th. On making Dayton
rapids Pike passed the mouth of Crow r., which falls in on the left
above the town and below Dayton isl. This river rises in Green l.,
Kamdiyohi Co., and by various affluents elsewhere, flows about E.
through Meeker and Wright, and then turns N. E., separating the latter
from Hennepin Co. (This must not be confounded with Crow Wing r., much
higher up the Mississippi.) It was discovered by Carver Nov. 20th,
1766, and by him called Goose r. Beltrami chose Rook's r. Nicollet has
Karishon or Crow r. This river needed an ornithologist to keep from
mixing up those birds so! Besides the three bird-names, Beltrami
produced Poanagoan-sibi or Sioux r., as he says it was called by the
"Cypowais." Elk River, 41 m. from St. Paul by rail, pop. 1,500, is the
seat of Sherburne Co. It is situated immediately below the mouth of
Elk r. This is the stream charted by Pike with the legend "Leaf R. or
S^t. Francis of Carver & Henepen": see for this case note 7. Pike
also calls it R. des Feuilles. Allen had St. Francis or Parallel r.
Beltrami said Kapitotigaya-sibi or Double r. Nicollet's terms
Wichaniwa and St. Francis belong to the main (East) fork of Elk r.,
now commonly called the St. Francis; he names the other fork Kabitawi
(which is the same word that Beltrami uses in another form). Above Elk
River is Otsego, Wright Co., with Orano's (Jameson and Wilson) isls.
below and Davis isl. above it.

[II-12] To vicinity of Monticello, Wright Co. In the course of the hard
water stemmed to-day are Spring rapids and Battle rapids, each of
which Pike marks "Ripple" on his map; the former is first above
Dimick's isl.; the latter is above Brown's isl. and Houghton's flats;
and the name no doubt commemorates the Indian fight of which Pike
speaks. The rise represented by the hard water is about 25 feet,
bringing the Expedition up to 898 or 900 feet above sea-level.
Nicollet's Migadiwin cr. falls in on the left, just above Monticello;
this is now known as Otter cr. Boom isl. is just below the ferry at
Monticello.

[II-13] To some obscure point about one-third of the way from Monticello
to Clear Water. It is past Lane's and Cedar isls., and above Cedar
rapids, which Pike marks "Ripple" on his map (the third such mark
above his Leaf r.), and below Silver cr.; but I cannot stick a pin in
the map, as there is no named place in the immediate vicinity; nearest
probably R. R. station Lund, Wright Co.

[II-14] Vicinity of Clear Water r., a sizable stream which separates
Wright from Stearns Co.; Kawakomik or Clear Water r. of Nicollet;
Kawakonuk r. of Owen; Kawanibio-sibi of Beltrami; and qu. Little Lake
r. of Carver's map? The whole distance from Monticello to town of
Clear Water at the mouth of this river is only 19 m., and thence to
St. Cloud, 14 m. = 33 m. for which Pike allows 12 + 20 + 3 + 161/2 = 511/2
m. This is over his average excess, and the case is complicated by the
position assigned for the wintering station of the persons named on
the 10th. Pike lays down Clear Water r., and his map legends, a little
_below_ this, "Wintering Grounds of M^r. Potier, 1797; & M^r. Dickson,
1805-1806." The names do not correspond exactly with the text, and as
the wintering ground of the text was not passed till the 10th, when
Pike was certainly above the Clear Water, this wintering ground is
simply legended too low on the map. Compare Apr. 7th, beyond, when
Pike reaches the post of Mr. Dickson and the other person, there
called Paulier, in one day's voyage from his stockade on Swan r. As
there explained, the post in question was only 4 m. below the head of
Pike's Beaver isls., thus in the vicinity of St. Augusta, while Pike's
station of the 8th was at or near Clear Water. To reach this town and
river Pike passes Bear isl., Smiler's rapids, and on his left two
small streams. The lower one of these is Silver cr., coming from a
small lake between Silver Creek Siding and a place called Hasty. The
upper one of these is Bend cr. of Nicollet (discharge of Fish l.), so
named from falling into what was a remarkable bend of the Mississippi,
now a cut-off with a large (Boynton's) island. This place is 3 m.
below Clear Water, in Sect. 6, T. 122, R. 26, 5th M.

[II-15] St. Cloud, seat of Stearns Co.; population 8,000; East St. Cloud
opp.; bridges; railroads converging by five tracks; rapids of 30,000
horse-power, dammed and utilized. This is a notable place, likely to
become more so. The whole descent from the upper part of the town of
Sauk Rapids to the lower part of St. Cloud, a distance of some 5 m.,
is 24 feet; of which Sauk rapids proper fall 17 or 18 feet in the
course of a mile. Pike camps at the foot of these. "Grand Rapids" of
the above text are mapped by Pike as "Big Rapids," the term also used
by Lewis and Clark; they are Nicollet's Second rapids. When I last saw
the place it was not easy to discern the natural course of the river,
it was so jammed with logging-booms. The "more than 20 islands" which
Pike passed to-day are in part included in the cluster called the
Archipelago by Beltrami, now known as the Thousand isls., smallest and
most numerous in the expansion of the river just below St. Cloud and
above Mosquito rapids; the latter, not bad, are between a large island
on the right and a creek that makes in on the left (S. 36, T. 124, R.
28, 5th M.). A short distance below these islands, probably not far
from Mosquito rapids, and thus somewhere about opposite St. Augusta,
was the above-named wintering place.

[II-16] The whole distance by river from St. Cloud to Pike rapids, where
he stops to build his winter-quarters, is only 33 m. He makes this
8 + 121/2 + 29 + 17 + 5 = 711/2! As there is no possible mistake about the
place we have brought him to, or about that where we shall drop him,
an error of over 100 per cent. is evident in the mileage of the
11th-15th. The text gives but one named point (his Clear r.) to
consider for the required adjustment; but there are seven definite
named rivers in this course and several rapids; so that we can check
him at every few miles, and only need to cut down his mileage a little
more than one-half. Camp of the 11th ("8" = 4 m.) is a little above the
mouth of Sauk r. On heading Sauk rapids, Pike passes the town of Sauk
Rapids, seat of Benton Co., 75 m. by rail from St. Paul. It is a
smaller place than St. Cloud, pop. 1,200, but enjoys the same 30,000
horse-power of the 18 feet to the mile fall of the Miss. r. Sauk r.
falls in from the W., opposite the upper part of the town; Pike
elsewhere calls it R. aux Saukes, and maps it as Sack r.; so does
Long, though he calls the Indians Sakawes and Sakawis: Nicollet's map
has Osakis r.; other variants of the name are Sac, Sacque, Saque,
Sawk, Saukee, Sawkee, Osaukee, Osauki, etc. The most elaborate way of
spelling Sauk that I have found is Sassassaouacotton. The form Ozaukee
is adopted by Verwyst, Wis. Hist. Soc., XII. 1892, p. 396, where it is
said that this and Sauk are corrupted from _ozagig_, meaning those who
live at a river's mouth.

[II-17] About 6 m., to a position near the mouth of Little Rock r.,
above Watab rapids and the town of that name in Benton Co. Pike first
passes on his right, about a mile from camp, a small stream whose name
has not reached me (it empties in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 15, T. 36, R.
31, 4th M.). In another mile he passes Little Sauk r., a stream like
its namesake, but small. This is called Watab r. by Nicollet, Owen,
and Brower, Wadub r. by Schoolcraft, Wattah r. by Allen. This little
river was formerly important as the most tangible part of the shadowy
Sioux-Chippewa boundary of 1825. Starting from the Chippewa r., the
line cut across most rivers, at odd places the savages no doubt
understood, but geographers never did. It crossed the St. Croix at
"Standing Cedars" below the falls, struck near the head of <DW53> cr.,
crossed Rum r. at or near its principal forks, hit a "Point of Woods"
somewhere, crossed Leaf (Elk) r. low down, and reached the Mississippi
opp. the mouth of the Little Sauk, _which it followed up_, and then
went N. W., passed past Swan and Little Elk rivers to the watershed of
the Red River of the North, which it followed approx. N. to the Otter
Tail and Leech l. traverse. (See Allen's map.) The "narrow rocky
place" passed is Watab rapids, and the town of Watab is just above
these, on the creek to the right, 5 m. above Sauk Rapids. Sauk and
Watab are respectively the "2nd" and "3rd" rapids of Nicollet's map.
The word _watab_ means _spruce_; or, rather, as follows: "The small
roots of the spruce tree afford the _wattap_, with which the bark [of
birchen canoes] is sewed; ... Bark, some spare _wattap_, and gum, are
always carried in each canoe," Alex. Henry, Travels, 1761-66, N. Y.,
8vo, 1809, p. 14. In this matter we also have the support of the
highest possible authority; for the Century Dictionary, representing
the acme of English scholarship, defines _watap_ or _watapeh_ as "the
long slender roots of the white spruce, _Picea alba_, which are used
by canoe-makers in northwestern North America for binding together the
strips of birch-bark." _Cf._ Baraga's Otchipwe Dict., 1880, Pt. 2, p.
404, _s. v._ _watab_. Pike charts Watab rapids; see his map, place
marked "Ripple," first above his "Little Sack R." This is where his
boat sprung a leak, and he did not get much further.

[II-18] Say about 14 m., to a position between Platte r. and Spunk r.
Soon after decamping, Pike passed a river he does not mention above,
but which he elsewhere names Lake r., and maps conspicuously in
connection with a certain small sheet of water he names Elk l. These
are now known as Little Rock r. and Little Rock l. The stream is laid
down by Nicollet with the additional name of Pikwabic r. It falls into
a remarkable horseshoe bend of the river, which has not cut off an
island since the charts I use were drawn. Opposite this bend there is
a place called Brockway, in Stearns Co. Of Clear r. as above, and also
so charted by Pike, Lewis and Clark, and Allen, Pike elsewhere says
that it "is a beautiful little stream, of about 80 yards in width, and
heads in some swamps and small lakes on which the Sauteaux of Lower
Red Cedar Lake and Sandy Lake frequently come to hunt." It is
Pekushino r. of Nicollet, Bekozino-sibi and Pines Tail r. of Beltrami,
now commonly called Platte r., and occasionally Flat r., as on an 1850
map of Minnesota before me; it heads in the region about Mille Lacs.
At the place where the railroad crosses Platte or Clear r. is
Royalton, in Bellevue township, Morrison Co. One-third of a mile below
its mouth is the line between Stearns and Morrison cos., on first
section-line above town-line 126-7. One of the two rivers here noted
is Cold r. of Carver, 1767; but I am uncertain which one. McNeal's
ferry over the Mississippi is about a mile below the mouth of the
Platte.

[II-19] Making the requisite adjustment of this, we set Pike down in the
N. E. 1/4 of Sect. 29, T. 128, R. 29, 5th M.; this will give us 3 m. to
fill the bill of the "five" to-morrow. To-day's itinerary furnishes
some nice points which we must determine with precision--not for their
intrinsic importance, but for their significance in connection with
Pike's winter-quarters. The matter must be attended to here, though
the text has not a word about it. But Pike elsewhere speaks of three
creeks along here, above his Clear r.=Platte, and below his Pine
cr.=Swan r., near which he builds his stockade. Pike's map has four,
on the left, beginning above Clear r.: (1) Wolf cr.; (2) a creek; (3)
Buffalo cr.; (4) Rocky cr.--all names of his own, none used now.
Proceeding up from Platte=Clear r., we have on the left in succession:
(1) Spunk r., whose mouth is in the S. E. 1/4 of Sect. 22, T. 127, R.
29, 5th M. This is the Wolf cr. of Pike's, item of Lewis and Clark's
map, 1814; mapped, no name, Allen; Zakatagana-sibi of Beltrami;
Sagatagon or Spunk r. of Nicollet; Spunk brook of various maps. The
native name which we have translated means some sort of touchwood or
punk, which may be more plentiful hereabouts than elsewhere, or of
better quality. (2) A rivulet for which I can find no name, not even
on the local maps, and which is too insignificant to appear at all on
most maps; Pike's traces it without name. I will call it Maple brook,
because it falls in behind Maple isl., in Sect. 17 of the T., R., and
M. last said. Maple isl. is sizable, and locally well known; either
this or the little round one close by is probably Beltrami's "Island
of the Sun." (3) Two Rivers, or Two r., or Twin r., as the next stream
is called, which empties about the center of Sect. 8 of the same T.,
R., and M., hardly a mile above Maple brook. This is the one Pike maps
by the name of Buffalo cr.; it is also Buffaloe cr. of Lewis and
Clark's map; and the Kanizotygoga of Beltrami. This is a sizable
stream, giving name to Two Rivers Township, and does not fall in
behind any island. (4) Little Two Rivers, or Two Rivers brook, which
falls in about half a mile higher up, in the same Section, behind an
island. (5) A nameless and utterly insignificant brook, which falls in
at McDougal's eddy, behind an island, in the S. E. 1/4 of Sect. 5 of the
same T., R., and M. I find it correctly laid down on a Morrison Co.
map, on a scale of 2 inches to the mile; but it does not appear on the
inch-to-mile charts I mostly follow. (6) Hay cr., which most maps run
into Little Two Rivers, but which is quite distinct, with the brook
(5) intervening. Hay cr. comes southward along the E. border of Swan
River township, turns S. E. across Sect. 31 of T. 128, R. 29, thence
enters Sect. 5 of T. 127, R. 29, and falls into the Mississippi behind
the three-cornered isl. which there lies opp. some rapids next above
McDougal's eddy. The only question seems to be, whether Pike's Rocky
cr. is Little Two Rivers or Hay cr.; but after pretty close scrutiny
of the country thereabouts, I incline to decide in favor of Little Two
Rivers, and could give various reasons for this identification. Pike
maps four rapids, in quick succession, above his Rocky cr. Two of
these I suppose to be those now known as Blanchard's and McDougal's,
both passed on the 14th; a third is surmounted on the 15th, but the
fourth finishes Pike's boat-voyage: see next note.

[II-20] Three miles, to camp at the foot of Knife or Pike rapids, W.
side of the Mississippi, about the S. border of Sect. 7, T. 128, R.
29, 5th M. These are the 4th or Knife rapids of Nicollet, apparently
so called from the narrowness of the two channels into which the river
is divided for most of their extent by an island, which is what Pike's
text above means by the "two narrow shoots." The designation of Pike
rapids is not recent; it occurs on the Allen map pub. 1834, and no
doubt this antedates the time that the next creek above Swan r. was
named Pike cr., and the township next above Swan River township was
named Pike Creek township. The ascent is 10 or 11 feet to the mouth of
Swan r.; and this is 4 m. below the city of Little Falls. Little Falls
is given as 115 m. by the river from Minneapolis, and as 105 m. by
rail from St. Paul (N. P. R. R.). We know where Pike sleeps to-night
within a few rods, and shall be able to locate his stockade with a
"probable error" of no yards, feet, or inches.

[II-21] "Lieu^t. Pikes, Block House or Post, for the Winter 1805-1806"
is legended on the pub. map, and marked by a zigzag line snug up under
his Pine cr. (now Swan r.). The orig. MS. map, now on file in the
Engineer Office of the War Dept., is large enough to show the exact
spot, on which is delineated a stockade 36 feet square, with a
blockhouse on the N. W. and another on the S. E. corner of the
structure. Notwithstanding such precise indicia, the site has been
vaguely stated by various authors, and even shifted down to Two Rivers
by so careful and usually correct a writer as my friend the Hon. J. V.
Brower, who is clearly in error in stating that "the south branch of
Two Rivers was named Pine creek, and the other Second creek," Minn.
Hist. Coll., VII., Mississippi R. and its Source, 8vo., Minneapolis,
1893, p. 126. This is simply an _obiter dictum_, by inadvertence. I
had satisfied myself of the true site within a few rods, when I first
learned from Prof. N. H. Winchell, State Geologist of Minnesota, that
traces of the building had been discovered by Judge Nathan Richardson,
Mayor of Little Falls, Minn. On writing to this gentleman, I received
a prompt reply, as follows:

                           LITTLE FALLS, MINN., Feb. 24th, 1894.

     _Elliott Coues, Esq., Washington, D. C._

     MY DEAR SIR: Yours of the 21st inst. is received making
     inquiry about my discovering the location of a fort built
     by Zebulon M. Pike in the fall of 1805. The location is on
     the West bank of the Mississippi River on Government
     Subdivision described as Lot No. 1, Sec. No. 7, in Township
     No. 128 North, of Range No. 29 West, of the 5th Principal
     Meridian, near the S. E. corner of said Lot No. 1, and near
     80 rods south from the mouth of Swan river and four miles
     south of this city. I settled at this place in 1855. I
     wrote a history of this county in 1876. Then in 1880 I
     revised it. Before writing the revision in 1880 I looked
     over the books in our State Historical Society, where I
     found an account of Pike's Expedition up into this region
     of country that year. His description of the location was
     so plain and explicit that I had no trouble in finding it.
     At that time there were no logs or timber left. The place
     was plainly marked by a pile of stone, about the size of an
     ordinary haycock, of which the chimney or fire-place was
     built. The fort was built of logs. The bottom layer was
     imbedded about one-half their size into the ground when
     built. The groove in the earth showed very plain when I
     first visited the place. As near as I could judge the
     building was 40 feet square. Built just on the brink of a
     slight elevation, as described by Mr. Pike in his
     narrative. Afterward in speaking about the location of
     Pike's Fort to an old settler, Samuel Lee, now residing at
     Long Prairie in this State, he told me that he had been at
     the place many years before, and when he was first at the
     place the bottom tier of logs were still there. I visited
     the spot two years ago for the purpose of getting one of
     the stones that were used to build the fire-place, and took
     one that will weigh about 75 pounds, which I am keeping as
     a relic. The pile of stone is getting scattered about; the
     ground has never been cleared and broken up, but is used as
     a pasture. Unless something durable is put up soon to mark
     the location all trace of it will be obliterated. This
     country commenced to settle with farmers in 1850, and has
     become quite well settled up. I will say before closing
     that the rapids at the foot of which he built the fort bear
     the name of Pike rapids, so named in honor of him. I will
     send you a copy of our extra paper [Daily Transcript, of
     Little Falls], issued the 1st of January. If I have omitted
     anything that you may wish to know write me again.

                    Yours very respectfully,
                    [Signed] N. RICHARDSON.

Judge Richardson is entitled to the credit of recovering and making
known the spot in modern times. The Hist. Up. Miss. Vall., pub.
Minneap. 1881, treating Morrison Co. in Chap. cxxxviii, has on p. 586
a short notice of the location, presumably upon Judge Richardson's
data, as the publishers' preface makes general acknowledgments of
indebtedness to him. In Oct., 1886, the place was visited by Mr. T. H.
Lewis, at the instance of Mr. A. J. Hill of St. Paul, and through the
friendly attentions of the latter I am put in possession of extracts
and tracings from Mr. Lewis' notebook, made on the spot at the date
said, when he found the extant remains. Mr. Lewis identified the site
upon his own observations, not being at the time informed of the
earlier discovery. So interesting a spot should be permanently marked
before all traces of it are obliterated, and I hope Judge Richardson
will interest himself to see that this is done. It need not be an
expensive or elaborate monument; probably the stones of the old
chimney and fire-place, now scattered about, would answer the purpose
if they were solidly piled up.

POSTSCRIPT.--_Little Falls, Minn._, _Sept._ 8th, 1894.--I have this
day visited the spot in person, accompanied by Judge Richardson and
Mrs. Coues. We have piled up the rocks in a conspicuous heap. I do not
recognize any trace of the original woodwork, or of the ground-plan of
the structure, except the place of the chimney; but the site is
unquestionable. To reach it, you go down the main road from Little
Falls, about 4 m. along the W. side of the Miss. r., crossing Pike cr.
and next Swan r.; a few rods beyond the latter, turn to the left into
Simon Kurtzman's cornfield, through bars, and keep on due E. to the
river. You will see the cairn we have made in the following position:
Sect. 7, T. 128, R. 29, 5th M., in S. E. corner of Lot No. 1, 80 rods
E. of Simon Kurtzman's house, about 80 rods S. S. E. of the mouth of
Swan r., near the E. border of the cornfield, 30 paces back from the
brink of the Mississippi, 50 yards S. by E. of a lone pine tree 50
feet high, on a flat piece of high ground in a copse of scattered
scrub oaks, overgrown with brush and weeds. Letter on the subject over
my signature in Little Falls Daily Transcript, Sept. 10, 1894, urging
the erection of a monument.

[II-22] Or windshake--not that the canoe foundered in the wind, but that
there was a flaw in the wood of which it was built, such unsoundness
of timber being called a windshock or windshake.

[II-23] For Dickson's trading-house of 1805-6 see note beyond, date of
Apr. 7th. Dickson's name frequently recurs in Pike, but I think never
once in full. Robert Dickson was an Englishman who began to trade with
the Sioux as early as 1790, and acquired great renown in the early
history of the country. The following occurs in Minn. Hist. Coll., I.
2d ed. 1872, p. 390: "Five years after Pike's visit he espoused the
British cause, and took a prominent part in encouraging the western
tribes in hostility against the Americans. Yet he is said to have been
very humane to American prisoners, rescuing many from the Indians, and
restraining the latter from barbarities and cold-blooded massacres.
After the war Dickson, some accounts say, did not resume trade with
the Sioux; but he did at least live at Lake Travers as late as 1817,
and was charged with alienating the Sioux from the United States, in
complicity with Lord Selkirk, who was there establishing his colony on
Red river. He was soon after arrested near what is now St. Paul, and
taken to St. Louis. He was probably soon released, however, and found
his way back to Queenstown in Canada, where he died. Dickson had a
Sioux wife and four half-breed children. One of his grandchildren was
wife of Joseph Laframboise, a well-known trader at Lac Qui Parle." To
this may be added that one of Col. Robert Dickson's half-breed sons
was William Dickson, whose name appears here and there in Minnesota
annals.

[II-24] There is no such French word as "killeur," which Pike elsewhere
renders "killieu," and which appears in the text of 1807 as "killien"
and "killein." On consulting the F. text, I. p. 95, I find that the
editor says, "Plutot _tueur rouge_, car le mot killeur n'est pas
francois; c'est sans doute un barbarisme echappe a M. Pike." The son
of this chief Pike calls "Fils de Killeur Rouge": see Mar. 5th and
8th, 1806, beyond. There is a Canadian French word _pilleur_,
pillager, and the Leech Lake Chippewas were known as Pilleurs or
Pillagers; but this Killeur was a Sioux chief of the Gens des Feuilles
or Leaf Indians, now called Wahpetonwans: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p.
100. Pike translates Killeur by "Eagle"; and this clew to the meaning
of the word is carried on by Beltrami, II. p. 207, who has a chief
called "Ki-han or Red Quilliou"; _ibid._, p. 224, he speaks of "a bird
which the Canadians call _killiou_, and the Indians Wamendi-hi";
_ibid._, p. 307, he says "a plume of _killow_," making an English word
of it. Forsyth has "the killiew (thus named from a species of eagle),"
in Minn. Hist. Col., III. 1874, p. 154. So _killeur_, etc., is simply
a French way of spelling a certain Indian name of the eagle, whose
feathers are used for ornament. I once noted this word in the form
_khoya_. Riggs' Dak. Dict., 1852, has "_Hu-ya_, _n._, the common
eagle" (the dotted _h_ a deep surd guttural).

[II-25] Yanktons and Sissetons: see L. and C., ed. 1893, pp. 94, 100.

[II-26] More probably Chien Blanc, or White Dog--unless we could go so
far as to suppose he was called by the less polite and less
appropriate name of Chienne Blanche.

[II-27] About opp. the mouth of Pine cr. or Swan r., 1/2 m. above head of
Roberts' isl., and on or near the present site of Gregory, Morrison
Co. This place is marked as Aitkin's ferry, trading-post, and hotel,
on a Minnesota map, pub. Phila., Cowperthwait, 1850; it is about the
middle of the southwesternmost section of Little Falls township
(Township 40, Range 32, 4th mer.), say 3 m. below the middle of the
city of Little Falls. The head of Pike rapids is 1,071 or 1,072 feet
above sea-level. Swan r. bends up a little to fall into the Miss. r.,
so that its mouth is slightly over the S. border of Sect. 6, Township
128, Range 29, 5th mer. There is a flour mill on its S. side, at the
bend, half a mile or less from its mouth. Ledoux P. O. is on this
stream, a few miles up, in Swan River township, which lies between
North Prairie township and Pike Creek township; Swan r. runs over the
N. border of it a mile W. of the Mississippi. By whom Pike's Pine cr.
was first called Swan r. I do not know, unless it was Nicollet; it is
Wabizio-sibi of Beltrami, Wabezi or Swan r. of Nicollet, 1836, Swan r.
of Owen and later writers; but Lieut. Allen has it Elk r. on his map,
by error.

[II-28] Less than this, to camp on left or E. bank of the Mississippi,
in the present city of Little Falls, Morrison Co., probably about the
place where is the lower bridge, a few blocks from the Buckman hotel.
Painted Rock rapids is now Little falls. A high, small island at the
falls divides the river in two channels; it is Rock isl. of Nicollet,
now called Mill isl.; some mills are there, and there is the site of
the present dam, immediately below the lower bridge. Little Falls is a
flourishing place, as towns with a water-power of 35,000 horses may
easily be; pop. now or lately 3,000; dam built 1887-8, said to have
cost $250,000; two bridges span the river, the upper one for the N. P.
R. R., near the large sawmill which stands on the W. bank; chief
industry, milling flour and logs; city incorporated 1889; N.
Richardson, mayor for five years: see Little Falls Daily Transcript,
Industrial ed., Jan. 1st, 1894, large folio, pp. 28, maps and views,
price 5c. The Little falls--cataract, not town--are so called by Pike
elsewhere in this work; he also says that "the place is called by the
French Le Shute de la Roche Peinture," by which we may understand La
Chute de la Roche Peinte; his map legends "Painted Rock or Little
Falls." Beltrami names the falls Great Rock and Kekebicauge. As to the
"5 miles" of to-day's journey, we may note that the distance is less
now than it used to be by the channel, because there was a bend of the
river to the E. which is now straightened out. This bend appears on
maps of 20 years ago; it is now city ground, and the march of
improvement has effected various other changes in the course of the
river. When about a mile from this morning's camp, Pike passed a place
where the river was fordable, and may be so still; here was the site
of Swan River P. O., on the E. bank, in Little Falls township. When a
mile further on, he passed the mouth of a creek from the W. which he
calls 2nd cr. (on the map "2^d Cr."), and which others have rendered
Second cr., though Nicollet and Owen both have it Little Fall cr.; it
is now known as Pike cr., and gives name to Pike Creek township. It
falls into the Mississippi at the middle of the E. border of Sect. 25,
Township 129, Range 30, 5th mer., through the 6th one of the 16
outlots of O. O. Searles, slightly beyond present city limits.

[II-29] To a position at the head of Little Elk rapids, a short distance
above the mouth of Little Elk r. This is a sizable stream which comes
from the W. through Parker and Randall townships to the S. W. corner
of Green Prairie township, touches the N. E. corner of Pike creek
township, and then curves a couple of miles to the Mississippi through
Sects. 6 and 5, T. 129, R. 29, 5th M. Pike elsewhere notes it with
particularity by the name of Elk r. Beltrami says Moska or Mosko and
Doe or Bitch r. This last name is a mistaken rendering of R. la Biche
or Elk r. of the French--he makes the same singular blunder in the
case of Lake Itasca, which he calls Doe or Bitch l., after the French
Lac la Biche. The river is the Omoshkos or Elk r. of Nicollet and
Owen. It is marked Little Fork cr. on the Minn. map of 1850; and
Allen's map makes it Swan r., by an erroneous transposition of names;
see note 27 p. 122.

[II-30] From Little Falls to Crow Wing is only 26 m. by the river. Pike
does not reach Crow Wing till the 21st, and his party does not get up
till the 23d or 24th. Exactly what distance he makes it cannot be
said, as mileage is missing some days. He appears to have thought it
some 50 or 60 m. Thus the itinerary does not afford data for fixing
camps with precision, and hence we can only check him approximately
from day to day. The sledge-party does not average 3 m. a day, but
Pike himself seems to skirmish about for many more miles--perhaps the
excessive mileages represent his own activities, not the actual
advance of the Expedition. The average course is due N. On the 12th
Conradi shoal and Belle Prairie were passed, to camp in the vicinity
of Fletcher cr. Belle Prairie is a comparatively old settlement on the
E. bank, founded by Frederick Ayer, a missionary, in 1848; pop. 800.
This is only 41/2 m. by rail from Little Falls. The town is directly
opposite the shoals. These are the Fifth rapid of Nicollet. A small
creek comes in opposite them from the W., in Green Prairie township.
Fletcher cr. is mapped by Nicollet without name; it is McKinney's r.
on the 1850 map of Minn. It falls in from the E. through Sect. 1, T.
41, R. 32, 4th M.

[II-31] In the vicinity of Topeka, a town and station on the N. P. R.
R., on the E. bank of the river.

[II-32] Camp of the 14th, 15th, and 16th seems to have been on the W.
bank of the river, at the head of Olmsted's bar, and was very likely
opp. the point of land in Sect. 15, T. 42, R. 32, 4th M., where one
Baker located his trading-house in 1831. It is formally named Pine
camp when it is passed on the way down, Mar. 4th, 1806: see that date.
Olmsted's bar is the Sixth rapid of Nicollet, at a place where the
river expands and contains a cluster of small islands, called The
Sirens by Beltrami, II. p. 466.

[II-33] This cache was in the vicinity of present Fort Ripley. The town
now so called is on the E. side; railroad; pop. 500. Old Fort Ripley
itself is on the W. side, a mile off; some of the buildings still
stand. This post, or another in the same place, was once called Fort
Gaines; Prairie Percee of the F. intersected the river a little below.
The fort is in the N. E. 1/4 of Sect. 7, T. 131, R. 29, 5th M., about a
half mile below the mouth of Nokasippi r., which falls in from the E.
through Sect. 27, T. 43, R. 32, 4th M. This is a considerable stream:
Nokasippi and Noka Sipi of Schoolcraft; Nokay r. of Nicollet and of
Owen; Nokasele on one of my maps, Nankesele and Nankele on others;
Woco-sibi of Beltrami's text, II. p. 466, Wokeosiby and Prophet r. on
his map. This hint that the name is a personal one is correct. Noka
was a Chippewa, the grandfather of White Fisher or Waubojeeg. "It is
from this old warrior and stalwart hunter, who fearlessly passed his
summers on the string of lakes which form the head of the No-ka river,
which empties into the Mississippi nearly opposite present site of
Fort Ripley, that the name of this stream is derived," says W. W.
Warren, Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885, p. 266. It is mapped by Pike and
mentioned by him beyond at date of Mar. 3d, 1806; but he has no name
for it. Allen's map gives it as Long r. But the earliest name of the
stream I can discover is on Lewis and Clark's map, pub. 1814, where it
is called Scrub Oak r., no doubt from the prairie above it, to which
Pike gave that name. On reaching ownline 42-3, Pike leaves Morrison
for Crow Wing Co., on the right, but still has the former on his left,
up to Crow Wing r.

[II-34] To some point probably more than halfway between the Nokasippi
and Crow Wing rivers, perhaps not far from the station or siding
Albion (St. Paul <DW37>. of N. P. R. R.). It is beyond Lenox, and a
little above that creek for which I find no name, but which falls in
from the W. through Sect. 24, T. 132, R. 30, 5th M.

[II-35] To a position immediately below the mouth of the Crow Wing r.

[II-36] Riviere a l'Aile de Corbeau of the F., usually shortened into R.
de Corbeau, though Eng. Crow Wing r. reflects the full name. The large
island at its mouth was called Isle or Ile de Corbeau, and I suspect
that the similarity of _aile_ and _isle_ or _ile_ may be concerned in
this nomenclature. The river sometimes appears as Crow r., rendering
the shorter F. form; in such instance it must not be confounded with
Crow r. much lower down the Mississippi: see note 11, p. 97. Crow
Wing also appears as Crow-wing, and I have found both Cow-wing and
Crowing r. in Schoolcraft. Raven r. is another name; Pike sometimes
uses this. Beltrami has Raven's Plume r. and Crow Feather r. Nicollet
calls it Kagiwan r. This is the largest branch of the Mississippi
above Little Falls. The unnumbered affluents which unite to compose
the main stream head in lakes and marshes of Hubbard, Becker, Otter
Tail, Wadena, and Todd cos. Having received most of its tributaries,
and coursed through Wadena, the river for a short distance separates
Todd from Cass Co., and then runs between Cass and Morrison to empty
opp. the town of Crow Wing. Crow Wing r. was important as a means of
communication between the Mississippi and Red River of the North. It
was navigated up to the mouth of R. des Feuilles, now Leaf r., in the
S. part of Wadena Co.; thence the route was up Leaf r., and by portage
into Otter Tail l., one of the principal sources of Red r. waters.
Crow Wing r. was also a route to Leech l. Schoolcraft made the trip
this way from Leech l. to the Miss. r. in July, 1832; his map, pub.
1834, letters some of the main branches Kioshk r., Longprairie or
Warwater r., and Leaf r. The chain of lakes on this route are in his
nomenclature as follows, from below upward: 1. Kaichibo Sagitowa; 2.
Johnston's; 3. Allen's; 4. Longrice (Long Rice); 5. Summit; 6. Vieux
Desert; 7. Ossowa; 8. Ple; 9. Birth; 10. Little Vermillion; 11.
Kaginogumag, source of the river. Four small ones thence to Leech l.
are called Lake of the Island, Lake of the Mountain, Little Long l.,
and Warpool l. The branch which Schoolcraft calls Kiosh is Nicollet's
Gayashk r., now called Gull r.; a lake on it has the same name, and
one higher up is Lake Sibley of Nicollet. Nicollet says that he
contracted Gayashk from Chip. Kagayashkensikang, "the place where
there are little gulls [terns]," Rep. 1843, p. 54. Gull r. comes from
the N., approx. parallel with the Mississippi, and falls into Crow
Wing r. only some 3 or 4 m. above its mouth; about the same distance
up it is crossed by the N. P. R. R., at or near Gull River station
(between Baxter and Sylvan Lake stations).

[II-37] This seems to bring the whole party up to Crow Wing isl., opp.
old town of Crow Wing. Pike says himself that he could scarcely make
his notes intelligible, but we certainly know where he is to-day, and
have probably checked him from Little Falls with all the accuracy the
case admits. The town was mainly in Sect. 24, T. 44, R. 32, 4th M.,
but settlements in 1857 were in Sect. 23; pop. in 1866, 600; Brainerd
killed the place about 1870: see Harper's Mag., XIX. 1859, p. 47.
Thos. Cowperthwait's map of Minn., Phila., 1850, letters "Morrison's"
on the town site.

[II-38] "Hard W." is a misprint for N., the general course of the river
as you ascend, for many miles, till the Crow Wing is reached; after
this the Mississippi bears N. E.; and as the Crow Wing comes in from
the W., and is very large, their confluence is, as it were, the forks
of the Mississippi.

[II-39] The whole way by river from Crow Wing to Pine r. (the next place
where we can certainly check Pike), is only 34 m. He makes it 101/2 + 3
+ 3 + 10 + 12 + 21 + 12 = 711/2 m., with something over for morning of
Dec. 31st. Hence we have to cut him down about half. His "101/2" m.
takes him about 6 m. toward Brainerd, with nothing to note on the way,
excepting a small creek on the left hand, in Sect. 26, T. 133, R. 29,
5th M. From Crow Wing to Brainerd is 111/4 m. by the river; Crow Wing
Co. continues on the right; on the left is Cass Co., according to such
a presumably authoritative map as that of the G. L. O., 1893; but in
fact Crow Wing Co. also extends on the left-hand side of the
Mississippi from a point about 11/2 m. above the mouth of Crow Wing r.
upward for many miles, its W. border being along the middle line of R.
29.

[II-40] To Brainerd, Crow Wing Co., called City of the Pines, now easily
first in this part of the State; pop. 10,000; junction of St. Paul
<DW37>. with main N. P. R. R., 136 m. from St. Paul by rail, 114 from
Duluth; recent utilization of the fall of the river furnishing perhaps
20,000 horse-power; water-works, electric lights, etc. It is a center
of the lumber interests, and a focus of roads from every direction;
the river is bridged, and the surplus population forms West Brainerd.
Brainerd was laid out by the railroad in 1870, and has no earlier
history.

[II-41] Beyond Rice r. or cr., Nagajika cr. of Nicollet, which falls in
on the right, in Sect. 18, T. 45, R. 30, 4th M., about 3 m. above
Brainerd, and is to be distinguished from another of the same name
higher up on the same side; also, past French rapids, the Seventh of
Nicollet, which were Pike's carrying-places to-day. Above these he
found the river frozen solid.

[II-42] Vicinity of Sand cr., from the right. This is mapped by
Nicollet, but without name. It falls in through Sect. 27, T. 46, R.
30, 4th M.; directly opposite its mouth is a smaller creek, from the
left.

[II-43] To a position at or near the stream called White Bear-skin r. by
the geologist D. Norwood, 1847, being the discharge of Duck l. and
Swamp l., two of the largest of the numerous small lakes that lie
close along this course of the river. They are close together; each is
about 2 m. long and at one point only a mile or so to the left of the
river. Lake Taliaferro of Nicollet is on this connection, but further
off. Pike is fairly within the great lacustrine region of Minnesota,
where there are more lakes than have ever been counted. Half Moon l.
is a little one, about half a mile below the discharge of Duck and
Swamp lakes. The most notable point Pike passes to-day is the mouth of
Rabbit r., on the right. This is a considerable stream discharging
from a set of lakes (one at least of which has the same name), at the
junction of Sects. 13 and 24, T. 46, R. 30, 4th M., at or near the
foot of Island rapids. A smaller creek, also from the right, empties
below, in Sect. 24. Higher up are some rapids called Big Eddy.

[II-44] Nearly to the mouth of Pine r. (not to be confounded with Pike's
Pine _cr._, now Swan r.): see next note. The new species of pine
"called the French sap pine," is the balsam-fir, _Abies balsamea_.
Pike meant to say "called by the French _sapin_." The text of 1807, p.
31, has "Sappine."

[II-45] Present name of the largest stream in the northern portion of
Crow Wing Co., falling in from the N. in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 25, T.
136, R. 27, 5th M., at a sharp bend the Mississippi here makes. Pine
r. has been so called by pretty nearly all writers since Pike's time;
but Beltrami has it Singuoako or Pines r. It is connected directly, or
indirectly, with an immense number of small lakes, not all of which
have ever been counted, and still fewer named. Two of the largest are
called Whitefish and Pelican. This whole system of waters lies to the
N. and W. of the Mississippi, S. of Leech lake, and on Pike's left as
he ascends. It offered a means of communication with Leech lake much
more direct than the course of the Mississippi itself; this was taken
by Pike on his return journey, and the river is consequently to be
particularly noted in that connection: see under dates of Feb.
19th-24th, beyond.

[II-46] Curly Head does not appear in Pike's tabular exhibit of Chippewa
chiefs, and we are left without his native name, or any fair
identification; but Hon. W. W. Warren supplies the requisite data,
Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885, p. 47, p. 348 _seq._, p. 366; see also
_ibid._ p. 469 _seq._ and p. 495. The name of the old civil and
military chief Babesigaundibay is inseparably linked with the history
of his tribe. He belonged to the Businause family, or Crane totem, and
ruled for many years over the Chippewas of the Mississippi r., in the
vicinity of Gayashk or Gull l., eventually becoming the third man in
importance in the councils of his nation, sharing honors with Broken
Tooth of Sandy l. and Flat Mouth of Leech l. His people increased in
numbers, held the Crow Wing region against all enemies, and in 1852
numbered about 600. Curly Head was respected and beloved; "he was a
father to his people; they looked on him as children do to a parent;
and his lightest wish was immediately performed. His lodge was ever
full of meat, to which the hungry and destitute were ever welcome. The
traders vied with one another who should treat him best, and the
presents which he received at their hands he always distributed to his
people without reserve." This estimable man died on his way back from
the grand conference held at Prairie du Chien by Governors William
Clark and Lewis Cass, Aug. 19th, 1825. His signature to this treaty,
as printed in one of the copies before me, is "Babaseekeendase,
Curling Hair." I elsewhere find Babikesundeba. Curly Head died
childless; on his death-bed he called two of his pipe-bearers and
formally constituted them his successors. These were brothers; one was
Songukumigor, Strong Ground, and the other Pugonakeshig, or Hole in
the Day I. The latter exerted great influence for about a quarter of a
century, killed 36 people, and was killed by being bounced out of a
cart while drunk, near Platte r., Benton Co., Minn., early in 1847.

[II-47] No mileage from Dec. 31st, 1805, to Jan. 3d, 1806: so we must
check Pike by other data. From Pine r. to town of Aitkin, Aitkin Co.,
is 321/2 m. by river; this is very tortuous; air-line distance between
these points, 161/4 m., or just one-half of the river-miles. At 12 of
these direct miles' distance above Pine r. and 41/4 below Aitkin is our
most important datum-point, viz., mouth of Lower Red Cedar r. This is
the discharge of Lower Red Cedar l., a comparatively large body of
water 6 m. to the right (nearly S. from the mouth of L. R. C. r.). On
the shore of L. R. C. l., half a mile E. S. E. of the place where the
river issues from it, was the post of the N. W. Co., whence the party
that met Pike on the 2d came to see what was up, and to which Pike
repairs as Mr. Grant's guest on the 3d. While it is true that these
facts do not fix the three camps with all desirable precision, they
enable us to carry Pike on by "rule of thumb" in an intelligible
manner. I propose, therefore, to set him one-third of the way from
Pine r. to Lower Red Cedar r. on the 31st of Dec.--say opp. Rabbit l.;
two-thirds of this way on the 1st of Jan.--some point between Dean cr.
and Hay cr., both of which fall in on the left (probably a mile above
Dean cr.--see Feb. 24th, beyond); at mouth of Lower Red Cedar r., Jan.
2d; at Aitkin Jan. 3d--to reach which Little Willow r., flowing S.
from Waukenabo and Esquagamau lakes, is passed. These stages cannot in
any event be far out of the way; and to so make them brings up all the
points worth noting between Pine r. and Aitkin in orderly sequence.
The principal ones are the lake and the town. The lake has been well
known since the days of the old French regime; its relations with
Mille Lacs are intimate, and it was thus of consequence in connection
with old canoe-routes; it was for many years also the situation of
important trading-posts. It was le _Bas_ Lac aux Cedres Rouges of the
French, _Lower_ Red Cedar l., in distinction from another one of
similar name, now Cass l. The distinction is to be sedulously borne in
mind, especially as Pike most often ignores it formally, and
repeatedly speaks of "Red Cedar" or "Cedar" l. indifferently, meaning
the present one when he is hereabouts, and meaning Cass l. when he is
thereabouts; the name is also now commonly clipped down to Cedar l.
and Cedar r. or cr., meaning this one, in modern geographies and
guide-books. Lower Red Cedar l. is large, with perhaps 50 m. of
shore-line altogether; it bears from Aitkin in the direction of
Brainerd; some of its relations are with smaller bodies of water known
as Crystal l., Mud l., Spirit l., Hanging Kettle l., Pine l., Farm
Island l., and Sesabagomag l. Cedar Lake station is about 5 m. W. of
Aitkin, N. P. R. R. Aitkin is per schedule by rail 27 m. from
Brainerd, 87 m. from Duluth; population 1,000; for persons named
Aitkin (not Aiken or Aitken), see that word in the Index. The present
town is on the right hand going up, left or S. side of the
Mississippi, at the mouth of Mud or Muddy r. (Ripple cr.), a
considerable stream, connected with a system of small lakes. It falls
into the Mississippi in Sect. 1, T. 47, R. 27, 4th M.; and in this
same section is the mouth of a stream which Owen called Sesabagomag
r., but which I find given as Missagony r. on late maps. Nicollet
charted it, with no name. Below the mouth of Lower Red Cedar r. Pike
goes from Crow Wing into Aitkin Co. He had passed the county line Jan.
3d.

[II-48] "Point" as a measure of distance is not a well-known term, and I
am not sure of what it means. There is some internal evidence in Pike
that one of his "points" was from -1/8 to 1/4 to 1/2 m., according to the
nature of the ground and the degree of "that tired feeling" which is
liable to overcome the most pushing wayfarer. I imagine "point" to
correspond to the _pause_ or _pose_ of the voyageurs. In their
language a _piece_ was a package of any goods, made up to weigh from
50 to 100 lbs., supposed to weigh about 90 on an average, for
convenience of transportation over portages. Such a pack would be
slung on the shoulders by the _fillet_ or forehead strap; and the
voyageur would start off at a dog-trot and drop it when he got tired.
This stop or rest was the _pose_; the Chip. name was _opuggiddiwanan_,
lit. the place of putting down the pack. Pike had to the last degree
the first qualification of a traveler--"go"; people who lack plenty of
that should stay at home. That he was a prudent or judicious traveler
can hardly be said; he must have been a terrible fellow to push,
merciless on his men, and especially on himself. He took all the
chances _per aspera_, when some of the roughest things might have been
smoothed or avoided had his foresight been as good as his hindsight.
He blew up things with gunpowder once, and it is a wonder he was not
blown up on the 4th, instead of being only burnt out. He missed very
few of the accidents that the spirits of fire, air, earth, and water
could conspire to throw in his way; and his faithless sergeant made
away with all the spirits he had in the keg at Swan r. However, he got
through all right, and got his men all through too--_sic iter ad
astra_.

[II-49] The direct distance from Aitkin to the site of the N. W. Co.
house, at least 1 m. S. of the outlet of Sandy l., is about 24 m.; the
river is also pretty direct as a whole, between these two places; but
it is extremely tortuous in its many minor bends of a mile or two
apiece, so that the distance the sledges traveled on the ice may have
been twice as far as that by the way Pike and Bradley forged ahead.
These two reached Mr. Grant's house on the night of the 8th; the men
with the sledges, not till evening of the 13th. The two sets of camps
might be arbitrarily set along this lap, by ignoring such wild figures
as "27 miles" for the 5th, and assuming other data. But this would
probably not help us to a better understanding of this section of the
route than the following notes: 1. Less than a mile above the mouth of
Mud r. (Aitkin) a stream falls in on the right; this is Missagony r.,
marked Sesabagomag r. on Owen's map. 2. Rice r. (Manomin r. of
Nicollet's map) falls in on the right, 41/2 m. in an air-line above the
mouth of Mud r., in Sect. 4, T. 47, R. 26, 4th M. 3. Willow r. falls
in on the left, 6 m. in an air-line above the mouth of Rice r., in
Sect. 2, T. 48, R. 26, 4th M. This is to be particularly noted in
connection with Pike's journey, as he proceeds approximately by way of
this river from Sandy l. to Grand Rapids in the vicinity of Pokegama
falls. It is the largest tributary of the Mississippi on that side
between Pine r. and the Leech Lake branch of the Mississippi. Pike
charts it by the name of Pike r.--not his own name, as Beltrami
implies, II. p. 446, but that of the pike, a fish, translating F.
Riviere du Brochet; it is also Pike r. of Long's map; it was called
Alder r. by Cass and Meaogeo r. by Beltrami; but it is now always
known as Willow r. Its system of lakes is also in close relation with
those E. and S. E. of Leech l., and the river was thus one of the
recognized routes between this lake and the Mississippi. Its mouth is
about one-third of the direct distance between Aitkin and Sandy lake.
4. There are some rapids above Willow r., two of them called Moose and
Sandy Lake rapids; the latter are only about 21/2 m. direct W. from the
lake, but fully 6 m. by the bends of the river; the town of Portage is
near them. Pike and Bradley left the river at some point below these
rapids, to make straight for the lake. 5. Sandy l., Lac au Sable or de
Sable of the French, is close to the river, on the right hand going
up, and discharges into the Mississippi by a short crooked stream
called Sandy Lake r., 2 m. or less in length. Its greatest diameter in
any direction is probably under 5 m., but the figure is so irregular,
with such extensive projections into the main body of waters, that the
actual shore-line is more than 30 m. It receives the discharges of a
number of smaller lakes in the vicinity, among them one called Aitkin
by Nicollet. Its principal feeders are two in number. One of these
comes in at the southernmost end of the lake, and takes the name of
Sandy, Sandy Lake, or Rice Lake r. The N. P. R. R. crosses this stream
near McGregor, which is 12 m. by the wagon-road southward from the
discharge of the lake. This river has a main branch from Manomin or
Rice l.; and either this branch or the whole river is the
Menomeny-sibi or Wild Oats r. of Beltrami. The other main affluent of
Sandy l. comes in from the E., at a point on the E. shore in the N. E.
1/4 of Sect. 9, T. 49, R. 23, 4th M., and is generally known as Prairie
r. Nicollet called it Little Prairie r.; Long, Savanna r. Its main
branch from the N. E. is now known as Savanna r.; Nicollet called this
West Savannah r. to distinguish it from that branch of the St. Louis
r. which he designated East Savannah r., and accentuate the relations
of the two. For it must be known that these rivers of the
Mississippian basin connect so closely with certain branches of the
St. Louis, in the Lake Superior basin, that they were formerly of the
utmost importance as waterways between the two great systems, and as
such were greatly used by the early voyageurs. The N. W. Co. house
where Pike was entertained stood on the W. shore of Sandy l., next to
the Mississippi. Pike marks the site on his map, and gives it as 11/4 m.
S. of the discharge of the lake into the short thoroughfare by which
this reaches the Mississippi. There are existing remains of old
settlements in various positions further south. A trail from the
Indian village struck the Mississippi r. in the S. E. 1/4 of Sect. 4, T.
49, R. 24. When David Thompson was here in 1798, he made the fort to
be lat. 46 deg. 46' 39" N., long. 93 deg. 20' W. It was a point of commercial
and even political importance long before Pike's day--it was such at
the pivotal date, 1763, in the history of French-English occupancy of
the Upper Mississippi. At the discharge of the lake into the
Mississippi on the N. side, in the center of Sect. 25, T. 50, R. 24,
is a small sharp point; this was the site of a post of the Amer. Fur
Co. of which Schoolcraft speaks in 1832; Palmburg was and Libby is
there now. It would be a pity if the government dam now constructing
on the outlet should convert this beautiful sheet of water into such a
dismal cesspool as Lake Winnibigoshish has become since that was
dammed; but lumberjacks prevail in northern Minnesota by a large
majority, and logging-booms have nothing in common with scenic
effects.

[II-50] In the summer of 1802, the Morrison party, consisting of William
Morrison, the brothers Michael and Antoine Cheniers, John McBean, one
Bouvin, and one Grignon, came into the country in the service of the
X. Y. Co. (Richardson & Co.), in opposition to the N. W. Co. The
genuine Morrison letter elsewhere cited, in connection with the
discovery of the Mississippian source, says: "I found ... Sayers at
Leech Lake, Cotton at Fond du Lac, _and Bousquai at Sandy Lake_." The
latter is no doubt Pike's "Charles Brusky." The name stands Bousky in
Pike's text of 1807, p. 34. The Rev. Mr. Neill, Minn. Hist. Coll., V.
1885, p. 451, speaks of the visit of David Thompson, May 6th, 1798, to
Sandy Lake, adding, "where the post was in charge of Mr. Bruske"
(Bruske in the index).

[II-51] See note 49, p. 137, for Willow r. Pike calls it "Leech Lake
river" in this place, not because that was then or ever has been its
name, but because it was on the route he was going to take from Sandy
l. to Leech l. He flatters our intelligence further by giving us a
perfectly blind snow-shoe trail, for the most part 'cross lots,
without a single compass-point, with wild mileage or none, and not
even a geographical hint, from the 20th to the 26th. He takes it for
granted that we know all about the swamps of N. Minnesota in
midwinter. Luckily, we are not without the means of bringing him to
book. He continues on the Willow River route toward Leech l. with his
whole party till the morning of the 26th, when he leaves the party to
follow up that route, and goes himself with Boley and the Indian to
Mr. Grant's house "on the Mississippi." The Mississippi is a pretty
long river, but it happens that we can discover where Mr. Grant's was
in 1805: see Pike's map, place marked "N. W. C^o.", on the right bank
(W. side) of the river, a little below the place marked "Ripple." This
was directly opposite the present town of Grand Rapids, Itasca Co., 3
m. below Pokegama Falls. The air-line distance from the outlet of
Sandy l. to Grand Rapids is supposed to be 32-1/5 m.; by the way Pike
went perhaps 40-45 m. The course is about N. N. W. This cuts off a
considerable segment from the winding course of the Mississippi, which
makes a large elbow eastward. Pike subtends this bend; having crossed
the Mississippi near Sandy l., and thus continued across what he calls
the "portage" to Willow r., he goes up this, not far from parallel
with the Mississippi, till Willow r. bears more to the left; when he
leaves it to continue his course to Mr. Grant's house, having the
Mississippi on his right, but at several (say 5 to 10) miles'
distance, representing the amount of cut-off he makes. On the 26th,
with Boley and an Indian, he forges ahead of his party, who do not get
up to Grant's house till the evening of the 28th, though he is there
on the night of the 26th with the Indian, and Boley comes up on the
morning of the 27th. That section of the Mississippi which Pike thus
avoids may be passed over briefly, as it offers little of interest.
There are some rapids above Sandy l. Three of these are duly charted
by Nicollet, being his lower, middle, and upper "Small" rapids,
respectively now known as Ox-portage, Crooked, and Pine rapids. The
first of these are in Sect. 2, T. 50, R. 24, 4th M.: the others in the
next township above, of the same range. By far the most important
tributary of the Mississippi in this portion of its course is Swan r.,
which falls in from the E. in Sect. 9, T. 52, R. 24, 4th M., 11/4 m.
(direct) south of the boundary line between Aitkin and Itasca cos.,
which here runs on the line between T. 52 and T. 53. The Duluth and
Winnipeg R. R. from Duluth meanders the St. Louis r. as far as
Floodwood, continues N. W. to Wawana, along some tributaries of
Floodwood r., to the divide between Laurentian and Mississippian
waters in the vicinity of Swan r. The latter is marked "Wild Swan R."
on the U. S. Engineers' chart--which is well enough, as all the swans
in that country are wild, though this name apparently arose from
misunderstanding the legend "W. Swan R." on Nicollet's map. This
stands for _West_--not Wild--Swan r., and Nicollet meant by it to
contrast this stream with that tributary of the St. Louis which he
called East Swan r. At a distance of 61/2 air-line miles, but fully 14
m. by the meanders of the Mississippi, above the mouth of Swan r., a
small stream comes in from the W., nearly if not exactly on the common
corner of Sects. 21, 22, 27 and 28 of T. 53, R. 24, 4th M. This is
Split Hand r.--the Cut Hand cr. of Nicollet and of Owen, draining from
a lake of the same incisive name, from Willibob l., and some others,
all of which lie southeastward of the large Lake Pokegama. This is the
stream called by Beltrami Singonki-sibi or Marten r. Above Split Hand
r. are several streams on either hand. The one which I take to be
Nicollet's Blueberry cr. falls in from the E. in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect.
21, T. 54, R. 24, 4th M., 3/4 of a mile due S. of a considerable hill in
the next section above, and 3 m. due E. of Hale l.--that little lake
which is at the tip of the longest eastward finger of Lake Pokegama.
Ascending the Mississippi still, we next come to Trout r. or cr., from
the E., whose mouth falls in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 5 of the township
just said. This has held its present name since the days of
Schoolcraft and Allen, though Beltrami called it Namago-sibi. Here we
are already approaching Grand Rapids, where we shall find Pike: for
the many important features of that vicinity see next note.

[II-52] I do not know that the exact site of Grant's N. W. Co. House has
been recovered of late years; but there is no question of its location
nearly or directly opposite the town of Grand Rapids, somewhere in the
S. 1/2 of Sect. 21, T. 55, R. 25, 4th M. It doubtless stood on the first
rising ground from the river--most probably, as I think, on the knoll
that overlooks that curious expansion of the Mississippi into a pair
of ponds or one small lake of hour-glass shape, across the constricted
part of which the river flows. Grand Rapids is the seat of Itasca Co.,
and has become quite a town of late years, at least in comparison with
any others for many miles thereabouts. It stands across the mouth of a
small creek, whose name, if it have one, I could not learn, even when
I was on the spot. It discharges from several small lakes. The rapids
from which the town takes its name are not particularly "grand." Pike
calls them a "ripple." "_Kakabikons_ (or simply _Kabikons_) rapids, as
I have laid them down on the map, have a fall of 9 feet in a distance
of 80 yards," Nicollet, Rep. 1843, p. 63. The volatile Beltrami calls
them "Sassicy-Woenne, or Thundering Rapids," II. p. 455. The Engineer
chart marks the rapids 1247 below and 1252 above--a difference of only
5 feet. At the direct distance of 21/2 m. below (E. S. E. of) the town
is a village called La Prairie, of no consequence in itself, but
occupying a notable place. This is the mouth of a comparatively large
river, charted by Pike as "Meadow R. navigable for Bark Canoes 100 M."
Long also maps it as Meadow r.; by Beltrami it is called
Mushkotensoi-sibi or Prairie r., and this last is its present
designation (duplicating the name of one of the tributaries of Sandy
l.: see note 49, p. 138). It is the translation of the Indian word
which Nicollet in this connection renders Mashkudens, and which occurs
in many forms, as Mascouten, Muscatine, etc. About 2 m. S. W. of Grand
Rapids is Horseshoe l., one of the many small bodies of water which
hover like satellites about Lake Pokegama: see next note. The D. and
W. R. R. keeps on the N. side of the Mississippi, from La Prairie
through Grand Rapids to Cohasset and Deer River, its present terminus.

[II-53] Jan. 29th and 30th are not entered in the diary, and there is
intrinsic evidence of confusion in Pike's notes. Observe the statement
made under "Feb. 1st" that Pike reached Leech l. at 2.30 p. m.,
crossed it to the house and arrived there about 3 p. m.--12 m. in
about half an hour, an obvious impossibility. Observe also that Boley
was his only soldier according to Jan. 26th and 27th; but that Miller
was the man with him on the 28th and later days. What became of Boley
and where did Miller come from? We have not a word about the main
party; in fact we are never told by what route they reached Leech
l.--simply that they got there five days after Pike, at 4 p. m., Feb.
6th: see that date. Fortunately the early text of 1807, pp. 37-40,
clears the whole matter up, as follows: "After the whole party had
arrived at this lodge [Grant's house, evening of _Jan. 28th_], Mr.
Pike determined to proceed on to the head of the river [Leech l.],
accompanied by one of his young men, named Miller. He left the camp on
the morning of the _29th_, when it was snowing very fast," etc.,
reached Pokegama falls at 1 p. m.; soon after found three deserted
Chippewa lodges, and "a fine parcel of split wood"; cut down three
balsam-firs to make a shelter, and camped. _Jan. 30th_, passed through
the "dismal cypress swamp," found Mr. Grant's cut-off and reached the
inhospitable Chippewas, who were living at or near White Oak pt. (All
this is given on the 28th in the above text; this is where the break
was made, though there is no break in the week-days, for the entry
"Tuesday, Jan. 28th," covers that day, Wednesday 29th, and Thursday
30th, as shown by what I have bracketed in the text.) _Jan. 31st_,
Pike and Miller continued on from White Oak pt. and went past the
mouth of the Leech Lake fork to some point on that fork, described
above as "one mile below [_i. e._ beyond] the traverse of the meadow,"
in the 1807 text as "a mile above the meadow"; camped there. _Feb.
1st_, reached Leech l. "a little after midday," p. 39 of the 1807
text, agreeing with 2.30 p. m. of above text well enough; across the
lake it was "12 miles" to the establishment of the North West Company,
at _which they arrived about ten o'clock in the evening_. "The gates
were locked," etc., p. 40.

[II-54] Pike has now (Jan. 29th and 30th) gone up the Mississippi from
Grand Rapids to White Oak pt.--not following the river exactly, but
taking the cut-off Mr. Grant marked for him. The air-line distance is
about 13 m. Supposing him to have taken something like the usual
trail, he went as follows: At 3 m. direct above Grand Rapids, 4 m. by
the river, he passed Pokegama falls at 1 p. m., Jan. 29th. This is a
place where the Mississippi drops about 15 feet over a granular quartz
ridge: Pike maps it "Falls of Pakagama 20 F^t. Portage 200 yards."
It is naturally one of the best known points on the river in this
vicinity. It is visible in part from the car window as you go by on
the railroad, but the dam which has been built just above is a more
conspicuous object from that point of view. Nicollet calls the
cataract Kabikons or Little falls, and more fully Kakabikons or
Little-severed Rock falls. At 31/4 m. by the river, above these falls,
is the discharge of Lake Pokegama itself. This is by far the largest
body of water in the vicinity, having an extreme length of 13 m.; but
its form is so irregular, something like a hand with spread-out
fingers, that its actual shore-line is very much greater; and a number
of smaller sheets of water are dotted about it on all sides. Two of
the largest of these are Sisibakwet and Rice lakes. Nicollet renders
Pakegomag, "a name applied by the Chippeways to all sheets of water in
the vicinity of a river," Rep. 1843, p. 63. Schoolcraft says
Peckagama, Allen Pecagama, Owen Pokegoma; Packegamau, and I suppose a
dozen more forms of the word, are found; Beltrami has Pakegamanaguen
or Hook l.; the form I use seems to be most frequent now. The accent
is on the antepenult--Pokeg'-ama. A mile or so below the mouth of this
lake Bass brook falls in from the north, discharging from Bass and
other lakes; the town of Cohasset is at its mouth. The trail now
crosses, or lately did cross, the Mississippi from S. E. to N. W. in
this vicinity. It continues westward, past two overflows of the river
known as Backwater and Cut-off lakes, respectively, on one side and
the other of the Mississippi, continues to a small lake which I
suppose to be one of those so said by Pike above, and then strikes for
the larger lake he speaks of. This traverse leaves the Mississippi
several miles to the left as you go west; for the river makes an
extensive sharp bend S., and there receives Vermilion r. (Wanomon r.
on Nicollet's map) from the S., at the bight of this bend. Exactly 21/4
m. below the mouth of Vermilion r. is the discharge of Lake
Kabukasagetewa (as the name is rendered on the Warner and Foote map).
The "large lake" of the above text is evidently that known to the
voyageurs as Lac aux Chenes, whence our Oak l., also White Oak l.;
from the head of which to Pointe aux Chenes, now Oak pt. or White Oak
pt. (Red-oak Point, Nic., p. 63), is exactly 21/2 m. This is clearly the
place where the good Samaritan Chippewa and his amiable family
resided, close by the mouth of Deer r., which Pike charts by this
name, and which is still so called. This falls in from the N. through
another White Oak l., also called Deer, also Stephen's. Notice that
_this last_ (Deer r.) is the stream Beltrami erroneously calls
Onomonikana-sibi or Vermilion r., as he fetches it in on the N., both
in text and on his map.

_Addendum to the above._ I found when at Deer River that the
nomenclature of the natives does not agree with that on our best maps
regarding the lake to be called "White Oak." The first White Oak l. of
the above note, and of all our modern maps--the one which Pike comes
to before he reaches White Oak pt.--is a small one 11/2 x 3/4 m., lying
chiefly in Sects. 3 and 10 of T. 55, R. 27, 4th M., and through it
goes one but not the other of the two courses into which the
Mississippi is here widely divided. The people never call this White
Oak l., but apply that name to the much larger one through which Deer
r. discharges above White Oak pt.--the Deer l. of Nicollet, Stephen's
lake of our maps. This is a pear-shaped body of water 23/4 m. in extreme
length, with a greatest breadth of over a mile at its lower end. It
lies mainly in Sects. 1, 2, and 12 of T. 144, R. 25, 5th M., but with
the butt end overrunning into T. 56, R. 27, 4th M., and both the inlet
and the outlet of Deer r. being in the latter township. It is thus
entirely off Pike's trail, N. and W. of White Oak pt. This lake
discharges into a loop of the Mississippi by a short thoroughfare of 1/2
a mile, ending close above White Oak pt., in the N. E. 1/4 of Sect. 13,
T. 144, R. 25, 5th M. The miserable hamlet of Deer River--as vile a
place as it was ever my bad luck to discover--lies W. of Deer r., and
a mile or more N. of White Oak l. Here is the terminus of the D. and
W. R. R., a siding of which runs down to the lake at a point 1/2 a mile
W. of the inlet of Deer r., where a pier is built. On crossing the
lake to get into and go up the Mississippi the usual route is through
the outlet and thence _down_ the Mississippi for nearly a mile, to get
into a long, straight cut-off which avoids some great bends. But there
is a shorter way still, if one can find it, as I did on coming
down--an obscure point directly opposite the pier, in the reeds, where
a canoe can be pushed through into the nearest bend, and so save more
than a mile. A fact which may have originated or perpetuated the above
noted confusion of names is that, above this _large_ White Oak or
Stephen's l. there is a point of hard-wood called Little White Oak
pt., occupying a position with reference to the larger lake like that
which the original Pointe aux Chenes or Oak pt. bears to the lesser
lake. A glance at the Engineer chart, or at such a good map as
Jewett's, on the scale of 2 m. to the inch, will give a clearer idea
of these points than the most elaborate description is likely to
convey.

[II-55] "Chewockomen," as well as the "Chewockmen" of the 1807 ed., is
far from any recognized or acceptable spelling of the Chippewa word,
one fairly good form of which is _Kitchimokomen_. Schoolcraft has
Chimoquemon. It means Big Knives or Long Knives, and is commonly so
translated, the reference being either to the swords of the officers
or the bayonets of the soldiers, which have often struck Indians
forcibly, both in a literal and in a figurative sense. Kitchimokomen
corresponds to the Sioux name _Isantanka_, of the same meaning and
application.

[II-56] On leaving White Oak pt. on the morning of Jan. 31st, Pike and
Miller proceeded approximately up the course of the Mississippi to the
"fork" above said, _i. e._, the confluence of Leech Lake fork with the
main stream. This stretch, which Pike calls "nearly 15 miles long," is
just 6 m. in an air-line, and not much more by the trail. The
Mississippi here flows through "meadows," as Pike correctly says;
these meadows are in part what Nicollet named Eagle Nest savannah. It
is absolutely flat and low marshy ground, alternating with haying
fields, extending widely on both sides of the river, S. and W. of
White Oak l. Little White Oak pt. reaches the river in a narrow tongue
of higher ground, from the N., while higher up several bends of the
river abut against woodland on the S. Throughout this reach the river
is exceeding tortuous; its bends are, moreover, so connected with
collateral channels, in part natural and in part artificial, that the
stream is virtually double and incloses a series of large islands in
its sinuous folds. Some of these thoroughfares float the steamboats
that ply on the river to transport the hay; others are mere ditches,
through which only canoes can be shoved. Two m. below (N. N. E. of)
the Leech Lake fork, the Mississippi receives an important affluent,
namely, the discharge of Ball Club l., which enters at about the
middle of the S. border of Sect. 31, T. 145, R. 25, 5th M., and thus
only about 4 m. due W. of Deer River (town). The difference in level
between this lake and the river is so slight that sometimes, when the
latter is full, it backs up into the former. Ball Club is a pretty
large lake--6 m. long, usually called 7, and 1 to 2 m. broad in
different places, with its long axis about N. W. and S. E.; its shape
is not very well delineated on the Engineer chart, being not elbowed
enough. The outlet is from the lower broad end, in the same Sect. in
which it joins the Mississippi, and is thus less than 1 m. long
(little over 1/2 m.). This lake is notable because it is the usual and
direct route up to Little Lake Winnibigoshish and so on, to avoid the
more circuitous course of the Mississippi itself. You traverse the
main axis of the lake from its outlet N. W. to its head, and there
make a portage of a mile or so over into Little Lake Winnibigoshish.
"Ball Club," the now universal name of this body of water, is a term
which translates the F. La Crosse; Schoolcraft renders once Lac a la
Crose; Pike has Lac Le Crosse and Le Cross. Schoolcraft has in another
place Bogottowa l., which aboriginal name is rendered Bagatwa by
Beltrami, Pagadowan by Nicollet, by others Pagadawin, etc. All these
names refer to the celebrated game of ball, which the learned
Anglojibway Warren calls _baugahudoway_. Several streams feed this
lake; one of them comes in at the head, from a small lake which
Schoolcraft named Helix l., from the abundance of its snails of that
genus. To return from this excursus to Pike at the mouth of the Leech
Lake fork, up which he goes: This is of course a definite and
well-known point, exactly on the dividing line between the S. W. 1/4 of
Sect. 7, T. 144, R. 25, and the S. E. 1/4 of Sect. 12, T. 144, R. 26,
5th M. I had a good view of the confluence from a bit of high bank on
the left or N. side of the Mississippi, looking across the mazes of
marsh and meadow land through which both streams meander to their
junction. Leech Lake r. is a very large branch of the Mississippi,
deserving the name of "fork" which Pike applies; he also calls it the
South, and the Sang Sue branch or fork. Beltrami essays the Chippewa
name, as Cazaguaguagine-sibi. Inasmuch as Pike considered this river
to be the main stream, I propose to designate Leech Lake and its
feeders and discharge as the =Pikean Source=, in distinction from the
Julian, Plantagenian, and Itascan sources we shall discuss beyond.
Passing the Forks, Pike and Miller go up Leech Lake r., Jan. 31st, to
some undetermined point in the vicinity of the largest lake into which
this stream expands, and which Pike calls Muddy l. This is of an oval
figure, about 4 m. long by half as broad; its outlet is 31/4 m. up Leech
Lake r. from the forks. Nicollet named it Lake Bessel, after the
famous scientist--his map fairly glitters with the galaxy of
illustrious names he reflects from the bosoms of lakes in Northern
Minnesota, though I cannot recall an instance in which such academic
nomenclature has been "understanded of the people" and retained in
their speech. The lake in present mention is always called Mud or
Muddy, and is much frequented by the Indians for the eminently
utilitarian purpose of gathering wild rice. I saw a string of their
canoes heading that way Aug. 15th, 1894.




CHAPTER III.

ITINERARY, CONCLUDED: LEECH LAKE TO ST. LOUIS, FEBRUARY 1ST-APRIL
30TH, 1806.


Saturday, Feb. 1st. Left our camp pretty early. Passed a continued
train of prairie, and arrived at Lake La Sang Sue [Leech lake] at
half-past two o'clock. I will not attempt to describe my feelings on
the accomplishment of my voyage, for this is [what was then mistaken
to be] the main source of the Mississippi.[III-1] The Lake Winipie
branch is navigable thence to [Upper] Red Cedar [now Cass] lake, for
the distance of five leagues, which is [very far from being] the
extremity of the navigation. Crossed the lake 12 miles to the
establishment of the N. W. Company, where we arrived about three
o'clock [10 o'clock, p. m.]; found all the gates locked, but upon
knocking were admitted, and received with marked attention and
hospitality by Mr. Hugh M'Gillis. Had a good dish of coffee, biscuit,
butter, and cheese for supper.

_Sunday, Feb. 2d._ Remained all day within doors. In the evening sent
an invitation to Mr. [George] Anderson, who was an agent of Dickson,
and also for some young Indians at his house, to come over and
breakfast in the morning.

_Feb. 3d._ Spent the day in reading Volney's Egypt,[III-2] proposing
some queries to Mr. Anderson, and preparing my young man [Miller] to
return with a supply of provisions to my party.

_Feb. 4th._ Miller departed this morning. Mr. Anderson returned to his
quarters. My legs and ankles were so much swelled that I was not able
to wear my own clothes and was obliged to borrow some from Mr.
M'Gillis.

_Feb. 5th._ One of Mr. M'Gillis' clerks [Roussand or Boussant[III-3]]
had been sent to some Indian lodges and expected to return in four
days, but had now been absent nine. Mr. Grant was dispatched in order
to find out what had become of him.

_Feb. 6th._ My men arrived at the fort about four o'clock.[III-4] Mr.
M'Gillis asked if I had any objections to his hoisting their [British]
flag in compliment to ours. I made none, as I had not yet explained to
him my ideas. In making a traverse of the lake, some of my men had
their ears, some their noses, and others their chins frozen.

_Feb. 7th._ Remained within doors, my limbs being still very much
swelled. Addressed a letter to Mr. M'Gillis on the subject of the N.
W. Company trade in this quarter.[III-5]

_Feb. 8th._ Took the latitude and found it to be 47 deg. 16' 13". Shot
with our rifles.

_Sunday, Feb. 9th._ Mr. M'Gillis and myself paid a visit to Mr.
Anderson, an agent of Mr. Dickson of the Lower Mississippi, who
resided at the west end of the lake.[III-6] Found him eligibly situated
as to trade, but his houses bad. I rode in a cariole for one person,
constructed in the following manner: Boards planed smooth, turned up
in front about two feet, coming to a point, and about 21/2 feet wide
behind; on which is fixed a box covered with dressed skins painted;
this box is open at the top, but covered in front about two-thirds of
the length. The horse is fastened between the shafts. The rider wraps
himself up in a buffalo-robe and sits flat down, having a cushion to
lean his back against. Thus accoutered, with a fur cap, etc., he may
bid defiance to the wind and weather. Upon our return we found that
some of the Indians had already returned from the hunting-camps; also,
Monsieur Roussand [Mr. M'Gillis' clerk of Feb. 5th], the gentleman
supposed to have been killed by the Indians. His arrival with Mr.
Grant diffused a general satisfaction through the fort.

_Feb. 10th._ Hoisted the American flag in the fort. The English yacht
[Jack] still flying at the top of the flagstaff, I directed the
Indians and my riflemen to shoot at it. They soon broke the iron pin
to which it was fastened, and brought it to the ground. Reading
Shenstone, etc.

_Feb. 11th._ The Sweet, Buck, Burnt, etc., arrived, all chiefs of
note, but the former in particular, a venerable old man.[III-7] From him
I learned that the Sioux occupied this ground when, to use his own
phrase, "he was a made man and began to hunt; that they occupied it
the year that the French missionaries were killed at the river
Pacagama." The Indians flocked in.

_Feb. 12th._ Bradley and myself, with Mr. M'Gillis and two of his men,
left Leech Lake at ten o'clock, and arrived at the house at [Upper]
Red Cedar [now Cass[III-8]] Lake, at sunset, a distance of 30 miles. My
ankles were very much swelled and I was very lame. From the entrance
of the Mississippi to the streight is called six miles, S. W.
course. Thence to the south end, S. 30 E. four miles. The bay at the
entrance extends nearly E. and W. six miles; it is about 21/2 from the
north side to a large point. This may be called the upper source of
the Mississippi, being 15 miles above Little Lake Winipie [_i. e._,
Lake Winnibigoshish]; and the extent of canoe navigation only two
leagues to some of the Hudson's Bay waters.

_Feb. 13th._ Were favored with a beautiful day. Took the latitude, and
found it to be 47 deg. 42' 40" N. At this place it was that Mr.
Thompson[III-9] made his observations in 1798, from which he determined
that the source of the Mississippi was in 47 deg. 38'. I walked about
three miles back in the country, at two-thirds water. One of our men
marched to Lake Winepie [_i. e._, Lake Winnibigoshish] and returned by
one o'clock, for the stem of the Sweet's pipe, a matter of more
consequence in his affairs with the Sioux than the diploma of many an
ambassador. We feasted on whitefish [_Coregonus_ sp.], roasted on two
iron grates fixed horizontally in the back of the chimney; the
entrails left in the fish.

_Feb. 14th._ Left the house at nine o'clock. It becomes me here to do
justice to the hospitality of our hosts: one Roy, a Canadian, and his
wife, a Chipeway squaw. They relinquished for our use the only thing
in the house that could be called a bed, attended us like servants,
nor could either of them be persuaded to touch a mouthful until we had
finished our repasts. We made the [Leech Lake] garrison about sundown,
having been drawn at least 10 miles in a sleigh by two small dogs.
They were loaded with 200 pounds, and went so fast as to render it
difficult for the men with snowshoes to keep up with them. The chiefs
asked my permission to dance the calumet-dance, which I granted.

_Feb. 15th._ The Flat Mouth,[III-10] chief of the Leech Lake village,
and many other Indians arrived. Received a letter from Mr.
M'Gillis.[III-11] Noted down the heads of my speech, and had it
translated into French, in order that the interpreter should be
perfectly master of his subject.

_Sunday, Feb. 16th._ Held a council with the chiefs and warriors of
this place and of Red Lake; but it required much patience, coolness,
and management to obtain the objects I desired, viz.: That they should
make peace with the Sioux; deliver up their [British] medals and
flags; and that some of their chiefs should follow me to St.
Louis.[III-12] As a proof of their agreeing to the peace, I directed that
they should smoke out of the [Sioux chief] Wabasha's pipe, which lay
on the table; they all smoked, from the head chief to the youngest
soldier. They generally delivered up their flags with a good grace,
except Flat Mouth, who said he had left both at his camp, three days'
march, and promised to deliver them up to Mr. M'Gillis to be
forwarded. With respect to their returning with me, old Sweet thought
it most proper to return to the Indians of Red lake, Red river, and
Rainy Lake river. Flat Mouth said it was necessary for him to restrain
his young warriors, etc. The other chiefs did not think themselves of
sufficient consequence to offer any reason for not following me to St.
Louis, a journey of between 2,000 and 3,000 miles through hostile
tribes of Indians. I then told them, "that I was sorry to find that
the hearts of the Sauteurs of this quarter were so weak; that the
other nations would say, 'What! were there no soldiers at Leech, Red,
and Rainy Lakes who had the hearts to carry the calumet of their chief
to their father?'" This had the desired effect. The Bucks and Beaux
[_sic_--both pl.], two of the most celebrated young warriors, rose and
offered themselves to me for the embassy; they were accepted, adopted
as my children, and I was installed their father. Their example
animated the others, and it would have been no difficult matter to
have taken a company; two, however, were sufficient. I determined that
it should be my care never to make them regret the noble confidence
placed in me; for I would have protected their lives with my own.
Beaux is brother to Flat Mouth. Gave my new soldiers a dance and a
small dram. They attempted to get more liquor, but a firm and
peremptory denial convinced them I was not to be trifled with.

_Feb. 17th._ The chief of the land[III-13] brought in his flag and
delivered it up. Made arrangements to march my party the next day.
Instructed Sweet how to send the parole to the Indians of Red river,
etc. Put my men through the manual, and fired three blank rounds, all
of which not a little astonished the Indians. I was obliged to give my
two new soldiers each a blanket, pair of leggins, scissors, and
looking-glass.

_Feb. 18th._ We[III-14] marched for [Lower] Red Cedar Lake about eleven
o'clock, with a guide provided for me by Mr. M'Gillis; were all
provided with snowshoes. Marched off amid the acclamations and shouts
of the Indians, who generally had remained to see us take our
departure. Mr. Anderson promised to come on with letters; he arrived
about twelve o'clock and remained all night. He concluded to go down
with me to see Mr. Dickson.

_Feb. 19th._ Bradley, Mr. L'Rone [?], the two young Indians [Buck and
Beau], and myself, left Mr. M'Gillis' at ten o'clock; crossed Leech
Lake in a S. E. direction 24 miles. Mr. M'Gillis' hospitality deserves
to be particularly noticed; he presented me with his dogs and cariole,
valued in this country at $200. One of the dogs broke out of his
harness, and we were not able during that day to catch him again; the
other poor fellow was obliged to pull the whole load--at least 150
pounds. This day's march was from lake to lake.[III-15]

_Feb. 20th._ I allowed my men to march at least three hours before me;
notwithstanding which, as it was cold and the road good, my sleigh
dogs brought me ahead of all by one o'clock. Halted for an encampment
at half past two o'clock. Our courses this day were S. E. six miles,
then S. 18 miles, almost all the way over lakes, some of which were
six miles across. Encamped on the bank of a lake called Sandy
Lake.[III-16] Indians were out hunting.

_Feb. 21st._ Traveled this day generally S. Passed but two lakes;
Sandy Lake, which is of an oblong form, N. and S. four miles, and one
other small one. The Indians, at the instigation of Mr. L'Rone,
applied for him to accompany us. I consented that he should go as far
as [Lower] Red Cedar Lake. I then wrote a note to M'Gillis upon the
occasion. After Reale had departed with it, L'Rone disclosed to me
that it was his wish to desert the N. W. Company entirely, and
accompany me. To have countenanced for a moment anything of this kind,
I conceived would have been inconsistent with every principle of
honor; I therefore obliged him to return immediately. We then had no
guide, our Indians not knowing the road. Our course was through woods
and bad brush, 15 miles.

_Feb. 22d._ Our course a little to the S. of E., through woods not
very thick. Arrived at White Fish Lake[III-17] at eleven o'clock, and
took an observation. My party crossed this lake and encamped between
two lakes. This may be called the source of Pine river. At this place
has been one of the N. W. Company's establishments at the N. E. and S.
side. It was a square stockade of about 50 feet, but at this time
nearly all consumed by fire. Also one standing over the point on the
E. side.

_Sunday, Feb. 23d._ My two Indians, Boley, and myself, with my sleigh
and dogs, left the party under an idea that we should make [Lower] Red
Cedar lake. We marched hard all day, without arriving at the
Mississippi. Our course was nearly due east until near night, when we
changed more south. Took no provision or bedding. My Indians killed 15
partridges, some nearly black, with a red mark over their eyes, called
the savanna partridge [Canada grouse or spruce partridge, _Dendragapus
canadensis_]. Overtaken about noon by two of Mr. Anderson's men, named
Brurie and [Blank], Mr. Anderson himself not being able to come.
Distance 30 miles.

_Feb. 24th._ We started early, and after passing over one of the worst
roads in the world, found ourselves on a lake about three o'clock;
took its outlet [Dean creek] and struck the Mississippi about one mile
below the [Chippewa] canoes mentioned on Jan. 1st, by which I knew
where we were. Ascended the Mississippi about four miles, and encamped
on the west side [about the mouth of Hay creek[III-18]]. Our general
course this day was nearly S., when it should have been S. E. My
young warriors were still in good heart, singing and showing every
wish to keep me so. The pressure of my racket-strings brought the
blood through my socks and mockinsons, from which the pain I marched
in may be imagined.

_Feb. 25th._ We marched and arrived at [Lower Red] Cedar lake before
noon; found Mr. Grant and De Breche, chief of Sandy lake
[Chippewas[III-19]] at the house. This gave me much pleasure, for I
conceive Mr. Grant to be a gentleman of as much candor as any with
whom I made an acquaintance in this quarter, and the chief, De Breche,
is reputed to be a man of better information than any [other] of the
Sauteurs.

_Feb. 26th._ Sent one of Mr. Grant's men down with a bag of rice to
meet my people; he found them encamped on the Mississippi. Wrote a
letter[III-20] to Mr. Dickson on the subject of the Fols Avoins [Folle
Avoine or Menomonee Indians]; also, some orders to my sergeant
[Kennerman, at the stockade on Swan river]. This evening I had a long
conversation with De Breche; he informed me that a string of wampum
had been sent among the Chipeways, he thought by the British
commanding officer at St. Joseph. He appeared to be a very intelligent
man.

_Feb. 27th._ The chief called the White Fisher and seven Indians
arrived at the house. My men also arrived about twelve o'clock.

_Feb. 28th._ We left [Lower] Red Cedar lake about eleven o'clock, and
went to where the canoes were [near Dean creek], mentioned in my
journal of Jan. 1st. My young Indians [Buck and Beau] remained behind
under the pretense of waiting for the chief De Breche, who returned to
Sandy Lake for his [British] flag and medals, and was to render
himself at my post with Mr. Grant about the 15th of the following
month.

_Mar. 1st._ Departed early. Passed our encampment of Dec. 31st at nine
o'clock. Passed Pine river at twelve o'clock. Passed our encampment of
Dec. 30th at three o'clock. Passed our encampment of Dec. 29th just
before we came to our present, which we made on the point of the Pine
Ridge below. Distance 43 miles.[III-21]

_Sunday, Mar. 2d._ Passed our encampment of Dec. 28th at ten o'clock,
that of Dec. 27th at one o'clock, and encamped at that of Dec. 26th
[Brainerd]. Found wood nearly sufficient for our use. This morning
dispatched Bradley to the last place we had buried a barrel of flour
[Dec. 20th, a short distance below Crow Wing river], to thaw the
ground and hunt. This day a party of Indians struck the river behind
Bradley and before us, but left it 10 miles above Raven [Crow Wing]
river.

_Mar. 3d._ Marched early; passed our Christmas encampment at sunrise.
I was ahead of my party in my cariole. Soon afterward I observed a
smoke on the W. shore. I hallooed, and some Indians appeared on the
bank. I waited until my interpreter came up; we then went to the camp.
They proved to be a party of Chipeways, who had left the encampment
the same day we left it. They presented me with some roast meat, which
I gave my sleigh dogs. They then left their camp and accompanied us
down the river. We passed our encampment of Dec. 24th at nine
o'clock, of the 23d at ten o'clock, and of the 22d at eleven o'clock;
here the Indians crossed over to the W. shore; arrived at the
encampment of Dec. 21st at twelve o'clock, where we had a barrel of
flour [cached Dec. 20th, short of Crow Wing river].

I here found Corporal Meek and another man from the post [on Swan
river], from whom I heard that the men were all well; they confirmed
the account of a Sioux having fired on a sentinel; and added that the
sentinel had first made him drunk and then turned him out of the tent;
upon which he fired on the sentinel and ran off, but promised to
deliver himself up in the spring. The corporal informed me that the
sergeant [Kennerman] had used all the elegant hams and saddles of
venison which I had preserved to present to the commander-in-chief and
other friends; that he had made away with all the whisky, including a
keg I had for my own use, having publicly sold it to the men, and a
barrel of pork; that he had broken open my trunk and sold some things
out of it, traded with the Indians, gave them liquor, etc.; and this,
too, contrary to my most pointed and particular directions. Thus,
after I had used in going up the river with my party the strictest
economy, living upon two pounds of frozen venison a day, in order that
we might have provision to carry us down in the spring, this fellow
was squandering the flour, pork, and liquor during the winter, while
we were starving with hunger and cold. I had saved all our corn,
bacon, and the meat of six deer, and left it at Sandy Lake, with some
tents, my mess-boxes, salt, tobacco, etc., all of which we were
obliged to sacrifice by not returning the same route we went; we had
consoled ourselves at this loss by the flattering idea that we should
find at our little post a handsome stock preserved--how mortifying the
disappointment!

We raised our barrel of flour and came down to the mouth of the little
[Nokasippi] river, on the E., which we had passed on Dec. 21st. The
ice covered with water.

_Mar. 4th._ Proceeded early. Passed our encampment of Dec. 20th at
sunrise. Arrived at that of the 19th [read 17th] at nine o'clock; here
we had buried two barrels.[III-22] Made a large fire to thaw the ground.
Went on the prairie and found Sparks, one of my hunters, and brought
him to the river at the Pine Camp [of Dec. 14th, 15th, 16th, vicinity
of Olmsted's bar]. Passed on opposite our encampment of Dec. 13th [at
or near Topeka], and encamped where Sparks and some men had an old
hunting-camp, and where Fresaie, a Chipeway chief, surrounded them.

_Mar. 5th._ Passed all the encampments [Dec. 12th, 11th, 10th, 9th]
between Pine creek and the post, at which we arrived about ten
o'clock.[III-23] I sent a man on ahead to prevent the salute I had
before ordered by letter [of Feb. 28th]; this I had done from the idea
that the Sioux chiefs would accompany me. Found all well. Confined my
sergeant. About one o'clock Mr. Dickson arrived, with Killeur Rouge,
his son, and two other Sioux men, with two women who had come up to be
introduced to the Sauteurs they expected to find with me. Received a
letter from [Joseph] Reinville.

_Mar. 6th._ Thomas [Carron[III-24]], the Fols Avoin's first chief,
arrived with ten others of his nation. I made a serious and
authoritative expostulative representation to him of my opinion of the
conduct of Shawonoe, another chief of his nation, who had behaved ill.
Had also a conference with Killeur Rouge and his people. At night
wrote to Messrs. Grant, M'Gillis, and Anderson.

_Mar. 7th._ Held conversations with the Indians. Thomas [Carron], the
Fols Avoin chief, assured me that he would interest himself in
obliging the Puants to deliver up the men who had recently committed
murders on the Ouiscousing and Rock rivers; and if necessary he would
make it a national quarrel, on the side of the Americans. This Thomas
is a fine fellow, of a very masculine figure, noble and animated
delivery, and appears to be very much attached to the Americans. The
Sioux informed me that they would wait until I had determined my
affairs in this country, and then bear my words to the St. Peters.

_Mar. 8th._ The Fols Avoin chief presented me with his pipe to give to
the Sauteurs on their arrival, with assurances of their safety on
their voyage, and his wish for them to descend the river. The Fils de
Killeur Rouge also presented me with his pipe to present to the
Sauteur Indians on their arrival, to make them smoke, and assure them
of his friendly disposition, and that he would wait to see them at Mr.
Dickson's. Thomas made a formal complaint against a Frenchman, by name
Greignor,[III-25] who resided in Green bay, and who he said abused the
Indians, beat them, etc., without provocation. I promised to write to
the commanding officer or Indian agent at Michilimackinac upon the
occasion. The Indians with Mr. Dickson all took their departure.
Hitched my dogs in the sleigh, which drew one of the Indian women down
the ice, to the no little amusement of the others. Went some distance
down the river in order to cut a mast. Cut a pine mast 35 feet long
for my big boat at the prairie [Prairie du Chien]. This day my little
boy broke the cock of my gun; few trifling misfortunes could have
happened which I should have regretted more, as the wild fowl just
began to return on the approach of spring.

_Sunday, Mar. 9th._ I examined into the conduct of my sergeant, and
found that he was guilty; punished him by reduction, etc. Visited the
Fols Avoin lodges and received a present of some tallow. One of my men
arrived from the hunting-camp with two deer.

_Mar. 10th._ Was visited by the Fols Avoin chief and several others of
his nation. This chief was an extraordinary hunter; to instance his
power, he killed 40 elk and a bear in one day, chasing the former from
dawn to eve. We were all busied in preparing oars, guns, mast, etc.,
by the time the ice broke up, which was opening fast.

_Mar. 11th._ In a long conversation with a Reynard, he professed not
to believe in an hereafter; but he believed that the world would all
be drowned by water at some future period; he asked how it was to be
repeopled. In justice to his nation, however, I must observe that his
opinion was singular.[III-26]

_Mar. 12th._ Made preparations; had a fine chase with deer on the ice;
killed one. Since our return I have received eight deer from our camp.

_Mar. 13th._ Received two deer from my hunting-camp. Went out with my
gun on the opposite side of the river. Ascended the mountain which
borders the prairie. On the point of it I found a stone on which the
Indians had sharpened their knives, and a war-club half finished. From
this spot you may extend the eye over vast prairies with scarcely any
interruption but clumps of trees, which at a distance appeared like
mountains, from two or three of which the smoke rising in the air
denoted the habitation of the wandering savage, and too often marked
them out as victims to their enemies; from whose cruelty I have had
the pleasure in the course of the winter and through a wilderness of
immense extent to relieve them, as peace has reigned through my
mediation from the prairie Des Cheins to the lower Red river. If a
subaltern with but 20 men, at so great a distance from the seat of his
government, could effect so important a change in the minds of those
savages, what might not a great and independent power effect, if,
instead of blowing up the flames of discord, they exerted their
influence in the sacred cause of peace?

When I returned to the fort, I found the Fols Avoin chief, who
intended to remain all night. He told me that near the conclusion of
the Revolutionary War his nation began to look upon him as a warrior;
that they received a parole from Michilimackinac, on which he was
dispatched with 40 warriors; and that on his arrival he was requested
to lead them against the Americans. To which he replied: "We have
considered you and the Americans as one people. You are now at war;
how are we to decide who has justice on their side? Besides, you white
people are like the leaves on the trees for numbers. Should I march
with my 40 warriors to the field of battle, they with their chief
would be unnoticed in the multitude, and would be swallowed up as the
big water embosoms the small rivulets which discharge themselves into
it. No, I will return to my nation, where my countrymen may be of
service against our red enemies, and their actions renowned in the
dance of our nation."

_Mar. 14th._ Took the latitude by an artificial horizon, and measured
the river. Received one deer and a half from my hunting-camp. Ice
thinner.

_Mar. 15th._ This was the day fixed upon by Mr. Grant and the Chipeway
warriors for their arrival at my fort. I was all day anxiously
expecting them, for I knew that should they not accompany me down, the
peace partially effected between them and the Sioux would not be on a
permanent footing. Upon this I take them to be neither so brave or
generous as the Sioux, who in all their transactions appear to be
candid and brave, whereas the Chipeways are suspicious, consequently
treacherous and of course cowards.

_Sunday, Mar. 16th._ Received three deer from our hunting-camp.
Examined trees for canoes.

_Mar. 17th._ Left the fort with my interpreter [Rousseau] and [Private
Alexander] Roy, in order to visit Thomas, the Fols Avoin chief, who
was encamped, with six lodges of his nation, about 20 miles below us,
on a little [Wolf creek of Pike, now Spunk] river which empties into
the Mississippi on the W. side, a little above Clear river [of Pike,
now the Platte]. On our way down killed one goose, wounded another,
and a deer that the dogs had driven into an air-hole; hung our game on
the trees. Arrived at the creek; took out on it; ascended three or
four miles on one bank, and descended on the other [missing Carron's
camp both ways]. Killed another goose. Struck the Mississippi below
[Spunk river]. Encamped at our encampment of the [13th] of October,
when we ascended the river. Ate our goose for supper. It snowed all
day, and at night a very severe storm arose. It may be imagined that
we spent a very disagreeable night without shelter, and but one
blanket each.

_Mar. 18th._ We marched [up Spunk river], determined to find the
[Menomonee] lodges. Met an Indian whose track we pursued through
almost impenetrable woods for about 21/2 miles to the camp. Here there
was one of the finest sugar-camps I almost ever saw, the whole of the
timber being sugar-tree. We were conducted to the chief's lodge, who
received us in patriarchal style. He pulled off my leggings and
mockinsons, put me in the best place in his lodge, and offered me dry
clothes. He then presented us with syrup of the maple to drink, and
asked whether I preferred eating beaver, swan, elk, or deer; upon my
giving the preference to the first, a large kettle was filled by his
wife, in which soup was made; this being thickened with flour, we had
what I then thought a delicious repast. After we had refreshed
ourselves, he asked whether we would visit his people at the other
lodges, which we did, and in each were presented with something to
eat; by some, with a bowl of sugar; by others, a beaver's tail, etc.
After making this tour we returned to the chief's lodge, and found a
berth provided for each of us, of good soft bearskins nicely spread,
and on mine there was a large feather pillow.

I must not here omit to mention an anecdote which serves to
characterize more particularly their manners. This in the eyes of the
contracted moralist would deform my hospitable host into a monster of
libertinism; but by a liberal mind would be considered as arising from
the hearty generosity of the wild savage. In the course of the day,
observing a ring on one of my fingers, he inquired if it was gold; he
was told it was the gift of one with whom I should be happy to be at
that time; he seemed to think seriously, and at night told my
interpreter, "That perhaps his father" (as they all called me) "felt
much grieved for the want of a woman; if so, he could furnish him with
one." He was answered that with us each man had but one wife, and that
I considered it strictly my duty to remain faithful to her. This he
thought strange, he himself having three, and replied that "He knew
some Americans at his nation who had half a dozen wives during the
winter." The interpreter observed that they were men without
character; but that all our great men had each but one wife. The chief
acquiesced, but said he liked better to have as many as he pleased.
This conversation passing without any appeal to me, as the interpreter
knew my mind on those occasions and answered immediately, it did not
appear as an immediate refusal of the woman. Continued snowing very
hard all day. Slept very warm.

_Mar. 19th._ This morning purchased two baskets of sugar, for the
amount of which I gave orders on Mr. Dickson. After feasting upon a
swan, took our leave for [the Swan river] camp; still snowing. Finding
my two companions [the interpreter and Private Roy] unable to keep up,
I pushed on and arrived at the [Mississippi] river. When I arrived at
the place where I had hung up my first goose [Mar. 17th], I found that
the ravens and eagles had not left a feather; and feasting upon the
deer was a band sufficient to have carried it away, which had picked
its bones nearly clean; what remained I gave my dogs. Stopped at the
place where I expected to find the last goose, but could see nothing
of it; at length I found it hid under the grass and snow, where some
animal had concealed it, after eating off its head and neck. I carried
it to the fort, where I arrived about an hour before sundown.
Dispatched immediately two men with rackets to meet the interpreter
and Le Roy [Private A. Roy]. They arrived about two hours after dark.
Some men also arrived at [from?] the hunting-camp with three deer.
The snow ceased falling about one hour after dark; it was nearly two
feet deep on a level, the deepest that had fallen so low down this
winter.

_Mar. 20th._ Dispatched nine men to my hunting-camp, whence received
two deer. Cloudy almost all day; but the water rose fast over the ice.

_Mar. 21st._ Received a visit from the Fols Avoin chief called the
Shawonoe, and six young men. I informed him without reserve of the
news I had heard of him at [Lower] Red Cedar Lake, and the letter I
wrote to Mr. Dickson. He denied it in toto, and on the contrary said
that he presented his flag and two medals to the Chipeways, as an
inducement for them to descend in the spring; and gave them all the
encouragement in his power. His party was much astonished at the
language I held with him. But from his firm protestations we finally
parted friends. He informed me that a camp of Sauteurs were on the
river, waiting for the chiefs to come down; from which it appeared
they were still expected. At night, after the others had gone, Thomas
arrived and stayed all night. We agreed upon a hunting-party; also
promised to pay old Shawonoe a visit. He informed me that he set out
the other day to follow me, but finding the storm so very bad returned
to his wigwam. The thermometer lower than it has been at any time
since I commenced my voyage.

_Mar. 22d._ Ten of my men arrived from the hunting-camp with 41/2 deer.
Thomas departed; I sent a man with him to his camps, from which he
sent me two beavers.

_Sunday, Mar. 23d._ Agreeably to promise, after breakfast I departed
with Miller and my interpreter to pay a visit to the old chief
Shawonoe. We arrived at his camp in about two hours. On our way we met
the Fols Avoin called Chein Blanche [Chien Blanc], who had visited my
post [Dec. 7th] previously to my starting up the river, and at whose
house we stopped when passing. We were received by old Shawonoe at his
lodge with the usual Indian hospitality, but very different from the
polite reception given us by Thomas.

Charlevoix and others have all borne testimony to the beauty of this
nation. From my own observation, I had sufficient reason to confirm
their information as respected the males; for they were all straight
and well-made, about the middle size; their complexions generally fair
for savages, their teeth good, their eyes large and rather
languishing; they have a mild but independent expression of
countenance, that charms at first sight; in short, they would be
considered anywhere as handsome men. But their account of the women I
never before believed to be correct. In this lodge there were five
very handsome women when we arrived; and about sundown a married pair
arrived, whom my interpreter observed were the handsomest couple he
knew; and in truth they were, the man being about 5 feet 11 inches,
and possessing in an eminent manner all the beauties of countenance
which distinguish his nation. His companion was 22 years old, having
dark brown eyes, jet hair, an elegantly proportioned neck, and her
figure by no means inclined to corpulency, as they generally are after
marriage. He appeared to attach himself particularly to me, and
informed that his wife was the daughter of an American who, passing
through the nation about 23 years before, remained a week or two
possessed of her mother, and that she was the fruit of this amour; but
his name they were unacquainted with. I had brought six biscuits with
me, which I presented her on the score of her being my countrywoman;
this raised a loud laugh, and she was called "the Bostonian"[III-27]
during the rest of my stay.

I found them generally extremely hard to deal with. My provision being
only a little venison, I wished to procure some bear's oil, for a few
gallons of which I was obliged to pay $1 per gallon, and then they
wanted to mix tallow with the oil. They also demanded $10 for a
bearskin, the most beautiful I ever saw, which I wanted to mount a
saddle. Indeed I was informed that traders in this country sometimes
give as much as $16 [apiece] for bearskins, for they are eminently
superior to anything of the kind on the lower Mississippi, and sell in
Europe for double the price. In the evening we were entertained with
the calumet and dog dance; also the dance of the ----. Some of the men
struck the post and told some of their war exploits; but as they spoke
in Menomene, my interpreter could not explain it. After the dance, we
had the feast of the dead, as it is called, at which each two or
three were served with a pan or vessel full of meat, and when all were
ready there was a prayer, after which the eating commenced. Then it
was expected we should eat up our portion entirely, being careful not
to drop a bone, but to gather all up and put them in the dish. We were
then treated with soup. After the eating was finished the chief again
gave an exhortation, which finished the ceremony. I am told they then
gather up all the fragments, and throw them in the water, lest the
dogs should get them. Burning them is considered as sacrilegious. In
this lodge were collected at one time 41 persons, great and small, 17
of whom were capable of bearing arms, besides dogs without number.

_Mar. 24th._ Rose early and with my dog-sled arrived at the fort
before ten o'clock. In the afternoon Mr. Grant arrived with De Breche
[Breche-dent] and some of his young men. Saluted him with 14 rounds.
Found my two young warriors [Buck and Beau] of Leech Lake were brave
enough to return to their homes. Mr. Grant and myself sat up late
talking.

_Mar. 25th._ Sent an Indian to Thomas' lodge, and a letter to Mr.
Dickson. It snowed and stormed all day. Gave the chief the news.

_Mar. 26th._ Thomas, the Fols Avoin chief, arrived with seven of his
men, and old Shawonoe and six of his party. I had them all to feed as
well as my own men. At night I gave them leave to dance in the
garrison, which they did until ten o'clock; but once or twice told me
that if I was tired of them the dance should cease. Old Shawonoe and
White Dog [Chien Blanc] of the Fols Avoins told their exploits, which
we could not understand; but De Breche arose and said, "I once killed
a Sioux and cut off his head with such a spear as I now present to
this Winebago"--at the same time presenting one to a Winebago present,
with whom the Chipeways were at war; this was considered by the former
as a great honor. My hunters went out but killed nothing.

_Mar. 27th._ In the morning the Chipeway chief made a speech and
presented his peace pipe to me to bear to the Sioux, on which were
seven strings of wampum, as authority from seven bands of the
Chipeways either to conclude peace or to make war. As he had chosen
the former, he sent his pipe to the Sioux and requested me to inform
them that he and his people would encamp at the mouth of the Riviere
De Corbeau the ensuing summer, where he would see the United States
flag flying. As a proof of his pacific disposition, the Fols Avoin
chief then spoke and said: "His nation was rendered small by its
enemies; only a remnant was left, but they could boast of not being
slaves; for that always in preference to their women and children
being taken, they themselves killed them. But that their father (as
they called me) had traveled far, and had taken much pains to prevent
the Sioux and Chipeways from killing one another; that he thought none
could be so ungenerous as to neglect listening to the words of their
father; that he would report to the Sioux the pacific disposition of
the Sauteurs, and hoped the peace would be firm and lasting." I then
in a few words informed De Breche "that I would report to the Sioux
all he had said, and that I should ever feel pleased and grateful that
the two nations had laid aside the tomahawk at my request. That I
thanked the Fols Avoin chief for his good wishes and parole which he
had given the Sauteurs." After all this, each chief was furnished with
a kettle of liquor, to drink each other's health; and De Breche's flag
which I had presented him was displayed in the fort. The Fols Avoins
then departed, at which I was by no means displeased; for they had
already consumed all the dry meat I had laid aside for my voyage, and
I was apprehensive that my hunters would not be able to lay up another
supply.

_Mar. 28th._ Late in the afternoon Mr. Grant and the Sauteurs took
their departure, calculating that the Sioux had left the country. Took
with me one of my soldiers and accompanied them to the Fols Avoins
lodge, called the Shawonese, where we ten stayed all night. The Fols
Avoins and Sauteurs had a dance, at which I left them and went to
sleep. Feasted on elk, sugar, and syrup. Previously to the Indians'
departing from my post, I demanded the chief's medal and flags; the
former he delivered, but with a bad grace; the latter he said were in
the lands when I left Lake De Sable (as instructed by the traders I
suppose), and that he could not obtain them. It thundered and
lightened.

_Mar. 29th._ We all marched in the morning, Mr. Grant and party for
Sandy Lake, and I for my hunting-camp. I gave him my spaniel dog. He
joined me again after we had separated about five miles. Arrived at my
hunting-camp about eight o'clock in the morning, and was informed that
my hunters had gone to bring in a deer; they arrived with it, and
about eleven o'clock we all went out hunting. Saw but few deer, out of
which I had the good fortune to kill two. On our arrival at camp found
one of my men at the garrison with a letter from Mr. Dickson. The
soldier informed me that one Sioux had arrived with Mr. Dickson's men.
Although much fatigued, as soon as I had eaten something I took one of
my men and departed for the garrison one hour before sundown. The
distance was 21 miles, and the ice very dangerous, being rotten, with
water over it nearly a foot deep; we had sticks in our hands, and in
many places ran them through the ice. It thundered and lightened, with
rain. The Sioux, not finding the Sauteurs, had returned immediately.

_Sunday, Mar. 30th._ Wrote to Mr. Dickson, and dispatched his man.
Considerably stiff from my yesterday's march. Calked our boats, as the
ice had every appearance of breaking up in a few days. Thus while on
the wing of eager expectation, every day seemed an age. Received 21/2
deer from our hunting-camp.

_Mar. 31st._ Finished calking my boats; the difficulty then was with
me, what I should get to pitch the seams. We were all this day and
next as anxiously watching the ice as a lover would the arrival of the
priest who was to unite him to his beloved. Sometimes it moved a
little, but soon closed. An Indian and his woman crossed it when the
poles which they held in their hands were forced through in many
places. The provision to which I was obliged to restrict myself and
men, viz., two pounds of fresh venison per day, was scarcely
sufficient to keep us alive. Though I had not an extraordinary
appetite, yet I was continually hungry.

[_Apr. 1st._ No entry.]

_Apr. 2d._ Went out and killed one deer and two partridges. The ice
began to move opposite the fort at the foot of the rapids, but dammed
up below. Received half a dozen bears from my hunting-camp. Launched
our canoe and brought her down.

_Apr. 3d._ Sent one man down to see the river, another to the camp,
and took two men myself over the hills on the other side of the
Mississippi to hunt. In the course of the day I killed a swan and a
goose, and we certainly would have killed one or two elk had it not
been for the sleigh-dogs; for we lay concealed on the banks of Clear
river when four came and threw themselves into it opposite, and were
swimming directly to us when our dogs bounced into the water, and they
turned. We then fired on them, but they carried off all the lead we
gave them, and we could not cross the river unless we rafted (it being
bank-full), which would have detained us too long a time. In the
evening it became very cold, and we passed rather an uncomfortable
night.

_Apr. 4th._ Took our course home. I killed one large buck and wounded
another. We made a fire and ate breakfast. Arrived at the fort at two
o'clock. Was informed that the river was still shut below, at the
cluster of [Beltrami's Archipelago, Pike's Beaver, and now the
Thousand] islands. Received some bear-meat and one deer from the camp.

_Apr. 5th._ In the morning dispatched two men down the river in order
to see if it was open. My hunters arrived from the camps. Tallowed my
boats with our candles and launched them; they made considerable
water. The young [son of] Shawonoe arrived in my canoe from above,
with about 1,000 lbs. of fur, which he deposited in the fort. The men
returned and informed me that the river was still shut about 10 miles
below.

_Sunday, Apr. 6th._ Sailed my peroque with Sergeant Bradley [promoted,
_vice_ Kennerman reduced] and two men, to descend the river and see if
it was yet open below. They returned in the afternoon and reported all
clear. I had previously determined to load and embark the next day,
and hoped to find it free by the time I arrived. The Fols Avoin called
the Shawonoe arrived and encamped near the stockade. He informed me
that his nation had determined to send his son down in his place, as
he declined the voyage to St. Louis. All hearts and hands were
employed in preparing for our departure. In the evening the men
cleared out their room, danced to the violin, and sang songs until
eleven o'clock, so rejoiced was every heart at leaving this savage
wilderness.

_Apr. 7th._ Loaded our boats and departed at 40 minutes past ten
o'clock. At one o'clock arrived at Clear river, where we found my
canoe and men. Although I had partly promised the Fols Avoin chief to
remain one night, yet time was too precious, and we put off; passed
the Grand [Sauk] Rapids, and arrived at Mr. Dickson's[III-28] just before
sun-down. We were saluted with three rounds. At night he treated all
my men with a supper and a dram. Mr. Dickson, Mr. Paulier, and myself
sat up until four o'clock in the morning.

_Apr. 8th._ Were obliged to remain this day on account of some
information to be obtained here. I spent the day in making a rough
chart of St. Peters, notes on the Sioux, etc., and settling the
affairs of the Indian department with Mr. Dickson, for whose
communications and those of Mr. Paulier I am infinitely indebted. Made
every necessary preparation for an early embarkation.

_Apr. 9th._ Rose early in the morning and commenced my arrangements.
Having observed two Indians drunk during the night, and finding upon
inquiry that the liquor had been furnished by a Mr. Greignor or
Jennesse [La Jeunesse], I sent my interpreter to them to request they
would not sell any strong drink to the Indians; upon which Mr.
Jennesse demanded the restrictions in writing, which were given to
him.[III-29] On demanding his license it amounted to no more than merely
a certificate that he had paid the tax required by a law of the
Indiana territory on all retailers of merchandise, and was by no
means an Indian license; however, I did not think proper to go into a
more close investigation. Last night was so cold that the water was
covered with floating cakes of ice, of a strong consistence. After
receiving every mark of attention from Messrs. Dickson and Paulier, I
took my departure at eight o'clock. At 4 p. m. arrived at the house of
Mr. Paulier, 25 leagues, to whose brother I had a letter. Was received
with politeness by him and a Mr. Veau [Vean of 1807 text, p. 56] who
had wintered alongside of him, on the very island at which we had
encamped on the night of the [4th?] of October in ascending.

After having left this place some time, we discovered a bark canoe
ahead; we gained on it for some time, when it turned a point about 300
yards before, and on our turning it also, it had entirely disappeared.
This excited my curiosity; I stood up in the barge, and at last
discovered it turned up in the grass of the prairie; but after we had
passed a good gunshot, three savages made their appearance from under
it, launched it in the river, and followed, not knowing of my other
boats, which had just turned the point immediately upon them. They
then came on; and on my stopping for the night at a vacant
trading-house, they also stopped, and addressed me, "_Saggo,
Commandant_," or "Your servant, Captain." I directed my interpreter to
inquire their motives for concealing themselves. They replied that
their canoe leaked, and that they had turned her up to discharge the
water. This I did not believe; and as their conduct was equivocal I
received them rather sternly; I gave them, however, a small dram and
piece of bread. They then re-embarked and continued down the river.

Their conduct brought to mind the visit of Fils de Pinchow to Mr.
Dickson, during the winter; one principal cause of which was that he
wished to inform me that the seven men, whom I mentioned to have met
[Sept. 28th] when crossing the portage of St. Anthony, had since
declared that they would kill him for agreeing to the peace between
the Sioux and the Sauteurs; me for being instrumental in preventing
them from taking their revenge for relations killed by Sauteurs in
August, 1805; and Thomas, the Fols Avoin chief, for the support he
seemed disposed to give me. This information had not made the
impression it ought to have made, coming from so respectable a source
as the first chief of the village; but the conduct of those fellows
put me to the consideration of it. And I appeal to God and my country,
if self-preservation would not have justified me in cutting those
scoundrels to pieces wherever I found them? This my men would have
done, if ordered, amid a thousand of them, and I should have been
supported by the chiefs of the St. Peters, at the mouth of which were
300 warriors, attending my arrival; also [I should have been justified
in cutting to pieces], the rascal who fired on my sentinel last winter
[see Mar. 3d, p. 178]. I dreaded the consequences of the meeting, not
for the present, but for fear the impetuosity of my conduct might not
be approved of by my government, which did not so intimately know the
nature of those savages.

This day, for the first time, we saw the commencement of vegetation;
yet the snow was a foot deep in some places.

_Apr. 10th._ Sailed at half past five o'clock; about seven passed Rum
river, and at eight were saluted by six or seven lodges of Fols
Avoins, among whom was a Mr. [Blank], a clerk of Mr. Dickson's. Those
people had wintered on Rum river, and were waiting for their chiefs
and traders to descend in order to accompany them to the Prairie Des
Chiens. Arrived at the Falls of St. Anthony at ten o'clock. Carried
over all our lading and the canoe to the lower end of the portage, and
hauled our boats up on the bank. I pitched my tents at the lower end
of the encampment, where all the men encamped except the guard, whose
quarters were above.

The appearance of the Falls was much more tremendous than when we
ascended; the increase of water occasioned the spray to rise much
higher, and the mist appeared like clouds. How different my sensations
now, from what they were when at this place before! At that time, not
having accomplished more than half my route, winter fast approaching,
war existing between the most savage nations in the course of my
route, my provisions greatly diminished and but a poor prospect of an
additional supply, many of my men sick and the others not a little
disheartened, our success in this arduous undertaking very doubtful,
just upon the borders of the haunts of civilized men, about to launch
into an unknown wilderness--for ours was the first canoe that had ever
crossed this portage--were reasons sufficient to dispossess my breast
of contentment and ease. But now we have accomplished every wish,
peace reigns throughout the vast extent, we have returned thus far on
our voyage without the loss of a single man, and hope soon to be
blessed with the society of our relations and friends.

The river this morning was covered with ice, which continued floating
all day; the shores were still barricaded with it.

_Apr. 11th._ Although it snowed very hard, we brought over both boats
and descended the river to the [Pike's] island at the entrance of the
St. Peters. I sent to the chiefs and informed them I had something to
communicate to them. Fils de Pinchow immediately waited on me, and
informed me that he would provide a place for the purpose. About
sundown I was sent for and introduced into the council-house, where I
found a great many chiefs of the Sussitongs, Gens des Feuilles, and
Gens du Lac. The Yanctongs had not yet come down. They were all
waiting for my arrival. There were about 100 lodges, or 600 people; we
were saluted on our crossing the river with ball, as usual. The
council-house was two large lodges, capable of containing 300 men. In
the upper were 40 chiefs, and as many pipes set against the poles,
alongside of which I had the Sauteur's pipes arranged. I then informed
them in short detail of my transactions with the Sauteurs; but my
interpreters were not capable of making themselves understood. I was
therefore obliged to omit mentioning every particular relative to the
rascal who fired on my sentinel, and to the scoundrel who broke the
Fols Avoins' canoes and threatened my life. The interpreters, however,
informed them that I wanted some of their principal chiefs to go to
St. Louis; and that those who thought proper might descend to the
prairie [Prairie du Chien], where we would give them more explicit
information. They all smoked out of the Sauteurs' pipes, excepting
three, who were painted black and who were some of those who lost
their relations last winter. I invited Fils de Pinchow and the son of
Killeur Rouge to come over and sup with me; when Mr. Dickson and
myself endeavored to explain what I intended to have said to them,
could I have made myself understood; that at the Prairie we would have
all things explained; that I was desirous of making a better report of
them than Capt. [Meriwether] Lewis could do from their treatment of
him. The former of those savages was the person who remained around my
post all last winter, and treated my men so well; they endeavored to
excuse their people, etc.

_Apr. 12th._ Embarked early. Although my interpreter had been
frequently up the river, he could not tell me where the cave spoken of
by Carver could be found; we carefully sought for it, but in
vain.[III-30] At the Indian village a few miles above [read below: see
note 72, p. 74] St. Peters we were about to pass a few lodges, but
on receiving a very particular invitation to come on shore, we landed
and were received in a lodge kindly; they presented us sugar, etc. I
gave the proprietor a dram, and was about to depart, when he demanded
a kettle of liquor; on being refused, and after I had left the shore,
he told me that he did not like the arrangements and that he would go
to war this summer. I directed the interpreter to tell him that if I
returned to the St. Peters with the troops I would settle that affair
with him. On our arrival at the St. Croix, I found Petit Corbeau
[Little Raven: see note 2, p. 85] with his people, and Messrs.
Frazer and Wood. We had a conference, when Petit Corbeau made many
apologies for the misconduct of his people; he represented to us the
different manners in which his young warriors had been inducing him
to go to war; that he had been much blamed for dismissing his party
last fall, but that he was determined to adhere as far as lay in his
power to our instructions; that he thought it most prudent to remain
here and restrain the warriors. He then presented me with a beaver
robe and pipe, and his message to the general, that he was determined
to preserve peace, and make the road clear; also, a remembrance of his
promised medal. I made him a reply calculated to confirm him in his
good intentions, and assured him that he should not be the less
remembered by his father, although not present.

I was informed that notwithstanding the instruction of his license and
my particular request, Murdoch Cameron [see note 64, p. 66] had
taken liquor and sold it to the Indians on the river St. Peters, and
that his partner below had been equally imprudent. I pledged myself to
prosecute them according to law; for they have been the occasion of
great confusion and of much injury to the other traders.

This day we met a canoe of Mr. Dickson's loaded with provision, under
the charge of Mr. Anderson, brother of Mr. [George] Anderson at Leech
Lake. He politely offered me any provision he had on board, for which
Mr. Dickson had given me an order; but not now being in want I did not
accept of any. This day, for the first time, I observed the trees
beginning to bud, and indeed the climate seemed to have changed very
materially since we passed the Falls of St. Anthony.

_Sunday, Apr. 13th._ We embarked after breakfast. Messrs. Frazer and
Wood accompanied me. Wind strong ahead. They outrowed us--the first
boat or canoe we met with on the voyage able to do it; but then they
were double-manned and light. Arrived at the band of Aile Rouge [Red
Wing: see note 67, p. 69] at two o'clock, where we were saluted as
usual.

We had a council, when he spoke with more detestation of the conduct
of the rascals at the mouth of the St. Peters than any man I had yet
heard. He assured me, speaking of the fellow who had fired on my
sentinel and threatened to kill me, that if I thought it requisite, he
should be killed; but as there were many chiefs above with whom he
wished to speak, he hoped I would remain one day, when all the Sioux
would be down, and I might have the command of a thousand men of them;
that I would probably think it no honor, but that the British used to
flatter them they were proud of having them for soldiers. I replied in
general terms, and assured him it was not for the conduct of two or
three rascals that I meant to pass over all the good treatment I had
received from the Sioux nation; but that in general council I would
explain myself. That as to the scoundrel who fired at my sentinel, had
I been at home the Sioux nation would never have been troubled with
him, for I would have killed him on the spot; but that my young men
did not do it, apprehensive that I would be displeased. I then gave
him the news of the Sauteurs, etc.; that as to remaining one day, it
would be of no service; that I was much pressed to arrive below, as my
general expected me, my duty called me, and the state of my provision
demanded the utmost expedition; that I would be happy to oblige him,
but my men must eat. He replied that, Lake Pepin being yet shut with
ice, if I went on and encamped on the ice it would not get me
provision; that he would send out all his young men the next day; and
that if the other bands did not arrive he would depart the day after
with me. In short, after much talk, I agreed to remain one day,
knowing that the lake was closed and that we could proceed only nine
miles if we went.

This appeared to give general satisfaction. I was invited to different
feasts, and entertained at one by a person whose father had been
enacted a chief by the Spaniards. At this feast I saw a man called by
the French Roman Nose [Nez de Corbeau[III-31]], and by the Indians Wind
that Walks, who was formerly the second chief of the Sioux; but being
the cause of the death of one of the traders, seven years since, he
voluntarily relinquished that dignity, and has frequently requested to
be given up to the whites. But he was now determined to go to St.
Louis and deliver himself up, where he said they might put him to
death. His long repentance and the great confidence of the nation in
him would perhaps protect him from a punishment which the crime
merited. But as the crime was committed long before the United States
assumed its authority, and as no law of theirs could affect it, unless
it were ex post facto and had a retrospective effect, I conceived it
would certainly be dispunishable[III-32] now. I did not think proper,
however, to so inform him. I here received a letter from Mr.
Rollett,[III-33] partner of Mr. Cameron, with a present of some brandy,
coffee, and sugar. I hesitated about receiving those articles from the
partner of the man I intended to prosecute: their amount being
trifling, however, I accepted of them, offering him pay. I assured him
that the prosecution arose from a sense of duty, and not from any
personal prejudice. My canoe did not come up, in consequence of the
head wind. Sent out two men in a canoe to set fishing-lines; the canoe
overset, and had it not been for the timely assistance of the savages,
who carried them into their lodges, undressed them, and treated them
with the greatest humanity and kindness, they must inevitably have
perished. At this place I was informed that the rascal spoken of as
having threatened my life had actually cocked his gun to shoot me from
behind the hills, but was prevented by the others.

_Apr. 14th._ Was invited to a feast by Roman Nose. His conversation
was interesting, and shall be detailed hereafter. The other Indians
had not yet arrived. Messrs. Wood, Frazer, and myself ascended a high
hill called the Barn [or La Grange; see note 68, p. 70], from which
we had a view of Lake Pepin, of the valley through which the
Mississippi by numerous channels wound itself to the St. Croix, the
Cannon river, and the lofty hills on each side.

_Apr. 15th._ Arose very early and embarked about sunrise, much to the
astonishment of the Indians, who were entirely prepared for the
council when they heard I had put off. However, after some
conversation with Mr. Frazer, they acknowledged that it was agreeably
to what I had said, that I would sail early, and that they could not
blame me. I was very positive in my word, for I found it by far the
best way to treat the Indians. Aile Rouge had a beaver robe and pipe
prepared to present, but was obliged for the present to retain it.
Passed through Lake Pepin with my barges; the canoe being obliged to
lie by, did not come on. Stopped at a prairie on the right bank,
descending about nine miles below Lake Pepin. Went out to view some
hills which had the appearance of the old fortifications spoken of [by
Carver: see note of the Grand Encampment, p. 59]; but I will speak
more fully of them hereafter. In these hollows I discovered a flock of
elk; took out 15 men, but we were not able to kill any. Mr. Frazer
came up and passed on about two miles. We encamped together. Neither
Mr. Wood's nor my canoe arrived. Snowed considerably.

_Apr. 16th._ Mr. Frazer's canoes and my boats sailed about one hour by
the sun. We waited some time, expecting Mr. Wood's barges and my
canoe; but hearing a gun fired just above our encampment, we were
induced to make sail. Passed Aile Prairie [Winona: note 57, p. 54],
also La Montagne qui Trompe a [Trempe a] L'eau, the prairie De Cross
[La Crosse], and encamped on the W. shore [at Brownsville], a few
hundred yards below where I had encamped on the [11th] day of
September, in ascending. Killed a goose flying. Shot at some pigeons
at our camp, and was answered from behind an island with two guns; we
returned them, and were replied to by two more. This day the trees
appeared in bloom. Snow might still be seen on the sides of the hills.
Distance 75 miles.

_Apr. 17th._ Put off pretty early and arrived at Wabasha's band at
eleven o'clock, where I [was] detained all day for him [at Upper Iowa
river]; but he alone of all the hunters remained out all night. Left
some powder and tobacco for him. The Sioux presented me with a kettle
of boiled meat and a deer. I here received information that the Puants
had killed some white men below. Mr. Wood's and my canoe arrived.

_Apr. 18th._ Departed from our encampment very early. Stopped to
breakfast at the Painted Rock. Arrived at Prairie Des Cheins at two
o'clock, and were received by crowds on the bank. Took up my quarters
at Mr. Fisher's. My men received a present of one barrel of pork from
Mr. Campbell, a bag of biscuit, 20 loaves of bread, and some meat from
Mr. Fisher. A Mr. Jearreau, from Cahokia, is here, who embarks
to-morrow for St. Louis. I wrote to General Wilkinson by him.[III-34] I
was called on by a number of chiefs, Reynards, Sioux of the Des Moyan
[Des Moines river], etc. The Winebagos were here intending, as I was
informed, to deliver some of the murderers to me. Received a great
deal of news from the States and Europe, both civil and military.

_Apr. 19th._ Dined at Mr. Campbell's in company with Messrs. Wilmot,
Blakely, Wood, Rollet, Fisher, Frazer, and Jearreau. Six canoes
arrived from the upper part of St. Peters, with the Yanctong chiefs
from the head of that river. Their appearance was indeed savage, much
more so than any nation I have yet seen. Prepared my boat for sail.
Gave notice to the Puants that I had business to do with them the next
day. A band of the Gens Du Lac arrived. Took into my pay as
interpreter Mr. Y. [read J.] Reinville.

_Sunday, Apr. 20th._ Held a council with the Puant chiefs, and
demanded of them the murderers of their nation;[III-35] they required
till to-morrow to consider it. I made a written demand of the
magistrates to take depositions concerning the late murders.[III-36] Had
a private conversation with Wabasha.

This afternoon they had a great game of the cross on the prairie,
between the Sioux on the one side, and the Puants and Reynards on the
other. The ball is made of some hard substance and covered with
leather; the cross-sticks are round and net-work, with handles of
three feet long. The parties being ready, and bets agreed upon,
sometimes to the amount of some thousand dollars, the goals are set up
on the prairie at the distance of half a mile. The ball is thrown up
in the middle, and each party strives to drive it to the opposite
goal; when either party gains the first rubber, which is driving it
quick round the post, the ball is again taken to the center, the
ground changed, and the contest renewed; and this is continued until
one side gains four times, which decides the bet. It is an interesting
sight to see two or three hundred naked savages contending on the
plain who shall bear off the palm of victory; as he who drives the
ball round the goal is much shouted at by his companions. It sometimes
happens that one catches the ball in his racket, and depending on his
speed endeavors to carry it to the goal; when he finds himself too
closely pursued he hurls it with great force and dexterity to an
amazing distance, where there are always flankers of both parties
ready to receive it; it seldom touches the ground, but is sometimes
kept in the air for hours before either party can gain the victory. In
the game which I witnessed the Sioux were victorious--more, I believe,
from the superiority of their skill in throwing the ball than by their
swiftness, for I thought the Puants and Reynards the swiftest runners.

_Apr. 21st._ Was sent for by La Feuille, and had a long and
interesting conversation with him, in which he spoke of the general
jealousy of his nation toward their chiefs; and said that although he
knew it might occasion some of the Sioux displeasure, he did not
hesitate to declare that he looked on Nez Corbeau [otherwise Raven
Nose and Roman Nose] as the man of most sense in their nation, and he
believed it would be generally acceptable if he was reinstated in his
rank. Upon my return I was sent for by Red Thunder,[III-37] chief of the
Yanctongs, the most savage band of the Sioux. He was prepared with the
most elegant pipes and robes I ever saw, and shortly declared, "That
white blood had never been shed in the village of the Yanctongs, even
when rum was permitted; that Mr. Murdoch Cameron arrived at his
village last autumn; that he invited him to eat, gave him corn as a
bird; that Cameron informed him of the prohibition of rum, and was the
only person who afterward sold it in the village." After this I had a
council with the Puants. Spent the evening with Mr. Wilmot, one of
the best informed and most gentlemanly men in the place.

_Apr. 22d._ Held a council with the Sioux and Puants, the latter of
whom delivered up their [British] medals and flags. Prepared to depart
to-morrow.

_Apr. 23d._ After closing my accounts, etc., at half past twelve
o'clock we left the Prairie; at the lower end of it were saluted by 17
lodges of the Puants. Met a barge, by which I received a letter from
my lady. Further on met one batteau and one canoe of traders. Passed
one trader's camp. Arrived at Mr. Dubuque's at [mouth of Catfish
Creek, at] ten o'clock at night; found some traders encamped at the
entrance with 40 or 50 Indians; obtained some information from Mr. D.,
and requested him to write me on certain points. After we had boiled
our victuals, I divided my men into four watches and put off, wind
ahead. Observed for the first time the half-formed leaves on the
trees.

_Apr. 24th._ In the morning we used our oars until ten o'clock, and
then floated while breakfasting. At this time two barges, one bark,
and two wooden canoes passed us under full sail; by one of which I
sent back a letter to Mr. Dubuque that I had forgotten to deliver.
Stopped at dark to cook supper; after which, rowed under the windward
shore, expecting we could make headway with four oars; but were blown
on the lee shore in a few moments, when all hands were summoned, and
we again with difficulty made to windward, came-to, placed one sentry
on my bow, and all hands beside went to sleep. It rained, and before
morning the water overflowed my bed in the bottom of the boat, having
no cover or any extra accommodations, as it might have retarded my
voyage. The wind very hard ahead.

_Apr. 25th._ Obliged to unship our mast to prevent its rolling
overboard with the swell. Passed the first Reynard village [near head
of Rock River rapids on the Iowan side] at twelve o'clock; counted 18
lodges. Stopped at the prairie in descending on the left, about the
middle of the rapids, where there is a beautiful cove or harbor
[Watertown, Rock Island Co., Ill.]. There were three lodges of Indians
here, but none of them came near us. Shortly after we had left this,
observed a barge under sail, with the United States flag, which upon
our being seen put to shore on the Big [now Rock] Island, about three
miles above Stony [Rock] river, where I also landed. It proved to be
Capt. Many[III-38] of the Artillerists, who was in search of some Osage
prisoners among the Sacs and Reynards. He informed me that at the
[large Sac] village of Stony Point [near the mouth of Rock river] the
Indians evinced a strong disposition to commit hostilities; that he
was met at the mouth of the river by an old Indian, who said that all
the inhabitants of the village were in a state of intoxication, and
advised him to go up alone. This advice, however, he had rejected.
That when they arrived there they were saluted by the appellation of
the bloody Americans who had killed such a person's father, such a
person's mother, brother, etc. The women carried off the guns and
other arms, and concealed them. That he then crossed the river
opposite the village, and was followed by a number of Indians with
pistols under their blankets. That they would listen to no conference
whatever relating to the delivery of the prisoners, but demanded
insolently why he wore a plume in his hat, declared that they looked
on it as a mark of war, and immediately decorated themselves with
their raven's feathers, worn only in cases of hostility. We regretted
that our orders would not permit of our punishing the scoundrels, as
by a _coup de main_ we might easily have carried the village. Gave
Capt. Many a note of introduction to Messrs. Campbell, Fisher, Wilmot,
and Dubuque, and every information in my power. We sat up late
conversing.

_Apr. 26th._ Capt. Many and myself took breakfast and embarked; wind
directly ahead, and a most tremendous swell to combat, which has
existed ever since we left the prairie. Capt. Many under full sail.
Descended by all the sinuosity of the shore, to avoid the strength of
the wind and force of the waves. Indeed I was confident I could sail
much faster up than we could possibly make down. Encamped on Grant's
prairie, where we had encamped Aug. 25th when ascending. There was one
Indian and family present, to whom I gave some corn.

_Sunday, Apr. 27th._ It cleared off during the night. We embarked
early and came from eight or ten leagues above the river Iowa to the
[U. S. agricultural] establishment at the lower Sac village [at
Nauvoo, Ill., see Aug. 20th, 1805] by sundown, a distance of nearly 48
leagues. Here I met with Messrs. Maxwell and Blondeau; took the
deposition of the former on the subject of the Indians' intoxication
at this place, for they were all drunk. They had stolen a horse from
the establishment, and offered to bring him back for liquor, but
laughed at them when offered a blanket and powder. Passed two canoes
and two barges. At the establishment received two letters from Mrs.
Pike. Took with us Corporal Eddy and the other soldier whom Capt. Many
had left. Rowed with four oars all night. A citizen took passage with
me.

_Apr. 28th._ In the morning passed a wintering-ground where, from
appearance, there must have been at least seven or eight different
establishments. At twelve o'clock arrived at the French house
[Hurricane Settlement] mentioned in our voyage up, Aug. 16th [see note
13, that date]. Here we landed our citizen; his name was [Blank],
and he belonged to the settlement on Copper river. He informed me
there were about 25 families in the settlement.

Stopped at some islands [note 12, Aug. 15th] about ten miles above
Salt river, where there were pigeon-roosts, and in about 15 minutes my
men had knocked on the head and brought on board 298. I had frequently
heard of the fecundity of this bird [_Ectopistes migratorius_[III-39]],
and never gave credit to what I then thought inclined to the
marvelous; but really the most fervid imagination cannot conceive
their numbers. Their noise in the woods was like the continued roaring
of the wind, and the ground may be said to have been absolutely
covered with their excrement. The young ones which we killed were
nearly as large as the old; they could fly about ten steps, and were
one mass of fat; their craws were filled with acorns and the wild pea.
They were still reposing on their nests, which were merely small
bunches of sticks joined, with which all the small trees were covered.

Met four canoes of the Sacs, with wicker baskets filled with young
pigeons. They made motions to exchange them for liquor, to which I
returned the back of my hand. Indeed those scoundrels had become so
insolent, through the instigation of the traders, that nothing but the
lenity of our government and humanity for the poor devils could have
restrained me on my descent from carrying some of their towns by
surprise, which I was determined to have done had the information of
their firing on Capt. Many proved to have been correct.

Put into the mouth of Salt river to cook supper, after which, although
raining, we put off and set our watches; but so violent a gale and
thunderstorm came on about twelve o'clock that we put ashore.
Discovered that one of my sleigh-dogs was missing.

_Apr. 29th._ In the morning still raining, and wind up the river;
hoisted sail and returned to the mouth of the river, but neither here
nor on the shore could we find my dog. This was no little
mortification, as it broke the match, whose important services I had
already experienced, after having brought them so near home. We
continued on until twelve o'clock, when it ceased raining for a little
time, and we put ashore for breakfast. Rowed till sundown, when I set
the watch. Night fine and mild.

_Apr. 30th._ By daylight found ourselves at the Portage de Sioux. I
here landed Captain Many's two men, and ordered them across by land to
the cantonment [Belle Fontaine, on the Missouri]. As I had never seen
the village, I walked up and through it; there are not more than 21
houses at furthest, which are built of square logs. Met Lieut.
Hughes[III-40] about four miles above St. Louis,[III-41] with more than 20
Osage prisoners, conveying them to the cantonment on the Missouri; he
informed me my friends were all well. Arrived about twelve o'clock at
the town, after an absence of eight months and 22 days.

FOOTNOTES:

[III-1] It is simple justice to Pike to state here that, in making this
widely erroneous statement, he reflected common report of his day, and
that he elsewhere himself qualifies the assertion. Thus, in his
general review of the Mississippi (which in the orig. ed. formed Doc.
No. 18, p. 41 _seq._ of the App. to Part 1), he says of the Leech Lake
branch: "This is rather considered as the main source, although the
Winipeque [read Winnibigoshish] branch is navigable the greatest
distance." If the volume of waters collected by Leech l. and then
contributed to the Mississippi were made the criterion, the true
Itascan source might have to look to its laurels. Deferring other
considerations to a more convenient connection, we may here confine
attention to the Leech Lake system. The lake itself is much the
largest body of water in the Mississippi basin above Mille Lacs, much
exceeding in size Lake Winnibigoshish, which itself much exceeds Lake
Cass. These three are the largest reservoirs of the whole drainage
area whose waters unite at the junction of the Leech Lake branch with
the main stream. This area, taken down to Pokegama falls, is about 80
m. from E. to W. and 50 from N. to S.; its content is more than a
thousand lakes and rivers, few of which have been named. These are
quite clearly divided into two main sets, namely, those of the Leech
Lake system on the one hand, and all the rest on the other. Leech l.
is not much smaller than Red l. (of a different system); its greatest
diameter in one direction is over 20 m.; its figure is extremely
irregular, giving a shore-line said to be of about 160 m. length, with
9 principal salient re-entrances and 6 large bays; the feeders, large
and small, are 25-30 in number. The "fond du lac" is at that S. W.
place where the waters of Kabekona and other lakes discharge by the
Kabekona r., in Sect. 9, T. 142, R. 31, 5th M. This series affords,
with several portages, a tolerably direct approach to Lake Itasca,
which lies at an air-line distance of about 25 m. nearly due W. North
of the mouth of the Kabekona, in Sect. 9, T. 143, of the same R. and
M., the Kapukasagitowa, Pikesagidowag, or Bukesagidowag r. falls in
from the N. W. This point is only 7 m. directly S. of the southernmost
part of Cass l., and a chain of 10 small lakes here lies between Cass
and Leech, offering a waterway with some portages. Two of these small
lakes are Moss and Shiba of Schoolcraft; two others of them are his
Kapuka Sagitowa lakes. Further E. on the N. shore of Leech l. a river
falls in from the N. in Sect. 14, T. 144, R. 30. This is Carp r. of
Schoolcraft, draining from a chain of small lakes which approach the
Mississippi itself in that portion of its course which runs from Cass
to Winnibigoshish l. The N. E. extremity of Leech l., called Rush l.
by Schoolcraft and Pickering bay by Nicollet, reaches within 4 m.
(air-line) of Lake Winnibigoshish; there is a small lake between,
named Lake Duponceau by Nicollet, but now known as Portage l., from
the function indicated by this name. In fact it is easier to go from
Winnibigoshish over into Leech than from Cass over into the same.
Along the S. W., S., S. E., and E. shores of Leech l. is a succession
of affluents, some of the larger of which respectively establish
waterways of communication with Crow Wing r., with Pine r., and with
Willow r. The largest of these Leech l. tributaries is Kwiwisens or
Boy r., which offers by its system of lakes and portages the most
direct route by way of Willow r. to Sandy l. Some of the lakes along
this line are by Nicollet named Hassler, Gauss, Deluot, Eccleston,
Brule, and Rosati. One of the communications with Pine r. is made by
Sandy r., which falls into Leech l. from the S. (The Crow Wing
connections are noticed elsewhere in detail.) Leech l. discharges by
Leech Lake r. near its N. E. extremity, the outlet being in Sect. 29,
T. 144, R. 28, 5th M. The discharge is now controlled by a dam which,
like the similar structures at the outlet of Lake Winnibigoshish and
elsewhere, is designed to utilize the lakes as artificial reservoirs
to regulate the flow of the Mississippi according to the requirements
for navigation. Leech Lake r. is bowed into an arc whose chord is 16
m. long; Mud l. lies in its course, as already said. The principal
projection of land into Leech l. from the N. is the well-known
Otter-tail pt.; opposite this, from the south, is Big pt.; continuous
with which, by a narrow isthmus, is a very extensive peninsula of
remarkable form, something like a badly shaped anchor or a distorted
letter T. This Tau-formed peninsula is the best known and most
historic place about the lake, as the site of a Chippewa village and
various other establishments, of which more anon. There are several
islands in Leech l.; the largest is Bear or Mukwa isl. (Macuwa of
Beltrami); two others are Pelican and Goose. Leech l. derives its
English name from the F. Lac Sang Sue, or L. aux Sangsues, originally
bestowed in compliment to the sanguisugent annelids with which it was
supposed to be peculiarly favored, by the Chippewas, who conveyed
their meaning in the voluble vocable Kasagaskwadjimekang.

[III-2] Voy. en Egypte et en Syrie, etc., 2 vols., 8vo, Paris, 1787; tr.
Eng., London, 1787, etc. Constantin Francois Chasseboeuf, Comte de
Volney, b. Craon, Anjou, Feb. 3d, 1757, d. Paris, Apr. 25th, 1820, is
best known in letters by his celebrated work, commonly called
"Volney's Ruins," _i. e._, Les Ruines ou Meditations sur les
Revolutions des Empires, etc., orig. ed. 1791, numberless trans. and
eds. down to the present time. The illustrious author was the peer of
Voltaire or Paine in philosophy and religion, and underwent the usual
vicissitudes of free-thinkers of his time, from the prison to the
peerage. His intellect was clear and profound, his erudition vast and
varied; so they called him an "infidel"--whatever they may have meant
by that--and having given him the name would have hanged him had he
been hangable. His researches were chiefly in the fields of history,
geography, archaeology, linguistics, statecraft, and priestcraft, all
of which he illuminated to the great inconvenience of political and
ecclesiastical demagogues. _Nullum tetigit quod non ornavit_; the
clergy, however, he adorned with a touch that Voltaire himself might
have envied. Count Volney was in the U. S. in 1795-6-7; his
controversy with the meritorious but somewhat obtuse Priestley, on the
unquestionable unorthodoxy of his Ruins, brought his more formal
scientific works into prominence, and accentuated the fame of his most
imperishable treatise. Cheap editions of the Ruins abound, usually
including the tract originally entitled La Loi Naturelle; this is a
little catechism designed by a great philosopher to kindly help little
fools out of some of their folly; it is quite worthy to rank with
Paine's Age of Reason. Volney's complete works were edited by A.
Bossange, 8 vols., Paris, 1820-26. Pike was in good company on the 3d,
while he nursed his sore feet.

[III-3] This clerk is named Roussand beyond, Feb. 9th. He is "a Monsr.
Boussant" in the early text, 1807, p. 40.

[III-4] We have no hint of the route by which the main party reached
Leech l. after Pike first left them on the 26th of Jan., unless one is
conveyed in the statement that Miller _returned_ with a supply of
provisions for them. That would seem to imply that they followed
Pike's trail, and came to Leech l. by a route the same as his, or one
not materially different. This is in fact what they did: see note
51, p. 142. The shorter way would have been that Willow River
traverse indicated in note 1, p. 153. What seems to have been a usual
route in former days is clearly indicated on Nicollet's map. Starting
from Sandy l. it struck W. to Willow r. and went up this to Rosati and
Brule lakes, whence by portage over to Eccleston or Deluot l., and so
to the Boy's River connection, continued through Gauss and Hassler
lakes. All these have different names now, and I cannot speak with
confidence in the new nomenclature. Among the lakes of Nicollet's
series appear to be those now called Big Rice, Thunder, and Boy.

[III-5] This letter formed Doc. No. 5, on p. 14 of the App. to Pt. 1 of
the orig. ed. It is given beyond, together with Mr. M'Gillis' reply;
which latter was Doc. No. 6, p. 17 of the same App. in the orig. ed.

[III-6] This is the first intimation we have that Pike is not already at
the west end, or at any rate on the west side of Leech l. He certainly
has told us that he "crossed the lake 12 miles" to reach Mr. M'Gillis'
house, where he is now quartered. The only place marked on Pike's map
is on the W. side, with the legend "N. W. C^o. Ho. Lat. 47 deg. 16' 18"
N." The position of this seems to have been near Sugar pt., and to be
the same as that marked "Old N. W. House" on Lt. James Allen's map
facing p. 76 of Schoolcraft's Rep. pub. 1834. There have been various
trading-houses at the same and different points about Leech l.,
simultaneously and successively. In 1832, according to Schoolcraft's
large map in the work just said, there was a "Tr. Post" on the E. side
of the lake, between the outlet and Boy's r., but the principal one
was on the Tau-formed peninsula, and was a post of the Am. Fur Co.
Schoolcraft was camped there July 16th, 1832. This place was then also
the site of the Chippewa village of Gueule Platte or Flat Mouth, a
chieftain of whom Pike has something to say soon, and of whom
Nicollet, who met him there in 1836, has told us somewhat, Rep. 1843,
p. 61 _seq._

[III-7] The Sweet of the above paragraph is elsewhere named by Pike as
Wiscoup and Le Sucre, first chief of a Red Lake band of Chippewas; The
Burnt, as Oole and La Brule, for which latter phrase I suppose Le
Brule might be preferred by some fastidious persons. The Buck is Iaba
Waddik of Schoolcraft, Summary, etc., 1855, p. 144. The Sweet was
probably not so named from any such personal peculiarity as would have
singled him out among all Indians of whatever tribe, but with
reference in some way to the concrete juice of the sugar-maple, _Acer
saccharinum_, upon which he fed: _cf._ Sugar pt., a place-name in this
vicinity. This is evidently the poetical case of "sweets to The
Sweet"--not of _saccharum per se_. The scholarly Anglojibway, Hon. W.
W. Warren, who should know best how to spell Chippewa words of any
author I have read, gives the name as Weeshcoob. This chief had great
character, and a long career. For some of his exploits which became
historical, see Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885, pp. 231, 376, 452, 454,
458--latter with esp. ref. to Pike.

[III-8] Haut Lac aux Cedres Rouges of the French, Upper Red Cedar l. of
the English, in distinction from the one of like name much further
down the Mississippi, near Aitkin: see note 47, p. 135. Pike is
careless about the names, and calls both lakes Red Cedar, or Cedar
without further qualification. The valuable species of _Juniperus_,
commonly known as "cedar" or "red cedar," is not a very abundant tree
in N. Minnesota, and its prevalence about each of these lakes
duplicated their designation. They are too far apart, luckily, for any
confusion to have ever arisen. Pike's description of Up. R. C. l. is
not good, and his map is so far out as to omit entirely the entrance
of the Mississippi into this lake; for what he delineates as and
mistook for the entrance of the main river is merely the discharge of
the Turtle River chain of lakes from the Beltramian or so-called
Julian source of the Mississippi, which falls in at the extreme N.
border of the lake. Thus, what the text means by saying "from the
entrance of the Mississippi to the streight is called six miles," is
the distance from the mouth of Turtle r. to the strait which divides
off Pike's bay from the rest of Cass l.; "thence to the south end,"
etc., is the length of Pike's bay; the "bay at the entrance" of the
supposed Mississippi, _i. e._, of Turtle r., means the general recess
of Cass l. on the N.; and finally, the "large point," given as 21/2 m.
"from the north side," is the point of Colcaspi or Grand isl., which
is almost a peninsula, and which marks off Allen's bay from the rest
of Cass l. With this much by way of comment on Pike, we will look
further at this interesting body of water, which I have lately crossed
twice. Its first English name, after the ones above given, was Lake
Cassina, bestowed by Schoolcraft in 1820, in honor of Governor and
General Lewis Cass (b. Exeter, N. H., Oct. 9th, 1782, d. Detroit,
Mich., June 17th, 1866), leader of the expedition which made its
nearest approach to the true source of the Miss. r., in July of that
year. Their camp was on the N. shore, close by the mouth of Turtle r.,
on the W. side of that mouth, directly opposite the site of the N. W.
Co. Ho. where Pike now is. The name "Cassina Lake" stands on the
Schlcr. map of the 1820 Cass exped.; item, "Cassina L." is on Long's
map, 1823; the adj. Cassinian also occurs in Schlcr. and elsewhere;
but the latter afterward clipped the name to Cass, and it has become
fixed in this form--the same as that of the county later dedicated
appropriately to this eminent statesman and soldier. The Schlcr. map
of 1820 also lays down the Turtle River system with approximate
accuracy, and on this map was first traced the course of the
Mississippi to Lake Itasca. This had not then received its present
name, but stands there as "L. Labeish," _i. e._, Lac La Biche, or Lac
a la Biche, translating the Chippewa Omoshkos Sogiagon, and translated
Elk l. in English. The main defect of the 1820 map was in laying down
the Itascan source to the N. W. instead of to the S. W. of Cass
l.--thus really on the line of the Turtle River source. This mistake
was corrected in 1832, the year that Schoolcraft's party were guided
to Lake Itasca itself by the Chippewa chief, Ozawindib or Yellow Head.
Schoolcraft's nomenclature, as far as possible, was accepted by the
greatest geographer who ever saw the source of the Mississippi, and
Nicollet's example in this respect has been generally followed. Cass
is a beautiful lake, the third largest in the drainage-area of the
uppermost Mississippi, being exceeded in size only by Winnibigoshish
and Leech. The greatest length is nearly meridional; including Pike's
bay it is 93/4 m.; the greatest breadth is almost due E. and W.;
including Allen's bay it is 71/2 m. In position with reference to the
5th meridian (the only one with which we have to do in this note), the
Range line of townships 30-31, and the Township line of 145-146,
decussate at right angles in the center of the lake, just off the E.
shore of Colcaspi isl. The body of water thus occupies portions of
four townships. In figure Cass l. is more irregular than Lake
Winnibigoshish, less so than Leech l. Pike's bay, on the S., is almost
shut off from the rest of the lake by a long, narrow peninsula which
stretches nearly across from E. to W., leaving but a very narrow
thoroughfare. Pike's bay is of rounded form, about 3 m. in any
diameter. Allen's bay, on the W., is almost equally well marked off by
Colcaspi isl.; it is 2-1/3 m. long, with an average width of over a
mile, and includes two small islands, named Elm and Garden. Red Cedar
isl. lies in the S. E. part of the main body of water; but the most
conspicuous feature of the lake is the island best known as Grand or
Colcaspi. The latter curious name is one of those verbal wind-eggs
which Schoolcraft was fond of hatching; he tells us it is compounded
of fragments of the names of "the three prior explorers," meaning Cass
and himself, 1820, and Pike, 1806. This Island of Ozawindib, as named
by Brower, 1894, is shaped like a blacksmith's anvil or molar tooth;
its greatest diameters, along conjugate diagonal axes, are 23/4 and 21/2
m.; aside from its horns, the island would yield a square of about 11/4
m. The Chippewa village of Ozawindib, where Schoolcraft was camped
July 10th and again July 15th--between which dates he went to Itasca
and back--was on the N. E. point of the anvil. I should advise
canoeists to give this point a wide berth; for a shoal runs far out
northward, and the birch-bark may thump on a stony bottom if there is
any sea. This shoal reaches out directly across the straightest
traverse from the inlet to the outlet of the Mississippi. Ozawindib
isl. is almost a peninsula in relation to the north shore of the lake,
but a canoe can generally be floated across the isthmus. I waded and
dragged my boat on going up, but on returning was obliged to make a
portage of a few paces, as the water had lowered. But even if it be
found a carrying-place, it is the shortest and best way across the
lake from the inlet of the Mississippi, either to its outlet or to the
inlet of Turtle r. The latter falls in at the extreme N. of the lake,
21/2 m. W. N. W. from the outlet of the Mississippi, in the N. E. 1/4 of
Sect. 18, T. 146, R. 30. Here came David Thompson in 1798, along the
usual traders' route from the Red River country, in part the then
supposed course of the Mississippi itself above Red Cedar l. Here, in
Roy's N. W. Co. House, on the E. or left bank, is Pike this 12th of
February, 1806. Here were Cass and Schoolcraft in 1820; here came
Beltrami in 1823, down this same Turtle r. from his Lake Julia, and so
from the Julian source of the Mississippi. A mission once stood here;
there is now an Indian village at a little distance westward. The
place may be recognized at a distance by a high ridge on the right or
W. bank; and on nearer approach by a stout post with historical
inscriptions, erected by Brower in August, 1894. About a mile up
Turtle r. expands into a lake, called Kichi by Nicollet in 1836, and
by error Kitihi, as on Brower's map of 1892. No other considerable
stream enters Cass l., excepting the Mississippi itself. The
Mississippi leaves the lake in a recess on the N. E. shore, easy to
find by good land-marks--notice a clump of trees on the right of the
outlet as you approach it, and a house on the first rising ground to
the left. The position is in the N. E. 1/4 of Sect. 21, T. 146, R. 30.
From this point the river flows nearly E. S. E. into Lake
Winnibigoshish (makes 2-2/3 m. of southing in 81/4 m. of easting--air-line
about 9 m.). The general course is about straight, but the reciprocal
bends are numerous, giving an actual course, as I should judge, of 163/4
m., though they call it 18. This is Cass r. or Red Cedar r.--the most
beautiful part of the Mississippi--good flat water and plenty of it at
the lowest stages of canoeing, with a moderate current and no rapids,
shoals, or snags to speak of; also, good camping places all along on
the wooded points or knolls. The only tributary of this "interlaken"
course of the Mississippi is from the S., about halfway between Cass
and Winnibigoshish; being the discharge from Horn l. (Eshkabwaka l. of
Owen), 3/4 of a mile (direct) E. of the boundary between Itasca and
Beltrami cos., in the S. E. 1/4 of Sect. 30, T. 146, R. 29.

Pike at Leech l. was the nearest he ever went to the true source of
the Mississippi--about 25 m. in an air-line E. of Lake Itasca. Pike at
Cass l. is further away from this goal, but he is on the course of the
great river. Having already noted the Leech Lake sub-basin, or what I
call the Pikean source, I will with the reader's indulgence indicate
the main features of the true Itascan or Nicolletian sub-basin. To
this end we will start together from Cass l. and paddle our own canoe
to Lake Itasca. The following observations are from my canoe voyage
from Deer River to Lake Itasca and return, Aug. 15th-Sept. 3d, 1894:

The Mississippi enters Cass l. at the W. end of Allen's bay, by a
crooked =S=-shaped thoroughfare about a mile long, from the next lake
above. The inlet into Cass opens in the center of Sect. 29, T. 146, R.
31; the outlet from the other lake is in the N. W. 1/4 of the same
section. So close, in fact, are the two lakes, that at two places they
are only separated by 100 yards or less. At the northern one of these
short portages stands a dilapidated old chapel, once a mission-house,
and other buildings are scattered about, chiefly Chippewa cabins. I
could learn no name for this next lake, though it appears to be the
one Schoolcraft called Andrusia in 1855; but if so, the name has
lapsed. A letter before me from Hon. J. V. Brower, Itasca State Park
Commissioner, dated St. Paul, Sept. 15th, 1894, says: "The beautiful
body of water situated upon Sects. 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 29, and 30,
T. 146, R. 31, 5th M., above Cass lake, and through which the
Mississippi takes its course, has this day been named by me Lake
Elliott Coues, as a slight recognition of your services to the public,
and for the purposes of a more accurate and correct geographical
description." This lake is 31/2 m. long by 11/4 m. in greatest breadth,
with its long axis meridional. The Mississippi runs across its S. end
about 3/4 of a mile from W. to E., the inlet being in the N. W. 1/4 of
Sect. 30 of the same T. and R. as the outlet. A trader's house is on
the N. side, in a Chippewa village. A winding course of the
Mississippi of 2 m. brings us to another lake, Pamitascodiac or
Tascodiac of Schoolcraft, and Vandermaelen of Nicollet. This is
hourglass-shaped, 21/4 m. long by about a mile across either bulb. The
Mississippi enters it at the N. and leaves it at the E., the inlet and
outlet being within half a mile of each other, in Sect. 25, T. 146, R.
32. For 2 or 3 m. above Lake Tascodiac canoeing is easy, through the
flat water of marsh and meadow land; but then begins the trouble which
hardly intermits thence to Lake Bemidji. The canoeist may as well put
on his rubber boots at the start and keep them on, for he will have to
wade most of the way and drag or shove his boat through almost
incessant rocky rapids, shoals, and snags. My canoe drew only about 3
inches of water when my man and myself were overboard, yet we had
great difficulty in getting along at all without portaging. Where the
water is flat, it is shoal and snaggy; otherwise it is all "Metoswa"
rapids. The distance from Lake Tascodiac to Lake Bemidji is only 8 m.
in an air line, but this is the chord of a considerable arc the river
describes northward, which, with the minor bends around the wooded
points, makes, as I judge, about 131/2 m. of water-course. The people
call it 20 m., but that is because it is such a hard road to travel.
It took me a day and a quarter to make Bemidji from Elliott Coues; but
I did the same distance in less than one day coming down. Beltrami
calls this course "Demizimagua-maguen-sibi, or River of Lake
Traverse," II. p. 434--which reminds me to say that among the Indians
each section of the river between lakes takes the name of the lake
whence it flows. The Bemidji section of the Mississippi issues from
the lake of that name in the N. W. 1/4 of Sect. 2, T. 146, R. 33, near
the middle of the E. shore. This outlet is hidden in a maze of
bulrushes, and as there is no conspicuous landmark on shore it is not
easy to find. Lake Bemidji is a large body of water 51/2 m. long N. and
S., by 13/4 to 21/2 m. broad, of somewhat pyriform figure, lying athwart
the course of the Mississippi: whence the F. name Lac Traverse, which
we render Traverse, Travers, and Cross lake; Schl. named it Queen
Anne's l. in 1855. Among the Indian forms are Pamitchi, as
Schoolcraft; Pemidji, as Nicollet; also Bermiji, Permidji, etc., and
with an additional element Bemejigemug, Pamajiggermug, etc. The N. end
of Bemidji is only 21/2 m. from the S. end of Turtle l., so that the
Julian sources may be here easily reached by portage. From the outlet
as above described to the inlet is 23/4 m. on a S. W. course; for the
Mississippi enters at the extreme S. W. angle, in the N. W. 1/4 of Sect.
16, T. 146, R. 33. Here are some Chippewa cabins, and here is also the
lair of one of the ferocious blood-sucking parasites of the tribe of
Indian traders. The system only differs from robbery in name. For
instance, the squaw-man will sell you a whitefish for 10 cents a
pound. He bought that fish for two cents a pound from the Indian who
caught it, and he also paid for it in goods at his own price, probably
about five times their cost to him. Those old traders who were
satisfied to make 250 per cent. on prime cost were meek and lowly
philanthropists in comparison with some of their successors. A short
wide thoroughfare of about 40 rods leads directly from Bemidji into
Lake Irving, so named by Schoolcraft in 1832 after the facile writer,
and still so called. This is only 11/2 m. broad by 3/4 long, lying chiefly
in Sects. 16 and 17; the Mississippi comes directly across its short
axis from S. to N. The inlet is at the S. E. corner of Sect. 17. On
Nicollet's published map "L. Irving" appears out of place altogether,
on another stream. But that is a mere accident of cartography, for
which the admirable geographer is not responsible; he knew where Lake
Irving is as well as I do. Three short bends and then a straight
course of a mile bring us up the Mississippi to the mouth of a river
from the S., to be particularly noted for several reasons. It is the
largest remaining tributary of the Mississippi, and one of its sources
is a lake no more than 5 m. from Itasca itself. This river joins the
Mississippi in the S. E. of Sect. 20, T. 146, R. 33. Going up it we at
once fall upon the very small Lake Marquette; next, Lake La Salle
(Lasale on Nicollet's map), larger and hourglass-shaped; next, Lake
Plantagenet, a two-legged body of water, 23/4 m. long by 13/4 broad. The
first two were named in 1832 by Schoolcraft, who also said the largest
one was called Kubba Kunna, or Rest in the Path l.--these terms
becoming Rahbahkanna and Resting l. in Allen. Continuing through Lake
Plantagenet and up this "Plantagenian source" of the Mississippi, as
it has come to be known, we find that it forks in Sect. 21, T. 144, R.
34, at a direct distance of 7 or 8 m. from Lake Plantagenet. The fork
on our left as we go up takes us 5 or 6 m. further to Lake Naiwa,
called Neway l. by Nicollet, and recently renamed Lake George.
Alongside and emptying into this is Nicollet's L. Bowditch, lately
renamed L. Paine. These two are in Sects. 15, 19, 22, and 21, T. 143,
R. 34. Going up the other fork, we find in about 3 m. that it forks.
The fork on our left as we go up comes N. from a number of small
lakes, one of them lately become known as Lake Chenowagesic; and this
is probably to be considered the main course of the river we are now
on. The other fork comes from the west; if we follow it up we proceed
directly toward Lake Itasca, and find our stream heading in a lake
which occupies portions of Sects. 2 and 11, T. 143, R. 35. This is
Lake Assawa--Ossowa and Usawa of Schoolcraft, Usaw-way or Perch of
Allen, Assawe of Nicollet; also, Lake Alice of the Rand-McNally map
(Chicago, 1894), whose compilers adopted the names bestowed by a
certain unfortunate excursionist. Another name this unhappy person
gave this same lake is Elvira. It is historically of the greatest
possible interest, for from Lake Assawa did Schoolcraft's party
proceed by portage to discover Lake Itasca in 1832, and from it also
did Nicollet proceed by portage to Lake Itasca in 1836, and so on to
discover the actual source of the Mississippi, which Schoolcraft
missed in his hurry on that happy-go-lucky 13th of July. As to the
name which the whole stream thus sketched should bear, there may be
two opinions. Schoolcraft maps it with the legend "Plantagenian or
South Fork of the Mississippi," and makes the Assawa Lake fork the
main source, calling the Naiwa Lake fork by the name of this lake.
Nicollet names the main stream R. Laplace, after the celebrated
astronomer, as he did L. Bowditch after the translator of that
author's Mecanique Celeste; and he considers the main stream to be
that middle one which comes from the Chenowagesic l., furthest from
the S. (over the border of Hubbard Co., in fact). This view is
undoubtedly correct, and I, for one, should like to see Nicollet's
designation of Laplace r. stand. But the river is in fact called the
Naiwa, and this current designation will probably prevail. I observe
that our best maps in the present uncertainty omit any name, though
the Rand-McNally map legends "Schoolcraft R." (after Eastman's, 1855).
Should the main stream come to be known to geographers as the Naiwa, I
would suggest that its E. fork be called the East Naiwa, agreeably
with Schoolcraft's, 1832; and the other the West Naiwa.

We return from this excursion up the Naiwa or Laplace r.--the
Plantagenian source of the Mississippi--and proceed up the latter from
the mouth of the former. We hold a due W. course on the whole for 51/2
m. in an air-line, but on a zigzag with multitudinous minor
tortuosities, making the distance more than twice as far; part of the
way winding among wooded points, working our way over shoals and among
snags, to a point in the N. W. 1/4 of Sect. 28, T. 146, R. 34. Here the
small Allenoga r., on our right from the north, discharges from a
small, crooked lake which lies mainly in Sects. 16 and 21. Knowing no
name for this, I call it Cowhorn l., from its shape and from the
trivial circumstance of finding a horn stuck on a stake in the river.
We go on through a monotonous, swampy tract of reeds, rushes, wild
rice, and lily-pads, alternately approaching and receding from tamarac
clumps as the river winds about, for 21/2 m. further W. in an air-line,
and more than three times that distance in actual paddling, till we
reach some haying-meadows, and soon find the entrance of a notable
stream on our right, in the N. E. 1/4 of Sect. 25, T. 146, R. 35; this
is Pinidiwin r. (Pinnidiwin, Carnage, and De Soto r. of Schoolcraft,
Piniddiwin of Brower), through a lake about a mile wide, filled with a
fine crop of wild rice. Hence it is one of many lakes which are called
La Folle, Rice, or Manomin (Monomina on the Rand-McNally map); but it
had better keep the distinctive name of the river which flows through
it. I paddled up into Pinidiwin l., and was surprised at the volume of
water it discharged, as well as at the strength of its current. But
the river is a large, forked stream which drains a very extensive area
N. of the Mississippi. The volume of the Mississippi seemed diminished
nearly one-half above the mouth of this "Little Mississippi." The
course up the Mississippi is now S. W. to a point in the S. E. 1/4 of
Sect. 35, T. 146, R. 35; where, at a bend, it receives a sizable
tributary from the S. Nicollet charts this stream, but has no name for
it, and I know of none, excepting that suspicious "Hennepin R." which
appears on the same Rand-McNally map, so thoroughly vitiated by
countenancing the names given by a dishonest person. Hennepin r. rises
as far south as about the middle of T. 144, R. 35, and flows nearly
due northward; one of its tributaries comes from a certain Lake
Joliet, the name of which arose with the same trickster. Rounding the
bend here we go up N. W. into the middle of Sect. 28, T. 146, R. 35,
and turn S. W. to the corner of this section, on the property of Mr.
A. J. Jones, a _bona fide_ settler and cultivator of the soil. The
situation is also marked by a small creek (say Jones') which falls in
hard by from the W.; but it is more notable as a sort of "Great Bend"
of the Mississippi; for here is the place where, our course thus far
having been on the whole westward, we turn quite abruptly southward to
make for Lake Itasca, distant about 14 m. as the crow flies, but at
least twice as far as that by the way we paddle. It has been good flat
water, with no obstructions to speak of, for many miles back; but a
little distance above Jones' place we come to rocky rapids for half a
mile, reminding us of our experiences below Lake Bemidji. I do not
think that these, but that some of those higher up, are the rapids
where Allen's boat was wrecked on the 15th of July, 1832, though
Schoolcraft talks of having come "32" m. from Itasca on the 14th,
before the accident. As we proceed, other obstacles offer; snags
abound, the Mississippi becomes in places too shallow to float a
canoe, and in others bushes begin to meet across the channel, or
fallen logs require to be chopped out of the way. We pass an
insignificant creek on the right, and then soon sight quite an
imposing pine-clad ridge on the left. Here, in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect.
19, T. 145, R. 35, is the mouth of a creek on the left. This is marked
on Schoolcraft's map "Cano R.", _i. e._, Canot or Canoe r., also Ocano
(Au Canot), and Chemaun r. It is charted by Nicollet, without any
name. It has been described by Brower as Andrus cr., is on Eastman's
map (1855) as De Witt Clinton's r., and was once named La Salle r. by
an unscrupulous person. Above Andrus cr., in the S. E. 1/4 of Sect. 26
of the tp. last said, a small creek comes in on the right, at "Dutch
Fred's" place. I heard a man call it Bear cr. Here the Mississippi
enters (or rather leaves) a haying-meadow, and within a mile receives
a small creek on our left, from the S., locally known as Killpecker or
Chillpecker cr. It is less than a mile hence to the house of one
Searles, in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 35, T. 145, R. 35. There is still
visible evidence that this was the site of an old trading-post; and on
discussing the case with my friend Brower, I agreed with his
conclusion that it was most probably the very spot we hear of from
William Morrison, who was the first known of white men at Lake Itasca,
in 1804. From this place upward to Lake Itasca the Mississippi is
practically unnavigable, at least in such a low stage of water as that
I found--not so much on account of the extensive rapids as from snags
and brush. The distance is called 20 m.--even 25 m., if one wants you
to hire his wagon--but it is nothing of the sort; 12 m. would cover
it. The air-line from Searles' house to Itasca is just 6 m., and
though the river is tortuous, besides having a general westward curve,
it can hardly be more than twice as much. One creek on this course,
called Division cr. by Brower, falls in from the W. in the S. W. 1/4 of
Sect. 27, T. 144, R. 36. A wagon-road leads from Searles' due S. to
the lower end of the N. arm of Lake Itasca. The distance is about 7 m.
by this road, which keeps on the ridge E. of the Mississippi till it
ends at the lake, close by the outlet, in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 35, T.
144, R. 36, thus almost on the line between T. 144 and T. 143, which
cuts the end of the N. arm, and forms the N. boundary of Itasca State
Park. Here Brower discovered the site of a prehistoric village in
Oct., 1894.

This park, created by Act of the Minnesota Legislature, approved Apr.
20th, 1891, is 7 m. N. and S. by 5 m. E. and W., thus being 35 square
miles, 19,701-2/3 acres, consisting of Sects. 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, of
T. 143, R. 36, in Beltrami Co., with Sects. 1, 2, 3, 4, of T. 142, R.
36, in Becker Co., Sects. 6, 7, 18, 19, 30, 31, of T. 143, R. 35, and
Sect. 6, of T. 142, R. 35--these in Hubbard Co. The rectangle thus
delimited includes nearly all the natural features about to be noted,
in the area designated as the ultimate reservoir bowl of the
Mississippi by Brower, to whose admirable official report I am
indebted for some particulars which did not come under my personal
observation on the spot, Aug. 24th and 25th, 1894. The brim of the
bowl is the Height of Land, Nicollet's Hauteurs des Terres, _sc._
between Hudsonian and Mexican waters; for all the water in the bowl
runs into the Mississippi. The political boundary of the park is less
than conterminous with the area of this bowl. The latter is
conveniently divided into the greater and lesser segments, according
to whether the waters drain into the W. or the E. arm of Lake Itasca;
the greater segment contains the primal sources of the Mississippi.
The brim of the bowl has a maximum elevation of 1,750 feet above
sea-level. The southernmost lake in the bowl is Brower's Hernando de
Soto, supposed to be 2,5551/4 m. from the Gulf of Mexico, at an altitude
of 1,558 feet. Another is Morrison l. There are too many other small
lakes to mention, mostly beyond or beside any actual permanent surface
connection with the Mississippian stream; two little ones which come
very near to such connection are Whipple and Floating Moss. The
Mississippi springs from the ground under a hill which I call the
Verumontanum; the first collection of living waters, or what may be
termed Fons et Origo Springs, occurs about the contiguous corners of
Sects. 28/33|27/34, T. 143, R. 36. The rill which issues thence runs
northward in Sects. 27 and 28, collecting there in a pool worthily
named by Brower the Upper Nicollet l., after the keen-eyed geographer
who first spied and mapped it in connection with his immortal
discovery of the Mississippian Verum Caput. But this Lacus Superior
Nicolleti is not now connected by surface flowage with the
continuation of the Mississippi; Brower is correct in designating its
feeder as the "detached upper fork" of the Mississippi; for the Upper
Nicollet l. is separated by a dry ridge a few yards wide, forming a
sort of "natural bridge," under or through which water seeps, but over
which it certainly never flows. Stepping a few paces over this Pons
Naturalis, we descend into a boggy place where the several Nicollet
Springs issue from the ground and form a rill whose waters are
continuous to the Gulf of Mexico. If one wishes to "cover" the
Mississippi in any sense, one may do so literally here, where the
river is a few inches wide and fewer deep, by lying at full length on
both sides of the stream and drinking out of the channel. This rivulet
is the principal feeder of the Middle Nicollet l., which is of oval
figure, less than -1/3 of a mile long, lying chiefly in the S. E. 1/4 of
Sect. 21. The outlet of this lake is close to the inlet, by a
well-defined stream say -1/3 of a mile long, which starts W., receives
a small tributary called Howard cr. from the S., and then curves N.
into the Lower Nicollet l., 1/6 m. E. of the Middle l. This is in size
between the Upper and Middle lakes; it receives two rills, one of them
called Spring Ridge cr.; the Mississippi issues from the N. end of
this lake, and thence pursues a general N. E. course for about 3/4 of a
mile in an air-line, though crookedly and with several small bends, to
fall into the head of the W. arm of Lake Itasca, in the S. W. 1/4 of
Sect. 15. On its way it receives Demaray cr. from the W. Thus is
constituted, entirely above or S. of Lake Itasca, the Infant
Mississippi, discovered by Nicollet in 1836, and by him poetically
styled the Cradled Hercules. The cradle is now known as Nicollet
valley; it is bounded on the W. by the Hauteurs des Terres, now
Nicollet Heights, and on the E. by a long, curved, and somewhat broken
ridge, which I propose to call Brower Ridge, after the accomplished
gentleman whose name will always be associated with the history and
geography of the Itasca basin. This ridge is the best walking from
Itasca toward the Fons et Origo Springs--though in the present state
of the ground this is not saying much in its favor, yet this way is
less laborious than following up the Infant Mississippi. The N. end of
the ridge rises on Morrison hill, which overlooks Itasca on the one
hand and on the other gives a fine view of Elk l.; it is only a few
steps down to either lake from the summit, where stands the Brower
post of 1887 with its historical inscription, a sign-board
commemorating Nicollet, and a granite bowlder more durably graven with
a less enduring name (not Glazier). Elk l. is the largest body of
water in the bowl after Itasca, being of irregular oval figure, about
1 m. long by two-thirds as broad. It lies almost entirely in Sect. 22,
immediately S. of the head of the W. arm of Itasca, and thus alongside
the Herculean Incunabula, from which it is separated by Brower Ridge.
Elk l. has the bad luck of a bad name, with the more serious
misfortune of a vainglorious record of "exploitation." In the first
place the name--with due deference to Gen. J. H. Baker, who in 1876
caused "Elk" to become official on the plot of T. 143, R. 36--seems to
me badly chosen. For "Elk" was originally the English name of Lake
Itasca, translating F. Lac la Biche, and Chippewa Omoshkos Sogiagon;
so its transfer to the smaller lake is liable to create confusion.
Better Gilfillan's Lake Breck, 1881, or Chippewa Gagiwitadinag
(embosomed in hills). In the second place a certain unworthy person
magnified the size of this lake, stretched out its principal feeder
southward, lengthened, widened, and deepened its discharge into
Itasca, labeled it Lake Glazier, and trumpeted his false claim of
discovering the one and only true source of the Mississippi, to the
scandal of geographical societies and other learned bodies. The best
_mot_ I ever heard on this subject was given me by a native of Deer
River, whose remark, however, is withheld, on the well-known principle
that "the greater the truth the greater the libel." Elk l. was well
described in 1872 by Julius Chambers, who called it Lake Dolly Varden;
its discharge into Itasca is now known as Chambers' cr. This is a
small side-stream about 333 yards long, in the bed of which I walked
dry-shod, yet which has been exploited as the course of the
Mississippi. Elk l. has several feeders, among them three creeks
called Elk, Siegfried, and Gaygwedosay--the latter for Nicollet's
guide of 1836, whom Nicollet calls Kegwedzissag. All the features thus
far noted are in the greater ultimate reservoir bowl, in relation with
the W. arm of Lake Itasca. Turning to the lesser part of the bowl,
whose waters drain into the E. arm, we find a chain of small lakes,
whose names from S. to N. are Josephine, Ako, Danger, Twin, and
Mary--the last having continuous surface flow by Mary cr. into the
head of the E. arm. Such, in brief, are the main features of the
Mississippian waters which drain from the S. into Lake Itasca; but I
suppose there are a hundred little lakes or pools in the bowl, which
seep through the bibulous soil--in fact, this flowing bowl is full of
lees. The largest lake, which forms its strongest feature, is of a
three-pronged or triradiate figure--mostly arms, with little body,
like a star-fish. It is said that the early name refers to the head
and antlers of the elk, respectively represented by the three
projections. There is not very much difference in size and shape
between them, though each has its particular form. Where the three
prongs come together as the main body of this lake is the small but
picturesque Schoolcraft isl., where the party of 1832 camped July
13th, as Nicollet did in Aug., 1836; it is decidedly the most eligible
spot for the purpose, before making one's periplus of the lake. The
island is in Sect. 11, T. 143, R. 36; its absolute position has been
dead-reckoned by Mr. A. J. Hill to be lat. 47 deg. 13' 10" N., long. 95 deg.
12' W. Mr. Brower has this summer (1894) set up a very stanch oaken
commemoration post, which bears a suitable legend and looks as if it
might stand for a century. The island was named by Allen (Rep., p.
332). Near it is a shallow place called Rocky Shoal. The lake is 3-2/3
m. in greatest length from the end of the N. to that of the E. arm;
the ends of the E. and W. arms are 2-2/3 m. apart. The W. arm is
marked off by Ozawindib pt., the E. arm by Bear pt., and Turnbull pt.
projects into the latter arm about opposite the place where Nicollet
struck the lake in portaging over from Lake Assawa. The best view of
the lake is to be had from Rhodes' Hill, near the base of the E. arm.
Itasca has several feeders besides Mary cr., Chambers' cr., and the
Infant Mississippi; four of these are Island cr., from the W.,
opposite Schoolcraft isl.; Floating Bog cr., falling in by Bear pt.;
Boutwell cr., on the W. side of the W. arm; and Shawinukumag cr., a
little rill close by the mouth of the Infant. There is one point about
the lake I wish to signalize by the name of Point Hill, after my
esteemed friend, Mr. Alfred J. Hill of St. Paul. When you come to the
N. end of the N. arm, at the usual landing or embarking place, where
McMullen's house stands, your view of Schoolcraft isl., as you look
southward up the N. arm, is intercepted by a promontory from the W.
side, near the center of Sect. 2, T. 143, R. 36; this is Point Hill.
The altitude of Lake Itasca is given by Brower as 1,457 feet; its
distance from the Gulf of Mexico, by the channel of the Mississippi,
is probably about 2,550 m.--by no means those "3,184" m. which the
Rand-McNally map exploits. The general situation is: 150 m. W. of Lake
Superior; 125 m. S. from the N. border of Minnesota; 75 m. E. from the
W. and 252 m. N. from the S. border of the same. The lake is reached
from St. Paul by 240 m. overland; take the G. N. R. R. to Park Rapids,
and go thence in one day by wagon. The distance from St. Paul by the
Mississippi is said to be 560 m.; it is practically out of the
question as a route, because of obstructions to navigation, especially
by logging-booms. A much easier way than I selected for my own
excursion is, as just said, to the lake by rail and wagon, thence down
the Mississippi by canoe or skiff to Deer River or Grand Rapids, where
you strike the D. and W. R. R., or even down to Brainerd, where the N.
P. R. R. crosses. The names most prominently associated with discovery
and exploration in the Itasca basin are: William Morrison, 1804; Henry
R. Schoolcraft and James Allen, 1832; Jean N. Nicollet, 1836; Julius
Chambers, 1872; James H. Baker and Edwin S. Hall, 1875; Hopewell
Clarke, 1886; J. V. Brower, 1889-94. A more extended historical note
will be found beyond; meanwhile let us return to Pike, at the mouth of
Turtle r., on Cass l.

[III-9] David Thompson, the great explorer and surveyor, b. St. John's
parish, Westminster, Eng., Apr. 30th, 1770, d. Longueuil, opposite
Montreal, Canada, Feb. 16th, 1857, and now with his wife in Mt. Royal
cemetery. His activities compassed half a century, say 1790-1840,
during some of which years he seems to have been almost ubiquitous--so
extensive were his travels, in the service of the H. B. Co., N. W.
Co., and on professional duties in connection with the survey of the
boundary between the British possessions and the United States. Mr.
Thompson was a good practical astronomer and an admirable geographer.
Some of his determinations would not easily be surpassed in accuracy
by the best modern methods. He was also an assiduous journalist, and a
good draughtsman; but most of his work has never seen the light. The
manuscripts which he left are believed to cover the long period of
years during which he traveled and observed; and to include not only
his personal narrative, but also the mathematical tables by which his
astronomical observations were worked out for the determination of
latitude and longitude. They have more than once been drawn upon for
historical and geographical data; but no publication of such a
thorough digest of Thompson's life and work as could have been
prepared from these materials under competent and critical editorship
has ever been made. A brief recital of his journeys was read by J. B.
Tyrrell, B. A., etc., before the Canadian Institute, Mar. 3d, 1888,
and published that year, Toronto, 8vo., pp. 28. The official records I
have mentioned must not be confounded with certain fragments of
Thompson's MSS., now the property of a Mr. Charles Lindsey of Toronto,
and recently offered for sale. These are about 600 foolscap pp. in
Thompson's handwriting, drawn up very late in life--being thus by no
means his original journals and field note-books. Thompson was on the
Missouri at the Mandan villages Dec. 29th, 1797-Jan. 10th, 1798--thus
before Lewis and Clark, Oct. 27th, 1804-Apr. 7th, 1805, and the
younger Alexander Henry, July and Aug., 1806. While here he undertook
to determine from Indian information the _source_ of the Yellowstone
r., and made one of the most extraordinary computations on record; for
his figures agree within 20 m. or less with the true latitude and
longitude. Thompson was the first white man who ever descended the
Columbia r. from its head-waters to the point where Lewis and Clark
struck it, Oct. 16th, 1806; this voyage was made in the summer of
1811, and protracted to the Pacific at Astoria. That journey to which
Pike refers was made in 1798. Thompson came down the Turtle River
route to Cass l., late in April, and stopped at John Sayers' house,
located by him in lat. 47 deg. 27' 56" N. and long. 95 deg. W. If we marvel
why such a man as Thompson missed the honor of discovering the source
of the Mississippi, when that prize was so near at hand, we may
remember that the Turtle River head-waters were already the accepted
source, as being the furthest N. Leaving Cass l. May 3d, Thompson
descended the Mississippi through Lake Winnibigoshish, and so on to
the N. W. Co. house at Sandy l.; thence he went up Prairie or Savanna
r., the usual traders' route, portaged over to waters of the St.
Louis, and descended this river to the Fond du Lac house, which stood
21/2 m. from Lake Superior. This journey was from the post on the
Assiniboine r., at the mouth of Souris or Mouse r., which he left Feb.
25th; he reached Fond du Lac May 10th, or in 2 months and 18 days.

[III-10] This most celebrated chief of the Leech Lake Chippewas, or
Pillagers, had three names, whose several variants number probably
three dozen. One of them may be written Ask a Buggy Cuss--for if that
is not right, it is as near right as some others, and easier to say
than any of the rest. It is the rule that the name is different with
everyone who uses it, and it often varies with the same author whose
"takes" fall into the hands of different compositors. Some of the
forms I have noted are: Aishkibugikozsh; Aishkabugakosh; Eshkibogikoj;
Esquibusicoge; Aishkebugekoshe and Eschkebugecoshe (in Minn. Hist.
Coll., V. _passim_); Eski Bugeckoge (in the French Pike, I. p. 220).
The French form of the name was Gueule Platte; and the English of it
was Flat Mouth. Pike spells the French in half a dozen different ways,
the question of gender included in the variation; while Schoolcraft,
who was something of a linguist, is equally vagarious in this case,
giving us Geulle Platte, Gouelle Platte, Guelle Plat, Gueulle Plat,
Guella Plat--anything you please, except Gruel Plate or Ghoul Plot!
Our Gallic friends themselves tried a variety of combinations, as
_gole_, _goule_, _gule_, before they suited themselves with _gueule_
as a satisfactory substitute for the Latin _gula_--just as we did
before we made _gulley_ and _gullet_ out of the same old Roman stock.
On Pike's folding Abstract, the individual whose mouth, jaws, and
throat are so much in literary doubt figures as "Eskibugeckoge,
Geuelle Platte, Flat Mouth, first chief of his band." This was a large
one, best known as the Pillagers, also as Muckundwas, who had long
maintained a separate tribal organization. The medal which Flat Mouth
had received from the British at Fort William on Lake Superior, and
which Pike took from him to substitute an American one, was replaced
by a large solid silver one given him by Schoolcraft July 19th, 1828.
The latter author has a long and good account of this remarkably brave
and sensible Indian, who in 1832 seemed to be turned of 60 years,
about 5 feet 9 or 10 inches high, erect, but inclined to corpulency.
He had been on the war-path 25 times, and had killed a good many Sioux
without ever receiving a wound. He was a man of great discernment and
sound judgment, extensively and accurately informed upon all affairs
which concerned his people or himself. There is much said of him in
the Minnesota Historical Collections from first to last, especially in
the Hon. W. W. Warren's History of the Ojibwas, and Rev. E. D. Neill's
continuation of the same subject: see for example pp. 17, 19, 45, 50,
138, 178, 223, 269, 275, 324, 342, 349, 352, 359, 360, 362, 369, and
459, 463, 465, 475, 478, in Vol. V. of those Collections. He figured
prominently in Anglojibwa affairs for more than half a century, and
was living in 1852, at a supposed age of about 78 years, having been
born about 1774. The circumstances under which the Leech Lake Indians
received the names of Makandwyinniniwag, Mukundwais, or Muckundwas, F.
Pilleurs, E. Pillagers, Plunderers, and Robbers, are said in substance
by Schoolcraft to be these: During the period of great irregularities
in the fur-trade consequent upon the transfer of the balance of power
from French to English hands, when the latter were still dependent in
part or entirely upon the former for their clerks and boatmen, and
these were in great favor with the Indians, one Berti came on with
goods and took his station at the mouth of Crow-wing r. to trade with
the Chips. But he had more to sell than they could buy, including guns
and ammunition which he knew the Sioux would be glad to get. The
Chips., however, forbade his thus arming their foes; and when he
started for the Sioux country, in spite of their warnings and threats,
they arrested him by force of arms, and robbed him of all he
possessed, though they spared his life. Berti returned to Sandy l.,
soon died of a broken heart, or of the exertions he had made to defend
his property, and was buried thereabouts. Dr. Douglass Houghton
relates a curious story of this trader's indirect causation of a
terrible smallpox epidemic that ravaged the Chips. The above
occurrences were in 1767-68. When the facts became known to the
company at Mackinac, the Indians were directed to make requital, with
threats of punishment for non-compliance. A deputation went to
Mackinac in the spring of 1770, with furs which were taken as an
equivalent for those which had been stolen, and the Indians were
dismissed with a cask of liquor and a closely rolled flag as a token
of friendship. They were enjoined not to broach the one or unroll the
other till they got home. But on the way they did both, and had a
drunken spree with some of their friends at Fond du Lac. Several were
taken sick, some died, and it was soon discovered that the disease had
broken out among them. It was spread broadcast, and is said to have
cost many hundred Chippewa lives before its ravages ceased. Whether
rightly or wrongly, the Indians were always firmly persuaded that a
dastardly outrage had been perpetrated upon them by the intentional
communication to them of the disease through the medium of the
presents they had received from officers of the fur company. I have
thus cited Schoolcraft for the popular or traditional as distinguished
from the proper or historical presentation of this case. The facts are
set forth at length in Warren's History of the Ojibways, chap. xxi.,
forming pp. 256-262 of Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885. The nom de guerre
which the Pillagers accepted for themselves is there rendered
Mukimduawininewug (men who take by force). There appears to be no
truth whatever in laying upon the British the infamous charge of
intentional introduction of smallpox. Warren had the facts direct from
an intelligent old chief of the Pillagers, from which it appears that
the terrible epidemic, costing several thousand lives, was introduced
on the return of a war-party of Kenistenos, Assineboines, and
Ojibways, who had gone for scalps to the Kechepegano (Missouri) r.,
and caught the infection from a village of Giaucthinnewug
(Grosventres).

[III-11] Which formed Doc. No. 6, p. 17 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig.
ed., and will be found beyond. This letter answered Pike's of Feb.
7th.

[III-12] The speech made at this conference by Pike, and the replies of
three chiefs, formed Docs. Nos. 7 and 8, p. 19 and p. 22 of the App.
to Pt. 1 of the orig. ed. Both are found beyond.

[III-13] Though the phrase is not capitalized, this is the personal name
of a Leech Lake chief, whom Pike elsewhere calls Chef de la Terre and
Obigouitte.

[III-14] That is, the main party, whom Pike starts off to-day with their
guide, in advance of himself, Corporal Bradley, Mr. "L'Rone," and the
two young Chips. named Buck and Beau. This would be inferred from the
above text, and is confirmed by that of 1807, p. 43, which says that
"the men were marched" Feb. 18th, and Pike with others was "to follow
afterwards." I have no clew as yet to the identity of this "L'Rone."
He seems to have been the guide whom Mr. M'Gillis provided, as Pike
says on the 21st, when this man was bundled back again, that he had
then no guide. But in that case, who or what was the Reale named on
the 21st? (See this name in Index.)

[III-15] Pike is on a _Pine River route_ from Leech l. to Lower Red Cedar
l., and goes across country on a general course about S. S. E., in
Cass Co. This much is clear; but this region is none too well known,
and my own information does not suffice me to attempt identification
of the many small lakes he crosses till he comes to the large
Whitefish l. in the course of Pine r. I doubt that we have data which
enable anyone to trail him with confidence. The multiplicity of lakes
and streams of the Pine River connections affords in fact several ways
when the water is open, and when everything was frozen over Pike did
not necessarily take any one of the usual routes. The air-line
distance is some 55 m.; but he traveled much further, as he blundered
on the way and struck the Mississippi too low down--at the mouth of
present Dean cr. See note 47, p. 135, and forward, where Pike
describes his Pine River journey.

[III-16] Not identified; but not to be confounded with the great Sandy l.
or Lac du Sable on the other side of the Mississippi, which Pike
reached Jan. 8th and left Jan. 20th: see note 49, p. 138.

[III-17] Whitefish or Fish l., as it is still called, is the largest body
of water into which Pine r. expands, but by no means to be considered
as its source. Several large streams fall into it, and the largest one
of these is properly regarded as the continuation of Pine r. This lake
begins only about 10 m. (air-line) from the Mississippi. Nicollet
names it Kadikomeg l.; two smaller ones, lower down on Pine r., he
names Plympton and Davenport. Three of this same connection are now
Cross, Pine, and Gear. We know exactly where Pike is to-day; though
his account of what appear to be two? or three? N. W. Co. houses on
this lake is not as clear as we could wish.

[III-18] On the up-voyage we figured out camp of Jan. 1st, 1806, to have
been between Dean and Hay crs.; the present pat coincidence confirms
the former independent determination: see note 47, p. 134. From
Whitefish l. Pike forged ahead of his party, accompanied by Boley,
Buck, and Beau, and bore away from Pine r. direct for Lower Red Cedar
l. He struck one of the little lakes connected with Dean cr., followed
this creek down to its mouth, and recognized this point on the
Mississippi as being a mile below where he had seen the Chippewa
canoes turned up Jan. 1st. Dean cr. empties 31/2 m. direct, exactly 5 m.
by the river, below Hay cr., about up to the mouth of which he goes to
camp to-night, and easily makes the N. W. Co. house to-morrow. Some
points I did not present in my former note on this locality are these:
Between Dean and Hay crs., and just W. of the "guide meridian" which,
N. of the Mississippi, marks the separation of the 4th and 5th
meridian systems of survey, is a very nearly straight stretch of the
river for 2 m., nearly E. and W. This was known to the old voyageurs
as the Grande Avenue. Its W. end is 13/4 m. above Dean cr.; its E.
beginning is at a sharp turn of the river 1/2 m. below (N. N. E. of) the
mouth of Hay cr., 23/4 m. scarcely E. of N. of the mouth of Cedar r.;
Pine Knoll is on this turn. At the end of the first 1/2 m. ascending the
Avenue, the range line between Ranges 27 and 28 (of the 4th M.)
strikes the Mississippi from the S., and ends there; this range line
is also the inter-county line between Crow Wing and Aitkin cos.
Rounding the bend at Pine Knoll and going less than 1/2 m., one comes to
the section line of Sects. 1 and 13, T. 136, R. 25, 5th M.; this is
-1/8 m. from the mouth of Hay cr., and from this point upward Aitkin
Co. is on both sides of the river. Pike's camp of the 24th was within
a small fraction of a mile from the point thus indicated.

[III-19] The first chief of the Sandy Lake Chippewas of Pike's time is
called on his table Catawabata, De Breche, and Broken Teeth. The
French form is intended for Dent Breche, and I suppose the more usual
term for a person with broken teeth would be Breche-dent. I have seen
the word printed as "Brusha." The native name is rendered Cadiwabida
by Schoolcraft, who speaks of him in 1832 as among the dead patriarchs
of his tribe. W. W. Warren renders this more correctly Kadowaubeda;
while Neill, with unusual inaccuracy on his part, speaks of
Catawatabeta _the_ Breche, in one place, and Kadewabedas, Breche,
Breche-dent, or Brechedent, in others. This man was living in July,
1828, when he visited Sandy l.; he was then the oldest Chippewa chief,
having been a small boy at the time of the capture of Fort Mackinac in
1763.

[III-20] Doc. No. 9, p. 23 of App. to Pt. I of the orig. ed; to be found
beyond in the present ed.

[III-21] See note 43, p. 131, Dec. 29th. It will not often be
necessary to recheck mileages on the down-voyage, now fairly under
way. "Pine Ridge" is hardly a named locality, though capitalized as
such. It is close to White Bear Skin r., the discharge of Duck and
Swamp lakes, near which we set camp of Dec. 29th, 1805. For a still
closer indication of the present camp, take the diminutive Half Moon
l., near the W. bank of the river. The point of the pine ridge is
opposite that.

[III-22] There is difficulty in adjusting the discrepant records of Mar.
3d and 4th with those of Christmas week, 1805: see back, Dec.
17th-25th, and notes there. The party were then toiling by Crow Wing
r., between Ripley and Brainerd; Pike did not keep with his men, and
some of the discrepancies may be due to actual difference between his
movements and theirs. Pike also says, Dec. 23d, that he was scarcely
able to make his notes intelligible. The two records contradict
instead of corroborating each other. Thus, Dec. 17th has it that the
two-barrel cache (pork and flour) was made that day, not the 19th, as
above said; and it was at or near Ripley. Dec. 20th one barrel of
flour was buried; the party were then so close on to Crow Wing r. that
Pike got there early next morning. He did not leave Crow Wing r. till
after he had taken the latitude there, on the 24th. Meanwhile, his men
were struggling up to this river. It is really a small matter, of no
more than some 16 m. direct, or 20 m. by the Mississippi, and thus
hardly worth dwelling on; but I like to be accurate when I can. Pike
was camped at Brainerd Dec. 26th and Mar. 2d; he raised his one-barrel
cache of Dec. 20th, near Crow Wing r., on Mar. 3d, and continued on
down to the Nokasippi, which had been passed on or about Dec. 18th,
not 21st, as above; on Mar. 4th he came to the two-barrel cache which
he had made on Dec. 17th, not 19th, as above said, when he was in the
vicinity of Ripley; he continues to-day past Ripley, past his three
days' camp of Dec. 14th, 15th, and 16th, above Olmsted's bar, and
fetches up to-night opposite his camp of Dec. 13th, in the vicinity of
Topeka. Mar. 5th finds him at his stockade on Swan r. The camp of Mar.
3d, at the Nokasippi r., is an absolutely fixed point, as this is the
only river that falls in from the E. hereabouts. "Pine Camp" of the
above paragraph is the place where he was camped for three days, Dec.
14th, 15th, 16th, in the vicinity of Olmsted's bar.

[III-23] "Between Pine creek and the post" is a slip for "between Pine
_camp_ and the post"; for the post was on Pine _creek_ (Swan r.). The
December camps passed Mar. 5th were four: Dec. 12th, at or near
Fletcher cr.; Dec. 11th, near Little Elk r.; Dec. 10th, at Little
Falls (city); Dec. 9th, just above Swan r., on the other side of the
Mississippi. The salute had been ordered by letter from Grant's house
on Lower Red Cedar l.: see back, Feb. 26th. For "Killeur Rouge" see
note 24, p. 118.

[III-24] Full name of this Menomonee chief, as listed by Pike on his
tabular exhibit, where his native name is rendered Tomaw, and where
the other Folle Avoine chief also appears by the above name, Shawanoe,
not translated in F. or E.

[III-25] Possibly a clew here to the unidentified person whose name
occurs as Greinyea or Grienway in Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, p.
1188, _q. v._ The person here meant is Louis Grignon: see Wis. Hist.
Coll., VII. p. 247. A Mr. Grignon is mentioned in Wm. Morrison's
letter (elsewhere cited) as one of the five persons besides himself
who formed the party that came into the country from Fond du Lac in
July, 1802. The name stands Greignon, text of 1807, p. 46.

[III-26] Pike's observation strikes me as much more "singular" than the
Fox Indian's opinion. Many of us have been taught that the whole world
was once drowned, excepting one favored family, and we have also been
told how it was repeopled. That is one advantage which an enlightened
Christian has over Lo, the poor benighted Indian. The savage simply
accepts that one of the deluge-myths which his own ancestors
elaborated to suit themselves. But the Christian has the Word of God
himself, bound up in many different editions of various dates, for the
truth of that particular deluge-myth which the Jews appropriated, with
variations to suit their own tribal vanity, from the Chaldeans. They
invented very little except their precious Jehovah, who was less
polished and less agreeable a god than most of those who were
elaborated by the more civilized tribes who surrounded and generally
whipped the Jews. The Noachian narration, like the Genesis relation of
both the Elohistic and the Jehovistic scribes, was borrowed from one
of the myths that clustered about the legendary character known as
Gisdhubar, Izdubar, etc., alleged descendant of the last antediluvian
monarch Hasisadra, who became known to the Greeks through Berosus as
Xisuthros. The original of this deluge-myth was recovered from the
cuneiform characters by Geo. Smith of the British Museum in 1872, and
may be read in English and various other modern languages, to the
great edification of the faithful, no doubt: see it, _e. g._, in the
charming and readily accessible book, The Story of Chaldea, by Zenaide
A. Ragozin, 2d ed., 8vo, N. Y., G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1888, p. 301 and
p. 314. After the aqueous allegations had been reduced to writing in
Hebrew characters, and generations of Jewish rabbis had tinkered the
text to suit themselves with Masoretic points, and various anonymous
scribes had turned it into Septuagint Greek and Vulgate Latin, some
people in England who had never heard of the original, could not have
read a word of it if they had handled the very bricks on which it was
first stamped, and do not appear to have been informed on the subject
by the Holy Ghost, gave us their English version of the words of God
duly "authorized" by "the wisest fool in Europe," as the Duc de Sully
called James I. The most credible items in this account are that the
elephant took his trunk with him and stood behind it in the ark, but
that the cock and the fox were worse off for baggage, having only a
comb and a brush between them; yet I also believe just as firmly that
the raven which Noah let fly was the original progenitor of the Petit
Corbeau who lived in the village of Kapoja, near St. Paul, Minn.

[III-27] The phrase which Pike's interpreter applied to the woman was no
doubt "La Bastonnaise." For a long period before and after the end of
the last century, "Bostonian" in some form was the nickname of
English-speaking whites, especially New Englanders--just as we now say
"Yankee." The Indians picked up the word from the Canadian French, and
it passed from mouth to mouth across the continent; _e. g._, it
entered the vocabulary of the Chinook jargon spoken on the N. W.
Coast. To cite a case: "On my remarking to Mr. Frobisher that I
suspected the _Bastonnais_ (Bostonians, or English colonists) had been
doing some mischief in Canada, the Indians directly exclaimed, 'Yes;
that is the name! _Bastonnais._' They were lately from the Grand
Portage," etc., Alex. Henry, Trav. of 1761-76, 8vo, N. Y., 1809, p.
329.

[III-28] See back, note 14, p. 99, Oct. 8th, 1805. Pike's getting down
to Mr. Dickson's wintering-ground in one day from the stockade on Swan
r. confirms the opinion expressed in that note that this place is
marked too low on his map (below Clear Water r.). It also relieves us
of the difficulty that seemed to arise when we were told that Pike did
not pass Dickson's place till Oct. 10th, when we brought him up to St.
Cloud. Evidently, then, our adjustment of mileages and camps of Oct.
8th-10th is right, and Dickson's place was at the foot of the Thousand
Island cluster (Pike's Beaver isls.). The text of 1807, p. 21, speaks
of "the place where Mr. Rienville and Monsr. Perlier wintered in 1797.
Above it is a cluster of more than 20 islands in the course of four
miles, which they named the Beaver islands." As to the name of the
person who was with Mr. Dickson, we have choice of four: Paulier, as
above; Perlier, text of Oct. 10th, of both 1807 and 1810 eds., but
Paulire on p. 56 of the 1807 text; and Potier, on the map. One Antoine
_Pothier_, a trader, is named among Laclede's "thirty associates" by
Billon, Ann. St. Louis, 1764-1804, pub. 1886, p. 18; and it appears in
St. Louis archives that one Isidor _Peltier_ sold a slave to Louis
Blouin, Oct. 7th, 1767. For one _Pothier_, 1812, see also Wis. His.
Soc. Coll., XI. p. 272. But Pike's man is _Jacques Porlier_, b. 1765,
Milwaukee in 1783, Green Bay in 1791, d. 1839: see Wis. His. Soc.
Coll., III. p. 244, VII. p. 247, and Tasse, Les Canadiens de l'Ouest,
8vo, Montreal, 1878, I. pp. 137-141.

[III-29] This letter formed Doc. No. 10, p. 24, of App. to Pt. 1 of the
orig. ed.; it is given beyond. It is dated Grand Isle (_i. e._, Grande
Ile), Apr. 9th; by which we may infer this to have been then the name
of the place where Mr. Dickson wintered, and that this place was on a
large island. All indications now are that the wintering-place in
question was on the foot of the large island at whose head are
Mosquito rapids, and only a mile or so above St. Augusta, as already
surmised in note 16, p. 100. For "a Mr. Greignor," see note 25,
p. 181. "A Mr. Veau" is Jacques Vieau or De Veau, b. 1757, d. 1852:
see W. H. S. C., XI. p. 218. The October date above is provokingly
blank for the day of the month. But I construe the passage to mean
that the place where Pike now is, Apr. 9th, is also the place where
Mr. Porlier's brother and Mr. Veau had wintered 1805-6. If so, we may
query Oct. 4th as the missing date; for though Pike does not say that
his camp that day was on an island, the position of Dimick's isl., to
which we then brought him, is such that he can easily make Rum r. by 7
a. m. to-morrow, if he keeps on "some time" after leaving the island
in question, as he says he does.

[III-30] Pike twice passed directly by Dayton bluff, in which this cave
was situated--once Sept. 21st, 1805, and again to-day: see back, note
72, p. 75, for the locality, and add: The cave which Carver
discovered in 1766 is thus described by him, pp. 39, 40, ed. of 1796:
"About 30 [say 15] miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, at which I
arrived the 10th day after I left Lake Pepin, is a remarkable cave of
an amazing depth. The Indians term it Wakon-teebe, that is, the
Dwelling of the Great Spirit. The entrance into it is about 10 feet
wide, the height of it 5 feet. The arch within is near 15 feet high,
and about 30 feet broad. The bottom of it consists of clear sand.
About 20 feet from the entrance begins a lake, the water of which is
transparent, and extends to an unsearchable distance; for the darkness
of the cave prevents all attempts to acquire a knowledge of it. I
threw a small pebble towards the interior parts of is [it], with my
utmost strength: I could hear that it fell into the water, and
notwithstanding it was of so small a size, it caused an astonishing
and horrible noise, that reverberated through all those gloomy
regions. I found in this cave many Indian hieroglyphics, which
appeared very ancient, for time had nearly covered them with moss, so
that it was with difficulty I could trace them. They were cut in a
rude manner upon the inside of the walls, which were composed of a
stone so extremely soft that it might easily be penetrated with a
knife; a stone everywhere to be found near the Mississippi. The cave
is only accessible by ascending a narrow, steep passage, that lies
near the brink of the river." Now it is easy to criticise such an
account, and those who wish to discredit this honest gentleman seize
upon "amazing depth," "unsearchable distance," "horrible noise," etc.
But that is unfair. These phrases are only Carver's _facon de parler_
of his subjective sensations; the objective reality is truthfully and
recognizably described. Besides, one should be sure he is in Carver's
cave before he criticises the description--not get into another cave
and then find fault with Carver because the wrong cave does not fit
the right description, as our friend Schoolcraft did. The cave which
Carver does _not_ describe was not discovered till 1811. Long visited
two in 1817; in 1823 Long's second party visited the New or Fountain
cave, and Keating has left the matter in such clear light that the
passage may be transcribed, I. p. 289, ed. of 1824: "Above this
village [of Kapoja], there is a cave which is much visited by the
voyagers; we stopped to examine it, although it presents, in fact, but
little to admire; it is formed in the sandstone, and is of course
destitute of those beautiful appearances, which characterize the
caverns in calcareous rock. It is the same which is described by Mr.
Schoolcraft, whose name, as well as those of several of Governor Cass'
party we found carved in the rock. In his account of it, Mr.
Schoolcraft states it to be the cavern that was visited by Carver, but
adds that 'it appears to have undergone a considerable alteration
since that period.' It appears from Major Long's MSS. of 1817, that
there are two caves, both of which he visited; the lower one was
Carver's; it was in 1817 very much reduced in size from the dimensions
given by Carver; the opening into it was then so low, that the only
way of entering it was by creeping in a prostrate position. Our
interpreter, who had accompanied Major Long, told us that it was now
closed up; it was probably near the cemetery which we have mentioned.
The cavern which we visited, and which Mr. Schoolcraft describes, is
situated five miles above; it was discovered in 1811, and is called
the Fountain cave; there is a beautiful stream running through it,"
etc. I think very likely the cave Long visited in 1817, and thought to
be Carver's, was really the smaller one alongside Carver's in Dayton
bluff, of which I am informed by my friend Mr. A. J. Hill, seeing how
"much reduced in size from the dimensions given by Carver" he found
it. Beltrami, II. pp. 191-193, goes on about Carver's cave in a way
which makes one think he entered no one of the three caves in this
vicinity, but drew on his imagination for his description after
reading up on the subject. He uses the phrase "cave of Trophonius,"
and says that "the Sioux call this cave Whakoon-Thiiby"--a decidedly
original way of spelling it. Featherstonhaugh describes his visit of
Sept. 12th, 1835, to what he calls Carver's cave, p. 257 of his Canoe
Voyage, etc., pub. 1847. Nicollet, who is always to the point, speaks
of two caves, one 4 and the other 8 m. below St. Peters, Rep. 1843, p.
72: "Both are in the sandstone, but at different elevations. The
former is on a level with the river, and is reached through a short
ravine along the limpid streamlet that issues from it. Many authors
have thought this to be the cave described by Carver, but erroneously.
It would, in fact, be only necessary to compare the locality with
Carver's description, to be at once convinced. The cave now referred
to is of recent formation. The aged Sioux say that it did not exist
formerly. It has to them no ceremonial association. They scarcely ever
visit it, and there are none of their hieroglyphics upon its sides or
floor. It owes its formation to the dislocation and decomposition of
the upland limestone, which have left sloughy places; the waters of
which have penetrated into the sandstone, wearing it away, and giving
origin to the streamlet which issues from it. The location of this
cave is on my map designated as the _new cave_ [_New Cave_]. The
second, four miles below the former, is that described by Carver. Its
entrance has been, for more than 30 years, closed by the disintegrated
debris of the limestone capping the sandstone in which it is located.
On the 3d day of July, 1837, with the assistance of Messrs. Campbell
and Quinn--the former an interpreter for the Sioux, the latter for the
Chippeways--I set about clearing this entrance; which, by-the-bye, was
no easy work; for, on the 5th we were about abandoning the job, when,
unexpectedly, we found that we had made an opening into it; and
although we had not entirely disincumbered it of its rubbish, I saw
enough to satisfy me of the accuracy of Carver's description. The lake
mentioned by him is there; but I could only see a segment of the cave,
a portion of its roof being too near the surface of the water to
enable me to proceed any further. A Chippeway warrior made a long
harangue on the occasion; throwing his knife into the lake as an
offering to _Wakan-tibi_, the spirit of the grottoes. The ascent to
the cave is by a rapid <DW72>; and on the rocks that form a wall to the
left, there are a number of ancient Sioux hieroglyphics, that mean
nothing more than to indicate the names of Indians that have at
various times visited this natural curiosity. On leaving the cave and
reaching the river, a stroll of a few yards to the left, by keeping
close to the rocks, brought us upon a sweet, limpid and copious spring
which had remained for a long time unknown in consequence of the
shingle and brush that conceal its outlet. This is evidently the issue
of the waters of Grotto lake; and their abundance indicates that the
lake is well fed, and doubtless occupies a considerable space within
the mountain. On the high grounds above the cave there are some Indian
mounds, to which the Indians belonging to the tribe of _Mdewakantonwans_
formerly transported the bones of the deceased members of their
families," as is stated by Carver, Pike, Long, and many others. I am
led into this long note partly for the purpose of setting history
straight, and partly from the intrinsic interest of these Stygian
caverns, which Pike passes to-day without notice, as hundreds now do
every day and will do until the places are improved off the earth. The
cave that Nicollet opened is the veritable one that Carver discovered;
it is right on the railroad that skirts Dayton bluff, about a mile in
an air-line from Union depot. The New or Fountain cave is miles away,
in Upper St. Paul, near the railroad bridge there, unless it has
lately yielded to the triumph of art over nature and been effaced. Mr.
Hill writes from St. Paul, Mar. 18th, 1894: "Before the shaving off of
Carver's cave--or rather before our civil war--the serpent on the roof
on the right hand as you stood on the brink of the waters was very
plainly visible, and might have been traced by rubbing or otherwise;
but this would have required scaffolding. It has been remarked that
the serpent was the totem of Ottahtongoomlishcah, one of the Sioux
chiefs of the 'Cave Treaty.' I found by actual measurement that the
extreme length of the lake was 110 feet, before any alteration of the
surface had occurred." See also the article by Mr. Hill on Mounds,
Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., VI. Pt. 2, 1891. J. Fletcher Williams, in
Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872, p. 355, notes that there was
little change in Carver's cave in the course of a century, for it was
much the same May 1st, 1867, when the Historical Society celebrated
the centennial of Carver's purported treaty with the Sioux. "Within
the past two years, however, sad changes have taken place. The St.
Paul & Chicago Railroad, having condemned for their use the strip of
land along the river bank, including the bluff or cliff in which is
the cave, have dug it down and nearly destroyed it. But a narrow
cavity now remains to mark its site. The pool or lake is gone, and the
limpid stream that flows through it now supplies a railroad tank." But
now, says Mr. Hill, "sand heaped from railroad cutting has again
backed up the water into a pool, the receptacle of all filth." Mr. T.
H. Lewis' article, Cave-Drawings, Appleton's Annual Cyclop., 1889, p.
117 (reprint, p. 3), gives the exact position of both the Dayton bluff
caves; the small one, 400 feet above Carver's, is 50 feet N. E. of
Commercial St., midway between Plum and Cherry Sts., at the foot of
the bluff; 35 feet long on the floor, as measured in 1889 to the edge
of the water in the rear, 24 feet wide, 10 feet high--thus about
one-third as large as Carver's. It had pictographs like those of
Carver's cave. None of those Carver mentions were ever copied; his
cave was in part demolished by grading when the railroad first came
by, and in the course of time the walls were scribbled over by the
ubiquitous army of idlers and tramps from whose vandalism no natural
formation or artificial monument in the world is secure.

[III-31] Literally Raven's Nose. He is tabulated by Pike as Tatamane, Nez
Corbeau, Raven Nose, and Wind that Walks (latter name a euphemism).

[III-32] "Dispunishable" is a good old word, though rare and now
obsolete; but Pike uses it in the opposite of its meaning, which was
simply "punishable"--for the prefix _dis-_ is here intensive, not
reversive or nugatory. C. D. marks it obs., and cites in support of
def. a passage from the last will of Dean Swift, in a clause of which
"_dispunishable_ of waste" occurs.

[III-33] Joseph Rolette, Sr. There were various persons of this surname,
whose spelling varies as usual. Billon gives one Michel Rolette as a
French soldier who came from Fort Chartres to Laclede's village (St.
Louis) in 1764. Pike's "Mr. Rollett" is the same man as Beltrami's
"Mr. Roulet," said in Beltrami's book, II. p. 174, to have been at
Prairie du Chien in 1823, in the S. W. Co. The Minn. Hist. Coll., II.
Part 2, 1864, 2d ed. 1881, p. 107, mentions "the notorious Joseph
Rolette, sen.," as at Prairie du Chien, in or about Feb., 1822. The
memoir of Hercules M. Dousman, by General H. H. Sibley, Minn. Hist.
Coll., III. 1870-80, p. 193, speaks of "the late Joseph Rolette,
senior," as a partner of the American Fur Company, in 1826; again we
read there, p. 194: "In 1834 ... I formed with him [Dousman] and the
late Joseph Rolette, senior, a co-partnership with the American Fur
Company of New York, which passed in that year under the direction of
Ramsay Crooks as President"; and once more, _ibid._, p. 199: "In 1844,
Col. Dousman was united in marriage to the widow of his former partner
in business, Joseph Rolette, senior, who died some years previously."

[III-34] This letter was Doc. No. 11, p. 25 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the
orig. ed. It is given beyond.

[III-35] That is to say, certain ones of their nation who were murderers
of some white men: see Apr. 17th. The minutes of this Winnebago
conference formed Doc. No. 12, p. 26 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig.
ed.; given beyond.

[III-36] Doc. No. 13, p. 29 of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig. ed.; given
beyond.

[III-37] On Pike's Tabular Abstract, one Red Thunder, Tonnerre Rouge, or
Wuckiew Nutch, appears as a Sisseton and "first chief of all the
Sioux"; while Red Cloud, Nuage Rouge, or Muckpeanutah, is exhibited as
first chief of the Yanktons.

[III-38] James B. Many of Delaware, whose name occurs in Pike and
elsewhere as Many, Maney, Manny, and Mary, also as Mancy in the text
of 1807, was appointed first lieutenant of the 2d reg't of
Artillerists and Engineers June 4th, 1798, and hence of Artillerists
Apr. 1st, 1802; promoted to be captain Oct. 1st, 1804, and major, May
5th, 1813; he was transferred to the corps of Artillery May 12th,
1814, to the 4th Infantry June 1st, 1821, to the 5th Infantry Oct.
24th, 1821; on the 1st of Jan., 1822, he was made lieutenant-colonel
of the 7th Infantry, to rank from June 1st, 1821; became colonel of
the 2d Infantry July 21st, 1834, and died Feb. 23d, 1852.

[III-39] Pigeons are among the least fecund of birds, as they lay only
two eggs at a clutch, and that not oftener than most other birds. But
Pike's account of their vast numbers is not in the least exaggerated.
The aggregate of individuals in existence in the United States during
those and for many later years defies all attempt at calculation. Some
single flights have been estimated to include millions. The settlement
of the country, and consequent wanton destruction during our
generation, have exterminated the wild pigeon in some regions, and
reduced to comparatively few its numbers in others.

[III-40] Daniel Hughes of Maryland originally entered the army as an
ensign of the 9th Infantry, Jan. 8th, 1799; became a lieutenant that
year, and was honorably discharged June 15th, 1800. He was reappointed
second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry Feb. 16th, 1801, and transferred
to the 1st Infantry Apr. 1st, 1802; promoted to be first lieutenant
Mar. 23d, 1805, and captain Dec. 15th, 1808; became major of the 2d
Infantry Feb. 21st, 1814, and was honorably discharged June 15th,
1815. His subsequent career is not known to me.

[III-41] A sketch of the early history of St. Louis forms pp. 75-92 of
Nicollet's Report of 1843, so often cited in the foregoing notes. It
will be well to abstract here the main historical points of this
article, which is not so well known as everything that Nicollet wrote
should be. Some of the following items are adduced from other sources,
as Billon's Annals. Louisiana was ceded by France to Spain, Treaty of
Fontainebleau, Nov. 3d, 1762, ratified Nov. 13th; and by Treaty of
Paris, Feb. 10th, 1763, France and Spain jointly made the cession to
Great Britain. In 1762 or 1763 D'Abadie was director-general of
Louisiana ad interim, vice Governor Kerlerec, relieved. He licensed
Laclede, Maxent (or Maxam) and Co., merchants of New Orleans, to trade
up the river. Pierre Ligueste Laclede, in charge of the party, left
New Orleans Aug. 3d, 1763; proceeded to St. Genevieve and Fort
Chartres, Nov. 3d; to the mouth of the Missouri in Dec.; blazed a site
for his trading-post, now St. Louis; and returned to winter at Fort
Chartres, 1763-64. He soon sent to the spot he had marked a boat with
30 persons, in charge of Auguste Chouteau; they arrived Feb. 15th,
1764 (so Nicollet), or Mar. 14th (Chouteau himself says). The list of
the "Thirty Associates" of Laclede given by Billon, p. 17, is 31, with
Antoine Riviere, who, however, did not go in this boat, but drove the
cart which contained Mrs. Chouteau and four children, and which was
escorted by Laclede in person. Chouteau says that Laclede came there
early in April, selected a site for his own house, and returned to
Fort Chartres. He brought his family in September, and established
himself in his new house. The settlement was made, and at least eight
persons were added to the original number by the fall of 1764. The
original name was Laclede's Village. In Oct., 1764, the infant colony
was annoyed by begging and pilfering Missouri Indians. D'Abadie died
Feb. 4th, 1765. Neyon de Villiers had turned over the command of Fort
Chartres, June 15th, 1764, to Louis St. Ange de Bellerive, by whom it
was given over to the British Captain Stirling, Oct. 10th (not July
17th), 1765; Stirling died in three months, and St. Ange resumed
temporary charge of the fort, pending arrival of Stirling's English
successor. British dominion E. of the Mississippi, already
established, was odious; it drove many persons across the river, and
naturally they gathered about the nucleus Laclede had provided. By the
end of 1765 several hundred were there; law was needed, and a
provisional government was set up by general consent in the election
or recognition of St. Ange as governor; this was in effect in April,
1766, with the first recorded document of a public character; first on
record being one filed by Joseph Labusciere, notary, Jan. 21st, 1766.
Laclede, St. Ange, Labusciere, and Judge Joseph Le Febvre d'Inglebert
d'Brouisseau were the four persons most prominent in moving the wheels
of government for four or five years. The settlement had already
outgrown all the earlier ones in the vicinity and become the actual
"metropolis" or capital place in the country. In 1767 the village had
perhaps 80 houses, and several hundred people. Late that year Capt.
Francisco Rios or Rivers arrived with some 25 men, sent by Don Antonio
d' Ulloa to take Spanish possession; he could not be conveniently
accommodated, so selected a camp on the Missouri, 14 miles away, where
he built in 1768 Fort Charles the Prince (site of subsequent Belle
Fontaine), named for the one who became in 1788 Charles IV. of Spain.
Definitive possession of Upper Louisiana was taken May 20th, 1770, by
Capt. Piedro Piernas, sent from New Orleans by Gen. Alex. O'Reilly
(Oreiley of Nicollet), who had landed there at 5 p. m., Aug. 18th,
1769. At the close of the French regime, 1770, the village had 100
wooden and 15 stone houses; pop. 500. Before or about 1770, some other
settlements were made in the region roundabout; Blanchette the hunter
built his shack on les Petites Cotes, and this place became St.
Charles in 1784; the place to be called both Florissant and St.
Ferdinand was started by Francois Borosier Dunegan (so Nicollet--but
query this name?) Francois Saucier settled at Portage des Sioux. The
origin of the name _Pain Court_ is said to be: In 1767, one Delor
Detergette settled on the W. bank of the Miss. r., 6 m. S. of St.
Louis, and was followed by others, all so poor that when they visited
St. Louis, the people there would exclaim, "voila les poches vides qui
viennent!" "Here come the Empty Pockets!" "But," says Nicollet, "on
one occasion a wag remarked, 'You had better call them _emptiers of
pockets_'--_les Vide-poches_; a compliment which was retaliated by them
upon the place of St. Louis, which was subject to frequent seasons of
want, by styling it _Pain-Court_--_Short of Bread_." The Vide-poche
place became Carondelet in 1776. Laclede died at the Poste aux
Arkansas, June 20th, 1778. On May 6th, 1780, St. Louis was attacked by
Indians and British, and many persons (accounts differ as to numbers)
were killed or captured; it became known as l'Annee du Grand
Coup--year of the great blow. Similarly 1785 was called l'Annee des
Grandes Eaux, because of the flood in April when the Mississippi rose
to an unprecedented height and inundated the lowlands; it is
traditional that Auguste Chouteau moored his boat and breakfasted on
top of the highest roof in St. Genevieve. The year 1788 was called
L'Annee des Dix Batteaux, from circumstances of piracy on the river.
The winter of 1789-90 was notable for its intensity. There was no
interruption of Spanish dominion until the cession of Louisiana to the
United States: see Lewis and Clark, ed. 1893, p. xxxiii. and p. 2.




CHAPTER IV.

WEATHER DIARY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.[IV-1]

_Meteorological Observations made by Lieutenant Pike, on the
Mississippi, in 1805 and 1806._


NOTE.--These observations are very imperfect, my mode of traveling
being such as to prevent my making regular references to the
thermometer; and during the intense cold which prevailed some part of
the winter, the mercury of the barometer sank into the bulb. I was
also frequently obliged to be absent from my party, when it was
impossible for me to carry instruments. Those different circumstances
occasioned the omissions which appear in the table. The instrument
employed was Reaumer's, but the observations made have been adapted to
the scale of Fahrenheit.--Z. M. PIKE, 1st lieutenant.

 =====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
      | Thermometer  |        |      Wind      |         |      |       |Baro-
      |  (degrees)   |        |                |         |      |       |meter
 Date +----+----+----+  Sky   +--------+-------+    N.   |  W.  |  Var. |(in.)
      |sun-| 3  |sun-|        | Course |Force  |   Lat.  | Long.|       |
      |rise|p.m.|set |        |        |       |         |      |       |
 -----+----+----+----+--------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
  Aug.|    |    |    |        |        |       |         |      |       |
   6  | ...| ...| ...| clear  | S S E  | fresh |  39 deg.1'  |15 deg.20'| 7 deg.54' | 28.5
      |    |    |    |        |        |       |         | Ph.  |       |
   7  | ...| 90 | ...|thunder-|  N W   | very  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28
      |    |    |    | storm  |        | hard  |         |      |       |
   8  | ...| 75 | ...| rain   |  N W   |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
   9  | ...| 83 | ...| cloudy | S by E | light |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28.8
  10  | ...| 97 | ...| flying |   W    |squally|   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28
      |    |    |    | clouds |        |       |         |      |       |
  11  | ...|1081/2| ...|  do.   | W by S |  ...  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 20
  12  | ...|1013/4| ...|  rain  | S by W | fresh |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 29.2
  13  | ...| 833/4| ...|  hard  |  N W   |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |    |    |  rain  |        |       |         |      |       |
  14  | ...| 811/2| ...|  do.   | S by E |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  15  | ...| 881/4| ...| rainy  |  N W   |  do.  | 40 deg.31"  |16 deg.41"|  ...  | 29
  16  | ...| 901/2| ...| clear  |  N W   |gentle |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 30
  17  | ...| 881/4| ...|  do.   |  S E   |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 30.2
  18  | ...| 811/2| ...| cloudy |  N W   |strong |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  19  | ...| 991/2| ...| clear  |  N W   |gentle |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 30
  20  | ...| 901/2| ...|  do.   |   E    |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 30
  21  | ...| 881/4| ...| cloudy |  S E   | fresh |40 deg.32'12"| ...  |  ...  | 29
  22  | ...| 901/2| ...| clear  | N by W |strong |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  23  | ...|1061/4| ...|  do.   |  ...   |  ...  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 30
  24  | ...| 823/4| ...| clear  |  ...   |  ...  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 30
  25  | ...| 811/4| ...| cloudy | N by W |strong |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 2
  26  | 611/4| 721/2| ...|  rain  | N by W | gale  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | ...
  27  | 541/2| 631/2| ...|  do.   | N by W |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | ...
  28  | 521/4| 611/4| ...|  do.   | S by E | hard  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | ...
  29  | 521/4| 721/2| ...| cloudy | S by E | fresh |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  30  | 611/4| 881/4| ...| clear  | S by W |  do.  |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28
  31  | ...| 923/4| ...|  do.   | S by W |gentle |   ...   | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
 =====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====

 =====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
      | Thermometer  |        |     Wind       |         |      |       |Baro-
      |  (degrees)   |        |                |         |      |       |meter
 Date +----+----+----+  Sky   +--------+-------+   N.    |  W.  |  Var. |(in.)
      |sun-| 3  |sun-|        | Course |Force  |  Lat.   | Long.|       |
      |rise|p.m.|set |        |        |       |         |      |       |
 -----+----+----+----+--------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
 Sept.|    |    |    |        |        |       |         |      |       |
   1  | ...| 881/4| ...| clear  |  S E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 30
   2  | ...| 95 | ...|  do.   |   S    |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.3
   3  | ...| 791/4| ...| cloudy |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.8
   4  | ...| 77 | ...|  do.   |  S W   |  do.  |43 deg.44'8" | ...  |  ...  | 29
   5  | ...| 881/4| ...|  rain  |  S W   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 27
   6  | ...| 95 | ...| clear  | S by E |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 27
   7  | ...| 86 | ...| cloudy | S by E |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28
   8  | ...| 991/2| ...|  do.   | S by E |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
   9  | ...| 923/4| ...|  do.   |   S    |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.8
  10  | ...| 721/2| ...|  rain  | N by W | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  11  | ...| 59 | ...|  do.   | N by E | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  12  | ...| 521/4| ...|  do.   | N by E |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  13  | ...| 50 | ...|  do.   |   N    |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  14  | ...| 431/4| ...| clear  |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  15  | ...| 653/4| ...|  rain  |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28
  16  | ...| 77 | ...| rising |  S E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
      |    |    |    | clouds |        |       |         |      |       |
  17  | ...| 653/4| ...|  rain  |  N W   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  18  | ...| 77 | ...| cloudy |  N W   |gentle |45 deg.44'8" | ...  |  ...  | ...
  19  | ...| 653/4| ...|  do.   |  S E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  20  | ...| 721/2| ...| clear  |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  21  | 41 | 77 | ...|  do.   |  S E   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
  22  | ...| 77 | ...|  do.   |  N W   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  23  | ...| 811/2| ...| cloudy |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  24  | ...| 86 | ...|  do.   |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  25  | ...| 77 | ...| flying |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |    |    | clouds |        |       |         |      |       |
  26  | ...| 653/4| ...| cloudy |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  27  | ...| 653/4| ...|  do.   |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  28  | ...| 653/4| ...|  rain  | S by E | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28
  29  | ...| 721/2| ...| cloudy | S by E |fresh, |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |    |    |        |        | hard  |         |      |       |
  30  | ...| 653/4| ...|  do.   |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  Oct.|    |    |    |        |        |       |         |      |       |
   1  | 50 | 653/4| ...| cloudy |  N W   |fresh  |  45 deg.    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
   2  | 50 | 721/2| ...|  rain  |  N W   |       |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28
   3  | 32 | 50 | ...| clear  |  N W   |       |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.4
   4  | 32 | 50 | ...| cloudy,|  N W   |       |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
      |    |    |    |  hail  |        |       |         |      |       |
   5  | 32 | 23 | ...| clear  |  N W   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
   6  | 32 | 23 | ...|  do.   |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
   7  | 361/2| 50 | ...|  do.   |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
   8  | 26 | 50 | ...|  do.   |  S E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
   9  | 41 | 541/2| ...|  do.   | W by N |       |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  10  | 50 | 881/4| 653/4|  do.   | S by W |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  11  | 361/2| 653/4| 541/2|  do.   | N by W |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
  12  | 361/2| 59 | 361/2|  do.   | N by W | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  13  | 36 | 721/2| 59 |  do.   | S by W | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 36.2
  14  | 36 | 653/4| 50 |  do.   |  N W   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
  15  | 431/4| 541/2| 41 | cloudy,| N by W | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
      |    |    |    |  rain  |        |       |         |      |       |
  16  | 50 | 653/4| 541/2|  snow  |   do.  |  do.  |45 deg.33'3" | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  17  | 41 | 50 | 52 |  do.   |   do.  |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28
  18  | 431/4| 541/2| 50 | cloudy | S by W |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  19  | 451/2| 59 | 541/2| clear, |   do.  |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.8
      |    |    |    | cloudy |        |       |         |      |       |
  20  | 431/4| 54 | 431/4|  do.   |   do.  |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  21  | 23 | 14 | 20 | clear  |   do.  |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
  22  | 29 | 45 | 32 | cloudy,| N by W |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
      |    |    |    |  snow  |        |       |         |      |       |
  23  | 20 | 27 | 23 |  do.   |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.3
  24  | 20 | 27 | 23 |  do.   |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
  25  | 16 | 23 | 43 | cloudy |  ...   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  | 9 deg.10' | 29
  26  | 11 | 20 | 32 | clear  |   W    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29.5
  27  | 20 | 32 | 431/4|  do.   |   W    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 30
  28  | 20 | 43 | 47 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |45 deg.33'3" | ...  | 9 deg.10'S| 29.5
  29  | 27 | 50 | 43 | cloudy,|  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 29
      |    |    |    |  rain  |        |       |         |      |       |
  30  | 50 | 52 | 50 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
  31  | 32 | 43 | 47 | cloudy |   N    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  | 9 deg.10'S| 28
 =====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====

REMARKS.--Sept. 1st, The [Dubuque] Mines. Sept. 5th, Prairie De Chien.
Sept. 10th, Barometer below 28. Sept. 18th, Lake Pepin. Sept. 22d,
River St. Peter's. Sept. 27th, Falls of St. Anthony. Oct. 16th, Pine
Creek Rapids. Oct. 28th, Pine Creek.

 =====+===============+=======+================+=========+======+=======+=====
      | Thermometer   |       |      Wind      |         |      |       |Baro-
      |  (degrees)    |       |                |         |      |       |meter
 Date +----+-----+----+  Sky  +--------+-------+   N.    |  W.  |  Var. |(in.)
      |sun-| 3   |sun-|       | Course |Force  |  Lat.   |Long. |       |
      |rise|p.m. |set |       |        |       |         |      |       |
 -----+----+-----+----+-------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
  Nov.|    |     |    |       |        |       |         |      |       |
    1 | 36 | ... | ...| rain  |  ...   |  ...  |45 deg.33'3" | ...  |  ...  | 28
    2 | ...| ... | ...| snow  |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    3 | ...|warm | ...| fair  |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    4 | ...|fresh| ...| do.   |  N E   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    5 | ...|warm | ...| do.   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    6 | ...|cool | ...| snow  |  N W   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    7 | ...|warm | ...| hail, |   do.  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |     |    | rain  |        |       |         |      |       |
    8 | ...| do. | ...| light |   do.  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |     |    | snow  |        |       |         |      |       |
    9 | ...|cold | 27 | do.   |   do.  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   10 | 14 | 20  | 20 | clear |  N W   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28
   11 | 20 | 25  | 25 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   12 | 27 | 25  | 27 |cloudy |  S W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
   13 | 38 | 36  | 38 | do.   |  ...   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | 28.5
   14 | 41 | ... | ... | rain  |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   15 | 47 | 38  | 41 |cloudy |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   16 | 54 | 36  | 47 | do.   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   17 | 47 | 36  | 32 | do.   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   18 | 36 | 34  | 32 |clear  |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   19 | 38 | 36  | 23 | do.   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   20 | 38 | 36  | 41 | do.   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   21 | 41 | 36  | 45 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   22 | 41 | 36  | 38 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   23 | 41 | 32  | 27 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   24 | 38 | 34  | 32 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   25 | 41 | 38  | 38 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   26 | 38 | 32  | 34 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   27 | 38 | 38  | 34 | ...   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   28 | 29 | 43  | 41 |clear  |  N W   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   29 | 23 | 32  | 36 | do.   |   N    |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   30 | 16 | 27  | 25 | do.   | N by W |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  Dec.|    |     |    |       |        |       |         |      |       |
    1 | 25 | 32  | 32 | snow  |  S W   |gentle |45 deg.33'9" | ...  |  ...  | ...
    2 |  7 | 27  | 16 |clear  |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    3 | 16 | 32  | 20 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    4 | 20 | 32  | 27 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    5 | 23 | 32  | 32 |cloudy |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    6 | 25 | 32  | 32 |clear  |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    7 | 20 | 27  | 25 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    8 | 16 | 25  | 27 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
    9 | 20 | 25  | 23 | do.   |  N E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   10 | 23 | 27  | 29 |cloudy |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   11 | 27 | ... | 43 | do.   |  S E   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   12 | 29 | ... | 32 | do.   |  N W   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   13 | 38 | ... | 32 | snow  |  N W   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   15 |  7 | ... | 11 |cloudy |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   16 |  9 | ... | 43 |clear  |   S    |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   17 | 20 | ... | 32 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   18 | 36 | ... | 36 | do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   19 | 36 | ... | 25 |cloudy | SE, NW | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   20 | 25 | ... | 32 | do.   |  N E   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   21 | 18 | ... | 27 | do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   22 |  2 | ... |  5 |clear  |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   23 |  2 | ... | 32 | do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   24 |  5 | ... | 27 | do.   |  N E   |  do.  |45 deg.49'50"| ...  |  ...  | ...
   25 | 27 | ... | 27 |cloudy |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   26 | 23 | ... | 29 | do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   27 | 23 | ... | 29 | snow  |   E    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   28 | 23 | ... | 32 |cloudy |  S W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   29 | 20 | ... | 11 |clear  |  N W   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   30 |  9 | ... | 11 | do.   |   W    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   31 |  9 | ... | 20 | do.   |   W    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
 =====+===============+=======+================+=========+======+=======+=====

REMARKS.--Nov. 2d, Absent from camp. Nov. 6th, Thunder and lightning.
Nov. 9th, Return to camp. Nov. 11th-12th, Thawing. Nov. 13th, Smoky.
Nov. 14th, Thunder and lightning. Nov. 16th-19th, Freezing. Nov.
20th-21st, Thawing. Nov. 22d, Freezing. Nov. 23d-27th, Thawing. Dec.
11th, Thawing. Dec. 12th, Slight snow. Dec. 13th, Storm. Dec. 14th,
Stormy. Dec. 17th-18th, Thawing. Dec. 19th-25th, Freezing. Dec. 28th,
Very cold. Dec. 31st, Very cold.

 =====+=================+=======+==============+=========+======+=======+=====
      |  Thermometer    |       |      Wind    |         |      |       |Baro-
      |   (degrees)     |       |              |         |      |       |meter
 Date +-------+----+----+  Sky  +------+-------+   N.    |  W.  |  Var. |(in.)
      |sunrise| 3  |sun-|       |Course| Force |  Lat.   |Long. |       |
      |       |p.m.|set |       |      |       |         |      |       |
 -----+-------+----+----+-------+------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
  Jan.|       |    |    |              |       |         |      |       |
   1  |17-4/10|... | 11 |cloudy,| N E  | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |       |    |    | snow  |      |       |         |      |       |
   2  | 2     |... | 20 |clear  |  E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   3  |20     |... | 25 | do.   |  W   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   4  |23     |... | 25 | do.   |  W   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   5  |33-5/10|... | 20 | do.   |  E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   6  |20     |... |  9 | snow  |  W   | hard  |46 deg.9'20" | ...  |  ...  | ...
   7  |15-2/10|... |  1 |clear  | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   8  | ...   |... |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   9  | ...   |... |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  10  | ...   |... |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  11  | ...   |... |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  12  | ...   |... |  2 |clear  | S E  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  13  |28-5/10|... |  6 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |46 deg.9'20" |22 deg.13'|  ...  | ...
  14  |24     |... |  1 | do.   |  N   |  ...  |46 deg.9'20" | ...  | 3 deg.41'W| ...
  15  |33-5/10|... |  6 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  16  |19-8/10|... |  5 | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  17  | 6     | 23 | 20 | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  18  | 9     | 25 | 20 | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  19  | ...   |... |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  20  | ...   |... |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  21  | ...   |... | 23 | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  22  |14     |... | 27 |clear  | N W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  23  |27     |... | 27 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  24  |27     | 29 | 32 |cloudy |S by E|  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  25  | ...   | 27 |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  26  | ...   |  5 |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  27  | ...   |  5 |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  28  | 4     |  2 |  5 | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  29  | 5     | 14 | 11 | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  30  | 1     | 14 |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  31  | 8     | 14 |... | ...   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  Feb.|       |    |    |       |      |       |         |      |       |
   1  |10     |  7 |  5 |clear  | ...  |  ...  |47 deg.16'13"| ...  |  ...  | ...
   2  | 5     |  9 | 14 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   3  | 7     | 27 | 23 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   4  | 1     |  9 |  1 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   5  |10     | 14 |  7 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   6  | 5     | 27 | 11 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   7  | 2     | 23 | 20 | do.   |  W   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   8  | 8     |  1 |  9 | do.   |  W   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   9  |17-5/10|  1 |  8 | snow  | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  10  |17-5/10|  1 |  5 | do.   | N E  |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  11  | 1     |  7 |  1 |clear  | S E  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  12  | 5     | 16 |  1 | do.   | N E  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  13  |23     | 36 | 32 |hail,  |S by E| fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |       |    |    |clouds |      |       |         |      |       |
  14  |11     | 36 | 32 |clear  | N W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  15  | 5     | 20 | 16 | do.   | N W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  16  | 2     | 23 | 16 | do.   | S W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  17  | 5     | 32 | 32 |sleet, | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |       |    |    | snow  |      |       |         |      |       |
  18  |14     | 32 |... |clear  | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  19  | ...   |... | 20 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  20  | 1     |... | 27 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  21  |14     |... | 27 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  22  |16     |... | 27 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |46 deg.32'32"| ...  |  ...  | ...
  23  |14     |... | 23 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  24  |16     |... | 20 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  25  |11     |... | 25 | do.   | ...  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  26  |23     |... | 36 | do.   | S W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  27  |16     |... | 11 | ...   | N W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  28  |16     |... |... | ...   | N W  |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
 =====+=================+=======+==============+=========+======+=======+=====

REMARKS.--Jan. 6th, Lake Sable. Jan. 7th, Absent for six days. Feb.
1st, Leech Lake. Feb. 22d, White Fish Lake.

 =====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====
      |Thermometer   |        |        Wind    |         |      |       |Baro-
      | (degrees)    |        |                |         |      |       |meter
 Date +----+----+----+  Sky   +--------+-------+   N.    |  W.  |  Var. |(in.)
      |sun-| 3  |sun-|        | Course |Force  |  Lat.   |Long. |       |
      |rise|p.m.|set |        |        |       |         |      |       |
 -----+----+----+----+--------+--------+-------+---------+------+-------+-----
  Mar.|    |    |    |        |        |       |         |      |       |
   1  | 16 | ...| 16 | clear  |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   2  | 16 | ...| 20 | cloudy |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   3  | 20 | ...| 43 | clear  |   E    |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   4  | 20 | ...| 27 |  do.   |   E    |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   5  | 25 | ...| 29 |  do.   |  ...   |  ...  |45 deg.33'3" | ...  |  ...  | ...
   6  | 36 | ...| 27 |  do.   |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   7  | 29 | 41 | 27 | clear, |  ...   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |    |    |  warm  |        |       |         |      |       |
   8  | 29 | 25 | 23 | cloudy |  S E   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   9  | 36 | 43 | 41 | clear  |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  10  | 25 | 25 | 27 |  do.   |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  11  | 32 | 36 | 38 | cloudy |  S E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  12  | 34 | 47 | 38 | clear  |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  13  | 33 | 43 | 27 |  do.   |  N W   |  ...  |45 deg.14'8" | ...  |  ...  | ...
  14  | 38 | 43 | 34 |  do.   |  N W   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  15  | 50 | 41 | 36 |  do.   |   N    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  16  | 38 | 43 | 36 |  do.   |   E    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  17  | 32 | 32 | 32 |  snow  |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  18  | 32 | 32 | 32 |  do.   |   N    |  do.  |43 deg.44'8" | ...  |  ...  | ...
  19  | 32 | 32 | 29 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  20  | 29 | 38 | 29 | cloudy | N by E |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  21  |  9 | 32 | 20 | clear  |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  22  |  1 |  9 | 14 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  23  |  7 | 32 | 32 |  do.   |   E    |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  24  |  5 | 25 | 32 | cloudy |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  25  | 25 | 32 | 32 |  snow  |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  26  | 11 | 25 | 27 | clear  |   E    | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  27  | 38 | 54 | 43 |  do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  28  | 36 | 41 | 43 |  do.   |  S W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  29  | 29 | 70 | 54 |  do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  30  | 52 | 56 | 43 | cloudy |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  31  | 32 | 61 | 43 | clear  |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  Apr.|    |    |    |        |        |       |         |      |       |
   1  | 29 | 61 | 43 | clear  |  N E   | fresh |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   2  | 34 | 74 | 63 |  do.   |   S    | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   3  | 45 | 70 | 43 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   4  | 20 | 45 | 41 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   5  | 29 | 45 | 38 | cloudy |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   6  | 27 | 43 | 36 |  do.   |  N E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   7  | 23 | ...| 32 |  snow  |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   8  | 41 | ...| 34 | cloudy |   N    |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
   9  |  5 | 18 | 32 | clear  |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  10  |  5 | 54 | 25 |  do.   |  N E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  11  | 18 | 32 | 32 |  snow  |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  12  | 10 | 54 | 43 | clear  |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  13  | 32 | 50 | 45 |  do.   |  S E   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  14  | 38 | 50 | 45 | cloudy,|  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |    |    |  rain  |        |       |         |      |       |
  15  | 34 | 52 | 32 |  snow  |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  16  | 34 | 50 | 41 |  do.   |  N W   |fresh  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  17  | 34 | 70 | 43 | clear  |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  18  | 45 | 92 | 63 |  do.   |  N W   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  19  | 50 | 99 | 81 |  do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  20  | 59 | 95 | 79 |  do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  21  | 54 | 92 | 63 | cloudy |  N W   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  22  | 43 | 63 | 52 | clear  |  N W   |fresh  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  23  | 36 | 72 | 63 |  do.   |  S E   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  24  | 43 | 70 | 61 | cloudy |  S E   | hard  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  25  | 43 | 54 | 47 | cloudy,|  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
      |    |    |    |  rain  |        |       |         |      |       |
  26  | 43 | 50 |... |  do.   |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  27  | 43 | 95 | 77 | clear  |  N E   |gentle |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  28  | 43 | 81 | 72 | cloudy |  S E   |  do.  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
  29  | 38 | 59 |... |  rain  |  N W   |  ...  |  ...    | ...  |  ...  | ...
 =====+==============+========+================+=========+======+=======+=====

REMARKS.--Mar. 1st, Lower Red Cedar Lake. Mar. 6th, Snow at night.
Mar. 7th, Pine Creek. Mar. 9th, Very warm; ice melting fast. Mar.
11th, Raw and disagreeable. Mar. 12th, Ice melting fast. Mar. 15th,
Small snow in the night. Mar. 17th, Sleet and snow. Mar. 18th-19th,
Heavy snow. Mar. 20th, Thawing at noon; water rising. Mar. 21st, Cold.
Mar. 22d, Extraordinary cold. Mar. 24th, Sauteurs. Mar. 25th, Very
stormy. Mar. 26th, Moderate. Mar. 27th, Warm. Mar. 28th, Warm,
thunder, lightning. Mar. 29th, Warm, thunder, lightning, rain. Apr.
1st, Ice breaking up by degrees. Apr. 2d-3d, Ice commenced running.
Apr. 5th, Snow. Apr. 6th, River entirely breaks up. Apr. 8th, Snow,
hail. Apr. 9th, Remarkably cold. Apr. 11th, Snow falls three inches.

FOOTNOTE:

[IV-1] In the orig. ed. these Tables made five unpaged leaves, bound to
follow blank p. 106, and thus were appended to the main text of Pike's
itinerary, not put in the Appendix to Part I. It really makes little
difference where these Tables go, as nobody ever reads such matter. I
leave them where I find them, on the general principle of interfering
as little as possible with the original composition of the book,
simply introducing a chapter-head for their accommodation; and shall
pass this thrilling chapter without further remark.




CHAPTER V.

CORRESPONDENCE AND CONFERENCES.[V-1]


_Art. 1. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 1, pp. 1, 2.)_

                        HEAD OF THE RAPIDS DE MOYEN, Aug. 20th, 1805.

DEAR GENERAL:

I arrived here this day, after what I have considered as rather an
unfortunate voyage, having had a series of rainy weather for the first
six days, by which means all our biscuit was more or less damaged,
they being in very bad and open barrels; and our having got twice so
fast on forked sawyers or old trees as to oblige me partly to unload,
and staving in a plank on another [sawyer], which nearly sunk our boat
before we got on shore and detained us one whole day. These all
occasioned unavoidable detentions of two days, and the innumerable
islands and sand-bars which, without exaggeration, exceed those of the
river below the Ohio, have been the cause of much unexpected delay.
But I calculate on getting to Prairie de Chien in at least the same
time I was in coming [from St. Louis] here.

We were met yesterday on the Rapids by Mr. William Ewing, who is sent
here by the government of the United States to teach the savages
agriculture; and who, I perceive in Governor Harrison's instructions,
is termed an agent of the United States, under the instructions of P.
Choteau, with, he says, a salary of $500 per annum. I conceived you
did not know of this functionary, else you would have mentioned him to
me. He was accompanied by Monsieur Louis Tisson Houire [Tesson
Honore[V-2]], who informed me he had calculated on going with me as my
interpreter; he said that you had spoken to him on the occasion, and
appeared much disappointed when I told him I had no instructions to
that effect. He also said he had promised to discover mines, etc.,
which no person knew but himself; but, as I conceive him much of a
hypocrite, and possessing great gasconism, I am happy he was not
chosen for my voyage. They brought with them three peroques of
Indians, who lightened my barge and assisted me up the Rapids. They
expressed great regret at the news of two men having been killed on
the river below, which I believe to be a fact, as I have it from
various channels, and were very apprehensive they would be censured by
our government as the authors [of these murders], though from every
inquiry they conceive it not to be the case, and seem to ascribe the
murders to the Kickapoos. They strongly requested I would hear what
they had to say on the subject; this, with an idea that this place
would be a central position for a trading establishment for the Sacs,
Reynards, Iowas of the de Moyen, Sioux from the head of said [Des
Moines] river, and Paunte [Puants] of the de Roche [Rock river], has
induced me to halt part of the day to-morrow. I should say more
relative to Messrs. Ewing and Houire, only that they propose visiting
you with the Indians who descend, as I understand by your request, in
about 30 days, when your penetration will give you _le tout ensemble_
of their characters [note 18, p. 15].

I have taken the liberty of inclosing a letter to Mrs. Pike to your
care. My compliments to Lieutenant Wilkinson, and the tender of my
highest respects for your lady, with the best wishes for your health
and prosperity.

                    I am, General,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE.

     GENERAL WILKINSON.


_Art. 2. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 2, pp. 2-4.)_

                              PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, Sept. 5th, 1805.

DEAR GENERAL:

I arrived here day before yesterday, and found my interpreter gone in
the employ of Mr. Dickson. I then endeavored to gain information
relative to crossing the falls; and amidst the ignorance of the
Canadians, and all the contradiction in the world, I have learned it
is impossible to carry my large barge round the shoot [chute]. I have
therefore hired two Schenectady barges, in which I shall embark day
after to-morrow, with some expectation and hope of seeing the head of
the Mississippi and the town of St. Louis yet this winter.

I have chosen three places for military establishments. The first is
on a hill about 40 miles above the river de Moyen rapids, on the W.
side of the river, in about 41 deg. 2' N. latitude. The channel of the
river runs on that shore; the hill in front is about 60 feet
perpendicular, nearly level on the top; 400 yards in the rear is a
small prairie fit for gardening; over on the E. side of the river you
have an elegant view on an immense prairie, as far as the eye can
extend, now and then interrupted by clumps of trees; and, to crown
all, immediately under the hill is a limestone spring, sufficient for
the consumption of a regiment. The landing is good and bold, and at
the point of the hill a road could be made for a wagon in half a day.
This place I conceive to be the best to answer the general's
instructions relative to an intermediate post between Prairie de Chien
and St. Louis; but if its being on the W. bank is a material
objection, about 30 miles above the second Sac village at the third
yellow bank on the E. side is a commanding place, on a prairie and
most elegantly situated; but it is scarce of timber, and no water but
that of the Mississippi. When then thinking of the post to be
established at the Ouiscousing [mouth of Wisconsin river], I did not
look at the general's instructions. I therefore pitched on a spot on
the top of the hill on the W. side of the Mississippi [at or near
McGregor, Clayton Co., Ia.], which is ---- feet high, level on the
top, and completely commands both rivers, the Mississippi being only
one-half mile wide and the Ouiscousing about 900 yards when full.
There is plenty of timber in the rear, and a spring at no great
distance on the hill. If this position is to have in view the
annoyance of any European power who might be induced to attack it with
cannon, it has infinitely the preference to a position called the
Petit Gris on the Ouiscousing, which I visited and marked the next
day. This latter position is three miles up the Ouiscousing, on a
prairie hill on the W. side, where we should be obliged to get our
timber from the other side of the river, and our water out of it;
there is likewise a small channel which runs on the opposite side,
navigable in high water, which could not be commanded by the guns of
the fort, and a hill about three-quarters of a mile in the rear, from
which it could be cannonaded. These two positions I have marked by
blazing trees, etc. Mr. Fisher of this place will direct any officer
who may be sent to occupy them. I found the confluence of the
Ouiscousing and Mississippi to be in lat. 43 deg. 28' 8" N.

The day of my arrival at the lead mines, I was taken with a fever
which, with Monsieur Dubuque's having no horses about his house,
obliged me to content myself with proposing to him the inclosed
queries [Art. 3]; the answers seem to carry with them the semblance of
equivocation.

Messrs. Dubuque and Dickson were about sending a number of chiefs to
St. Louis, but the former confessing he was not authorized, I have
stopped them without in the least dissatisfying the Indians.

Dickson is at Michilimackinac. I cannot say I have experienced much
spirit of accommodation from his clerks, when in their power to oblige
me; but I beg leave to recommend to your attention Mr. James Aird, who
is now in your country, as a gentleman to whose humanity and
politeness I am much indebted; also Mr. Fisher of this place, the
captain of militia and justice of the peace.

A band of Sioux between here and the Mississippi have applied for two
medals, in order that they may have their chiefs distinguished as
friends of the Americans: if the general thinks proper to send them
here to the care of Mr. Fisher, with any other commands, they may
possibly meet me here, or at the falls of St. Anthony, on my return.

[Lacuna here, indicating suppression of certain Spanish privacies.]

The above suggestion would only be acceptable under the idea of our
differences with Spain being compromised; as should there be war, the
field of action is the sphere for young men, where they hope, or at
least aspire, to gather laurels or renown to smooth the decline of
age, or a glorious death. You see, my dear general, I write to you
like a person addressing a father; at the same time I hope you will
consider me, not only in a professional but a personal view, one who
holds you in the highest respect and esteem. My compliments to
Lieutenant Wilkinson, and my highest respects to your lady.

                    I am, General,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.

     GENERAL WILKINSON.


_Art. 3. The Dubuque Interrogation.[V-3] Queries proposed to Mr.
Dubuque, with his answers._

1. What is the date of your grant of the mines from the savages?

_Ans._ The copy of the grant is in Mr. [Antoine Pierre] Soulard's
[Surveyor-general's] office at St. Louis.

2. What is the date of the confirmation by the Spaniards?

_Ans._ The same as to query first.

3. What is the extent of your grant?

_Ans._ The same as above.

4. What is the extent of the mines?

_Ans._ Twenty-eight or twenty-seven leagues long, and from one to
three broad.

5. Lead made per annum?

_Ans._ From 20,000 to 40,000 pounds.

6. Quantity of lead per cwt. of mineral?

_Ans._ Seventy-five per cent.

7. Quantity of lead in pigs?

_Ans._ All we make, as we neither manufacture bar, sheet-lead, nor
shot.

8. If mixed with any other mineral?

_Ans._ We have seen some copper, but having no person sufficiently
acquainted with chemistry to make the experiment properly, cannot say
as to the proportion it bears to the lead.

                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE.

     DUBUQUE LEAD MINES, Sept. 1st, 1805.


_Art. 4. Speech, Pike to the Sioux[V-4] (Part of Orig. No. 3, pp.
6-8), delivered at the entrance of the river St. Peter's, Sept. 23d,
1803._

BROTHERS: I am happy to meet you here at this council fire, which your
father has sent me to kindle, and to take you by the hands as our
children, we having lately acquired from the Spanish [read French] the
extensive territory of Louisiana. Our general has thought proper to
send out a number of his young warriors to visit all his red children,
to tell them his will, and to hear what request they may have to make
of their father. I am happy the choice has fallen on me to come this
road; as I find my brothers, the Sioux, ready to listen to my words.

BROTHERS: It is the wish of our government to establish military posts
on the Upper Mississippi, at such places as may be thought expedient.
I have therefore examined the country, and have pitched on the mouth
of the St. Croix, this place [mouth of the Minnesota river], and the
Falls of St. Anthony. I therefore wish you to grant to the United
States nine miles square at St. Croix; and at this place, from a
league below the confluence of St. Peter's and the Mississippi to a
league above St. Anthony, extending three leagues on each side of the
river. As we are a people who are accustomed to have all our acts
written down, in order to have them handed down to our children, I
have drawn up a form of an agreement which we will both sign in the
presence of the traders now present. After we know the terms we will
fill it up, and have it read and interpreted to you.

BROTHERS: Those posts are intended as a benefit to you. The old
chiefs now present must see that their situation improves by
communication with the whites. It is the intention of the United
States to establish factories at those posts, in which the Indians may
procure all their things at a cheaper and better rate then they do
now, or than your traders can afford to sell them to you, as they are
single men who come far in small boats. But your fathers are many and
strong; they will come with a strong arm, in large boats. There will
also be chiefs here, who can attend to the wants of their brothers,
without your sending or going all the way to St. Louis; they will see
the traders that go up your rivers, and know that they are good men.

BROTHERS: Another object your father has at heart, is to endeavor to
make peace between you and the Chipeways. You have now been a long
time at war, and when will you stop? If neither side will lay down the
hatchet, your paths will always be red with blood; but if you will
consent to make peace, and suffer your father to bury the hatchet
between you, I will endeavor to bring down some of the Chipeway chiefs
with me to St. Louis, where the good work can be completed under the
auspices of your mutual father. I am much pleased to see that the
young warriors have halted to hear my words this day; and as I know it
is hard for a warrior to be struck and not strike again, I will send
word to the chiefs by the first Chipeway I meet, that, if they have
not yet felt your tomahawk, it is not because you have not the legs or
the hearts of men, but because you have listened to the voice of your
father.

BROTHERS: If their chiefs do not listen to the voice of their father,
and continue to commit murders on you and our traders, they will call
down the vengeance of the Americans; for they are not like a blind man
walking into the fire. They were once at war with us, and joined to
all the northern Indians; they were defeated at Roche De Boeuff, and
were obliged to sue for peace; that peace we granted them. They know
we are not children, but, like all wise people, are slow to shed
blood.

BROTHERS: Your old men probably know that about 30 years ago we were
subject to and governed by the king of the English; but he not
treating us like children, we would no longer acknowledge him as
father; and after ten years' war, in which he lost 100,000 men, he
acknowledged us a free and independent nation. They know that not many
years since we received Detroit, Michilimackinac, and all the posts on
the lakes from the English; and now--but the other day--Louisiana from
the Spanish [French]; so that we put one foot on the sea at the east
and the other on the sea at the west; and if once children, are now
men. Yet, I think the traders who come from Canada are bad birds
amongst the Chipeways, and instigate them to make war on their red
brothers the Sioux, in order to prevent our traders from going high up
the Mississippi. This I shall inquire into, and if it be so, shall
warn those persons of their ill conduct.

BROTHERS: Mr. Choteau was sent by your father to the Osage nation,
with one of his young chiefs.[V-5] He sailed some days before me, and
had not time to procure the medals which I am told he promised to send
up; but they will be procured.

BROTHERS: I wish you to have some of your head chiefs ready to go down
with me in the spring. From the head of the St. Pierre also, such
other chiefs as you may think proper, to the number of four or five.
When I pass here on my way I will send you word at what time you will
meet me at the Prairie des Chiens.

BROTHERS: I expect that you will give orders to all your young
warriors to respect my flag, and its protection which I may extend to
the Chipeway chiefs who may come down with me in the spring; for were
a dog to run to my lodge for safety, his enemy must walk over me to
hurt him.

BROTHERS: Here is a flag, which I wish to send to the Gens de
Feuilles, to show them they are not forgotten by their father. I wish
the comrade of their chief to take it on himself to deliver it with my
words.

BROTHERS: I am told that hitherto the traders have made a practice of
selling rum to you. All of you in your right senses must know that it
is injurious, and occasions quarrels, murders, etc., amongst
yourselves. For this reason your father has thought proper to prohibit
the traders from selling you any rum. Therefore, I hope my brothers
the chiefs, when they know of a trader who sells an Indian rum, will
prevent that Indian from paying his [that trader's] credit. This will
break up the pernicious practice and oblige your father. But I hope
you will not encourage your young men to treat our traders ill from
this circumstance, or from a hope of the indulgence formerly
experienced; but make your complaints to persons in this country, who
will be authorized to do you justice.

BROTHERS: I now present you with some of your father's tobacco and
other trifling things, as a memorandum of my good will; and before my
departure I will give you some liquor to clear your throats.


_Art 5. The Sioux Treaty[V-6] of Sept. 23d, 1805._ (_Part of Orig. No.
3, pp. 8, 9._)

Whereas, at a conference held between the United States of America and
the Sioux nation of Indians: lieutenant Z. M. Pike, of the army of the
United States, and the chiefs and the warriors of said tribe, have
agreed to the following articles, which, when ratified and approved of
by the proper authority, shall be binding on both parties.

_Art. 1._ That the Sioux nation grant unto the United States, for the
purpose of establishment of military posts, nine miles square at the
mouth of the St. Croix,[*] also from below the confluence of the
Mississippi and St. Peters up the Mississippi to include the falls of
St. Anthony, extending nine miles on each side of the river, that the
Sioux nation grants to the United States the full sovereignty and
power over said district for ever.

[*] My demand was one league below: their reply was "from
below."--I imagine (without iniquity) they may be made to agree.
[Orig. Note.]

_Art. 2._ That, in consideration of the above grants, the United
States shall pay (filled up by the senate with 2000 dollars.)

_Art. 3._ The United States promise, on their part, to permit the
Sioux to pass and repass, hunt, or make other use of the said
districts as they have formerly done without any other exception than
those specified in article first.

                    In testimony whereof we, the undersigned, have
                    hereunto set our hands and seals, at the mouth
                    of the river St. Peters, on the 23d day of
                    September, 1805.

                    Z. M. PIKE, 1st lieut.   (L. S.)
                    and agent at the above conference.

                                       his
                    LE PETIT CORBEAU,   x    (L. S.)
                                       mark

                                       his
                    WAY AGO ENAGEE,     x    (L. S.)
                                       mark



_Art. 6. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 4, pp. 9-13.)_

                               ST. PETERS, NINE MILES BELOW THE FALLS
                               OF ST. ANTHONY, Sept. 23d, 1805.

DEAR GENERAL:

I arrived here two days since, but shall not be able to depart before
day after to-morrow. Three of my men have been up to view the falls,
but their reports are so contradictory that no opinion can be formed
from them.

All the young warriors of the two villages of Sioux near this place,
and many chiefs, had marched against the Chipeways, to revenge a
stroke made on their people, the very day after their return from
their visit to the Illinois; ten persons were then killed on this
ground. I yesterday saw the mausoleum in which all their bodies are
deposited, and which is yet daily marked with the blood of those who
swear to revenge them. But a runner headed them, and yesterday they
all arrived--about 250 persons, in company with those who were in the
ponds gathering rice. Amidst the yelling of the mourners and the
salutes of the warriors there was a scene worthy the pen of a
Robertson [qu. Rev. Wm. Robertson, the Scottish historian, b. 1721, d.
1793?]

To-day I held a council on the beach, and made them a speech, in which
I touched on a variety of subjects; but the principal points were,
obtaining the lands as specified in the within articles,[V-7] making
peace with the Chipeways, and granting such [Chipeway] chiefs as
might accompany me down to visit you a safe conduct through their
[Sioux] country. These ends were accomplished. You will perceive that
we have obtained about 100,000 acres for a song. You will please to
observe, General, that the 2d article, relative to consideration, is
blank. The reasons for it were as follows: I had to fee privately two
of the chiefs, and beside that to make them presents at the council of
articles which would in this country be valued at $200, and the others
about $50; part of these things were private property purchased here,
such as a few scarlet shrouds [strouds], etc. These I was not
furnished by the United States; and although the chiefs in the council
presented me with the land, yet it is possible your Excellency may
think proper to insert the amount of those articles as the
considerations to be specified in Article 2d. They have bound me up to
many assurances that the posts shall be established; also, that if the
Chipeways are obstinate, and continue to kill the Indians who bear our
flags (the Chipeways on the Upper Mississippi bearing the English
flag) and our traders, we will take them in hand and teach them to lay
down the hatchet, as we have once already done. This I was the rather
induced to say, as there were some persons present who, although
trading under your licenses, I know to be British subjects. A chief by
the name of Elan Levie [Elan Leve[V-8]], then told me to look round on
those young warriors on the beach; that not only they, but those of
six villages more, were at our command. If possible, I will endeavor
to note down their several speeches, and show them you on my return.

I have not a doubt of making Lake Sable [Sandy lake] in pretty good
season; but they inform me the source of the river is in Lake La Sang
Sue [Leech lake], about 60 leagues further. This I must also see, and
hope the General approves of my determination. At those two lakes
there are establishments of the N. W. Company. These are both in our
country, and time and circumstances only can determine in what manner
I shall conduct myself toward them.[*] Mr. [Hugh] M'Gillis, whose
father was a refugee and had his estate confiscated by the Americans,
has charge of those factories. He, they say, is a sworn enemy of the
United States. This was told me by a man who I expect was a friend of
the N. W. Company; but it had quite a contrary effect to what he
intended it to have, as I am determined, should he attempt anything
malicious toward me--open force he dare not--to spare no pains to
punish him. In fact, the dignity and honor of our government requires
that they should be taught to gather their skins in quiet, but even
then not in a clandestine manner. Added to this, they are the very
instigators of the war between the Chipeways and Sioux, in order that
they may monopolize the trade of the Upper Mississippi.

[*] Incorrect--he being a Scotchman, a gentleman, and a man of
honor; but this was the information I received at the St. Peters.
[Orig. Note.]

The chiefs who were at Saint Louis this spring gave up their English
medals to Mr. Chouteau. He promised them to obtain American medals in
return, and send them up by some officer. They applied to me for them,
and said they were their commissions--their only distinguishing mark
from the other warriors. I promised them that I would write you on the
occasion, and that you would remedy the evil. The chiefs were very
loath to sign the articles relative to the land, asserting that their
word of honor for the gift was sufficient, that it was an impeachment
of their probity to require them to bind themselves further, etc. This
is a small sample of their way of thinking.

I must mention something to your Excellency relative to the man
recommended to me by Mr. Chouteau as interpreter. At the time he
solicited this employ he was engaged to Mr. [Robert] Dickson, and on
my arrival at the Prairie [du Chien] was gone up the St. Peters. I
understand he is to be recommended for the appointment of interpreter
to the United States in this quarter. On the contrary, I beg leave to
recommend for that appointment Mr. Joseph Reinville, who served as
interpreter for the Sioux last spring at the Illinois, and who has
gratuitously and willingly, by permission of Mr. [James] Frazer, to
whom he is engaged, served as my interpreter in all my conferences
with the Sioux. He is a man respected by the Indians, and I believe an
honest one. I likewise beg leave to recommend to your attention Mr.
Frazer, one of the two gentlemen who dined with you, and was destined
for the Upper Mississippi. He waited eight or ten days at Prairie [du
Chien] for me, detained his interpreter, and thenceforward has
continued to evince a zeal to promote the success of my expedition by
every means in his power. He is a Vermonter born, and, although not
possessing the advantages of a polished education, inherits that
without which an education serves but to add to frivolity of
character--candor, bravery, and that _amor patria_ which distinguishes
the good of every nation, from Nova Zembla to the [Equatorial] line.

Finding that the traders were playing the devil with their rum, I
yesterday in council informed the Indians that their father had
prohibited the selling of liquor to them, and that they would oblige
him and serve themselves if they would prevent their young men from
paying the credits of any trader who sold rum to them, at the same
time charging the chiefs to treat them well; as their father, although
good, would not again forgive them, but punish with severity any
injuries committed on their traders. This, I presume, General, is
agreeable to the spirit of the laws. Mr. Frazer immediately set the
example, by separating his spirits from the merchandise in his boats,
and returning it to the Prairie, although it would materially injure
him if the other traders retained and sold theirs. In fact, unless
there are some persons at our posts here, when established, who have
authority effectually to stop the evil by confiscating the liquors,
etc., it will still be continued by the weak and malevolent.

I shall forbear giving you a description of this place until my
return, except only to observe that the position for this post is on
the point [where Fort Snelling now stands], between the two rivers,
which equally commands both; and for that at the St. Croix, on the
hill on the lower side of the entrance, on the E. bank of the
Mississippi [now Prescott, Pierce Co., Wis.]. Owing to cloudy weather,
etc., I have taken no observation here; but the head of Lake Pepin is
in 44 deg. 58' 8" N., and we have made very little northing since. The
Mississippi is 130 yards wide, and the St. Peters 80 yards at their
confluence.

_Sept. 24th._ This morning Little Corbeau came to see me from the
village, he having recovered an article which I suspected had been
taken by the Indians. He told me many things which the ceremony of the
council would not permit his delivering there; and added, he must tell
me that Mr. Roche, who went up the river St. Peters, had in his
presence given two kegs of rum to the Indians. The chief asked him why
he did so, as he knew it was contrary to the orders of his father,
adding that Messrs. Mareir and Tremer[V-9] had left their rum behind
them, but that he alone had rum, contrary to orders. Roche then gave
the chief 15 bottles of rum, as I suppose to bribe him to silence. I
presume he should be taught the impropriety of his conduct when he
applies for his license next year.


                          ABOVE THE FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY, Sept. 26th.

The cloudy weather still continues, and I have not been able to take
the latitude. Mr. Frazer has been kind enough to send two of his
people across from the Sioux town on the St. Peters for my dispatches,
and the place being dangerous for them, I must haste to dispatch them.
Of course, General, the following short sketch of the falls will
merely be from _le coup d'oeuil_. The place where the river falls
over the rocks appears to be about 15 feet perpendicular, the sheet
being broken by one large island on the E. and a small one on the W.,
the former commencing below the shoot and extending 500 yards above;
the river then falls through a continued bed of rocks, with a descent
of at least 50 feet perpendicular in the course of half a mile. Thence
to the St. Peters, a distance of 11 miles by water, there is almost
one continued rapid, aggravated by the interruption of 12 small
islands. The carrying-place has two hills, one of 25 feet, the other
of 12, with an elevation of 45 deg., and is about three-fourths of a mile
in length. Above the shoot, the river is of considerable width; but
below, at this time, I can easily cast a stone over it. The rapid or
suck continues about half a mile above the shoot, when the water
becomes calm and deep. My barges are not yet over, but my trucks are
preparing, and I have not the least doubt of succeeding.

The general, I hope, will pardon the tautologies and egotisms of my
communications, as he well knows Indian affairs are productive of such
errors, and that in a wilderness, detached from the civilized world,
everything, even if of little import, becomes magnified in the eyes of
the beholder. When I add that my hands are blistered in working over
the rapids, I presume it will apologize for the manner and style of my
communications.

I flatter myself with hearing from you at the Prairie, on my way down.

                    I am, General,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.

     GENERAL WILKINSON.


_Art. 7.[V-10] Instructions, Pike to Sergeant Henry Kennerman. (Orig.
No. 16, pp. 33, 34.)_

                              PINE CREEK RAPIDS, Oct. 1st, 1805.

You are to remain here with the party under your command, subject to
the following instructions: Your guards to consist of one
non-commissioned officer and three privates, yourself mounting in
regular rotation, making one sentinel by day and by night; until your
position is inclosed by pickets, every man is to be employed on that
object; after which Sparks is to be employed in hunting; but this will
by no means excuse him from his tour of guard at night when in the
stockade, but he must be relieved during the day by another man.

Should any Indians visit you previous to having your works complete,
divide your men between the two blockhouses, and on no conditions
suffer a savage to enter the one where the stores are, and not more
than one or two into the other; but should you be so fortunate as not
to be discovered until your works are completed, you may admit three,
without arms, and no more, to enter at once, at the same time always
treating them with as much friendship as is consistent with your own
safety.

You are furnished with some tobacco to present them with, but on no
condition are you ever to give them one drop of liquor; inform them
that I have taken it all with me. From the arrangements I have made
with the Sioux it is presumable they will treat you with friendship;
but the Chipeways may be disposed to hostilities, and, should you be
attacked, calculate on surrendering only with your life. Instruct your
men not to fire at random, nor ever, unless the enemy is near enough
to make him a point-blank shot. This you must particularly attend to,
and punish the first man found acting in contradiction thereto. The
greatest economy must be used with the ammunition and provisions. Of
the latter I shall furnish Sparks his proportion; and at any time
should a man accompany him for a day's hunt, furnish him with four or
five balls and extra powder, and on his return take what is left away
from him. The provisions must be issued agreeably to the following
proportion: For four days N. 80 lbs. of fresh venison, elk, or
buffalo, or 60 lbs. fresh bear meat, with one quart of salt for that
period. The remainder of what is killed keep frozen in the open air as
long as possible, or salt and smoke it, so as to lay up meat for my
party and us all to descend the river with. If you are obliged,
through the failure of your hunter, to issue out of our reserved
provisions, you will deliver, for four days, 18 lbs. of pork or bacon,
and 18 lbs. of flour only. This will be sufficient, and must in no
instance be exceeded. No whisky will be issued after the present
barrel is exhausted, at half a gill per man per day.

Our boats are turned up near your gate. You will make a barrel of
pitch, and give them a complete repairing to be ready for us to
descend in.

I have delivered to you my journals and observations to this place,
with a letter accompanying them to his Excellency, General James
Wilkinson, which, should I not return by the time hereafter specified,
you will convey to him and deliver personally, requesting his
permission to deliver the others committed to your charge.

You will observe the strictest discipline and justice in your command.
I expect the men will conduct themselves in such a manner that there
will be no complaints made on my return, and that they will be ready
to account to a higher tribunal. The date of my return is uncertain;
but let no information or reports, except from under my own hand,
induce you to quit this place until one month after the ice has broken
up at the head of the river; when, if I am not arrived, it will be
reasonable to suppose that some disastrous events detain us, and you
may repair to St. Louis. You are taught to discriminate between my
baggage and United States' property. The latter deliver to the
assistant military agent at St. Louis, taking his receipts for the
same; the former, if in your power, to Mrs. Pike.

Your party is regularly supplied with provisions, to include the 8th
of December only, from which time you are entitled to draw on the
United States.

                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.


_Art. 8. Letter, Pike to Hugh M'Gillis. (Orig. No. 5, pp. 14-16.)_

                              N. W. ESTABLISHMENT ON LEECH LAKE,
                              Feb. [6th], 1805.

     SIR:

As [you are] a proprietor of the N. W. Company and director of the
Zond [Fond] du Lac department, I conceive it my duty as an officer of
the United States, in whose territory you are, to address you solely
on the subject of the many houses under your instructions. As a member
of the greatest commercial nation in the world, and of a company long
renowned for their extent of connections and greatness of views, you
cannot be ignorant of the rigor of the laws of the duties on imports
of a foreign power.

Mr. Jay's treaty, it is true, gave the right of trade with the savages
to British subjects in the United States territories, but by no means
exempted them from paying the duties, obtaining licenses, and
subscribing unto all the rules and restrictions of our laws. I find
your establishments at every suitable place along the whole extent of
the south side of Lake Superior to its head, thence to the source of
the Mississippi, and down Red River, and even extending to the center
of our newly acquired territory of Louisiana, in which it will
probably yet become a question between the two governments, whether
our treaties will authorize British subjects to enter into the Indian
trade on the same footing as in the other parts of our frontiers,
this not having been an integral part of the United States at the time
of said treaty. Our traders to the south, on the Lower Mississippi,
complain to our government, with justice, that the members of the N.
W. Company encircle them on the frontiers of our N. W. territory, and
trade with the savages upon superior terms to what they can afford,
who pay the duties on their goods imported from Europe, and subscribe
to the regulations prescribed by law.

These representations have at length attracted the attention of our
government to the object in question, and, with an intention to do
themselves as well as citizens justice, they last year took some steps
to ascertain the facts and make provision against the growing evil.
With this, and also with some geographical and local objects in view,
was I dispatched with discretionary orders, with a party of troops, to
the source of the Mississippi. I have found, Sir, your commerce and
establishments extending beyond our most exaggerated ideas; and in
addition to the injury done our revenue by evasion of the duties,
other acts done which are more particularly injurious to the honor and
dignity of our government. The transactions alluded to are the
presenting medals of his Britannic Majesty, and flags of the said
government, to the chiefs and warriors resident in the territory of
the United States. As political subjects are strictly prohibited to
our traders, what would be the ideas of the executive to see
foreigners making chiefs, and distributing flags, the standard of an
European power? The savages being accustomed to look on that standard,
which was the only prevailing one for years, as that which alone has
authority in the country, it would not be in the least astonishing to
see them revolt from the United States' limited subjection which is
claimed over them by the American government, and thereby be the cause
of their receiving a chastisement which, although necessary, yet would
be unfortunate, as they would have been led astray by the policy of
the traders of your country.

I must likewise observe, Sir, that your establishments, if properly
known, would be looked on with an eye of dissatisfaction by our
government, for another reason, viz., there being so many furnished
posts, in case of a rupture between the two powers the English
government would not fail to make use of those as places of deposit of
arms, ammunition, etc., to be distributed to the savages who joined
their arms, to the great annoyance of our territory, and the loss of
the lives of many of our citizens. Your flags, Sir, when hoisted in
inclosed works, are in direct contradiction of the law of nations, and
their practice in like cases, which only admits of foreign flags being
expanded on board of vessels, and at the residences of ambassadors or
consuls. I am not ignorant of the necessity of your being in such a
position as to protect yourself from the sallies of drunken savages,
or the more deliberate plans of intending plunderers; and under those
considerations have I considered your stockades.

You, and the company of which you are a member, must be conscious from
the foregoing statement that strict justice would demand, and I assure
you that the law directs, under similar circumstances, a total
confiscation of your property, personal imprisonment, and fines. But
having discretionary instructions and no reason to think the above
conduct to be dictated through ill-will or disrespect to our
government, and conceiving it in some degree departing from the
character of an officer to embrace the first opportunity of executing
those laws, I am willing to sacrifice my prospect of private
advantage, conscious that the government looks not to its interest,
but to its dignity in the transaction. I have therefore to request of
you assurances on the following heads which, setting aside the
chicanery of law, as a gentleman you will strictly adhere to:

1st. That you will make representations to your agents, at your
headquarters on Lake Superior, of the quantity of goods wanted the
ensuing spring for your establishments in the territory of the United
States, in time sufficient (or as early as possible) for them to
enter them at the C. H. of Michilimackinac, and obtain a clearance and
license to trade in due form.

2d. That you will give immediate instructions to all the posts in said
territory under your direction, at no time and under no pretense
whatever to hoist, or suffer to be hoisted, the English flag. If you
conceive a flag necessary, you may make use of that of the United
States, which is the only one which can be admitted.

3d. That you will on no further occasion present a flag or medal to an
Indian, or hold councils with any of them on political subjects, or
others foreign from that of trade; but that, on being applied to on
those heads, you will refer them to the American agents, informing
them that these are the only persons authorized to hold councils of a
political nature with them.

There are many other subjects, such as the distribution of liquor,
etc., which would be too lengthy to be treated of in detail. But the
company will do well to furnish themselves with our laws regulating
commerce with the savages, and regulate themselves in our territories
accordingly.

I embrace this opportunity to acknowledge myself and command under
singular obligations to yourself and agents for the assistance which
you have rendered us, and the polite treatment with which we have been
honored. With sentiments of high respect for the establishment and
yourself,

                    I am, Sir,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    Z. M. PIKE.

     HUGH M'GILLIS, Esq.,
     Proprietor and Agent of the N. W. Company
     established at Zond [Fond] Du Lac.


_Art. 9. Letter, Hugh M'Gillis to Pike. (Orig. No. 6, pp. 17-19.)_

                               LEECH LAKE, Feb. 15th, 1806.

     SIR:

Your address presented on the 6th inst. has attracted my most serious
consideration to the several objects of duties on importations; of
presents made to, and our consultations with, Indians; of inclosing
our stores and dwelling-houses; and finally, of the custom obtaining
to hoist the British flag in the territory belonging to the United
States of America. I shall at as early a period as possible present
the agents of the N. W. Company with your representations regarding
the paying duties on the importation of goods to be sent to our
establishments within the bounds of the territory of the United
States, as also their being entered at the custom house of
Michilimackinac; but I beg to be allowed to present for consideration,
that the major part of the goods necessary to be sent to the said
establishments for the trade of the ensuing year, are now actually in
our stores at Kamanitiguia, our headquarters on Lake Superior, and
that it would cause us vast expense and trouble to be obliged to
convey those goods back to Michilimackinac to be entered at the
custom-house office. We therefore pray that the word of gentlemen with
regard to the quantity and quality of the said goods, to be sent to
said establishment, may be considered as equivalent to the certainty
of a custom-house register. Our intention has never been to injure
your traders, paying the duties established by law. We hope those
representations to your government respecting our concerns with the
Indians may have been dictated with truth, and not exaggerated by envy
to prejudice our interests and to throw a stain on our character which
may require time to efface from the minds of a people to whom we must
ever consider ourselves indebted for that lenity of procedure of which
the present is so notable a testimony. The inclosures to protect our
stores and dwelling-houses from the insults and barbarity of savage
rudeness, have been erected for the security of my property and person
in a country, till now, exposed to the wild will of the frantic
Indians. We never formed the smallest idea that the said inclosures
might ever be useful in the juncture of a rupture between the two
powers, nor do we now conceive that such poor shifts will ever be
employed by the British government in a country overshadowed with wood
so adequate to every purpose. Forts might in a short period of time be
built far superior to any stockades we may have occasion to erect.

We were not conscious, Sir, of the error I acknowledge we have been
guilty of committing, by exhibiting to view on your territory any
standard of Great Britain. I will pledge myself to your government,
that I will use my utmost endeavors, as soon as possible, to prevent
the future display of the British flag, or the presenting of medals,
or the exhibiting to public view any other mark of European power,
throughout the extent of territory known to belong to the dominion of
the United States. The custom has long been established and we
innocently and inoffensively, as we imagined, have conformed to it
till the present day.

Be persuaded that on no consideration shall any Indian be entertained
on political subjects, or on any affairs foreign to our trade; and
that reference shall be made to the American agents, should any
application be made worthy such reference. Be also assured that we, as
a commercial company, must find it ever our interests to interfere as
little as possible with affairs of government in the course of trade,
ignorant as we are in this rude and distant country of the political
views of nations.

We are convinced that the inestimable advantages arising from the
endeavors of your government to establish a more peaceful course of
trade in this part of the territory belonging to the United States are
not acquired through the mere liberality of a nation, and we are ready
to contribute to the expense necessarily attending them. We are not
averse to paying the common duties established by law, and will ever
be ready to conform ourselves to all rules and regulations of trade
that may be established according to common justice.

I beg to be allowed to say that we have reason to hope that every
measure will be adopted to secure and facilitate the trade with the
Indians; and these hopes seem to be confirmed beyond the smallest idea
of doubt, when we see a man sent among us who, instead of private
considerations to pecuniary views, prefers the honor, dignity, and
lenity of his government, and whose transactions are in every respect
so conformable to equity. When we behold an armed force ready to
protect or chastise as necessity or policy may direct, we know not how
to express our gratitude to that people whose only view seems to be to
promote the happiness of all, the savages that rove over the wild
confines of their domains not excepted.

It is to you, Sir, we feel ourselves most greatly indebted, whose
claim to honor, esteem, and respect will ever be held in high
estimation by myself and associates. The danger and hardships, by your
fortitude vanquished and by your perseverance overcome, are signal,
and will ever be preserved in the annals of the N. W. Company. Were it
solely from consideration of those who have exposed their lives in a
long and perilous march through a country where they had every
distress to suffer, and many dangers to expect,--and this with a view
to establish peace in a savage country,--we should think ourselves
under the most strict obligation to assist them. But we know we are in
a country where hospitality and gratitude are to be considered above
every other virtue, and therefore have offered for their relief what
our poor means will allow: and, Sir, permit me to embrace this
opportunity to testify that I feel myself highly honored by your
acceptance of such accommodations as my humble roof could afford.

With great consideration and high respect for the government of the
United States, allow me to express my esteem and regard for yourself.

                    I am, Sir,
                    Your obedient humble servant,
                    [Signed] H. M'GILLIS,
                    Of N. W. Company

     LIEUT. PIKE,
     1st. Regt. United States Infantry.


_Art. 10. Speech, Pike to the Sauteaux, in a Council at Leech Lake,
Feb. 16th, 1806. (Orig. No. 7, pp. 19-22.)_

BROTHERS: A few months since the Spaniards shut up the mouth of the
Mississippi, and prevented the Americans from floating down to the
sea. This your father, the President of the United States, would not
admit of. He therefore took such measures as to open the river, remove
the Spaniards from both sides of the Mississippi to a great distance
on the other side of the Missouri, and open the road from the ocean of
the east to that of the west. The Americans being then at peace with
all the world, your great father, the President of the United States,
began to look round on his red children, in order to see what he could
do to render them happy and sensible of his protection. For that
purpose he sent two of his Captains, Lewis and Clark, up the Missouri,
to pass on to the west sea, in order to see all his new children, to
go round the world that way, and return by water. They stayed the
first winter at the Mandane's[V-11] village, where you might have heard
of them. This year your great father directed his great war-chief
(General Wilkinson) at St. Louis, to send a number of his young
warriors up the Missouri, Illinois, Osage River, and other courses, to
learn the situation of his red children, to encourage the good, punish
the bad, and make peace between them all by persuading them to lay by
the hatchet and follow the young warriors to St. Louis, where the
great war-chief will open their ears that they may hear the truth, and
their eyes, to see what is right.

BROTHERS: I was chosen to ascend the Mississippi, to bear to his red
children the words of their father; and the Great Spirit has opened
the eyes and ears of all the nations that I have passed to listen to
my words. The Sauks and Reynards are planting corn and raising cattle.
The Winnebagos continue peaceable, as usual, and even the Sioux have
laid by the hatchet at my request. Yes, my brothers, the Sioux, who
have so long and so obstinately waged war against the Chipeways, have
agreed to lay by the hatchet, smoke the calumet, and become again your
brothers, as they were wont to be.[V-12]

BROTHERS: You behold the pipe of Wabasha as a proof of what I say.
Little Corbeau, Tills [Fils] De Pinchow, and L'Aile Rouge had marched
250 warriors to revenge the blood of their women and children, slain
last year at the St. Peters. I sent a runner after them, stopped their
march, and met them in council at the mouth of the St. Peters, where
they promised to remain peaceable until my return; and if the
Ouchipawah [Chippewa] chiefs accompanied me, to receive them as
brothers and accompany us to St. Louis, there to bury the hatchet and
smoke the pipe in the presence of our great war-chief; and to request
him to punish those who first broke the peace.

BROTHERS: I sent flags and a message up the St. Peters to the bands of
Sioux on that river, requesting them to remain quiet, and not to go to
war. The People of the Leaves [Gens des Feuilles] received my message
and sent me word that they would obey; but the Yanctongs and
Sussitongs had left the St. Peters previous to my message arriving,
and did not receive it. When I left my fort they had appointed a day
for 50 of their chiefs and warriors to come and see me, but I could
not wait for them; so that, as to their dispositions for peace or war,
I cannot answer positively.

BROTHERS: I have therefore come to fetch some of your approved chiefs
with me to St. Louis.

BROTHERS: In speaking to you I speak to brave warriors. It is
therefore not my intention to deceive you. Possibly we may meet with
some bad people who may wish to do us ill; but if so, we will die
together, certain that our fathers, the Americans, will settle with
them for our blood.

BROTHERS: I find you have received from your traders English medals
and flags. These you must deliver up, and your chiefs who go with me
shall receive others from the American government, in their room.

BROTHERS: Traders have no authority to make chiefs; and in doing this
they have done what is not right. It is only great chiefs, appointed
by your fathers, who have that authority. But at the same time you are
under considerable obligations to your traders, who come over large
waters, high mountains, and up swift falls, to supply you with
clothing for your women and children, and ammunition for your hunters,
to feed you, and keep you from perishing with cold.

BROTHERS: Your chiefs should see your traders done justice, oblige
your young men to pay their credits, and protect them from insults;
and your traders, on their part, must not cheat the Indians, but give
them the value of their skins.

BROTHERS: Your father is going to appoint chiefs of his own to reside
among you, to see justice done to his white and red children, who will
punish those who deserve punishment, without reference to the color of
their skin.

BROTHERS: I understand that one of your young men killed an American
at Red Lake last year, but the murderer is far off. Let him keep
so--send him where we never may hear of him more; for were he here I
would be obliged to demand him of you, and make my young men shoot
him. My hands on this journey are yet clear of blood--may the Great
Spirit keep them so!

BROTHERS: We expect, in the summer, soldiers to come to the St.
Peters. Your chiefs who go with me may either come up with them, or
some traders who return sooner. They may make their selection.

BROTHERS: Your father finds that the rum with which you are supplied
by the traders is the occasion of quarrels, murders, and bloodshed;
and that, instead of buying clothing for your women and children, you
spend your skins in liquor, etc. He has determined to direct his young
warriors and chiefs to prohibit it, and keep it from among you. But I
have found the traders here with a great deal of rum on hand. I have
therefore given them permission to sell what they have, that you may
forget it by degrees, against next year, when none will be suffered to
come in the country.


_Art. 11. Speeches, Chippewa Chiefs[V-13] to Pike, at Leech Lake, Feb.
16th, 1806. (Orig. No. 8, pp. 22, 23.)_


_1st. Sucre of Red lake_ (_Wiscoup_).

MY FATHER: I have heard and understood the words of our great father.
It overjoys me to see you make peace among us. I should have
accompanied you had my family been present, and would have gone to
see my father, the great war-chief.

MY FATHER: This medal I hold in my hands I received from the English
chiefs. I willingly deliver it up to you. Wabasha's calumet, with
which I am presented, I receive with all my heart. Be assured that I
will use my best endeavors to keep my young men quiet. There is my
calumet. I send it to my father the great war-chief. What does it
signify that I should go to see him? Will not my pipe answer the same
purpose?

MY FATHER: You will meet with the Sioux on your return. You will make
them smoke my pipe, and tell them that I have let fall my hatchet.

MY FATHER: Tell the Sioux on the upper part of the river St. Peters to
mark trees with the figure of a calumet, that we of Red Lake who may
go that way, should we see them, may make peace with them, being
assured of their pacific disposition when we see the calumet marked on
the trees.


_2d. The Chief de la Terre of Leech lake_ (_Obigouitte_).

MY FATHER: I am glad to hear that we and the Sioux are now brothers,
peace being made between us. If I have received a medal from the
English traders, it was not as a mark of rank or distinction, as I
considered it, but merely because I made good hunts and paid my debts.
Had Sucre been able to go and see our father, the great war-chief, I
should have accompanied him; but I am determined to go to
Michilimackinac next spring to see my brothers the Americans.


_3d. Geuelle Platte of Leech lake_ (_Eskibugeckoge_).

MY FATHER: My heart beat high with joy when I heard that you had
arrived, and that all the nations through which you passed had
received and made peace among them.

MY FATHER: You ask me to accompany you to meet our father, the great
war-chief. This I would willingly do, but certain considerations
prevent me. I have sent my calumet to all the Sauteaux who hunt round
about, to assemble to form a war-party; should I be absent, they, when
assembled, might strike those with whom we have made peace, and thus
kill our brothers. I must therefore remain here to prevent them from
assembling, as I fear that there are many who have begun already to
prepare to meet me. I present you with the medal of my uncle here
present. He received it from the English chiefs as a recompense for
his good hunts. As for me, I have no medal here; it is at my tent, and
I will cheerfully deliver it up. That medal was given me by the
English traders, in consideration of something that I had done; and I
can say that three-fourths of those here present belong to me.

MY FATHER: I promise you, and you may confide in my word, that I will
preserve peace; that I bury my hatchet; and that even should the Sioux
come and strike me, for the first time I would not take up my hatchet;
but should they come and strike me a second time, I would dig up my
hatchet and revenge myself.


_Art. 12. Extract of a letter, Pike to Robert Dickson, Lower Red Cedar
Lake, Feb. 26th, 1806. (Orig. No. 9, pp. 23, 24.)_

Mr. Grant was prepared to go on a trading voyage among the Fols
Avoins; but that was what I could not by any means admit of, and I
hope that, on a moment's reflection, you will admit the justice of my
refusal. For what could be a greater piece of injustice than for me to
permit you to send goods, illegally brought into the country, down
into the same quarter, to trade for the credits of men who have paid
their duties, regularly taken out licenses, and in other respects
acted conformably to law? They might exclaim with justice, "What! Lt.
Pike, not content with suffering the laws to slumber when it was his
duty to have executed them, has now suffered the N. W. Company's
agents to come even here to violate them, and injure the citizens of
the United States--certainly he must be corrupted to admit this."

This, Sir, would be the natural conclusion of all persons.


_Art. 13. Letter, Pike to La Jeunesse. (Orig. No. 10, p. 24.)_

                        GRAND ISLE, UPPER MISSISSIPPI, Apr. 9th, 1806.

SIR:

Being informed that you have arrived here with an intention of selling
spirituous liquors to the savages of this quarter, together with other
merchandise under your charge, I beg leave to inform you that the sale
of spirituous liquors on the Indian territories, to any savages
whatsoever, is contrary to a law of the United States for regulating
trade with the savages and preserving peace on the frontiers; and that
notwithstanding the custom has hitherto obtained on the Upper
Mississippi, no person whatsoever has authority therefor. As the
practice may have a tendency to occasion broils and dissensions among
the savages, thereby occasioning bloodshed and an infraction of the
good understanding which now, through my endeavors, so happily exists,
I have, at your particular request, addressed you this note in
writing, informing you that in case of an infraction I shall conceive
it my duty, as an officer of the United States, to prosecute according
to the pains and penalties of the law.

                    I am, Sir,
                    With all due consideration,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.

     MR. LA JENNESSE.


_Art. 14. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 11, pp. 25, 26.)_

                              PRAIRIE DE CHIEN, Apr. 18, 1806.

DEAR GENERAL:

I arrived here within the hour, and as Mr. Jearreau, of Cahokia,
embarks for St. Louis early to-morrow morning, I embrace this
opportunity to give a slight sketch of the events of my expedition.
Being obliged to steal the hours from my repose, I hope the General
will pardon the conciseness of my epistle.

I pushed forward last October with all eagerness, in hopes to make
Lake De Sable, and return to St. Louis in the autumn. The weather was
mild and promising until the middle of the month, when a sudden change
took place and the ice immediately commenced running. I was then
conscious of my inability to return, as the falls and other obstacles
would retain me until the river would close. I then conceived it best
to station part of my men, and push my discovery with the remainder on
foot. I marched with 11 soldiers and my interpreter, 700 miles, to the
source of the Mississippi, through (I may without vanity say) as many
hardships as almost any party of Americans ever experienced, by cold
and hunger. I was on the communication of Red river and the
Mississippi, the former being a water of Hudson's bay.[V-14] The
British flag, which was expanded on some very respectable positions,
has given place to that of the United States wherever we passed;
likewise, we have the faith and honor of the N. W. Company for about
$13,000 duties this year; and by the voyage peace is established
between the Sioux and Sauteurs. These objects I have been happy enough
to accomplish without the loss of one man, although once fired on. I
expect hourly the Sussitongs, Yanctongs, Wachpecoutes, and three
other bands of Sioux; some are from the head of the St. Peters, and
some from the plains west of that river. From here I bring with me a
few of the principal men only, agreeably to your orders; also, some
chiefs of the Fols Avoins or Menomones, and Winebagos, the latter of
whom have murdered three men since my passing here last autumn. The
murderers I shall demand, and am in expectation of obtaining two, for
whom I now have irons making, and expect to have them with me on my
arrival. Indeed, Sir, the insolence of the savages in this quarter is
unbounded; and unless an immediate example is made, we shall certainly
be obliged to enter into a general war with them.

My party has been some small check to them this winter, as I was
determined to preserve the dignity of our flag, or die in the attempt.

I presume, General, that my voyage will be productive of much new,
useful, and interesting information for our government, although
detailed in the unpolished diction of a soldier of fortune.

The river broke up at my stockade, 600 miles above here, on the 7th
inst., and Lake Pepin was passable for boats only on the 14th. Thus
you may perceive, Sir, I have not been slow in my descent, leaving all
the traders behind me. From the time it will take to make my
arrangements, and the state of the water, I calculate on arriving at
the cantonment [Belle Fontaine] on the 4th of May; and hope my General
will be assured that nothing but the most insurmountable obstacles
shall detain me one moment.

N. B. I beg leave to caution the General against attending to the
reports of any individuals relating to this country, as the most
unbounded prejudices and party rancor pervade almost generally.

                    I am, dear Sir,
                    With great consideration,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.


_Art. 15.[V-15] Speech, Pike to the Puants at Prairie Du Chien, Apr.
20th, 1806. (Part of Orig. No. 12, pp. 26, 27.)_

BROTHERS: When I passed here last autumn I requested to see you on my
return. I am pleased to see you have listened to my words. It pleased
the Great Spirit to open the ears of all the nations through which I
passed, to hear and attend to the words of their father. Peace has
been established between two of the most powerful nations in this
quarter.

Notwithstanding all this, some of your nation have been bold enough to
kill some of the white people. Not content with firing on the canoes
descending the Ouiscousing last autumn, they have killed a man on Rock
river, when sitting peaceably in his tent. They have also recently
murdered a young man near this place, without any provocation
whatever. As an officer of the United States, it is my duty to demand
the murderers; and I do now demand them.

BROTHERS: In this action I am not influenced or urged by any
individual of this place, or the people generally; no more than as it
is my duty to give all our citizens all the protection in my power. I
will not deceive you. If the prisoners are delivered to me, I shall
put them in irons, under my guards, and in all instances treat them as
men guilty of a capital crime; on their arrival below, they will be
tried for their lives; and if it be proved they have killed these
people without provocation, in all probability they will be put to
death. If, on the contrary, it is proved that the whites were the
aggressors, and it was only self-defence, it will be deemed
justifiable, and they will be sent back to their nation.

It becomes you to consider well whether in case of a refusal you are
sufficiently powerful to protect these men against the power of the
United States, which have always, since the treaty of 1795, treated
all the savages as their children; but if they are obliged to march
troops to punish the many murders committed on their citizens, then
the innocent will suffer with the guilty.

My demand will be reported in candor and truth below; when the general
will take such steps as he may deem proper. But I hope, for the sake
of your innocent women and children, you will do us and yourselves
justice. I was directed to invite a few chiefs down with me to St.
Louis. Many of different bands are about to descend with me. I now
give an invitation to two or three of your principal men to descend
with me. Whatever are your determinations, I pledge the faith of a
soldier for a safe conduct back to your nation. At present, I am not
instructed to act by force to procure those men, therefore you will
consider yourselves as acting without restraint, and under free
deliberations.

They replied that they thanked me for the generous and candid manner
in which I had explained myself, and that they would give me an answer
to-morrow.


_Art. 16. Further Conferences with Indians at Prairie du Chien, Apr.
21st, 1806. (Part of Orig. No. 12, pp. 27-29.)_

The Puants met me in council, agreeably to promise. Karamone, their
chief, addressed me, and said they had come to reply to my demand of
yesterday. He requested that I, with the traders, would listen. A
soldier called Little Thunder then arose and said: "The chiefs were
for giving up the murderer present; but it was the opinion of the
soldiers that they should themselves take him with the others to their
father. But if I preferred their taking one down now, they would do
it; if, on the contrary, I expected all three, they would immediately
depart in pursuit of the others, and bring them all together to their
father. That if he did not bring them he would deliver himself up to
the Americans." I replied: "He must not attempt to deceive. That I had
before told him that I was not authorized to seize their men by force
of arms, but that I wished to know explicitly the time when we might
expect them at St. Louis, in order that our general should know what
steps to take in case they did not arrive. That the consequence of a
non-compliance would be serious to themselves and their children. Also
that they had recently hoisted a British flag near this place which,
had I been here, I should have prevented. I advised them to bring
their British flags and medals down to St. Louis, to deliver them up,
and receive others in exchange." Their reply was: "In ten days to the
Prairie, and thence to St. Louis in ten days more."

Held a council with the Sioux, in which the chiefs of the Yanctongs,
Sussitongs, Sioux of the head of the De Moyen, and part of the Gens Du
Lac were present. Wabasha first spoke, in answer to my speech, wherein
I had recapitulated the conduct of the Sauteurs, their desire and
willingness for peace, their arrangements for next summer, the pipes
they had sent, etc. Also, the wish of the general for some of the
chiefs to descend below. Recommended the situation and good intentions
of the young chiefs at the mouth of the St. Peters, to the others; and
that they should give them assistance to keep the bad men in awe.

They all acquiesced in the peace with the Sauteurs, but said generally
they doubted their bad faith, as they had experienced it many a time.
Nez Corbeau said he had been accused of being hired to kill Mr. Dixon
[Dickson], but he here solemnly denied ever having been instigated to
any such action.

Tonnere Rouge then arose and said: Jealousy was in a great measure the
principal cause of his descending. That if any trader ever had cause
to complain of him, now let him do it publicly. That last year an
officer went up the Missouri, gave flags and medals, made chiefs, and
played the devil and all. That this year liquor was restricted
[forbidden] to the Indians on the Louisiana side, and permitted on
this. He wished to know the reason of those arrangements.

I replied that the officer who ascended the Missouri was authorized by
their father; and that to make chiefs of them, etc., was what I now
invited them down for. As to liquor, it was too long an explanation to
give them here, but it would be explained to them below; and that in a
very short time liquor would be restricted on both sides of the river.

The Puants in the evening came to the house, and Macraragah, alias
Merchant, spoke: That last spring he had embarked to go down to St.
Louis; but at De Buques [Dubuque's] the Reynards gave back. That when
he saw me last autumn he gave me his hand without shame; but since it
had pleased the father of life to cover them with shame, they now felt
themselves miserable. They implored me to present their flags and
medals to the general, as a proof of their good intentions; and when I
arrived at St. Louis, to assure the general they were not far behind.
The chiefs and the soldiers would follow with the murderers; but
begged I would make their road clear, etc. Delivered his pipe and
flag.

Karamone then spoke, with apparent difficulty; assured me of the
shame, disgrace, and distress of their nation, and that he would
fulfill what the others had said; said that he sent by me the medal of
his father, which he considered himself no longer worthy to
wear--putting it around my neck, trembling--and begged me to intercede
with the general in their favor, etc.

I assured him that the American was a generous nation, not confounding
the innocent with the guilty; that when they had delivered up the
three or four dogs who had covered them with blood, we would again
look on them as our children; advised them to take courage that, if
they did well, they should be treated well; said that I would tell
the general everything relative to the affair; also, their repentance,
and determination to deliver themselves and the murderers, and that I
would explain about their flags and medals.


_Art. 17. Letter, Pike to Campbell and Fisher. (Orig. No. 13, pp.
29, 30.)_

(_Notice to Messrs. Campbell and Fisher, for taking depositions
against the murderers of the Puant nation._)

                              PRAIRIE DES CHIENS, Apr. 20th, 1806.

GENTLEMEN:

Having demanded of the Puants the authors of the late atrocious
murders, and understanding that it is their intention to deliver them
to me, I have to request of you, as magistrates of this territory,
that you will have all the depositions of those facts taken which it
is in your power to procure; and if at any future period, previous to
the final decisions of their fate, further proofs can be obtained,
that you will have them properly authenticated and forwarded to his
Excellency, General Wilkinson.

                    I am, Gentlemen,
                    With respect,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.


_Art. 18. Letter, Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 14, pp. 30, 31.)_

                              FORT ST. LOUIS, May 26th, 1806.

DEAR SIR:

I have hitherto detained the medals and flags, intending to present
them to you at the final conclusion of my vouchers on the subject of
my correspondence with the savages. But in order that the general
might know of whom I had obtained medals and flags, I gave him a
memorandum when I handed in my vouchers on the subject of the N. W.
Company. Now I have thought proper to send them by the bearer, marked
with the names of the chiefs from whom I obtained them.

I also send you a pipe and beaver robe of Tonnere Rouge, as they are
the handsomest of any which I received on the whole route. I have
several other pipes, two sacks, and one robe; but as they bore no
particular message, I conceived the general would look on it as a
matter of no consequence; indeed, none except the Sauteurs' [presents]
were accompanied by a talk, but just served as an emblem of the good
will of the moment. I likewise send the skins of the lynx and brelaw
[badger], as the general may have an opportunity to forward them.

Some gentlemen have promised me a mate for my dog; if I obtain him,
the pair, or the single one with the sleigh, is at the general's
service, to be transmitted to the States as we determined on doing. I
mentioned in my memorandums the engagements I was under relative to
the flags or medals, and should any early communications be made to
that country, I hope the subject may not be forgotten. I have labeled
each article with the name of those from whom I obtained them; also
the names of the different animals.

                    I am, sir,
                    With esteem and high consideration,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE, Lt.

     GENERAL JAMES WILKINSON.

       *       *       *       *       *

My faith was pledged to the savage chiefs for the replacing of the
medals and flags of the British government which they surrendered me,
by others of the same magnitude of the United States; but owing to the
change of agents, and a variety of circumstances, it was never
fulfilled. This has left a number of the Sioux and Sauteur chiefs
without their distinguishing marks of dignity, and has induced them to
look on my conduct toward them as a premeditated fraud. This would
render my life in danger should I ever return amongst them, and the
situation of any other officer who should presume to make a similar
demand extremely delicate; besides, it has compromitted with those
savage warriors the _faith_ of our government, which, to enable any
government ever to do good, should be held inviolate.[V-16]


_Art. 19. Letter,[V-17] Pike to Wilkinson. (Orig. No. 15, pp.
31-33.)_

                              BELLEFONTAINE, July 2d, 1806.

DEAR SIR:

I have at length finished all my reports, observations, and journals,
which arose from my late voyage to the source of the Mississippi, and
hope they may prove interesting, from the information on different
subjects which they contain.

I perceive that I differ materially from Captain Lewis[V-18] in my
account of the numbers, manners, and morals of the Sioux. But our
reception by that nation at the first interview being so different, it
no doubt left an impression on our minds, which may have, unknown to
ourselves, given a cast to our observations. I will not only vouch for
the authenticity of my account as to numbers, arms, etc., from my own
notes, but from having had them revised and corrected by a
gentleman[V-19] of liberal education, who has resided 18 years in that
nation, speaks their language, and for some years past has been
collecting materials for their natural and philosophical history.

I have not attempted to give an account of nations of Indians whom I
did not visit, except the Assinniboins, whom, from their intimate
connection with the Sioux, in a lineal point of view, it would have
been improper to leave out of the catalogue.

The correctness of the geographical parts of the voyage I will vouch
for, as I spared neither time, fatigue, nor danger, to see for myself
every part connected with my immediate route.

As the general already knows, at the time I left St. Louis there were
no instruments proper for celestial observations, excepting those
which he furnished me, which were inadequate to taking the longitude;
neither had I the proper tables or authors to accomplish that object,
though it can no doubt be ascertained by various charts at different
points of my route. Nor had I proper time-pieces or instruments for
meteorological observations. Those made were from an imperfect
instrument which I purchased in the town of St. Louis.

I do not possess the qualifications of the naturalist, and even had
they been mine, it would have been impossible to gratify them to any
great extent, as we passed with rapidity over the country we surveyed,
which was covered with snow six months out of the nine I was absent.
And indeed, my thoughts were too much engrossed in making provision
for the exigencies of the morrow to attempt a science which requires
time, and a placidity of mind which seldom fell to my lot.

The journal in itself will have little to strike the imagination,
being but a dull detail of our daily march, and containing many notes
which should have come into the geographical part; others of
observations on the savage character, and many that were never
intended to be included in my official report.

The daily occurrences written at night, frequently by firelight, when
extremely fatigued, and the cold so severe as to freeze the ink in my
pen, of course have little claim to elegance of expression or style;
but they have truth to recommend them, which, if always attended to,
would strip the pages of many of our journalists of their most
interesting occurrences.

The general will please to recollect also, that I had scarcely
returned to St. Louis before the [Arkansaw] voyage now in
contemplation was proposed to me; and that, after some consideration
my duty, and inclination in some respects, induced me to undertake it.
The preparations for my new voyage prevented the possibility of my
paying that attention to the correction of my errors that I should
otherwise have done. This, with the foregoing reasons, will, I hope,
be deemed a sufficient apology for the numerous errors, tautologies,
and egotisms which will appear.

                    I am, dear General,
                    With great respect,
                    Your obedient servant,
                    [Signed] Z. M. PIKE,
                    Lt. 1st Regt. Infty.

     GENERAL JAMES WILKINSON.

FOOTNOTES:

[V-1] Under this head I bring all the matter which formed in the orig.
ed. the first 16 pieces, Nos. 1-16, pp. 1-34 of the Appendix to Pt. 1.
These fall easily together, as they consist entirely of letters Pike
wrote or received during his Mississippi Expedition--even the reports
of his Indian councils being actually a part of his correspondence
with General Wilkinson. I am also able to follow the original sequence
of the pieces, with the single exception of orig. No. 16 (instructions
to Kennerman), which Pike put last and I bring into chronological
order of dates. The difference of my Arts. 1-18 from Pike's Nos. 1-16
results from my Art. 3, which had no number in the orig. ed. (it being
merely an inclosure in Pike's No. 2), and my Art. 5, the Sioux treaty,
which Pike did not separate by any sort of mark from his No. 3, though
it is by far the most important piece of this whole lot. The changes I
make affect the numeration after No. 2, but not the sequence in any
case except that of my Art. 7 (Pike's No. 16). I indicate the original
numeration and pagination.

[V-2] There were three persons of this name down to 1805. Louis Tesson
Honore 1st, tailor, b. Canada, 1734, d. St. Louis, 1807, aged 73;
married Magdalena Peterson, b. 1739, d. St. Louis, 1812. The family
came to St. Louis from Kaskaskia. Among 8 children was--Louis Tesson
Honore 2d, eldest son; he married (1) Marie Duchouquette, (2) Theresa
Creely, in 1788; by the latter he had Louis Tesson Honore 3d, b. St.
Louis about 1790; married Amaranthe Dumoulin; d. there Aug. 20th,
1827. The one Pike names was no doubt No. 2.

[V-3] This piece is the inclosure mentioned in Art. 2. In the orig.
ed. it had no number, and occupied p. 5.

[V-4] Doc. No. 3, p. 6-9, of the orig. ed. was printed in a peculiarly
misleading manner. In the first place it was headed in capitals,
"Conferences held with different bands of Indians, on a voyage up the
Mississippi, in the years 1805 and 1806," though it was entirely
occupied with a single such conference, namely, that with the Sioux,
of Sept. 23d, 1805. In the second place, this major head was followed
by an italicised minor head which properly covered only Pike's speech
on the occasion, yet included the important terms of the treaty
effected, as the latter was tacked on to Pike's speech without any
separate heading, and even without any break in the text. We must
therefore break orig. Doc. No. 3 into two pieces, to be enumerated as
Art. 4 and Art. 5. For the former of these, which is Pike's speech,
the orig. minor head of Doc. No. 3 may be retained. For the latter of
these, which is the Sioux treaty, a new head must be supplied;
especially as this is by far the most important result of Pike's
Mississippi voyage--perhaps more important than all the rest
collectively--concerning which there is a great deal to be said.

[V-5] Who the "father" may be whom Pike imposes upon the Indians in
his various powwows is not always clear. Sometimes President Jefferson
appears to be indicated; sometimes General Wilkinson; sometimes Pike
himself. In the present instance it is General Wilkinson, and the
Osage mission in mention is that upon which Lieutenant George Peter
had been detailed by the general. This appears in a letter from
General Wilkinson to the Secretary of War, dated St. Louis, Aug. 25th,
1805, now on file in the War Department, and in the following extract:
"I find our parties under Lieuts. Pike and Peter are making rapid
progress on their routes. Pike had ascended the Mississippi 150 miles
on the fifth day after he left this place, and I have just received a
letter from Peters [_sic_] dated the 19th inst., 150 miles up the
Osage River, altho' he left S^t. Charles, 25 miles from the mouth of
the Missouri, on the 10th inst. and had been obstructed by almost
incessant rains and consequent high waters. He is charmed with the
river and its banks, which He reports to be far superior to those of
the Ohio in beauty and fertility--Independent of the immediate objects
of these parties, they serve to instruct our young officers and also
our soldiery, on subjects which may hereafter become interesting to
the United States." George Peter of Maryland was appointed from the
District of Columbia to be a second lieutenant of the 9th Infantry,
July 12th, 1799, and honorably discharged June 15th, 1800; he was
appointed lieutenant of Artillerists and Engineers, Feb. 16th, 1801;
of Artillerists, Apr. 1st, 1802; became captain, Nov. 3d, 1807; was
transferred to the Light Artillery in May, 1808; resigned, June 11th,
1809; and died June 22d, 1861.

[V-6] As explained in note 1, p. 221, this article requires
separation from Art. 4, from which it is totally distinct, though the
two form undistinguished parts of one Doc. No. 3, of the orig. ed. I
accordingly set them apart, and supply a new heading for Art. 5; but I
reprint the latter _precisely_ as it stands in the orig. ed., for
reasons which will presently appear. As originally drafted by Pike,
and by him communicated to General Wilkinson under cover of a letter
of equal date, it appears to have been "scarcely legible," as the
general informs the Secretary of War in a letter before me (see Art.
6). I doubt that this extraordinary document ever existed in a form
which might not be set aside as fatally defective; and I do not doubt
that we acquired legal title to the lands by some means subsequent to
this invalid instrument. The probability is that upon due and
sufficient investigation of points of law involved it would appear
that the supposed cession of lands was not a legally accomplished fact
until made such by later negotiation or legislation, with which we
have here nothing to do. The following argument concerning Pike's
treaty, as simply a starting-point for further steps in the
transaction, was submitted in the press-proofs to my relative James M.
Flower, Esq., of Chicago, who had no material modification to suggest.

Let us first examine that version of the document which Pike presents
upon his own page, and which is therefore presumably authentic.

1. The preamble recites that a conference was held "between the United
States of America and the Sioux nation of Indians." But it does not
appear that either of the alleged parties to the transaction was
officially and legally represented. The Sioux nation consisted in 1805
of at least seven tribes, only one of which was concerned in the
affair; and if only the consent of this one tribe was required to
effect the cession the conference is erroneously described.
Furthermore, it does not appear by what authority Pike assumed to
represent the United States. He signs himself "agent" at the
conference. Agent of whom or of what? He was certainly not an Indian
agent, empowered by the United States to effect treaties with aliens;
and though it is true that he was instructed by his military superior
to obtain if possible certain cessions, among which was the cession of
land at and near the mouth of St. Peter's r., the question recurs
whether General Wilkinson was competent to issue military orders to
that effect without the authority of the government; and no such
authority is expressed or necessarily implied in the terms of the
alleged treaty.

2. Art. 1, which ostensibly declares what lands were supposed to be
ceded, does in fact declare or describe no such lands sufficiently or
recognizably, and is furthermore vitiated by a blunder which would
constitute a fatal flaw in the title, if contested. (_a_) "Nine miles
square at the mouth of the St. Croix," is in the first place an
impossibility, because the mouth of the St. Croix has no such
dimensions; and in the second place may mean either a tract of 81
square miles, whose center is at the mouth of the said river, or any
one of four or more square tracts of the said extent, any one of whose
angles, or any indetermined point of one of whose sides, is at the
mouth of the said river; and in no one of these contingencies is the
direction in which the remaining bounds are to be laid off described
either by points of the compass or by natural landmarks. (_b_) The
asterisk set at the words "St. Croix" refers to a memorandum which
Pike causes to appear as a clause of the treaty itself, interpolated
of his own motion, without the knowledge or consent of the other party
to the transaction; it is also unintelligible on its face. "My demand
was one league below." Below what? Below the mouth of the St. Croix?
That would be the obvious inference; but it would be erroneous to so
infer. "Their reply was 'from below.'" This is absolutely
unintelligible as it stands; it has no meaning whatever. "I imagine
(without iniquity) they may be made to agree." Is it Pike's
imagination that is without iniquity? Or is it some agreement that may
be brought about without iniquity between his demands and the terms of
the cession? Or is it the Indians who can without iniquity be made to
agree with a demand that conflicts with the terms of the cession as
understood by them? In point of fact, however, this interpolated
clause of the treaty, or interpolated memorandum relating to the terms
of the cession, has nothing whatever to do with the lands at or near
the St. Croix r., because the asterisk which points out the place of
the interpolation is misplaced by error of the types. The words which
stand "St. Croix,* also from," etc., should stand "St. Croix. *Also
from," etc. The printer foiled Pike's intention of placing the
asterisk at the beginning of the clause to which it pertains, by
setting it at the end of the preceding clause, to which it does not
pertain.

3. Now making the actually required transference of the asterisk to
its proper and intended position (where it stands correctly on a
manuscript copy of the orig. doc. now before me), the whole difficulty
which this obnoxious interpolation occasions is shifted to a much more
important clause of the treaty, upon which it remains in full force.
Accordingly we find that this most important clause beginning "*Also
from below," etc., includes an irreconcilable discrepancy between
Pike's demand and the Indians' concession. He appears to have demanded
that the tract of land ceded should begin "one league" below the
confluence of St. Peter's with the Mississippi r.; and the Indians
appear to have agreed, not to this demand, but to a cession of a tract
of land which should begin "from below" the said confluence; though
how far "from below" is not said, and there is nothing to show whether
the distance should be more or less than the "one league" which Pike
demanded and to which the Indians did not agree. But it is impossible,
either with or without "iniquity," to come to any incontestable
conclusion concerning a boundary so unintelligibly indicated. The most
we can do is to "imagine," as Pike did, that what the Indians were
willing to cede and did in fact cede by the terms of the treaty, was a
tract which began on one side at no appreciable or no considerable
distance below the said confluence, _i. e._, exactly or immediately at
the mouth of St. Peter's r. This is a reasonable and natural, if not
the only, inference to be drawn from the obscure and scarcely
intelligible terms of the article in question; and I believe that such
has always been the assumption of its true purport. The initial point
assumed, then, is the mouth of St. Peter's r.; but the article does
not show in what, if any, direction a line is to be drawn through this
point for the purpose of establishing a practicable boundary. No line
can be determined by fewer than two points; yet the article specifies
no second point to or from which a line may be drawn from or to the
mouth of St. Peter's r. to represent one side of the tract supposed to
have been ceded. The further terms of the article throw no light on
the case. These terms are only "to include the falls of St. Anthony,
extending nine miles on each side of the river." This clause of the
cession does not specify which one of the two said rivers the Falls of
St. Anthony extend nine miles on each side of, and it is also a
natural impossibility for the said falls to extend any miles on either
side of any river. Seeking some other construction to be put upon
terms which are obviously absurd if taken literally, we drag from
obscurity a semblance of meaning they may be assumed to have. This
meaning is, that the tract of land ceded does to all intent and
purpose extend from a point at the mouth of St. Peter's r. to some
point in or on the Mississippi r., at or beyond the Falls of St.
Anthony; but to what point is not specified. However, we may assume
that the phrase "to include the falls of St. Anthony" is to be
construed to include no more than these falls. This assumption gives
us a second datum-point of the required boundary, but does not in any
way assist us to an intelligible connection between the first point
and the second one, along which any line can be drawn as a boundary.
This deficiency of any line whatever may be assumed to be supplied by
the only remaining clause of the article, namely, "extending nine
miles on each side of the river." But in what direction are nine miles
on each side of the river to be taken? For anything that appears to
the contrary, the distance between the mouth of St. Peter's r. and the
Falls of St. Anthony may be nine miles, and there is nothing in the
terms of the article which forbids the measurement of nine miles to be
made up each side of the Mississippi from the mouth of St. Peter's r.
to the Falls of St. Anthony, and as much further as nine miles may be
found to reach. On such assumption, the cession included only a
section of the Mississippi r., and not any land on either side of this
river beyond its immediate banks; all that was ceded by the Sioux
being in such event a waterway and a waterpower. To claim as ours by
the terms of the treaty any land on either side of the river, we have
to proceed upon yet another assumption, namely, that the nine miles in
question were to be measured in a direction away from the river "on
each side." But even assuming such to have been the intent and purport
of the article, several further questions arise. The first of these
concerns the meaning of the word "each" in its present connection.
This word means either one of two or more things in their reciprocal
relation, and thus implies both; in the present instance, as a river
has only two sides, "each side" means both sides. It is clear that a
distance of nine miles is to be measured away from each side of the
river, _i. e._, is to include some distance on both sides of the
river; but the terms of the article do not state whether the whole of
nine miles' distance from one side of the river, and the whole of nine
miles' distance from the other side of the river, was ceded, or
whether a part of these nine miles on one side and the rest of these
nine miles on the other was ceded; or, in the latter case, what part
of these nine miles on one side and what part of these nine miles on
the other side were ceded. In other words, is the tract of land ceded
eighteen miles wide, or only nine miles wide? In the former case it
would of course lie in two equal tracts, one on each side of the
river; in the latter case, its location would be wholly indeterminate
(within certain obvious limitations); for it might be four and a half
miles on each side, or four miles on one side and five on the other,
and so on. Even were all the foregoing questions settled--arbitrarily,
conventionally, or otherwise--yet others would arise. Among these
would be the shape of the two lateral boundaries of the tract of land.
This tract is described as "extending nine miles on each side of the
river." That is, each boundary furthest from the river is to be at the
same distance from its own side of the river at every point of its own
extent. This requires that these bounds should be parallel with each
other, and such parallelism involves the meandering of two lines
parallel at every point with the meanders of the river. Assuming that
this were satisfactorily done, it would still be impossible to
determine the connection of these two sides of a theoretical tract of
land with the other two sides required for actual boundary. For there
is nothing in the article to show the direction in which either the
line which crosses the mouth of St. Peter's r., or the line which
crosses the Falls of St. Anthony, is to be extended to intersect any
lines, however the latter may have been projected. We are forced to
yet further assumptions, for which the terms of the cession give no
warrant whatever. No determinable shape is given to the tract of land
by the terms of the cession. If we assume that a square was
intended--as was expressly the intention in the case of the land about
the mouth of the St. Croix--we are confronted with some terms of the
article which put a square out of the question. By these terms the
land can only be a square in case the mouth of the St. Peter's r. be
nine miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, and in the further case
that we measure four and a half miles from one and four and a half
miles from the other side of the Mississippi, and make all connections
at right angles by means of right lines. It is needless to push the
difficulty further. Nothing of this sort, we may be sure, was in the
minds of the Sioux at the time, and it may be doubted that anything of
the sort occurred to Pike. The patent fact remains that even if both
parties to the transaction were competent to execute the instrument by
which certain lands were ceded, neither the situation, nor the shape,
nor the size of the tract ceded can be determined from the article of
the treaty relating thereto. How the cession thus left in the air may
have been subsequently determined, it is not to my present purpose to
inquire. My contention is simply that we acquired by Article 1 of this
famous treaty no tract or tracts of land which can be located
according to the terms of the article; and that if there be not a
cloud upon the title to every foot of land between and including Fort
Snelling and Minneapolis, and for some distance on each side of those
places, then such cloud has been removed by legislative or other
action subsequent to the supposed cession. It will also be remembered
by those interested in such things that the question has been raised
whether the Sioux who seem to have ceded this land to us had at the
time a clear title to it; for Carver claimed, and some of his heirs
have since sought to establish his claim, that the Sioux had at one
time made over to him, for a valuable consideration, certain lands
supposed to be the same, wholly or in part, as those which they made
over to Pike. This case I understand was tried, and decided adversely
in law; whether it be not a good case in equity is another question.

4. With the competency of both parties to the transaction brought into
question, and with the size, shape, and situation of the land-grant
shown to be indeterminable, we have next to consider whether Article 2
does not invalidate, vitiate, or void the whole instrument. In the
version which Pike's printer offers us, it reads: "Art. 2. That in
consideration of the above grants, the United States shall pay (filled
up by the senate with 2000 dollars)." This is simply ridiculous. By
the terms of Article 2, the valuable consideration which the Sioux
received is an imaginary nonentity described as "(filled up by the
senate with 2000 dollars)." However, this absurdity in the wording of
an international document is so clearly due to the heedlessness of an
inexperienced young officer, and what Pike meant by such phraseology
is so obvious, that we can let it go with only the further remark that
the purport of Article 2, as it stands on his page, is clearer than
anything in Article 1. For it is an obvious editorial interpolation of
his own, forming no part of the original document, but simply intended
to inform the reader that at some time subsequent to the execution of
the instrument by the contracting parties, the Senate of the United
States voted to fill up a place which had been left blank in the
original document with a clause which provided that the United States
should pay $2,000 to the Indians in consideration of the grant which
the latter had made. But this very fact goes far to show that the
instrument was in the first place fatally defective, no valuable or
any consideration whatever having been originally expressed or implied
in the terms of Article 2. On this point I have carefully examined two
manuscript copies of the "treaty," both made soon after the
transaction in question, and both now on file in the War Department.
One of the manuscripts reads: "Article 2^nd.--That in consideration
of the above Grants, the United States" The other manuscript reads:
"Art. 2^d That in consideration of the above grants the U. S." A
third version of Article 2, in an official imprint of the treaty,
published by the Indian Bureau, is: "ARTICLE 2. That in consideration
of the above grants the United States ******" Whence it appears that
the words "shall pay," which occur in the version our young friend
offers in his book, were also an editorial invention of his own; there
is no hint in the original instrument that the United States was to
pay anything. For anything that appears to the contrary, the United
States might have declared war with England, or amended the
Constitution, or done nothing, in consideration of the above grant.
Pike could give the Indians no assurance that the United States would
do anything whatever--that they would even accept the lands as a gift,
because he had no knowledge of future Acts of Congress, and no
authority to make any stipulations which should be binding on the
government. What is perhaps the most extraordinary thing about this
extraordinary transaction is that Pike informs Wilkinson by letter of
equal date that lands to the extent of about 100,000 acres had been
obtained "for a song"; calls the general's attention pointedly to the
fact "that the 2d article, relative to consideration, is blank;" that
the "song" in mention was worth about $250, being the value of certain
presents with which he had personally and privately feed the two
chiefs who signed the treaty, these presents being partly from
articles of his personal property; and suggests to the general "to
insert the amount of those articles as the considerations to be
specified in article 2d." General Wilkinson expresses unfeigned
surprise at this, in a letter before me addressed to the Secretary of
War, dated St. Louis, Nov. 26th, 1805, in which he says: "You have a
copy of the agreement under cover, in which, for what reason I cannot
divine, he [Pike] omits the stipulation on the part of the United
States;" and again, after quoting some clauses of Pike's letter to
himself, he remarks: "I do not fairly comprehend this reasoning, but I
dare say Mr. Pike will be able to explain it satisfactorily, tho' it
is unquestionable he is a much abler soldier than negotiator." We need
not take the view that this was a shady transaction; yet if Wilkinson
had inserted $250 as the consideration to be paid for the land, no
more than this could have been claimed by the Sioux, and as this was
in part Pike's personal property, some land would have been his own
unless he had chosen to make it over to the United States on being
reimbursed in a like amount--that is, if such a treaty was worth any
more than the paper on which it was written. The facts appear to be
that Pike hobnobbed with two chiefs till he got them to make him a
present of the land he wanted, in consideration of some presents which
he had already made to these two Indians privately.

5. The third article of the treaty is intelligible, though it is not
clear what "exceptions" were "specified" in Article 1, as recited
in Article 3. The purport seems to be that the Sioux should retain
right of way in the land, and such other use of it as should not be
abridged or nullified by our occupation. At the same time it is not
clear that, since the United States were to have "full sovereignty and
power," by the terms of Article 1, they were not authorized to
withdraw all the privileges of Article 3 if they saw fit to do so.

6. The question of the validity of many legal documents is affected by
the presence or absence of witnesses to the same. In the present case
no signatures of witnesses appear on the face of the instrument, and
there is nothing whatever to show that it is anything more than a part
of a speech which Pike made to certain Indians, and which two of them
subscribed besides himself. None of the published versions of the
"treaty" which I have seen includes this important feature. But one of
the manuscript copies before me has the names of four persons as
witnesses, all whites. Reference to the second paragraph of Pike's
speech will show him to have spoken of "a form of agreement which we
will both sign in the presence of the traders now present." Four names
which appear on the face of the manuscript copy just mentioned, in the
usual place of witnesses' signatures, and under a word which I make
out to be "Tests," (_i. e._, _teste_ or _testibus_, in the ablative
sing. or pl.) are: Wm. Meyer, M[urdoch] Cameron, James Frazer, Duncan
Graham. It is remarkable that, if these names appear on the original
document, they were not transcribed on all the copies, and also
printed with the published versions, as an integral part of the same.

7. The names of the two chiefs who are supposed to have "touched the
quill" to this transaction, _i. e._, signed with their respective
marks, occur in variant forms in the several copies; but this is the
rule in such cases, and has no significance except of clerical
incompetency. In the officially published version above mentioned the
two names stand "Le Petit Carbeau" and "Way Aga Enagee," each of which
only differs by one letter from the correct form (in the case of the
French) or from a usual form (in the case of the Sioux). Each of these
chiefs has been already identified: see note 2, p. 85 and p. 86.

The subsequent history of this mock instrument or valid document is
not less singular than the conditions and circumstances under which it
originated. Diligent search for it among the treaties duly published
in the U. S. Statutes at Large fails to show that it was ever included
in that collection of official papers. But certain facts were
furnished, with the text of the treaty itself, to the Indian Bureau by
Mr. C. C. Royce of the Bureau of Ethnology at Washington, and printed
by the former Bureau in an editorial note explanatory of that text, on
p. 316 of its official publication entitled "Laws of the United States
relating to Indian Affairs," etc., Washington, Government Printing
Office, 1884. It appears in this place that the treaty (in some form)
was submitted by the President to the Senate, March 29th, 1808, thus
more than two years after the execution of the instrument in writing;
that the Senate reported favorably upon it April 13th, 1808, with the
following amendment to fill the blank in Article 2: "After the word
'States' in the second article insert the following words: 'shall,
prior to taking possession thereof, pay to the Sioux two thousand
dollars, or deliver the value thereof in such goods and merchandise as
they shall choose.'" With this amendment the Senate unanimously
advised and consented to its ratification, April 16th, 1808.
Examination of the records of the State Department fails to disclose
that any subsequent action was taken by the President; and the
ratification of the treaty does not appear to have ever been
proclaimed. This is a very unusual circumstance; for such treaties
ordinarily have three official dates of as many stages in their
progress from inception to full effect, viz.: date of agreement
between the contracting parties; date of ratification by the proper
authority; and date of proclamation by the President. In the present
case the principal evidence that the alleged cession of lands was ever
a legally accomplished fact is said by Mr. Royce to consist in certain
correspondence of the War Department more than twenty-five years after
the date of ratification of the amended treaty by the Senate. But that
the cession was effected, legally or otherwise, is certain. In 1819
Major Thomas Forsyth, Indian Agent at St. Louis, had received
instructions from the War Department to deliver "a certain quantity of
goods, say $2,000 worth," "in payment of lands ceded by the Sioux
Indians to the late Gen. Pike for the United States": see Forsyth's
Narrative, as orig. pub. in Wis. Hist. Coll., 1872, with notes by
Lyman C. Draper, and repub. in Minn. Hist. Coll., III. 1874, pp.
139-67. Yet we find General H. H. Sibley saying, _ibid._, p. 174: "In
the year 1821, Col. Leavenworth called together the chiefs and head
men of the Sioux bands, and procured from them a grant of land nine
miles square at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers."
What can one make of such conflicting statements? Here it is said that
Colonel Leavenworth procured in 1821 a grant of land which Major
Forsyth is said to have paid for in 1819, and which Pike is said to
have secured in 1805. In the same place General Sibley says that there
was an article in the Leavenworth-Sioux treaty of 1821 by which the
Indians "donated" Pike's isl. to Mr. J. B. Faribault.

[V-7] "The within articles" are those of the Sioux Treaty of same
date, inclosed in this letter to General Wilkinson, which reached St.
Louis on or about Nov. 26th, 1805, and was immediately communicated in
full to the Secretary of War. A manuscript copy of the original is on
file in the Record Division of the War Department, together with two
copies of General Wilkinson's own letter to General Dearborn on the
same subject and other topics. I might reproduce the manuscript of
Pike's letter textually, but as the copy before me is in a clerk's
hand, its peculiarities being thus not Pike's own, it is not worth
while to replace the above fair imprint of the original with another
version which would show no difference except in its clerical errors.
See preceding article for a criticism of the treaty itself which
formed the inclosure of the present letter. One passage from General
Wilkinson's unpublished letter to the Secretary of War may be here
cited: "He [Pike] tells me he has no doubt of being able to make Lake
Sable in pretty good Season, but observes that the source of the River
is in 'Lake Sang Sue,' about sixty Leagues further North & that He
must 'see that also'--in which case he will have stretched his orders
& we shall not hear of Him before the Spring--He reports that our flag
is every where received with pleasure, & that he had patched up a
Peace between the Scioux & Chepaways, who are generally at War----"

[V-8] This is the "Original Leve" of p. 85--the chief whose name would
be in English Standing Elk or Standing Moose: see note 2, p. 87.
Elan is French for such an animal; it is the same word as the Dutch
eland, which we have borrowed for a South African species.

[V-9] "Mareir" and "Tremer" are both wrong, no doubt, but I do not
know what the right names are. A clerk's copy of the original letter
before me has "Mercier" and "Fener"--latter perhaps Francois Fennai:
_cf._ W. H. S. C., XII. p. 160.

[V-10] Article 7 was misplaced in the orig. ed. as No. 16, being
brought in at the end of all the rest of the correspondence. I
transfer it to its present proper place in chronological sequence of
these documents. It requires no comment, being simply the written
orders which the commanding officer gave his sergeant for the guidance
of the latter during the former's absence, and which Kennerman
proceeded to disobey in general and in particular.

[V-11] The first visit of white men to the Mandans was made in 1738,
under the leadership of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, otherwise Le
Sieur Verendrye. A relation of this journey, by Rev. Dr. Edward D.
Neill, occupies pp. 113-119 of the Macalester College Contributions,
Department of History, Literature, and Political Science, Second
Series, No. 5, which I extract in substance, as follows:

On Sept. 24th, 1738, Verendrye was at the confluence of the Red River
of the North with the Assiniboine r. Two days afterward he began his
journey up the latter, and on the 30th, having found a suitable place,
he established Fort La Reine. Within a week, Mgr. de La Marque
(otherwise Charles Nolan, Noland, or Nolant, son of J. B. Nolan and
Marie Anne La Marque, b. 1694), and his brother, Sieur Nolan, with
eight men, arrived in two canoes from Mackinac. On Oct. 16th Verendrye
selected 10 of his own men and 10 of La Marque's party for the Mandan
expedition, and their march began on the 18th. The party consisted of
Verendrye, with two of his sons; La Marque and his brother Nolan;
together with some voyageurs and Indians--in all 52 persons. On the
21st, at the distance of 26 leagues from Fort La Reine, they reached
the first (no doubt Turtle) mountain. After slow marches
southwestwardly, the first Mandans were met on the morning of the
28th. A chief came and stood near Verendrye, and one of his band
presented corn on the cob and some tobacco. These Indians were only
covered with a buffalo-robe, wearing no breech-clout. The Mandan chief
requested the French to visit his village, and left on the 30th,
accompanied by about 600 Indians. On the evening of the third day's
march an Assiniboine, one of a number of this tribe who had already
joined the expedition, stole a bag containing Verendrye's papers and
other valuables; two men were hired to pursue the thief, and they
captured him. On the morning of the fourth day's march camp was broken
early in order to reach the Mandan settlement. A short distance from
the village they were met on an elevation by a delegation of Mandans,
who presented the calumet. Verendrye directed his son, the chevalier,
to draw up the French in line, place the flag of France four paces
before them, and fire three volleys. At 4 p. m., Dec. 3d, Verendrye
and his associates entered the village and were conducted to the lodge
of the principal chief, where a bag containing presents, and also 300
livres, was stolen. The Assiniboines were much afraid of the Sioux,
from whom they had separated years before, and the Mandans, not
wishing to entertain Verendrye's escort, purposely raised a rumor that
the Sioux were coming, whereupon the Assiniboines decamped. Verendrye
was embarrassed for want of a good interpreter, but learned that on
the banks of the Missouri, lower down, were the Pananas, and then the
Pananis, at war with each other. Six days after the Assiniboines
decamped, Chevalier Verendrye, Sieur Nolan, six Frenchmen, and several
Mandans visited a settlement on the bank of the river, and then Sieur
Verendrye and Mgr. de La Marque inspected the village. There were 130
cabins. A fort was built on an elevation in the open prairie,
surrounded by a ditch about 15 feet deep and from 15 to 18 feet wide.
(Compare A. J. Hill's plot of Mandan fortification, in T. H. Lewis'
Minor Antiq. Art. No. iv, p. 5, 1884.) The cabins were spacious,
separated into several apartments by thick planks, and goods were hung
on posts in large bags. The men were naked, covered only with a
buffalo robe; the women also, excepting a loose apron about a foot
long. On the evening of Dec. 4th Verendrye's son and Nolan came back
and reported that the village they had visited was twice as large as
that where they were. On Dec. 8th the latitude was taken and found to
be 48 deg. 12' N. It was now decided to leave two men to winter with the
Mandans to acquire their language, and return with the rest to Fort La
Reine. Before they departed the head chief was presented with a flag,
and a leaden plate upon which the arms of France were cut. When ready
to leave, Verendrye fell sick and could not travel for two or three
days. On Dec. 24th, still weak, he reached the Assiniboine village,
and was agreeably surprised when the box of papers which had been
stolen was returned in good order. On Jan. 9th, 1739, the first height
of land between the Missouri and Assiniboine rivers was reached; here
Verendrye remained, while La Marque hurried on to Fort La Reine. There
he arrived Feb. 1st, and sent back assistance to Verendrye, who
reached the post, greatly fatigued, on the 10th of this month. The two
voyageurs who had been left with the Mandans returned to the fort
Sept. 27th, 1739, with reports representing more fiction than fact.

In 1740 Verendrye visited Canada, and on Oct. 13th, 1741, he returned
to Fort La Reine. He afterward established a fifth post called Fort
Dauphin at Lac des Prairies, and a sixth, Fort Bourbon, at the mouth
of the Poskoyac r. (_i. e._, the Saskatchewan). In April, 1742, the
Chevalier Verendrye and his brother left Fort La Reine, and by way of
the Mandan village, on a southwestward course, are supposed to have
reached the Rocky Mountains in January, 1743. The Sieur Verendrye died
Dec. 6th, 1749.

[V-12] "_As they were wont to be_" is a particularly fine rhetorical
climax to what our young friend so innocently prides himself on having
accomplished. It must have made the most stolid savage of them all
smile in his sleeve,--or whatever article of nether apparel he
wore,--as there never had been a time in his memory, or in the
memories of any of his ancestors as far back as his tribal traditions
went in the dim past, when the Sioux and Chippewas were not hereditary
foes, who killed and scalped each other with alacrious and
comprehensive reciprocity. It is true that in rare sporadic cases,
when both sets of red brethren were exhausted in war, or when each
found it necessary to let up a little on the other for a chance to
hunt in peace for the necessaries of life, temporary truces had been
agreed upon. But such spasms were supposed by neither party to last
longer than suited the convenience of either; nay, the very councils
in which such a peace was patched up sometimes ended in fresh
bloodshed on the sacred spot; and the annals of all the Indians of
North America might be sifted through and through to discover a more
notable case of inveterate, perpetual, and ferocious warfare than is
afforded by the hereditary hostility of these two powerful nations.
Pike was no doubt sincere and veracious in his representations of the
happy results of his peace-making; but his ignorance of the facts in
the case must have been complete, or he would have known that such a
truce as he effected was sure to be broken as soon as his back was
turned--if not sooner. Furthermore, the expediency of interfering with
such affairs may reasonably be doubted; for, paradoxical as it may
appear, a patched-up peace between tribes whose hostilities are
hereditary costs more lives than it saves, and makes more trouble than
it prevents. The vigilance of both parties is relaxed, private
enterprise replaces public policy, and individual murders multiply
rapidly till the normal equilibrium of forces is readjusted by open
declaration of the always existent intertribal hostility. War is the
necessary and natural state of affairs among savages; it is the main
business of their lives, and the principal if not the only means of
attaining all that is dearest to their hearts; and it is better for
all parties to proceed on that understanding in a straightforward,
businesslike way than to bushwhack for surreptitious scalps. Such
trophies of prowess must be had in any event and at all hazards; and
secret assassinations to secure them represent in the aggregate a
higher death-rate than that resulting from pitched battles. Meddling
with unmanageable things is never good policy, and interference with
intertribal relations of savages is generally inhumane as well as
impolitic.

[V-13] The three whose answers to Pike's address are given in this
article have already been sufficiently identified: see back, note
7, p. 156, note 10, p. 169, note 13, p. 172. It is amusing to
observe the unanimity with which they declined the polite invitation
to visit General Wilkinson at St. Louis. Old Sweet's regrets strike me
as the most ingenuous. What was the use of his going in person if he
sent his pipe? If we send our card to a functionary in acknowledgment
of an invitation, is not the etiquette of the occasion accomplished by
that civil ceremony? Sucre's suggestion regarding the Sioux of the
upper Minnesota r., whose intentions were doubtful, was eminently
practical--if they wanted peace, let them so signify in the usual
manner. Chef de la Terre seems to have been less resourceful in polite
excuses than the other two. He could not go unless Sucre did; but some
other day, perhaps, etc. Flat Mouth's remarks were the most astute.
His excuse, whether feigned or not, was good; but as to his intention
of burying the hatchet so far out of sight that he would let the Sioux
strike him even once without digging it up, we may indulge a doubt.

[V-14] This is true in a certain sense. When Pike was on Cass l., at
the mouth of Turtle r., Feb. 12th-14th., 1806, he was on a
Mississippian water-way of communication with Red r. and so with
Hudsonian waters. But this must not be taken to indicate that he ever
reached the divide between these waters, still less that he passed to
Red r. or Red l. The fact that it has been so taken gives occasion for
this note. For the situation at the dates said, see note 8, p. 157.

[V-15] Orig. No. 12, though only entitled, "A speech delivered to the
Puants, at the Prairie des Cheins the 20th day of April, 1806,"
included, besides the speech covered by this heading, various other
matters which came up April 21st, in another council with the same
Winnebagoes, and furthermore gave a report of a conference with the
Sioux, etc. Accordingly, I separate Orig. No. 12 into two articles,
making Pike's speech Art. 15, and supplying a new head for Art. 16, to
cover the rest of the proceedings at Prairie du Chien.

[V-16] The above paragraph formed no part of the letter to which it is
appended, being an explanatory note which Pike added when he was about
to print the letter in his book. One reason why the Indians did not
get the medals they had been led to expect is evident in the following
extract of a letter before me from General Wilkinson to the Secretary
of War, dated St. Louis, Dec. 3d, 1805: "The Indians in all directions
Clamour for Medals, & it is found policy to present them, but we have
not one in the Country, or among the factory Goods--If you send any
out let them be addressed to the Superintendant & not the Agent, for
many & obvious reasons--the last aims at too much importance & the
former may need some."

[V-17] This is the last letter we have from Pike on the subject of the
Mississippi voyage. It is, in fact, a letter of transmittal of his
official report to the commanding general, and thus a sort of preface
or introduction to the whole subject. In two weeks from the date of
this communication Pike had started up the Missouri on his second
expedition, and of course did nothing further with his Mississippi
matters until he had returned from Mexico, the following year. Article
19 therefore completes the batch of miscellaneous documents, chiefly
letters, which I have grouped in this chapter of "Correspondence and
Conferences." But we have still to deal with four formal articles
relating to the Mississippian voyage; these I make the subjects of the
following chapters.

[V-18] The reference is here to Captain Meriwether Lewis' Statistical
View of the Indian Nations, etc., which formed the second one of five
papers accompanying President Jefferson's message to Congress, Feb.
16th, 1806: see L. and C., ed. 1893, p. cviii.

[V-19] Mr. George Anderson, the same who furnished Pike with most of
the data he obtained concerning the fur-trade. See next chapter, on
the commerce of the Mississippi.




CHAPTER VI.

COMMERCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.[VI-1]

_Observations on the trade, views, and policy of the North West
Company, and the national objects connected with their commerce, as it
interests the Government of the United States._[VI-2]


The fur-trade in Canada has always been considered an object of the
first importance to that colony, and has been cherished by the
respective governors of that province by every regulation in their
power, under both the French and English administrations. The great
and almost unlimited influence the traders of that country acquired
over the savages was severely felt, and will long be remembered by the
citizens on our frontiers. Every attention was paid by the cabinet of
St. James, in our treaty with Great Britain, to secure to their
Canadian subjects the privilege of the Indian trade within our
territories, and with what judgment they have improved the advantages
obtained by the mother country, time will soon unfold.

In the year 1766, the trade was first extended from Michilimackinac,
to the northwest, by a few desperate adventurers, whose mode of life
on the voyage, and short residence in civilized society, obtained for
them the appellation of Coureurs des Bois. From those trifling
beginnings arose the present North West Company, who, notwithstanding
the repeated attacks made on their trade, have withstood every shock,
and are now, by the coalition of the late X. Y. Company, established
on so firm a basis as to bid defiance to every opposition which can be
made by private individuals.

They, by a late purchase of the king's posts in Canada, extend their
line of trade from Hudson's Bay to the St. Lawrence, and up that river
on both sides to the Lakes; thence to the head of Lake Superior, at
which place the North West Company have their headquarters; thence to
the source of Red river and all its tributary streams through the
country to the Missouri; through the waters of Lake Winipie to the
Saskashawin; on that river to its source; up Elk river to the Lake of
the Hills; up Peace river to the Rocky mountains; from the Lake of the
Hills [Lac des Buttes, old French name of Lake Athapasca] up Slave
river to Slave Lake. This year they have dispatched a Mr. [(not Sir)
Alexander] Mackenzie on a voyage of trade and discovery down
Mackenzie's river to the north sea; and also a Mr. M'Coy,[VI-3] to
cross the Rocky mountains and proceed to the western ocean with the
same objects in view.

They have had a gentleman by the name of [David] Thompson[VI-4] making
a geographical survey of the northwest part of the continent; who,
for three years, with an astonishing spirit of enterprise and
perseverance, passed over all that extensive and unknown country. His
establishment, although not splendid, the mode of traveling not
admitting it, was such as to admit of unlimited expenses in everything
necessary to facilitate his inquiries; and he is now engaged in
digesting the important results of his enterprise.

I find from the observations and suggestions of Mr. Thompson, when at
the [Julian] source of the Mississippi, that it was his opinion the
line of limits between the United States and Great Britain must run
such a course from the head of the Lake of the Woods as to touch the
source of the Mississippi; and this I discovered to be the opinion of
the North West Company, who, we may suppose or reasonably conclude,
speak the language held forth by their government. The admission of
this pretension will throw out of our territory all the upper part of
Red river, and nearly two-fifths of the territory of Louisiana.
Whereas, if the line be run due west from the head of the Lake of the
Woods, it will cross Red river nearly at the entrance of Reed river,
and, it is conjectured, strike the western ocean at Birch Bay, in
Queen Charlotte Sound. Those differences of opinion, it is presumed,
might be easily adjusted between the two governments at the present
day; but it is believed that delays, by unfolding the true value of
the country, may produce difficulties which do not at present exist.

The North West Company have made establishments at several places on
the south side of Lake Superior, and on the head waters of the
Sauteaux and St. Croix, which discharge into the Mississippi. The
first I met with on the voyage up was at Lower Red Cedar Lake, about
150 miles above Isle de Corfeau [Corbeau], on the east side of the
river, and distant therefrom six miles. It is situated on the north
point of the lake, and consists of log buildings, flanked by picketed
bastions on two of its angles. The next establishment I met with was
situated on Sandy Lake: for a description of which, see document
[herewith] marked A. Midway between Sandy Lake and Leech Lake is a
small house not worthy of notice [Grant's: see note 52 p. 144]. On
the southwest side of the latter lake, from the outlet of the
Mississippi, stand the headquarters of the Fond du Lac department: for
information relative to which, have reference to document marked B.
Here resides the director of this department. In document C is a
recapitulation of the specific articles of 115 packs of peltry, which
will give an idea of the whole, amounting per said voucher to 233
packs per annum in the Fond du Lac department. Document D will explain
the relative price of goods in that district; but the trading prices
are various, according to situations and circumstances. Voucher E
shows the number of men, women, and children in the service of the
North West Company in the district aforesaid, with their pay per
annum, etc. This department brings in annually 40 canoes; from which,
by a calculation made by a gentleman [George Anderson] of veracity and
information, who has been 18 years in the Indian trade and in the
habit of importing goods by Michilimackinac, it appears that the
annual amount of duties would be about $13,000. The Lower Red river,
which I conceive to be within our territory, would yield about half
that sum, $6,500, and the Hudson Bay Company's servants, who import by
the way of Lake Winipie, $6,500 more.

Thus is the United States defrauded annually of about $26,000. From my
observations and information, I think it will be an easy matter to
prevent the smuggling of the Fond du Lac department, by establishing a
post with a garrison of 100 men, and an office of the customs, near
the mouth of the St. Louis, where all goods for the Fond du Lac
department must enter. This is at present the distributing point,
where the company have an establishment, and where the goods, on being
received from Kamanitiquia, are embarked for their different
destinations. That point also commands the communication with Lake de
Sable, Leech Lake, Red Lake, etc. I am also of opinion that the goods
for Red River, if it be within our boundary, would enter here, in
preference to being exposed to seizure. It is worthy of remark that
the charter of the Hudson's Bay Company extends to all its waters: and
if the British government conceived they had authority to make such a
grant, they certainly would claim the country therein specified, which
would extend far south of the west line from the head of the Lake of
the Woods.

The North West Company were about to push their trade down the
Mississippi until they would have met the traders of Michilimackinac;
but I gave them to understand that it could not be admitted, as
appears per letter to Mr. Dickson.


A. _Description of the N. W. Company's Fort at Sandy Lake._

The fort at Sandy Lake is situated on the S. side, near the W. end,
and is a stockade 100 feet square, with bastions at the S. E. and N.
W. angles, pierced for small-arms. The pickets are squared on the
outside, round within, about one foot diameter, and 13 feet above
ground. There are three gates: the principal one fronts the lake on
the N., and is 10 x 9 feet; the one on the W. 6 x 4 feet; and the one
on the E. 6 x 5 feet. As you enter by the main gate you have on the
left a building of one story, 20 feet square, the residence of the
superintendent. Opposite this house on the left of the E. gate, is a
house 25 x 15 feet, the quarters of the men. On entering the W. gate
you find the storehouse on the right, 30 x 20 feet, and on your left a
building 40 x 20 feet, which contains rooms for clerks, a workshop,
and provision store.

On the W. and N. W. is a picketed inclosure of about four acres, in
which last year they raised 400 bushels of Irish potatoes, cultivating
no other vegetables. In this inclosure is a very ingeniously
constructed vault to contain the potatoes, and which likewise has
secret apartments to conceal liquors, dry goods, etc.


B. _Description of the N. W. Company's Fort at Leech Lake._

The fort is situated on the W. side of the lake, in lat. 47 deg. 16' 13"
N. It is built near the shore, on the declivity of a rising ground,
having an inclosed garden of about 5 acres on the N. W. It is a square
stockade of 150 feet, the pickets being 16 feet in length, 3 feet
under and 13 feet above the ground, bound together by horizontal bars
each 10 feet long. Pickets of 10 feet are likewise driven into the
ground on the inside of the work, opposite the apertures between the
large pickets. At the W. and E. angles are square bastions, pierced
for fire-arms.

The main building in the rear, fronting the lake, is 60 x 25 feet, 11/2
story high; the W. end of this is occupied by the director of the Fond
du Lac department. He has a hall 18 feet square, bed-room, and
kitchen, with an office. The center is a trading shop of 121/2 feet
square, with a bedroom in the rear, of the same dimensions. The E. end
is a large store 25 x 20 feet, under which is an ice-house well
filled. The loft extends over the whole building, and contains bales
of goods, packs of peltries; also, chests with 500 bushels of wild
rice. Beside the ice-house, there are cellars under all the other
parts of the building. The doors and window-shutters are musket-proof.

On the W. side is a range of buildings 54 x 18 feet, fronting the
parade, the N. end of which is a cooper's shop 18 x 14 feet, with a
cellar; joining to which is a room called the Indian hall, expressly
for the reception of Indians, and in which the chiefs who met me in
council were entertained. In this hall are two closed bunks for
interpreters; its dimensions are 22 x 18 feet. Adjoining this is a
room 18 feet square for the clerks, in which my small party were
quartered. Under both of the latter rooms are cellars.

On the E. side is a range of buildings 50 x 18 feet, which has one
room of 20 feet and one of 15 feet, for quarters for the men; also, a
blacksmith's shop of 15 feet, which is occupied by an excellent
workman. On the left of the main gate, fronting the river, is the
flag-staff, 50 feet in height.

They intended building a small blockhouse over the main gate, fronting
the lake, to place a small piece of artillery in. There are likewise
gates on the N. and E. flanks, of about 10 x 8 feet.


D. _The price of goods in exchange with the Indians._

     Blankets, 3 and 21/2 point, each,                  [VI-5]plus 4   $8
     Blankets, 2 point, each,                                   2    4
     Blankets, 11/2 point, each,                                  1    2
     Blue strouds, per fathom,                                  4    8
     Scarlet cloth, 8-6,                                        6   12
     Worsted binding, per piece,                                4    8
     Vermilion, per pound,                                      4    8
     Molten [glass beads], blue and white, per fathom,          2    4
     Gunpowder, per half-pint,                                  1    2
     Balls, per 30,                                             1    2
     Shot of all sorts, per handful,                            1    2
     Tobacco, per carrot,                                       4    8
     Twist tobacco, per fathom,                                 1    2
     Beaver-traps, each,                                        4    8
     Half-axes, each,                                           2    4
     Castites,                                                  1    2
     N. W. guns, each,                                         10   20
     Knives, each,                                              1    2

For wampum and silver works, as well as rum, there is no regulation;
but the real price of goods here, in exchange for peltry, is about 250
per cent. on the prime cost.

                    GEO. ANDERSON.


C.--_Recapitulation of Furs and Peltries, North West Company, 1804-5,
Fond du Lac Department; Marks and Numbers as per margin._

       TABLE LEGEND:
       Column A = Marks.
       Column B = Numbers.
       Column C = Wt. of Packs, lbs.
       Column D = Bears.
       Column E = Bear Cubs.
       Column F = Beaver, Mixed.
       Column G = Beaver, Large.
       Column H = Beaver, Small.
       Column I = Beaver, Wt. in lbs.
       Column J = Badgers.
       Column K = Carcajoux.
       Column L = Deer.
       Column M = Foxes.
       Column N = Fishers.
       Column O = Lynxes.
       Column P = Martens.
       Column Q = Minks.
       Column R = Original skins dr's'd.
       Column S = Do. Parchment.
       Column T = Do. Green.
       Column U = Otters.
       Column V = Racoons.
       Column W = Musk Rats.
       Column X = Wolves.

  ======+====+===+==+=+==+==+==+==+==+=+==+=+==+==+===+==+==+==+==+===+==+===+=
    A   |  B | C | D|E| F| G| H| I| J|K| L|M|N | O| P | Q| R| S| T| U | V| W |X
  ------+----+---+--+-+--+--+--+--+--+-+--+-+--+--+---+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+-
  N. W. |  1 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |45| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  L. L. |  2 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |47| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  [Leech|  3 | 93|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |47| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  Lake] |  4 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |45| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  5 | 90|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |47| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  6 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |47| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  7 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |39| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  8 | 87|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |40| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  9 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |38| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 10 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |38| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 11 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |38| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 12 | 87|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |38| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 13 | 90|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |44| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 14 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |39| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 15 | 93|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |35| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 16 | 93|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |40| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 17 | 99|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |40| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 18 | 88|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |35| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 19 | 96|  | |  |  |  |  |  | | 2| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |655|
        | 20 | 95|  | |  |  |  |  |  | | 2| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |607|
        | 21 | 90|  | |68|  |  |90|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 22 | 89|  | |66|  |  |89|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 23 | 92|  | |64|  |  |92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 24 | 92|  | |71|  |  |92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 25 | 92|  | |68|  |  |92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 26 | 92|  | |65|  |  |92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 27 | 91|  | |73|  |  |91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 28 | 89|  | |75|  |  |89|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 29 | 90|  | |75|  |  |90|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 30 | 90|  | |85|  |  |90|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 31 | 91|  | |61|  |  |91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 32 | 92|  | |60|  |  |92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 33 | 91|  | |67|  |  |91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 34 | 91|  | |74|  |  |91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 35 | 91| 5| |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |60 |  |   |
        | 36 | 99| 4| |  |  |  |  |  | | 2| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |60 |  |   |
        | 37 | 92|18| |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 38 | 93| 4| |  |  |  |  |  | | 3| |22|25|   |  |  |  |  |22 |  |   |
        | 39 | 92| 6| |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |11| 4|   | 2|  |  |  |16 | 1| 94|
        | 40 | 87| 6| |  |  |  |  |  |1| 2|1|11|  |  5|21|  |  |  |   |27|144|
        | 41 | 92| 6| |29|  |  |20|  | | 7| | 1| 1|   | 5|  |  |  |16 |10| 58|
        | 42 | 93|  | |66|  |  |93|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 43 | 93|  | |79|  |  |93|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 44 | 90|  | |70|  |  |93|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 45 | 93| 2| |  |  |  |  | 1| |12| | 3|  | 14| 2|13|  |  |7-1/3 | 2| 9 |
        | 46 | 91|  | |  |79|  |  |91| |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 47 | 90|  | |  |89|  |  |90| |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 48 | 91|  | |  |69|  |  |91| |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 49 | 91|  | |  |73|  |  |91| |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 50 | 87| 2| |  |  |  |  |  |1| 2| |12| 1|  3|15| 4|  |  |45 |  |   |
        | 51 |104| 2| |36|  |  |  |  | | 1| | 2| 2|   | 2| 2|  |  |10 | 1|137|
        | 52 |127| 1| |46|  |  |  |  | |  | | 4|  |  4| 3| 2|  |  |11 | 2|117|
  N. W. |  1 | 94|  | |  |57| 9|94|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  R.    |  2 | 91|  | |  |51|14|91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  [Red  |  3 | 92|  | |  |50|22|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  Lake] |  4 | 92|  | |  |49|19|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  5 | 92|  | |  |54|31|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  6 | 92|  | |  |59| 6|62|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  7 | 95| 7|1|  | 2|  |  |  | |  | |  | 3|   |  |11|  |  |   | 3|   |
        |  8 | 92|  | |  | 2|  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |672|
        |  9 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  |1| 1| |15|  |   |  |  |  | 1|67 |  |   |1
        | 10 | 90|  | |  | 1|  |  |  | | 1| |  | 3|   |  |11|  |  |   |  |   |
        | 11 | 90| 8|2|  | 2|  |  |  | |  |1| 3| 7| 37|24| 5|  |  |   |  |  3|
        | 12 | 95|  | |  |45| 8|  |  | |  | | 2|  |   |  |  |  |  |11 |13|   |
        | 13 | 93| 4|4|  |  |  |  |  | |  | |11|  |  7|19| 9| 1|  | 1 | 3| 58|
        | 14 | 93| 2|2|  |13| 9|  |  | |  | | 7|  |  1| 1|11|  |  | 6 | 4|  6|
        | 15 | 92|  | |  | 3| 6|14|  | |  | |  |  |  2| 1|  | 2| 8| 1 |  |  1|
  N. W. |  1 | 86|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |14|1|18|  |  3| 7|  |  |  |25 | 7|   |
  S.    |  2 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | | 6| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |500|
  [Sandy|  3 | 88|  | |  |40|29|88|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  Lake.]|  4 | 91|  | |  |37|32|91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  5 | 91|  | |  |37|30|91|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  6 | 90|  | |  |31|37|90|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  7 | 89|  | |  |38|26|89|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  8 | 92|  | |  |41|33|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  9 | 86|  | |  |43|17|86|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 10 | 87|  | |  |32|40|87|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 11 | 88|  | |  |41|28|88|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 12 | 90|  | |  |44|22|90|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 13 | 87|  | |  |35|38|87|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 14 | 92|  | |  |43|23|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 15 | 95|  | |  |  |  |  |  | | 5| |22|  |   |  |  |  |  |63 |  |   |
        | 16 | 92|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |25| | 6| 3| 15|14|  |  |  |   |16|   |
        | 17 | 86|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |32| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 18 | 90|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |31| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 19 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |29| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 20 | 95|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |33| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 21 | 87| 7|1|  |30|  |43|  | | 6| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 22 | 83|  | |  |38|33|83|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 23 | 93|  | |  |34|42|93|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 24 | 87|  | |  |34|43|87|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 25 | 89|  | |  |36|37|89|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 26 | 92|  | |  |57|14|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 27 | 94|16|1|  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 28 | 94| 4| |  |  |  |  |  | | 2| |11|  |   |  |  |  |  |58 |  |   |
        | 29 | 90|  | |  |  |  |  |  | | 2| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |60 |
        | 30 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | | 5| 1| 43|22| 1|11|  |   |10|   |
        | 31 | 93|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |39| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 32 | 93|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |43| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 33 | 90|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |43| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 34 | 91|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |35| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 35 | 99|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |41| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 36 | 86|  | |  |  |  |  |  | |44| |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        | 37 | 72|  | |  |  |  |  |  | | 7| |  |  |   | 2|13| 1|  | 1 |  | 55|
        | 38 | 92| 1| |  |35|33|  |  | | 5| |  |  |   |  | 1|  |  | 5 |  |   |
  F. L. |Sum-|   | 1| |  | 7|  |12|  | |  | | 1|  |   | 3|  | 1|  | 4 |  |162|
        |mer |   |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  [Fond |Nos.|   |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  du    |  1 | 91|  | |  | 2|  | 4|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |615|
  Lac.] |  2 | 93|  | |  |51|14|93|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  3 | 92|  | |  |45|24|92|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  4 | 93|  | |  |44|25|93|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  5 | 88|  | |  |41|34|88|  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |  6 | 95| 5| |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |199|40| 8|  |  |   |  |   |
        |  7 | 95| 5| |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |16|  |   |  | 6|  |  |35 |  |   |
        |  8 | 95| 4| |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  | 1|  |  |   |  |472|
        |  9 | 93| 9|4|  |  |  |  |  | | 2|1|  | 3|   |  | 6|  |  | 6 | 6| 49|
        | 10 | 98|  |1|  |30|19|  |  | | 1| |  |  |   |  | 2|  | 2|   |  |   |
        |A.  |   |  | |  |11|  |15|  | |  | |  |  |  2|  | 2|  |  | 3 |  |   |
        |Pac-|   |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
        |ton |   |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |  | |  |  |   |  |  |  |  |   |  |   |
  ------+----+---+--+-+--+--+--+--+--+-+--+-+--+--+---+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+-
     Amount of the above returns, 115 Packs.
     Different establishments not included, 34 Packs.
     Amount of the E. of the X. Y. Company, 84 Packs.
     Total amount, 233 Packs.


E. _Return of men employed in the N. W. Company's Department of Fond
du Lac, for 1805, with the amount of their wages per annum, etc._

     Accountants,                                                3
     Clerks, and men receiving interpreters' wages,             19
     Interpreters,                                               2
     Canoe-men,                                                 85
                                                               ---
         Total,                                                109

     _Women and Children belonging to the Establishment._

     Women,                                                     29
     Children,                                                  50
                                                               ---
         Total,                                                 79

                                                         Livres.

     Sum of the wages per annum of the above 109 men,   63,913
     Average wages of each man,                            586   7
     Due by the N. W. Company,                          38,566   8
     Due to the N. W. Company,                          24,326  16

N. B. The above women are all Indians, there not being a single white
woman N. W. of Lake Superior.

FOOTNOTES:

[VI-1] This article, for which I introduce a new chapter, with a new
major head, formed Doc. No. 17 of the orig. ed., pp. 35-40 and a
folder, of the Appendix to Pt. 1. The original title of the piece is
preserved as a minor head of the chapter, and this will also serve to
effect some sort of typographical uniformity with the following five
pieces, A, B, C, D, E, which are integral parts of the article, yet
were in the orig. ed. separated from the rest of the article under a
different heading, in larger type than the main heading itself;
moreover, the piece marked C, whose proper position was of course
between B and D, was a separate folding blanket-sheet bound to face p.
40, thus coming after E. The construction of this table is such that
it can be printed on two pages of the present edition, and be put
between D and E.

Pike's remarks on the fur-trade are sound and very much to the point;
together with his descriptions of the trading-houses, etc., they
represent probably the best account extant of things as they were in
1805. His present Observations, etc., as well as his correspondence
with Hugh M'Gillis (Arts. 8 and 9 of the foregoing chapter, pp.
247-254), were extracted for use in the Statutes, Documents, and
Papers bearing on the Discussion respecting the Northern and Western
Boundaries of the Province of Ontario, pub. Toronto, Hunter, Rose and
Co., 1877, 8vo, pp. 318-323.

[VI-2] The Indian trade is not among the least of the vexed questions
which the United States has sought to answer in the natural and
necessary process of causing the Indians to make their exeunt from the
world's stage. The prices at which goods were sold by private
individuals, whether French, English, or American, seem exorbitant,
extortionate--in a word, monstrous! But trade is a thing that seems to
regulate itself, without regard to theory or sentiment; the Indian
trade certainly did. I once asked the lion-tamer of a popular circus
what was the secret of his profession, expecting some discerning
remarks from him on the power of the human eye over wild beasts, and
so forth; but all he told me was, "You just have to know your lion."
In war, trade, or religion, you just have to know your Indian, as our
soldiers, traders, and priests found out for their respective selves.
General Whiting has some extremely moderate and judicious words on the
subject, in his Life of Pike, p. 231 _seq._, which I will reproduce in
substance, as it was a part of Pike's business on this voyage to keep
an eye on the Indian traders and trade. The various expenses attending
the transport of goods swelled the original value to such an
extraordinary degree that a knife cost an Indian the ordinary price of
a handsome sword, when he stuck it in his belt; and by the time his
squaw had put a yard and a half of blue strouds around her waist, her
lord was in debt for an amount that would have bought a city belle a
ball dress. Such high prices would have been ruinous to the Indian had
not their trade customs furnished a corrective. Few Indians ever
hunted beforehand; they seldom got their stock of skins to offer for
sale at a fair or any price, else the traffic would have been on more
nearly equal terms. They must have their outfit for the chase first,
and then they must feel the pangs of hunger before they would start on
a hunt. The trader was obliged to overcome their indolence by offering
certain inducements, besides furnishing the necessary means. This was
an invention of necessity on which the whole system of credits was
based, and on which such a structure of extortion and other evils was
reared. The trader had to let his goods go on credit into lazy,
improvident, always uncertain and often dishonest or criminal hands,
with no security for any adequate return for his outlay except in a
scale of ordinary prices that would cover him in case of extraordinary
losses. He took great risks and put up his premium accordingly. He
expected to realize 200 to 250 per cent. on the price of goods for
which he got anything, to cover the loss on what he got nothing for.
Thus the Indians were a prey to cupidity and extortion; they were
swindled, as it seems to us. Yet they had a way of getting even with
the most unprincipled trader, sometimes of beating him at his own
game. At the end of the hunt the Indian brought in his peltries. "If
these paid his debt," says Whiting, "which was not often the case, the
account was squared; if an arrearage remained, as was generally the
case, no reasoning nor threats could convince the red man that the
responsibility held over to another season, and that his obligations
survived the hunt. When that hunt terminated, and the furs obtained by
it had been fairly rendered, he considered the account as canceled.
Whether it was balanced or not was a question he did not undertake to
answer.

"One of the objects Lieutenant Pike appears to have been instructed to
keep in view while on his trip, was the investigation of these evils
of the Indian trade, and to ascertain where proper trading
establishments could be fixed, which were intended to correct them.
These establishments were of course to be made under the patronage of
the Government. They were afterward actually made under the 'factor'
system. In a benevolent spirit, the United States enacted that certain
stores should be conveniently placed within the Indian territory,
where factors, having a salary and no interest in the trade, were to
keep on hand a constant supply of articles suitable for the Indians,
which were to be exchanged with them for peltries, the articles
bearing only a fair cost, all expenses included, and the peltries
being received at a fair rate. Government thus, out of kindness to the
Indians, became a trader, and a competitor with individual traders.

"The theory was as promising as it was benevolent; but, like many
theories, it did not fulfill expectation when put into practice. It is
true that the Indian under it was sure of a just equivalent for such
furs and peltries as he brought in. This assurance was spread abroad
by agents, and was generally known and understood. But an important
consideration had been omitted in the calculations that suggested the
arrangement. Most of the Indians are improvident, and leave the morrow
to take care of itself. The future causes them no anxiety. It is the
present moment, with its gratifications, or its wants, that occupies,
almost exclusively, their minds--the former exhausted with blind
avidity, the latter borne with passive endurance. They seldom lay up
the means of providing themselves with the small equipments of a
hunting expedition. While they used the bow and arrow, it was
different. Then a few hours' exertion of their own hands provided all
that was necessary. But the moment a gun was put into their hands,
their dependence upon the trader was secured. They must have
ammunition, or their guns were more useless than the bow and arrow;
and they could obtain this only on credit.

"Hence the United States factor, who had a knife at a few shillings,
and a stroud at not many more, and powder and ball at a fair rate, but
who could sell for cash only, or its equivalent, would find his
shelves nearly as full at the end of the season as at the beginning;
while the individual trader, who sold on credit, though he might sell
at an enormous profit, at a thousand per cent. above his government
competitor, would empty his shelves in a few weeks. Besides, no system
can work well unless it is managed well. The factor was expected, by
the law, to be honest and disinterested; and he was often so. Still,
he was in a remote part of the country, and beset by temptations, and
dealt with a people that were supposed to be unable to tell tales that
could be understood. The system was abandoned after a vain experiment
of a few years."

About the time that Pike was on this expedition, Lewis and Clark also
had their attention turned to the same business. One of the results of
their observations was Lewis' Essay on an Indian Policy, which had
special regard to the commercial aspects of the case, and will never
go entirely out of date till the last Indian has bought his last
bullet, or had it fired into him. The reader is referred to this
article, occupying pp. 1215-43 of the 1893 ed. of L. and C.

Trade is one of those things which, like a hen hunting for a nest,
does best when let alone. Any hen will lay more eggs and hatch more
chicks in a nest of her own selection than in the most artful
contrivances of the coop to provide for her comfort and convenience.
All interference with a man's tendency to take advantage of his
neighbor is unwise, and injurious to both parties. It tends to sharpen
the wits of the one and make him more of a knave than he was before;
while it blunts the wits of the other with a specious sense of being
protected, and thus makes him a bigger fool than ever. Trade being
what it is, in consequence of the great quantity of human nature there
is in mankind, can never be legislated into anything else than an
attempt to enrich one's self at another's expense by buying cheap and
selling dear. Free trade in all the markets of the world is the only
natural postulate; all tariff regulations and restrictions are simply
necessary concessions to the inherent weakness of artificial systems
of trade. The evils of damming individual channels of trade--or
rather, of attempting to dam them with desultory yet reiterated
interference--reach a climax of absurdity and injury in what is known
as tariff-tinkering. Very likely they ought to be _dammed_--all
avenues of selfishness ought to be; but they never will be in this
world. As to the practical worldly wisdom displayed in specific
measures to promote commercial activity by legislative interference,
it is probable that any jockey in the land, with a hidebound horse for
sale and some arsenic in his pocket, could give our legislators
pointers on those tricks which are said to be in all trades but ours.

[VI-3] "A Mr. M'Coy" is not easily identified. I am inclined to think
that the name is McKay or Mackay, and that the person meant is
Alexander Mackay, who had been with Sir A. Mackenzie, left the N. W.
Co. in 1810, for Astor's American Fur Co., and was blown up with the
ship Tonquin in 1811; but I am far from feeling sure of this.

[VI-4] David Thompson was among the Mandans from Dec. 29th, 1797, to
Jan. 10th, 1798. He left McDonald's house, which was near the mouth of
Mouse r., on Nov. 28th, en route to the Missouri. On Dec. 7th he
reached the old Ash house on Mouse r., "settled two years ago and
abandoned the following spring." Being unable to procure a guide here,
he took the lead himself and struck for Turtle mountain, west of which
he again crossed Mouse r., and followed this stream up to the bight of
the great loop it makes in North Dakota, at a point 37 m. from the
Missouri. Here leaving the river and coming south over the plains, he
struck the Missouri Dec. 29th, at a point 6 m. above the uppermost
Mandan village. These villages are said to have been five in number,
and to have contained in all 318 houses and seven tents, inhabited by
Mandan and Willow Indians in about equal numbers. (The census of the
Willow Indians is given as from 2,200 to 2,500, in another place in
Thompson's MS., where he calls them Fall Indians.) While among the
Mandans Thompson prepared a vocabulary of about 375 words of their
language. He left the villages Jan. 10th, 1798; but being delayed by
storms, it was Jan. 24th before he reached Mouse r., and Feb. 3d when
he regained McDonald's house. I take these items from J. B. Tyrrell's
paper on the journeys of David Thompson, read before the Canadian
Institute Mar. 3d, 1888, and pub. in advance of the Proceedings,
Toronto, 1888, 8vo, pp. 7, 8: see also note 9, 167. Another account
of Thompson's travels occupies pp. 94-103 of Statutes, etc., N. and W.
Bound. Ontario, pub. Toronto, 8vo, 1877.

[VI-5] The _plus_ in the fur-trade was the standard of value, viz.: one
prime beaver (abiminikwa). In the above scale of prices the _plus_ was
reckoned as $2. The scale was a multiple or fraction of this, which
answered the purpose of an English shilling, French franc, Indian
rupee, or our dollar. Thus Perrault tells us that in 1784 a bear, an
otter, or a lynx was worth a _plus_; three martens or 15 muskrats were
also a _plus_; a buffalo was two _plus_, etc. A keg of "made" liquor,
_i. e._, three-fourths water, one-fourth alcohol, with a little
strychnine, _Cocculus indicus_, or tobacco-juice to flavor and color
it, has been sold to many an Indian for 20 to 40 _plus_. During my
recent canoe voyage to the source of the Mississippi, I believe that I
could have been provisioned, lodged, and transported by the Chippewas
for a month at the cost of a gallon or two of "made" whisky, had I
been provided with that article and disposed to put it to an unlawful
purpose.




CHAPTER VII.

GEOGRAPHY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.[VII-1]

_Observations on the Soil, Shores, Quarries, Timber, Islands, Rapids,
Confluent Streams, Highlands, Prairies, and Settlements on the
Mississippi,[VII-2] from St. Louis to its Source._


From St. Louis to the mouth of the Missouri, on the east is a rich
sandy soil, timbered with buttonwood, ash, cottonwood, hackberry, etc.
The west side is highlands for a short distance above the town; then
it is bordered by a small prairie, after which is bottom-land, with
the same timber as on the east. The current is rapid, and the
navigation in low water obstructed by sand-bars.

Immediately on the peninsula formed by the confluence of the
Mississippi and Missouri rivers is a small Kickapoo settlement,
occupied in summer only. On the west shore is a rich prairie, with
small skirts of woods; and on the east shore is generally high hills,
from 80 to 100 feet, extending to the mouth of the Illinois. The
current of the Mississippi, above the entrance of the Missouri, is
quite mild until you arrive at the mouth of the Illinois; where,
owing to the large sand-bars and many islands, it is extremely rapid.

The Illinois River is about 450 yards wide at its mouth, and bears
from the Mississippi N. 75 deg. W. The current appears not to exceed 21/2
miles per hour. The navigation and connecting streams of this river
are too well known to require a description at the present day. From
the Illinois to Buffalo river the E. shore is hills, but of easy
ascent. On the W. is continued the prairie, but not always bordering
on the river. The timber on both sides is generally hackberry,
cottonwood, and ash. Buffalo [Cuivre] river comes in on the W. shore,
and appears to be about 100 yards wide at its mouth; it bears from the
Mississippi S. 30 deg. W. From the Illinois to this river the navigation
is by no means difficult, and the current mild.

Thence to Salt or Oahahah river, the east shore is either immediately
bounded by beautiful cedar cliffs, or the ridges may be seen at a
distance. On the W. shore there is a rich low soil, and two small
rivers which increase the waters of the Mississippi. The first
[Buffalo creek] called Bar river, about 20 yards in width. The second
[now Noir[VII-3] or Bear creek] is about 15 yards. Salt river bears from
the Mississippi N. 75 deg. W., and is about 100 or 120 yards wide at its
entrance, and when I passed appeared to be perfectly mild, with
scarcely any current. About one day's sail up the river there are salt
springs, which have been worked for four years; but I am not informed
as to their qualities or productions. In this distance the navigation
of the Mississippi is very much obstructed by bars and islands; indeed
to such a degree as to render it in many places difficult to find the
proper channel. The shores are generally a sandy soil, timbered with
sugar-maple, ash, pecan, locust, and black walnut. The E. side has
generally the preference as to situations for buildings.

From this to the river Jaustioni [Jauflione, Jeffrion, or North Two
Rivers: see note 14, pp. 10, 11], which is our boundary between the
Sac nation and the United States on the west side of the Mississippi,
we have hills on the W. shore, and lowlands on the E., the latter of
which is timbered with hickory, oak, ash, maple, pecan, etc.; the
former the same, with an increase of oak. The E. is a rich sandy
soil, and has many very eligible situations for cultivation. About
seven miles below the Jaustioni a Frenchman is settled on the W.
shore. He is married to a woman of the Sac nation, and lives by a
little cultivation and the Indian trade. The [North] river before
mentioned is about 30 yards wide at its mouth, and bears from the
Mississippi about S. W. In this part of the river the navigation is
good.

From this to the Wyaconda river [at La Grange, Lewis Co., Mo.] the
navigation is easy, with very few impediments; and the soil on both
sides pretty good. This river pays its tribute to the Mississippi by a
mouth 100 yards wide, and bears from the latter nearly due W. Just
below its entrance is [Durgan's creek] a small stream 15 yards wide,
which discharges into the Mississippi. Between this river and the
River de Moyen [Des Moines] there is one small [Fox] river emptying
into the Mississippi on the W., about 55 yards in width, and bearing
S. by W. The first part of the distance is obstructed by islands, and
the river expands to a great width, so as to render the navigation
extremely difficult; but the latter part affords more water and is
less difficult. The timber is principally oak and pecan; the soil as
on the river below. For a description of de Moyen, see the chart
herewith; and for that of the rapids [near Keokuk] see my diary of
Aug. 20th.

Above the rapid de Moyen, on the W. bank of the Mississippi [at
Montrose, Lee Co., Ia.], is situated the first Sac village, consisting
of 13 lodges; and immediately opposite is the establishment of Mr.
Ewing,[VII-4] the American agent at that place. Whence to a large
prairie on the E. side, on which [and on Henderson river] is situated
the second Sac village; the E. side of the river is beautiful land,
principally prairie. The W. is in some part highland; both sides are
timbered with oak, ash, etc. The navigation is by no means difficult.

Thence to the Iowa river the navigation is much obstructed with
islands. In ascending Iowa river 36 miles you come to a fork, the
right branch of which is called Red Cedar river, from the quantity of
that wood on its banks; this is navigable for batteaux nearly 300
miles, where it branches out into three forks, called the Turkey's
foot. Those forks shortly after lose themselves in Rice lakes.

The Iowa river bears from the Mississippi S. W. and is 150 yards wide
at its mouth. The E. shore of the Mississippi is high prairie, with
yellow clay banks, and in some places red sand. On the W. is prairie
also, but bounded on the shore by skirts of woods. About 10 miles up
the Iowa river, on its right bank, is a village of the Iowas.

From this place to Rock river we generally had beautiful prairies on
the W., but in some places very rich land, with black walnut and
hickory timber. Stony [Rock] river is a large river which takes its
source near Green bay of Lake Michigan more than 450 miles from its
mouth, and is navigable upward of 300 miles; it empties into the
Mississippi on the E. shore, and is about 300 yards wide at its mouth.
It bears from the Mississippi almost due E. About three miles up this
river, on the S. bank [Milan, Rock Island Co., Ill.], is situated the
third town of the Sac nation, which, I was informed by Mr. James Aird,
was burned in the year 1781 or 1782, by about 300 Americans, although
the Indians had assembled 700 warriors to give them battle. For a
description of the rapids of Stony river, see my diary of Aug. 28th.

Between Iowa river and Turkey river, on the W., you find Wabisipinekan
river. It coasts along Red Cedar river in a parallel direction, with
scarcely any wood on its banks. The next water is the Great Macoketh,
and 20 leagues higher is the little river of the same name. These two
rivers appear to approach each other, and have nothing remarkable
excepting lead mines, which are said to be in their banks.

A little above the rapids of Rock river, on the W. side of the
Mississippi, is situated the first Reynard village; it consists of
about 18 lodges [Le Claire, Scott Co., Ia.]. From this place to the
lead mines [Dubuque, Ia.] the Mississippi evidently becomes narrower;
but the navigation is thereby rendered much less difficult. The shores
are generally prairie, which, if not immediately bordering on the
river, can be seen through the skirts of forests which border the
river. The timber is generally maple, birch, and oak, and the soil
very excellent. To this place we had seen only a few turkeys and deer,
the latter of which are pretty numerous from the river de Moyen up.
For a description of the lead mines, see my report from the prairie
des Chiens of Sept. 5th.[VII-5]

From the lead mines unto Turkey river the Mississippi continues about
the same width; and the banks, soil, and productions are entirely
similar. Turkey river empties on the W., bears from the Mississippi
about S. W., and is about 100 yards wide at its mouth. Half a league
up this river, on the right bank, is the third village of the
Reynards, at which place they raise sufficient corn to supply all the
permanent and transient inhabitants of the Prairie des Chiens. Thence
to the Ouiscousing the high hills are perceptible on both sides, but
on the W. almost border the river the whole distance. The Ouiscousing
at its entrance is nearly half a mile wide, and bears from the
Mississippi nearly N. E.

This river is the grand source of communication between the lakes and
the Mississippi, and the route by which all the traders of
Michilimackinac convey their goods for the trade of the Mississippi
from St. Louis to the river de Corbeau, and the confluent streams
which are in those boundaries.

       *       *       *       *       *

The voyage from Michilimackinac to the Prairie des Chiens, by the
Ouiscousing and Fox rivers, is as follows:[VII-6]

     "The distance between Michilimackinac and the settlement at
     the bottom of Green bay is calculated to be 80 leagues. On
     leaving Michilimackinac there is a traverse of five miles
     to Point St. Ignace [in Mackinac Co., Mich.], which is the
     entrance into Lake Michigan. Four leagues from
     Michilimackinac is an island of considerable extent, named
     St. Helens [or Helena], which may be seen from that place
     on a clear day. The shore [of Lake Michigan] from
     Michilimackinac to Point du Chene [Pointe au Chene, Oak
     Point], which is a league distant from the island, is
     rocky; and from this point to the island of Epouvette,
     which is a very small one near the banks of the lake, is
     high and covered with pine; the soil is very barren. From
     this island to the river Mino Cockien [Milakokia] is five
     leagues. Two small islands are on the way, and a river
     where boats and canoes may take shelter from a storm. The
     river Mino Cockien is large and deep, and takes its rise
     near Lake Superior. From this to Shouchoir [Pointe Seul
     Choix, in Schoolcraft Co., Mich.] is ten leagues. The shore
     [along by Points Patterson, Scott, and Hughes] is
     dangerous, from the number of shoals that extend a great
     way into the lake. This rock [or point], called Shouchoir,
     is an excellent harbor for canoes, but its entrance, when
     the wind blows from the lake, is difficult; but when once
     in, canoes and boats may lie during any storm without
     unlading. A custom prevails here among the voyagers for
     everyone to have his name carved on the rocks the first
     time he passes, and pay something to the canoe-men. From
     this to the river Manistique [Monistique, at Epsport,
     Schoolcraft Co., Mich.] is five leagues. This is a large
     river; the entrance is difficult, from a sand-bank at its
     mouth, and the waves are very high when the wind blows from
     the lake. At certain seasons sturgeon are found here in
     great numbers. The banks of this river are high and sandy,
     covered with pine. It takes its rise [in part] from a large
     lake [of the same name], and nearly communicates with Lake
     Superior. From this to the Detour [Pointe de Tour (Turning
     Point), end of the peninsula in Delta Co., between Baie de
     Noc and Lake Michigan] is 10 leagues [passing Point
     Wiggins, Pointe au Barque, and Portage bay]. The shore is
     rocky, flat, and dangerous. Here begins the Traverse, at
     the mouth of Green bay. The first island is distant from
     the mainland about a league, and is called the Isle au
     Detour [now Big Summer island]; it is at least three
     leagues in circumference. There are generally a few
     Sauteaux lodges of Indians on this island during the summer
     months. From this to Isle Brule [Gravelly island] is three
     leagues. There are two small [Gull] islands from these to
     Isle Verte [St. Martin's island], and it is two leagues to
     Isle de Pou [Washington island], called so from the
     Poutowatomies having once had a village here, now
     abandoned. In the months of May and June there is a fishery
     of trout [_Salmo (Cristivomer) namaycush_], and they are
     taken in great quantities by trolling. There are also
     whitefish [_Coregonus clupeiformis_] in vast numbers. The
     ship channel is between this island and Isle Verte. Thence
     to Petit D'Etroit [Detroit] to the mainland is three
     leagues, where some lodges of Ottawas and Sauteaux raise
     small quantities of corn; but their subsistence, during the
     summer months, chiefly depends upon the quantities of
     sturgeon [_Acipenser rubicundus_] and other fish, with
     which the lake here abounds. From Petit D'Etroit [the
     strait between Washington island and the mainland of Door
     Co., Wis., in which are Detroit, Plum, and Pilot islands]
     to the mainland is three leagues, and is called the Port de
     Mort [Porte des Morts], from a number of Reynard canoes
     having been wrecked at this place, where everyone perished.
     The shore is bold and rocky [Hedgehog Harbor, Death's Door
     Bluffs, Sister Bluffs, etc.]. From this it is four leagues
     to the Isle Racro [Horseshoe island, in Eagle bay], which
     is a safe harbor, inaccessible to all winds. From this to
     Sturgeon bay is eight leagues. The shore is bold and rocky
     [Eagle Bluff, Egg Harbor, etc.], and several large
     [Chambers, Green, and the small Strawberry, and Hat]
     islands lie a few miles distant. A few Sauteaux families
     raise corn here and reside during the summer season. Trout
     and sturgeon are here in great numbers. Sturgeon's bay is
     two miles across and about four leagues in length, and
     communicates by a portage [now a canal] with Lake Michigan,
     near Michilimackinac. Distant from the lake about two
     leagues is the Isle Vermillion [off Little Sturgeon bay].
     Here were a few years ago a number of Fols Avoin
     inhabitants, who were accustomed to raise corn; but for
     what reasons they have left this place I cannot learn. From
     this is 13 leagues to the entrance of Fox river. On leaving
     Isle Vermillion, the woods and general appearance of the
     country begin to change, and have a very different aspect
     from the more northern parts of this lake [_i. e._, Green
     bay]. A small river called Riviere Rouge [Red river, and
     town of same name, in Kewaunee Co.] falls into the lake
     [Green bay], about halfway between Isle Vermillion and La
     Baye [La Baie;[VII-7] location of Green Bay, seat of Brown
     Co.]. On approaching La Baye, the water of the latter
     [lake, _i. e._, Green bay] assumes a whiter appearance, and
     becomes less deep. A channel which winds a good deal may be
     found for vessels of 50 and 60 tons burden; loaded vessels
     of these dimensions have gone up Fox river to the French
     settlement [of La Baie, site of Depere], opposite which is
     the Fols Avoin village [present site of Nicollet], which
     consists of 10 or 12 bark lodges. A great number of
     Sauteaux, and some Ottawas, come here in the spring and
     fall. Three leagues from La Baye [present Green Bay] is a
     small village [below present Little Kaukauna] of the same
     nation; and there is another three leagues higher, at the
     portage of Kakalin [Little Rapids[VII-8]]. This portage is a
     mile long; the ground even and rocky. There is a fall of
     about ten feet, which obstructs the navigation. For three
     leagues higher are almost continual rapids, until the fall
     of Grand Konimee [vicinity of present Kaukauna], about five
     feet high. Above this, the river opens into a small lake,
     at the end of which is a strong rapid, called Puant's rapid
     [now Winnebago rapids], which issues from a lake of that
     name [_i. e._, Lake Winnebago, in Winnebago Co.[VII-9]]. This
     lake is 10 leagues long, and from two to three wide. At its
     entrance [where are now Menasha and Neenah, Winnebago Co.]
     is another Puant village, of about the same number of
     lodges, and at this end is a small river, which, with the
     interval of a few portages, communicates with Rock river
     [of Wisconsin and Illinois]. About midway between the two
     Puant villages is a Fols Avoin village, on the south
     [-east] side of the lake [in Calumet Co.], of 50 or 60 men.
     Five leagues from the entrance of the lake, on the north
     [-west] side, Fox river falls in [at Oshkosh, Winnebago
     Co.], and is about 200 yards wide. Ascending two leagues
     higher, is a small Fols Avoin village, where is a lake [Lac
     Butte des Morts] more than two leagues long; and about a
     league above this lake the river de Loup [Wolf river, after
     flowing through Poygan lake] joins Fox river near a hill
     [and town] called the But de Mort [Butte des Morts], where
     the Fox nation were nearly exterminated by the French and
     Confederate Indians. The rivers and lakes are, at certain
     seasons, full of wild rice. The country on the borders of
     this [Fox] river is finely diversified with woods and
     prairies. Any quantity of hay may be made, and it is as
     fine a country for raising stock as any in the same
     latitude through all America. From the But de Mort to the
     Lac a Puckway[VII-10] is 28 leagues. Here is another Puant
     village, of seven or eight large lodges. This lake is three
     leagues long; four leagues above it Lac de Boeuff [Buffalo
     lake] begins, which is also four leagues long; this is full
     of wild rice, and has a great many fowl in their season.
     From Lac de Boeuff to the forks [confluence of the Necha
     river with Fox river], which is five leagues from the
     portage of the Ouiscousing, and 10 leagues above the forks
     [??], is a very small lake, called Lac Vaseux [Muddy lake],
     so choked with wild rice as to render it almost impassable.
     The [Fox] river, although very winding, becomes more and
     more serpentine on approaching the portage, and narrows so
     much as almost to prevent the use of oars. The length of
     the portage to the Ouiscousing [river, at present town of
     Portage, Columbia Co.] is two miles; but when the waters
     are high, canoes and boats pass over loaded. Here the
     waters at that time separate, one part going to the Gulf of
     Mexico, and the other to that of St. Lawrence. In wet
     seasons the portage road is very bad, the soil being of a
     swampy nature. There is for nearly halfway a kind of
     natural canal, which is sometimes used, and I think a canal
     between the two rivers might be easily cut [Wis. Cent., and
     C., M., and St. P. R. R. to Portage now]. The expense at
     present attending the transport is one-third of a dollar
     per cwt.; for a canoe $5 and a boat $8; this is not cash,
     but in goods at the rate of 200 per cent. on the sterling.
     There are at present two white men who have establishments
     there; they are much incommoded by the Puants of Rock
     river, who are troublesome visitors. The Ouiscousing is a
     large river; its bottom sandy, full of islands and
     sand-bars during the summer season. The navigation is
     difficult even for canoes, owing to the lowness of the
     water. From the portage to its confluence with the
     Mississippi is 60 leagues [about 40 leagues--112 miles].
     The Saques and Reynards formerly lived on its banks, but
     were driven off by the Sauteaux. They were accustomed to
     raise a great deal of corn and beans, the soil being
     excellent. Opposite the Detour de Pin, halfway from the
     portage, on the south side, are lead mines, said to be the
     best in any part of the country, and to be wrought with
     great ease. Boats of more than four tons are improper for
     the communication between the Mississippi and
     Michilimackinac." (_[Colonel Robert] Dickson._)

The present village of Prairie des Chiens was first settled in the
year 1783, and the first settlers were Mr. Giard, Mr. Antaya, and Mr.
Dubuque. The old village is about a mile below the present one, and
existed during the time the French were possessed of the country. It
derives its name from a family of Reynards who formerly lived there,
distinguished by the appellation of Dogs. The present village was
settled under the English government, and the ground was purchased
from the Reynard Indians. It is situated about one league above the
mouth of the Ouiscousing river. On the E. bank of the river there is a
small pond or marsh which runs parallel to the river in the rear of
the town, which, in front of the marsh, consists of 18 dwelling-houses,
in two streets; 16 in Front Street and two in First Street. In the
rear of the pond are eight dwelling-houses; part of the houses are
framed, and in place of weatherboarding there are small logs let into
mortises made in the uprights, joined close, daubed on the outside
with clay, and handsomely whitewashed within. The inside furniture of
their houses is decent and, indeed, in those of the most wealthy
displays a degree of elegance and taste.

There are eight houses scattered round the country, at the distance of
one, two, three, and five miles: also, on the W. side of the
Mississippi [now Bloody Run, on which is N. McGregor, Clayton Co.,
Ia.] three houses, situated on a small stream called Giards [or
Giard's] river, making, in the village and vicinity, 37 houses, which
it will not be too much to calculate at 10 persons each. The
population would thus be 370 souls; but this calculation will not
answer for the spring or autumn, as there are then, at least, 500 or
600 white persons. This is owing to the concourse of traders and their
engagees from Michilimackinac and other parts, who make this their
last stage previous to launching into the savage wilderness. They
again meet here in the spring, on their return from their
wintering-grounds, accompanied by 300 or 400 Indians, when they hold a
fair; the one disposes of remnants of goods, and the others reserved
peltries. It is astonishing that there are not more murders and
affrays at this place, where meets such an heterogeneous mass to
trade, the use of spirituous liquors being in no manner restricted;
but since the American has become known, such accidents are much less
frequent than formerly. The prairie on which the village is situated
is bounded in the rear by high bald hills. It is from one mile to
three-quarters of a mile from the river, and extends about eight miles
from the Mississippi, to where it strikes the Ouiscousing at the Petit
Grey, which bears from the village S. E. by E.

If the marsh before spoken of were drained, which might be easily
done, I am of the opinion it would render healthy the situation of the
prairie, which now subjects its inhabitants to intermitting fevers in
the spring and autumn.

There are a few gentlemen residing at the Prairie des Chiens, and many
others claiming that appellation; but the rivalship of the Indian
trade occasions them to be guilty of acts at their wintering-grounds
which they would blush to be thought guilty of in the civilized world.
They possess the spirit of generosity and hospitality in an eminent
degree, but this is the leading feature in the character of frontier
inhabitants. Their mode of living has obliged them to have transient
connection with the Indian women; and what was at first policy is now
so confirmed by habit and inclination that it is become the ruling
practice of the traders, with few exceptions; in fact, almost one-half
the inhabitants under 20 years have the blood of the aborigines in
their veins.

From this village to Lake Pepin we have, on the W. shore [Iowa and
Minnesota], first Yellow river [present name; at its mouth Council
Hill, Allamakee Co., Ia.], of about 20 yards wide, bearing from the
Mississippi nearly due W.; second, the [Upper] Iowa river, about 100
yards wide, bearing from the Mississippi about N. W.; third, the
Racine [Root] river, about 20 yards wide, bearing from the Mississippi
nearly W., and navigable for canoes 60 miles; fourth, the rivers
Embarra [Embarras, or Zumbro] and Lean Claire [l'Eau Claire, now White
Water or Minneiska], which join their waters just as they form a
confluence with the Mississippi, are about 60 yards wide, and bear
nearly S. W.

On the E. shore [Wisconsin], in the same distance, is the river de la
Prairie la Cross [La Crosse river], which empties into the Mississippi
at the head of the prairie of that name. It is about 20 yards wide,
and bears N. N. W. We then meet with the Black [present name] river, a
very considerable stream about 200 yards wide at its mouth, on which
the traders frequently winter with the Puants and Fols Avoins. Next we
pass the river of the Montaigne qui Trompes dans l'Eau [Riviere de la
Montagne qui Trempe a l'Eau, now Trempealeau river], a small stream in
the rear of the hill of that name. Then we find the Riviere au Boeuff
[Buffalo river], about 30 yards wide, bearing N. by W. At the entrance
of Lake Pepin, on the E. shore, joins the Sauteaux [Chippewa] river,
which is at least half a mile wide, and appears to be a deep and
majestic stream. It bears from the Mississippi nearly due N. This
river is in size and course, for some distance up, scarcely to be
distinguished from the Ouiscousing; it has a communication with
Montreal river by a short portage, and by this river with Lake
Superior.[VII-11] The agents of the N. W. Company supply the Fols Avoin
Sauteaux who reside at the head of this river; and those of
Michilimackinac, the Sioux who hunt on its lower waters.

In this division of the Mississippi the shores are more than
three-fourths prairie on both sides, or, more properly speaking, bald
hills which, instead of running parallel with the river, form a
continual succession of high perpendicular cliffs and low valleys;
they appear to head on the river, and to traverse the country in an
angular direction. Those hills and valleys give rise to some of the
most sublime and romantic views I ever saw. But this irregular scenery
is sometimes interrupted by a wide extended plain which brings to mind
the verdant lawn of civilized life, and would almost induce the
traveler to imagine himself in the center of a highly cultivated
plantation. The timber of this division is generally birch, elm, and
Cottonwood; all the cliffs being bordered by cedar.

The navigation unto [Upper] Iowa river is good, but thence to the
Sauteaux river is very much obstructed by islands; in some places the
Mississippi is uncommonly wide, and divided into many small channels
which from the cliffs appear like so many distinct rivers, winding in
a parallel course through the same immense valley. But there are few
sand-bars in those narrow channels; the soil being rich, the water
cuts through it with facility.

La Montaigne qui Trompe dans l'Eau stands in the Mississippi near the
E. shore, about 50 miles below the Sauteaux river, and is about two
miles in circumference, with an elevation of 200 feet, covered with
timber. There is a small [Trempealeau: see note 56, pp. 52-54]
river which empties into the Mississippi in the rear of the mountain,
which I conceive once bounded the mountain on the lower side, and the
Mississippi on the upper, when the mountain was joined to the main by
a neck of low prairie ground, which in time was worn away by the
spring freshets of the Mississippi, and thus formed an island of this
celebrated mountain.

Lake Pepin, so called by the French, appears to be only an expansion
of the Mississippi. It commences at the entrance of the Sauteaux, and
bears N. 55 deg. W. 12 miles to Point de Sable, which is a neck of land
making out about one mile into the lake from the W. shore, and is the
narrowest part of the lake. From here to the upper end the course is
nearly due W. about 10 miles, making its whole length 22 miles, and
from 4 to 11/2 miles in width; the broadest part being in the bay below
Point de Sable. This is a beautiful place; the contrast of the
Mississippi full of islands, and the lake with not one in its whole
extent, gives more force to the grandeur of the scene. The French,
under the government of M. Frontenac, drove the Reynards or
Ottaquamies [Outagamas, etc.] from the Ouiscousing, pursued them up
the Mississippi, and, as a barrier, built a stockade [Fort
Beauharnois?] on Lake Pepin on the W. shore, just below Point de
Sable. As was generally the case with that nation, they blended the
military and mercantile professions, by making their fort a factory
for the Sioux. The lake, at the upper end, is three fathoms deep; but
this, I am informed, is its shoalest part. From [Upper] Iowa river to
the head of Lake Pepin, elk are the prevailing species of wild game,
with some deer, and a few bear.

From the head of Lake Pepin for about 12 miles, to Cannon river, the
Mississippi is branched out into many channels, and its bosom covered
with numerous islands. There is a hill on the W. shore [at Red Wing],
about six miles above the lake, called the Grange [la Grange, the
Barn], from the summit of which you have one of the most delightful
prospects in nature. When turning your face to the E. you have the
river winding in three [South, Middle, and North] channels at your
feet; on your right the extensive bosom of the lake, bounded by its
chain of hills; in front, over the Mississippi, a wide extended
prairie; on the left the valley of the Mississippi, open to view quite
to the St. Croix; and partly in your rear, the valley through which
passes Riviere au Canon. When I viewed it, on one of the islands below
appeared the spotted lodges of Red Wing's band of Sioux. The white
tents of the traders and my soldiers, and three flags of the United
States waving on the water, gave a contrast to the still and lifeless
wilderness around and increased the pleasure of the prospect.

From Cannon river to the St. Croix, the Mississippi evidently becomes
narrower, and the navigation less obstructed by islands. St. Croix
river joins the Mississippi on the E., and bears from the latter
almost due N. It is only 80 yards wide at its mouth, but 500 yards up
commences [Lower] Lake St. Croix, which is from 11/2 to 3 miles wide,
and 36 long. This river communicates with Lake Superior by the Burnt
river, by a portage of half a mile only, and in its whole extent has
not one fall or rapid worthy of notice.[VII-12] This, with the mildness
of its current, and its other advantages, render it by far the most
preferable communication which can be had with the N. W. from this
part of our territories. Its upper waters are inhabited by the Fols
Avoins and Sauteaux, who are supplied by the agents of the North West
Company; and its lower division, by the Sioux and their traders.

The Mississippi from Cannon river is bounded on the E. by high ridges,
but the left is low ground. The timber is generally ash and maple,
except the cedar of the cliffs. From the St. Croix to the St. Peters
the Mississippi is collected into a narrow compass; I crossed it at
one place with 40 strokes of my oars,[VII-13] and the navigation is very
good. The E. bank is generally bounded by the river ridges, but the W.
sometimes by timbered bottom or prairie. The timber is generally
maple, sugar-tree, and ash. About 20 miles below the entrance of the
St. Peters, on the E. shore, at a place called the Grand Morais
[Marais, Big Marsh, now Pig's Eye marsh or lake], is situated Petit
Corbeau's village of 11 log houses. For a description of the St.
Peters see the chart herewith.

From the St. Peters to the Falls of St. Anthony the river is
contracted between high hills, and is one continual rapid or fall, the
bottom being covered with rocks which in low water are some feet
above the surface, leaving narrow channels between them. The rapidity
of the current is likewise much augmented by the numerous small, rocky
islands which obstruct the navigation. The shores have many large and
beautiful springs issuing forth, which form small cascades as they
tumble over the cliffs into the Mississippi. The timber is generally
maple. This place we noted for the great quantity of wild fowl.

As I ascended the Mississippi, the Falls of St. Anthony did not strike
me with that majestic appearance which I had been taught to expect
from the descriptions of former travelers. On an actual survey I find
the portage to be 260 poles; but when the river is not very low, boats
ascending may be put in 31 poles below, at a large cedar tree; this
would reduce it to 229 poles. The hill over which the portage is made
is 69 feet in ascent, with an elevation at the point of debarkation of
45 deg. The fall of the water between the place of debarkation and
reloading is 58 feet; the perpendicular fall of the shoot is 161/2 feet.
The width of the river above the shoot is 627 yards; below, 209. For
the form of the shoot, see a rough draught herewith.[VII-14] In high
water the appearance is much more sublime, as the great quantity of
water then forms a spray, which in clear weather reflects from some
positions the colors of the rainbow, and when the sky is overcast
covers the falls in gloom and chaotic majesty.

From the Falls of St. Anthony to Rum river, the Mississippi is almost
one continual chain of rapids, with the eddies formed by winding
channels. Both sides are prairie, with scarcely any timber but small
groves of scrub oak. Rum river is about 50 yards wide at its mouth,
and takes its source in Le Mille Lac,[VII-15] which is but 35 miles S. of
Lower Red Cedar Lake. The small Indian canoes ascend this river quite
to the lake, which is considered as one of the best fur
hunting-grounds for some hundreds of miles, and has been long a scene
of rencounters between the hunting-parties of the Sioux and Sauteaux.
Last winter a number of Fols Avoins and Sioux, and some Sauteaux
wintered in that quarter. From Rum river to Leaf river, called [not]
by Father Hennipin and [but by] Carver the river St. Francis,[VII-16] and
which was the extent of their travels, the prairies continue with few
interruptions. The timber is scrub-oak, with now and then a lonely
pine. Previous to your arrival at Leaf river, you pass Crow [Carver's
Goose] river on the W., about 30 yards wide, which bears from the
Mississippi S. W. Leaf river is only a small stream of not more than
15 yards over, and bears N. by W.

The elk begin to be very plenty; there are also some buffalo,
quantities of deer, raccoons, and on the prairie a few of the animals
called by the French brelaws [blaireaux, badgers].

Thence to Sac [or Sauk] river, a little above the Grand Rapids [Sauk
Rapids, St. Cloud, etc.], both sides of the river are generally
prairie, with skirts of scrub-oak. The navigation is still obstructed
with ripples, but with some intermissions of a few miles.

At the Grand Rapids the river expands to about 3/4 of a mile in width,
its general width not being more than {~VULGAR FRACTION THREE FIFTHS~} of a mile, and tumbles over
an unequal bed of rocks for about two miles, through which there
cannot be said to be any channel; for, notwithstanding the rapidity of
the current, one of my invalids who was on the W. shore waded to the
E., where we were encamped. The E. bank of these rapids is a very high
prairie; the W. scrubby wood-land. The Sac river is a considerable
stream, which comes in on the W. and bears about S. W., and is 200
yards wide at its mouth.

The quantity of game increases from Sac river to Pine creek [now Swan
river], the place where I built my stockade and left part of my party;
the borders are prairie, with groves of pine on the edge of the bank;
but there are some exceptions, where you meet with small bottoms of
oak, ash, maple, and lynn [linden, basswood or whitewood, _Tilia
americana_--bois blanc of the voyageurs].

In this distance there is an intermission of rapids for about 40
miles, when they commence again, and are fully as difficult as ever.
There are three small creeks[VII-17] emptying on the W. scarcely worthy
of notice, and on the E. are two small rivers called Lake and Clear
Rivers; the former, quite a small one [now called Little Rock], bears
N. W., and is about 15 yards wide at its mouth; about three miles from
its entrance is a beautiful small [Little Rock] lake, around which
resort immense herds of elk and buffalo. Clear river [now called
Platte river] is a beautiful little stream of about 80 yards in width,
which heads in some swamps and small lakes [Platte, Ogechie, etc.] on
which the Sauteaux of Lower Red Cedar Lake and Sandy Lake frequently
come to hunt. The soil of the prairies from above the falls is sandy,
but would raise small grain in abundance; the bottoms are rich, and
fit for corn or hemp.

Pine creek [now Swan river] is a small stream which comes in on the W.
shore, and bears nearly W. It is bordered by large groves of white and
red pine.

From Pine creek to the Isle De Corbeau, or river of that name [now
called Crow Wing], two small rivers come in on the W. shore. The first
[now Pike creek] is of little consequence; but the second, called Elk
[or as now Little Elk] river, is entitled to more consideration, from
its communication with the river St. Peters. They first ascend it to a
small lake, cross this, then ascend a small stream [Long Prairie
river, a branch of Crow Wing river] to a large [Osakis] lake; from
which they make a portage of four miles W. and fall into the Sauteaux
[or Chippewa[VII-18]] river, which they descend into the river St.
Peters. On the E. side is one small stream [Nokasippi river], which
heads toward Lower Red Cedar Lake, and is bounded by hills.

The whole of this distance is remarkably difficult to navigate, being
one continued succession of rapid shoals and falls; but there is one
[fall which] deserves to be more particularly noticed, viz.: The place
called by the French Le Shute de la Roche Peinture [La Chute de la
Roche Peinte, Rapids of the Painted Rock, now Little falls], which is
certainly the third obstacle in point of navigation which I met with
in my whole route. The shore, where there is not prairie, is a
continued succession of pine ridges. The entrance of the river De
Corbeau is partly hid by the island of that name, and discharges its
waters into the Mississippi above and below it; the lowest channel
bearing from the Mississippi N. 65 deg. W., the upper due W. This, in my
opinion, should be termed the Forks of the Mississippi, it being
nearly of equal magnitude, and heading not far from the same source,
although taking a much more direct course to their junction. It may be
observed on the chart that, from St. Louis to this place, the course
of the river has generally been N. to W. and that from here it bears
N. E.

This river affords the best and most approved communication with the
Red river; and the navigation is as follows: You ascend the river De
Corbeau 180 miles, to the entrance of the river Des Feuilles [now Leaf
river], which comes from the N. W. This you ascend 180 miles also;
then make a portage of half a mile into Otter Tail Lake,[VII-19] which
is a principal source of Red river. The other [Long Prairie] branch of
the river De Corbeau bears S. W. and approximates with the St. Peters.
The whole of this river is rapid, and by no means affording so much
water as the Mississippi. Their confluence is in latitude 45 deg. 49' 50"
N. In this division the elk, deer, and buffalo were probably in
greater quantities than in any other part of my whole voyage.

Thence to Pine river [present name: not to be confounded with Pike's
Pine creek, now Swan river] the Mississippi continues to become
narrower, and has but few islands. In this distance I discovered but
one rapid, which the force of the frost had not entirely covered with
ice. The shores in general presented a dreary prospect of high barren
nobs, covered with dead and fallen pine timber. To this there were
some exceptions of ridges of yellow and pitch-pine; also some small
bottoms of lynn, elm, oak, and ash. The adjacent country is at least
two-thirds covered with small lakes, some of which are three miles in
circumference. This renders communication impossible in summer, except
with small bark canoes.

In this distance we first met with a species of pine [fir] called the
sap pine [French sapin, balsam-fir, _Abies balsamea_]. It was equally
unknown to myself and all my party. It scarcely ever exceeds the
height of 35 feet, and is very full of projecting branches. The leaves
are similar to other pines, but project out from the branches on each
side in a direct line, thereby rendering the branch flat. This
formation occasions the natives and voyagers to give it the preference
on all occasions to the branches of all other trees for their beds,
and to cover their temporary camps; but its greatest virtue arises
from its medicinal qualities. The rind is smooth, with the exception
of little protuberances of about the size of a hazel-nut; the top of
which being cut, you squeeze out a glutinous substance of the
consistence of honey. This gum or sap gives name to the tree, and is
used by the natives and traders of that country as a balsam for all
wounds made by sharp instruments, or for parts frozen, and almost all
other external injuries which they receive. My poor fellows
experienced its beneficial qualities by the application made of it to
their frozen extremities in various instances.

Pine river bears from the Mississippi N. 30 deg. E., although it empties
on that which has been hitherto termed the W. shore. It is 80 yards
wide at its mouth, and has an island immediately at the entrance. It
communicates with Lake Le Sang Sue [Leech lake] by the following
course of navigation: In one day's sail from the confluence, you
arrive at the first part of White Fish Lake [present name], which is
about six miles long and two wide. Thence you pursue the river about
two miles, and come to the second White Fish Lake, which is about
three miles long and one wide; then you have the river three miles to
the third lake, which is seven miles long and two in width. This I
crossed on my return from the head of the Mississippi on the [20th] of
February; it is in 46 deg. 32' 32" N. lat. Thence you follow the river a
quarter of a mile to the fourth lake, which is a circular one of about
five miles in circumference. Thence you pursue the river one day's
sail to a small lake; thence two days' sail to a portage, which
conveys you to another lake; whence, by small portages from lake to
lake, you make the voyage to Leech Lake. The whole of this course lies
through ridges of pines or swamps of pinenet [epinette[VII-20]], sap
pine, hemlock, etc. From the river De Corbeau to this place the deer
are very plenty, but we found no buffalo or elk.

From this spot to [Lower] Red Cedar Lake, the pine ridges are
interrupted by large bottoms of elm, ash, oak, and maple, the soil of
which would be very proper for cultivation. From the appearance of the
ice, which was firm and equal, I conceive there can be but one ripple
in this distance. [Lower] Red Cedar lake lies on the E. side of the
Mississippi, at the distance of six miles from it, and is near equally
distant from the river De Corbeau and Lake De Sable [Sandy lake]. Its
form is an oblong square, and may be 10 miles in circumference. From
this to Lake De Sable, on the E. shore, you meet with Muddy [now Rice]
river, which discharges itself into the Mississippi by a mouth 20
yards wide, and bears nearly N. E. We then meet with Pike [now Willow:
see note 49, p. 127] river, on the W., about 77 [air-line about 15]
miles below Sandy lake, bearing nearly due N.; up which you ascend
with canoes four days' sail, and arrive at a Wild Rice lake, which you
pass through and enter a small stream, and ascend it two leagues; then
cross a portage of two acres into a [Big Rice] lake seven leagues in
circumference; then two leagues of a [Kwiwisens or Little Boy] river
into another small lake. Thence you descend the current N. E. into
Leech lake. The banks of the Mississippi are still bordered by pines
of different species, except a few small bottoms of elm, lynn, and
maple. The game is scarce, and the aborigines subsist almost entirely
on the beaver, with a few moose, and wild rice or oats.

Sandy Lake River, the discharge of said lake, is large, but only six
[about two] miles in length from the lake to its confluence with the
Mississippi. Lake De Sable is about 25 miles in circumference, and has
a number of small rivers running into it. One of those is entitled to
particular attention: the Savanna, which by a portage of 33/4 miles
communicates with the river [Fond Du Lac or] St. Louis, which empties
into Lake Superior at Fond Du Lac, and is the channel by which the N.
W. Company bring all their goods for the trade of the Upper
Mississippi. Game is very scarce in this country.

In ascending the Mississippi from Sandy Lake, you first meet with the
Swan river [still so called: not to be confounded with the other of
the same present name] on the east, which bears nearly due E., and is
navigable for bark canoes for 90 miles to Swan Lake. You then meet
with the Meadow [or Prairie] River, which falls in on the E., bears
nearly E. by N., and is navigable for Indian canoes 100 miles. You
then in ascending meet with a very strong ripple [Grand rapids], and
an expansion of the river where it forms a small lake. This is three
miles below the Falls of Packegamau [Pokegama], and from which the
noise of that shoot might be heard. The course of the river is N. 70 deg.
W.; just below, the river is a quarter of a mile in width, but above
the shoot not more than 20 yards. The water thus collected runs down a
flat rock, which has an elevation of about 30 degrees. Immediately
above the fall is a small island of about 50 yards in circumference,
covered with sap pine. The portage, which is on the E. (or N.) side,
is no more than 200 yards, and by no means difficult. Those falls, in
point of consideration as an impediment to the navigation, stand next
to the Falls of St. Anthony, from the source of the river to the Gulf
of Mexico. The banks of the river to Meadow river have generally
either been timbered by pine, pinenett [epinette], hemlock, sap pine
[sapin or balsam-fir], or aspen tree. Thence it winds through high
grass meadows or savannas, with pine swamps appearing at a distance to
cast a deeper gloom on the borders. From the falls in ascending, you
pass Lake Packegamau on the W., celebrated for its great production of
wild rice; and next meet with Deer river [present name] on the E.,
the extent of its navigation unknown. You next meet with the Riviere
Le Crosse[VII-21] [Riviere a la Crosse] on the E. side, which bears
nearly N., and has only a portage of one mile to pass from it into the
Lake Winipeque Branch of the Mississippi [through Little Lake
Winnibigoshish].

We next come to what the people of that quarter call the forks of the
Mississippi, the right fork of which bears N. W., and runs eight
leagues to Lake Winipeque [Winnibigoshish[VII-22]], which is of an oval
form, and about 36 miles in circumference. From Lake Winipeque the
river continues five leagues to Upper Red Cedar [now Cass] Lake, which
may be termed the Upper Source of the Mississippi. The [other fork or]
Leech Lake Branch bears from the forks S. W., and runs through a chain
of meadows. You pass Muddy [or Mud] lake, which is scarcely anything
more than an extensive marsh of 15 miles in circumference; the river
bears through it nearly N., after which it again turns W. In many
places this branch is not more than 10 or 15 yards in width, although
15 or 20 feet deep. From this to Leech Lake the communication
[through Leech Lake river] is direct and without any impediment. This
is rather considered as the main source, although the Winipeque Branch
is navigable the greatest distance.

To this place the whole face of the country has an appearance of an
impenetrable morass or boundless savanna. But on the borders of the
lake is some oak, with large groves of sugar-maple, from which the
traders make sufficient sugar for their consumption the whole year.
Leech Lake communicates with the river De Corbeau by seven portages,
and with the river Des Feuilles; also, with the Red river, by the Otter
Tail Lake on the one side, and by [Upper] Red Cedar Lake and other
small lakes to Red Lake on the other. Out of these small lakes and
ridges rise the upper waters of the St. Lawrence, Mississippi,[VII-23]
and Red river, the latter of which discharges itself into the ocean
by Lake Winipie, Nelson's River, and Hudson's Bay. All those waters
have their upper sources within 100 miles of each other, which I
think plainly proves this to be the most elevated part of the N. E.
continent of America. But we must cross what is commonly termed the
Rocky Mountains, or a Spur of the Cordeliers [Cordilleras], previous
to our finding the waters whose currents run westward and pay tribute
to the western ocean.

In this quarter we find moose, a very few deer and bear, but a
vast variety of fur animals of all descriptions.

FOOTNOTES:

[VII-1] This article, for which I make a new chapter with a major head,
was in the orig. ed. _a part_ of Doc. No. 18 of the Appendix to Pt. 1,
running from p. 41 to p. 56; the remainder of the document--continuing
without break to p. 66, and including also a folding table--being an
account of the Indians. I make a separate chapter for this
ethnographic matter, beyond. I retain as a minor heading of the
present chapter Pike's original title of No. 18, nearly in his words;
but must cut it down to exclude "the savages," and in so doing I also
reduce its verbiage a little. As thus restricted, this article is a
rapid review or cursory description of the Mississippi, in so far as
Pike ascended and descended this river. Having already given a copious
commentary in my notes on his itinerary, I must refer the reader back
to these for most details; here I simply bracket a few names in the
text for the purpose of ready recognition, and restrict my notes to
new matters which come up.

[VII-2] The form of the word _Mississippi_ was not fixed with eleven
letters till after 1800. President Jefferson, a scholar of his times
and especially interested in linguistics, used nine or ten letters.
Our fashion of doubling all the consonants except the first is
distinctly an innovation which has no advantage over _Misisipi_, but
on the contrary the undesirable effect of obscuring the pronunciation
of the Algonquian elements by neutralizing the vowels. Analysis of the
eleven letters shows three consonantal sounds, one of them repeated,
and each of these four followed by a short if not neutral vowel:
_Mi-si-si-pi_. The initial _m_ is a nasolabial, not likely to vary,
and in fact constant. This is followed by a sibilant surd, repeated,
with probable and actual variation to _s_ of _c_ or _ch_ in one or
both places. The final consonant _p_ is a labial surd, easily and
actually variant to its sonant _b_. The name is really a term of two
words: Misi Sipi=Misi River--whatever Misi may mean. Waiving this, and
taking the name as one word, the _actual_ variations which I have
noted from time to time may be thus displayed as regards the eleven
letters: (1) _M_, constant; (2) _i_, variant to _a_ and _e_; (3) first
_s_, var. to _c_, or missing; (4) second _s_, var. to _c_ and _ch_, or
missing; (5) second _i_, nearly constant, when present; (6) third _s_,
var. to _c_, not to _ch_, when present; (7) fourth _s_, same as third
_s_; (8) third _i_, var. to _e_ and _y_; (9) first _p_, var. to _b_;
(10) second _p_, constant, if not dropped after the third _p_, never
present if the third _p_ becomes _b_; (11) final _i_, var. to _e_ and
_y_. The permutations possible under the several variants indicated
may be ciphered out by those who have leisure for amusement; probably
not one-tenth of the possibilities are actualities in print; and of
those actually existent probably no complete list has ever been made.
We might expect to find 30 forms without much trouble. Some of the
examples I have noted are: _Mischipi_, Freytas, from Spanish Relations
of 1661, pub. 1663, perhaps the first appearance of the word in print;
_Messipi_, Allouez, in French Relations of 1667, said to be the
original form in that language; _Mississipy_, 1671; _Messisipi_,
Joliet, after 1673; _Micissypy_, Perrot; _Masciccipi_, La Salle, qu.
misprint in first syllable? _Meschasipi_ and other forms in Hennepin,
1683, and his editors; _Messchsipi_ on an old map, about 1688; _Michi
Sepe_, Labal, as cited by Brower; _Mechesebe_, etc. The general
evolution of the present word has been: early elimination of _c_ or
_ch_; tendency of all the vowels to _i_, with _e_ in the first place
and _y_ in the last place longest persistent; and then the doubling of
the _s_'s and the _p_, all the possible cases of this process being
not only extant, but neither very old nor very rare. The unconscious
_motif_ here seems to have been to give the longest river the longest
name. There are many other names of the "Mycycypy" river, aboriginal,
Spanish, and French, for the whole or certain parts of its course.
Spanish relations from De Soto yield for lower parts of the river
_Chucagua_ in variant forms; _Tamalisieu_; _Tapatui_; and _Mico_.
Also, for about the mouth, we have _Malabanchia_ or _Malabouchia_,
from French narration, D'Iberville, Mar. 2d, 1699. An Iroquois name,
_Gastacha_, is cited. Spanish relations yield several of the earliest
names, all of which have been translated; _e. g._, _El Rio_, The
River, Knight of Elvas, pub. 1557; _Rio Grande_, Grand r., Great r.,
ref. to Hernando de Soto, near Quizquiz, Sunday, May 8th, 1541, and at
Guachoya, Apr. 17th, 1542; _Rio del Espiritu Santo_, as De Biedma,
River of the Holy Ghost, with variant spellings of the phrase, _cf._
Chavez map, in Ortelius, Antwerp, 1580, and Cortes map for Spanish
Charles V., 1520; _Rio de las Palmas_, River of Palms, Admiral map,
1507, pub. in ed. Ptolemy, 1513 (I cite these two without prejudice to
the question whether they did actually apply or were only supposed to
apply to the Mississippi); _Rio de los Palisados_ (as I find it cited,
though it seems to me _R. de las Palizadas_ would be better Spanish
for Palisade r., the connotation of this term being what a steamboat
man would mean if he said Snag or Sawyer r.); and _Rio Escondido_,
Hidden r., because it was hard to find the right channel through the
delta. Certain genuflexions of French knees to powers that were and
happily be no longer, are reflected in the names _Riviere de la
Conception_, _sc._ of the B. V. M., which Marquette conceived in one
of the unisexual transports of his morbid imagination, June 15th or
17th, 1673, trans. Immaculate Conception r.; _R. de Buade_, _sc._
Frontenac r., as Joliet, who had an eye to a visible patron; _R. de
Colbert_, as Hennepin, who kept one eye on St. Anthony and the other
on King Louis; _R. de Louis_, _R. de St. Louis_, _R. de Louisiane_ of
various F. relations (_St. Louis_ occurring in letters patent of Louis
XIV. to Crozat, Sept. 14th, 1712); from descriptive phrases which are
found in Radisson's relations, Forked r. and River That Divides Itself
in Two have been evolved as names with the aid of capitals; the upper
section of the stream, flowing from Lake Itasca, has been called _R. a
la Biche_, Elk r., from the former F. name Lac a la Biche, translating
Ojibwa Omoshkos Sogiagon; the next section, _Bemidji-sibi_, with many
variants of this, in Ojibwa, French, Italian, and English; the next
section, _R. aux Cedres Rouges_, Red Cedar r., Cassina r., Cass r.;
next section, _Winnibigoshish r._, in many variants; and below the
confluence of the Leech Lake fork, _Kitchi-sibi_, Great r. There are
also several forms of the Sioux name, to the same effect as
Kitchi-sibi. I am ignorant of any English name originally given as a
genuine appellation, and not a translation or mere epithet, like
"Father of Waters," and the like. It is text-book tradition that this
phrase translates the Algonquian term; which tradition is too untrue
and too popular to ever die--let it rest in peace, along with
Washington's hatchet and Tell's apple. It is Featherstonhaugh, I think
(I have mislaid the mem. I once made), who remarks with great gravity
and great truth, that "Father of Waters" is a misnomer, because the
river resulting from the confluence of other rivers is the Son of
Waters and not the father of them at all. This is a sober sort of
statement, for a witticism; it is not a figurative locution or a
flight of fancy; it is a solemn fact. It only stops short of the most
comprehensive statement that can be made regarding the origin of
rivers, which is, that all rivers arise in cloudland.

[VII-3] See note 12, p. 7, and add: I suspect that _Noir_ is not the
F. adj. which means "black," but a perversion of the noun _Noix_,
_Noyau_, or _Noyer_, meaning "nut" or "walnut." Beck's Gazetteer,
1823, gives the name as Noyer cr.

[VII-4] An opinion of Mr. Ewing occupies note 18, p. 15. A hitherto
unpublished letter of General William Clark, Indian Agent for
Louisiana, to the Secretary at War, is in part as follows:

                              "Saint Louis 22nd. June 1807.

"Sir

"... William Ewing's Account for provisions, hired men and Squars
[squaws] appears to be unatherized by any person in this Country. M^r.
G. Chouteau informs me that he never empowered him under any authority
which he possessed to incur such expences to the U : States as [are]
charged in his account.--And further says that he has always given
such provisions and other articles to M^r. Ewing as he thought the
Public Service required, for which he either paid himself or included
in the account of Rations settled with the Contractor.--The public
clammer [clamor] at this place is very much against M^r. Ewing; many
unfavourable relation has been made of his conduct, such as
purchaseing the Indians Guns for whisky and selling them again to the
Indians for a high price.--Selling his corn to the Traders for
trinkets for his Squar, hireing men on the behalf of the United States
and sending them to work for his private benefit, makeing an incorrect
report to me, &^c. &^c. I am induced to believe from the report of
M^r. Bolvar [Nicholas Boilvin] and others who are willing to sweare
that M^r. W^m. Ewing has behaved incorrectly and his example is
degrading to the institution, and calculate to give the Indians an
unfavourable impression of the public Agents in this Country. The
Conduct of public Agents in this distant quarter, I fear will never be
under sufficent check until there is a person to whome all are obliged
to account resideing in this Country, with full power and descretion
to inspect their actions &^c. &^c.

"A copy of Mr. Ewings report is inclosed in which he states the
situation of his establishment and his prospects &^c....

                    "Your most Obedent
                    "Humble Servent,
                    [Signed] "W^M. CLARK. I. A. L."

[VII-5] Being letter to General Wilkinson, from that place at that date,
which formed Doc. No. 2, p. 2, of the App. to Pt. 1 of the orig. ed.
See Art. 2, p. 223. The lead mines are of course identifiable with the
location of Dubuque; but the precise situation of Julien Dubuque's
house, where Pike stopped both ways, was Catfish cr., about 2 m.
below. Mr. Dubuque died Mar. 24th, 1810, aged 451/2 years, and was
buried on the eminence close by, which became known as Dubuque's
bluff, and still bears this name. The peculiar character of his claim
to the property occasioned much litigation, which was carried up to
the Supreme Court of the U. S., and there decided in favor of the
settlers, in or about 1853.

[VII-6] This description makes in the orig. ed. a 3-page footnote, which
I reset in the main text, as no confusion will come from this obvious
digression, the reader returning to Prairie du Chien in due course. It
was furnished to Pike by (Robert) Dickson, whose name appears at the
end. In spite of the mangling of the geographical names, and one or
two sentences that seem to have got awry, it is a very telling piece
of work--perhaps the most concise and correct statement extant in 1810
of what is one of the most memorable routes in the annals of American
exploration. It was by this famous Fox-Wisconsin traverse from the
Great Lakes to the Miss. r. that the latter was itself discovered to
Europeans. For it is practically if not identically the route of
Joliet and Marquette, 1673. Under the Canadian governorship of Comte
Louis de Buade de Frontenac, who succeeded De Courcelle Apr. 9th,
1672, the Quebec trader Joliet, the priest Marquette, and five other
Frenchmen, who were at Michilimackinac in Dec., 1672, passed thence by
Green bay of Lake Michigan, Fox r., Lake Winnebago and Wis. r., to
Miss. r. at Prairie du Chien, reached June 15th or 17th, 1673, and
named Riviere Colbert after the French king's minister. Our esteemed
antetemporary Jonathan Carver paddled that way too, and so did others
too numerous to mention, among them the macronymous G. W.
Featherstonhaugh, F. R. S., etc., whose canoe voyage up the Minnay
Sotor, etc., made in 1835, furnished data for very readable and
realistic gossip, 2 vols. 8vo, Lond. 1847, I. p. 151 _seq._ The
clearest view of the Fox-Wisconsin traverse I have seen is on the map
accompanying Bvt. Maj. C. R. Suter's Rep., being Doc. E of Bvt.
Maj.-Gen. G. K. Warren's Prelim. Rep. Surv. Miss. River above Rock
Island rapids, this being Ex. Doc. No. 58, Ho. Reps., 39th Congress,
2d Sess., 8vo, Washington, Government Printing Office, 1867, pp.
1-116. Accurate engineering operations always reduce the mileages
guessed at by tired travelers or idle tourists, but Dickson's
estimates come remarkably near Suter's measurements, some of which
are: Lower Fox r., 371/2 m.; traverse on Lake Winnebago, 151/2 m.; Upper
Fox r., 104 m.; canal at portage, 2-1/3 m.; Wisconsin r., 112 m.;
total, Green Bay to Prairie du Chien, 271-1/3 m.

I may here summarize as curtly as I can the main points of the
probable fact that the Upper Mississippi was reached by practically
this route, by Menard and Guerin, before its long-alleged and
generally accepted discovery by Joliet and Marquette, as above noted.
In 1659 Fond du Lac was approached by two traders, Groseilliers and
Radisson; the former was Medard Chouart, the latter Pierre d'Esprit.
Groseilliers, Grozayyay, Desgrozeliers, etc., was b. near Meaux in
France; traded on Lake Huron in 1646; in 1647, married Veuve Etienne
of Quebec, daughter of Abraham Martin; in Aug., 1653, married
Marguerite Hayet Radisson, sister of Radisson. Radisson was b. St.
Malo, France; came to Canada 1651, married Elizabeth Herault 1656; was
at Three Rivers in Canada in 1658, and arranged to go with
Groseilliers to Lake Superior. The two built the first trading-post on
Lake Superior, at Chaquamegon bay (old Chagouamikon, etc.).
Groseilliers was back at Montreal Aug. 21st, 1660; he returned to Lake
Superior and was at Keweenaw bay Oct. 15th, 1660. Some of the traders
of his party wintered here 1660-61; with them was the Jesuit Menard,
the first missionary on the lake. Menard and one Jean Guerin left the
lake June 13th, 1661, for the region of the Ottawa lakes in Wisconsin.
Perrot says that Menard and Guerin followed the Outaouas to the Lake
of the Illinoets (Lake Michigan), and to the River Louisiane (_i. e._,
the Mississippi), to a point above the River Noire (Black r.), where
they were deserted by their Huron Indians. One day in August, 1661,
they were ascending a rapid in their canoe, which Menard left to
lighten it; he lost his way, and perished; Guerin survived. Menard's
breviary and cassock, it is said, were later found among the Sioux.
Justin Winsor's Narr. and Crit. Hist. Amer. IV. p. 206, gives a sketch
map on which a place is marked as that where Menard was lost. This
seems to be toward the sources of Chippewa r. If Perrot's relation be
true, and not misunderstood, Menard and Guerin reached the Mississippi
via the Wisconsin from Green bay, ascended it to the Black or the
Chippewa, and left it that way in the summer of 1661, 12 years before
Joliet and Marquette came to the Mississippi.

[VII-7] Dickson's use of the term "La Baye" requires qualification to
prevent misreading him. 1. The old Baye des Puans or Puants, Stinkers'
bay, so called from the malodorous fish-eating Winnebagos who lived
thereabouts, became from its verdure la Baie Verte, our Green bay,
_i. e._, the whole water of that great N. W. arm of Lake Michigan, into
the head of which Lower Fox r. empties. The last 7 m. of this river
makes a sort of estuary from the foot of the last rapids, or head of
natural river navigation, to the waters of Green bay; and this whole
estuarian course was La Baye or La Baie of various early writers. 2.
The earliest French footing on the estuary was the Jesuit mission at
the foot of the rapids called Rapides des Peres (Priests' rapids),
whence the modern name De Pere or Depere for the town now at or near
the spot, on the E. bank of the river. The earliest French fort there
was called Fort La Baye or La Baie; and this is the implication of the
term as the name of a spot or place on the estuary also called "La
Baye" or "La Baie." 3. When settlement was made under English
occupation it crept down the estuary on the E. side to near the bay,
and "La Baye," _i. e._, La Baie Verte, furnished the local habitation
as well as the name of our Green Bay (town), a mile or two above the
mouth of the estuary. 4. Under our regime, La Baie of the American Fur
Company period was at a place called Shantytown, say halfway between
the old French La Baye (present town of Depere) and the less old
English La Baie (present county town of Green Bay, Brown Co., Wis.).
5. There were other settlements along the estuary, on the same side
too. Thus, writing of 1835, Featherstonhaugh speaks of the new
American settlement of Navarino, "a short distance" from Shantytown;
he describes the latter as "a small bourgade," and locates Navarino
opp. Fort Howard, _i. e._, where Green Bay now is. 6. On the left
bank, nearly opp. present Green Bay, but rather nearer Green bay, was
the site of our Fort Howard, which flourished say 60 years ago, and
bequeathed the name to the town of Howard or Fort Howard, now opposite
Green Bay. On the left bank higher up, opp. Depere, is a town called
Nicollet, no doubt a belated bud of promise, as no such place appears
on maps of 25 years ago. 7. None of the foregoing localities or
establishments on Fox r. must be confounded with the recent outgrowth
called Bay Settlement, which is out on the S. E. shore of Green bay,
toward Point Sable.

[VII-8] Kakalin and Konimee of the above text, also Cockien of p. 295,
are three forms of one word which has other curious shapes.
Featherstonhaugh I. p. 162, speaks of rapids "called in the Menominie
tongue Kawkawnin, literally 'can't get up,'" and says that the
voyageurs make it Cocolo. Suter's text has Kankarma; his map, Kankana.
Present usage favors Kaukauna; so G. L. O. maps, railroad folders,
etc. With the qualifying terms Petit and Grand, or Little and Great, etc.,
the word denotes different places and things on the river; _i. e._,
certain lower and upper rapids themselves, together with certain
settlements at or near each of these obstructions to navigation. Petit
Kakalin, Petite chute, Little Konimee, Little shoot, Little rapids,
designated the lower rapids; and the town 6 m. above Depere received
the name of Little Rapids or Little Kaukauna. Some miles above this
place is now Wrightstown, on the right or E. bank of Fox r. Between
Little Kaukauna and Wrightstown are obstructions in the river which
are or were called Rapides Croches, from their crookedness. All the
foregoing are in present Brown Co. Passing to Outagamie Co., we find
what Dickson called the fall of Grand Konimee, and others knew as
Grand Kakalin, Grand chute, etc. This is now simply styled Kaukauna
falls, without any qualifying term; and the town there is Kaukauna
Falls. Above Kaukauna falls and town, say 2 or 3 m., are rapids called
Little chute (duplicating a different application of the name), and
within a mile of them are others known as Cedar rapids. In this
vicinity is also the town of Little Chute, 7 or 71/2 m. below Appleton,
seat of Outagamie Co. From Appleton we pass into Winnebago Co., and it
is only 6 or 8 m. to where Dickson says "the river opens into a small
lake," _i. e._, Lake Winnebago discharges into Lower Fox r. This
outlet is by two channels, N. and S., separated by Doty or Doty's
isl.; here are the Puant, or, as now known, Winnebago rapids; here was
the first Puant or Winnebago village; here are now the cities of
Menasha on the N. channel, and Neenah on the S. channel. The rapids
are strongest in the latter.

[VII-9] Formerly Lac des Puans or des Puants, Stinkers' l., etc. This is
the large body of water in Winnebago, Calumet, and Fond Du Lac cos.,
35 m. long, 9 to 14 m. wide, and 12 to 25 feet deep, thus being an
extensive overflow of Fox r., which enters at Oshkosh, Winnebago Co.,
about the middle of the W. side of the lake, and leaves by Neenah and
Menasha, at the N. W. corner. The distance between these points, which
was the usual canoe traverse, is 151/2 m. There is a small island in
this distance, known by the name of Garlic, which Featherstonhaugh
calls Hotwater, from a droll incident he describes, I. p. 174. The
Puant village which Dickson mentions as being at the upper end of the
lake was at or near present Fond Du Lac, the county seat, and one of
well known places in Wisconsin. Dickson's midway "Fols Avoine" village
was the Menomonee settlement on the E. side of the lake, in Calumet
Co. (Stockbridge and Brotherton Res.). Lake Winnebago conveniently
divides Fox r. into the Upper Fox, which runs into it, and the Lower
Fox, which runs out of it into Green bay; it also acts as a sort of
reservoir or regulator to prevent freshets in the Lower Fox. The
western shore is now skirted with railroads all the way from Menasha
to Fond du Lac, and various towns are strung along this distance. Just
before Fox r. falls in, it suffers dilatation into what was and is
still called Lac Butte des Morts, the head of which is about 7 m. from
Oshkosh; town of the same cheerful name there now. In this vicinity
Loup or Wolf r. falls into the Upper Fox, after passing through an
expansion known by some such perversions of the Chippewa name as
Pawmaygun, Pauwaicun, Poygan, etc.

[VII-10] This is easier to locate than to tell the name of. It is that
dilatation of Upper Fox r. which lies mainly in Green Lake Co., and
for some little distance separates this from Marquette Co. The lake is
141/2 m. long, but very narrow. Rush l. would be the English translation
of the Indian name, a few of the variants of which are Apachquay,
Apuckaway, Apukwa, Puckaway, Packaway, Pokeway, Puckway, Pacaua, etc.
Before this notable lake was reached, the canoes passed the mouth of
Wolf r., as above said; of Waukan r., discharging from a certain Rush
l. in Winnebago Co., in the vicinity of places called Omri, Delhi, and
Eureka; a couple of small streams at and near Berlin, Green Lake Co.;
Puckegan cr., the discharge of Green l., which falls in at Fiddler's
(qu. Fidler's?) Bend, on the S.; near this White r., on the N.;
present site of Princeton, Green Lake Co., 121/4 m. above Fiddler's
Bend; and lastly Mechan or Mecan r., whence it is only 6 m. to Lake
Puckaway. The town of Marquette, Green Lake Co., is on the lake near
its foot; and 7 m. above its head is Montello, seat of Marquette Co. A
stream absurdly called Grand r. falls in on the S. between Lake
Puckaway and Montello. From Montello to Packwaukee is 8 m.; this is on
Boeuff, Beef, or Buffalo l., a dilatation of the river like Lake
Puckaway, but not so wide. There was an old French fort or factory
here, whose name is given as Ganville (qu. Bienville?). The "forks" of
Fox r. of which Dickson speaks is the confluence of Necha r.; but
there seems to be some copyist's mistake about the situation of his
Lac Vaseux "ten leagues above the forks"; for there is no 281/2 m. of
the river left. Lac Vaseux of the text, otherwise known as Muddy,
Rice, and Manomin, immediately succeeds Buffalo l., being below (north
of) Moundville and Roslin or Port Hope. It seems to be reckoned a part
of Lake Buffalo, for the distance hence to the Wisconsin r. is given
as only about 14 m. The canal which Dickson recommends was long since
cut, with a length of 2-1/3 m. to Portage, seat of Columbia Co. From
this place along the Wisconsin r. to the Mississippi, given by Dickson
and repeated by Long as 60 leagues = 165 m., is 112 m. I have not the
clew to the exact location of Dickson's Detour du Pin or Pine Bend;
but I imagine it was about the situation of Lone Rock, Richland Co.,
above the mouth of Pine r., and below the place that Mr. Whitney named
Helena, when he had his curious shot-tower there some 60 years ago.

[VII-11] The Montreal or Kawasidjiwong r. is a small stream which
separates Wisconsin from Michigan for some little distance, and falls
into Lake Superior at Oronto bay, E. of Point Clinton. The connection
with Sauteur or Chippewa r., of which Pike speaks, was made by
portages from the main E. fork of the Chippewa--that is, from
Manidowish, Flambeau, or Torch r. But we should note here that there
was more than one recognized route by way of the Chippewa from the
Mississippi to Lake Superior, and in Carver's case, for example,
confusion has arisen in consequence. Thus, some say that Carver left
the Mississippi by way of Chippewa r. This is true; but he did not
reach Lake Superior by way of Flambeau r. and Montreal r. Observing
this, some say he reached Lake Superior by way of the St. Croix and
the river he calls Goddard's. This is true; but he did not leave the
Mississippi by St. Croix r. In June, 1767, Carver came from Prairie du
Chien up the Miss. r. to the Chippewa; he went up this for the Ottawaw
lakes, as he calls the present Lac Court Oreilles and some lesser ones
close by; visited the Chippewa town whence the river took its name, he
says, "near the heads of this river;... In July I left this town, and
having crossed a number of small lakes and carrying places that
intervened, came to a head branch of the river St. Croix. This branch
I descended to a fork, and then ascended another to its source. On
both these rivers I discovered several mines of virgin copper, which
was as pure as that found in any other country. Here I came to a small
brook," which by confluence of others soon "increased to a most rapid
river, which we descended till it entered into Lake Superior.... This
river I named ... Goddard's River," Trav., ed. 1796, pp. 66, 67. A
small river west of Goddard's Carver named Strawberry r., "from the
great number of strawberries of a good size and flavor that grew on
its banks."

[VII-12] Pike was sadly misinformed on this point. No place on the river
is better known than St. Croix falls, above Osceola Mills, Polk Co.,
Wis., and Franconia, Chisago Co., Minn., where the descent is quoted
at 5 feet in 300 yards. Higher up, the river has many rapids--toward
its head so many that Nicollet's map legends "Succession of Rapids";
Schoolcraft's marks about a dozen; Lieut. Allen, when abandoned by Mr.
Schoolcraft, encountered "almost interminable rapids"; La Salle cited
Du Luth for "forty leagues of rapids," in his letter from Fort
Frontenac, Aug. 22d, 1682; and Hennepin called the St. Croix "a river
full of rapids." They are most numerous and most nearly continuous
above Yellow and Namakagon rivers, two of the principal branches of
the Upper St. Croix, both of which drain from the region about the
Ottawa lakes and others in Sawyer and Washburn cos., Wis. Pike's Burnt
r. is supposed to be the same as Carver's Goddard r.; it is also
called Burnt Wood r., from the F. Bois Brule, and the latter name is
still in use. Burnt r. is called by Nicollet Wissakude and by others
Misacoda--a name no doubt the same as Nimissakouat, Nemitsakouat,
Nissipikouet, etc., _de l'ancien regime_; on Franquelin's map, 1688,
it stands Neouoasicoton. This last is a specially notable case, as
Franquelin marks "Fort St. Croix" and "Portage" near the head of his
river at a certain "Lac de la Providence" in which he heads his "R. de
la Magdelaine"; for these are the Upper St. Croix l. and the St. Croix
r. (This post was probably established by Du Luth before 1684 or 1685;
he had been in Paris in 1683; at Montreal, Quebec, etc., 1682 and
1681; and in June, 1680, made the Bois Brule-St. Croix trip from Lake
Superior to the Mississippi.) Franquelin's early map, 1683-84, is said
to be the first to delineate the Bois Brule-St. Croix route: this
shows R. de la Magdelaine connecting by Lac de la Providence with R.
Neouaisicoton, but no Fort St. Croix is there marked. This river is
said well enough to head in this lake; but more precisely, its sources
are in the feeders of this lake. One of these, which is situated on a
pine ridge a couple of miles off, offers the always interesting,
though not very rare case of a sheet of water running two ways; for
this small Source l., as it is called, discharges one way into the St.
Croix stream, hence into the Gulf of Mexico, and the other way into
Burnt r., which takes water to Lake Superior and finally to the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. The Burnt is navigable, though much obstructed with
shoals, rapids, and falls; it runs in the main northward, near the E.
border of Douglas Co. (named for Stephen A. Douglas), and falls into
the Kichi Gummi, Sea of the North, West Sea, Grand Lac (Champlain's
Voy., 1632, map), Lac de Conde, Lac de Tracy, Lac Superieur, Lacus
Superior (De Creux, 1664, map), Lake Algona, etc. There were Chippewa
villages along nearly the whole line of both the rivers at various
points, including one on an island in the Upper St. Croix l. Islands
and peninsulas in lakes were always favorite sites, for in such cases
these Indians enjoyed some additional immunity from the Sioux in what
we may style their "moated granges." On the St. Croix r., low down,
was the Chippewa-Sioux boundary line, marked for some years by cedar
trees which stood there a few miles below St. Croix falls: see note
17, p. 101.

[VII-13] Keating, I. 1824, p. 287, cites Long's MS. 1817, fol. 12, that
Major Long's "boat crossed it, from a dead start, in 16 strokes."
Referring to note 69, p. 70, for some historical remarks on St.
Pierre's r., I wish to add here that this remarkable stream was at one
period the main course of the Mississippi. The evidence of the rocks
supports the opinion that the Falls of St. Anthony were once opposite
the position of Fort Snelling. The Mississippi above the mouth of St.
Pierre's differs in various particulars from the character it acquires
below that point, and was once tributary to a then greater stream.
This case does not seem to have attracted the attention to which it
became entitled after its forcible presentation by General Warren. It
is not so well marked as the obvious case of the Missouri _vs._ the
Mississippi, in which there is no question which is the main and which
the subsidiary stream; but it is similar. In other words, what the
Mississippi is to the Missouri above St. Louis, that the Mississippi
has been to the Minnesota above Fort Snelling.

[VII-14] The "rough draft" herein mentioned was published in the orig.
ed. as a plate of page size, and is reproduced in facsimile for the
present ed.

[VII-15] Pike's phrase "Le Mille Lac" brings up an orthographic case
unique in some respects. No Minnesota lake is better known than this
one; but what shall we call it? Shall we say Mille Lac, and then call
the county in which it is partly situated Mille Lacs, as the G. L. O.
map of 1887 does? Is the single body of water Le Mille Lac, as Pike
says, or Les Mille Lacs? Is this one lake of a thousand, or a thousand
lakes in one? Nobody seems to know; hence a crop of phrases, _e. g._,
Mille Lac, Mille Lacs, Milles Lac, Milles Lacs; also, Mille Lac Lake,
Lake Mille Lac, Lake Mille Lacs, Mille Lacs Lake; item, Mil Lac, Mill
Lake, and other vagaries too many and too trivial to cite, all of
which the student of Minnesota geography will discover sooner or
later. The phrase being French, we naturally turn to see what a pure
French scholar who was also a great geographer has to say on the
subject. Speaking of the Sioux having their principal hunting-camps on
Leech l. and on "_Minsi-sagaigon-ing_, or Mille Lacs," Nicollet
explains in a note, Rep. 1843, p. 66: "This name is derived from
_minsi_, all sorts, or everywhere, etc.; _sagaigon_, lake; and _ing_,
which is a termination used to indicate a place; so the meaning of the
word is 'place where there are all sorts of lakes,' which the French
have rendered into Mille Lacs." Whence it appears that _Mille Lacs_ is
short for some such phrase as _le pays aux mille lacs_, _l'entourage
des mille lacs_, the country full of lakes, the environment of a
thousand lakes, etc. Now it so happens geographically that this one
lake among the thousand is vastly larger than any of the rest, perhaps
than all the rest put together; it is _par excellence le lac des mille
lacs_, the one among a thousand; furthermore, that it was a Sioux
rendezvous, which became known as Mille Lacs by a sort of unconscious
figure of speech on the part of those who very likely never heard of
the rhetorical trope synecdoche, but called a part by the name of the
whole, to suit themselves. I imagine, therefore, that the seeming
solecism of a plural phrase for a singular thing is logically correct;
that Nicollet was right in writing Mille Lacs; that Lac Mille Lacs
would be grammatically defensible, though inelegant; and that we could
say in English Lake Mille Lacs, or Lake Thousand-lakes, with equal
propriety, though we should avoid such forms as Lake Mille Lac, or
Mille Lac lake. In fine, the phrase Mille Lacs has ceased to concern
any question of grammatical number, and become a mere _name_ of two
words. As for the pleonasm or tautology of such phrases as Lac Mille
Lacs, or Lake Mille Lacs, etc., this need not disturb us as long as we
continue to talk of "Mississippi river," for example, as that means
"Misi River river." There are several earlier names of this remarkable
body of water. The memoir of Le Sieur Daniel Greysolon Du Luth on the
discovery of the country of the Nadouecioux, addressed in 1685 to
Monseigneur Le Marquis de Seignelay, as translated from the original
in the archives of the Ministry of the Marine, has this passage, as
given, _e. g._, in Shea's Hennep., 1880, p. 375: "On the 2nd of July,
1679, I had the honor to plant his Majesty's arms in the great village
of the Nadouecioux, called Izatys, where never had a Frenchman been,
no more than at the Songaskitons and Huetbatons," etc. De or Du Luth,
Lhut, Lhu, Lut, Lud, whatever the trader's name was, had come from
Montreal (Sept. 1st, 1678) with six or eight men to this part of
Canada and was in the vicinity of Sault Ste. Marie on Apr. 5th, 1679,
under the patronage of Comte Louis de Buade de Frontenac, who had
succeeded De Courcelle as governor of Canada Apr. 9th, 1672;
consequently he named the lake Lac de Buade or Lac Buade; this was its
original denomination in French, and such name appears on many old
maps, _e. g._, Hennepin's, 1683, Franquelin's, 1688, De L'Isle's,
1703, etc., some of which also mark a place by the name of Kathio,
supposed to be the site of a large Sioux village, on the W. side of L.
de Buade, near the base of the peninsula later known as Cormorant
Point. Du Luth's Izatys were Gens des Mille Lacs, _i. e._, Sioux who
lived about Lake Mille Lacs in the country of that "number of small
lakes called the Thousand Lakes," as Carver phrases it; they were the
Issati or Islati, Issaqui, Issanti, Issanati, Issanoti, Issayati,
etc., meaning those who lived in lodges on sharp stones, _i. e._,
Knife Indians, at one of the Mille Lacs called Lake Isan or Knife l.
However loosely Du Luth's term Izatys may have come to be used, it
designated and most properly designates the genuine original Gens du
Lac, or People of Lake Thousand-lakes, our modern Mdewakontonwans. Du
Luth's Houetbatons are supposed to be our Wakpatons, Warpetonwans, or
Waqpatonwans; his Songaskitons, our Sisitonwans, Seseetwawns or
Sissetons, _i. e._, lake-dwellers (_sisi_, marsh or lake, _tonwan_,
people); these two tribes are located on old maps eastward of Lake
Mille Lacs. In 1689, date of Pierre Lesueur's and Nicholas Perrot's
visit to Sioux dominions, we hear that N. E. of the Mississippi lived
the Menchokatonx or Mendesuacantons, _i. e._, the same Sioux as Du
Luth's Izatys of Lac Buade. According to E. D. Neill, Macalester Coll.
Cont. No. 10, in 1697 Aubert de la Chesnaye said that "at the lake of
the Issaqui, also called Lake Buade, are villages of the Sioux called
Issaqui; and beyond this lake are the Oetbatons; further off are the
Anitons who are also Cioux." Neill also cites a certain doc., dated
Quebec, 1710, which states that "the three bands with which we are
acquainted are the Tintons, the Songasquitons, and the Ouadebaetons."
Two of these are obviously the same as two of Du Luth's; the third
(Tintons) are the same as the Izatys, or rather a band of Indians who
came under this more general denomination. This connection is
established in Hennepin, whose Tintonbas, Tintonhas, or Thinthonhas
were Sioux who lived on the St. Francis (or Rum r., the main discharge
of Lake Buade) near the Issantis, and were the Indians who captured
his companions and himself. This dig at the roots of primitive Sioux
ethnology is merely to bring up the next name of Lac Buade; for, from
such intimate connection as this body of water had with certain Sioux,
it immediately became known as Lac des Issatis, and soon as Lac des
Sioux, or Sioux l.; moreover, St. Francis or Rum r., which runs out of
the lake, became Sioux r.; _e. g._, Franquelin's map, 1688, marks "R.
des Francois ou des Sioux." De L'Isle's map, 1703, letters the lake
"Mississacaigan ou L. Buade," and the issuant river "R. de
Mendeouacanion." The first of these two Indian names is the one which
Nicollet adopts for the lake in the form Minsi Sagaigoning; the other
is the same word as Mdewakantonwan. Nicollet's remark on this subject,
like all his pregnant writing, requires attention here, especially as
it raises a geographical besides a nomenclatural point, Rep. 1843, p.
67: "We still find some confusion on the maps as regards the name of
_Minsi-sagaigon-ing_. Some have laid it down as _Mille Lacs_; others
as Spirit lake; and on others, again, it appears as two lakes, with
(separately) both names. The ambiguity arises from the fact that the
same lake has been named by two nations. The one which I have adopted
is from the Chippeways; that by which it is known to the Sioux is
_Mini-wakan_--meaning literally, water spirit; but, in this case,
intended to signify _ardent spirits_. The river that issues from this
lake has been named Rum river by the traders; which appellation the
Chippeways have translated into _Ishkode-wabo_, or ardent spirits; and
the Sioux into _Mdote-mini-wakan_, or outlet of the ardent spirits."
That is a dismal aboriginal pun which mixes up nature-spirits with the
artificial product, turns the lake into a bottle, and the river into
its neck; it is bad enough to have been perpetrated "next morning,"
and it is too bad that the debauches to which the traders allured the
Indians should have been perpetuated in geographical nomenclature.
Spirit l. is the name under which Long, for example, maps Lake Mille
Lacs, and the Gens du Lac he calls People of Spirit Lake; and
Schoolcraft, Narr. Journ. of 1820, pub. 1821, p. 214, has Great Spirit
lake and Missisawgaiegon--the latter name also applied to its
discharge (Rum r.). Spirit is not now a name of Lake Mille Lacs; the
one for which Nicollet conserved the name Mini-wakan, and which hence
became known as Spirit l. and Devil's l., is the large body of water
in N. Dakota, tributary to the Red River of the North; Spirit l. of
modern Minnesota geography is a little one of the collection in Aitkin
Co., between Lower Red Cedar l. and Mille Lacs l. The latter is the
second largest lacustrine body of water in the State. It is situated
across the intercounty line between Aitkin and Mille Lacs, about half
in one and half in the other of these two counties. Its figure is more
regular than usual, being squarish, with three corners rounded off and
the S. E. one drawn out a little; there is also some constriction
about the middle, where points facing each other run out from the E.
and W. shore respectively; the shore line is said to be about 100
miles in all. The lake is readily accessible, being only some 12 m. S.
of Aitkin, and is a favorite resort for outings. One of the 14 present
Ojibwa reservations is on its S. shore.

[VII-16] There is an error here, as what Hennepin called the St. Francois
in 1680 is Rum r. of Carver, 1766, and authors generally; while St.
Francis r. of Carver, which he thought was Hennepin's St. Francois, is
Pike's Leaf r., now known as Elk r. See note 7, p. 95, where this
case is fully discussed.

[VII-17] Pike maps four on the W., above his Clear = Platte r., and
below his Pine cr. = Swan r.: see note 19, p. 103.

[VII-18] The name of this branch of St. Pierre's r. in Minnesota
duplicates that of a large branch of the Mississippi in Wisconsin. The
Minnesota tributary is Miawakong r. of Long's map, 1823, and Manya
Wakan r. of Nicollet's, 1843.

[VII-19] Lac a la Queue de Loutre of the F., whence the E. name. This is
the largest body of water into which the Red River of the North
expands in Minnesota, and may be called a principal source of that
river, as Pike says, though it compares with the true source very much
as Leech l. or Winnibigoshish l. does with that of the Mississippi. It
is situated about the center of Otter Tail Co., some 60-70 m. S. W. of
Leech l.; Pike's map tucks it up snug under Leech l. The Leech-Otter
Tail traverse, or route by which one passed from Mississippian waters
to those of Red r., as beyond indicated by Pike, is given in detail by
Schoolcraft upon information of traders who were familiar with this
chain of lakes. Using the nomenclature of his Narrative, etc., 1834,
p. 105, it may be stated as follows: From Leech l. through lakes
called Warpool, Little Long, of the Mountain and of the Island, to the
Crow Wing series, or Longwater, Little Vermillion, Birch, and Ple.
Lake Ple was the one where the route forked--one way leading on down
the Crow Wing series, the other turning off to the Otter Tail series.
The latter consisted in, first, a portage of four pauses to Island l.;
portage of one pause into a small lake which led into another, and
this into Lagard l.; half a pause to a small lake; pause and a half to
another; four pauses into Migiskun Aiaub or Fishline l.; a pause into
Pine l.; five pauses into a small river which runs into Scalp l. The
latter has an outlet which expands into three successive and about
equidistant lakes, and is then received into Lac Terrehaute, or Height
of Land l. The outlet of this last expands into a lake, and again into
water called Two Lakes from its form; whence the discharge is into
Otter Tail l. It is not easy to pick this exact route up from a modern
map; but I may add that it runs in Hubbard, Becker, and Otter Tail
cos.; that some of the lakes on or near this series are known as
Height of Land, Little Pine, Pine, and Rush (these being on the course
of Otter Tail r., and therefore on the Red River water-shed); and that
some places on or near the route are called Park Rapids, Osage,
Linnell, Shell Lake, Jarvis, Erie, McHugh, Frazer City, Lace, Perham,
and St. Lawrence. The N. P. R. R. from Moorhead to Brainerd crosses
the route in two or three places, one of these being between Pine and
Rush lakes.

[VII-20] Pinenet or pinenett is Pike's version of epinette of the French
voyageurs, name of the tree we commonly call tamarac or hackmetack,
and which the botanists know as black larch, _Larix americana_. It is
so abundant and characteristic in some places that the wet grounds in
which it grows are usually called tamarac swamps. The sap pine of the
same sentence has been already noted as the balsam-fir, _Abies
balsamea_: see note 44, p. 132. There is a Lac Sapin, called in
English Balsam-fir lake. The supposed occurrence of hemlock, _Tsuga
canadensis_, in this locality is open to question.

[VII-21] "R. le Crosse" of Pike's map, the discharge of the lake now
universally known as Ball Club: see the account of it in note 56,
p. 150.

[VII-22] The lake which Pike calls Winipie is the large body of water in
British America, through which the combined streams of the Assiniboine
and Red River of the North find their way into Hudson's bay, and which
we know as Lake Winnipeg; but this does not further concern us now.
Pike's Lake Winipeque is what we now call Lake Winnibigoshish, on the
course of the Mississippi. The French forms of the latter name, such
as Ouinipique, etc., whence our Winipeque, Winipec, Winipeck, etc.,
are diminutizing terms, as if to say Little Lake Winipeg. There can be
no occasion for confounding the two lakes, notwithstanding the
similarity and sometimes the identity of their names.

Lake Winnibigoshish is that very large dilatation of the Mississippi
which lies next below Cass l.: see note 8, p. 159, for the distance
between the two, and details of that section of the river which
connects them. The variants of its name are moderately numerous:
Winipeque, as above, but Winipec on Pike's map; Wenepec, Lewis and
Clark's map, 1814; Little Winnepeck, Long; Winnipec, Beltrami,
Schoolcraft; Winnepeg and Big Winnipeg, Allen; Winibigoshish,
Nicollet, Owen--this last the only name now used, generally with
doubled _n_, and with some variants, like Winnepegoosis, etc. This is
the second largest body of water in the whole Itascan basin, exceeded
only by Leech l., and much exceeding Cass l.; its area is probably not
far from that of Lake Pepin, but the shape is very different. The
figure is squarish, with the N. W. and S. W. corners rounded off, and
the N. E. corner extended into a well-marked bay; the main diameters
are about 11 m. from N. to S., and 71/2 from E. to W.; the area thus
indicated is little encroached upon by projecting points, so that the
shore line is shorter than usual in proportion to the extent of
waters; the collateral feeders of the lake are comparatively few and
unimportant. The lake lies partly in no fewer than eight townships
(each 6 x 6 m. sq.); but it only slightly encroaches on five of these,
occupying nearly all of T. 146, R. 28, 5th M., the greater part of T.
145, R. 28, and about half of T. 146, R. 27: actual area thus
equivalent to rather more than two townships, or over 72 sq. m. The
construction of the government dam at the outlet has decidedly altered
the shore line, and modified other natural features; the overflow due
to this obstruction has inundated the original shore contour in the
low places, formed some backwater expansions, and drowned countless
trees. Many of these stand stark and black where they grew, far out
from the present shore line, which itself is piled with drift-wood in
most places. Snags also abound all along the wooded shores, and the
water is so shallow that some beds of bulrushes rise above the surface
a mile or more from land. The scene is desolate and forbidding. Add to
this a danger of navigation to an unusual degree for the frail
birch-bark canoes which alone are used on Winnibigoshish. The lake is
too large to be safely crossed in such boats at any time. Even the
Indians habitually sneak to the shore through the snags and rushes;
for the water is very shallow, easily churned up to quite a sea.
Sudden squalls and shifting currents are always to be expected, and
one runs considerable risk in venturing where land cannot be made in a
few minutes, if necessary. It would be nothing, of course, to a
well-built keel-boat with sail and oars; but a birch-bark is quite
another craft. I have seen Winnibigoshish as smooth as glass, and then
in a few minutes been glad to put ashore, to escape a choice between
swamping or capsizing, amid whitecaps and combers at least four feet
from crest to hollow, breaking on a lee shore full of snags and piled
with driftwood. Good landing places are not to be found all along;
most of the shore is low, and much of it consists of floating-bog, in
which a man may sink as easily, and less cleanly, than in quicksand,
if he sets an incautious foot. The water is so impure as to be
scarcely fit for drinking; the lake is a sort of cesspool for all the
sewerage of the basin whose waters pass through it. Winnibigoshish, in
short, is dreary, dirty, deceitful, and dangerous.

The Mississippi enters this reservoir in the S. W. part, at a point in
the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 36, T. 146, R. 29, 5th M., where it sweeps around
a firm bank, steep enough to be cut in some places, and on which some
Indians live; quite a little delta extends far out into the lake,
overgrown with bulrushes to such an extent as to hide the opening. But
it is not difficult to thread any one of several ways through these to
the high bank just said, which is the land-mark; a more conspicuous
one, from a distance, is a piece of high woodland whose point is due
S. 1/2 m. from the inlet. Hence southward is the nearest approach of
Leech l.; a traverse offers by means of Portage l. (Nicollet's Lake
Duponceau), though the carrying-place is somewhat over 2 m. long.

Passing northward, to our left as we start from the Mississippian
inlet to go around the shore, the first prominent feature is Raven's
point, distant from the inlet 4 m. The maps all represent this as much
longer and sharper than it looked to my eye; probably much of the
point that was once land is now under water, owing to the dam. It is
the site of a squalid village of Chippewas, who have been civilized
into the whole assortment of our own vices. A considerable stream
falls in here, which I suppose is Kaminaigokag r. of Nicollet and
Owen, though it is nameless on more modern maps. Its mouth is in Sect.
18, T. 146, R. 29, close to the N. border of Sect. 19; near by is a
lake about a mile in diameter, probably due to overflowage. Rounding
Raven's point and proceeding N. 4 m. further, we come to a little bay
into which flows a considerable stream from the W. This is Third r.,
often marked "III. R." The reason for this name will presently appear.
Schoolcraft in Narr. Journey of 1820, pub. 1821, p. 246, calls it
"Thornberry river, or La riviere des Epinettes," but F. _epinette_
does not mean "thornberry": see note 20, p. 319. The mouth of Third
r. falls in the N. W. 1/4 of Sect. 33, T. 147, R. 28. Coasting now E.
along the N. shore, we round the prominence which defines Third River
bay, and which I call Windy pt. from my experience there--it had no
name that I could discover. It consists of a floating-bog for some
distance back, and in this morass, further eastward, a small creek
empties in Sect. 35 of the T. and R. last said; this may be called Bog
cr., if no earlier name can be found; it is not one of the regularly
enumerated streams. A mile and a half eastward of Bog cr., nearly or
exactly on the line between Sect. 36 of the same township and Sect. 31
of T. 147, R. 27, is the mouth of Pigeon r. No other name is heard on
the spot; but this is Second r. or "II. R." of the geographers.
Schoolcraft, _l. c._, called it Round Lake r., and Round l. is present
name of its principal source. There is a good landing here on a bit of
beach under a firm, bluffy bank, the site of the most decent and
well-to-do Chippewa village about the lake. Three and a half miles E.
S. E. of Pigeon r. is the wide, irregular opening of Cut Foot Sioux
r., otherwise First r., or "I. R.," which discharges from a system of
lakes, the nearest one of which is marked Cut Toe l. by Owen, and
Keeskeesedatpun l. on the Jewett map of 1890. This is the river called
Turtle Portage r. by Schoolcraft, _l. c._ Several houses stand on and
under the high land on the E. or left bank, a fraction of a mile back
of the opening, among them the trading-house of one Fairbanks, where
the usual robberies are perpetrated under another name, but without
further pretense of any sort. Four miles from the mouth of the Cut
Foot Sioux, in a direction about S. S. E., is the outlet of the
Mississippi, at the bottom of a large bay, offset from the rest of the
lake by prominent points of land. The separation of this bay from the
main body of waters is scarcely less well-marked than that of Pike bay
from the rest of Cass l. I propose to call it Dam bay. The points of
land which delimit its opening into Lake Winnibigoshish are: A long
linguiform extension from the S., occupying all the ground not
overflowed of Sects. 15 and 16, T. 146, R. 27, which may be designated
Tongue pt.; and opposite this, on the N., a much less extensive
prominence, which may become known as Rush pt., in Sect. 10 of the T.
and R. last said. Paddling 11/2 m. from Cut Foot Sioux r., we go through
the strait between Tongue and Rush pts., and are then in Dam bay, a
roundish body of water about 21/2 m. in diameter. At the S. end of this
is the short thoroughfare (outlet of the Mississippi), less than a
mile long, which leads into Little Lake Winnibigoshish, and has been
dammed at its lower end, in the S. W. 1/4 of Sect. 25, necessitating, of
course, a portage of a few yards in canoeing. The dam in part consists
of a solid embankment, stretching from the S.; the rest is the wooden
construction for raising and lowering a series of gates by which the
flow of water can be regulated. This work looks sadly in need of
repair, and is said to be none too secure. At the N. end of the dam is
a high wooded hill, a fine spring of water, and some vacant buildings;
on the other side is a narrow pond over a mile long, called Rice l.

Immediately below the dam, the Mississippi dilates into Little Lake
Winnibigoshish (once Rush l.), of irregularly oval figure, 23/4 m. long
by scarcely over 1 m. in greatest breadth, its longest diameter about
N. W. to S. E. At a point near the S. E. is the portage, or carrying
place, over to Ball Club l., whose head is there distant about a mile:
see note 56, p. 150. The outlet of the Mississippi is on the S., in
the N. W. 1/4 Sect. 6, T. 145, R. 26. Thence the river flows scarcely W.
of S. for 3 m. direct, but I judge fully 61/2 by its extremely tortuous
channel, to a place in Sect. 24, T. 145, R. 27, where some rapids
occur; these, however, are easily shot. The further course of the
river is S. E., 8 m. direct, but more than twice as far by the bends,
to the confluence of Leech Lake r., or Pike's "Forks of the
Mississippi": see back, note last cited, p. 151. This whole section of
the Mississippi, from Little Lake Winnibigoshish to the mouth of Leech
Lake r., is easy canoeing down, with plenty of smooth, swift water,
even at low stages, and good places to camp all along on the wooded
points against which the channel continually abuts as it bends from
side to side of the low bottom-land, mostly overgrown with reeds
(_Phragmites communis_) and bulrushes (_Scirpus lacustris_), but
toward Leech Lake r. becoming meadowy and thus fit for haying. Besides
the main bends, or regular channel, there are a great many minor
sluices or cut-offs, practicable for canoeists; and one is borne
quickly along by the current, without minding much whether one is in
the channel or not. This way down, though circuitous and several times
as far as the route by Ball Club l., which lies off to the left as you
descend, is decidedly preferable; but going up river I should advise
one to take the route through Ball Club, and portage over to Little
Lake Winnibigoshish.

[VII-23] William Morrison is the first of white men known to have been at
Lake Itasca. He wintered at Lac la Folle, 1803-4, visited Lake Itasca
in 1804, and again in 1811 or 1812. Mr. Morrison was b. Canada, 1783,
d. there Aug. 9th, 1866. He kept a journal, which was lost, of his
movements before 1824. He described "Elk" l. to his daughter, Mrs.
Georgiana Demaray, and various other persons; he considered and
declared himself the first of white men at the source, though his
claim does not appear to have become a matter of authentic, citable
publication till 1856: see Final Rep. Minn. Geol. Surv., I. p. 26. The
document on which his claim mainly rests is the extant original of a
letter addressed by William to his brother Allan, dated Berthier, Jan.
16th, 1856. This is published verbatim in Brower's Report, Minn. Hist.
Soc. Coll., VII. 1893, pp. 122-124. Brower says (_l. c._ p. 120) that
the "Morrison letter," as originally published in Minn. Hist. Soc.
Coll., I. 1856, pp. 103, 104, or 2d ed., 1872, pp. 417-419, is "a
composite production." The article there covering the William Morrison
letter is entitled "Who Discovered Itasca Lake?" and includes a letter
from Allan Morrison to General Alexander Ramsay (now ex-Secretary of
War and President of the Society), dated Crow Wing, Benton County, M.
T., Feb. 17th, 1856. Charles Hallock, Esq., formerly of New York, the
well-known author of the Sportsman's Gazetteer and many other works,
founder of the Forest and Stream weekly in New York, and of the town
of Hallock, now the seat of Kittson Co., Minn., published a version of
the "Morrison letter," said to be a "correct copy," in his article The
Red River Trail, Harper's Mag. XIX. No. cix, June, 1859, p. 37, which
aroused the jealous recalcitration of Mr. Schoolcraft, whose
reclamation was made in a letter to George H. Moore, Esq., Librarian
of the New York Historical Society, dated Washington, Aug. 12th, 1859,
and published in the N. Y. Evening Post, Aug. 23d, 1859, p. 1, column
4. I have not inspected Morrison's autograph letter; but I have
compared the three printed versions here in mention--the one of 1856
or 1872, Hallock's of 1859, and Brower's of 1893. They are all to the
same effect, and evidently from one source; but the textual
discrepancies of all three are so great that they can scarcely be
called "copies." Brower speaks of "several letters written by Mr.
Morrison on this subject," and states that the one he prints, of Jan.
16th, 1856, "is given in full, and just as written and signed." From
this imprint I extract the following clauses: "I left the old Grand
Portage, July, 1802, ... in 1803-4, I went and wintered at Lac La
Folle.... Lac La Biche is near to Lac La Folle. Lac La Biche is the
source of the Great River Mississippi, which I visited in 1804, and if
the late Gen. Pike did not lay it down as such when he came to Leech
lake it is because he did not happen to meet me.... I visited in 1804,
Elk lake, and again in 1811-12," etc. Nothing appears to invalidate
this letter; for Mr. Schoolcraft's contemptuous contention of 1859
belittled Mr. Morrison and Mr. Hallock without disproving or even
disputing Mr. Morrison's claim. The gravamen of Mr. Schoolcraft's
charge is contained in the statement "that he [Morrison], or his
friends in Minnesota, should have deferred forty-seven years to make
this important announcement, is remarkable." It may have been
"remarkable"; but it is not inexplicable. Mr. Henry D. Harrower, in
the Educational Reporter Extra, Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor and Co., New
York and Chicago, pub. Oct., 1886, 8vo, p. 17, has some discerning and
judicious remarks on this score: "The statements of the brothers
Morrison have generally been received without question by scientists
and geographers in Minnesota; and in his letter Allan Morrison
expresses surprise that anyone should be ignorant of the title of his
brother to the discovery of Itasca prior to Schoolcraft. It is a
curious fact, however, that Allan Morrison acted as guide for Charles
Lanman for a number of weeks in 1846, during which time they visited
Itasca Lake; and that Lanman, in his published account of the trip,
nowhere mentions Wm. Morrison, or intimates that he was ever at the
source of the Mississippi, but definitely ascribes the discovery to
Schoolcraft in 1832. See Lanman's 'Adventures in the Wilderness,' vol.
i, pages 48, 75, etc. I venture the opinion that Morrison first
identified his Elk Lake of 1804 with Schoolcraft's Itasca when he read
Schoolcraft's 'Summary Narrative' (1855); and that it is safe to say
that if Morrison discovered Lake Itasca, Schoolcraft discovered
Morrison." This may be considered to raise the question, What
constitutes discovery? But that does not affect the main issue. Mr.
Morrison's declaration that he visited Lake Itasca in 1804 and again
in 1811-12 thus far rests uncontested. If the case is ever re-opened,
it will probably be upon newly discovered documentary evidence of
priority of discovery by some Frenchman. When Pike was at Leech l. he
just missed, by some months and scarcely more miles, the glory of the
most important discovery he could possibly have made in the course of
this or his other expedition.

In May, 1820, Lewis Cass, then governor of Michigan, left Detroit with
38 men, among whom was Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. Proceeding by
Michilimackinac he struck the Miss. r. at Sandy l., and entered it
July 17th. The narrative recites that he went to Peckagama falls,
thence 55 m. to the Forks, 45 to Lake Winnipec, and about 50 m. more
to the large lake then first called Cassina and afterward Cass l. by
Schoolcraft. This was entered July 21st; but the party went no
further. It was then represented to them that the source of the river
was in a lake called La Beesh, _i. e._, La Biche, erroneously supposed
to be 60 miles N. W.; upon which the river was computed to be 3,038 m.
long, at an altitude of 1,330 feet: for the particulars of this
voyage, see Schoolcraft's Narrative Journal, etc., pub. E. and E.
Hosford, Albany, N. Y., 1821, 1 vol. 8vo, pp. i-xvi, 17-419, 4 unpaged
pages of index, map, plates; it is full of errors. The Cradled
Hercules, as Nicollet later called it, slept on this till Schoolcraft
returned in 1832 to awaken the infant, with Lieut. Allen, Rev. Mr.
Boutwell, Dr. Houghton, and Mr. Johnston, under the leadership of
Chief Ozawindib.

Giacomo Constantino Beltrami was b. Bergamo, Italy, 1779; _au mieux_,
Mme. La Comtesse de Campagnoni _nee_ Passeri, at Florence, 1812;
exiled, 1821; Fort St. Anthony (Snelling), May 10th, 1823; and when
Long's expedition came in July of that year, he accompanied it up the
Minn. r. and down the Red River of the North to Pembina, where he took
offense and his conge simultaneously, between Aug. 5th-9th. The
differences between the American soldier and the expatriated Italian
were great and various. Major Long ejected Signor Beltrami on the
spot, and on paper dismissed him not less curtly and contemptuously,
making this harsh judgment a personal matter over initials S. H. L. in
Keating, I., p. 314: "An Italian whom we met at Fort St. Anthony
attached himself to the expedition and accompanied us to Pembina. He
has recently published a book entitled, 'La Decouverte des Sources du
Mississippi,' &c., which we notice merely on account of the fictions
and misrepresentations it contains." Mr. Schoolcraft makes a point of
snubbing Sig. Beltrami: see _postea_. The amiable M. le Professeur
Nicollet alone has a kindly word for his co-laborer in Mississippian
exploration: "He descended Turtle river, which empties into Lake
Cass;--that had been the terminus of the expedition of 1820, under the
command of General Cass, and in honor of whom it is so named. Now, as
the sources of Turtle river are more distant from the mouth of the
Mississippi than this [Itasca] lake, Mr. Beltrami thought himself
authorized to publish that _he_ had discovered the sources of the
Mississippi. Hence, perhaps, may be explained why, as late as Mr.
Schoolcraft's expedition of 1832, the sources of the river were laid
down as N. W. of Lake Cass. I may be mistaken, but it strikes me that
American critics have been too disdainful of Mr. Beltrami's book,
which found many readers on both continents, whilst it propagated some
painful errors," Rep. 1843, p. 59. Hon. J. V. Brower, the latest and
altogether the best monographer, stigmatizes Sig. Beltrami as "a
hero-worshipper with but one hero, and that himself," Miss. R., etc.,
1893, p. 136. With me the question is not one of Beltrami's character,
temperament, imagination, sex-relations, etc., but simply, What did he
do about the Mississippian _origines_? Brower gives a clear,
connected, and fair answer, _ibid._, pp. 137-141, in part from an
article by Mr. A. J. Hill of St. Paul. Beltrami bravely made his way
alone to Red l., which he left Aug. 26th, 1823; was guided Aug. 28th
to the vicinity of Turtle l.; found a spot whence he thought water
flowed four ways, N., S., E., W., to three oceans, and which _was_ a
part of the divide between Mississippian and Hudsonian waters; named
Lake Julia, tributary to Turtle l., as a "Julian source" of the
Mississippi, which it _was_; declared it to be the true source, as he
defined the "source" of a river, by position relative to position of
the mouth; declared and certainly believed he had discovered this
source, in which he was mistaken, as it was already known; named other
lakes for other friends; and was informed by his guide of Lake Itasca,
which he located on his map with approx. accuracy by the name of Doe
l., translating Lac La Biche of the F., though it appears in his text
as Bitch l. by mistake. For Beltrami distinctly speaks, II. p. 434, of
Lake Itasca: "which the Indians call Moscosaguaiguen, or Bitch lake,
which receives no tributary stream, and seems to draw its waters from
the bosom of the earth. _It is here in my opinion that we shall fix
the western sources of the Mississippi_," as Schoolcraft and Allen
did, nine years afterward. Beltrami proceeded to Cass l., and thence
to Fort St. Anthony, where he arrived after great hardships in a state
of extreme destitution; went to New Orleans, and there published his
first book, 1824. In all this I see no necessary occasion for disdain
or derision; the man did the best he could--"angels could do no more."
He showed courage, fortitude, endurance, perseverance, ambition, and
enthusiasm--all admirable qualities. He wrote an extravagant book, to
be sure; but it displays less egotism and more fidelity to the facts,
as he understood them, than Hennepin's, for example, and has a higher
moral quality than the average Jesuit Relation. He shot high, but not
with a longer bow than many a traveler before and since himself. One
test of his good faith is the perfect ease with which we can find the
facts in his book and separate them from the figments of his
overwrought imagination. Heredity and environment conspired to lead
him into grave errors of judgment and some misstatements of fact; but
which one of us who write books can stone _his_ glass house with
impunity? Beltrami's Julian source will run in the books as long as
the water runs from that source, alongside the Plantagenian and
Itascan sources. Beltrami's map locates Doe=Itasca l. with greater
accuracy than any earlier map does. The "pointed similarity" it has
been said to bear to Pike's--and I fear as a suggestion of
plagiarism--does not extend to the Itascan source, for there is not a
trace of this on Pike's published map. Beltrami went from New Orleans
to Mexico, traversed that country, reached London about 1827,
published his Pilgrimage, etc., 2 vols., and d. at Filotrano, Feb.,
1855, in his 76th year. He fills the niche in Mississippian
geographical history between Cass, 1820, and Schoolcraft and Allen,
1832; meanwhile, Itasca State Park lies mainly in Beltrami Co., Minn.,
which includes both the Julian and Itascan sources. There was nothing
the matter with Beltrami but woman on the brain; he had a queen bee in
his bonnet--that is all. Much that has been taken for puerile conceit
is the virile badinage of a man of the world, of wit, and of
penetration. I have read his Pilgrimage with interested attention; it
is clear to me that Beltrami was no mere _flaneur_--by no means such a
trifler as some of his passages might excuse one for supposing him to
be. He was a well-read and well-traveled man; his _obiter dicta_ on
various things, as religion, politics, society, and other broad
themes, are generally acute. He was a brave man; I imagine Major Long
had a time of it with Sioux, and Signor Beltrami too; it seems to have
been a case of scalping-knife and stiletto. As I have already cited
the military mailed hand, let us see the fine Italian hand: "Major
Long did not cut a very noble figure in the affair; I foresaw all the
disgusts and vexations I should have to experience," II. p. 303; "met
a band of Sioux. The major thought he read hostile intentions in their
faces; he even thought they had threatened him;--of course everybody
else thought so too--like Casti's courtiers; ... it was incumbent on
me, therefore, to be very much alarmed, too; ... I rather think the
fright they threw the major into was in revenge for his giving them
nothing but boring speeches. If they meant it so they had every reason
to be satisfied," II. pp. 336-37; "Colonel Snelling's son, who shewed
the most friendly concern and apprehensions for me. He also left the
major at the same time, not without violent altercation, ... with
considerable regret I parted from Dr. Say, one of the naturalists
attached to the expedition, the only one who deserved the designation
[this was a tickler for Prof. Keating's fifth rib]," II. 370; "they
[Colonel Snelling, Major Taliaferro, and others] were indignant
against Major Long for acting towards me in the miserable manner that
he did. With respect to myself, I feel towards him a sort of gratitude
for having by his disgusting manners only strengthened my
determination to leave him," II. p. 483. Beltrami was evidently able
to keep his own scalp, and his book is vastly diverting, except in the
boggy places, where he mires us down with his gynaecosophy. It is
entitled: A Pilgrimage in Europe and America, leading to the Discovery
of the Sources of the Mississippi River, etc., 2 vols., 8vo, London,
1828, pp. i-lxxvi, 1-472, and 1-545, map and plates. It is dedicated
"To the Fair Sex. Oh Woman!" The text is in epistolary form,
ostensibly addressed to the countess, and consists of 22 letters,
1821-23; matter of Julian sources, II. p. 409 _seq._, and map.

In 1830, Cass was directed by the War Department to request
Schoolcraft, who was then an agent of the Office of Indian affairs of
the W. D., to proceed into the Chippewa country to endeavor to put an
end to the hostilities between the Chippewas and the Sioux. The wars
which neither Pike, nor Clark, nor anybody else had succeeded in
stopping permanently in those quarters were thus indirectly the cause,
and directly the occasion, of the rediscovery of the source of the
Miss. r. Schoolcraft left St. Mary's, at the foot of Lake Superior,
late in June, 1831, with 27 persons, exclusive of guides and Indian
portagers. But the atrocious massacre of Menomonees by the Sacs and
Foxes at Prairie du Chien, and other circumstances, diverted this
expedition from the sources of the river, and Schoolcraft returned to
the Sault Ste. Marie. The plan was resumed early in 1832, when another
party was made up of some 30 persons, on the basis of an attempt to
effect permanent peace between the two principal tribes. Schoolcraft
left the Sault June 7th, 1832. This place was and is on a large lake
which S. calls Igomi, Chigomi, and Gitchigomi, and others Kitchi
Gummi--though we prefer Lake Superior to the Chippewa vernacular. On
July 3d, he reached Mr. Aitkin's trading-house on the discharge of
Sandy l., a distance of about 150 m. by the usual St. Louis and
Savanna rivers route. Cass l. was entered on the 10th; this was the
point of departure for new exploration, as it was that where the Cass
expedition had ended July 21st, 1820. Cass l. was then determined to
be 2,978 instead of 3,038 m. from the Gulf of Mexico by the course of
the river. The Indian guide, Ozawindib, began to make history and
immortalize his name at this point. He took the party up the Miss. r.
to Lac Traverse or Pamitchi Gumaug, that is, to Lake Bemidji, and
thence by the chain of lakes Schoolcraft called Irving, Marquette, La
Salle, and Plantagenet, up the course of the "South" (better called
East) fork of the Miss. r. to the Naiwa r. and Usawa l., thus
discovering the linked chain which later became known as the
"Plantagenian source": see note 8, p. 162. Ozawindib then portaged
the party over to the lake which Morrison had discovered in 1804. Camp
was pitched on the island which by common consent bears Schoolcraft's
name, July 13th, 1832. The party consisted of 16 persons, including
Ozawindib, Mr. Schoolcraft, Lieut. James Allen, U. S. A., Dr. Douglass
Houghton, Rev. Wm. T. Boutwell, and Mr. George Johnston. The name
"Itasca" was a whim of Schoolcraft's, which would mislead anyone who
should search Indian languages for its etymology, especially as Mr. S.
himself affects obscurantism by saying: "Having previously got an
inkling of some of their mythological and necromantic notions of the
origin and mutations of the country, which permitted the use of a
female name for it, I denominated it Itasca." This is a dark hint of
mystic and very likely phallic superstitions; but the facts in the
case are given in Brower's Report, p. 148, from personal interview
with the Rev. Boutwell himself, who said in substance that once when
he and Mr. S. were in the same canoe in 1832, the latter suddenly
turned and asked him what was the Greek and Latin definition of the
headwaters or true source of a river. Mr. B. could not on the spur of
the moment rally any Greek, but mustered Latin enough to give Mr. S.
his choice of _Verum Caput_ (true head) or _Veritas_, _Caput_ (truth,
head); by combining which latter two words, beheading one and
bobtailing the other, Mr. S. made (Ver)ITASCA(put), and said, "Itasca
shall be the name." He was quite equal to such juggling with words;
_e. g._, his Lake Shiba is named by a word which consists of the
initial letters of _S_choolcraft, _H_oughton, _I_ohnston (for
_J_ohnston), _B_outwell, and _A_llen. It is lucky Mr. Boutwell did not
think of the Greek for "head waters," or Itasca might have been named
Lake Hydrocephalus. Mr. Schoolcraft perpetuated the etymological myth
by perpetrating some stanzas, two lines of which are: "As if in Indian
myths a truth there could be read, And these were tears indeed, by
fair Itasca shed." None of the party appears to have noticed the
smaller lake south of Itasca, though it was only 333 yards from the
head of the W. arm, which was not explored; and in fact the visit of
so much historical moment was in itself but momentary. The main point
ascertained was the _location_ of Itasca to the S. W. of Cass l.,
where Beltrami had already represented it to be, instead of the N. W.
where Schoolcraft had supposed it was. The many little lakes and
streams in the Itasca basin, and all nice topographic features, were
left to be discovered by Nicollet and his successors. Their Chippewa
guide took them back by way of the main, west, or Itascan course of
the river to Cass l., whence they went to Leech l., thence by the
chain of lakes to Crow Wing r., and so on to the Mississippi again. It
is certainly not my desire to disparage Mr. Schoolcraft; but one who
could be taken to the source of the Mississippi and leave it the same
day, seeing nothing but what was shown him, and giving only a glance
at that, was not the person who should have snubbed Beltrami as he did
when he wrote that "a Mr. Beltrami, returning from the settlement of
Pembina by the usual route of the traders from Red Lake to Turtle
Lake, published at New Orleans, a small 12mo volume under the title of
'La decouverte des sources du Mississippi, et de la Riviere [_sic_]
Sanglante,' a work which has since been expanded into two heavy 8vo
volumes by the London press" (Narrative, etc., heavy 8vo, New York,
1834, p. 73). That sort of a sneer at a prior explorer in the same
region comes with particularly bad grace from a gentleman who was
expert in expanding his own stock of information to the most
voluminous proportions, and whose cacoethes scribendi, by dint of
incessant scratching, finally developed a case of pruritus senilis,
marked by an acute mania for renaming things he had named years
before: see his Summary Narrative, etc., Philada., Lippincott, Grambo
and Co., 1855. Mr. Schoolcraft never forgave Sig. Beltrami for telling
where Lake Itasca would be found; had he done so, he would have been
untrue to the supreme selfishness, inordinate vanity, vehement
prejudices, and conscientious narrow-mindedness with which his
all-wise and all-powerful Calvinistic Creator had been graciously
pleased to endow him. Another account of Schoolcraft's expedition of
1832 occupies pp. 125-132 of Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., I. 2d ed. 1872;
Mr. Boutwell's narrative of the same is found _ibid._, pp. 153-176.

James Allen's name is not so well known in this connection as it
should be. That is to say, the public seldom connects his name with
the discovery of Lake Itasca. But if Mr. Schoolcraft was the actual
head of the expedition of 1832, and became its best known historian,
Lieutenant Allen was a large and shapely portion of the body of that
enterprise, decidedly the better observer, geographer, and
cartographer; item, the commander of the military escort, which might
have been necessary for safety and success; item, the author of an
able, interesting, and important report upon the subject, which he
made to the military authorities. He was detailed for this duty by
order of A. Macomb, Major-General, commanding the army, dated Hdqrs.
of the Army, Washn., May 9th, 1832, and proceeded to Fort Brady,
Mich., with a detachment consisting of Corporal Wibru, and Privates
Briscoe, Beemis, Burke, Copp, Dutton, Ingram, Lentz, Riley, and Wade,
of the 5th Infantry. He was gone June 6th-Aug. 26th, 1832. His
movements were the same as Mr. Schoolcraft's, except where the latter
left him in the lurch on the St. Croix; his operations more extensive
and more intelligently directed to explore and report upon the
country. He named Schoolcraft isl. and various other things; Allen's
bay was named for him by Mr. Schoolcraft, and Allen's l. by Mr.
Brower. Allen was an Ohio man, appointed from Madison, Jefferson Co.,
Ind., cadet at West Point, July 1st, 1825; 2d lieut. 5th Infantry,
July 1st, 1829; 2d lieut. 1st Dragoons, Mar. 4th, 1833; 1st lieut. May
31st, 1835; capt., June 30th, 1837; on detached service, engineering
duty, Chicago, 1837-38; d. suddenly at Fort Leavenworth, Kas., Aug.
22d or 23d, 1846, as lieutenant-colonel of a Mormon battalion of
volunteer infantry he had raised to re-enforce our Army of the West,
"beloved while living, and regretted after death, by all who knew
him," Hughes, Doniphan's Exped., 1847, p. 53. His valuable Mississippi
report, completed at Fort Dearborn (Chicago), Nov. 25th, 1833, was
transmitted to Congr. by Hon. Lewis Cass, Sec. of War, Apr. 11th,
1834, and published in Amer. State Papers, Class V. Milit. Affairs, V.
Ex. Doc. No. 579, 1st Session, 23d Congr., folio, pp. 312-344, and
map.

The illustrious name of Jean Nicolas Nicollet is first in time on the
roll of those who have applied modern methods of exact and exacting
science to the geography of the West. Nicollet is most highly
appreciated by those who are themselves most worthy of appreciation
and most competent critics. Thus, Gen. G. K. Warren pronounces
Nicollet's map "one of the greatest contributions ever made to
American geography." It will stand forever as the sound basis of
knowledge on the subject. Notices of Nicollet's life and work are
found in: Trans. Assoc. Amer. Geol. and Nat., 1840-42, Boston, 1843,
pp. 32-34; Amer. Journ. Sci., 1st ser., XLVII. p. 139, sketch by Prof.
H. D. Rogers; Minn. Hist. Coll., I. (of 1850-56), 2d ed. 1872, pp.
183-195, memoir by Gen. H. H. Sibley; VI. 1891, pp. 242-245, being
reminiscences in the autobiography of Maj. Lawrence Taliaferro; and
VII. 1893, pp. 155-165, notice by J. V. Brower with portrait; Ann.
Rep. Smiths. Inst., 1870, p. 194; Fremont's Memoirs, I. pp. 30-72,
_passim_; notice in Educational Reporter Extra, Oct., 1886, by H. D.
Harrower; and especially N. H. Winchell, Amer. Geol., VIII. Dec.,
1891, pp. 343-352, with portrait and best biography. N. was b. at
Cluses in Savoy, 1790; d. Baltimore, Md., Sept. 11th, 1843. He was a
watchmaker's apprentice till aet. 18; was a natural musician; studied
languages and mathematics, and in 1818 published an article which
became noted in the annals of insurance for its calculations on
probable duration of human life; he wrote others of similar character;
1819 to 1828, he published various mathematical and astronomical
treatises; was decorated in 1825 with the Cross of the Legion of
Honor; at one time held a professorship in the Royal College of Louis
Le Grand; was also an inspector of naval schools; he was in high
esteem, and made money. But the fickle goddess of fortune ceased to
smile; he made business ventures which failed, and cost him all his
worldly goods and all his fair-weather friends; in 1832 he was a poor
refugee in the United States. But his amiable character, his
accomplishments, his great talents, and greater genius were more
conspicuous in adversity than they had been in prosperity. He made
friends everywhere, among them some in high stations, able to estimate
his abilities and glad to use his services. Under the auspices of the
War Department, and with the personal attentions of such men as Pierre
Chouteau, Jr., Gen. Sibley, and Maj. Taliaferro, he was enabled to
make, 1833-39, those several explorations and surveys which resulted
in his Map and Report--a work which would have done credit to anyone
under any circumstances, but one which only a Nicollet could have
accomplished under the actual conditions. In 1840 and 1841 he was on
office duty in Washington, reducing his field-work and preparing his
map, which latter was drawn under his direction by Lieuts. J. C.
Fremont and E. P. Scammon. This was completed probably in 1840, as it
had been submitted to Congress and ordered to be printed, Feb. 16th,
1841. But the hardships he had endured in the field had undermined his
frail physique; the further drafts upon his balance of vitality were
overdrawn; and the fatal blow was given by Arago, who defeated his
election to the French Academy. "Pas meme un Academicien," this great
soul never wore the crown of his life. His work was published under
the editorship of Gen. J. J. Abert, to whom science is indebted in
many ways--perhaps in no one of these more than in the recognition of
the merits of the gentle Savoyard, and consequently the steps he took
to facilitate and complete Nicollet's labors. The publication forms
Doc. No. 237, 26th Congr., 2d Session, entitled: Report intended to
illustrate a Map of the Hydrographical Basin of the Upper Mississippi
River, made by I. [_sic_] N. Nicollet, etc., 1 vol, 8vo, Washington,
Blair and Rives, 1843, pp. 1-170, map, 303/4 x 37 inches; also pub. as
Ex. Doc. No. 52, Ho. Reps., 2d Sess., 28th Congr. The report is
officially addressed to Colonel Abert; the original journals and other
MSS. were to be deposited in the Bureau of the Corps of Topographical
Engineers, Sept. 13th, 1843. I have examined the original map, from
which the published one was engraved, not without some variant
lettering here and there; it is now in bad condition, very brittle,
and would soon go to pieces if often unrolled without great care in
handling it. I think it should be renovated, without delay, and put in
the best possible condition for permanent preservation.

July 26th, 1836, Nicollet went from Fort Snelling to the Falls of St.
Anthony, with Lieutenants S. N. Plummer, G. W. Shaw, and James
McClure, to see him off; 29th, he was ascending the river; at the
mouth of the Crow Wing he left the Mississippi, ascended the former to
Gayashk or Gull r., went from this to Pine r., visited Kadikomeg or
Whitefish l. thence up E. fork of Pine r. to Kwiwisens or Boy r., and
down this into Leech l., where he spent a week, mostly camped on Otter
Tail pt., where resided his principal guide, Francis Brunet--"a man
six feet three inches high--a giant of great strength, but at the same
time full of the milk of human kindness and, withal, an excellent
natural geographer." He found here Mr. Boutwell, who was good enough
to help him out of some sort of a scrape the Chippewas got him into.
He left Leech l. in a bark canoe with Brunet, another man named
Desire, and a Chippewa whose name he renders Kegwedzissag, since
spelled Gaygwedosay and applied to a creek which runs into present Elk
l. He crossed several small lakes and came to one he calls
Kabe-Konang--not the same as Schoolcraft's Kubba Kunna, which latter
is the one S. called Lake Plantagenet, and is on Nicollet's Laplace r.
He continued up Kabekonang r., made a 5-m. portage to Laplace r.
(which is also called Naiwa, Yellow Head, and Schoolcraft's r., being
the Plantagenet fork of the Miss. r.), and ascended it to a position 1
m. south of Assawa l., where he found the traces of a camp used four
years before by the Schoolcraft party. Next morning he was up at 4.30,
preparing for the 6-m. portage to Lake Itasca across the Big
Burning--by no means an easy thing; the ground was very bad, and the
mosquitoes as bad as they knew how to be. Brunet carried the canoe,
weighing 110-115 lbs.; Desire and Kegwedzissag had each a load of
85-90 lbs.; while poor Nicollet had a full burden in proportion to the
powers of the slight and frail body that was so soon, alas! to fail
him altogether. "I had about 35 pounds' weight unequally distributed
upon my body.... I carried my sextant on my back in a leather case
thrown over me as a knapsack; then my barometer slung over my left
shoulder; my cloak thrown over the same shoulder confined the
barometer closely against the sextant; a portfolio under the arm; a
basket in hand which contained my thermometer, chronometer, pocket
compass, artificial horizon, tape-line, &c. On the right side, a
spy-glass, powder-flask, and shot-bag; and in my hand a gun or an
umbrella according to circumstances. Such was my accoutrement." Though
Nicollet estimated his load at only 35 pounds, it was an awkward one
to manage, and more than he should have undertaken to carry through
such a place; his head swam more than once, he lost his way, got
bogged several times, and only extricated himself by scrambling along
slippery and decayed tree-trunks. However, he reached Itasca safely,
two hours after the rest, pitched his tent on the island, and
proceeded to adjust his artificial horizon. During the three days
spent in exploring the basin he made those minute and precise
observations which will forever associate his honored name with
Mississippian discovery. His approach to the spot duplicated Mr.
Schoolcraft's; but the comparison need not be pushed further--it
cannot be. Nicollet's return was by way of the main stream to Lake
Cass and thence to Leech l.--where, by the way, he had a conference
with that sagacious savage Eshkibogikoj, otherwise Gueule Platte or
Flat Mouth, with whom he took tea "out of fine china-ware" and spent
evenings "full of instruction." Of the fine work he did at Lake
Itasca, I must quote his own modest words: "The honor of having first
explored the sources of the Mississippi and introduced a knowledge of
them in physical geography, belongs to Mr. Schoolcraft and Lieutenant
Allen. I come only after these gentleman; but I may be permitted to
claim some merit for having completed what was wanting for a full
geographical account of these sources. Moreover, I am, I believe, the
first traveler who has carried with him astronomical instruments, and
put them to profitable account along the whole course of the
Mississippi, from its mouth to its sources." He might well have
claimed more than this; for, aside from all topographic and
hydrographic details, what he discovered, determined, and described
was the Mississippi itself above Lake Itasca. His praise is greatest
in the mouths of wisest censure, and for once in the history of
discovery no one withholds from modest merit and signal achievement
their just dues.

The length of this note warns me to resist the temptation to pursue
post-Nicolletian exploration and touring--through the names of Charles
Lanman, 1846; Rev. Frederick Ayer and son, 1849; Wm. Bungo, 1865;
Julius Chambers, of the New York Herald's "Dolly Varden" expedition,
1872; James H. Baker, in official capacities, 1875-79; Edwin S. Hall,
U. S. surveyor, 1875; A. H. Siegfried, representing the Louisville
Courier-Journal's "Rob Roy" expedition, 1879; O. E. Garrison, 1880; W.
E. Neal, 1880 and 1881; Rev. J. A. Gilfillan and Prof. Cooke, in May,
1881, the same year that one X. Y. Z. exploited his fraud--to that of
J. V. Brower, 1888-94. The scandalous episode in a record otherwise
honorable to all concerned may be read in all its unsavory particulars
in the able exposes made by Mr. H. D. Harrower, entitled: Captain
Glazier and his Lake, etc., pub. Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor and Co.,
N. Y., Oct., 1886, pp. 1-58, with 9 maps; by Mr. Hopewell Clarke, in
Science and Education, I. No 2, Dec. 24th, 1886, pp. 45-57, with 5
maps; by Hon. James H. Baker, in the report entitled: The Sources of
the Mississippi. Their Discoveries, real and pretended, read before
the Minn. His. Soc., Feb. 8th, 1887, and published as Vol. VI., Pt. I,
of that society's Collections, pp. 28; and by Commissioner Brower, pp.
191-209 of his elaborate and exhaustive monograph, pub. 1893, to which
I am greatly indebted, and to which reference should be made for
further details, whether in the history or the geography of the
Mississippian sources. Nicollet is the pivotal point upon which the
whole matter turns from Morrison to Brower, 1804-1894.

Some Additional Facts about Nicollet, not given on my foregoing pages,
may be found in Horace V. Winchell's article, Amer. Geologist, Vol.
XIII, pp. 126-128, Feb., 1894. The date of birth is there given as
July 24th, 1786 (not 1790); the name, as Joseph (not Jean) Nicolas
Nicollet; and the place of death, as Washington, D. C. (not Baltimore,
Md.); the date is the same--Sept. 11th, 1843.




CHAPTER VIII.

ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.[VIII-1]


The first nation of Indians whom we met with in ascending the
Mississippi from St. Louis were the Sauks, who principally reside in
four villages. The first at the head of the rapids De Moyen on the W.
shore, consisting of 13 log lodges; the second on a prairie on the E.
shore, about 60 miles above; the third on the Riviere De Roche, about
three miles from the entrance; and the fourth on the river Iowa.

They hunt on the Mississippi and its confluent streams, from the
Illinois to the river Des Iowa; and on the plains west of them, which
border the Missouri. They are so perfectly consolidated with the
Reynards[VIII-2] that they scarcely can be termed a distinct nation; but
recently there appears to be a schism between the two nations, the
latter not approving of the insolence and ill-will which has marked
the conduct of the former toward the United States on many late
occurrences. They have for many years past, under the auspices of the
Sioux, made war on the Sauteaux, Osages, and Missouries; but as
recently a peace has been made between them and the nations of the
Missouri through the influence of the United States, and by the same
means between the Sioux and Sauteaux, their principal allies, it
appears that it would by no means be a difficult matter to induce them
to make a general peace, and pay still greater attention to the
cultivation of the earth; as they now raise a considerable quantity of
corn, beans, and melons. The character that they bear with their
savage brethren is that they are much more to be dreaded for their
deceit and inclination for stratagem than for their open courage.

The Reynards reside in three villages. The first is on the W. side of
the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of the River De Roche; the
second is about 12 miles in the rear of the lead mines; and the third
is on Turkey river, half a league from its entrance. They are engaged
in the same wars and have the same alliances as the Sauks, with whom
they must be considered as indissoluble in war or peace. They hunt on
both sides of the Mississippi from the Iowa, below Prairie Des Chiens
to a river of that name [Upper Iowa], above said village. They raise a
great quantity of corn, beans, and melons; the former of those
articles in such quantities as to sell many hundred bushels per annum.

The Iowas reside on the De Moyen and Iowa rivers in two villages. They
hunt on the W. side of the Mississippi, the De Moyen, and westward to
the Missouri; their wars and alliances are the same as those of the
Sauks and Reynards, under whose special protection they conceive
themselves to be. They cultivate some corn, but not so much in
proportion as the Sauks and Reynards. Their residence being on the
small streams in the rear of the Mississippi, out of the highroad of
commerce, renders them less civilized than those nations.

The Sauks, Reynards, and Iowas, since the treaty of the two former
with the United States [in 1804], claim the land from the entrance of
the Jauflioni [see note 14, p. 11], on the W. side of the
Mississippi, up the latter river to the Des Iowa, above Prairie Des
Chiens, and westward to the Missouri; but the limits between
themselves are undefined. All the land formerly claimed by those
nations E. of the Mississippi is now ceded to the United States; but
they have reserved to themselves the privilege of hunting and residing
on it, as usual.

By killing the celebrated Sauk chief Pontiac, the Illinois, Cahokias,
Kaskaskias, and Piorias kindled a war with the allied nations of
Sauks and Reynards, which has been the cause of the almost entire
destruction of the former nations.

The Winebagos or Puants are a nation who reside on the rivers
Ouiscousing, De Roche, Fox, and Green Bay, in seven villages, which
are situated as follows: 1st, at the entrance of Green Bay; 2d, at the
end of Green Bay; 3d, at Wuckan [Lake Poygan], on Fox river; 4th, at
Lake Puckway; 5th, at the portage of the Ouiscousing; 6th and 7th, on
Roche river.

Those villages are so situated that the Winebagos can embody the whole
force of their nation, at any one point of their territory, in four
days. They hunt on the Ouiscousing and Rock rivers, and E. side of the
Mississippi, from Rock river to Prairie Des Chiens; on Lake Michigan,
Black river, and in the country between Lakes Michigan, Huron, and
Superior. From the tradition amongst them, and their speaking the same
language as the Otos of the Riviere Platte, I am confident in
asserting that they are a nation who have emigrated from Mexico to
avoid the oppression of the Spaniards; and the time may be fixed at
about 11/2 centuries past, when they were taken under the protection of
the Sioux, to whom they still profess to owe faith, and at least
brotherly attention. They have formerly been at war with the nations
west of the Mississippi, but appear recently to have laid down the
hatchet. They are reputed brave, but from every circumstance their
neighbors distinguish their bravery as the ferocity of a tiger, rather
than the deliberate resolution of a man; and recently their conduct
has been such as to authorize the remark made by a chief of a
neighboring nation, that "a white man never should lie down to sleep
without precaution in their villages."

The Menomene or Fols Avoins, as they are termed by the French, reside
in seven villages, situated as follows: 1st, at the Menomene river, 15
leagues from Green Bay, on the north side of the lake; 2d, at Green
Bay; 3d, at Little Kakalin; 4th, at portage of Kakalin; 5th, on
Stinking Lake [Winnebago]; 6th, at the entrance of a small lake [Lac
Butte des Morts] on Fox river; and 7th, behind the Bank of the Dead
[Butte des Morts]. Their hunting-grounds are similar to those of the
Winebagos; only that, owing to the very high estimation in which they
are held both by Sioux and Chipeways, they are frequently permitted to
hunt near Raven river on the Mississippi, which may be termed the
battle-ground between those two great nations. The language which they
speak is singular, for no white man has ever yet been known to acquire
it; but this may probably be attributed to their understanding the
Algonquin, in which they and the Winebagos transact all conferences
with the whites or other nations; and the facility with which that
language is acquired is a further reason for its prevalence.

The Fols Avoins, although a small nation, are respected by all their
neighbors for their bravery and independent spirit, and esteemed by
the whites as their friends and protectors. When in the country I
heard their chief assert in council with the Sioux and Chipeways, that
although they were reduced to few in number, yet they could say, "we
never were slaves," as they had always preferred that their women and
children should die by their own hands, to their being led into
slavery by their enemies. The boundary of their territory is
uncertain. The Sauks, Reynards, Puants, and Menomenes all reside, when
not at their villages, in lodges in the form of an ellipsis; some are
from 30 to 40 feet in length by 14 or 15 wide, and are sufficiently
large to shelter 60 people from the storm, or for 20 to reside in.
Their covering is rushes plaited into mats, and carefully tied to the
poles. In the center are the fires, immediately over which is a small
vacancy in the lodge, which in fair weather is sufficient to give vent
to the smoke; but in bad weather you must lie down on the ground to
prevent being considerably incommoded by it.

We next come to that powerful nation the Sioux, the dread of whom is
extended over all the Savage nations, from the confluence of the
Mississippi and Missouri to Raven river on the former, and to the
Snake [Shoshone] Indians on the latter. But in those limits are many
nations whom they consider as allies, on a similar footing with the
allies of ancient Rome, _i. e._, humble dependents. But the Chipeway
nation is an exception, who have maintained a long contest with them,
owing to their country being intersected by numerous small lakes,
water-courses, impenetrable morasses, and swamps; and have hitherto
bid defiance to all the attacks of their neighbors. It is necessary to
divide the Sioux nation into the different bands, as distinguished
amongst themselves, in order to have a correct idea of them.

Agreeably to this plan, I shall begin with the Minowa Kantong
[Mdewakantonwans] or Gens De Lac, who extend from Prairie Des Chiens
to La Prairie du Francois [vicinity of Shakopee, Chaska, etc.], 35
miles up the St. Peters. This band is again subdivided into four
divisions, under different chiefs. The first of these most generally
reside at their village on the Upper Iowa river, above Prairie Des
Chiens, and are commanded by Wabasha, a chief whose father was
considered as the first chief of all the Sioux nation. This
subdivision hunts on both sides of the Mississippi and its confluent
streams, from Prairie Des Chiens to the riviere du Boeuff. The second
subdivision resides near the head of Lake Pepin, and hunts from the
riviere du Boeuff to near the St. Croix. Their chief's name is
Tantangamani--a very celebrated war-chief. The third subdivision
resides between the riviere au Canon and the entrance of the St.
Peters, headed by Chatewaconamani. Their principal hunting-ground is
on the St. Croix. They have a village [Kapoja] at a place called Grand
Marais [Pig's Eye lake], 15 miles below the entrance of the St.
Peters. It is situated on the east bank of the Mississippi, and
consists of 11 log huts. The fourth subdivision is situated from the
entrance of the St. Peters to the Prairie Des Francois; they are
headed by a chief called Chatamutah, but a young man, Wyaganage, has
recently taken the lead in all the councils and affairs of state of
this sub-band. They have one village, nine miles up the St. Peters, on
the N. side. This band (Minowa Kantong) are reputed the bravest of
all the Sioux, and have for years been opposed to the Fols Avoin
Sauteurs, who are reputed the bravest of all the numerous bands of
Chipeways.

The second band of Sioux are the Washpetong [Waqpetonwan] or Gens Des
Fieulles [Feuilles], who inhabit the country from the Prairie De
Francois to near Roche Blanche, on the St. Peters. Their first chief
is Wasonquianni. They hunt on the St. Peters, also on the Mississippi,
up Rum river, and sometimes follow the buffalo on the plains. Their
subdivisions I am unacquainted with.

The third band are the Sussitongs [Sisitonwans or Sissetons]; they
extend from the Roche Blanche [White Rock] to Lac de Gross Roche [Big
Stone or Inyantonka lake], on the river St. Peters; they are divided
into two subdivisions. The first, called the Cawrees [Kahras], are
headed by the chief called Wuckiew Nutch or Tonnere Rouge [Red
Thunder]. The second, the Sussitongs proper, are headed by Wacantoe or
Esprit Blue [Blue Spirit]. These two sub-bands hunt eastward to the
Mississippi, and up that river as far as the Riviere De Corbeau.

The fourth great band are the Yanctongs [Ihanktonwans or Yanktons],
who are dispersed from the Montaignes [Coteau] De la Prairie, which
extends from St. Peters to the Missouri, to the De Moyen. They are
divided into two grand divisions, generally termed Yanctongs of the
North, and Yanctongs of the South [Yanktonnais and Yanktons]. The
former are headed by a chief called Muckpeanutah or Nuage Rouge [Red
Cloud]; and those of the Prairie, by Petessung. This band are never
stationary, but with the Titongs are the most erratic of all the
Sioux, sometimes to be found on the borders of the Lower Red River,
sometimes on the Missouri, and on those immense plains which are
between the two rivers.

The fifth great band are the Titongs [Titonwans, commonly called
Tetons], who are dispersed on both sides of the Missouri; on the
north, principally from the river Chienne [Cheyenne] up; and on the
south, from the Mahas [Omahas] to the Minetares, or Gross Ventres
[Hidatsas]. They may be divided into the Titongs of the North and
South; but the immense plains over which they rove with the Yanctongs
renders it impossible to point out their place of habitation.

The sixth, last, and smallest band of the Sioux are the Washpecoute
[Waqpekute or Wahkpakotoan], who reside generally on the lands west of
the Mississippi, between that river and the Missouri. They hunt most
generally on the head of the De Moyen. They appeared to me to be the
most stupid and inactive of all the Sioux.

The Minowa Kantongs are the only band of Sioux who use canoes, and by
far the most civilized, being the only ones who have ever built log
huts, or cultivated any species of vegetables, and among those only a
very small quantity of corn and beans; for, although I was with them
in September or October, I never saw one kettle of either, they always
using wild oats for bread. This production nature has furnished to all
the most uncultivated nations of the N. W. continent, who may gather
in autumn a sufficiency which, when added to the productions of the
chase and the net, insures them a subsistence through all the seasons
of the year. This band is entirely armed with firearms, but is not
considered by the other bands as anything superior on that account,
especially on the plains.

The Washpetong are a roving band; they leave the St. Peters in the
month of April, and do not return from the plains until the middle of
August. The Sussitongs of Roche Blanche have the character of being
the most evil-disposed Indians on the St. Peters. They likewise follow
the buffalo in the spring and summer months. The Sussitongs of Lac de
Gross Roche [Big Stone Lake], under Tonnere Rouge, have the character
of good hunters and brave warriors, which may principally be
attributed to their chief, Tonnere Rouge, who at the present day is
allowed by both white people and the savages of the different bands to
be (after their own chiefs) the first man in the Sioux nation. The
Yanctongs and Titongs are the most independent Indians in the world;
they follow the buffalo as chance directs, clothing themselves with
the skins, and making their lodges, bridles, and saddles of the same
materials, the flesh of the animal furnishing their food. Possessing
innumerable herds of horses, they are here this day, 500 miles off ten
days hence, and find themselves equally at home in either place,
moving with a rapidity scarcely to be imagined by the inhabitants of
the civilized world.

The trade of the Minowa Kantongs, Washpetongs, Sussitongs, and part of
the Yanctongs, is all derived from the traders of Michilimackinac; and
the latter of those two bands supply the Yanctongs of the North and
Titongs with the small quantities of iron works [hardware] which they
require. Firearms are not in much estimation with them. The
Washpecoute trade principally with the people of Prairie Des Chiens;
but for a more particular explanation of this subject, please to refer
to the table.[VIII-3]

_Abstract of the Nations of Indians on the Mississippi and its
confluent streams from St. Louis, Louisiana, to its source, including
Red Lake and Lower Red River._

       TABLE LEGEND:
       Column A = Warriors.
       Column B = Women.
       Column C = Children.
       Column D = Villages.
       Column E = Probable Souls.
       Column F = Lodges of Roving Bands.
       Column G = Fire Arms.
       Column H = Primitive Language.
       Column I = Traders or Bands with whom they traffic.
       Column J = Annual Consumption of Merchandise.
       Column K = Annual return of Peltry in packs.

  ======================================+====+=====+=====+===+=====+====+=====
                                        |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                    Names.              |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                                        |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  --------------+-----------+-----------+    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
     English.   |   Indian. |   French. | A. |  B. |  C. | D.|  E. | F. |  G.
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  --------------+-----------+-----------+----+-----+-----+---+-----+----|-----
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  I. Sauks      |Sawkee     |Saque      | 700|  750| 1400|  3| 2850|    | 700
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  II. Foxes     |Ottagaumie |Reynards   | 400|  500|  850|  3| 1750|    | 400
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  III. Iowas    |Aiowais    |Ne Perce   | 300|  400|  700|  2| 1400|    | 250
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  IV. Winebagos |Ochangras  |Puants     | 450|  500| 1000|  7| 1950|    | 450
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  V. Menomenes  |Menomene   |Fols Avoin | 300|  350|  700|  7| 1350|    | 300
                |           |           +----+-----+-----+---+---- +----+----
                |           |[Total of  |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |the above] |2150| 2500| 4650| 22| 9300|    |2100
                |           |           +----+-----+-----+---+-----+----+----
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  VI. Sues      |Narcotah   |Sioux      |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  1. People of  |Minowa     |Gens du    | 305|  600| 1200|  3| 2105| 125| 305
  the Lakes     |Kantong    |  Lac      |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  2. People of  |Washpetong |Gens des   | 180|  350|  530|   | 1060|  70| 160
  the Leaves    |           |Feuilles   |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  3. Sissitons  |Sussitongs |Sussitongs | 360|  700| 1100|   | 2160| 155| 260
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  4. Yanktons   |Yanctong   |Yanctong   | 900| 1600| 2700|   | 4300| 270| 350
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  5. Tetons     |Titong     |Titong     |2000| 3600| 6000|   |11600| 600| 100
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  6. People of  |Washpecoute|Gens des   |  90|  180|  270|   |  450|  50|  90
  the Leaves    |    [*]    |Feuilles   |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  detached [*]  |           |tirees[*]  |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           +----+-----+-----+---+-----+----+----
                |           |Total      |3835| 6433|11800|  3|21675|1270|1270
                |           |[Sioux]    +----+-----+-----+---+-----+----+----
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  VII. Chipeways|Ouchipawah |Sauteurs   |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  1. Leapers    |           |Sauteurs   |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |proper     |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |Of Sandy   |           |  45|   79|  224|   |  345|  24|
                |Lake[+]    |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |Of Leech   |           | 150|  280|  690|   | 1120|  65|
                |Lake[+]    |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |Of Red Lake|           | 150|  260|  610|   | 1020|  64|
                |Lake[+]    |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  2. Of St.     |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  Croix and     |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  Chipeway r.   |           |           | 104|  165|  420|   |  689|  50|
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  3. Of the     |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  other bands   |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  generally     |           |           |1600| 2400| 4000|   | 8000| 400|
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |           +----+-----+-----+---+-----+----+----
                |           |Total      |2049| 3184| 5944|   |11177| 630|2049
                |           |[Chippewas]+----+-----+-----+---+-----+----+----
                |           |           |    |     |     |   |     |    |
                |           |[Grand     |8034|12114|22394| 25|45152|1873|5414
                |           |total]     |    |     |     |   |     |    |
  ==============+===========+===========+====+=====+=====+===+=====+====+====

  ==============+===========+=================+=====+====+===================
                |           |                 |     |    |
     English    |    H.     |        I.       |  J. | K. | Species of
      Names     |           |                 |     |    |   Peltry.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  --------------+-----------+-----------------+-----+----+-------------------
                |          {|Michilimackinac, |     |    |Deer, some bear,
  I. Sauks      |Sauk      {|St. Louis,       |15000| 600|a few otter,
                |          {|people of Prairie|     |    |beaver, racoon.
                |          {|des Chiens       |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  II. Foxes     |Sauk, with |       do.       | 8500| 400| Deer, a few bear,
                |a small    |                 |     |    | with a small
                |difference |                 |     |    | proportion more
                |in the     |                 |     |    | of furs.
                |idiom      |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  III. Iowas    |Missouries |Michilimackinac  |10000| 300| Deer, bear, otter,
                |           |                 |     |    | beaver, mink,
                |           |                 |     |    | racoon, gray fox,
                |           |                 |     |    | muskrat.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  IV. Winebagos |Missouries,|       do.       | 9000| 200| Same as the
                |or Zoto    |                 |     |    | Fox's.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  V. Menomenes  |Menomene   |       do.       | 9000| 250| Beaver, marten,
                |           |                 |     |    | gray fox, mink,
                |           |                 |     |    | muskrat, otter,
                |           |                 |     |    | deer, elk, &c.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  VI. Sues      |           |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  1. People of  |Narcotah   |       do.       |13500| 230| Deer, a few bear,
  the Lakes     |           |                 |     |    | some beaver,
                |           |                 |     |    | racoon, &c.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  2. People of  |    do.    |       do.       | 6000| 115| Deer, a few
  the Leaves    |           |                 |     |    | buffalo-robes
                |           |                 |     |    | some beaver,
                |           |                 |     |    | otter, mink, &c.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  3. Sissitons  |    do.    |       do.       |12500| 160| Deer, many
                |           |                 |     |    | buffalo-robe furs
                |           |                 |     |    | from Raven river.
                |           |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  4. Yanktons   |    do.    |       do.       | 8000| 130| Principally
                |           |                 |     |    | buffalo-robes.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  5. Tetons     |    do.    |Yanktongs and    |     |    | Buffalo-robes.
                |           |some Sussitongs  |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  6. People of  |    do.    |People of        | 2000|  50| Deer, beaver,
     the Leaves |           |Prairies des     |     |    | otter, bear
     detached   |           |Chiens and on    |     |    | &c.
                |           |head of de Moyen |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  VII. Chipeways|           |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  1. Leapers    |           |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  Of Sandy      |Algonquin  |N. W. Company[++]|     |    | Beaver, muskrats,
  Lake          |           |                 |     |    | otter, marten,
                |           |                 |     |    | black and
                |           |                 |     |    | silver fox &c.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  Of Leech Lake |    do.    |       do.       |     |    | do.
                |           |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  Of Red Lake   |    do.    |       do.       |     |    | do.
                |           |                 |     |    |
  2. Of St.     |    do.    |       do.       |     |    | do.
  Croix and     |           |                 |     |    |
  Chipeway r.   |           |                 |     |    |
                |           |                 |     |    |
  3. Of the     |    do.    |N. W. Co.        |Un-  |    | Unknown.
  other bands   |           |and others       |cer- |    |
  generally     |           |                 |tain |    |
  ==============+===========+=================+=====+====+===================

  ==============+====================+====================+==================
      English   |   Best Positions   |     With whom      |   With whom at
       Names    |        for         |                    |   peace or in
                |  Trading-Posts.    |      at war.       |     alliance.
  --------------+--------------------+--------------------+------------------
  I. Sauks      | Head of rapid      |Chipeways           |Reynards, Puants,
                | de Moyen           |                    |Sioux, Osage,
                |                    |                    |Potowatomies, Fols
                |                    |                    |Avoins, Ioways,
                |                    |                    |all nations of the
                |                    |                    |Missouri
                |                    |                    |
  II. Foxes     | Giard's river,     |         do.        |     do.
                | nearly opp.        |                    |
                | Prairie des        |                    |
                | Chiens, confluence |                    |
                | of Miss.           |                    |
                | and Ouiscousing    |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  III. Iowas    | Rivers de Moyen    |         do.        |     do.
                | and Iowa           |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  IV. Winebagos | Portage de Cockalin|Since the peace     |In alliance with
                | (on Fox river) or  |between Osages,     |Sauks, Reynards,
                | at Grand Calumet   |Sauks and Reynards, |Sioux, Fols
                |                    |Puants have tacitly |Avoins, &c., at
                |                    |ceased war on the   |peace with all
                |                    |former              |others
                |                    |                    |
  V. Menomenes  | Portage des Perre, |None                |In alliance with
                | on Fox river       |                    |Ottoway, Chipeway,
                |                    |                    |Ochangras
                |                    |                    |
  VI. Sues      |                    |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  1. People of  | Entrance St. Croix |Recently, Chipeways;|
  the Lakes     |                    |now at peace; at war|Sauks, Reynards,
                |                    |with Assinniboins   |Ioways,
                |                    |and some nations on |Fols Avoins
                |                    |the Missouri        |
                |                    |                    |
  2. People of  | Little Rapids,     |         do.        |     do.
  the Leaves    | St. Peters         |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  3. Sissitons  | Lac de Gross Roche,|        do.         |     do.
                | St. Peters         |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  4. Yanktons   |                    |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  5. Tetons     |                    |Various nations of  |     do.
                |                    |the Missouri        |
                |                    |                    |
  6. People of  | Prairie des Chiens |        do.         |     do.
  the Leaves    |                    |                    |
  detached      |                    |                    |
                |                    |                    |

  VII. Chipeways|                    |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  1. Leapers    |                    |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  Of Sandy Lake | Sandy Lake         |Recently, Sioux;    |Fols Avoins,
                |                    |now at peace; at war|all nations of
                |                    |with Sauks, Foxes,  |Canada
                |                    |Iowas               |
                |                    |                    |
  Of Leech Lake | Leech Lake         |        do.         |     do.
                |                    |                    |
  Of Red Lake   | Red Lake           |        do.         |     do.
                |                    |                    |
  2. Of St.     | South side of      |        do.         |     do.
  Croix and     | Lake Superior      |                    |
  Chipeway r.   |                    |                    |
                |                    |                    |
  3. Of the     |                    |                    |
  other bands   |                    |                    |
  generally     |                    |                    |
  ==============+====================+====================+==================

  =============+==============================================+=================
       Names   |      Names of Chiefs or Principal Men.       |
  -------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+    Remarks.
      English  |    Indian.    |    French.   |    English.   |
  -------------+---------------+--------------+---------------+-----------------
  I. Sauks     |Washione       |              |               |
               |Pockquinike    |Bras Casse    |Broken Arm     |
               |               |              |               |
  II. Foxes    |Olopier        |              |               |First Chief
               |Pecit          |Petit Corbeau |Little Raven   |
               |Akaque         |Peau Blanche  |White Skin     |Killed the Osage
               |               |              |               |on their way to
               |               |              |               |St. Louis; now
               |               |              |               |raising a war-
               |               |              |               |party to strike
               |               |              |               |the Sauteaux
               |               |              |               |
  III. Iowas   |               |              |               |
               |               |              |               |
  IV. Winebagos|New Okat       |              |               |First chief; com-
               |Sansamani      |              |               |missioned as such
               |Chenoway's Son |              |               |Commissioned
               |Karamone       |              |               |    do.
               |Du Quarre      |              |               |    do.
               |Macraragah     |              |               |    do.
               |               |              |               |
  V. Menomenes |Tomaw          |Thomas Carron |Thomas Carron  |First chief;
               |Shawonoe       |              |               |received com-
               |Neckech        |              |               |mission as such,
               |               |              |               |and flag
               |               |              |               |
               |               |              |               |Literally
               |               |              |               |translated; first
  VI. Sues     |Wabasha        |La Feuille    |The Leaf       |chief of the
               |               |              |               |nation; received
               |               |              |               |a commission
               |               |              |               |and a flag
               |               |              |               |
  1. People of |Talangamane    |Aile Rouge    |Red Wing       |    do.
  the Lakes    |Chatewaconamani|Petit Corbeau |Little Raven   |Received com-
               |               |              |               |mission and flag
               |Tahamie        |Orignal Leve  |Rising Moose   |Literally
               |               |              |               |translated
               |Tatamane       |Nez Corbeau   |Raven Nose     |Literally Wind
               |               |              |               |that Walks;
               |               |              |               |commissioned
               |               |              |               |
  2. People of |Wasonquianni   |Araignee Jaune|Yellow Spider  |First chief of
  the Leaves   |               |              |               |the nation
               |Wukunsna       |Tonnerre qui  |Rolling Thunder|Literally
               |               |Sonne         |               |translated
               |Houho Otah     |Le Noyeau     |Stone of Fruit |Received a com-
               |               |              |               |mission and flag
               |               |              |               |
  3. Sissitons |Wacanto        |Esprit Bleu   |Blue Spirit    |First chief of
               |               |              |               |his band
               |Waminisabah    |Killieu Noir  |Black Eagle    |Literally
               |               |              |               |translated
               |Itoye          |Gross Calumet |Big Pipe       |
               |Wuckiew Nutch  |Tonnerre Rouge|Red Thunder    |Literal
               |               |              |               |translation;
               |               |              |               |first chief of
               |               |              |               |all the Sioux
               |               |              |               |
  4. Yanktons  |Petessung      |Vache Blanche |White Buffalo  |Literally
               |               |              |               |translated
               |Muckpeanutah   |Nuage Rouge   |Red Cloud      |Literally
               |               |              |               |translated;
               |Champanage     |              |               |first chief of
               |               |              |               |the nation
               |               |              |               |
  5. Tetons    |Chantaoeteka   |Coeur Mauvais  |Bad Heart      |Bois Brulle
               |Shenouskar     |Couverte      |White Blanket  |Okandanda
               |               |Blanche       |               |
               |               |              |               |
  6. People of |Wamaneopenutah |Coe  ur du    |Heart of the   |
  the Leaves   |               |Killeur Rouge |Red Eagle      |
  detached     |Tantangashatah |Boeuf qui Joue |Playing Buffalo|Literal
               |               |              |               |translation
               |Kachiwasigon   |Corbeau       |French Raven   |    do.
               |               | Francois     |               |
               |               |              |               |
 VII. Chippeways               |              |               |
               |               |              |               |
  1. Leapers   |               |              |               |
               |               |              |               |
  Of Sandy Lake|Catawabata     |De Breche     |Broken Teeth   |First chief of
               |               |              |               |his band
               |               |              |               |
  Of Leech Lake|Eskibugeckoge  |Geuelle Platte|Flat Mouth     |    do.
               |Obigouitte     |Chef de la    |Chief of the   |
               |               |Terre         |Land           |
               |Oole           |La Brule      |The Burnt      |
               |               |              |               |
  Of Red Lake  |Wiscoup        |Le Sucre      |The Sweet      |    do.
               |               |              |               |
  2. Of St.    |Necktame       |Preinier      |Head Chief     |Resides on Lac
  Croix and    |               |[Premier]     |               |La Pluir river.
  Chipeway r.  |               |              |               |
  =============+===============+==============+===============+===============

N. B.--Wyaganage, or Fils de Pinchow, a chief of Gens du Lac, and head
of village at entrance of St. Peters, omitted; has received flag and
commission. [Z. M. P.]

[N. B.--Total of Sacs, Foxes, Iowas, Winnebagoes, and Menomonees, and
Grand Total, embodied from the "Recapitulation," which was on separate
leaf (unpaged p. 66) of orig. ed.--E. C.]

[*] This is merely a band of vagabonds, formed by refugees from all
other bands, which they left for some bad deed.

[+] From actual estimate.

[++] See my Reports on the trade of the N. W. Company.


The claims of limits of the Sioux nation are allowed by all their
neighbors to commence at Prairie Des Chiens, and ascend the
Mississippi on both sides to the Riviere De Corbeau; up that river to
its source; thence to the source of the St. Peters; thence to the
Montaigne De La Prairie; thence to the Missouri; down that river to
the Mahas, bearing thence N. E. to the source of the De Moyen; and
thence to the place of beginning. They also claim a large territory
south of the Missouri, but how far it extends is uncertain. The
country E. of the Mississippi, from Rum river to the Riviere De
Corbeau, is likewise in dispute between them and the Chipeways, and
has been the scene of many a sharp encounter for near 150 years past.

From my knowledge of the Sioux nation, I do not hesitate to pronounce
them the most warlike and independent nation of Indians within the
boundaries of the United States, their every passion being subservient
to that of war; at the same time that their traders feel themselves
perfectly secure of any combination being made against themselves, it
is extremely necessary to be careful not to injure the honor or
feelings of an individual, which is certainly the principal cause of
the many broils which occur between them. But never was a trader known
to suffer in the estimation of the nation by resenting any indignity
offered him, even if it went to taking the life of the offender. Their
guttural pronunciation, high cheek bones, their visages, and distinct
manners, together with their own traditions, supported by the
testimony of neighboring nations, puts it in my mind beyond the shadow
of a doubt that they have emigrated from the N. W. point of America,
to which they have come across the narrow streight which in that
quarter divides the two continents, and are absolutely descendants of
a Tartarean tribe.

The only personal knowledge which I have of the Chipeway nation is
restricted to the tribes on the south side of Lake Superior, on the
headwaters of the Chipeway and the St. Croix; and to those who reside
at Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, Rainy Lake, Red Lake, and the heads of the
rivers Rouge, Mississippi, and De Corbeau. They are divided, like the
Sioux, into many bands, the names of only seven of which I am
acquainted with.

[1st.] I shall begin with those who reside on the south side of Lake
Superior, and on Lakes De Sable and Sang Sue, with the adjacent
country. They are generally denominated by the traders by the name of
Sauteuxs, but those of the headwaters of the Chipeway and St. Croix
rivers are called Fols Avoin Sauteurs. I am unacquainted with the
names of their chiefs. Those of Sandy Lake are headed by a chief
called Catawabata, or De Breche [Breche-dent]. They hunt on Mille
Lacs, Red Lake, the east bank of the Mississippi from Rum river up to
the Des Corbeau, and thence on both sides of the Mississippi to Pine
river; on that river also, up the Mississippi to Lake De Sable, and
about 100 miles above that lake. Those of Leech Lake hunt on its
streams, Lake Winipie [Winnibigoshish], Upper Red Cedar Lake, Otter
Tail Lake, head of the De Corbeau, and the upper part of Lower Red
river. Their chief is Le Gieulle [La Gueule] Platte, or Eskibugeckoge
[Flat Mouth].

2d. The Crees reside on Red lake, and hunt in its vicinity and on Red
river. Their first chief's name is Wiscoup, or Le Sucre.

3d. The Nepesangs reside on Lake Nippising and Lake St. Joseph.

4th. The Algonquins reside on the Lake of the two Mountains, and are
dispersed along the north sides of Lakes Ontario and Erie. From this
tribe the language of the Chipeways derives its name, and the whole
nation is frequently designated by that appellation.

5th. The Otoways [Ottawas] reside on the N. W. side of Lake Michigan
and Lake Huron; and hunt between those lakes and Lake Superior.

6th. The Iroquois Chipeways are dispersed along the banks of all the
Great Lakes, from Ontario to the Lake of the Woods.

7th. The Muscononges reside on the waters of Lower Red river, near to
Lake Winipie [Winnipeg], and are the furthest band of Chipeways.

The Chipeways were the great and almost natural enemies of the Sioux,
with whom they had been waging a war of extermination for near two
centuries. On my arrival among them I succeeded in inducing both sides
to agree to a peace, and no blood was shed from Sept., 1805, to Apr.,
1806, when I left the country. This object had frequently been in
vain attempted by the British government, who often brought the chiefs
of the two nations together at Michilimackinac, made them presents,
etc. But the Sioux, still haughty and overbearing, spurned the
proffered calumet, and returned to renew the scenes of slaughter and
barbarity. It may then be demanded, how could a subaltern with 20 men,
and no presents worthy of notice, effect that which the governors of
Canada, with all the immense finances of the Indian department, had
attempted in vain, although they frequently and urgently recommended
it? I reply that it is true the British government requested,
recommended, and made presents--but all this at a distance; and when
the chiefs returned to their bands, their thirst for blood soon
obliterated from their recollection the lectures of humanity which
they had heard in the councils of Michilimackinac. But when I appeared
amongst them the United States had lately acquired jurisdiction over
them, and the names of the Americans as warriors had frequently been
sounded in their ears; when I spoke to them on the subject I commanded
them, in the name of their great father, to make peace; offered them
the benefit of the mediation and guarantee of the United States; and
spoke of the peace, not as a benefit to us, but a step taken to make
themselves and their children happy. This language, held up to both
nations with the assistance of the traders, was a happy coincidence of
circumstances; and (may I not add?) the assistance of the Almighty
effected that which had long been attempted in vain. But I am
perfectly convinced that, unless troops are sent up between those two
nations, with an agent whose business it would be to watch the rising
discontents and check the brooding spirit of revenge, the weapons of
death will again be raised, and the echoes of savage barbarity will
resound through the wilderness.[VIII-4]

The Chipeways are uncommonly attached to spirituous liquors; but may
not this be owing to their traders, who find it much to their [own]
interest to encourage their [the Chipeways'] thirst after an article
which enables them [the traders] to obtain their [the Chipeways']
peltries at so low a rate as scarcely to be denominated a
consideration, and have reduced the people near the establishments to
a degree of degradation unparalleled?

The Algonquin language is one of the most copious and sonorous
languages of all the savage dialects in North America; and is spoken
and understood by the various nations, except the Sioux, from the Gulf
of St. Lawrence to Lake Winipie [Winnipeg].

This nation is much more mild and docile than the Sioux, and if we may
judge from unprejudiced observers, more cool and deliberate in action.
But the latter possess a much higher sense of the honor of their
nation: the others plan for self-preservation. The Sioux attacks with
impetuosity; the other defends with every necessary precaution. But
the superior numbers of the Sioux would have enabled them to
annihilate the Chipeways long since had it not been for the nature of
their [the Chipeways'] country, which entirely precludes the
possibility of an attack on horseback. This also gives them a decided
advantage over an enemy half armed with arrows, as the least twig of a
bush will turn the shaft of death out of its direction; whereas, the
whizzing bullet holds its course nor spends its force short of the
destined victim. Thus we generally have found that when engaged in a
prairie the Sioux came off victorious; but if in the woods, even if
not obliged to retreat, the carcasses of their slaughtered brethren
showed how dearly they purchased the victory.

The Sioux are bounded on the N. E. and N. by these two powerful
nations, the Chipeways and Knisteneaux [Crees], whose manners,
strength, and boundaries are ably described by Sir Alexander McKenzie.
The Assinniboins, or Stone Sioux, who border the Chipeways on the N.
W. and W., are a revolted band of the Sioux, who have maintained war
with the parent nation for about a century, and have rendered
themselves their most violent enemies. They extend from the Red river
W. nearly to the Rocky Mountains, and are computed at 1,500 warriors.
They reside on the plains, and follow the buffalo; consequently they
have very little occasion for traders or European productions.

FOOTNOTES:

[VIII-1] As explained in note 1, p. 287, this chapter is that part of
Doc. No. 18 which relates to the Indians, running pp. 56-66 and
folder, without break in the text of p. 56 from the geographical
matter. But its separation seems desirable, and I accordingly make a
chapter for its accommodation. There is no change in the sequence of
the matter.

[VIII-2] The Sacs and Foxes have a curious history, perhaps not exactly
paralleled by that of any other tribes whatever. The names are linked
inseparably from the earliest times to the present day. Each has
always been to the other what neither of them has ever been to any
other Indians or to any whites--friend. The entire composure with
which we have been able to speak of Sacs and Foxes in our day and
generation is the reverse of the frame of mind which many persons now
living can recall as having been once theirs, before the final
subjugation of these capricious, turbulent, and enterprising tribes in
trans-Mississippian territory. They are Algonquian Indians who can be
traced in blood from Lake Ontario westward, along the gauntlet they
ran from Ontarian Canada to the final burying-grounds of their
hatchets in Iowa, Kansas, and the Indian Territory. They fought
everybody in their way--French, English, and American in turn, as well
as perhaps every Indian tribe they encountered. They were alternately
friends and foes of each of the two principal nations whose lands they
overran--their Algonquian relations the Chippewas, and their natural
enemies the Sioux, thus at times turning the balance of power between
these two hereditary foes. They inhabited at times many places along
the Great Lakes and westward, and the present names of not a few are
directly traceable to such occupancy. They were specially identified
with the histories of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois for more than
a hundred years. Carver speaks of their villages on the Wisconsin r.
in 1766, after they had been expelled from the Green Bay and Fox River
region. They appear to have been driven from the St. Croix by the
decisive battle at the Falls, in which they were defeated by the
Chippewas under Waboji (d. 1793). Writing of 1832, Schoolcraft speaks
of their recent residences on Rock r., and their confinement west of
the Mississippi by the then latest tragic act in their history. This
was the decisive battle of the Bad Axe in 1832: see note 51, p. 45.
The Foxes are located on the old maps under some form of their
Chippewan name Otagami; they were also called Miskwakis or Red Earths;
their F. name Reynard, which we translate Fox, and sometimes Dog or
Wolf, was an opprobrious nickname or nom de guerre. The Indian name
Osagi, Osawki, Osaukee, Sauk, Sac, Sacque, etc., is by some said to
signify the erratic propensities of the tribe which bears it, meaning
migrants, or those who went out of the land: for a probably better
definition, see note 16, p. 101. The survivors of both tribes
scarcely number 1,000.

Le Bras Casse, or Broken Arm, was a Sac chief whom Pike names
Pockquinike in his folding Table of the Foxes and other Indians. He
was a noted character, whose name turns up in various published
accounts. He figures, for example, in the Relation, etc., of
Perreault, on the scene of the assassination of Mr. Kay at Sandy Lake,
May 2d, 1785, by Le Cousin and his mother, both of whom knifed their
victim. Le Cousin was promptly stabbed by Feebyain or Le Petit Mort, a
friend of Kay's, and Brasse Casse (as Mr. Schoolcraft spells his name)
took Kay in hand to cure him; but the wound proved fatal Aug. 26th,
1785.

[VIII-3] Folding Table F of the orig. ed., facing p. 66 of the App. to
Pt. 1, with a part of it, which the printer could not get on the
sheet, overrun as p. 66 of the main text, headed "Recapitulation." In
the present ed. this overrun piece is drawn into the table, which, as
now printed, can be set unbroken on two pages facing each other.

For the modern scientific classification of the Siouan linguistic
family in general, and of the Dakotas or Sioux in particular, see my
ed. of Lewis and Clark, 1893, pp. 94-101, and pp. 128-130. As that
work is or should be in the hands of all good Americans, the subject
need not be traversed here. Taking that article as a modern norm or
standard of comparison, it may be useful to give here the
classification and nomenclature of the Sioux which was adopted by
Major Long, who was next in the field after Pike with an account of
these Indians, Keating, I. 1824, chap. viii., p. 376 _seq._ The
Dacota, he says, means the allied, who in their external relations
style themselves Ochente Shakoan, which signifies the nation of seven
(council-) fires, represented by the following septenary division
which once prevailed: 1. _Mende Wahkantoan_, or People of the Spirit
lake. 2. _Wahkpatoan_, or People of the Leaves. 3. _Sisitoan_, or Mia
Kechakesa. 4. _Yanktoanan_, or People of the Ferns. 5. _Yanktoan_, or
People descended from Ferns. 6. _Titoan_ , or Braggers. 7.
_Wahkpakotoan_, or People that shoot at Leaves. Of these Long has it
that No. 1 was the Gens du Lac of the French, and Nos. 2-6 were all
included in the Gens du Large of the F. traders, _i. e._, People "at
large," roving bands of prairie Sioux. But the French had other terms,
especially Gens des Feuilles for No. 2, and Gens des Feuilles Tirees
for No. 7. Comparing Long with Pike, we find: Long's No. 1=Pike's No.
1. Long's No. 2=Pike's No. 2. Long's No. 3=Pike's No. 3. Long's Nos. 4
and 5=Pike's No. 4, with his two divisions. Long's No. 6=Pike's No. 5.
Long's No. 7=Pike's No. 6. Such a concordance as this deserves a
red-letter mark, considering how seldom authors have agreed upon
Sioux; and Pike is entitled to the credit of establishing the seven
main tribes. In his census, to be compared with Pike's, Long gives
total lodges, 2,330; warriors, 7,055; souls, 28,100: see Pike's
Abstract, on pp. 346, 347. These are distributed by Long as follows:
No. 1, 160--305--1,500. No. 2, 120--240--900. No. 3, 130--260--1,000;
to which add for the Kahra (Pike's Cawree) band of Sissetons,
160--450--1,500. No. 4, 460--1,300--5,200. No. 5, 200--500--2,000. No.
6, 900--3,600--14,440. No. 7, 100--200--800. To which add for various
stragglers 100--200--800, making total of lodges, warriors, and souls,
as above. Long estimated the revolted Stone Sioux, Haha, or
Assiniboines at 3,000--7,000--28,100, or almost precisely the same as
all the other Sioux together. Long's interesting particulars of the 14
bands which he recognizes, by dividing his No. 1 into seven and
separating the Kahras from the other Sissetons, may be thus
summarized: No. 1. _Mende-Wahkantoan_: (1) Keoxa; pop. 40--70--400;
chief Wapasha, Wabasha, La Feuille or Leaf; two villages, one on Iowa
r., other near Lake Pepin; hunt both sides of the Miss. r. near the
Chippewa r. and its tributaries. Keoxa means "relationship
overlooked"; _i. e._, they inbreed closer than other Sioux. (2)
Eanbosandata, so called from the vertical rock on Cannon r.; pop.
10--25--100; chief Shakea; two small villages, one on the Miss. r.,
other on Cannon r.; hunt on the headwaters of the latter. (3) Kapoja,
signifying light or active; one village (at the Grand Marais or Pig's
Eye marsh near St. Paul); pop. 30--70--300; chief, the celebrated
Chetanwakoamene, Petit Corbeau, or little Raven, who visited
Washington in July, 1824; hunt on St. Croix r. (4) Oanoska, meaning
great avenue; chief Wamendetanka or War Eagle, formerly dependent on
Petit Corbeau; one village (Black Dog's) on the St. Peter, S. side,
near the mouth; pop. 30--40--200; hunt on the Miss. r. above Falls of
St. Anthony. (5) Tetankatane, meaning Old Village; the oldest one
among the Dakotas; 400 lodges there when Wapasha's father ruled the
nation; Wapasha formerly lived there, but moved away with most of his
warriors; those that stayed chose a new leader from amongst
themselves, whose son Takopepeshene, the Dauntless, now rules; pop.
10--30--150; village on the St. Peter, 3 m. above its mouth; hunt on
this and Miss. r. (6) Taoapa; one village on the St. Peter; pop.
30--60--300; chief Shakpa, whose name means Six, is third in the
nation, ranking next after La Feuille and Petit Corbeau; hunt between
the Miss. and St. Peter. (7) Weakaote, a small band dependent on (6);
pop. 10--10--50. No. 2. _Wahkpatoan_, or Gens des Feuilles; name said
to mean "people that live beyond those that shoot at leaves," _i. e._,
higher up the river than the Wahkpakatoan; hunt near Otter Tail Lake;
chief Nunpakea, meaning "twice flying." No. 3. _Miakechesa_ or
Sisitoan: (_a_) Sissetons proper; no fixed abode; chief rendezvous,
Blue Earth r.; hunt buffalo over to the Missouri; live in skin tepees;
their chief Wahkanto, or Blue Spirit, by hereditary right. (_b_) Kahra
or Wild Rice Sissetons; no fixed abode; Lake Traverse and Red r.; skin
lodges; follow chief Tantankanaje, Standing Buffalo, hereditary, but
also a warrior. No. 4. _Yanktoanan_, the Fern Leaves, an important
tribe, pop. one-fifth of the whole nation; no fixed residence; skin
lodges; hunt from Red r. to the Missouri; trade at Lake Travers, Big
Stone l., and the Shienne r.; principal chief, Wanotan, the Charger.
No. 5. _Yanktoan_, descended from the Fern Leaves; live and trade on
the Missouri; hunt on E. side of that river; chief Tatanka Yuteshane,
meaning one who eats no buffalo. No. 6. Tetoans, Braggers; by far the
most numerous tribe of the Sioux, by some said to compose one-half of
the nation; rove between St. Peters and the Missouri; trade on both
rivers; live in skin lodges; hostile, great boasters; their chief
Chantapeta, or Heart of Fire, a powerful warrior. No. 7.
_Wahkpakotoan_, a name rendered by Long "'Shooters at Leaves,' which
they mistake for deer." No fixed abode; rove near head of the Cannon
and Blue Earth rivers; skin lodges; their last leader Shakeska, White
Nails, who died in 1822; he rose to his station by his military
ability. They have a regular hereditary chief Wiahuga, the Raven,
acknowledged as such by the Indian Agent; but he became disgusted with
the behavior of his tribe, and withdrew to Wapasha's. Long agrees with
Pike in giving this band a bad name as a lawless set. Pike says they
were mere vagabonds, and refugees from other tribes on account of
misdeeds. These Sioux were also called Gens des Feuilles Tirees and
Leaf Shooters. In the Lewis and Clark schedule they formed the Ninth
tribe of Sioux, named Wahpatoota, or Leaf Beds. A queer form of the
name is 8apik8ti=Ouapikouti, on one of Joliet's maps.

The earliest form of the word _Sioux_ is believed to be Naduesiu,
derived from Jean Nicolet's journey of 1634-35, as written about five
years later in the Jesuit Relations, by Father Le Jeune. The form
Nadouessis, pl., is used by Raymbault and Jogues, who were at the
Sault Ste. Marie in 1641 (Jes. Rel. of 1642). Nadouesiouek is given in
a Relation of 1656, Nadouechiouec, 1660; and soon also Nadouesseronons,
Nadouesserons, etc.

An excellent article on the Sioux, entitled Dakota Land and Dakota
Life, by Rev. E. D. Neill, occupies pp. 254-294 of the 2d ed. 1872, of
Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., originally published in 1853.

[VIII-4] The punctuation of the last two sentences in the original left
Pike's meaning obscure. It was by no means evident whether the
language which he had used to the Indians held up to their minds a
happy coincidence of circumstances which the traders helped to bring
about before the Almighty interfered at all, or whether the happy
coincidence of circumstances consisted in the endorsement of his
language both by the traders and the Almighty. On the whole, I am
inclined to think he meant that the speeches he made to the Indians
whom he addressed directly were repeated and backed up by the traders
among those Indians to whom he had no access; and that this was the
happy coincidence of circumstances which enabled the Almighty to
finish the business. But after all I am not quite confident that I
catch his meaning. If I do, I must say that he is not very
complimentary to the Deity, whose assistance he suspects may have been
necessary to effect that which the traders and himself jointly
attempted. For it seems from his further reflections on the subject
that he thought God possibly equal to burying the hatchet between the
Sioux and Chippewas, but hardly able to keep the peace without the
assistance of the military and of a special agent. However, Pike was
nothing if not a good soldier, and he had Napoleonic authority for
supposing that God would always be found on the side of the heaviest
artillery.




CHAPTER IX.

VOCABULARY OF MISSISSIPPIAN PLACE-NAMES.[IX-1]


     _English._                 _French._                 _Indian._

     Natural Meadow             Prairie
     Buffalo river              Riviere au Boeuf
     Salt river                 Riviere au Sel            Oahaha
     River of Means             Riviere de Moyen
     Iowa river                 Riviere de Ayoua
     Stony, or Rock river       Riviere des Rochers
     Turkey river               Riviere au Dindon
     Dog's meadow               Prairie Des Chien
                                                          Ouiscousing
     Raven river                Riviere de Corbeau
     Yellow river               Riviere Jaune
     Root river                 Riviere aux Racines
     River of Embarrassments    Riviere d'Embarras
     Clear Water river          Riviere l'Eau Clair
     River of the Prairie of    Riviere de la Prairie de
       Cross                      Crosse
     Chipeway river             Riviere Sauteaux          Ouchipewa Sippi
     The Mountain which         La Montaigne qui
       soaks in the Water         trempe dans l'Eau
     River of do                Riviere de do
     Sandy point                Point de Sable
     The Barn                   La Grange
     Cannon River               Riviere a Canon
     River St. Peters           Riviere St. Pierre
     Falls of St. Anthony       Shute de St. Antoine
     Rum river                  Prairie l'Eau de Vie
     Leaf river                 Riviere aux Feuilles
     Sauk river                 Riviere aux Saukes
     Big Falls                  Grand rapid
     Lower Red Cedar lake       Le Bas Lac du Cedre Rouge
     Raven island               Isle de Corbeau
     Pine river                 Riviere au Pin
     Leech lake                 Lac Sang Sue
     Sandy lake                 Lac de Sable
     Pike river                 Riviere du Brochet
     Bottom of the lake         Fond du Lac
     Swan river                 Riviere a Cigue
     Falls of Packegamaw        Petite Shute              Packegamaw
     Upper Red Cedar lake       Le Haut Lac de Cedre Rouge
     Red lake                   Lac Rouge
     Green bay                  La Baye Verde
     St. Ignatius               St. Ignace
     Oak Point                  Point au Chene
                                                          Meno Cockien
     The Turn                   La Detour
     Island of the Turn         Isle du Detour
     Burnt island               Isle Brule
     Potowatomies island        Isle des Poux
     Little Streight            Petit Detroit
     Port of the Dead           Port des Morts
     Vermillion island          Isle Vermilion
     Red river                  Riviere Rouge
     Stinking rapid             Puant Rapid
     Wolf river                 Riviere des Loups
     Hillock of the dead        Butte des Morts
                                                          Lac Puckway
     Muddy lake                 Lac Vaseux

FOOTNOTE:

[IX-1] This article formed Doc. No. 2, pp. 52, 53 of the App. to _Part
III._ of the orig. ed., entitled "Explanatory Table of Names of
Places, Persons, and Things, made use of in this Volume." But there is
not a name of any person in it, and not a name of anything in it that
does not belong to Part I., _i. e._, to the Mississippi voyage alone.
Having thus been obviously out of place in Part III., it is now
brought where it belongs, and a new chapter made for it, with a new
head, which more accurately indicates what it is. But even as a
vocabulary of Mississippian place-names, it is a mere fragment,
neither the plan nor scope of which is evident, as the names occur
neither in alphabetical nor any other recognizable order, and include
only a very small fraction of those which Pike uses in Part I. of his
book. He may have intended to make something of it which should
justify the title he gave it, and left it out of Part I. for that
reason; but nothing more came of it, and it was finally bundled into
Part III. The lists include a few terms which do not occur elsewhere
in the work, as for example, "River of Means"; but are chiefly curious
as an evidence of the difficulty our author found in spelling proper
names twice alike.








End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery
Pike, Volume I (of 3), by Elliott Coues

*** 