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DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.


SUMMARY NARRATIVE OF AN EXPLORATORY EXPEDITION
TO THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER, IN 1820:

Resumed and Completed, by the Discovery of Its Origin
in Itasca Lake, in 1832.

By Authority of the United States.

With Appendixes,

Comprising the Original Report on the Copper Mines of Lake
Superior, and Observations on the Geology of the Lake Basins,
and the Summit of the Mississippi;

Together with
All the Official Reports and Scientific Papers of Both Expeditions.

by

HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.







Philadelphia:
Lippincott, Grambo, and Co.
1855.

Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 1854, by
Lippincott, Grambo, and Co.,
in the Office of the Clerk of the District Court of the United
States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.




[ORIGINAL DEDICATION.]


TO THE HON. JOHN C. CALHOUN, SECRETARY OF WAR.

SIR: Allow me to inscribe to you the following Journals, as an
illustration of my several reports on the mineral geography of the
regions visited by the recent Expedition under Governor Cass.

I beg you will consider it, not only as a proof of my anxiety to be
serviceable in the station occupied, but also as a tribute of individual
respect for those exertions which have been made, during your
administration of the War Department, to develop the physical character
and resources of all parts of our Western country; for the patronage it
has extended to the cause of geographical science; for the protection it
has afforded to a very extensive line of frontier settlements by
stretching a cordon of military posts around them; and for the notice it
has bestowed on one of the humblest cultivators of natural science.

    HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.
    ALBANY, 1821.




PREFACE.


The following pages embrace the substance of the narratives of two
distinct expeditions for the discovery of the sources of the Mississippi
River, under the authority of the United States. By connecting the
incidents of discovery, and of the facts brought to light during a
period of twelve years, unity is preserved in the prosecution of an
object of considerable importance in the progress of our geography and
natural history, at least, from the new impulse which they received
after the treaty of Ghent.

Geographers deem that branch of a river as its true source which
originates at the remotest distance from its mouth, and, agreeably to
this definition, the combined narratives, to which attention is now
called, show this celebrated stream to arise in Itasca Lake, the source
of the Itasca River.

Owing to the time which has intervened since these expeditions were
undertaken, a mere revision of the prior narrations, in the _journal
form_, was deemed inexpedient. A concise summary has, therefore, been
made, preserving whatever information it was thought important to be
known or remembered, and omitting all matters not partaking of permanent
interest.

To this summary, something has been added from the original manuscript
journals in his possession. The domestic organization and social habits
of the parties may thus be more perfectly understood. The sympathies
which bind men together in isolated or trying scenes are sources of
interest long after the link is severed, and the progress of science or
discovery has passed beyond the particular points at which they then
stood. Events pass with so much rapidity at present, in the diffusion of
our population over regions where, but lately, the Indian was the only
tenant, that we are in danger of having but a confused record of them,
if not of losing it altogether. It is some abatement of this fear to
know that there is always a portion of the community who take a pleasure
in remembering individuals; who have either ventured their lives, or
exerted their energies, to promote knowledge or advance discovery. It is
in this manner that, however intent an age may be in the plans which
engross it, the sober progress and attainments of the period are counted
up. An important fact discovered in the physical geography or natural
history of the country, if it be placed on record, remains a fact added
to the permanent stores of information. A new plant, a crystal, an
insect, or the humblest invertebrate object of the zoological chain, is
as incontestable an addition to scientific knowledge, as the finding of
remains to establish a new species of mastodon. They only differ in
interest and importance.

It is not the province of every age to produce a Linnæus, a Buffon, or a
Cuvier; but, such are the almost endless forms of vegetable and animal
life and organization--from the infusoria upward--that not a year
elapses which may not enlarge the boundaries of science. The record of
discovery is perpetually accumulating, and filling the list of
discoverers with humbler, yet worthy names. Whoever reads with care the
scientific desiderata here offered will find matter of description or
comment which has employed the pens of a Torrey, a Mitchell, a Cooper, a
Lea, a Barnes, a Houghton, and a Nicollet.

It is from considerations of this nature, that the author has appended
to this narrative the original observations, reports, and descriptions
made by his companions or himself, while engaged in these exploratory
journeys, together with the determinations made on such scientific
objects as were referred to other competent hands. These investigations
of the physical geography of the West, and the phenomena or resources of
the country, constitute, indeed, by far the most important permanent
acquisitions of the scrutiny devoted to them. They form the elements of
classes of facts which will retain their value, to men of research, when
the incidents of the explorations are forgotten, and its actors
themselves have passed to their final account.

It would have been desirable that what has here been done should have
been done at an earlier period; but it may be sufficient to say that
other objects engrossed the attention of the author for no small part of
the intervening period, and that he could not earlier control the
circumstances which the publication demanded. After his permanent return
from the West--where so many years of his life passed--it was his first
wish to accomplish a long-cherished desire of visiting England and the
Continent, in which America, and its manners and institutions, might be
contemplated at a distance, and compared by ocular proofs. And, when he
determined on the task of preparing this volume, and began to look
around for the companions of his travels, to avail himself of their
notes, he found most of them had descended to the tomb. For the
narrative parts, indeed, the manuscript journals, kept with great
fulness, were still preserved; but the materials for the other division
of the work were widely scattered. Some of them remained in the archives
of the public offices to which they were originally communicated. Other
papers had been given to the pages of scientific journals, and their
reprint was inexpedient. The rich body of topographical data, and the
elaborately drawn map of this portion of the United States, prepared by
Captain Douglass, U. S. A., which would have been received with avidity
at the time, had been in a great measure superseded by subsequent
discoveries.[1] The only part of this officer's observations employed in
this work, are his determinations of the geographical positions. The
latter have been extended and perfected by the subsequent observations
of Mr. Nicollet. At every point, there have been difficulties to
overcome. He has been strenuous to award justice to his deceased
companions, to whose memory he is attached by the ties of sympathy and
former association. If more time has elapsed in preparing the work than
was anticipated, it is owing to the nature of it; and he can only say
that still more time and attention would be required to do justice to
it.

  [1] This remark is limited to the country south of about 46°. North
  of that point, there are no explorations known to me, except those of
  Lieutenant James Allen, who accompanied me above Cass Lake, in 1832,
  and those of J. N. Nicollet, in 1836, which were reported by him to
  the Topographical Bureau, and by the latter transmitted to
  Congress.--Vide _Senate Doc._ No. 237, 1843. These observations
  relate to the line of the Mississippi. Maj. Long's journey, in 1823,
  was _west_ and _north_ of that river.

A word may be added respecting the period of these explorations. The
year 1820 marked a time of much activity in geographical discovery in
the United States. The treaty of Ghent, a few years before, had relieved
the frontiers from a most sanguinary Indian war. This event enlarged the
region for settlement, and created an intense desire for information
respecting the new countries. Government had, indeed, at an earlier
period, shown a disposition to aid and encourage discoveries. The
feeling on this subject cannot be well understood, without allusion to
the name of John Ledyard. This intrepid traveller had accompanied
Captain Cook on his last voyage round the world. In 1786, he presented
himself to Mr. Jefferson, the American minister at Paris, with a plan of
extensive explorations. He proposed to set out from St. Petersburg, and,
passing through Russia and Tartary to Behring's Straits, to traverse the
north Pacific to Oregon, and thence cross the Rocky Mountains to the
Missouri Valley.[2] Mr. Jefferson communicated the matter to the Russian
plenipotentiary at Paris--and to the Baron Grimm, the confidential agent
of the Empress Catherine--through whose influence he received the
required passports. He proceeded on this adventure, and had reached
within two hundred miles of Kamschatka, where he was arrested, and taken
back, in a close carriage, to Moscow, and thence conducted to the
frontiers of Poland. On reaching London, the African Association
selected him to make explorations in the direction of the Niger.
Reaching Egypt, he proceeded up the Nile to Cairo, where, having
completed his preparations for entering the interior of Africa, he
sickened and died, in the month of November, 1788.--_Life of Ledyard_,
Sparks's _Amer. Biog._ vol. xvi.

The suggestion of Ledyard to explore Oregon became the germ of the
voyages of Lewis and Clark. It appears that, in 1792, Mr. Jefferson
proposed the subject to the American Philosophical Society at
Philadelphia.[2] It is not known that its action resulted in anything
practical. After Mr. Jefferson himself, however, came to the presidency,
in 1801, he called the attention of Congress to the matter. Louisiana
had been acquired, under his auspices, in 1803, which furnished a strong
public reason for its exploration. To conduct it, he selected his
private secretary and relative, Merriweather Lewis, of Virginia;
Captain William Clark was named as his assistant. Both these gentlemen
were commissioned in the army, and the expense thus placed on a public
basis. Captain Lewis left the city of Washington, on this enterprise, on
the 5th of July, 1803, and was joined by Captain Clark west of the
Alleghanies. Having organized the expedition at St. Louis, they began
the ascent of the Missouri River on the 14th of May, 1804. They wintered
the first year at Fort Mandan, about 1,800 miles up the Missouri, in the
country of the Mandans. Crossing the Rocky Mountains the next year, and
descending the Columbia to the open shore of the Pacific, they retraced
their general course to the waters of the Missouri, in 1806, and
returned to St. Louis on the 23d of September of that year. (_Lewis and
Clark_, vol. ii. p. 433.)

  [2] Lewis and Clark.

To explore the Missouri to its source, and leave the remote summits of
the Mississippi untouched, would seem to have ill-accorded with Mr.
Jefferson's conceptions. It does not appear, however, from published
data, that he selected the person to perform the latter service, leaving
it to the military commandant of the district. (_Life of Pike_, Sparks's
_Amer. Biog._ vol. xv. pp. 220, 281.) General Wilkinson, who had been
directed to occupy Louisiana, appears to have made the selection. He
designated Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike. This officer left
Bellefontaine, Missouri, on the 9th of August, 1805, with a total force
of twenty men, at least four months too late in the season to reach even
the central part of his destination, without an aid in the command,
without a scientific observer of any description, and without even an
interpreter to communicate with the Indians. That he should have
accomplished what he did, is altogether owing to his activity,
vigilance, and enterprise, his knowledge of hunting and forest life, and
his well-established habits of mental and military discipline. Winter
overtook him, on the 16th of October, in his ascent, when he was about
one hundred and twenty miles (as now ascertained) above the Falls of St.
Anthony.[3] Severe cold, snow, and ice, rendered it impossible to push
his boats further. Devoting twelve days in erecting a blockhouse, and
leaving his heavy stores and disabled men in charge of a non
commissioned officer, he proceeded onwards, on snow shoes, with small
hand-sledges, and, by great energy and perseverance, reached, at
successive periods, Sandy Lake, Leach Lake, and Upper Red Cedar Lake, on
the third great plateau at the sources of the Mississippi. On the
opening of the river, he began his descent, and returned to his
starting-point, at Bellefontaine, on the 30th of April, 1806, having
been absent a little less than nine months. On his visiting the country
above the point where the climate arrested his advance, the whole region
was found to be clothed in a mantle of snow. On his journey, the deer,
elk, buffalo, and wolf, were found on the prairies--the waters were
inhabited by wild fowl; as he acted the part of hunter, and, to some
extent, guide, these furnished abundant employ for his efficient
sportsman-like propensities. Of its distinctive zoology, minerals,
plants, and other physical desiderata, it was not in his power, had he
been ever so well prepared, to make observations. Even for the
topography, above the latitude of about 46°, he was dependent,
essentially, on the information furnished by the factors of the
Northwest British Fur Company, who, at that period, occupied the
country.[4] This information was readily given, and enabled him, with
general accuracy, to present the maps and descriptions which accompany
his account of the region. He was, however, misled in placing the source
of the river in Turtle Lake, and in the topography of the region south
and west of that point.

  [3] Estimated by him at 233 miles.

  [4] The surrender of the lake country by Great Britain, in 1796, at
  the close of what is known as General Wayne's war, extended to
  Michilimackinac, the remotest British garrison. The region northwest
  of this post was occupied by numerous tribes of Indians, who
  continued to be supplied with goods by British traders till after the
  close of the war of 1812. In 1816, Congress passed an act confining
  the trade to American citizens. Under this state of affairs, the
  Northwest Company of Montreal sold out their trading-posts and
  fixtures, northwest of Michilimackinac, to Mr. John Jacob Astor, of
  New York, who, from an account of one of his active factors, invested
  about $300,000 per annum in merchandise adapted to the Indian habits.

Pike's account of his expedition did not issue from the press till 1810.
The narrative of the expedition of Lewis and Clark was still longer
delayed--owing to the melancholy death of Lewis--and was not given till
1814; a period of political commotion by no means favorable to literary
matters. It was, however, at once hailed as a valuable and standard
accession to geographical science. Public opinion had for years been
called to this daring enterprise.

Such was the state of geographical discovery in the United States in
1816. The war with Great Britain had had an exhausting effect upon the
resources and fiscal condition of the country. But, owing to the
information gained by the operation of armies in the ample area west of
the Alleghanies, it opened a new world for enterprise in that quarter.
The treaty of 1814 with Great Britain, which affirmed the original
boundaries of 1783, by terminating, at the same time, the war and the
fallacious hopes of sovereignty set up for the Indian tribes, truly
opened the Mississippi Valley to settlement.

All eyes were turned to the general climate of the West, and its
capacities of growth and expansion. The universal ardor which then arose
and was spread, of its fertility, extent, and resources, has, from that
era, filled the public mind, and fixed the liveliest hopes of the
extension of the Union.

The accession of Mr. Monroe to the presidency, 4th March, 1817, formed
the opening of this new epoch of industrial empire and progress in the
West. This period brought into the administration a man of great grasp
of intellect and energy of character in Mr. Calhoun. By placing the army
in a series of self-sustaining posts on the frontiers, in advance of the
settlements, he gave them efficient protection against the still
feverish tribes, who hovered--feeble and dejected from the results of
the war, but in broken, discordant, and hostile masses--around the long
and still dangerous line of the frontiers, from Florida to Detroit and
the Falls of St. Anthony. He encouraged every means of acquiring true
information of its geography and resources. In 1819, the military line
was extended to Council Bluffs, on the Missouri, and to the Falls of St.
Anthony, on the Mississippi. Major S. H. Long, of the Topographical
Engineers, was directed to ascend the Missouri, for the purpose of
exploring the region west to the Rocky Mountains. During the same year,
he approved a plan for exploring the sources of the Mississippi,
submitted by General Cass, who occupied the northwestern frontiers.

The author having then returned from the exploration of the Ozark
Highlands, and the mine country of Missouri and Arkansas,[5] received
from Mr. Calhoun the appointment of geologist and mineralogist on this
expedition; and having, at a subsequent period, been selected, as the
leader of the expedition of 1832, to resume and complete the discoveries
under the same authority, commenced in 1820, it is to the journals and
notes kept on these separate occasions, that he is indebted for the data
of the narratives and for the body of information now submitted.

  [5] _Vide_ Scenes and Adventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the
  Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas, with a View of the
  Lead-Mines of Missouri. New York, 1819. Philadelphia: Lippincott,
  Grambo, and Co. 1 vol. 8vo. pp. 256. 1853.

    WASHINGTON, D. C., October 24, 1854.




CONTENTS.


EXPEDITION OF 1820.

INTRODUCTION                                                          17

PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTS                                                 25

NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION                                           37

CHAPTER I.

  Departure--Considerations on visiting the northern summits early in
    the season--Cross the Highlands of the Hudson--Incidents of the
    journey from Albany to Buffalo--Visit Niagara Falls--Their
    grandeur the effect of magnitude--Embark on board the steamer
    Walk-in-the-Water--Passage up Lake Erie--Reach Detroit            39

CHAPTER II.

  Preparations for the expedition--Constitution of the party--Mode of
    travel in canoes--Embarkation, and incidents of the journey across
    the Lake, and up the River St. Clair--Head winds encountered on
    Lake Huron--Point aux Barques--Cross Saganaw Bay--Delays in
    ascending the Huron coast--Its geology and natural history--Reach
    Michilimackinac                                                   47

CHAPTER III.

  Description of Michilimackinac--Prominent scenery--Geology--Arched
    Rock--Sugarloaf Rock--History--Statistics--Mineralogy--Skull
    Cave--Manners--Its fish, agriculture, moral wants--Ingenious
    manufactures of the Indians--Fur trade--Etymology of the
    word--Antique bones disclosed in the interior of the island       59

CHAPTER IV.

  Proceed down the north shore of Lake Huron to the entrance of the
    Straits of St. Mary's--Character of the shores, and
    incidents--Ascend the river to Sault Ste. Marie--Hostilities
    encountered there--Intrepidity of General Cass                    72

CHAPTER V.

  Embark at the head of the portage at St. Mary's--Entrance into Lake
    Superior--Journey and incidents along its coasts--Great Sand
    Dunes--Pictured Rocks--Grand Island--Keweena peninsula and
    portage--Incidents thence to Ontonagon River                      83

CHAPTER VI.

  Chippewa village at the mouth of the Ontonagon--Organize an expedition
    to explore its mineralogy--Incidents of the trip--Rough nature of
    the country--Reach the Copper Rock--Misadventure--Kill a
    bear--Discoveries of copper--General remarks on the mineral
    affluence of the basin of Lake Superior                           94

CHAPTER VII.

  Proceed along the southern coast of Lake Superior from the Ontonagon,
    to Fond du Lac--Porcupine range of mountains--Streams that run
    from it, at parallel distances, into the lake--La Pointe--Group of
    the Federation Islands--River St. Louis--Physical geography of
    Lake Superior                                                    102

CHAPTER VIII.

  Proceed up the St. Louis River, and around its falls and rapids to
    Sandy Lake in the valley of the Upper Mississippi--Grand
    Portage--Portage aux Coteaux--A main exploring party--Cross the
    great morass of Akeek Scepi to Sandy Lake--Indian mode of
    pictographic writing--Site of an Indian jonglery--Post of Sandy
    Lake                                                             110

CHAPTER IX.

   Reunion of the expedition on the Savanna Portage--Elevation of this
     summit--Descent to Sandy Lake--Council with the Chippewa
     tribe--Who are they?--Traits of their history, language,
     and customs--Enter the Mississippi, with the main exploring
     party, and proceed in search of its source--Physical
     characteristics of the stream at this place--Character of
     the Canadian voyageur                                           118

CHAPTER X.

  Proceed up the Mississippi River--Its velocity and character--Swan
    River--Trout River, and Mushcoda or Prairie River--Rapids
    ascended--Reach, and make a portage around Pakagama Falls--Enter
    a vast lacustrine region--Its character and productions, vegetable
    and animal--Tortuous channel--Vermilion and Deer Rivers--Leech
    Lake branch--Lake Winnipek--Ascent of the river to Upper Red
    Cedar, or Cass Lake--Physical character of the Mississippi
    River                                                            126

CHAPTER XI.

  Physical traits of the Mississippi--The elevation of its
    sources--Its velocity and mean descent--Etymology of the name
    Mississippi--Descent of the river to Sandy Lake, and thence
    to the Falls of St. Anthony--Recross the great Bitobi
    Savanna--Pakagama formation--Description of the voyage
    from Sandy Lake to Pine River--Brief notices of the natural
    history                                                          137

CHAPTER XII.

  Description of the descent from Pine River--Pine tracts--Confluence
    of the Crow-wing River--Enter a sylvan region--prairies and
    groves, occupied by deer, elk, and buffalo--Sport of buffalo
    hunting--Reach elevations of sienitic and metamorphic
    rocks--Discover a pictographic inscription of the Sioux, by
    which they denote a desire for peace--Pass the Osaukes, St.
    Francis's, Corneille, and Rum Rivers--St. Anthony's
    Falls--Etymology of the name--Geographical considerations        145

CHAPTER XIII.

  Position of the military post established at the mouth of
    the St. Peter's--Beauty, salubrity, and fertility of the
    country--Pictographic letter--Indian treaty--The appearance
    of the offer of frankincense in the burning of
    tobacco--Opwagonite--native pigments--Salt; native copper--The
    pouched or prairie rat--Minnesota squirrel--Etymology of
    the Indian name of St. Peter's River--Antiquities--Sketch
    of the Dacota--Descent of the Mississippi to Little Crow's
    village--Feast of green corn                                     153

CHAPTER XIV.

  Descent of the river from the site of Little Crow's Village to
    Prairie du Chien--Incidents of the voyage, and notices of
    the scenery and natural history                                  162

CHAPTER XV.

  Mr. Schoolcraft makes a visit to the lead mines of
    Dubuque--Incidents of the trip--Description of the
    mines--The title of occupancy, and the mode of the mines
    being worked by the Fox tribe of Indians--Who are the Foxes?     169

CHAPTER XVI.

  The expedition proceeds from Prairie du Chien up the Wisconsin
    Valley--Incidents of the ascent--Etymology of the name--The low
    state of its waters favorable to the observation of its
    fresh-water conchology--Cross the Wisconsin summit, and descend
    the Fox River to Winnebago Lake                                  178

CHAPTER XVII.

  Descent of the Fox River from Winnebago Lake to Green
    Bay--Incidents--Etymology, conchology, mineralogy--Falls of the
    Konomic and Kakala--Population and antiquity of the settlement
    of Green Bay--Appearances of a tide, not sustained               186

CHAPTER XVIII.

  The expedition traces the west shores of Lake Michigan southerly
    to Chicago--Outline of the journey along this coast--Sites of
    Manitoowoc, Sheboigan, Milwaukie, Racine, and Chicago, being the
    present chief towns and cities of Wisconsin and Illinois on the
    west shores of that Lake--Final reorganization of the party and
    departure from Chicago                                           193

CHAPTER XIX.

  South and Eastern borders of Lake Michigan--Their Flora and
    Fauna--Incidents of the journey--Topography--Geology, Botany,
    and Mineralogy--Indian Tribes--Burial-place of Marquette--Ruins
    of the post of old Mackinac--Reach Michilimackinac after a
    canoe journey north of four hundred miles                        200

CHAPTER XX.

  Topographical survey of the northern shores of Green Bay and of the
      entire basin of Lake Michigan--Geological and Mineralogical
      indicia of the coast line--Era of sailing vessels and of the
      steamboat on the lakes--Route along the Huron coast, and return of
      the expedition to Detroit 210




EXPEDITION OF 1832.

DISCOVERY OF THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN ITASCA LAKE      221

CHAPTER XXI.

  The search for the veritable source of the Mississippi is
    resumed.--Ascent to Cass Lake, the prior point of
    discovery--Pursue the river westerly, through the Andrúsian
    Lakes and up the Metoswa Rapids, forty-five miles--Queen
    Anne's Lake                                                      223

CHAPTER XXII.

  Ascent of the Mississippi above Queen Anne's Lake--Reach the
    primary forks of the river--Ascend the left-hand, or minor
    branch--Lake Irving--Lake Marquette--Lake La Salle--Lake
    Plantagenet--Encamp at the Naiwa rapids at the base of the
    Height of Land, or Itasca Summit                                 231

CHAPTER XXIII.

  The Expedition having reached the source of the east fork in
    Assawa Lake, crosses the highlands of the Hauteurs de Terre
    to the source of the main or west fork in Itasca Lake            239

CHAPTER XXIV.

  Descent of the west, or Itascan branch--Kakabikoñs Falls--Junction
    of the Chemaun, Peniddiwin, or De Soto, and Allenoga
    Rivers--Return to Cass Lake                                      246

CHAPTER XXV.

  The expedition proceeds to strike the source of the great
    Crow-Wing River, by the Indian trail and line of interior
    portages, by way of Leech Lake, the seat of the warlike tribe
    of the Pillagers, or Mukundwa                                    251

CHAPTER XXVI.

  Geographical account of Leech Lake--History of its Indians, the
    Mukundwas--The expedition proceeds to the source of the
    Crow-Wing River, and descends that stream, in its whole length,
    to the Mississippi                                               258

CHAPTER XXVII.

  Complete the exploration of the Crow-Wing River of
    Minnesota--Indian council--Reach St. Anthony's Falls--Council
    with the Sioux--Ascent and exploration of the River St. Croix
    and Misakoda, or Broulé, of Lake Superior--Return of the party
    to St. Mary's Falls, Michigan                                    265


APPENDIX NO. 1.

  Departmental Reports                                               279
  General Cass's Official Report                                     280
     "      "    Memoir suggesting further Explorations              285
     "      "    Personal Testimonial                                287
     "      "    Communication on Indian Hieroglyphics, &c.          430
     "      "    Queries respecting Indian History, &c.              438
  Indian History and Languages                                       430
  Topography and Astronomy                                           288
  Mineralogy and Geology                                             292
  Mr. Schoolcraft's Report on Copper Mines                           292
     "     "    on Geology and Mineralogy                            303
     "     "    on the Value of the Mineral Lands on Lake Superior   362
     "     Memoir on the Geology of Western New York                 381
     "      on the Elementary Sounds of the Chippewa Language        442
  Botany                                                             408
  Zoology                                                            408
  Meteorology                                                        418


APPENDIX NO. 2.

  Indian Language                                                    453
  Mr. Schoolcraft's Essay on the Indian Substantive                  453
         "            "   on the Noun-Adjective                      489
         "            "   on the Principles of the Pronoun           502
  Natural History                                                    515
  Conchology                                                         515
  Botany                                                             519
  Mineralogy and Geology                                             526
  Mr. Schoolcraft's Remarks on the Occurrence of Silver              531
    "  General List of Mineral Localities                            534
    "  Geological Outline of Taquimenon Valley                       537
    "  Suggestions respecting the Epoch of the St. Mary's Sandstone  539




INTRODUCTION.


Charlevoix informs us that the discovery of the Mississippi River is due
to father Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, who manifested the most
unwearied enterprise in exploring the north-western regions of New
France; and after laying the foundation of Michilimackinac, proceeded,
in company with Sieur Joliet, up the Fox River of Green Bay, and,
crossing the portage into the Wisconsin, first entered the Mississippi
in 1673.

Robert de la Salle, to whom the merit of this discovery is generally
attributed, embarked at Rochelle, on his first voyage of discovery, July
14, 1678; reached Quebec in September following, and, proceeding up the
St. Lawrence, laid the foundation of Fort Niagara, in the country of the
Iroquois, late in the fall of that year. In the following year, he
passes up the Niagara River; estimates the height of the falls at six
hundred feet; and proceeding through Lakes Erie, St. Clair, and Huron,
reaches Michilimackinac in August. He then visits the Sault de St.
Marie, and returning to Michilimackinac, continues his voyage to the
south, with a view of striking the Mississippi River; passes into the
lake of the Illinois; touches at Green Bay; and enters the River St.
Joseph's, of Lake Michigan, where he builds a fort, in the country of
the Miamies.

In December of the same year, he crosses the portage between the St.
Joseph's and the Illinois; descends the latter to the lake, and builds a
fort in the midst of the tribes of the Illinois, which he calls
Crevecoeur. Here he makes a stand; sends persons out to explore the
Mississippi, traffics with the Indians, among all of whom he finds
abundance of Indian corn; and returns to Fort Frontenac, on Lake
Ontario, in 1680. He revisits Fort Crevecoeur late in the autumn of the
following year, and finally descends the Illinois, to its junction with
the Mississippi, and thence to the embouchure of the latter in the Gulf
of Mexico, where he arrives on the 7th of April, 1683, and calculates
the latitude between 23° and 24° north.

The Spaniards had previously sought in vain for the mouth of this
stream, and bestowed upon it, in anticipation, the name of Del Rio
Ascondido. La Salle now returns to Quebec, by way of the Lakes, and from
thence to France, where he is well received by the king, who grants him
an outfit of four ships, and two hundred men, to enable him to continue
his discoveries, and found a colony in the newly discovered territories.
He leaves Rochelle in July, 1684, reaches the Bay of St. Louis, which is
fifty leagues south of the Mississippi, in the Gulf of Mexico, in
February following, where he builds a fort, founds a settlement, and is
finally assassinated by one of his own party. The exertions of this
enterprising individual, and the account which was published of his
discoveries by the Chevalier Tonti, who had accompanied him in all his
perilous expeditions, had a greater effect, in the French capital, in
producing a correct estimate of the extent, productions, and importance
of the Canadas, than all that had been done by preceding tourists; and
this may be considered as the true era, when the eyes of politicians and
divines, merchants and speculators, were first strongly turned towards
the boundless forests, the sublime rivers and lakes, the populous Indian
tribes, and the profitable commerce of New France.

Father Louis Hennepin was a missionary of the Franciscan order of
Catholics, who accompanied La Salle on his first voyage from France; and
after the building of Fort Crevecoeur, on the Illinois, was dispatched
in company with three French voyageurs to explore the Mississippi River.

They departed from Fort Crevecoeur on the 29th of February, 1680, and
dropping down the Illinois to its junction with the Mississippi,
followed the latter an indeterminate distance towards the Gulf, not
believed to be great, where they left some memorial of their visit, and
immediately commenced their return. When they had proceeded up the
Mississippi a hundred and fifty leagues above the confluence of the
Illinois, they were taken prisoners by some Indian tribes, and carried
towards its sources nineteen days' journey into the territories of the
Naudowessies and Issati, where they were detained in captivity three or
four months, and then suffered to return. The account which Hennepin
published of his travels and discoveries, served to throw some new light
upon the topography, and the Indian tribes of the Canadas; and modern
geography is indebted to him for the names which he bestowed upon the
Falls of St. Anthony and the River St. Francis.

In 1703, the Baron La Hontan, an unfrocked monk, published, in London,
his voyages to North America, the result of a residence of six years in
the Canadas. La Hontan served as an officer in the French army, and
first went out to Quebec in 1683. During the succeeding four years he
was chiefly stationed at Chambly, Fort Frontenac, Niagara, St. Joseph,
at the foot of Lake Huron, and the Sault de St. Marie.

He arrives at Michilimackinac in 1688, and there first hears of the
assassination of La Salle. In 1689 he visits Green Bay, and passes
through the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers into the Mississippi. So far, his
work appears to be the result of actual observation, and is entitled to
respect; but what he relates of Long River appears wholly incredible,
and can only be regarded as some flight of the imagination, intended to
gratify the public taste for travels, during an age when it had been
highly excited by the extravagant accounts which had been published
respecting the wealth, population, and advantages of Peru, Mexico, the
English and Dutch colonies, New France, the Illinois, and various other
parts of the New World.

To convey some idea of this part of the Baron's work, it will be
sufficient to observe that after travelling ten days above the mouth of
the Wisconsin, he arrives at the mouth of a large stream, which he calls
Long River, and which he ascends eighty-four days successively, during
which he meets with numerous tribes of savages, as the Eskoros,
Essenapes, Pinnokas, Mozemleeks, &c. He is attended a part of the way by
five or six hundred, as an escort; sees at one time two thousand savages
upon the shore; and states the population of the Essenapes at 20,000
souls; but this tribe is still inferior to the Mozemleeks in numbers, in
arts, and in every other prerequisite for a great people. "The Mozemleek
nation," he observes, "is numerous and puissant. The four slaves of
that country informed me that, at the distance of 150 leagues from the
place where I then was, their principal river empties itself into a salt
lake of three hundred leagues in circumference, the mouth of which is
about two leagues broad; that the lower part of that river is adorned
with six noble cities, surrounded with stone, cemented with fat earth;
that the houses of these cities have no roofs, but are open above like a
platform; that, besides the above-mentioned cities, there are an hundred
towns, great and small, round that sort of sea; that the people of that
country make stuffs, copper axes, and several other manufactures, &c."

In 1721, P. De Charlevoix, the historian of New France, was commissioned
by the French Government to make a tour of observation through the
Canadas, and in addition to his topographical and historical account of
New France, published a journal of his voyage through the Lakes. He was
one of the most learned divines of his age, and although strongly
tinctured with the doctrines of fatality, and disposed to view
everything relative to the Indian tribes with the over-zealous eye of a
Catholic missionary, yet his works bear the impress of a strong and
well-cultivated mind, and abound in philosophical reflections, enlarged
views, and accurate deductions; and, notwithstanding the lapse of a
century, he must still be regarded as the most polished and illustrious
traveller of the region. He first landed at Quebec in the spring of
1721, and immediately proceeded up the St. Lawrence to Fort Frontenac
and Niagara, where he corrects the error into which those who preceded
him had fallen, with respect to the height of the cataract. He proceeds
through Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan, descends the Illinois and
Mississippi to New Orleans, then recently settled, and embarks for
France. The period of his visit was that, when the Mississippi Scheme
was in the height of experiment, and excited the liveliest interest in
the French metropolis; people were then engaged, in Louisiana, in
exploring every part of the country, under the delusive hope of finding
rich mines of gold and silver; and the remarks he makes upon the
probability of a failure, were shortly justified by the event.

In 1760, Alexander Henry, Esq. visited the upper lakes, in the character
of a trader, and devoted sixteen years to travelling over different
parts of the north-western region of the Canadas and the United States.
The result of his observations upon the topography, Indian tribes, and
natural history of the country, was first published in 1809, and, as a
volume of travels and adventures, is a valuable acquisition to our means
of information. This work abounds in just and sensible reflections upon
scenes, situations, and objects of the most interesting kind, and is
written in a style of the most charming perspicuity and simplicity. He
was the first English traveller of the region.

The date of Carver's travels over those regions is 1766. Carver, whose
travels have been treated with too indiscriminate censure, was descended
from an ancient and respectable English family in Connecticut, and had
served as a captain in the provincial army, which was disbanded after
the treaty of peace of Versailles, of 1763, and united to great personal
courage a persevering and observing mind. By his bravery and admirable
conduct among the powerful tribes of Sioux and Chippewas, he obtained a
high standing among them; and, after being constituted a chief by the
former, received from them a large grant of land, which was not,
however, ratified by the British government. The fate of this
enterprising traveller cannot but excite regret. After having escaped
the massacre of Fort William Henry, on the banks of Lake George, in
1757, and the perils of a long journey through the American wilderness,
he was spared to endure miseries in the heart of the British metropolis,
which he had never encountered in the huts of the American savages, and
perished of want in the city of London, the seat of literature and
opulence!

Between the years 1769 and 1772, Samuel Hearne performed a journey from
Prince of Wales's Fort, in Hudson's Bay, to the Coppermine River of the
Arctic Ocean. McKenkie's voyages to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans were
performed in 1789 and 1793. Pike ascended the Mississippi in 1805 and
1806.

Such is a brief outline of the progress of discovery in the
north-western regions of the United States, by which our sources of
information have been from time to time augmented, and additional light
cast upon the interesting history of our Indian tribes--their numbers
and condition, and other particulars connected with the regions they
inhabit. Still, it cannot be denied that, amidst much sound and useful
information, there has been mingled no inconsiderable proportion that is
deceptive, hypothetical, or false; and, upon the whole, that the
progress of information has not kept pace with the increased importance
which that section of the Union has latterly assumed--with the great
improvements of society--and with the spirit and the enterprise of the
times. A new era has dawned in the moral history of our country, and, no
longer satisfied with mere geographical outlines and boundaries, its
physical productions, its antiquities, and the numerous other traits
which it presents for scientific research, already attract the attention
of a great proportion of the reading community; and it is eagerly
inquired of various sections of it--whose trade, whose agriculture, and
whose population have been long known--what are its indigenous plants,
its zoology, its geology, its mineralogy, &c. Of no part of it, however,
has the paucity of information upon these, and upon other and more
familiar subjects, been so great, as of the extreme north-western
regions of the Union, of the great chain of lakes, and of the sources of
the Mississippi River, which have continued to be the subject of dispute
between geographical writers.

Impressed with the importance of these facts, Governor Cass, of
Michigan, projected, in the fall of 1819, an expedition for exploring
the regions in question, and presented a memorial to the Secretary of
War upon the subject, in which he proposed leaving Detroit the ensuing
spring, in Indian canoes, as being best adapted to the navigation of the
shallow waters of the upper country, and to the numerous portages which
it is necessary to make from stream to stream.

The specific objects of this journey were to obtain a more correct
knowledge of the names, numbers, customs, history, condition, mode of
subsistence, and dispositions of the Indian tribes; to survey the
topography of the country, and collect the materials for an accurate
map; to locate the site and purchase the ground for a garrison at the
foot of Lake Superior; to investigate the subject of the north-western
copper mines, lead mines, and gypsum quarries, and to purchase from the
Indian tribes such tracts as might be necessary to secure to the United
States the ultimate advantages to be derived from them. To accomplish
these objects, it was proposed to attach to the expedition a
topographical engineer, an astronomer, a physician, and a mineralogist
and geologist, and some other scientific observers.

Mr. Calhoun not only approved of the proposed plan, but determined to
enable the governor to carry it into complete effect, by ordering an
escort of soldiers, and enjoining it upon the commandants of the
frontier garrisons, to furnish every aid that the exigencies of the
party might require, either in men, boats, or supplies.

It is only necessary to add, that I was honored with the appointment of
mineralogist and geologist to the expedition, in which capacity I kept
the following journal. In presenting it to the public, it will not be
deemed improper if I acknowledge the obligations which I have incurred
in transcribing it, by availing myself of a free access to the valuable
library of His Excellency De Witt Clinton, and of the taste and skill of
Mr. Henry Inman, in drawing a number of the views which embellish the
work.

  HENRY B. SCHOOLCRAFT.

ALBANY, May 14, 1821.




PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTS.


    I. ORIGINAL MEMOIR SUGGESTIVE OF THE EXPEDITION.

   II. MR. CALHOUN'S LETTER OF SANCTION OF IT.

  III. EMPLOYMENT OF A MINERALOGIST AND GEOLOGIST.

   IV. POLICY OF GRANTING PERMITS TO TAKE AWAY MINERALS FROM THE INDIAN
       COUNTRY.

    V. A TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEER AND ASTRONOMER ORDERED FROM THE MILITARY
       ACADEMY AT WEST POINT.

   VI. VII. MILITARY ORDERS OF GENERALS BROWN AND MACOMB.




PRELIMINARY DOCUMENTS.


I.

  DETROIT, November 18, 1819.

SIR: The country upon the southern shore of Lake Superior, and upon the
water communication between that Lake and the Mississippi, has been but
little explored, and its natural features are imperfectly known. We have
no correct topographical delineation of it, and the little information
we possess relating to it has been derived from the reports of the
Indian traders.

It has occurred to me that a tour through that country, with a view to
examine the productions of its animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms,
to explore its facilities for water communication, to delineate its
natural objects, and to ascertain its present and future probable value,
would not be uninteresting in itself, nor useless to the Government.
Such an expedition would not be wholly unimportant in the public
opinion, and would well accord with that zeal for inquiries of this
nature which has recently marked the administration of the War
Department.

But, however interesting such a tour might be in itself, or however
important in its result, either in a political or geographical point of
view, I should not have ventured to suggest the subject, nor to solicit
your permission to carry it into effect, were it not, in other respects,
intimately connected with the discharge of my official duties.

Mr. Woodbridge, the delegate from this Territory, at my request, takes
charge of this letter, and he is so intimately acquainted with the
subject, and every way so competent to enter into any explanations you
may require, that I shall not be compelled to go as much into detail as,
under other circumstances, might be necessary.

The route which I propose to take, is from here to Michilimackinac, and
from thence, by the Straits of St. Mary's, to the river which contains
the body of copper ore (specimens of which have been transmitted to the
Government), and to the extremity of Lake Superior.

From that point, up the river which forms the water communication
between that lake and the Mississippi, to the latter river, and, by the
way of Prairie du Chien and Green Bay, to Lake Michigan.

The political objects which require attention upon this route are:--

1. A personal examination of the different Indian tribes who occupy the
country; of their moral and social condition; of their feelings towards
the United States; of their numerical strength; and of the various
objects connected with them, of which humanity and sound policy require
that the Government should possess an intimate knowledge. We are very
little acquainted with these Indians, and I indulge the expectation that
such a visit would be productive of beneficial effects.

The extract from the letter of Colonel Leavenworth, herewith inclosed,
and the speech of the Winnebago Indians, transmitted to the War
Department by Mr. Graham, from Rock Island, February 24, 1819, will show
how much we have yet to learn respecting these tribes, which are
comparatively near to us.

2. Another important object is, to procure the extinction of Indian
titles to the land in the vicinity of the Straits of St. Mary's, Prairie
du Chien, Green Bay, and upon the communication between the two latter
places.

I will not trouble you with any observations respecting the necessity of
procuring these cessions. They are the prominent points of the
country--the avenues of communication by which alone it can be
approached.

Two of them--Prairie du Chien and Green Bay--are occupied by a
considerable population, and the Straits of St. Mary's by a few
families. The undefined nature of their rights and duties, and the
uncertain tenure by which they hold their lands, render it important
that some step should be taken by the Government to relieve them. I
think, too, that a cession of territory, with a view to immediate sale
and settlement, would be highly important in the event of any
difficulties with the Indians.

My experience at Indian treaties convinces me that reasonable cessions,
upon proper terms, may at any time be procured. At the treaty recently
concluded at Saginaw, the Indians were willing to cede the country in
the vicinity of Michilimackinac, but I did not feel authorized to treat
with them for it.

Upon this subject, I transmit extracts from the letters of Mr. Boyd and
Colonel Bowyer, by which it will be seen that these gentlemen anticipate
no difficulty in procuring these cessions.

3. Another important object is the examination of the body of copper in
the vicinity of Lake Superior. As early as the year 1800, Mr. Tracy,
then a senator from Connecticut, was dispatched to make a similar
examination. He, however, proceeded no farther than Michilimackinac.
Since then, several attempts have been made, which have proved abortive.
The specimens of virgin copper which have been sent to the seat of
Government have been procured by the Indians, or by the half-breeds,
from a large mass, represented to weigh many tons, which has fallen from
the brow of a hill.

I anticipate no difficulty in reaching the spot, and it may be highly
important to the Government to divide this mass, and to transport it to
the seaboard for naval purposes.

It is also important to examine the neighboring country, which is said
to be rich in its mineral productions.

I should propose that the land in the vicinity of this river be
purchased of the Indians. It could doubtless be done upon reasonable
terms, and the United States could then cause a complete examination of
it to be made.

Such a cession is not unimportant in another point of view. Some persons
have already begun to indulge in speculations upon this subject. The
place is remote, and the means of communicating with it are few. By
timely presents to the Indians, illegal possessions might be gained, and
much injury might be done, much time might elapse, and much difficulty
be experienced, before such trespassers could be removed.

4. To ascertain the views of the Indians in the vicinity of Chicago,
respecting the removal of the Six Nations to that district of country,
an extract from the letter of Mr. Kenzie, sub-agent at Chicago, upon
this subject, will show the situation in which this business stands.

5. To explain to the Indians the views of the Government respecting
their intercourse with the British authorities at Malden, and distinctly
to announce to them that their visits must be discontinued.

It is probable that the annunciation of the new system which you have
directed to be pursued upon this subject, and the explanations connected
with it, can be made with more effect by me than by ordinary messengers.

6. To ascertain the state of the British fur trade within that part of
our jurisdiction. Our information upon this subject is very limited,
while its importance requires that it should be fully known.

In addition to these objects, I think it very important to carry the
flag of the United States into those remote regions, where it has never
been borne by any person in a public station.

The means by which I propose to accomplish this tour are simple and
economical. All that will be required is an ordinary birch canoe, and
permission to employ a competent number of Canadian boatmen. The whole
expense will be confined within narrow limits, and no appropriation will
be necessary to defray it. I only request permission to assign to this
object a small part of the sum apportioned for Indian expenditures at
this place, say from 1,000 to 1,500 dollars.

If, however, the Government should think that a small display of force
might be proper, an additional canoe, to be manned with active soldiers,
and commanded by an intelligent officer, would not increase the expense,
and would give greater effect to any representations which might be made
to the Indians.

An intelligent officer of engineers, to make a correct chart for the
information of the Government, would add to the value of the expedition.

I am not competent to speculate upon the natural history of the country
through which we may pass. Should this object be deemed important, I
request that some person acquainted with zoology, botany, and mineralogy
may be sent to join me.

It is almost useless to add that I do not expect any compensation for my
own services, except the ordinary allowance for negotiating Indian
treaties, should you think proper to direct any to be held, and intrust
the charge of them to me.

I request that you will communicate to me, as early as convenient, your
determination upon this subject, as it will be necessary to prepare a
canoe during the winter, to be ready to enter upon the tour as soon as
the navigation of the Lakes is open, should you think proper to approve
the plan.

  Very respectfully, &c.
  LEWIS CASS.

Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.


II.

DEPARTMENT OF WAR, January 14, 1820.

SIR: I have received your letters of the 18th and 21st November last.
The exploring tour you propose has the sanction of the Government,
provided the expenditure can be made out of the sum allotted your
superintendency for Indian affairs, adding thereto one thousand dollars
for that special purpose.

The objects of this expedition are comprised under the five heads stated
in your letter of the 18th of November, and which you will
consider--with the exception of that part which relates to holding
Indian treaties, upon which you will be fully instructed hereafter--as
forming part of the instructions which may be given you by this
Department.

Should your reconnoissance extend to the western extremity of Lake
Superior, you will ascertain the practicability of a communication
between the Bad, or Burntwood River, which empties into the Lake, and
the Copper, or St. Croix, which empties into the Mississippi, and the
facility they present for a communication with our posts on the St.
Peter's.

The Montreal rivers will also claim your attention, with a view of
establishing, through them, a communication between Green Bay and the
west end of Lake Superior.

To aid you in the accomplishment of these important objects, some
officers of Topographical Engineers will be ordered to join you. Perhaps
Major Long, now here, will be directed to take that route to join the
expedition which he commands up the Missouri. In that event, a person
acquainted with zoology and botany will be selected to accompany him.
Feeling, as I do, great interest in obtaining a correct topographical,
geographical, and military survey of our country, every encouragement,
consistent with the means in my power, will be given by the Department.
To this end, General Macomb will be ordered to afford you every facility
you may require.

  I have, &c.,
   J. C. CALHOUN.

His Excellency, LEWIS CASS, Detroit, M. T.


III.

DEPARTMENT OF WAR, February 25, 1820.

SIR: Mr. Schoolcraft, a gentleman of science and observation, and
particularly skilled in mineralogy, has applied to me to be permitted to
accompany you on your exploring tour upon Lake Superior. I have directed
him to report to you, for that duty, under the belief that he will be
highly useful to you, as well as serviceable to the Government and the
promotion of science.

You will furnish him with the necessary supplies and accommodation while
employed, and every facility necessary to enable him to obtain a
knowledge of the mineralogy of the country as far as practicable.

  I have, &c.,
   J. C. CALHOUN.

His Excellency, LEWIS CASS, Detroit.


IV.

DETROIT, March 10, 1820.

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the
17th ult., inclosing a copy of a letter from Giles Sanford & Co.

Their statement with respect to the discovery of plaster of Paris upon
one or more of the islands in the vicinity of Michilimackinac, to which
the Indian title has not been extinguished, is correct. Specimens of
this plaster have been brought here, and it is reported, by competent
judges, to be of the best and purest kind. The quantity is stated to be
inexhaustible, and, as vessels generally return empty, or nearly so,
from the upper lakes, it could be transported to any part of Lake Erie
at a trifling expense.

I have great doubts, however, whether it would be proper for the
Government to grant any permission to remove this plaster until the
Indian title to the land is extinguished. The power of granting
permission for that purpose is not given in the "act to regulate trade
and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and to preserve peace on the
frontiers," and appears, in fact, to be inconsistent with its general
spirit and objects. To authorize these gentlemen to negotiate with the
Indians for such a permission, is contrary to the settled policy which
has always been pursued by the United States. I know of no case in which
individuals have been or should be permitted to hold any councils with
the Indians, except to procure the extinction of their title to lands,
claimed under grants from one of the States. The application here must
be to the tribe, because in all their land there is a community of
interest, which cannot be severed or conveyed by the acts of
individuals.

But, independent of precedent, there are strong objections to this
course in principle. If private persons are authorized to open such
negotiations for any object, the Government will find it very difficult
to procure from the Indians any cession of land upon reasonable terms.

Were these islands the property of the United States, I think it would
be very proper to permit the plaster upon them to be removed by every
person making application for that purpose. The supply being
inexhaustible, the agricultural interest would be greatly promoted by
such a measure, and the dependence upon a foreign country for this
important article would be removed.

I therefore take the liberty of recommending that a cession of these
islands be procured by the United States from the Indians. I presume
that this may be done without the payment of any annuity to them, and
without any expense, except, perhaps, a few trifling presents. The
plaster would then be at the disposal of Government, and its free
distribution, under such regulations as might be adopted to prevent
disputes between the adventurers, or a monopoly by any of them, would be
equally proper and beneficial.

  Very respectfully, sir,
    I have the honor to be
      Your most obedient servant,
        LEWIS CASS.

Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.


V.

Extract of a letter from the Secretary of War to Governor Lewis Cass,
dated

April 5, 1820.

Sir: I have received your letters of the 10th, 11th, and 17th ultimo. In
relation to procuring cessions of land from the Indians, the Government
has decided that it would be inexpedient to obtain any farther
extinguishment of Indian title, except at the Sault de St. Marie, where
it is the wish of the Department, that an inconsiderable cession, not
exceeding ten miles square (unless strong reasons for a greater cession
should present themselves from an actual inspection of the country),
should be acquired upon the most reasonable terms, so as to comprehend
the proposed military position there.

Herewith you will receive a plate of the country about the Sault de St.
Marie, on which is indicated the military site intended to be occupied
for defence. You will also procure the cession of the islands containing
plaster, provided these islands are clearly within the boundary of the
United States, and can be obtained without any considerable expense.

A commission, authorizing you to hold these treaties, will be forwarded
to you in a few days.

As it is desirable to know by what title the people at Green Bay and
Prairie du Chien hold their lands, and whether or not the Indian titles
to those lands were extinguished by the French, at any period subsequent
to their possession of the country (which is the impression of this
Department), you will communicate such information as you possess, or
may obtain, during your tour, on this subject.

In addition to Mr. Schoolcraft, Captain Douglass, of the engineer corps,
has been ordered to join you, and Mr. Whitney (in whose behalf
application has been made for that purpose) may accompany you, if you
can accommodate him. Should he accompany you, he will be allowed the
same compensation made to Mr. Schoolcraft, who will be allowed one
dollar and fifty cents a day for the time actually employed.


VI.

  NORTHERN DIVISION.
  ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, 10th February, 1819.

(DIVISION ORDER.)

Major-General Macomb, commandant of the 5th military department, will,
without delay, concentrate at Detroit the 5th regiment of Infantry,
excepting the recruits otherwise directed by the general order herewith
transmitted. As soon as the navigation of the Lakes will admit, he will
cause the regiment to be transported to Fort Howard; from thence, by the
way of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, to Prairie du Chien, and, after
detaching a sufficient number of companies to garrison Forts Crawford
and Armstrong, the remainder will proceed to the mouth of the River St.
Peter's, where they will establish a post, at which the head-quarters of
the regiment will be located. The regiment, previous to its departure,
will receive the necessary supplies of clothing, provisions, arms, and
ammunition. Immediate application will be made to Brigadier-General
Jesup, Quartermaster-General, for funds necessary to execute the
movements required by this order.

By order of Major-General Brown.

  (Signed) JOHN E. WOOL,
   _Inspector-General_.


VII.

ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE.
DETROIT, April 13, 1819.

(DEPARTMENT ORDER.)

The season having now arrived when the lakes may be navigated with
safety, a detachment of the 5th regiment, to consist of Major Marston's
and Captain Fowle's companies, under the command of Major Muhlenburg,
will proceed to Green Bay. Surgeon's mate R. M. Byrne, of the 5th
regiment, will accompany the detachment. The assistant deputy
quartermaster-general will furnish the necessary transport, and will
send by the same opportunity two hundred barrels of provisions, which he
will draw from the contractor at this post. The provisions must be
examined and inspected, and properly put up for transportation. Colonel
Leavenworth will, without delay, prepare his regiment to move to the
posts on the Mississippi, agreeably to the Division order of the 10th of
February. The assistant deputy quartermaster-general will furnish the
necessary transportation, to be ready by the first of May next. The
Colonel will make requisition for such stores, ammunition, tools, and
implements as may be required, and he be able to take with him on the
expedition. Particular instructions will be given to the Colonel,
explaining the objects of his expedition.

Mr. Melvin Dorr is appointed Inspector of Provisions, and he will
inspect all provisions intended for the use of the army, before they are
received and issued. Lieutenant Brooks, of the 3d regiment will forward,
by the first detachment, such recruits as he has for the companies of
the 3d regiment at Mackinac.

By order of MAJOR-GENERAL MACOMB.

(Signed) CHESTER ROOT, _A. D. company, and Actg. Assist. Adjt.-General_.




NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION.




NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION.




CHAPTER I.

  Departure--Considerations on visiting the northern summits early in
    the season--Cross the Highlands of the Hudson--Incidents of the
    journey from Albany to Buffalo--Visit Niagara Falls--Their
    grandeur the effect of magnitude--Embark on board the steamer
    Walk-in-the-Water--Passage up Lake Erie--Reach Detroit.


The determination to penetrate to the source of the Mississippi, during
the summer months, made an early departure important. I had, while at
Potosi, in Missouri, during the prior month of February, written to Hon.
J. B. Thomas, U. S. S., Washington, to endeavor to secure an appointment
to explore the mineralogy and natural features of the upper Mississippi
River; and as soon as I had published my treatise on the mines and
minerals of Missouri, I proceeded to Washington, and submitted to the
proper officers of the Government, my account of the mineralogical
wealth of the western domains, with a plan for the management of the
public mines. Mr. Calhoun decidedly favored these views; but, foreseeing
the necessity of congressional action on the subject, and the necessary
delays of departmental references, said to me, that he had just received
a memoir from Governor Cass, of Michigan, proposing an expedition to the
source of the Mississippi, to leave Detroit early in the spring, and
offered me the position of mineralogist and geologist on that service.
This agreeing, as it did, with my prior views of exploring the public
domains, I gladly accepted, and immediately returned to the city of New
York to prepare for the journey.

The year 1820 had commenced with severe weather, the Hudson being frozen
hard, as high as West Point, on the 1st of January; and there was a
fall of snow between the 10th and 11th of February, which laid four feet
deep in the streets of New York. March opened with mildness, and every
appearance denoted an early spring, which led me to hasten my movement
north. I left New York on the 5th of March, in the citizens' post-coach,
on sleighs, for Albany, taking the route through Westchester, and over
the Highlands of Putnam and Dutchess; sleeping at Fishkill and
Kinderhook, the first and second nights, and reaching Albany on the
morning of the 7th, a distance of one hundred and sixty miles. This
distance we made in forty hours actual travelling, averaging four miles
per hour, incidental stops included, which is about the rate of
travelling by the trekschuits of Holland,[6] and by sledges over the
frozen grounds of Russia.[7] In crossing the Highlands, some one, in the
change of the stage-sleighs, pilfered a small box of choice minerals
which I set store by; the thief thinking, probably, from the weight and
looks of the box, which had been a banker's, that it was still filled
with coin. We crossed the Hudson from Greenbush, in a boat drawn through
a channel cut in the ice. Snow still laid in the streets of Albany, and
a cold north wind presaged a change of temperature. Next day there was a
hail-storm from the northwest, with rain and sleet, and on the morning
of the 9th, the hail lay six inches deep in the streets. In the evening,
proceeded by stage to the city of Schenectady, a distance of sixteen
miles, across the arenaceous tract of the Pine Plains, by a turnpike,
which forms the shorter line of a triangle, made by the junction of the
Mohawk with the Hudson River. This tract is bounded southerly by the
blue summits of the Helderberg, a prominent spur of the Catskill
Mountain. At Schenectady, we experienced a night of severe cold, and the
next day, at an early hour, I took a seat in the stage-sleigh for Utica,
which we reached at seven in the evening. The distance is ninety-six
miles, which we passed in seventeen hours, going an average rate of five
miles per hour. The road lies up the valley of the Mohawk, a name which
recalls the history of one of the most celebrated members of the
Iroquois, a confederacy of bold and indomitable tribes, who, at an early
day, either pushed their conquests or carried the terror of their arms
from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi.

  [6] Professor F. Hall.

  [7] Clarke's Travels.

The winter was still unbroken, and the weather had assumed so
unpropitious an aspect, since leaving New York, that there was no
probability of the navigation of the lakes being open so as to embark at
Buffalo before May. I proceeded seventeen miles west to my father's
residence, in the village of Vernon, to await the development of milder
weather. On the 10th of April, I resumed my journey, taking the western
stage, which had left Utica at two o'clock in the morning. We lodged the
first night at Skeneateles, at the foot of the beautiful and sylvan lake
of the same name, and reached Geneva the next day, at one o'clock in the
afternoon. The roads were now dry and dusty; indeed, the last traces of
snow had been seen in sheltered positions, in passing through Oneida
County, and every appearance in the Ontario country indicated a season
ten days more advanced than the valley of the Mohawk. The field poplar
put forth leaves on the 18th, and apricots were in bloom on the 22d.

At Geneva I remained until the 28th of April, when I again took my seat
in the mail-stage, passing, in the course of the day, the lower margin
of Canandaigua Lake, and through the attractive and tastefully laid-out
village of the same name, and, after continuing the route through a most
fertile country, with a constantly expanding vegetation, reached Avon,
on the banks of the Genesee River. Here we slept. The next morning (the
29th), we crossed this noble stream, and, after a long and fatiguing
day's staging, reached Buffalo in the evening. I was now at an estimated
distance of two hundred and ten miles west of Utica, and three hundred
and twenty-two from Albany. We had found the peach and apple-tree in
blossom, and the vegetation generally in an advanced state, until
reaching within eight or ten miles of Lake Erie, where the force of the
winds, and the bodies of floating ice, evidently had the effect to
retard vegetation. No vessel had yet ventured from the harbor, and
although the steamer Walk-in-the-Water was advertised for the 1st of
May, it was determined to delay her sailing until the 6th. This gave me
time to visit Niagara[8] Falls, and some other places of historical
interest in the neighborhood. This object I executed immediately, taking
a horse and buggy, and keeping down the American shore. The distance is
twenty-two miles, in which the Tonewanda River is crossed by a bridge.
The day was clear and warm, with a light breeze blowing down the river.
I stopped several times to listen for the sound of the Falls, but at the
distance of fifteen, ten, eight, and even five miles, could not
distinguish any; the course of the wind being, indeed, adverse to the
transmission of sound, in that direction, until reaching within some two
or three miles. There is nothing in the character of the country, in the
approach from Buffalo, to apprise the visitor of the difference in its
level and geological stratification, and thus prepare the mind to expect
a cataract. It is different, I afterwards learned, in the approach from
Lewiston, in which quite a mountain must first be ascended, when views
are often had of the most striking parts of the gulf, which has been
excavated by the passage of the Niagara River. It was not easy for me to
erect standards of comparison for the eye to estimate heights. The ear
is at first stunned by the incessant roar, and the eye bewildered by the
general view. I spent two days at the place, and thus became
familiarized with individual traits of the landscape. I found the abyss
at the foot of the Falls to be the best spot for accomplishing that
object. By far the greatest disproportion in the Falls exists between
the height and great width of the falling sheet. The water is most thick
and massy at the Horseshoe Fall, which gives one the most striking and
vivid idea of creative power. In fitting positions in the gulf, with
good incidences of light, the Falls look like a mighty torrent pouring
down from the clouds. At the time of my visit, the wind drove immense
fields of ice out of Lake Erie, with floating trees and other driftwood,
but I never saw any vestiges of these below the Falls. In front of the
column of water falling on the American side, there stood an enormous
pyramid of snow, or congealed spray.

  [8] This is an Iroquois word, said to signify the thunder of waters.
  The word, as pronounced by the Senecas, is Oniágarah. For additional
  information on this subject, see _Notes on the Iroquois_, p. 453. The
  etymology of the word has not, however, been fully examined. It is
  clear the pronunciation of the word in Goldsmith's day was Niagára.

What has been said by Goldsmith, and repeated by others, respecting the
destructive influence of the Rapids above to ducks and water-fowl is
imaginary--at least, as to the American sheet. So far from it, I saw the
wild ducks swim down the Rapid, as if in pursuit of some article of
food, and then rise and fly out at the brink, and repeat the descent,
as if delighted with the gift of wings, which enabled them to sport over
such frightful precipices without danger. I found among the debris in
the abyss, pieces of hornstone, and crystals of calcareous spar,
radiated quartz, sulphuret of zinc, and sulphate of lime. Its geology is
best explained by observing that the river, in falling over the
precipice of the Niagara ridge into the basin of Lake Ontario, leaps
over horizontal strata of limestone, slate, and red sandstone. In this
respect, nothing can be more simple and plain. It is magnitude alone
that makes the cataract sublime.

On returning to Buffalo, I found the lake rapidly discharging its ice,
which had been recently broken up by a storm of wind; and, while
awaiting the motion of the steamer, I was joined by Captain D. B.
Douglass, Professor of Engineering at West Point, who had been appointed
topographer and astronomer of the expedition. We embarked on the 6th of
May, at nine o'clock in the morning, in the steamer Walk-in-the-Water,
an elegant and conveniently-planned vessel, with a low-pressure Fulton
engine. This boat had been put upon the lake two years before, when it
made a trip to Michilimackinac, and was, indeed, the initial boat in the
history of steam navigation on the Lakes. We embarked at Black Rock, and
it was necessary to use a tow-line, drawn by oxen on the shore, to
enable the boat to ascend the Rapids. This Captain Rodgers, a
gentlemanly man, facetiously termed his hornbreeze. The oxen were
dismissed a short distance before reaching the mouth of Buffalo Creek,
where we reached the level of Lake Erie, five hundred and sixty feet
above the tide-waters of the Hudson River.[9] We were favored with clear
weather, and, a part of the time, with a fair wind. The boat touched at
Erie, at the mouth of Grand River, at Cleveland, and at Portland, in
Sandusky Bay, on coming out of which we passed Cunningham Island, and
the Put-in-Bay Islands, from a harbor in which Perry issued to achieve
his memorable naval victory on the 10th of September, 1813. Passing
through another group of islands, called the Three Sisters, we entered
the mouth of the Detroit River late on the afternoon of the 8th, just as
the light became dim and shadowy. The scale of these waters is
magnificent.

  [9] Report of the New York Canal Commissioners.

We had a glimpse of the town and fort of Malden, or Amherstburg, and of
Boisblanc, and Gross Isle, which were the last objects distinctly seen
in our ascent. The boat pushed on her way, under the guidance of good
pilots, although the night was dark, and we reached our destination, and
came to, at the city of Detroit, at twelve o'clock P. M., thus
completing the passage in sixty-two hours.

The next morning, an official from the Executive of the Michigan
Territory came on board with inquiries respecting Captain Douglass and
myself, and we soon found ourselves in a circle where we were received
with marked respect and attention. It was pleasing to behold that this
respect arose, in a great degree, from the high interest which was
manifested, in all classes, for the objects of the expedition, and the
influence which its exploratory labors were expected to have on the
development of the resources and prosperity of the country at large.

General Cass, who was to lead the expedition, received us cordially, and
let us know that we were in season, as some days would still elapse
before the preparations could be completed, and that the canoes in which
we were to travel had not yet reached Detroit. We were also cordially
welcomed by General Macomb, commanding the military district, Major John
Biddle, commanding officer of the fort, and by the citizens generally. I
was now, by the computations, about seven hundred and fifty miles from
my starting-point at New York. We took up our lodgings at the old stone
house occupied by Major Whipple, which, from its prominent position on
the banks of the river, had sustained a random cannonade during the late
war. We were here introduced to Dr. Alexander Wolcot, who filled the
post of physician to the expedition, and to Lieutenant Eneas Mackey,
United States artillery, commanding the escort, Major Robert A. Forsyth,
private secretary of the Executive, and commissary of the expedition,
and superintendent of embarkation; and to James D. Doty and Charles C.
Trowbridge, Esqs., who occupied, respectively, the situations of
official secretary and assistant topographer.

Detroit, the point to which I have now been conducted, is eligibly
situated on the south bank of the straits of the same name, and enjoys
the advantage of a regular plan and spacious streets, which have been
introduced since the burning of the old French town in 1805, not a
building of which, within the walls, was saved. Its main street,
Jefferson Avenue, is elevated about forty feet above the river. The town
consists of about two hundred and fifty houses of all descriptions,
public and private, and has a population of fourteen hundred and
fifty,[10] exclusive of the garrison.

  [10] The census of Detroit in 1850 gives it 21,019.

To the historian it is a point of great interest. It was the site of an
Indian village called Teuchsagondie in 1620, the date of the landing of
the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Quebec was founded in 1608; Albany in 1614.
But no regular settlement or occupancy took place here, till the close
of the seventeenth century. In June, 1687, the French took formal
possession of the straits by erecting the arms of France. On the 24th of
July, 1701, M. Cadillac established the first military post. Charlevoix,
who landed here in 1721, found it the site of Fort Pontchartrain.

In 1763 the garrison, being then under British colors, sustained a
notable siege from the confederate Indians under Pontiac. It remained
under English rule till the close of the American Revolution, and was
not finally surrendered to the United States until 1790, the year
following Wayne's treaty at Greenville. Surrendered by Hull in 1812, it
was reoccupied by General Harrison in October, 1813. It received a city
charter 24th October, 1815. Indeed, the prominent civil and military
events of which Detroit has been the theatre, confer on it a just
celebrity, and it is gratifying to behold that to these events it adds
the charm of a beautiful local site and fertile surrounding country. A
cursory view of the map of the United States, will indicate its
importance as a central military and commercial position. Situated on
the great chain of lakes, connecting with the waters of the Ohio,
Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Hudson, and Red River of the North, and
communicating with the Atlantic at so many points, and with a harbor
free of entrance at all times, its business capacities and means of
expansion are very great. And when the natural channels of communication
of the great lake chain shall be improved, it will afford a choice of
markets between the most distant points of the Atlantic seaboard. It is
thus destined to be to the regions of the northwest, what St. Louis is
rapidly becoming to the southwest, the seat of its commerce, the
repository of its wealth, and the grand focus of its moral, political,
and physical energies.[11]

  [11] MICHIGAN. This Territory contained, at this period, a population
  of 8,896 inhabitants, principally Frenchmen, who were the descendants
  of the original settlers of the time of Louis XIV. In 1835, the
  population had so increased, chiefly by emigration from the older
  States, that the inhabitants applied for admission into the Union.
  The act of Congress admitting it was passed in 1836. In 1846, it had
  212,267 souls. By the seventh national census, in 1850, it is shown
  to have a population of 397,654, entitling it to four representatives
  in Congress, with a large fraction. Its resources, its healthful
  climate, fertile soil, and very advantageous position on the great
  chain of navigable waters of the Upper Lakes, must insure a rapid
  development of its means and resources, and place the State, in a few
  years, in a high rank among the circle of American States.




CHAPTER II.

  Preparations for the expedition--Constitution of the party--Mode of
    travel in canoes--Embarkation, and incidents of the journey across
    the Lake, and up the River St. Clair--Head winds encountered on
    Lake Huron--Point aux barques--Cross Saganaw Bay--Delays in
    ascending the Huron coast--Its geology and natural history--Reach
    Michilimackinac.


From the moment of our arrival at Detroit, we devoted ourselves, with
intensity, to the preparation necessary for entering the wilderness. We
were to travel, from this point, by a new mode of conveyance, namely,
the Indian bark canoe, called a chimaun, a vehicle not less novel than
curious. Constructed of large and thick sheets of the rind of the betula
papyracea, or northern birch, which are cut in garment-like folds, and
sewed together with the thin fibrous roots of the spruce, on a thin
framework of cedar ribs, and having gunwales, with a sheathing of the
same material, interposed between the bark and ribs. The seams are
carefully gummed with the pitch of the pine. The largest of these canoes
are thirty-six feet in length, and seven feet wide in the centre,
tapering to a point each way. They carry a mast and sail, and are
steered and propelled with light cedar paddles. They are at once light,
so as to be readily carried over the portages, and so strong as to bear
very considerable burdens. Those intended for us, were ordered from the
Chippewas of Lake Huron, near Saganaw Bay. It was necessary to have
mosquito-bars, portfolios, knapsacks, and various contrivances, and to
make baggage of every sort assume the least possible bulk and space. The
public armorer had orders to furnish me suitable hammers and other
minerological apparatus for preparing and packing specimens. The
expedition was quite an event in a remote town, and everybody seemed to
take an interest in the preparation. A fortnight passed away in these
preparations, and in awaiting the arrival of the canoes, respecting
which there was some delay. It was the 24th of May before we were ready
to embark. Besides the gentlemen mentioned as constituting the
travelling party, ten Canadian _voyageurs_ were taken to manage the
canoes, ten United States soldiers to serve as an escort, and ten
Ottowa, Chippewa, and Shawnee Indians to act as hunters, under the
directions of James Riley, an Anglo-American, and Joseph Parks, a
Shawnee captive (at present, head chief of the Shawnee nation), as
interpreters. This canoe contained a chief called Kewaygooshkum, a
sedate and respectable man, who, a year afterwards, played an important
part at the treaty of Chicago.

The grand point of departure and leave-taking, was at Grose Point, at
the foot of Lake St. Clair, a spot nine miles distant. For this point,
horses and carriages, with the numerous friends of Gov. Cass, pushed
forward at an early hour; and there was as much enthusiasm manifested,
by all classes, as if a new world was about to be discovered. I had a
strong wish to witness the mode of canoe travelling, and, declining an
opportunity to join the cavalcade by land, took my seat beside Major
Forsyth in the Governor's canoe. The Canadians immediately struck up one
of their animating canoe songs, the military escort at the same moment
displayed its flag and left the shore, and the auxiliary Indians, fired
with the animation of the scene, handled their paddles briskly, and shot
their canoe rapidly by us. A boat-race was the consequence. The Indians
at first kept their advantage, but the firmer and more enduring nerves
of the Canadians soon began to tell on our speed, and as we finally
passed them, the Indians gracefully yielded the contest. We were two
hours in going to Grose Point, with the wind slightly ahead.

The banks of the River Detroit present continuous settlements, in which
the appearance of large old orchards and windmills, among farm-houses
and smooth cultivated fields, reminds the visitor that the country has
been long settled. And he will not be long in observing, by the
peculiarity of architecture, dress, manners, and language, that the
basis of the population is French. We found our land party had preceded
us, and as the winds were adverse, we encamped in linen tents along the
open shore. The next day the wind increased, blowing quite a gale down
the Lake. I busied myself by making some meteorological and geological
observations. The shores of Lake St. Clair are formed of a fertile
alluvium, resting on drift. There are some heavy boulders of primitive
rock resting on this, which denote a vast field of former drift action
around the shores of these lakes.

The wind abated about eleven o'clock on the morning of the 26th, when
the men commenced loading the canoes. It was twelve before we embarked.
The mode of their embarkation is peculiar. The canoes, when laden, are
hauled out in deep water; the men then catch up the sitters on their
backs, and deposit them in their respective seats; when this was done,
they struck up one of their animated songs, and we glided over the
smooth surface of the lake with rapidity, holding our course parallel
with its shores, generally, until reaching a prominent point of land
near Huron River.[12]

  [12] Now called Clinton River, a change made by Act of Legislature,
  the frequent repetition of this name by the French having been found
  inconvenient in the lake geography. 1853.

From Point Huron we crossed the lake, to reach the central mouth of the
St. Clair River, thereby saving a tedious circuit; by the time we had
half accomplished the transit, we encountered a head wind, which put the
strength of the men severely to the test, and retarded our reaching the
mouth of the river till dark. The River St. Clair has several mouths,
which branch off above through a broad delta, creating large islands.
These channels discharge a vast amount of argillaceous drift and mud,
which has so far filled up the lake itself, that there is anchorage, I
believe, in every part of it; and the principal ship channel is scooped,
by the force of the current, out of a very compact blue clay--the
geological residuum of ancient formations of clay-slates in the upper
country.

The shores are often but a few inches _above_, and often a few inches
_below_ the surface, where they give origin to a growth of reeds, flags,
and other aquatic plants, which remind the traveller of similar
productions at the Balize of the Mississippi. In this nilotic region,
myriads of water-fowls find a favorite resort. To us, however, these
jets of alluvial formation, bearing high grass and rushes were as so
many friendly arms stretched out to shelter us from the wind; but they
were found to be so low and wet, that we were compelled to urge our way
through them, in search of a dry encampment, till within two hours of
midnight. This brought us to the upper end of Lawson's Island, where we
arrived, wet, weary, and cold. We had advanced about twenty-five miles,
having been ten hours, in a cramped posture, in our canoes. This initial
day's journey was calculated to take away the poetry of travel from the
amateurs of our party, and to let us all know, that there were toils in
our way that required to be conquered.

We slept little this night, and waited for daylight and sunrise, as if
the blessed luminary would have an animating effect upon our actual
condition. We again embarked at seven o'clock in the morning. We now
stowed away things with more handiness than at the first embarkation,
and we began, ourselves, to feel a little more at home in this species
of voyaging.

We had three canoes in our little squadron provided with masts and
sails, and a small United States pennant to each, so that the brigade,
when in motion, and led, as it usually was, by the chanting canoemen,
had a formidable and animated appearance.

The River St. Clair is a broad and noble stream, and impressed us as
justifying the highest encomiums bestowed on it by Charlevoix, La
Hontan, and other early French travellers. We ascended it thirty miles,
which brought us to Fort Gratiot, at the foot of the rapid which marks
the outlet of Lake Huron. In this distance, we passed, at separate
places, nine vessels at anchor, being detained by head winds, and
encountered several Chippewa and Ottowa canoes, each of which were
generally occupied by a single family, with their females, blankets,
guns, fishing apparatus, and dogs. They evinced the most friendly
disposition.

In landing at Oak Point,[13] I observed a green snake (coluber æstivus)
in the act of swallowing a frog, which he had succeeded in taking down,
except the extremity of its hind legs. A blow was sufficient to relieve
the frog, which still had sufficient animation to hop towards the river.
The snake I made to pay the forfeit of his life.

  [13] Now the site of Algonac.

At Fort Gratiot, we were received by Major Cummins, U. S. A., who
occupied the post with sixty men. The expedition was received with a
salute, which is due to the Governor of a Territory.

Two soldiers who were sickly, were here returned, and five able-bodied
men received to supply their places, thus increasing the aggregate of
the party to forty persons.[14]

  [14] To cover any arrangements of this kind, general orders had been
  issued by Gen. Macomb, to the commandants of the western posts.

The banks of the River St. Clair are wholly alluvial or diluvial. There
is not a particle of rock in place. One idea presses itself prominently
to notice, in reflecting on the formation of the country. It is the vast
quantum of clay, mixed drift, and boulders, which have evidently been
propelled, by ancient forces, down these straits, and afterwards
arranged themselves according to affinities, or gravitation. At the
precipitous banks between the inlet of Black River and Fort Gratiot,
this action has been so clearly within the erratic block period of De la
Buck, that it has imbedded prostrate forest-trees, and even freshwater
shells, beneath the heavy stratum of sand, resting immediately upon the
fundamental clay beds, upon which the city of Detroit, and indeed the
alluvions of the entire straits rest.[15] We again encountered at this
place, blocks of the primitive or crystalline boulders, which were first
seen at Grosse Point. There are some traces of iron sand along the shore
of this river, the only mineral body, indeed, which has thus rewarded my
examinations.

  [15] In the artesian borings for water, undertaken by Mr. Lucius Lyon,
  at Detroit, in 1833, these clay beds were found to be one hundred and
  fifteen feet deep.--Vide _Historical and Scientific Sketches of
  Michigan_, p. 177.

We left our encampment, at Fort Gratiot, at eight o'clock next morning.
A strong and deep rapid is immediately encountered, up which, however,
vessels having a good wind find no difficulty in making their way. On
surmounting this, we found ourselves on the level of Lake Huron. The
lake here bursts upon the view in one of those magnificent landscapes
which are peculiar to this region. Nature has everywhere operated on the
grandest scale. Wide ocean expanses and long lines of shore spread
before the eye, which gazes admiringly on the broad and often brilliant
horizon, and then turns, for something to rest on, along the shore. Long
ridges of gravel, sand, and boulders, meet it here. Beyond and above
this storm-battered beach, are fringes of woods, or banks of clay. The
monotony of travelling by unvaried scenes is relieved by an occasional
song of the boatmen, or an occasional landing--by changes of
forest-trees--of the wind, or flights of the gull, duck, plover, and
other birds; but the traveller, is apt, before evening comes, to fancy
himself very much in the position of a piece of merchandise which is
transported from place to place. Glad were we when night approached, and
the order to encamp was heard. It was estimated we had advanced
thirty-five miles.

On passing along the Huron coast about fifteen miles, a bank of dark
clay is encountered, which has an elevation of thirty or forty feet, and
extends six or eight miles. We soon after came to the White Rock--an
enormous detached mass, or boulder of transition,[16] or
semi-crystalline limestone. It is a noted landmark for _voyageurs_ and
travellers, and an equally celebrated place of offerings by the Indians.
I requested to be landed on it, and detached some specimens.
Geologically, it is a member of the erratic block group, and we must
look for its parent bed at a more westerly point. There is no formation
of limestone, in this quarter, to which it can be referred. It bears
marks of attrition, which shows that it has been rubbed against other
hard bodies; and if transported down the lake on ice, it is necessary to
consider these marks as pre-existing at the era of its removal.

  [16] This term has disappeared from the geological vocabulary under
  the researches of Sir Roderick J. Murchison, Mr. Lyell, and other
  distinguished generalizers.

On embarking in the morning, the wind was slightly ahead, which
continued during the forenoon, changing in the after-part of the day, so
that we were able to hoist sail. About four o'clock the weather became
cloudy and hazy, the wind increasing, at the same time attended with
thunder and lightning. A storm was rapidly gathering, and the lake
became so much agitated that we immediately effected a landing, which
was not done without some difficulty, on a shallow and dangerous shore,
thickly strewn with boulders. We pitched our tents on a small peninsula,
or narrow neck of land, covered with beautiful forest-trees, which was
nearly separated from the main shore. Shortly after our arrival a vessel
hove in sight, and anchored on the same dangerous lee shore. We were in
momently expectation of her being driven from her moorings, but were
happily relieved, the next morning, to observe that she had rode out the
storm.

The lake was still too rough on the following day, and the wind too
high, to permit our embarking. We made an excursion inland. The country
proved low, undulatory, and swampy. The forest consisted of hemlock,
birch, ash, oak, and maple, with several species of mosses, which gave
it a cold, bleak character. The margin of the forest was skirted with
the bulrush, briza canadensis, and other aquatic plants. The whole day
passed, a night, and another day, with nothing but the loud sounding
lake roar in our ears. A heavy bed of the erratic block formation
commences at this point, and continues to Point aux Barques, the eastern
cape of Saganaw Bay.

In one of these displaced masses--a boulder of mica slate, I discovered
well-defined crystals of staurotide. This formed my second mineralogical
acquisition.[17] There were, also, some striking water-worn masses of
granitical and hornblende porphyry.

  [17] In passing along this coast in 1824, an Indian picked up, in
  shallow water, a small boulder imbedding a mass of native silver.
  Breaking off the most prominent mass, he still observed the metal
  forming veins in the rock, and brought both specimens to an officer of
  the British Indian department at Amherst (Lieut. Lewis S. Johnson),
  who presented them to me. This discovery is described in the _Annals
  of the New York Lyceum of Natural History_, vol. i. part 8, page 247.

It was the 1st of June before we could leave the spot where we had been
confined. We embarked at six o'clock, the lake being sufficiently
pacific, though not yet settled. But after proceeding about a league, it
again became agitated, and drove us ashore, where we lay without
encamping. Kewaygushkum was requested to send some of his young men in
quest of game. The soldiers and engagees also formed fishing parties, at
a contiguous river; but about three o'clock in the afternoon all the
parties returned completely unsuccessful. There was neither fish nor
game to be had. At the same time the agitation of the lake ceased, the
wind springing up from an opposite quarter, which enabled us to hoist
sail. This put every one in a pleasant humor, and we proceeded along the
coast till evening, and encamped on a small sandy bay, which puts into
the land, immediately beyond the promontory of Point aux Barques--an
estimated distance of twenty-five miles from our starting-point in the
morning.

At the distance of a league before reaching this point, the first
stratum of rock, _in situ_, presents itself. It is a gray friable
sandstone, elevated from ten to twenty feet above the water, but
attaining a greater height in the approach to this noted cape. This
stratum of sandstone rock, which is of a perishable character, is
exposed to receive the shock of the waves of Lake Huron for several
hundred miles from the north and west. It exhibits the force and fury of
the lake action by the numerous cavities which have been worn into it,
at the water's edge, and by the sub-bays which have, in some localities,
been formed in the line of dark opposing cliffs. It was in one of these
sub-bays that we encamped, on a smooth sandy beach, which appears to
have been a favorite encamping ground of the natives. But although we
had met several canoes of Chippewas, on the route between Fort Gratiot
and this point, none were found at the place of our encampment. Such of
them as we approached, on the lake, were invariably in want of food, and
received it with evident marks of gratification.

On going inland, back from our encampment, we found a succession of arid
ridges of sand, which had been evidently produced by the prostrated
sandstone of the coast, which, after comminution by the waves, had been
carried to this position by the winds. These ancient dunes and ridges
were covered sparsely with pitch pines and aspen, and having their
surfaces covered with the uva ursi, pyrola, and smaller shrub-growth
common to arenaceous soils.

On the day following, we ascended along the eastern shores of Saganaw
Bay, a distance of eighteen miles, which brought us to Point aux Chenes.
At this place the guides pointed to a group of islands about midway of
the bay, for which we steered. The calmness of the weather favored the
traverse. We reached and landed on the largest of the group, called
Shawangunk, by the Indians, probably from its southernmost position. I
found it to consist of a dark, compact limestone, imbedding masses of
chalcedony and calcareous spar. I also picked up a detached mass of
argillaceous oxide of iron, and some fragments of striped hornstone.
Anxious to improve the favorable time for effecting the passage, we
pushed on for the opposite western shore, which was safely reached. We
then steered down the bay, skirting a low sandy shore some twenty miles
or more, till entering the open lake, and reaching the River aux Sables.
On entering this river, and after having pitched our camp, we were
visited by a band of Chippewa Indians, with friendly salutations. It
appeared that the arrival of the expedition had been anticipated by
them, they having themselves constructed and furnished the canoes for
it, and being well acquainted with the official position, at Detroit, of
the leader of our party. The principal Chief, the Black Eagle, addressed
a speech to Governor Cass, in which he appropriately recognized these
relations, welcomed him to his village, and recommended the condition of
his people to his notice. The calumet was then smoked in the usual style
of Indian ceremony, the pipe-bearer beginning with persons of first
rank, and handing it in the supposed order of grade, to the lowest
member of the official family. The ceremony was ended by shaking of
hands. All this was done with the ease and dignity of an oriental
sheikh. We had anticipated savages, and savage manners, and armed
ourselves to the teeth, pushing a point with an army official at
Detroit, until we were each provided with a short rifle. But this first
formal council with the sons of the forest, began to open our eyes to
the true character of the Indian manners and diplomacy, in their
intercourse with government officials.

The chiefs, after their departure, sent to our encampment a present of
fresh sturgeon, a species which is caught abundantly in the aux Sables
at this time, for which returns were made of such articles as were most
acceptable to them. Being out of the Bay, we employed the following day
making advances along the Huron coast, an estimated distance of
forty-eight miles. In this distance, we passed Thunder Bay. Encamped on
a low, calcareous shore, bearing cedar and spruce, which the Indians
call Sho-she-ko-naw-be-ko-king, or Flat Rock Point. A few miles after
leaving River aux Sables, the Highlands of Sables present themselves at
a short distance back from the shore. This ridge, which is a landmark
for mariners, runs from southeast to northwest, and is visible as far as
Thunder Bay. The limestone, which is dark and of an earthy fracture, is
very much broken up on the shore, and contains various species of
organic remains. On crossing the Bay, we landed on an island covered
with debris, where we observed one of those imitative, water-worn,
primitive boulders, resembling altars, which are frequently set up by
the Indians as the places of depositing some offering, or out of mere
respect for some local god.

At six o'clock the next morning we were again in our canoes, assiduously
moving along the Huron coast; but, after proceeding about a league, a
storm of wind and rain suddenly arose, driving us from the lake. A few
hours served to restore its calmness, but we had not gone over a couple
of leagues when we were again compelled by the rising wind to take to
the shore, where we were detained the rest of the day, listening to the
capricious murmurs of the lake. This position was directly opposite
Middle Island, a noted anchorage about six miles distant. All night the
waves of the lake were heard. The morning broke without change. Lake
Huron still evinced an angry aspect, threatening to renew the struggle
of yesterday. It was concluded to send the canoes forward, relieved of
our weight, and proceed ourselves on foot along the beach. Walking on
this became difficult on those parts of it where the fossiliferous and
shelly limestone had been broken up and heaped in small fragments. Among
these, we recognized specimens of the cornu-ammonis, and the maderpore,
with some other species. The cedars and brushy growth generally stood so
thick, and grew so closely to this line of debris, that it was
impracticable to take the woods. The toil, however, rewarded us with
some specimens of the organic forms imbedded in the rock, while it
enabled the topographers to secure the data for a very perfect map of
the coast. At ten o'clock in the morning we reached the east cape of
Presque Isle Bay, where the canoes came to take us across to the
peninsula of that name. After completing this, the men landed the canoes
and baggage on the peninsula side, and carried them across the narrow
sandy neck of land; but, on reaching the open lake beyond it, the wind
was found too strongly adverse to permit embarkation. The Canadians have
the not inappropriate term of _degrade_ for this species of detention;
we were here foiled, indeed, in our high hopes of pushing ahead, and
compelled to wait on the naked sands for many weary hours. While thus
detained, the Indians brought in a brown rabbit,[18] a species of lake
tortoise, and some pigeons, being their only fruits of success in
hunting, except a single grouse, or partridge, which had crowned their
efforts since leaving Detroit. It must be borne in mind, however, that
there has been very little opportunity for hunting, that we have had
abundant supplies, and that our mode of travelling is such as to alarm
all game within sound of our track. They have, indeed, brought reports
at several points of seeing the footprints of the deer and black bear,
but they have not had the leisure to pursue them.

  [18] This is presumed to be a variety of the American Hare, and may
  be distinguished by the following characters: Body eighteen inches
  long; color of the hair grayish-brown on the back, grayish-white
  beneath. Neck and body rusty and cenerous. Legs pale rust color. Tail
  short, brown above, white beneath. Hind legs longest, and callous a
  short distance from the paws up. Ears tipped with black. Covering of
  the body rusty fur, beneath long coarse hair. Probable weight six
  pounds.

At five o'clock, the wind abated so much as to permit embarkation, and
our canoemen hastened forward with the intention of travelling all
night, but at eleven o'clock it freshened to such a degree, and at the
same time became so intensely dark, that we were compelled to land and
encamp. Neither the topography, mineralogy, or any branch of the
physical geography of a country can be ascertained without minute
examination; and this constitutes, indeed, the object of the
investigations, which have been, thus far, so toilsomely pursued against
adverse winds since the commencement of the expedition; but they have
disclosed facts which reveal the true structure and physical history of
this bleak, ungenial coast; this hope serves, every day, to give new
impetus to the voyage.

Another day along the Huron coast. It was now the 6th of June. The
_voyageurs_ began now to manifest great anxiety to reach
Michilimackinac, and had their canoes in the water at a very early hour.
We all participated in this feeling, and saw with pleasure the long
lines of sandy shores, strewed with boulders and pebbles, that were
swiftly passed. We had traced about forty miles of the coast when we
reached the foot of Bois Blanc Island, and pushed over the intervening
arm of the lake to get its south or lee shore. This was a labor of
hazard, as the wind was directly ahead, and drove the waves into the
canoes. When accomplished, we had the shelter of this island for twelve
miles, till reaching its southwest part. We then passed, due north,
between it and Isle Ronde, which brought the wind again ahead. But the
men had not kept this course long, when Michilimackinac, with its
picturesque and imposing features, burst upon our view.

Nothing can present a more refreshing and inspiring landscape. From
that moment the _voyageurs_ appeared to disregard the wind. Striking
into the water with bolder paddles, and opening one of their animating
boat-songs, all thought of past toils was forgotten, and, urged forward
with a new impetus, we entered the handsome little crescent-shaped
harbor at four o'clock. The expedition was received with a salute from
the fort, in command of Capt. B. K. Pierce, U. S. A.,[19] in compliment
to the Governor of the Territory, and we landed amid the congratulations
of the citizens, who pressed forward to welcome us.

  [19] Of this officer, who was a brother of Franklin Pierce, President
  of the United States, Gardner's _Army Dictionary_ gives the following
  notice: Benjamin K. Pierce (N. H.), First Lieutenant Third Artillery,
  March, 1812; Adjutant, 1813; Captain, October, 1813; retained May 15,
  in artillery; in Fourth Artillery, May 21; Major ten years fa.
  service, Oct. 1, 1823; Major First Artillery, June 11, 1836
  (Lieutenant-Colonel Eighth Infantry, July 7, 1838, declined); Brevet
  Lieutenant-Colonel "for distinguished service in affair at Fort
  Drane," Aug. 21, 1836 (Oct. 1836), in which he commanded: Colonel
  Regular Creek Mounted Volunteers, in Florida War, Oct. 1836;
  Lieutenant-Colonel First Artillery, March 19, 1842. Died April 1,
  1850, at New York.

Thus terminated the first part of our journey, after a tedious voyage of
fourteen days, in which we had encountered a series of almost continued
head-winds and foul weather. The distance by ship is usually estimated
at three hundred miles; by following the indentations of the coast, and
entering Saganaw Bay, we found it three hundred and sixty.[20] We found
the Huron coast, to the line of which our observations were limited,
bearing, in its vegetation, indubitable marks of its exposure to the
northern winds. As a section of the lake geology, it is simple and
instructive, exhibiting strata of sandstone and non-crystalline and
fossiliferous limestone in horizontal positions, without the slightest
disturbance in their dip or inclinations. Its mineralogy is scanty,
being nearly confined, so far as observed, to some common silicious
minerals, and traces of argillaceous and magnetic oxides of iron. The
erratic block-stratum or drift, is remarkable, and prepares the mind for
the still heavier accumulations of this kind which are perceived to be
spread over the northern latitudes.[21]

  [20] Among the erratic block or drift stratum, I observed on the
  south Huron coast singularly striking, round fragments of white
  quartz, imbedding red fragments of coarse jasper; a rock, which I
  afterwards found in places on the south end of Sugar Island, in St.
  Mary's Straits, which lies directly north of the general position,
  and may serve as a proof of the course of the drift.

  [21] _Vide_ Geo. Report, Appendix.




CHAPTER III.

  Description of Michilimackinac--Prominent scenery--Geology--Arched
    Rock--Sugarloaf Rock--History--Statistics--Mineralogy--Skull
    Cave--Manners--Its fish, agriculture, moral wants--Ingenious
    manufactures of the Indians--Fur trade--Etymology of the
    word--Antique bones disclosed in the interior of the island.


Nothing can exceed the beauty of this island. It is a mass of calcareous
rock, rising from the bed of Lake Huron, and reaching an elevation of
more than three hundred feet above the water. The waters around are
purity itself. Some of its cliffs shoot up perpendicularly, and tower in
pinnacles like ruinous Gothic steeples. It is cavernous in some places;
and in these caverns, the ancient Indians, like those of India, have
placed their dead. Portions of the beach are level, and adapted to
landing from boats and canoes. The harbor, at its south end, is a little
gem. Vessels anchor in it, and find good holding. The little
old-fashioned French town nestles around it in a very primitive style.
The fort frowns above it, like another Alhambra, its white walls
gleaming in the sun. The whole area of the island is one labyrinth of
curious little glens and valleys. Old green fields appear, in some
spots, which have been formerly cultivated by the Indians. In some of
these there are circles of gathered-up stones, as if the Druids
themselves had dwelt here. The soil, though rough, is fertile, being the
comminuted materials of broken-down limestones. The island was formerly
covered with a dense growth of rock-maples, oaks, ironwood, and other
hard-wood species, and there are still parts of this ancient forest
left, but all the southern limits of it exhibit a young growth. There
are walks and winding paths among its little hills, and precipices of
the most romantic character. And whenever the visitor gets on eminences
overlooking the lake, he is transported with sublime views of a most
illimitable and magnificent water prospect. If the poetic muses are ever
to have a new Parnassus in America, they should inevitably fix on
Michilimackinac. Hygeia, too, should place her temple here, for it has
one of the purest, driest, clearest, and most healthful atmospheres.

We remained encamped upon this lovely island six days, while awaiting
the arrival of supplies and provisions for the journey, or their being
prepared for transportation by hand over the northern portages. Meats,
bread, Indian corn, and flour, had to be put in kegs, or stout linen
bags.

The traders and old citizens said so much about the difficulties and
toils of these northern portages that we did not know but what we,
ourselves, were to be put in bags; but we escaped that process. This
delay gave us the opportunity of more closely examining the island. It
is about three and a half miles long, two in its greatest width, and
nine in circumference. The site of Fort Holmes, the apex, is three
hundred and twelve feet above the lake. The eastern margin consists of
precipitous cliffs, which, in many places, overhang the water, and
furnish a picturesque rocky-fringe, as it were, to the elevated plain.
The whole rock formation is calcareous. It exhibits the effects of a
powerful diluvial action at early periods, as well as the continued
influence of elemental action, still at work. Large portions of the
cliffs have been precipitated upon the beach, where the process of
degradation has been carried on by the waves. A most striking instance
of such precipitations is to be witnessed at the eastern cliff, called
Robinson's Folly, which fell, by its own gravitation, within the period
of tradition. The formation, at this point, formerly overhung the beach,
commanding a fine view of the lake and islands in all directions, in
consequence of which it was occupied with a summer-house, by the
officers of the British garrison, after the abandonment of the old
peninsular fort, about 1780.

The mineralogical features of the island are not without interest. I
examined the large fragments of debris, which are still prominent, and
which exhibit comparatively fresh fractures. The rock contains a portion
of sparry matter, which is arranged in reticulæ, filled with white
carbonate of lime, in such a state of loose disintegration that the
weather soon converts it to the condition of agaric mineral. These
reticulæ are commonly in the slate of calcspar, crystallized in minute
crystals. The stratum on which this loose formation rests is compact and
firm, and agrees in structure with the encrinal limestone of Drummond
Island and the Manitouline chain. But the vesicular stratum, which may
be one hundred and ten or twenty feet thick, has been deposited in such
a condition that it has not had, in some localities, firmness enough
permanently to sustain itself. The consequence is, that the table-land
has caved in, and exhibits singular depressions, or grass-covered,
cup-shaped cavities, which have no visible outlet for the rain-water
that falls in them, unless it percolates through the shelly strata.
Portions of it, subject to this structure, have been pressed off during
changing seasons, by frosts, and carried away by rains, creating that
castellated appearance of pinnacles, which gives so much peculiarity to
the rocky outlines of the island.

The ARCHED ROCK is an isolated mass of self-sustaining rock, on the
eastern facade of cliffs; it offers one of those coincidences of
geological degradation in which the firmer texture of the silicious and
calcareous portions of it have, thus far, resisted decomposition. Its
explanation, is, however, simple: The apex of this geological monument
is on a level, or nearly so, with the Fort Holmes summit. While the
diluvial action, of which the whole island gives striking proofs,
carried away the rest of the reticulated or magnesian limestone, this
singular point, having a firmer texture, resisted its power, and remains
to tell the visitor who gazes at it, that waters have once held dominion
over the highest part of the island.

Before dismissing the subject of the geological phenomena of this
island, it may be observed that it is covered with the erratic block or
drift stratum. Primitive or crystalline pebbles and boulders are found,
but not plentifully, on the surface. They are observed, however, on the
highest summit, and upon the lower plain; one of the best localities of
these boulders, exists on the depressed ground, leading north, in the
approach to Dousman's Farm, where there is a remarkable accumulation of
blocks of granite and hornblende drift boulders. The principal drift of
the island consists of smooth, small, calcareous pebbles, and, at deeper
positions, angular fragments of limestone. Sandstone boulders are not
rare. Over the plain leading from the fort north by way of the Skull
Rock, are spread extensive beds of finely comminuted calcareous gravel,
the particles of which often not exceeding the size of a buck-shot,
which makes one of the most solid and compact natural macadamized roads
of which it is possible to conceive. Carriage wheels on it run as
smoothly, but far more solid, than they could over a plank floor. This
formation appears to be the diluvial residuum or ultimate wash, which
arranged itself agreeably to the laws of its own gravitation, on the
recession of the watery element, to which its comminution is clearly
due. It would be worth transportation, in boxes, for gravelling
ornamental garden-walks. The soil of the island is highly charged with
the calcareous element, and, however barren in appearance, is favorable
to vegetation. Potatoes have been known to be raised in pure beds of
small limestone pebbles, where the seed potatoes had been merely covered
in a slight way, to shield them from the sun, until they had taken root.

The historical reminiscences connected with this island are of an
interesting character. It appears from concurrent testimony, that the
old town on the peninsula was settled about 1671,[22] which was seven
years before the building of Fort Niagara. In that year, Father
Marquette, a French missionary, prevailed on a party of Hurons to locate
themselves at that spot, and it was therefore the first point of
settlement made northwest of Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario. It was
probably first garrisoned by La Salle, in 1678, and continued to be the
seat of the fur trade, and in many respects, the metropolis of the
extreme northwest, during the whole period of French domination in the
Canadas. After the fall of Quebec, in 1759, it passed by treaty to the
British government, but much against the wishes of the Indian tribes,
who retained a strong partiality for their early friends, the French.
Pontiac arose at this time, to dispute the English authority in the
northwest, and with confederates projected a series of bold attacks upon
the forts extending from the Ohio to this post. Most of these were
successful, but he was defeated at Detroit, where he commanded in
person, after a series of extraordinary movements. While he was
pressing the siege of the garrison, he enjoined neutrality upon the
French inhabitants, who were nevertheless called on to furnish cattle
and corn for the subsistence of his warriors. It is remarked on good
authority that, for these supplies, he issued evidences of debt. When
General Bradstreet marched to the relief of the fort, with an army of
three thousand men, the spirit and laconic temper of the warrior were at
the same time evinced. He sent a deputation of chiefs to meet the herald
of the British general, at Maumee, with the laconic and symbolic
message: "I stand in the path."

  [22] Neither Fort Niagara nor Fort Ponchartrain (at the present site
  of Detroit) were then in existence. The foundation of the former was
  laid by La Salle, in 1678; the latter had not been erected when La
  Hontan passed through the country, in 1688.--_Herriot's Travels
  through Canada_, p. 196.

The execution of the plan of attack on Old Fort Mackinac appears to have
been intrusted to Minnawanna, a Chippewa chief, who, in addition to his
own people, was aided by the Sacs. The Ottowas afterwards expressed
displeasure in not having been admitted to a participation in the
attack. The plan was ingeniously laid. The king's birthday, the 4th of
June (1763), having arrived, the Chippewas and Sacs turned out to play,
for a high wager, at ball. Many of the garrison, and the commanding
officer himself, came out to witness the sport; and there was such a
feeling of security that the gates of the fort were left open. To put
the troops more off their guard, the ball had been thrown over the
picket, and when once there, it was natural that it should be followed
by the opposite parties, heated with the contest and eager for victory.
But this artifice was the accomplishment of the plan. The war-whoop was
immediately sounded, and an indiscriminate slaughter commenced. A few
moments of intense anxiety ensued. They were passed by the officers
eagerly listening for the roll of the drum. But they were passed in
disappointment. There was no call of this kind to concentrate
resistance. Panic and slaughter raged in their most fearful forms. None
were spared who were deemed friendly to the English interest but such as
were effectually secreted. Some of the soldiers who escaped the first
onset, were incarcerated in a room, where they were sacrificed to glut
the vengeance of a chief, who did not arrive till the principal work of
slaughter had been accomplished.

This event sealed the fate of the old fort and the town on the
peninsula. The British afterwards took possession of the island, which
had served to give name to the peninsular fort. The town was gradually
removed, by pulling down the buildings, and transporting the timber to
the island, till there was not a building or fixture left; and the site
is now as silent and deserted as if it had never been the scene of an
active resident population.

The Island of Michilimackinac appears to have been occupied first as a
military position by the British, about 1780, say some seven years after
the massacre of the garrison of the old peninsular fort of the same
name.

Wherever Michilimackinac is mentioned in the missionary letters or
history of this period, it is the ancient fort, on the apex of the
Michigan peninsula, that is alluded to.

The present town is pleasantly situated around a little bay that affords
good clay anchorage and a protection from west and north winds. It has a
very antique and foreign look, and most of the inhabitants are, indeed,
of the Canadian type of the French. The French language is chiefly
spoken. It consists of about one hundred and fifty houses and some four
hundred and fifty permanent inhabitants.

It is the seat of justice for the most northerly county of Michigan.
According to the observation of Lieut. Evelith, the island lies in north
latitude 45° 54´, which is only twenty-three minutes north of Montreal,
as stated by Prof. Silliman.[23] It is in west longitude 7° 10´ from
Washington.

  [23] Tour from Hartford to Quebec, p. 341.

Col. Croghan's attempt to take the island, during the late war, was most
unfortunate. He failed from a double spirit of dissension in his own
forces, being at odds with the commanding officer of the fleet, and at
sword's points with his second in command, Major Holmes. After entering
the St. Mary's, and taking and burning the old post of St. Joseph's,
where nobody resisted, instead of sailing direct to Mackinac, a
marauding expedition was sent up this river to St. Mary's, and when the
fleet and troops finally reached Mackinac, instead of landing at the
town, under the panic of the inhabitants, it sailed about for several
days. In the mean time the island filled with Indians from the
surrounding shores.

Fort "Mackina" is eligibly situated on a cliff overlooking the town and
harbor, and is garrisoned by a company of artillery. The ruin of Fort
Holmes, formerly Fort George, occupies the apex of the island, and has
been dismantled since the British evacuated it in 1815.[24]

  [24] Tour from Hartford to Quebec, p. 341.

It happened that the British authorities on the island of St. Joseph,
got intelligence of the declaration of war, in 1812, through Canada,
before the American commander at Mackinac heard of it. Mustering their
forces with such volunteers, militia, and Indians as could be hastily
got together, they proceeded in boats to the back of the island, where
they secretly landed at night with some artillery, and by daylight the
next morning got the latter in place on the summit of Fort Holmes, which
completely commanded the lower fort, when they sent a summons of
surrender, which Captain Hanks, the American commanding officer, had no
option but to obey.

Colonel Croghan, the hero of Sandusky, attempted to regain possession of
it, in 1814, with a competent force, and after several demonstrations of
his fleet about the island, by which time was lost and panic in the
enemy allayed, he landed on the northern part of it, which is depressed,
and his army marched through thick woods, most favorable for the
operations of the Indians, to the open grounds of Dousman's Farm, where
the army was met by Colonel McDouall, who was eligibly posted on an
eminence with but few regular troops, but a heavy force of Indian
auxiliaries and the village militia. Major Holmes, who gallantly led the
attack, swinging his sword, was killed at a critical moment, and the
troops retreated before Colonel Croghan could reach the field with a
reinforcement. Thus ended this affair.

My attention was directed to the plaster stated to exist on the St.
Martin Islands. These islands compose a small group lying about nine or
ten miles north-northeast of Michilimackinac. Captain Knapp, of the
revenue service, had been requested to take me to the spot with the
revenue cutter under his command. I was accompanied by Captain Douglass,
of the expedition, and by Lieutenant John Pierce, U. S. A., stationed at
the fort.

The gypsum exists in a moist soil, not greatly elevated, during certain
winds above the lake. Pits had been dug by persons visiting the locality
for commercial purposes. It occurs in granular lumps of a gray color, as
also in foliated and fibrous masses, white, gray, chestnut color, or
sometimes red. No difficulty was encountered in procuring as many
specimens as were required. This group of islands is noticeable, also,
for the large boulder masses of hornblende and granite rock, which are
found imbedded in, or lying on the surface, along with fragments of
breccia, quartz, &c. This drift is more abundant, on all the islands I
have seen, as we approach the north shores of Lake Huron. Having
completed the examination of these islands, we returned to the harbor
after an agreeable excursion.

To observe the structure and character of the Island of Michilimackinac,
I determined to walk entirely around it, following the beach at the foot
of the cliffs. This, although a difficult task, from brush and debris,
became a practicable one, except on the north and northwest borders,
where there was, for limited spaces, no margin of debris, at which
points it became necessary to wade in the water at the base of low
precipitous rocks. In addition to the reticulated masses of limestone
covered with calcspar from the fallen cliffs, the search disclosed small
tabular pieces of minutely crystallized quartz and angular masses of a
kind of striped hornstone, gray and lead colored, which had been
liberated from similar positions in the cliffs. On passing the west
margin of the island, I observed a bed of a species of light-blue clay,
which is stated to part with its coloring matter in baking it, becoming
white.

While the British possessed the island, they attempted to procure water
by digging two wells at the site of Fort George (now Holmes), but were
induced to relinquish the work without success, at the depth of about
one hundred feet. Among the fragments of rock thrown out, are
impressions of bivalve and univalve shells, with an impression
resembling the head of a trilobite. These are generally in the condition
of chalcedony, covered with very minute crystals of quartz. I also
discovered a drift specimen of brown oxide of iron, on the north
quarter. This sketch embraces all that is important in its mineralogical
character.

This island appears to have been occupied by the Indians, from an early
period. Human bones have been discovered at more than one point, in the
cavernous structure of the island; but no place has been so much
celebrated for disclosures of this kind, as the SKULL CAVE. This cave
has a prominent entrance, shaded by a few trees, and appears to have
been once devoted to the offices of a charnel-house by the Indians. It
is not mentioned at all, however, by writers, till 1763, in the month of
June of which year the fort of old Mackinac on the peninsula, was
trea-cherously taken by the Sac and Chippewa Indians. An extensive and
threatening confederation of the western Indians had then been matured,
and a large body of armed warriors was then encamped around the walls of
Detroit, under the leadership of Pontiac, who held the garrison in close
siege day and night. The surrender of Canada to Great Britain, which had
followed the victory of General Wolfe at Quebec, was distasteful to
these Indians, and they attempted the mad project of driving back beyond
the Alleghanies the English race; making a simultaneous assault upon all
the military posts west of that great line of demarcation, and preaching
and dealing out vengeance to all who had English blood in their veins.
Alexander Henry, a native of Albany,[25] was one of those enterprising
men who had pushed his fortunes West, with an adventure of merchandise,
on the first exchange of posts, and he was singled out for destruction,
as soon as the fort was taken. He had taken refuge in the house of a
Frenchman named Longlade, where he was concealed in a garret by a Pawnee
slave, and where he hid himself under a heap of birch-bark buckets, such
as are employed in the Indian country, in the spring season, in carrying
the sap of the sugar-maple. But this temporary reprieve from the Indian
knife seemed only the prelude to a series of hairbreadth escapes, which
impressed him as the direct interposition of Providence. At length, when
the scenes of blood and intoxication began to abate a little, an old
Indian friend of his, called Wawetum, who had once pledged his
friendship, but who had been absent during the massacre, sought him out,
and having reclaimed him by presents, in a formal council, took him into
his canoe and conducted the spared witness of these atrocities three
leagues across the waters of Lake Huron in safety to this island.

  [25] _Vide_ Henry's Travels, New York, 1809, 1 vol. 8vo.

To this place they were accompanied by the actors in this tragedy to the
number of three hundred and fifty fighting men,[26] and he would now,
under the protection of Wawetum, have been safe from immediate peril,
but that in a few days a prize of two canoes of merchandise in the hands
of English traders was made, amongst which was a large quantity of
liquor. Hereupon, Wawetum, foreseeing another carousal, and always
fearful of his friend, requested him to go up with him to the mountain
part of the island. Having ascended it, he led him to this cave, and
recommended him to abide here in concealment until the debauch was over,
when he promised to visit him.

  [26] Henry, p. 109.

Breaking some branches at its mouth for a bed, he then sought its
recesses, and spreading his blanket around, laid down and slept till
morning. Daylight revealed to him the fact that he had been reposing on
dry human bones, and that the cave had anciently been devoted by the
Indians as a sepulchre. On announcing this fact to his deliverer, two
days afterward, when he came to seek him, Wawetum expressed his
ignorance of it, and a party of the Indians, who came to examine it in
consequence of the announcement, also concurred in declaring that they
had no tradition on the subject. They conjectured that the bones were
either due to the period when the sea covered the earth--which is a
common belief with them--or to the period of the Huron occupancy of this
island, after that tribe were defeated by the Iroquois, in the St.
Lawrence valley.

So much for tradition.

This island has been long known as a prominent point in the fur trade.
But of this I am not prepared to speak. It was selected by Mr. J. J.
Astor, in 1816, as the central point of outfit for his clerks and agents
in this region; and the warehouses erected for their accommodation
constitute prominent features in its modern architecture. The capital
annually invested in this business is understood to be about three
hundred thousand dollars. This trade was deemed an object of the highest
consequence from the first settlement of Canada, but it was not till
1766, agreeably to Sir Alexander Mackenzie, that it commenced from
Michilimackinac.[27] The number of furred animals taken in a single
year, the same author states to be one hundred and eighty-two thousand
two hundred; of which number, the astonishing proportion of one hundred
and six thousand were beavers.[28] Estimating each skin at but one
pound, and the foreign market price at four dollars per pound, which are
both much below the average at this era, this item of beaver alone would
exceed by more than one-third the whole capital employed, taking the
data before mentioned, and leave the seventy-six thousand smaller furred
animals to be put on the profit side. No wonder that acts of perfidy
arose between rivals, such as the shooting of Mr. Waden at his own
dinner-table, where he was entertaining an opponent or copartner in the
trade; or the foul assassination of Owen Keveny on the Rainy Lakes.[29]
Indeed, the fur trade has for a long period been more productive, if we
are to rely on statements, than the richest silver mines of Mexico or
Peru.

  [27] Mackenzie's Voyages, Hist. Fur Trade, vii.

  [28] Mackenzie, xxiv.

  [29] Report of the Trials of De Reinhard, &c. Montreal, 1818.

Society at Michilimackinac consists of so many diverse elements, which
impart their hue to it, that it is not easy for a passing traveller to
form any just estimate of it. The Indian, with his plumes, and gay and
easy costume, always imparts an oriental air to it. To this, the
Canadian, gay, thoughtless, ever bent on the present, and caring nothing
for to-morrow, adds another phase. The trader, or interior clerk, who
takes his outfit of goods to the Indians, and spends eleven months of
the year in toil, and want, and petty traffic, appears to dissipate his
means with a sailor-like improvidence in a few weeks, and then returns
to his forest wanderings; and boiled corn, pork, and wild rice again
supply his wants. There is in these periodical resorts to the central
quarters of the Fur Company, much to remind one of the old feudal
manners, in which there is proud hospitality and a show of lordliness on
the one side, and gay obsequiousness and cringing dependence on the
other, at least till the annual bargains for the trade are closed.

We were informed that there is neither school, preaching, a physician
(other than at the garrison), nor an attorney, in the place. There are,
however, courts of law, a post-office, and a jail, and one or more
justices of the peace.

There is a fish market every morning, where may be had the trout--two
species--and the white fish, the former of which are caught with hooks
in deep water, and the latter in gill nets. Occasionally, other species
appear, but the trout and white fish, which is highly esteemed, are
staples, and may be relied on in the shore market daily; whole
canoe-loads of them are brought in.

The name of this island is said to signify a great turtle, to which it
has a fancied resemblance, when viewed from a distance. Mikenok, and
not Mackenok, is, however, the name for a tortoise. The term, as
pronounced by the Indians, is Michinemockinokong, signifying place of
the Great Michinamockinocks, or rock-spirits. Of this word, _Mich_ is
from _Michau_ (adjective-animate), great. The term _mackinok_, in the
Algonquin mythology, denotes in the singular, a species of spirits,
called turtle spirits, or large fairies, who are thought to frequent its
mysterious cliffs and glens. The plural of this word, which is an
animate plural, is _ong_, which is the ordinary form of all nouns ending
in the vowel _o_. When the French came to write this, they cast away the
Indian local in _ong_, changed the sound of _n_ to _l_, and gave the
force _mack_ and _nack_, to _mök_ and _nök_. The vowel _e_, after the
first syllable, is merely a connective in the Indian, and which is
represented in the French orthography in this word by _i_. The ordinary
interpretation of great turtle is, therefore, not widely amiss; but in
its true meaning, the term enters more deeply into the Indian mythology
than is conjectured. The island was deemed, in a peculiar sense, the
residence of spirits during all its earlier ages. Its cliffs, and dense
and dark groves of maples, beech, and ironwood, cast fearful shadows;
and it was landed on by them in fearfulness, and regarded far and near
as the _Sacred Island_. Its apex is, indeed, the true Indian Olympus of
the tribes, whose superstitions and mythology peopled it by gods, or
monitos.

Since our arrival here, there has been a great number of Indians of the
Chippewa and Ottowa tribes encamped near the town. The beach of the lake
has been constantly lined with Indian wigwams and bark canoes. These
tribes are generally well dressed in their own costume, which is light
and artistic, and exhibit physiognomies with more regularity of features
and mildness of expression than it is common to find among them. This is
probably attributable to a greater intermixture of blood in this
vicinity. They resort to the island, at this season, for the purpose of
exchanging their furs, maple-sugar, mats, and small manufactures. Among
the latter are various articles of ornament, made by the females, from
the fine white deer skin, or yellow birch bark, embroidered with colored
porcupine quills. The floor mats, made from rushes, are generally more
or less figured. Mockasins, miniature sugarboxes, called mo-cocks,
shot-pouches, and a kind of pin and needleholders, or housewives, are
elaborately beaded. But nothing exceeds in value the largest
merchantable mockocks of sugar, which are brought in for sale. They
receive for this article six cents per pound, in merchandise, and the
amount made in a season, by a single family, is sometimes fifteen
hundred pounds. The Ottowas of L'Arbre Croche are estimated at one
thousand souls, which, divided by five, would give two hundred families;
and by admitting each family to manufacture but two hundred pounds per
annum, would give a total of forty thousand pounds; and there are
probably as many Chippewas within the basins of Lakes Huron and
Michigan. This item alone shows the importance of the Indian trade,
distinct from the question of furs.

During the time we remained on this island, the atmosphere denoted a
mean temperature of 55° Fahrenheit. The changes are often sudden and
great. The island is subject to be enveloped in fogs, which frequently
rise rapidly. These fogs are sometimes so dense, as to obscure
completely objects at but a short distance. I visited Round Island one
day with Lieut. Mackay,[30] and we were both engaged in taking views of
the fort and town of Michilimackinac,[31] when one of these dense fogs
came on, and spread itself with such rapidity, that we were compelled to
relinquish our designs unfinished, and it was not without difficulty
that we could make our way across the narrow channel, and return to the
island. This fact enabled me to realize what the old travellers of the
region have affirmed on this topic.

  [30] Lieut. Eneas Mackay. This officer, after the return from this
  expedition, went through the regular grades of promotion in the army,
  and had at the period of his death, which took place in 1850, at St.
  Louis, Missouri, reached the brevet rank of colonel.

  [31] For the view from this point, see Information respecting the
  History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United
  States, vol. iv. Plate 42.

We were received during our visit here in the most hospitable manner, as
well as with official courtesy, by Capt. B. K. Pierce, the commanding
officer, Major Puthuff, the Indian agent, and by the active and
intelligent agents of Mr. John Jacob Astor, the great fiscal head of the
Fur Trade in this quarter.




CHAPTER IV.

  Proceed down the north shore of Lake Huron to the entrance of the
    Straits of St. Mary's--Character of the shores, and
    incidents--Ascend the river to Sault de Ste. Marie--Hostilities
    encountered there--Intrepidity of General Cass.


Having spent six days on the island, rambling about it, and making
ourselves as well acquainted with its features and inhabitants as
possible, we felt quite recruited and cheered up, after the tedious
delays along the southern shores of Lake Huron. And we all felt the
better prepared for plunging deeper into the northwestern forest. Before
venturing into the stronghold of the Chippewas, whose territories extend
around Lake Superior, it was deemed prudent to take along an additional
military force as far as Sault de Ste. Marie. But five or six years had
then passed since this large tribe had been arrayed in hostilities
against the United States (in the war of 1814), and they were yet
smarting under the wounds and losses which they had received at
Brownstown and the River Thames, where they had lost some prominent men.
Generals Brown and Macomb,[32] when making a reconnoissance, with their
respective staffs, a couple of years before, had been fired on in
visiting Gros Cape, at the foot of Lake Superior, and although no one
was killed on that occasion, the circumstance was sufficient to indicate
their feeling.

  [32] The following are the official data of this distinguished
  officer:--

  Alexander Macomb, Jr., born April 3, 1782, Detroit, N. Y.; Cornet
  Cavalry, January 10, 1799; Second Lieutenant, February, 1801;
  retained, April, 1802, in Second Infantry; First Lieutenant of
  Engineers, October, 1802; Captain, June, 1805; Major of Engineers,
  February 23, 1808; Lieutenant-Colonel, July 23, 1810; Acting
  Adjutant-General of the Army, April 28, 1812; Colonel Third
  Artillery, July 6, 1812; Brigadier-General, January 24, 1814; Brevet
  Major-General, "for distinguished and gallant conduct in defeating
  the enemy at Plattsburg, September 11, 1814" (October 1, 1814);
  received the "thanks of Congress" of November 3, 1814, "for his
  gallantry and good conduct in defeating the enemy at Plattsburg, on
  the 11th of September, repelling with 1,500 men, aided by a body of
  militia and volunteers from New York and Vermont, a British veteran
  army, greatly superior in numbers," with the presentation of a
  _gold medal_, "emblematical of this triumph;" retained, April 8,
  1815; retained, May 21, as Colonel and Principal Engineer, with
  Brevets Major-General and General-in-Chief of the Army, May 24,
  1828; commanded the army of Florida 1836; died June 25, 1841, at
  his head-quarters, Washington City.--_Gardner's Army Dictionary._

This additional force was placed under the command of Lieutenant John S.
Pierce, U. S. A., a brother of the commanding officer,[33] and of
Franklin Pierce, President of the United States. It consisted of
twenty-two men, with a twelve-oared barge. The whole expedition, now
numbering sixty-four persons, embarked at ten o'clock on the 15th, with
a fair wind, for our first destination, at Detour, being the west cape
of the Straits of St. Mary's. The distance is estimated at forty miles,
along a very intricate, masked shore of islands, called Chenos. The
breeze carried us at the rate of five miles per hour. The first traverse
is an arm of the Lake, three leagues across, over which we passed
swimmingly. This traverse is broken near its eastern terminus by Goose
Island, the Nekuhmenis (literally Brant Island) of the Chippewas--a
noted place of encampment for traders. We did not, however, touch at it.
A couple of miles beyond this brought us to Outard Point, where the men
rested a few moments on their oars and paddles. This point forms the
commencement of those intricate channels which constitute the Chenos
group. Our steersman gave them, however, a wide berth, and did not
approach near the shore till it began to be time to look out for the
mouth of the St. Mary's. After passing Point St. Vitel, a distance of
about thirty miles, the guides led into a sandy bay, under the
impression that we had reached the west cape of the St. Mary's; but in
this we were deceived. While landing here a few moments, in a deep bay,
the animal called Kaug by the Chippewas (a porcupine), was discovered
and killed by one of the men, called Baptiste, by a blow from a hatchet.
Buffon gives two engravings of this animal, as found in Canada, under
separate names; but it is apprehended that he has been misled by the
same animal seen in its summer and winter dress. To the Indian, this
animal is valuable for its quills, which are dyed of bright colors, to
ornament their dresses, moccasons, shot-pouches, and other choice
fabrics of deer skin, or birch bark. This animal has four claws on the
fore paw, and five on the hinder ones. It has small ears hid in the
hair, and a bushy tail, with coarse black and white hair. The specimen
killed would weigh eight pounds.

  [33] John Sullivan Pierce (N. H., brother to Colonel Benjamin K.
  Pierce), Third Lieutenant Third Artillery, April 5, and Second
  Lieutenant, May, 1814; retained, May, 1815, in Artillery; First
  Lieutenant, April 1818; resigned February 1, 1823.--_Gardner's Army
  Dictionary._

Soon after coming out from this indentation of the lake, we came in
sight of Point Detour, on turning which, from E. to N., we found no
longer use for sails. Mackenzie places this point in north latitude 45°
54´.

The geology of this coast appears manifest. Secondary compact limestone
appears in place, in low situations, on the reef of Outard Island and
Point, and in the approach to Point Detour. A ridge of calcareous
highlands appears on the mainland east of Michilimackinac, stretching
off towards Sault de Ste. Marie, in a northeast direction. This ridge
appears to belong to a low mountain chain, of which the Island of
Michilimackinac may be deemed as one of the geological links. Just
before turning, we passed a very heavy angular block of limestone, much
covered with moss, which could not have been far removed, in the drift
era, from its parent bed. The largest angle of this stone, which I have
since examined, must be eight or ten feet. This block is of the
ortho-cerite stratum of Drummond Island. The shores are heavily charged
with various members of the boulder drift, with a fringe beyond them of
spruce and firs, giving one the idea of a cold, exposed, and most
unfavorable coast. Turning the Point of Detour, we ascended the strait a
few miles, and encamped on its west shore, off Frying-pan Island, at a
point directly opposite the British post of Drummond Island, which we
could not perceive, but the direction of which was clearly denoted by
the sound of the evening bugles.

The entrance into this strait forms a magnificent scene of waters and
islands, of which a map conveys but a faint conception. The straits here
appeared to be illimitable, we seemed to be in a world of waters. It is
stated to be thirty miles across to Point Thessalon. The large group of
the Manatouline Islands, stretching transversely through Lake Huron,
terminates with the isle Drummond--a name bestowed in compliment to the
bold leader, Col. Drummond, who led the night storming party, and was
blown up on the bastion of Fort Erie, in 1813. This station was first
occupied on the withdrawal of the British troops from Mackinac, in 1815.
This day's trip gave us a favorable idea of canoe travelling. It also
gave us an exalted idea of the gigantic system of these lake waters, and
their connecting straits. We had never done gazing at the prospect
before us, after turning the Detour, and did not retire from our camp
fires early. The next morning we embarked at five o'clock, a light
dreamy mist hanging over the waters. When this cleared away, we descried
the ruined chimneys and buildings of St. Joseph, the abandoned British
post burned by Col. Croghan, in 1814.[34] The day turned out a fine one,
and we proceeded up the straits with pleasurable feelings, excited by
the noble and novel views of scenery continually before us. Keeping the
west side of a high limestone island called Isle a la Crosse, we then
entered a sheet of water called Lac Vaseau, or Muddy Lake. We had
proceeded northwardly perhaps twenty miles, when we encountered another
of those large islands for which these straits are remarkable, called
Nebeesh,[35] or Sailor's Encampment Island. Our guides held up on its
western side, which soon brought us to the first rapids, and the
commencement of St. Mary's River. A formation of sandstone is here
observed in the bed of the stream. The waters are swift and shallow, and
the men encountered quite a struggle in the ascent, and so much injured
one of our canoes that it became necessary to unlade and mend it. In the
mean time, the atmosphere put on a threatening aspect, with heavy peals
of thunder, but no rain followed till we again re-embarked and proceeded
five or six miles, when a shower fell. It did not, however, compel us to
land, and by six o'clock in the afternoon, the sky again became clear.
We had now ascended the strait and river so far, that it became certain
we could reach our destination before night, and the men worked with the
greater alacrity. At eight o'clock we had surmounted the second rapid,
called the Little Rapid, Nebeetung of the Indians, where we encountered
a swift current. We were now within two miles of our destination. The
whole river is here embodied before the eye, and is a mile or
three-fourths of a mile wide, and the two separate villages on the
British and American shores began to reveal themselves to view, with the
cataract of the Sault de Ste. Marie in the distance; and a beautiful
forest of elms, oaks, and maples on either hand. We ascended with our
flags flying, our little squadron being spread out in order, and the
Canadian boatmen raising one of their enlivening songs. Long before
reaching the place, a large throng of Indians had collected on the
beach, who, as we put in towards the shore, fired a salute, and stood
ready to greet us with their customary _bosho_.[36] We landed in front
of the old Nolan house,[37] the ancient headquarters of the Northwest
Company; and immediately formed our encampment on the wide green,
extending along the river. Daylight in this latitude is protracted, and
although we had ascended a computed distance of forty-five miles, and
had had the mishap to break a canoe in the Nebeesh, there was abundant
light to fix our encampment properly. Lieut. Pierce encamped his men on
our extreme right. Leaving an interval, Lieut. Mackay's escort came
next, and our tents formed the northern line of his encampment, nearest
to the Indians. The latter occupied a high plateau, in plain view,
several hundred yards west, with an intervening gulley, and a plain,
well-beat footpath. We had, in case of difficulty, thirty-four muskets,
Pierce's command included, in addition to which, each of the savans, or
Governor's mess, were armed with a short rifle. Our line may have looked
offensively demonstrative to the Chippewas, who regarded it, from their
ancient eminence, with unfriendly feelings. These particulars are given
from the perilous position we were brought into next day.

  [34] This fort was first erected by the British in 1795, the year
  before Michilimackinac was evacuated under Wayne's treaty with the
  Indians.

  [35] From Nebee, water; hence Nebeesh, rapid water, or strong water,
  the name of the rapids which connect the straits with the River St.
  Mary's. This word is the _derogative_ form of the Chippewa noun.

  [36] From the French _bon jour_.

  [37] The present site of Fort Brady.

Meantime, we passed a quiet night in our tents, where the deep sound of
the Falls fell on the wakeful ear, interspersed with the distant
monotonous thump of the Indian täwäegon. It required but little
observation, in the morning, to explore the village of St. Mary's. It
consisted of some fifteen or twenty buildings of all sorts, occupied by
descendants of the original French settlers, all of whom drew their
living from the fur trade. The principal buildings and outhouses were
those of Mr. John Johnston, and the group formerly occupied by the
Northwest Company. Most of the French habitations stood in the midst of
picketed lots. There were about forty or fifty lodges, or two hundred
Chippewas, fifty or sixty of whom were warriors. But, although this
place was originally occupied as a missionary centre, by the Roman
Catholic missionaries of New France, about the middle of the seventeenth
century, no trace of the ancient church could be seen, unless it was in
an old consecrated graveyard, which has continued to be used for
interments. Mr. Johnston, the principal inhabitant, is a native of the
County of Antrim, Ireland, where his connections are persons of rank. He
is a polite, intelligent, and well-bred man, from a manifestly refined
circle; who, soon after the close of the American Revolution, settled
here, and married the daughter of a distinguished Indian chief.[38]
Although now absent on a visit to Europe, his family received us with
marked urbanity and hospitality, and invited the gentlemen composing the
travelling family of Governor Cass to take all our meals with them.
Everything at this mansion was done with ceremonious attention to the
highest rules of English social life; Miss Jane, the eldest daughter,
who had received her education in Ireland, presiding.

  [38] INTER-EUROPEAN AMALGAMATION.--John Johnston was a native of the
  north of Ireland, where his family possessed an estate called
  "Craige," near the celebrated Giant's Causeway. He came to this
  country during the first Presidential term of Washington, and settled
  at St. Mary's, about 1793. He was a gentleman of taste, reading,
  refined feeling, and cultivated manners, which enabled him to direct
  the education of his children, an object to which he assiduously
  devoted himself; and his residence was long known as the seat of
  hospitality and refinement to all who visited the region. In 1814,
  his premises were visited, during his absence, by a part of the force
  who entered the St. Mary's, under Colonel Croghan, and his private
  property subjected to pillage, from a misapprehension, created by
  some evil-minded persons, that he was an agent of the Northwest
  Company. Genial, social, kind, and benevolent, his society was much
  sought, and he was sometimes imposed on by those who had been
  received into his employments and trusts (as in the reports which
  carried the Americans to his domicil in 1814). He died at St. Mary's,
  in 1828, leaving behind, among his papers, evidence that his leisure
  hours were sometimes lightened by literary employments. Mr. Johnston,
  by marrying the daughter of the ruling chief of this region, placed
  himself in the position of another Rolfe. Espousing, in Christian
  marriage, the daughter of Wabjeeg, he became the son-in-law of
  another Powhatan; thus establishing such a connection between the
  Hibernian and Chippewa races, as the former had done between the
  English and Powhetanic stocks.

The Sault (from the Latin _Saltus_, through the French) or Falls of St.
Mary, is the head of navigation for vessels on the lakes, and has been,
from early days, a thoroughfare for the Indian trade. It is equally
renowned for its white fish, which are taken in the rapids with a
scoop-net. The abundance and excellence of these fish has been the
praise of all travellers from the earliest date, and it constitutes a
ready means of subsistence for the Indians who congregate here.

The place was chiefly memorable in our tour, however, as the seat of the
Chippewa power. To adjust the relations of the tribe with the United
States, a council was convened with the chiefs on the day following our
arrival. This council was assembled at the Governor's _marquée_, which
was graced by the national ensign, and prepared for the interview with
the usual presents. The chiefs, clothed in their best habiliments, and
arrayed in feathers and British medals, seated themselves, with their
usual dignity, in great order, and the business was opened with the
usual ceremony of smoking the peace pipe. When this had been finished,
and the interpreter[39] taken his position, he was directed to explain
the views of the Government, in visiting the country, to remind them
that their ancestors had formerly conceded the occupancy of the place to
the French, to whose national rights and prerogatives the Americans had
succeeded, and, by a few direct and well-timed historical and practical
remarks, to secure their assent to its reoccupancy. The utmost attention
was bestowed while this address was being made, and it was evident, from
the glances of the hearers, that it was received with unfriendly
feelings, and several chiefs spoke in reply. They were averse to the
proposition, and first endeavored to evade it by pretending to know
nothing of such former grants. This point being restated by the American
commissioner, and pressed home strongly, was eventually dropped by them.
Still, they continued to speak in an evasive and desultory manner, which
had the effect of a negative. It was evident that there was a want of
agreement, and some animated discussion arose among themselves. Two
classes of persons appeared among the chiefs. Some appeared in favor of
settling a boundary to the ancient precinct of French occupancy,
provided it was not intended to be occupied by a garrison, saying, in
the symbolic language of Indians, that they were afraid, in that case,
their young men might kill the cattle of the garrison. Gov. Cass,
understanding this, replied that, as to the establishment of a garrison,
they need not give themselves any uneasiness--it was a settled point,
and so sure as the sun that was then rising would set, so sure would
there be an American garrison sent to that point, whether they renewed
the grant or not. This decisive language had a sensible effect. High
words followed between the chiefs. The head chief of the band,
Shingabawossin, a tall, stately man, of prudent views, evidently sided
with the moderates, and was evasive in his speech. A chief called
Shingwauk, or the Little Pine, who had conducted the last war party from
the village in 1814, was inclined to side with the hostiles. There was a
chief present called Sassaba, a tall, martial-looking man, of the
reigning family of chiefs of the Crane Totem, who had lost a brother in
the battle of the Thames. He wore a scarlet uniform, with epaulets, and
nourished a deep resentment against the United States. He stuck his war
lance furiously in the ground before him, at the beginning of his
harangue, and, assuming a savage wildness of air, appeared to produce a
corresponding effect upon the other Indian speakers, and employed the
strongest gesticulation. His address brought the deliberations to a
close, after they had continued some hours, by a defiant tone; and, as
he left the _marquée_, he kicked away the presents laid before the
council. Great agitation ensued. The council was then summarily
dissolved, the Indians went to their hill, and we to our tents.

  [39] James Riley, a son of the late J. V. S. Riley, Esq., of
  Schenectady, N. Y., by a Saganaw woman; a man well versed in the
  language, customs, and local traditions of the Chippewas.

It has been stated that the encampment of the Indians was situated on an
eminence a few hundred yards west from our position on the shore, and
separated from us by a small ravine. We had scarcely reached our tents,
when it was announced that the Indians had raised the British flag in
their camp. They felt their superiority in number, and did not disguise
their insolence. Affairs had reached a crisis. A conflict seemed
inevitable. Governor Cass instantly ordered the expedition under arms.
He then called the interpreter, and proceeded with him, naked-handed
and alone, to Sassaba's lodge at the hostile camp. Being armed with
short rifles, we requested to be allowed to accompany him as a
body-guard, but he decidedly refused this. On reaching the lodge of the
hostile chief, before whose door the flag had been raised, he pulled it
down with his own hands. He then entered the lodge, and addressing the
chief calmly but firmly, told him that it was an indignity which they
could not be permitted to offer; that the flag was the distinguishing
symbol of nationality; that two flags of diverse kind could not wave in
peace upon the same territory; that they were forbid the use of any but
our own, and should they again attempt it, the United States would set a
strong foot upon their rock and crush them. He then brought the captured
flag with him to his tent.

In a few moments after his return from the Indian camp, that camp was
cleared by the Indians of their women and children, who fled with
precipitation in their canoes across the river. Thus prepared for
battle, we momently expected to hear the war-whoop. I had myself
examined and filled my shot-pouch, and stood ready, rifle in hand, with
my companions, awaiting their attack. But we waited in vain. It was an
hour of indecision among the Indians. They deliberated, doubtingly, and
it soon became evident that the crisis had passed. Finding no hostile
demonstration from the hill, Lieuts. Pierce and Mackay directed their
respective commands to retire to their tents.

The intrepid act of Governor Cass had struck the Indians with amazement,
while it betokened a knowledge of Indian character of which we never
dreamed. This people possess a singular respect for bravery. The march
of our force, on that occasion, would have been responded to, instantly,
by eighty or a hundred Indian guns; but to behold an unarmed man walk
boldly into their camp and seize the symbol of their power, betokened a
cast of character which brought them to reflection. On one person in
particular the act had a controlling effect. When it was told to the
daughter of Wäbojeeg (Mrs. Johnston), she told the chief that their
meditated scheme of resistance to the Americans was madness; the day for
such resistance was passed; and this man, Cass, had the air of a great
man, and could carry his flag through the country. The party were also
under the hospitality of her roof. She counselled peace. To these words
Shingabowassin responded; he was seconded by Shingwäkonce, or the Little
Pine. Of this effort we knew nothing at the moment, but the facts were
afterwards learned. It was evident, before the day had passed, that a
better state of feeling existed among the Indians. The chief
Shingabowassin, under the friendly influences referred to, renewed the
negotiations. Towards evening a council of the chiefs was convened in
one of the buildings of this Pocahontean counsellor, and the treaty of
the 16th June, 1820 (_vide_ Ind. Treaties United States) signed. In this
treaty every leading man united, except Sassaba. The Little Pine signed
it, under one of his synonymous names, Lavoine Bart. By this treaty the
Chippewas cede four miles square, reserving the right of a place to fish
at the rapids, perpetually. The consideration for this cession, or
acknowledgment of title, was promptly paid in merchandise.

The way being thus prepared for our entry into Lake Superior, it was
decided to proceed the next day. Before leaving this point, it may be
observed that the falls are produced by a stratum of red sandstone rock,
which crosses the bed of the St. Mary's at this place. The last
calcareous formation, seen in ascending the straits, is at Isle a la
Crosse. As we proceed north, the erratic block stratum becomes heavier,
and abraded masses of the granite, trap, sandstone, and hornblende
series are confusedly piled together on the lake shores, and are
abundant at the foot of these falls. In the central or middle channel,
the waters leap from a moderate height, from stratum to stratum, at two
or three points, producing the appearance, when seen from below, of a
mass of tumbling waves. The French word _Sault_ (pronounced _so_)
accurately expresses this kind of pitching rapids or falls. The Indians
call it Bawateeg, or Pawateeg, when speaking of the phenomenon, and
Bawating or Pawating, when referring to the place. Paugwa is an
expression denoting shallow water on rocks. The inflection _eeg_ is an
animate plural. _Ing_ is the local terminal form of nouns. In the south
or American channel, there is no positive leap of the water, but an
intensely swift current, which is parted by violent jets, between rocks,
still permitting canoes, skilfully guided, to descend, and empty boats
to be drawn up. But these falls are a complete check to ship navigation.
The descent of water has been stated by Colonel Gratiot, of the United
States Engineers, at twenty-two feet ten inches.[40] They resemble a
bank of rolling foam, and with their drapery of trees on either shore,
and the mountains of Lake Superior in the distance, and the moving
canoes of fishing Indians in the foreground, present a most animated and
picturesque view.

  [40] ST. MARY'S CANAL.--Thirty-three years have produced an
  astonishing progress. A ship-canal is now (1853) in the process of
  being constructed at these falls, by the State of Michigan, under a
  grant of public land for that purpose, from Congress. It is to
  consist of two locks of equal lift, dividing the aggregate fall. This
  canal will add the basin of Lake Superior to the line of lake
  navigation. It will enable ships and steamers to enter the St. Louis
  River of Fond du Lac, and to reach a point in latitude corresponding
  to Independence, on the Missouri. No other point of the lake chain
  reaches so far by some hundreds of miles towards the Rocky Mountains;
  and this canal will eventually be the outlet to the Atlantic cities
  of the copper and other mines of Lake Superior, and of the
  agricultural and mineral products of all the higher States of the
  Upper Mississippi and of the Missouri, and a part of Oregon and
  Washington on the Pacific.

To the Chippewas, who regard this spot as their ancient capital, it is
doubtless fraught with many associations, and they regard with jealousy
the advance of the Americans to this quarter. This tribe, in the absence
of any older traditions, are regarded as the aboriginal inhabitants of
the place. They are, by their language, Algonquins, and speak a pure
dialect of it. They call themselves Ojibwas. _Bwa_, in this language,
denotes voice, Ojibwamong signifies Chippewa language, or voice. It is
not manifest what the prefixed syllable denotes. They are a numerous
people, and spread over many degrees of latitude and longitude. We have
had them constantly around us, in some form, since leaving Detroit, and
they extend to the Great Winnipeg Lake of Hudson's Bay. They appear, at
the French era of discovery, to have been confined almost exclusively to
the north bank of the St. Lawrence, below the influx of the Ottowa
River, extending to Lake Nepising, and the geographical position seems
to have been the origin of the name Algonquin.

Whilst encamped here, we witnessed the descent down the rapids of eleven
barges and canoes laden with furs from the north. This trade forms the
engrossing topic, at this point, with all classes. Hazardous as it is,
the pursuit does not fail to attract adventurers, who appear to be
fascinated with the wild freedom of life in the wilderness.




CHAPTER V.

  Embark at the head of the portage at St. Mary's--Entrance into Lake
    Superior--Journey and incidents along its coasts--Great Sand
    Dunes--Pictured Rocks--Grand Island--Keweena peninsula and
    portage--Incidents thence to Ontonagon River.


Having accomplished the object of our visit, at this place, no time was
lost in pushing our way into the basin of Lake Superior. The distance to
it is computed to be fifteen miles above the Sault. It was nine o'clock
of the morning following the day of the treaty, when the men began to
take the canoes up the rapids, and transport the provisions and baggage.
This occupied nearly the whole of the day. Taking leave of Lieutenant
Pierce, who returned with his command, from this point and our
hospitable hostess, we proceeded to the head of the portage, long before
the canoes and stores all arrived. To while away the time, while the men
were thus employed, we tried our skill at rifle shooting. It was six
o'clock in the evening before the work of transportation was finished,
and the canoes loaded, when we embarked. The view from the head of the
portage is imposing. The river spreads out like an arm of the sea. In
the distance appear the mountains of Lake Superior.

We proceeded two leagues, and encamped at Point aux Pins, on the
Canadian shore. At six o'clock the next morning we were again in our
canoes, and crossed the strait, which is here several leagues wide, to
the west, or Point Iroquois Cape. In this traverse we first beheld the
entrance into Lake Superior. The scene is magnificent, and I could fully
subscribe to the remark made by Carver, "that the entrance into Lake
Superior affords one of the most pleasing prospects in the world." The
morning was clear and pleasant, with a favoring breeze, but a tempest of
wind and rain arose, with severe thunder, soon after we had
accomplished the passage, which compelled us hastily to land on the
Point Iroquois shore. This storm detained us five or six hours before
the waters were sufficiently calm to embark. Among the boulders, I
picked up a fine specimen of graphic granite, most perfectly
characterized. About two o'clock, we entered this great inland sea. How
feeble and inadequate are all geographical attempts to describe this
vast body of water, with its imposing headlands, shores, and islands.
The St. Mary's River passes out between two prominent capes, called Gros
Cape and Point Iroquois. The former rises up in elevated barren peaks of
sienite and hornblende rock; the latter consists of nearly equally
elevated masses of horizontal red sandstone, covered with a dense
forest. The line of separation is, perhaps, three leagues, forming a
geological gap, through which, at ancient periods, the drift and boulder
strata has been forced, with an amazing power. For we find these
boulders, of the disrupted sienites, hornblende, trap, and sandstone
rocks of these northern latitudes heaped in profusion along the entire
shores of the river, and cast out, far and wide, into the basin of Lake
Huron.

There is a little island, called Isle des Iroquois, just off the foot of
the American cape, which is a noted stopping-place for boat and canoe
voyagers. On passing this spot, the lake spreads out like a sea. Towards
the north, can be seen on the horizon the blue peaks of distant
mountains. Southerly, the Point Iroquois formation of sandstone appears
skirting the shore, at several miles distance. At the computed distance
of fifteen miles, we passed the mouth of the Taquimenon River. It was
already evening when we came here, but we were far out from shore, and
the guides thought best to keep on their course a league farther, which
brought us, at 11 o'clock at night, into the mouth of the Onzig, or
Shelldrake River. At this spot, we found an encampment of Chippewa
Indians, who were friendly, and quite profuse in their salutation of
_bosho_. At the moment we were ready to embark, the next morning, a
brigade of traders' boats, on the route to Michilimackinac, was
descried, coming in to the same point. This interview detained us till 8
o'clock. Within a league, we met eighteen or twenty Chippewa canoes on
their journey towards the same point; and at the computed distance of
three leagues from the Onzig, we reached, and turned the bleak shores of
White-Fish Point, called Namikong[41] by the Indians. Thus far, we had
been imbayed in an arm of the lake which embraces Parisian Island,
another link of the sandstone formation; but here the lake, stretching
westwardly, displays itself in all its magnificence. On the left,
spreads a long line of sandy coast; on the right, an illimitable expanse
of water, which was bounded only by the horizon. Beyond these features,
there is not a prominent object to catch the eye. The magnificence which
first pleases, at last tires. The change of course brought the wind
ahead, and we were soon compelled to land on these bleak sandy wastes.
While thus detained, an express canoe from St. Mary's reached us with
letters. A couple of hours were employed in dispatching this canoe on
its return; meantime the wind lulled, and we went on ten miles and
encamped on the sands.

  [41] From _na_, excellent; _amik_, beaver; and _ong_, a place.

The next morning, we were again in motion at five o'clock. Twelve miles
coasting along this unvaried shore, brought us to the mouth of a stream
called Neezhoda, Seepe,[42] or Twin River, which is imprecisely called
Two-Hearted River by the traders. The peculiarity of this stream
consists in the union of two separate rivers, near the point of its
outlet. Seven leagues beyond this spot brought us to the inlet called
Grande Marais. Immediately west of this begins an elevated naked coast
of sand-dunes, called Gitche Nägow,[43] or La Grande Sables. To
comprehend the geology of this coast, it is necessary to state that it
consists of several heavy strata of the drift era, reaching a height of
two or three hundred feet, with a precipitous front on the lake. The
sands driven up by the lake are blown over these heights, forming a
heavy deposit. It is this sandy deposit, falling down the face of the
precipice, that appears to convert the whole formation into dunes,
whereon the sandy coating rests, like a veil, over the pebble and
clay-drift. Their desert and Sahara-like appearance is quite impressive
to the travellers who visit these coasts in boats or canoes. The number
of rapacious birds which are observed about these heights, adds to the
interest of the prospect. Dr. Wolcott, and some other members of the
party who ascended the formation, reported a small lake on this
elevation. The sands were observed, in some places, to be deposited over
its vegetation so as to arrest its growth. The largest trees were often
half buried and destroyed. Not less than nine miles of the coast,
agreeably to _voyageur_ estimates, are thus characterized by dunes.

  [42] From _oda_, a heart; _neezh_, two; and _seebe_, a river.

  [43] From _nägow_, sand; and _gitche_, great.

I found the sandstone formation of Cape Iroquois to reappear at the
western termination of these heights on the open shores of the lake,
where I noticed imbedded nodules of granular gypsum. At this point,
known to our men as La Pointe des Grandes Sables, we pitched our tents,
at nightfall, under a very threatening state of the atmosphere. The
winds soon blew furiously, followed by a heavy rain-storm--and sharp
thunder and lightning ensued. Our line of tents stood on a gently rising
beach, within fifty yards of the margin of the lake, where they were
prostrated during the night by the violence of the waves. The rain still
continued at early daylight, the waves dashing in long swells upon the
shore. At sunrise the tempest abated, and by eight o'clock the
atmosphere assumed a calm and delightful aspect. It was eleven o'clock,
however, before the waves sufficiently subsided to permit embarkation.
Indeed, a perfect calm now ensued. This calm proved very favorable--as
we discovered on proceeding three leagues--to our passing the elevated
coast of precipitous rock, called Ishpäbecä,[44] and Pictured Rocks.
This coast, which extends twelve miles, consists of a gray sandstone,
forming a series of perpendicular façades, which have been fretted, by
the action of the waves, into the rude architecture of pillared masses,
and open, cavernous arches. These caverns present their dark mouths to
observation as the voyager passes. At one spot a small stream throws
itself from the cliffs into the lake at one leap. In some instances the
cliffs assume a castellated appearance. At the spot called the Doric
Rock, near the commencement of these picturesque precipices, a vast
entablature rests on two immense rude pillars of the water-worn mass. At
a point called Le Portail, the vast wall of rock had been so completely
excavated and undermined by the lake, that a series of heavy strata of
rock rested solely on a single pillar standing in the lake. The day was
fine as we passed these geological ruins, and we sat silently gazing on
the changing panorama. At one or two points there are small streams
which break the line of rock into quadrangles. A species of dark red
clay overlies this formation, which has been carried by the rains over
the face of the cliffs, where, uniting with the atmospheric sand and
dust, it gives the whole line a pictorial appearance. We almost held our
breath in passing the coast; and when, at night, we compared our
observations around the camp-fire, there was no one who could recall
such a scene of simple novelty and grandeur in any other part of the
world; and all agreed that, if a storm should have arisen while we were
passing, inevitable destruction must have been our lot. We came to Grand
Island at a seasonable hour in the evening, and encamped on the margin
of its deep and land-locked harbor. Our camp was soon filled with
Chippewas from a neighboring village. They honored us in the evening by
a dance. Among these dancers, we were impressed with the bearing of a
young and graceful warrior, who was the survivor of a self-devoted
war-party of thirteen men, who, having marched against their ancient
enemies the Sioux, found themselves surrounded in the plain by superior
numbers, and determined to sell their lives at the dearest rate. To this
end, they dug holes in the earth, each of which thus becoming a
fortification for its inmate, who dared their adversaries till
overpowered by numbers. One person was selected to return with the news
of this heroic sacrifice; this person had but recently returned, and it
was from his lips that we heard the tragic story.

  [44] From _iupa_, high; _aubik_, a rock; and the substantive
  termination, _a_.

My mineralogical searches along the shores this day rewarded me with
several water-worn fragments of agate, carnelian, zeolite, and prase,
which gave me the first intimation of our approach to the trap and
amygdaloidal strata, known to be so abundant in their mineral affluence
in this quarter.

We left Grand Island the next morning at six o'clock, and passing
through a group of sandstone islands, some of which had had their
horizontality disturbed, we came to the mouth of Laughing-fish River,
where a curious flux and reflux of water is maintained. From this place,
a line of sandstone coast was passed, northwardly, till reaching its
terminus on the bay of Chocolate River. This is a large and deep bay,
which it would have required a day's travel to circumnavigate. To avoid
this, the men held their way directly across it, steering N. 70° W.,
which, at the end of three leagues, brought us to Granite Point. Here
we first struck the old crystalline rocks or primitive formation. This
formation stretches from the north shores of the Gitche Sebeeng,[45] or
Chocolate River, to Huron Bay, and gives the traveller a view of rough
conical peaks. These characterize the coast for a couple of days'
travel. They are noted for immense bodies of iron ore, which is chiefly
in the condition of iron glance.[46] At Presque Isle, it assumes the
form of a chromate of iron in connection with serpentine rock. We
encamped on level ground on a sandstone formation, in the rear of
Granite Point, and had an opportunity of observing the remarkable manner
in which the horizontal sandstone rests upon and against the granitical,
or, more truly, sienitic eminences. These sandstone strata lap on the
shoulders of the primitive or crystalline rocks, preserving their
horizontal aspect, and forming distinct cliffs along parts of the coast.
This sandstone appears, from its texture and position, to be the "old
red sandstone" of geologists.

  [45] From _gitche_, great; _sebee_, a river; and the local terminal
  _ng_, signifying place.

  [46] The extensive iron works of Carp River, which are now yielding
  such fine blooms, are seated on the verge of these mountains.

The next morning (23d) we quitted our encampment at an early hour, in a
haze, and urged our way, with some fluctuations of weather, an estimated
distance of eleven leagues. This brought us, at four o'clock in the
afternoon, to Huron River. Sitting in the canoe, in a confined position,
makes one glad at every opportunity to stretch his limbs, and we
embraced the occasion to bathe in the Huron. The shore consists of a
sandy plain, where my attention was called to the Kinnikenik, a plant
much used by the Indians for smoking. It is the _uva ursi_. I had seen
it once before, on the expedition, at Point aux Barques.

We inspected here, with much attention, an Indian grave, as well from
the care with which it was made, as the hieroglyphics cut on the
head-posts. The grave was neatly covered with bark, bent over poles, and
made roof-shaped. A pine stake was placed at the head. Between this and
the head of the grave, there was placed a smooth tablet of cedar wood,
with hieroglyphics. Mr. Riley, our interpreter, explained these. The
figure of a bear denoted the chief or clan. This is the device called a
Totem. Seven red strokes denoted his scalp honors in Indian heraldry, or
that he had been seven times in battle. Other marks were not understood
or interpreted. A paling of saplings inclosed the space.

On the following morning, our camp was astir at the customary early
hour, when we proceeded to Point aux Beignes, a distance of six miles.
Attaining this point, we entered Keweena Bay, coasting up its shores for
an estimated distance of three leagues. We were then opposite the mouth
of Portage River, but separated from it a distance of twelve miles. I
was seated in Lieutenant Mackay's canoe. The whole squadron of five
canoes unhesitatingly put out. The wind was adverse; before much
progress had been made in crossing, three of our flotilla, after
struggling against the billows, put back; but we followed the headmost
one, which bore the Governor's flag, and, seizing hold of the paddles to
relieve the men, we succeeded in gaining the river. The other canoes
came up the next morning, at seven o'clock, when we all proceeded to
cross the Portage Lake, and up an inlet, which soon exhibited a rank
growth of aquatic plants, and terminated, after following a very narrow
channel, in a quagmire. We had, in fact, reached the commencement of the
Keweena Portage.

Before quitting this spot, it may be well to say, that the geology of
the country had again changed. Portage Lake lies, in fact, in the
direction of the great copper-bearing trap dyke. This dyke, estimating
from the end of the peninsula, extends nearly southwest and northeast,
probably seventy miles, with a breadth of ten miles. It is overlaid by
rubblestone and amygdaloid, which latter, by disintegration, yields the
agates, carnelians, and other silicious, and some sparry crystalline
minerals, for which the central shores of Lake Superior are remarkable.
Nearly every part of this broad and extensive dyke which has been
examined, yields veins, and masses of native copper, or copper ores.

The word was, when we had pushed our canoes into the quagmire, that each
of the gentlemen of the party was to carry his own personal baggage
across the portage. This was an awkward business for most of us. The
distance was but two thousand yards, but little over a mile, across
elevated open grounds. I strapped my trunk to my shoulders, and walked
myself out of breath in getting clear of the brushy part of the way,
till reaching the end of the first _pause_, or resting-place. Here I met
the Governor (Cass), who facetiously said: "You see I am carrying _two_
pieces," alluding to his canoe slippers, which he held in his hands. "A
_piece_," in the trade, is the back load of the _engagee_.

On reaching the termination of the second "pause," or rest, we found
ourselves on a very elevated part of the shore of Lake Superior. The
view was limitless, the horizon only bounding the prospect. The waves
rolled in long and furious swells from the west. To embark was
impossible, if we had had our baggage all brought up, which was not the
case. The day was quite spent before the transportation was completed.
This delay gave us an opportunity to ramble about, and examine the
shore. In a boulder of serpentine rock, I found an imbedded mass of
native copper, of two pounds' weight. On breaking the stone, it proved
to be bound together by thin filaments of this metal. Small water-worn
fragments of chalcedony, agate, carnelian, and other species of the
quartz family were found strewn along the beach, together with fragments
of zeolite. Masses of the two former minerals were also found imbedded
in amygdaloid and trap-rock, thus denoting the parent beds of rock. In
the zeal which these little discoveries excited on the subject of
mineralogy, the Chippewa, Ottowa, and Shawnee Indians attached to the
expedition participated, and as soon as they were made acquainted with
the objects sought, they became successful explorers. They had noticed
my devotion to the topic, from the time of our passing the Islands of
Shawangunk, Michilimackinac, and Flat-rock Point, in the basin of Lake
Huron, where organic forms were chiselled from the rock; and bestowed on
me the name of Paguäbëkiegä.[47]

  [47] The equivalent of geologist or mineralogist, from _pagua_, a
  tabular surface; _aubik_, a rock; and _ëga_, the active voice of the
  verb to strike.

It turned out the next morning, that the whole of the baggage and
provisions had not been brought up, nor any of the canoes. This work was
early commenced by the men. About half the day was employed in the
necessary toil. When it was concluded, the wind on the lake had become
too high, blowing in an adverse direction, to permit embarkation.
Nothing remained but to submit to the increased delay, during which we
made ourselves as familiar with the neighboring parts of the lake shore
as possible. During the time the expedition remained encamped at the
portage, I made a short excursion up the peninsula northeastwardly,
accompanied by Captain Douglass, Mr. Trowbridge, and some other persons.
The results of this trip are sufficiently comprehended in what has
already been stated respecting the geology and mineralogy of this
prominent peninsula.

On the following morning (27th) the wind proved fair, and the day was
one of the finest we had yet encountered on this fretful inland sea. We
embarked at half-past four A. M., every heart feeling rejoiced to speed
on our course. The prominent headlands, west of this point, are capped,
as those on its south-eastern border, with red sandstone. The wind
proved full and adequate to bear us on, without endangering our safety,
which enabled the steersmen to hold out boldly, from point to point. We
had not proceeded far beyond the cliffs west of the portage, when the
dim blue outlines of the Okaug or Porcupine Mountains[48] burst on our
view.[49] Their prominent outline seemed to stretch on the line of the
horizon directly across our track. The atmosphere was quite transparent,
and they must have been seen at the distance of sixty miles. Captain
Douglass thought, from the curve of the earth, that they could not be
less than eighteen hundred feet in height. We successively passed the
entrance of Little Salmon-Trout, Graverod, Misery, and Firesteel Rivers,
at the latter of which a landing was made; when we again resumed our
course, and entered the Ontonagon River, at half-past three in the
afternoon. A large body of water enters the lake at the spot, but its
mouth is filled up very much by sands. One of those curious refluxes is
seen here, of which a prior instance has been noticed, in which its
waters, having been impeded and dammed up by gales of wind, react, at
their cessation, with unusual force. The name of the River Ontonagon[50]
is, indeed, due to these refluxes, the prized dish of an Indian female
having, agreeably to tradition, been carried out of the river into the
lake.

  [48] From _kaug_, a porcupine.

  [49] For the view of this scene, see Information on the History,
  Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes, vol. iv. Title iv.

  [50] From the expression _nontonagon_, my dish; and _neen_, the
  pronoun _my_.

Captain Douglass made observations for the latitude of the place, and
determined it to be in north latitude 46° 52´ 2´´. The stationary
distances of the route are given in the subjoined list, in which it may
be observed that they are probably exaggerated about one-third by the
voyagers and northwest traders, who always pride themselves on going
great distances; but they denote very well, in all cases, the _relative_
distances.

_Stationary Distances between Michilimackinac and the River Ontonagon._

                                                         Total
                                                 Miles.  Miles.

    From Michilimackinac to Detour                 40
    Thence to Sault de St. Marie                   45      85
    Point aux Pins                                  6      91
    Point Iroquois, at the entrance into Lake
      Superior                                      9     100
    Taquamenon River                               15     115
    Shelldrake River                                9     124
    White-Fish Point                                9     133
    Two-Hearted River                              24     157
    Grande Marrais, and commencement of
      Grande Sables                                21     178
    La Point la Grande Sables                       9     187
    Pictured Rocks (La Portaille)                  12     199
    Doric Rock, and Miner's River                   6     205
    Grande Island                                  12     217
    River aux Trains                                9     226
    Isle aux Trains                                 3     229
    Laughing-Fish River                             6     235
    Chocolate River                                15     250
    Dead River (in Presque Isle Bay)                6     256
    Granite Point                                   6     262
    Garlic River                                    9     271
    St. John's River, or Yellow Dog Run            15     286
    Salmon-Trout, or Burnt River                   12     298
    Pine River                                      6     304
    Huron River (Huron Islands lie off this
      River)                                        9     313
    Point aux Beignes (east Cape of Keweena Bay)    6     319
    Mouth of Portage River                         21     340
    Head of Portage River (through Keweena
      Lake)                                        24     364
    Lake Superior, at the head of the Portage       1     365
    Little Salmon-Trout River                       9     374
    Graverod's River (small, with flat rocks at
      its mouth)                                    6     380
    Rivière au Misère                              12     392
    Firesteel River                                18     410
    Ontonagon, or Coppermine River                  6     416




CHAPTER VI.

  Chippewa village at the mouth of the Ontonagon--Organize an expedition
    to explore its mineralogy--Incidents of the trip--Rough nature of
    the country--Reach the copper rock--Misadventure--Kill a
    bear--Discoveries of copper--General remarks on the mineral
    affluence of the basin of Lake Superior.


A small Chippewa village, under the chieftainship of
Tshwee-tshweesh-ke-wa, or the Plover, and Kundekund, the Net Buoy, was
found on the west bank of the river, near its mouth, the chiefs and
warriors of which received us in the most friendly manner. If not
originally a people of a serene and placid temperament, they have been
so long in habits of intercourse with the white race that they are quite
familiar with their manners and customs, and mode of doing business.
They appeared to regard the Canadian-Frenchmen of our party as if they
were of their own mode of thinking, and, indeed, almost identical with
themselves.

The Ontonagon River had, from the outset, formed an object of
examination, from the early and continued reports of copper on its
borders. It was determined to lose no time in examining it. Guides were
furnished to conduct a party up the river to the locality of the large
mass of this metal, known from early days. This being one of the
peculiar duties of my appointment, I felt the deepest interest in its
success, and took with me the apparatus I had brought for cutting the
rock and securing proper specimens.

The party consisted of Governor Cass, Dr. Wolcott, Captain Douglass,
Lieutenant Mackay, J. D. Doty, Esq., and myself. We embarked in two
canoes, with their complement of men and guides. It was six o'clock,
when, leaving the balance of the expedition encamped at the mouth of the
river, east shore, we took our departure, in high spirits, for the
copper regions. A broad river with a deep and gentle current, with a
serpentine channel, and heavily wooded banks with their dark-green
foliage overhanging the water, rendered the first few miles of the
trip delightful. At the distance of four miles, we reached a
sturgeon-fishery, formed by extending a weir across the river. This weir
consists of upright and horizontal stakes and poles, along the latter of
which the Indians move and balance themselves, having in their hands an
iron hook on a pole, with which the fish are caught. We stopped a few
moments to look at the process, received some of the fish drawn up
during our stay, which are evidently the _Acipenser oxyrinchus_, and
went on a couple of miles higher, where we encamped on a sandbar. Here
we were welcomed, during the sombre hours off the night, with a
pertinacity we could have well dispensed with, by the mosquitos.

We resumed the ascent at four o'clock in the morning. The river is still
characterized for some miles by rich alluvial banks, bearing a dense
forest of elm, maple, and walnut, with a luxuriant growth of underbrush.
But it was soon perceived that the highlands close in upon it and narrow
its channel, which murmurs over dangerous beds of rocks and stones.
Almost imperceptibly, we found ourselves in an alpine region of a very
rugged character. The first rapid water encountered had been at the
Indian weir, on the 27th. These rapids, though presenting slight
obstacles, became more frequent at higher points. We had been in our
canoes about three hours, the river having become narrower and more
rapid, when the guides informed the party that we had ascended as far
into the mountainous district as was practicable; that there was a
series of bad rapids above; and that, by landing at this spot, the party
could proceed, with guides, to the locality of the copper rock.
Accordingly, arrangements were made to divide the party; Governor Cass
placed at my service the number of men necessary to explore the country
on foot, and carry the implements. Dr. Wolcott and Captain Douglass
joined me. I took my departure with eight persons, including two Indian
guides, in quest of the mineral region, over the highlands on the west
bank of the river; while the Governor, Major Forsyth, and the other
guides, remained with the canoes, which were lightened of half their
burden, in hopes of their being able to ascend the stream quite to the
Rock. Starting with my party with alacrity, this trip was found to be
one of no ordinary toil.

Not only was the country exceedingly rough, carrying us up and down
steep depressions, but the heat of the sun, together with the exercise,
was oppressive, nor did our guides seem to move with a precision which
betokened much familiarity with the region, if they did not feel,
indeed, some compunction on leading whites to view their long
superstitiously concealed mineral treasures. At one o'clock we came to
an Indian path, leading directly to the place. The guides here sat down
to await the party under Governor Cass, who were expected to join us at
this spot. The thermometer at this hour stood at 90° in the shade of the
forest. We had not been long seated when the other party made their
appearance; but the Governor had been so much exhausted by clambering up
the river hills, that he determined to return to his point of landing in
the river. In this attempt he was guided by one of the Ontonagon
Indians, named Wabiskipenais,[51] who missed his way, and wandered about
he knew not whither. We leave him to thread his way back into the
valley, with the Executive of the Territory, wearied and perplexed, at
his heels, while the results of my excursion in search of the copper
rock are detailed. After the reunion at the path, my mineralogical party
proceeded some five or six miles, by estimation, farther, through a more
favorable region, towards the object of search. On approaching the
river, they passed some antique excavations in the forest, overgrown
with saplings, which had the appearance of age, but not of a remote age.
Coming to the brink of the river, we beheld the stream brawling over a
rapid stony bed, at the depth of, perhaps, eighty or a hundred feet
below. Towards this, its diluvial banks, charged with boulders and
pebbles, sloped at a steep angle. At the foot, laid the large mass we
were in search of, partly immersed in the water. Its position may be
inferred from the following sketch:--

  [51] From _wabiska_, white (transitive animate), and _penasee_, a
  bird.

[Illustration: Fig. 1.]

The rock consists of a mass of native copper in a tabular boulder of
serpentine. Its face is almost purely metallic, and more splendent than
appears to consist with its being purely metallic copper. There is no
appearance of oxidation. Its size, roughly measured, is three feet four
inches, by three feet eight inches, and about twelve or fourteen inches
thick in the thickest part. The weight of copper, exclusive of the rock,
is not readily estimated; it may be a ton, or a ton and a half. Old
authors report it at more than double this weight. The quantity has
been, however, much diminished by visitors, who have cut freely from it.
I obtained adequate specimens, but found my chisels too highly tempered,
and my hammer not heavy enough to separate large masses. Having made the
necessary examinations, we took our way back up the elevated banks of
the river, and across the forest about six miles, to the final place of
debarkation of Gov. Cass and his party. But our fears were at once
excited on learning that the Governor, with his guide, Wabishkepenais,
had not reached the camp. It was already beginning to be dark, and the
gloom of night, which is impressive in these solitudes, was fast closing
around us. Guns were fired, to denote our position, and a light canoe
was immediately manned, placed in charge of one of the gentlemen, and
sent up the river in search. This canoe had not proceeded a mile, when
the object of search was descried, with his companions, sitting on the
banks of the river, with a real jaded air, with his Indian guide
standing at no great distance. Wabishkepenais had been bewildered in his
tracks, and finally struck the river by the merest chance. The
Governor, on reaching camp, looked as if he had been carried over steeps
and through gloomy defiles, which had completely exhausted his strength,
and he was not long in retiring to his tent, willing to leave such rough
explorations for the present, at least, to other persons, or, if he ever
resumed them, to do it with better guides. Poor Wabishkepenais looked
chagrined and as woebegone himself as if he had encountered the bad
influences of half the spirits of his Indian mythology; for the fellow
had really been lost in his own woods, and with a charge by whom he had
felt honored, and employed his best skill to conduct. The camp-fires
already threw their red glare among the trees as night spread her sable
pall over us. The tents were pitched; the canoes turned up on the shore
to serve as a canopy for the men to sleep under. Indians and Canadians
were soon engaged at their favorite pipes, and mingled their tones and
hilarious conversation; and we finally all slept the sounder for our
eventful day's toils and misadventures. But deeply printed on our
memory, and long to remain there, are the thrilling scenes of that day
and that night.

At five o'clock the next morning, the entire camp was roused and in
motion, when we began to descend the stream. We had descended about ten
miles, when the Ontonagon Indians stopped the canoes to examine a
bear-fall, on the east bank. It was a fine open forest, elevated some
six or eight feet above the water. It was soon announced that a bear was
entrapped. We all ascended the bank, and visited the locality. The
structure had been so planned that the animal must needs creep lowly
under a crib of logs to get at the bait, which he no sooner disturbed
than a weight of logs fell on his prostrated legs. The animal sat up
partially on his fore paws, when we advanced, the hinder being pressed
heavily to the earth. One of the Indians soon fired a ball through his
head, but it did not kill him, he still kept his upright position. Dr.
Wolcott then requested permission to fire a shot, which was aimed at the
heart, and took effect about that part, but did not kill him. One of the
Indians then dispatched him with an axe. He was no sooner dead than one
of the Indians, stepping up, addressed him by the name _Muk-wah_, shook
him by the paw, with a smiling countenance, saying, in the Indian
language, that he was sorry they had been under the necessity of
killing him, and hoped the offence would be forgiven, as one of the
shots fired had been from an American.[52]

  [52] Chemoquiman, from _gitchee_, great, and _moquiman_, knife.

This act of the Indian addressing the bear, will be better understood,
when it is stated that their mythology tells them, that the spirit of
the animal must be encountered in a future state, when the enchantment
to which it is condemned in this life, will be taken off.

On passing down the river, an Indian had promised to disclose another
mass of native copper, near the river, and we stopped at a spot
indicated, to enable him to bring it. Whether he repented of his too
free offer, agreeably to Indian superstition, or feared some calamity to
follow the disclosure, or really encountered some difficulty in finding
it, I know not, but it is certain that, after some time spent in the
search, or affected search, he came back to the river without producing
it.

Soon after this incident, we reached the mouth of the river, and found
the party left encamped at that point, in charge of Mr. Trowbridge and
Mr. Doty, well, nothing having occurred in our absence. The wind was,
however, adverse to our embarkation, had it been immediately desired.

A council of the Ontonagon Indians was summoned, which met in the after
part of the day; speeches were delivered, and replied to, and presents
distributed. A silver medal was presented to Wabishkepenais.

Head winds continuing, we were farther detained at this spot the
following day. While thus detained, an Ontonagon Indian brought in a
mass of native copper, from the banks of this river, weighing eight or
nine pounds. This mass was of a flattened, orbicular shape, and its
surface coated with a green oxide. At a subsequent part of my
acquaintance with this river, another mass of native copper (still
deposited in my cabinet) was brought to me, from the east fork of the
river, which weighed from forty to fifty pounds. This mass, of a
columnar shape, originally embraced a piece of stone which the Indian
finding it had detached. It was also coated with a dark green oxide of
copper. Both of these masses appeared to have been volcanic. Neither of
them had the slightest traces of gangue, or vein-matter, nor of
attrition in being removed from the parent beds. The following sketches
depict the shapes of these masses.

[Illustration: Fig. 2.]

[Illustration: Fig. 3.]

With respect to the general question of the mineral character of this
part of the country, and the probable value of its mineral and metallic
deposits to the public domain, the entire class of facts, from which a
judgment must be formed, are favorable.[53] Salts and oxides of copper
are not only seen in various places in its stratification, but these
indications of mineral wealth in this article are confirmed, by the
subsequent discovery of masses of native copper, along the shore, and
imbedded in its traps and amygdaloids. In addition to the opportunities
of observation furnished by this expedition, subsequent public duties
led me to perform seven separate trips along its shores, and each of
these but served to accumulate the evidences of its extraordinary
mineral wealth. Indications of the sulphurets, arseniates, and other
ores of this metal are found in the older class of horizontal rocks; but
it is to the trap-rocks alone that we must look for the veins of native
metal. Some of these masses contain silver, in a state of combination.
Traces of this metal, chiefly in the boulder form, are found in the
metalliferous horizontal strata. Nor is there wanting evidence, that
there are localities of virgin copper, which do not promise a
considerable percentage of the metal. A mass of steatite, imbedding a
heavy mass of pure native silver, which had been probably carried from
the northwest, with the drift stratum, was found cast out quite into the
Huron basin; and this rock, in its intimate associations with the
serpentine formation of Lake Superior, should be closely scrutinized.
There is also a formation of slate and quartz in the primitive district,
which is entitled to particular attention.

  [53] _Vide_ Reports in the Appendix: 1. Report on the Copper Mines of
  Lake Superior, November 6, 1820. 2. Report on the Value of the
  Existing Evidences of Mineral Wealth in the Basin of Lake Superior to
  the Public Domain, October 1, 1822.

Inorganic masses are developed, throughout the globe, without regard to
climate. Russia yields the precious metals in great profusion, and there
are no laws governing the distribution of these metals, which forbid the
expectation that they should be abundantly disclosed by the
stratification of the basin of Lake Superior. With respect to the useful
metals, particularly copper and iron, it is undeniably the richest and
most extensive locality of these metals on the globe.[54]

  [54] Geological Report, _vide_ Appendix.




CHAPTER VII.

  Proceed along the southern coast of Lake Superior from the Ontonagon,
    to Fond du Lac--Porcupine range of mountains--Streams that run
    from it, at parallel distances, into the lake--La Pointe--Group of
    the Federation Islands--River St. Louis--Physical geography of
    Lake Superior.


Head winds detained the expedition at the mouth of the Ontonagon, during
the day and the day following that of our arrival from the copper rock.
It was the first of July, at half-past four o'clock, A. M., when the
state of the lake permitted us to embark. Steering west, we now had the
prominent object of the Porcupine Mountains constantly in view. At the
distance of fifteen miles, we passed the Pewabik Seebe, or Iron River.
This stream, after ascending it a couple of miles, is a mere torrent,
pouring from the Porcupine Mountains, over a very rough bed of
grauwakke, which forbids all navigation. At the computed distance of
five leagues beyond this stream, we passed the river called Pusábika, or
Dented River, so called from standing rocks, which resemble broken human
teeth. The Canadians, who, as previously remarked, appear to have had
but a limited geographical vocabulary, called this Carp River,
neglectful of the fact that they had already bestowed the name on a
small river which flows into the bay south of Granite Point.[55] We were
now at the foot of the Kaug range, which is one vast upheaval of
trap-rock, and has lifted the chocolate-colored sandstone, at its base,
into a vertical position. The Pusábika River originates in this high
trap range, from which it is precipitated, at successive leaps, to the
level of the lake, the nearest of which, a cascade of forty feet, is
within three miles of the river's mouth.

  [55] Now the seat of the Marquette Iron Works.

Six miles further brought us to the Presque Isle River of the Canadians,
for which I heard no Indian name. It also originates on this lofty trap
range, and has worn its bed through frightful chasms in the grauwackke,
through which it enters the lake. Within half a mile of its entrance,
the river, hastening from its elevations, drops into a vast cauldron
scooped in the grauwackke rock, whence it glides into the lake. Here are
some picturesque and sublime views, worthy the pencil.

Two leagues beyond this river we reached and passed the entrance of
Black River, another of the streams from the Kaug range. It is stated to
be rapid, and to have its source south of the mountains, in a district
sheltered from the lake winds, and suited to agriculture. Its borders
bear at the same time indications of mineral wealth. Eight miles beyond
this river, we encamped on the open shores of the lake, after travelling
fifty miles. Having been doubled up in the canoe for all this distance,
landing on terra firma, and being able to stretch one's legs, seemed
quite a relief. "I will break a lance with you," quoth A to B,
addressing Mr. Trowbridge, offering him at the same time a dried stalk,
which had been cast up by the waves. We were, in fact, as much pleased
to get ashore, after the day's confinement, as so many boys let loose
from confinement in school. In strolling along the shore, I recognized
the erismatolite, in the dark upheaved sandstone at this locality.

We here observed a phenomenon, which is alluded to by Charlevoix as
peculiar to this lake. Although it was calm, and had been so all day,
save a light breeze for a couple of hours after leaving the Ontonagon,
the waters near shore were in a perfect rage, heaving and lashing upon
the rocks, in a manner which rendered it difficult to land. At the same
time, scarce a breath of air was stirring, and the atmosphere was
beautifully serene.

On passing thirteen miles, the next morning, we reached the mouth of the
Montreal River, which is the last of the mountain streams of the Kaug
range. It throws itself from a high precipice of the vertical sand-rock,
within sight of the lake, creating quite a picturesque view.[56] (Vide
_Information respecting the History, Customs, and Prospects of Indian
Tribes_, vol. iv. plate 26.)

  [56] This river has subsequently been fixed on as the northwestern
  boundary of the state of Michigan, separating it from Wisconsin.

On landing here a few moments, at an early hour, the air being hazy, we
knocked down some pigeons, which flew very low.[57] This bird seems to
be precisely the common pigeon of the Atlantic borders. The Indians had
constructed a fish-weir between the lake and Montreal falls, where the
lake sturgeon are caught.

  [57] BIRDS OF LAKE SUPERIOR.--Of the species that frequent the
  vicinity of this lake, the magpie is found to approach as far north
  as Lac du Flambeau, on the head of the Montreal and Chippewa Rivers.
  This bird is called by the Chippewas Wabish Kagagee, a name derived
  from _Wabishkau_, white animate, and _Kaw-gaw-gee_, a crow. The
  three-toed woodpecker visits its forests. The T. polyglottis has been
  seen as far north as the Island of Michilimackinac. In the spring of
  1823, a species of grosbeak visited St. Mary's, of which I
  transmitted a specimen to the New York Lyceum of Natural History,
  where it received the name of Evening Grosbeak.

After passing about a league beyond the Montreal, the voyager reaches a
curve in the lake shore, at which it bends to the north and northwest.
This curve is observed to extend to the De Tour of the great bay of Fond
du Lac, a computed distance of the _voyageurs_ of thirty-six miles,
which, as before indicated, is about one-third overrated. The immediate
shore is a level plain of sand, which continues to Point Chegoimegon,
say eighteen miles. About two-thirds of this distance, the Muskeego[58]
River enters through the sandy plain from the west. This is a large
stream, consisting of two primary forks, one of which connects it with
Chippewa River, and the other with the River St. Croix of the
Mississippi. The difficulties attending its ascent, from rapids and
portages, have led the French to call it Mauvaise, or Bad River.[59]

  [58] From _Muskeeg_, a swamp or bog, and o, the sign of the genitive.

  [59] MUSKEEGO, or MAUVAIS RIVER.--In 1831, the United States
  government placed under my charge an expedition into the Indian
  country which ascended this river, with a view to penetrate through
  the intervening region to the Mississippi. Indian canoes were
  employed, as being best adapted to its rapids and portages, which
  were managed by _voyageurs_. A detachment of infantry, under Lieut.
  R. Clary, was added. The tribes in this secluded region were then
  meditating the outbreak which eventuated the next year in the Black
  Hawk War. This expedition ascended the river through a most
  embarrassing series of rapids and rafts, which often choked up its
  channel for miles, into a long lake, on its summit, called
  Kagenogumaug. From the northwest end of this, it passed, from lake to
  lake, to the Namakagun fork of the River St. Croix of the Mississippi,
  descended that stream to Yellow River, then retraced the Namakagun to
  a portage to Ottowa Lake, a source of Chippewa River, then to a
  portage into Lac Chetac, the source of the Red Cedar, or Follavoine
  River, and pursued the latter to the main channel of the Chippewa,
  and by the latter into the Mississippi, which it enters at the foot
  of Lake Pepin; thence down the Mississippi to Prairie du Chien, and
  through the present area of the State of Wisconsin, by the Wisconsin
  and Fox Rivers, to Green Bay; thence through Lakes Michigan and Huron
  to Sault de Ste Marie.

Passing this river, we continued along the sandy formation to its
extreme termination, which separates the Bay of St. Charles by a strait
from that remarkable group of islands, called the Twelve Apostles by
Carwer. It is this sandy point, which is called La Pointe
Chagoimegon[60] by the old French authors, a term now shortened to La
Pointe. Instead of "twelve," there are, however, nearer thirty islands,
agreeably to the subjoined sketch, by which it is seen that each State
in the Union may stand sponsor for one of them, and they might be more
appropriately called the _Federation Group_. Touching at the inner or
largest of the group, we found it occupied by a Chippewa village, under
a chief called Bezhike. There was a tenement occupied by a Mr. M.
Cadotte, who has allied himself to the Chippewas. Hence we proceeded
about eleven miles to the main shore, where we encamped at a rather late
hour. I here found a recurrence of the granitic, sienitic, and
hornblende rocks, in high orbicular hills, and improved the brief time
of daylight to explore the vicinity. The evening proved lowering and
dark, and this eventuated in rain, which continued all night, and until
six o'clock the next morning. Embarking at this hour, we proceeded
northwest about eight miles, to Raspberry River, and southwest to Sandy
River. Here we were driven ashore by a threatening tempest, and before
we had unladen the canoes, there fell one of the most copious and heavy
showers of rain. The water seemed fairly to pour from the clouds. We had
not pitched a tent, nor could the slightest shelter be found. There
seemed but one option at our command, namely, that between sitting and
standing. We chose the latter, and looked at each other, it may be,
foolishly, while this rain tempest poured. When it was over, we were as
completely wetted as if it had been our doom to lay at the bottom of the
lake. When the rain ceased, the wind rose directly ahead, which confined
us to that spot the rest of the day. The next day was the Fourth of
July--a day consecrated in our remembrance, but which we could do no
more than remember. The wind continued to blow adversely till about two
o'clock, when we embarked, not without feeling the lake still laboring
under the agitation into which it had been thrown. On travelling three
miles, we turned the prominent point, called De Tour of Fond du Lac. At
this point our course changed from northwest to south-southwest.

  [60] From _Shaugwamegun_, low lands, and _ing_, a place.

The sandstone formation here showed itself for the last time. The shore
soon assumes a diluvial character, bordered with long lines of yellow
sand and pebbles. In some places, heavy beds of pure iron sand were
observed. The agitation which marked the lake soon subsided, under the
change of wind, and our men seemed determined, by the diligence with
which they worked, to make amends for our delay at Sandy River.

At eight o'clock in the evening we came to Cranberry River and encamped,
having, by their estimation, come twenty-three miles. The evening was
perfectly clear and calm, with a striking twilight, which was remarked
all night. These lengthened twilights form a very observable feature as
we proceed north. Mackenzie says that, in lat. 67° 47´, on the 11th of
July, 1789, he saw the sun above the horizon at twelve o'clock P.M.

The calmness and beauty of the night, and our chief's anxiety to press
forward, made this a short night. Gen. Cass aroused the camp at a very
early hour, so that at three o'clock we were again upon the lake, urging
our way up the Fond du Lac Bay. The sun rose above the horizon at ten
minutes before four o'clock. The morning was clear and brilliant. Not a
cloud obscured the sky, and the waves of the lake spread out with the
brightness of a mirror. At the distance of five leagues, we passed the
mouth of the Wisakoda, or Broule River,[61] a stream which forms the
connecting link with the Mississippi River, through the St. Croix. Three
miles beyond this point we landed a short time, on the shore, where we
observed a stratum of iron sand, pure and black, a foot in thickness.

  [61] WISACODA, or BROULE RIVER.--On returning down the Mississippi
  River, from the exploration of its sources, in 1832, I ascended the
  River St. Croix quite to its source in St. Croix Lake. A short
  portage, across a sandy summit, terminated at the head springs of the
  Wisacoda, which, from a very narrow and tortuous channel, is soon
  increased in volume by tributaries, and becomes a copious stream.
  Thus swelled in volume, it is dashed down an inclined plane, for
  nearly seventy miles, over which it roars and foams with the
  impetuosity of a torrent. It is not till within a few miles of Lake
  Superior that it becomes still and deep. The entire length of the
  river may be estimated at one hundred miles. It has two hundred and
  forty distinct rapids, at some of which the river sinks its level
  from eight to ten feet. It cannot fall, in this distance, less than
  500. That it should ever have been used in the fur trade, is to be
  explained by the fact that it has much water.

At eleven o'clock, a northeast wind arose, which enabled the expedition
to hoist sail. Land on the north shore had for some time been in sight,
across the bay, and the line of coast soon closed in front, denoting
that we had reached the head of the lake. At twelve o'clock, we entered
the month of the River St. Louis, having been eighteen days in passing
this lake, including the trip to the Ontonagon.

Before quitting Lake Superior, whose entire length we have now
traversed, one or two generic remarks may be made; and the first
respects its aboriginal name. The Algonquins, who, in the Chippewa
tribe, were found in possession of it, on the arrival of the French,
early in the seventeenth century, applied the same radical word to it
which they bestow on the sea, namely, Gum-ee (Collected water), or, as
it is sometimes pronounced, Gom-ee, or Go-ma; with this difference, that
the adjective big (gitchè) prefixed to this term for Lake Superior, is
repeated when it is applied to the sea. The superlative is formed when
it is meant to be very emphatic, in this language, by the repetition of
the adjective; a principle, indeed, quite common to the Indian grammars
generally. The word did not commend itself to French or English ears, so
much as to lead to its adoption. By taking the syllable Al from
Algonquin, as a prefix, instead of gitchè, we have the more poetic
combination of Algoma.

Geographers have estimated the depth of this lake at nine hundred feet.
By the surveys of the engineers of the New York and Erie Canal, the
surface of Lake Erie is shown to be five hundred and sixty feet above
tide-water, which, agreeably to estimates kept on the present journey,
lies fifty-two feet below the level of Lake Superior. These data would
carry the bottom of the lake two hundred and eighty-eight feet below
tide water. What is more certain is this, that it has been the theatre
of ancient volcanic action, which has thrown its trap-rocks into high
precipices around its northern shores and some of its islands, and
lifted up vast ranges of sandstone rocks into a vertical position, as is
seen at the base of the Porcupine Mountains. Its latest action appears
to have been in its western portion, as is proved by the upheaval of the
horizontal strata; and it may be inferred that its bed is very rough and
unequal.

The western termination of the lake, in the great bay of Fond du Lac,
denotes a double or masked shore, which appears to have been formed of
pebbles and sands, driven up by the tempests, at the distance of a mile
or two, outside of the original shore. The result is shown by an
elongated piece of water, resembling a lake, which receives at the
north, the River St. Louis, and the _Agoche_, or Lefthand River, at its
south extremity.

About three miles above the mouth of the river, we landed at a Chippewa
village. While exchanging the usual salutations with them, we noticed
the children of an African, who had intermarried with this tribe. These
children were the third in descent from Bongo, a freed man of a former
British commanding officer at the Island of Michilimackinac. They
possessed as black skins as the father, a fact which may be accounted
for by observing, what I afterwards learned, that the marriages were, in
the case of the grandfather and father, with the pure Indian, and not
with Africano-Algonquin blood; so that there had been no direct advance
in the genealogical line.

The St. Louis River discharges a large volume of water, and is destined
hereafter to be a port of entry for the lake shipping, but at present it
has shoals of sand at its mouth which would bar the entrance of large
vessels. Proceeding up the river, we found it very serpentine, and
abounding in aquatic plants, portions of it yielding the wild rice. At
the computed distance of twenty-four miles, we reached the establishment
of the American Fur Company. It was seven o'clock when we came to the
place, where we encamped.

Lake Superior is called by the Chippewas a sea.

The superficial area of the lake has been computed by Mr. Darby at a
little under nine hundred billions of feet, and its depth at nine
hundred feet. By the latest surveys and estimate, the altitude of Lake
Superior above tide water, is about six hundred and forty feet.[62]
Allowing Mr. Darby's computation to be correct, this would sink its bed
far below the surface of the Atlantic.

  [62] _Vide_ Appendix.

This lake has been the theatre of very extensive volcanic action. Vast
dykes of trap traverse its northern shores. One of the principal of
these has apparently extended across its bed, from northeast to
southwest, to the long peninsula of Keweena, producing at the same time,
the elevated range of the Okaug Mountains. One of the most remarkable
features of these dykes is the numerous and extensive veins of native
copper which characterize them. Subsequent convulsions, and the
demolition of these ancient dykes, by storms and tempests, have
scattered along its shores abundant evidence of the metal and its ores
and veinstones, which have attracted notice from the earliest time. The
geology of its southern coasts may be glanced at, and inferred, from the
subjoined outlines.

[Illustration: Geological outline of Lake Superior.]

The teachings of topography, applied to commerce, are wonderful. A
longitudinal line, dropped south, from this point, would cross the
Mississippi at the foot of Lake Pepin, and pass through Jefferson city
on the Missouri. When, therefore, a ship canal shall be made at St.
Mary's Falls, vessels of large tonnage may sail from Oswego (by the
Welland canal) and Buffalo, through a line of inter-oceanic seas, nearer
to the foot of the Rocky Mountains, by several hundred miles, than by
any other possible route. A railroad line from Fond du Lac west to the
Columbia valley, would also form the shortest and most direct transit
route from the Pacific to New York. Such a road would have the advantage
of passing through a region favorable to agriculture, which cannot but
develop abundant resources.




CHAPTER VIII.

  Proceed up the St. Louis River, and around its falls and rapids to
    Sandy Lake in the valley of the Upper Mississippi--Grand
    Portage--Portage aux Coteaux--A sub-exploring party--Cross the
    great morass of Akeek Scepi to Sandy Lake--Indian mode of
    pictographic writing--Site of an Indian jonglery--Post of Sandy
    Lake.


We had now reached above nine hundred and fifty miles from our
starting-point at Detroit, and had been more than forty days in
traversing the shores of Lakes Huron and Superior. July had already
commenced, and no time was to be lost in reaching our extreme point of
destination. Every exertion was therefore made to push ahead. By ten
o'clock of the morning after our arrival at the Fond du Lac post, we
embarked, and after going two miles reached the foot of the first rapids
of the St. Louis. This spot is called the commencement of the Grand
Portage--over this path all the goods, provisions, and canoes are to be
carried by hand nine miles. During this distance, the St. Louis River, a
stream of prime magnitude, bursts through the high trap range of what
Bouchette calls the Cabotian Mountains, being a continuation of the
upheavals of the north shore of Lake Superior, the river leaping and
foaming, from crag to crag, in a manner which creates some of the most
grand and picturesque views. We sometimes stood gazing at their
precipices and falls, with admiration, and often heard their roar on our
path, when we were miles away from them. Capt. Douglass estimated the
river to fall one hundred and eight feet during the first nine miles;
and from estimates furnished me by Dr. Wolcott, the aggregate fall from
the mouth of the Savannè, to that point, is two hundred and twelve feet.
We found the first part of the ascent of its banks very precipitous and
difficult, particularly for the men who bore burdens, and what rendered
the labor almost insupportable was the heat, which stood at 82°, in the
shade, at noon. We made but five _pauses_ the first day; and were three
days on the portage. It rained the second day, which added much to the
difficulty of our progress. We now found ourselves, at every step,
advancing into a wild and rugged region. Everything around us wore the
aspect of remoteness. Dark forests, swampy grounds, rocky precipices,
and the distant roaring of the river, as it leapt from rock to rock,
would have sufficiently impressed the mind with the presence of the
wilderness, without heavy rains, miry paths, and the train of wild and
picturesque Indians, who constituted a part of our carriers.

The rocks, at the foot of the portage, consisted of horizontal red
sandstone. On reaching the head of it, we found argillite in a vertical
position. I found the latter, in some places, pervaded by thin veins of
quartz, and in one instance by grauwackke. At one spot there was a small
vein of coarse graphite in the argillite. Large blocks of black
crystallized hornblende rock lie along the shores, where we again
reached the river, and are often seen on its bed, amid the swift-running
water, but I did not observe this rock in place. Among the loose stones
at the foot of the portage, I picked up a specimen of micaceous oxide of
iron. Such are the gleams of its geology and mineralogy. The growth of
the forest is pines, hemlock, spruce, birch, oak, and maple. In
favorable situations, I observed the common red raspberry, ripe.

On embarking above the portage, the expedition occupied seven canoes, of
a size most suitable for this species of navigation. Our Indian
auxiliaries from Fond du Lac were here rewarded, and dismissed. On
ascending six miles, we reached the Portage aux Coteaux, so called from
the carrying path lying over a surface of vertical argillite. This rock,
standing up in the bed, or on the banks of the stream, with a scanty
overhanging foliage of cedar, gives a peculiarly wild and abrupt aspect
to the scene; which is by no means lessened by the loud roaring of the
waters. There is a fall and rapid at this portage, where the river, it
may be estimated, sinks its level about fourteen feet.

We encamped at the head of this portage, where the water again permits
the canoes to be put in. Thus far, we had found this stream a broad,
flowing torrent, but owing to its rapids and rocks, anything but
favorable to its navigation by boats, or canoes of heavy burden. His
excellency Gov. Cass, therefore, determined to relieve the river party,
by detaching a sub-expedition across the country to Sandy Lake. It was
thought proper that I should accompany this party. It consisted,
besides, of Lieut. Mackay, with eight soldiers, and of Mr. Doty, Mr.
Trowbridge, and Mr. Chase. We were provided with an interpreter and two
Chippewa guides, being sixteen persons in all.

Thus organized, we left the camp at the head of the portage, the
following morning, at six o'clock. Each one carried provisions for five
days, a knife, a musquito bar, and a blanket or cloak. There were a few
guns taken, but generally this was thought to be an incumbrance, as we
expected to see little game and to encounter a toilsome tramp. The
guides, taking their course by the sun, struck west into a close forest
of pine, hemlock, and underbrush, which required energy to push through.
On travelling a couple of miles, we fell into an Indian path leading in
the required direction; but this path, after passing through two ponds,
and some marshes, eventually lost itself in swamps. These marshes, after
following through them, about four miles, were succeeded by an elevated
dry sandy barren, with occasional clumps of pitch pine, and with a
surface of shrubbery. Walking over this dry tract was quite a relief. We
then entered a thick forest of young spruce and hemlock. Two miles of
this brought us to the banks of a small lake, with clear water, and a
pebbly shore. Having no canoe to cross it, our guides led us around its
southern shores. The fallen timber and brush rendered this a very
difficult march. To avoid these obstructions, as they approached the
head of the lake, we eventually took its margin, occasionally leading
into the water. While passing these shores, I picked up some specimens
of the water-worn agates, for which the diluvians in this quarter are
remarkable. We now fell into an old Indian path, which led to two small
lakes, similar in size, to the former one, but with marshy borders, and
reddish water. These small lakes were filled with pond lilies, rushes,
and wild rice. At the margin of the second lake, the path ceased, and
the guides could not afterwards find it. The path terminated abruptly at
the second lake. While searching about this, Chamees,[63] one of the
Indian guides, found a large green tortoise, which he and his companion
killed in a very ingenious and effectual way, by a blow from a hatchet
on the neck, at the point where the shell or buckler terminates. After
leaving this water, they appeared to be in doubt about the way; almost
imperceptibly, we found ourselves in a great tamarak swamp. The bogs and
moss served to cover up, almost completely, the fallen trees, and formed
so elastic a carpet as to sink deep at every tread. Occasionally they
broke through, letting the foot into the mire. This proved a very
fatiguing tramp. To add to its toils, it rained at intervals all day. We
were eleven hours in passing this swamp, and estimated, and probably
over-estimated ourselves to have past twenty miles. We encamped at five
o'clock near the shores of a third small lake, each one picking out for
himself the most elevated spot possible, and the person who got a
position most completely out of the water was the best man. It is
fatigue, however, that makes sleep a welcome guest, and we awoke without
any cause of complaint on that score.

  [63] The pouncing hawk.

The next morning, as we were about to depart, we observed near the
camp-fire of our guides a pole leaning in the direction we were to go,
with a birch-bark inscription inserted in a slit in the top of the pole.
This was too curious an object not to excite marked attention, and we
took it down to examine the hieroglyphics, or symbols, which had been
inscribed with charcoal on the birch scroll. We found the party minutely
depicted by symbols. The figures of eight muskets denoted that there
were eight soldiers in the party. The usual figure for a man, namely, a
closed cross with a head, thus:--

[Illustration]

and one hand holding a sword, told the tale that they were commanded by
an officer. Mr. Doty was drawn with a book, they having understood that
he was a lawyer. I was depicted with a hammer, to denote a mineralogist.
Mr. Trowbridge and Mr. Chase, and the interpreter, were also depicted.
Chamees and his companion were drawn by a camp-fire apart, and the
figure of the tortoise and a prairie-hen denoted the day's hunt. There
were three hacks on the pole, which leaned to the N. W., denoting our
course of travel. Having examined this unique memorial, it was carefully
replaced in its former position, when we again set forward. It appeared
we had rested in a sort of oasis in the swamp, for we soon entered into
a section of a decidedly worse character than that we had passed the day
before. The windfalls and decaying timber were more frequent--the bogs,
if possible, more elastic--the spots dry enough to halt on, more
infrequent, and the water more highly colored with infusions of decaying
vegetable matter. We urged our way across this tract of morass for nine
hours, during which we estimated our progress at fourteen miles, and
encamped about four o'clock P. M., in a complete state of exhaustion.
Even our Indian guides demanded a halt; and what had, indeed, added to
our discouragements, was the uncertainty of their way, which they had
manifested.

Our second night's repose in this swampy tract, was on ground just
elevated above the water; the mosquitos were so pertinacious at this
spot as to leave us but little rest. From information given by our
guides, this wide tract of morass constitutes the sources of the Akeek
Seebi, or Kettle River, which is one of the remotest sources of the
Mille Lac, and, through that body of water, of Rum River. It is visited
only by the Indians, at the proper season for trapping the beaver,
marten, and muskrat. During our transit through it, we came to open
spaces where the cranberry was abundant. In the same locality, we found
the ripe fruit, green berries, and blossoms of this fruit.

It was five o'clock A. M. when we resumed our march through this
toilsome tract, and we passed out of it, after pressing forward with our
best might, during twelve hours. We had been observant of the perplexity
of our guides, who had unwittingly, we thought, plunged us into this
dreary and seemingly endless morass, and were rejoiced, on a sudden, to
hear them raise loud shouts. They had reached a part of the country
known to them, and took this mode to express their joy, and we soon
found ourselves on the banks of a small clear stream, called by them
Bezhiki Seebi, or Buffalo Creek, a tributary to Sandy Lake. We had, at
length, reached waters flowing into the Mississippi. On this stream we
prepared to encamp, in high spirits, feeling, as those are apt to who
have long labored at an object, a pleasure in some measure proportioned
to the exertions made.

Any other people but the Indians would feel ill at ease in dreary
regions like these. But these sons of the forest appear to carry all
their socialities with them, even in the most forbidding solitudes. They
are so familiarized with the notions of demons and spirits, that the
wildest solitude is replete with objects of hope and fear. We had
evidence of this, just before we encamped on the banks of the Bezhiki,
when we came to a cleared spot, which had been occupied by what the
Canadians, with much force, call a _jonglery_, or place of necromantic
ceremonies of their priests or jossakeeds. There were left standing of
this structure six or eight smooth posts of equal length, standing
perpendicularly. These had been carefully peeled, and painted with a
species of ochrey clay. The curtains of bark, extending between them,
and isolating the powow, or operator, had been removed; but the
precincts had the appearance of having been carefully cleared of brush,
and the ground levelled, for the purposes of these sacred orgies, which
exercise so much influence on Indian society.

We were awaked in our encampment, between four and five o'clock, the
next morning, by a shower of rain. Jumping up, and taking our customary
meal of jerked beef and biscuit, we now followed our guides, with
alacrity, over a dry and uneven surface, towards Sandy Lake. We had now
been three days in accomplishing the traverse over this broad and
elevated, yet sphagnous summit, separating the valley of the St. Louis
of Lake Superior from that of the Upper Mississippi. As we approached
the basin of Sandy Lake, we passed over several sandy ridges, bearing
the white and yellow pine; the surface and its depressions bearing the
wild cherry, poplar, hazel, ledum latifolia, and other usual growth and
shrubs of the latitude. On the dry sandy tracts the uva ursi, or
kinnikinnik of the Indians, was noticed. In the mineral constitution of
the ridges themselves, the geologist recognizes that wide-spreading
drift-stratum, with boulders and pebbles of sienitic and hornblende,
quartz, and sandstone rock, which is so prevalent in the region. As we
approached the lake we ascended one of those sandy ridges which surround
it, and dashing our way through the dense underbrush, were gratified on
gaining its apex to behold the sylvan shores and islands of the lake,
with the trading-post and flag, seen dimly in the distance. The view is
preserved in the following outlines, taken on the spot.

[Illustration: Sandy Lake, from an eminence north of the mouth of the
West Creek of the Portage of Savannah. 15th July, 1820.]

I asked Chamees the Indian name of this lake. He replied,
Ka-metong-aug-e-maug. This is one of those compound terms, in their
languages, of which the particle _ka_ is affirmative. Metongaug, is the
plural form of sandy lake. Maug is the plural form of water,
corresponding, by the usual grammatical duality of meaning, to the
plural form of the noun. The word might, perhaps, be adopted in the form
of Kametonga.

Having heard, on our passage through Lake Superior, that a gun fired in
the basin of Sandy Lake, could be heard at the fort, that experiment was
tried, while we sat down or sauntered about to await the result. Having
waited in vain, the shots were repeated. After the lapse of a long time,
a boat, with two men, was descried in the distance approaching. It
proved to be occupied by two young clerks of the trading establishment,
named Ashmun and Fairbanks. They managed to embark the elite of our
party, in their small vessel, and, as we crossed the lake, amused us
with an account of the excitement our shots had caused. Some Indian
women affirmed to them that they had heard warwhoops, and to make sure
that a Sioux war party were not upon them, they drove off their cattle
to a place of safety. In the actual position of affairs, the hunt being
over for the year, and the avails being sent to Michilimackinac (for
this was the head-quarters of the factor whom we had met at Shelldrake
River), the probabilities of its being a hunting party were less. We
informed them that we were an advance party of an expedition sent out to
explore the sources of the Mississippi River, under the personal order
of his Excellency Governor Cass, who was urging his way up the St. Louis
to the Savanna Portage, through which he intended to descend into Sandy
Lake.

It was near sunset before we landed at the establishment. We found the
trading fort a stockade of squared pine timber, thirteen feet high, and
facing an area a hundred feet square, with bastions pierced for musketry
at the southeast and northwest angles. There were three or four acres
outside of one of the angles, picketed in, and devoted to the culture of
potatoes. The stockade inclosed two ranges of buildings. This is the
post visited by Lieut. Z. Pike, U. S. A., on snow-shoes, and with
dog-trains, in the winter of 1806, when it was occupied by the British
northwest trading company. As a deep mantle of snow covered the country,
it did not permit minute observations on the topography or natural
history; and there have been no explorations since. Pike's chief error
was in placing the source of the Mississippi in Turtle Lake--a mistake
which is due entirely, it is believed, to the imperfect or false maps
furnished him by the chief traders of the time.

We were received with all the hospitality possible, in the actual state
of things, and with every kindness; and for the first time, since
leaving Detroit, we slept in a house. We were informed that we were now
within two miles of the Mississippi River, into which the outlet of
Sandy Lake emptied itself, and that we were five hundred miles above the
Falls of St. Anthony. We had accomplished the transference of position
from the head of the basin of Lake Superior, that is, from the foot of
the falls of the St. Louis River, in seven days, by a route, too,
certainly one of the worst imaginable, and there can be no temerity in
supposing that it might be effected in light canoes in half that time.




CHAPTER IX.

  Reunion of the expedition on the Savanna Portage--Elevation of this
    summit--Descent to Sandy Lake--Council with the Chippewa
    tribe--Who are they?--Traits of their history, language, and
    customs--Enter the Mississippi, with a sub-exploring party, and
    proceed in search of its source--Physical characteristics of the
    stream at this place--Character of the Canadian voyageur!


On rising on the next morning (14th July), our minds were firmly set, at
the earliest moment, to rejoin the main expedition, which had been
toiling its way up the St. Louis River to the Savanna Portage. And as
soon as we had dispatched our breakfast at the Post, we set out,
accompanied by one of the trading clerks, for that noted carrying place
between the waters of the St. Louis and Sandy Lake. We reached its
northwestern terminus at about twelve o'clock, and were surprised to
find Gov. Cass, with some of his party, and a part of the baggage,
already there; and by five o'clock in the afternoon the last of the
latter, together with the canoes, arrived. And it was then, in the
exhausted state of the men, and at so late an hour, concluded to encamp,
and await the morning to commence the descent of the west Savannè to the
lake.

The expedition had, after we left them at the Portage aux Coteaux on the
10th, and being thus relieved of our weight, urged its way up the river,
with labor, about fifty-six miles, to the inlet of the east Savannè,
having surmounted, in this distance, rapids of the aggregate estimated
height of two hundred and twelve feet, which occupied two days. They
then ascended the Savannè twenty-four miles, rising eighteen feet. The
portage, from water to water, is six miles. It commences in a tamarak
swamp, from which the bog, in a dry season, has been burnt off, leaving
the path a mass of mire. Trees and sticks have, from time to time, been
laid in this to walk on, which it requires the skill of a balancing
master to keep. For the distance of three _pozes_ [pauses] this is the
condition of the path; afterwards, the footing becomes dry, and there
are ascending sand ridges, which are easily crossed.

Dr. Wolcott, to whom I had handed my geological note-book, made the
following observations. "We left the vertical strata of slate, about two
miles above the Portage aux Coteaux. They were succeeded by rocks of
hornblende, which continued the whole distance to the head of the Grand
Rapid. These rocks were only to be observed in the bed of the river, and
appeared to be much water-worn, and manifestly out of place. Soon after
we left the Portage aux Coteaux, the hills receded from the river, and
its banks for the rest of the way were generally low, often alluvial,
and always covered with a thick growth of birch, elm, sugar-tree (acer
saccharinum), and the whole tribe of pines, with an almost impenetrable
thicket of underbrush.

"The appearances of this day (11th) have been similar to those of
yesterday, except that the country bordering the river became entirely
alluvial, and the poplar became the predominating growth, while the
evergreen almost entirely disappeared. The rocks were seldom visible,
except upon the rapids, and then only in the bed of the river, and were
entirely composed of hornblende, all out of place, and exhibiting no
signs of stratification, but evidently thrown confusedly together by the
force of the current.

"The Savannè River is about twenty yards broad at its junction with the
St. Louis, but soon narrows to about half the breadth, which it retains
until it forks at the distance of about twelve miles from its mouth. Its
whole course runs through a low marshy meadow, the timbered land
occasionally reaching to the banks of the river, but generally keeping a
distance of about twenty rods on either side. The meadow is, for the
most part, covered with tufts of willow and other shrubs, common to
marshes. The woods, which skirt it, are of the same kinds observed on
the preceding days, except that a species of small oak frequently
appears among it. The river becomes so narrow towards its head, that it
is with great difficulty canoes can make their way through its windings;
and the portage commences a mile or two from its source, which is in a
tamarak swamp."

The height of land between the east and west Savannè, Dr. Wolcott
estimates at about thirty feet. Adding to this elevation the estimates
of Capt. Douglass, before mentioned, the entire elevation between the
foot of the falls of the St. Louis and the apex of this summit is three
hundred and sixty-eight feet.[64]

  [64] For heights and distances, _vide_ Appendix.

Having exchanged congratulations, and recited to each other the little
personal incidents which had marked our respective tracks of entry into
the country, we passed the night on the sources of this little stream;
and the next morning, at five o'clock, began its descent. It is a mere
brook, only deep enough, at this spot, to embark the canoes, and two men
to manage them. At the distances of four, and of twelve miles, there are
rapids, where half the loads are carried over portages. At the foot of
the latter rapid, there is a tributary called Ox Creek, and from this
point to the lake, a distance of six miles, the navigation is
practicable with full loads. We entered the lake with pleasurable
feelings, at the accomplishment of our transit over this summit, and
after a passage of three miles over the calm and sylvan surface of the
lake, the expedition reached and landed at the company's fort. It was
now four o'clock in the afternoon of a most serene day, and the Indians,
who were gathered on the shores, received us with a salute _a la mode de
savage_, that is, with balls fired over our heads. Quarters were
provided in the fort for such as did not prefer to lodge in tents.
Understanding that there was to be a day's rest at this post, to
reorganize the party, and hold intercourse with the Indians, each one
prepared to make such use of his time as best subserved his purposes.
Finding my baggage had been wetted and damaged on the portages in the
ascent of the St. Louis, I separated the moulded and ruined from things
still worth saving, and drying the latter in the sun, prepared them for
further use.

On the day after our arrival (16th) a council of the Indians--the
Chippewas--was convened. The principal chiefs were Kadewabedas,[65] or
Broken Teeth, and Babisekundeba,[66] or the Curly Head. This tribe, it
appears, are conquerors in the country, having at an early, or
ante-historical age, advanced from Lake Superior, driving back the
Sioux. The war between these two tribes is known to have existed since
the first entry of the French into the country--then a part of New
France--early in the seventeenth century. Gov. Cass proposed to them to
enter into a firm peace with the Sioux, and to send a delegation with
him to St. Peter's, on his return from the sources of the Mississippi.
To this they assented. Speeches were made by the Indians, which it is
not my purpose to record, as they embraced nothing beyond the ordinary,
every-day style of the native speakers.

  [65] From _ka_, an affirmative particle; _webeed_, teeth; and _eda_,
  a transitive objective inflection.

  [66] _Ba_, a repeating particle; _besaw_, fine, curly; and _kundib_,
  the human head.

It was determined to encamp the heavy part of the expedition at this
place, and to organize a sub-expedition of two light canoes, well
manned, to explore the sources of the Mississippi River. While these
arrangements are in progress, it may be proper to state something more
respecting the condition and history of the Chippewa nation. And first,
they are Algonquins, having migrated, at ante-Cartierian[67] periods,
from the vicinity of Lake Nippesing, on the Outawis summit. Anterior to
this, their own traditions place them further eastward, and their
language bears evidence that the stock from which they are sprung,
occupied the Atlantic from the Chesapeake, extending through New
England. The name Chippewa is derived from the term Ojibwa. The latter
has been variously, but not satisfactorily derived. The particle _bwa_,
in the language, signifies voice. They are a well-formed, active race of
men, and have the reputation of being good hunters and warriors. They
possess the ordinary black shining eyes, black straight hair, and
general physiological traits of the Indian race; and do not differ,
essentially, from the northern tribes in their manners and customs.
Pike, who was the first American officer to visit them, in this region,
estimates the whole number seated on the Upper Mississippi, and
northwest of Lake Superior, in the year 1806, at eleven thousand one
hundred and seventy-seven. This estimate includes the entire population,
extending south to the St. Croix and Chippewa valleys, below St.
Anthony's Falls. It is believed to be much too high, for which it can be
plead in extenuation, that it was the rough estimate of foreign traders,
who were interested in exalting their importance to the United States.
Certain it is, there are not more than half the numbers, in this region,
at present. The number which he assigns to the Sandy Lake band is three
hundred and forty-five.

  [67] Cartier discovered the St. Lawrence in 1534.

The Chippewas of the Upper Mississippi are, in fact, the advanced band
of the widespread Algonquin family, who, after spreading along the
Atlantic from Virginia, as far as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, have
followed up the great chain of lakes, to this region, leaving tribes of
more or less variation of language on the way. There may have been a
thousand years, or more, expended on this ethnological track, and the
names by which they were, at various ages and places, known, are only
important as being derivatives from a generic stock of languages whose
radicals are readily recognized. Furthest removed, in the line of
migration, appear the Mohicans, Lenno Lenawpees, Susquehannocks, and
Powatans, and their congeners. The tribes of this continent appear,
indeed, to have been impelled in circles, resembling the whirlwinds
which have swept over its surface; and, so far as relates to the mental
power which set them in motion, the comparison also holds good, for the
effects of their migrations appear, everywhere, to have been war and
destruction. One age appears to produce no wiser men than another.
Having no mode of recording knowledge, experience dies with the
generation who felt it, all except the doubtful and imprecise data of
tradition; and this is little to be trusted, after a century or two. For
the matter of exact history, they might as well trace themselves to the
moon, as some of their mythological stories do, as to any other planet,
or part of a planet. Of their language, the only certainly reliable
thing in their history, a vocabulary is given in the Appendix. To the
ear, it appears flowing and agreeable, and not of difficult utterance;
and there is abundant reason, on beholding how readily they express
themselves, for the plaudits which the early French writers bestowed on
the Algonquin language.

We observed the custom of these Indians of placing their dead on
scaffolds. The corpse is carefully wrapped in bark, and then elevated on
a platform made by placing transverse pieces in forks of trees, or on
posts, firmly set in the ground. This custom is said to have been
borrowed by the Chippewas, of this quarter, from the Dacotahs or Sioux.
When they bury in the ground, which is the general custom, a roof of
bark is put over the deceased. This inclosure has an aperture cut in it
at the head, through which a dish of food is set for the dead. Oblations
of liquor are also sometimes made. This ancient custom of offering food
and oblations to the dead, reminds the reader of similar customs among
some of the barbarous tribes of the oriental world. We noticed also
symbolic devices similar to those seen at Huron River or Lake Superior,
inscribed on posts set at the head of Indian graves. It seems to be the
prime object of these inscriptions to reveal the family name, or
_totem_, as it is called, of the deceased, together with devices
denoting the number of times he has been in battle, and the number of
scalps he has taken. As this test of bravery is the prime object of an
Indian's life, the greatest efforts are made to attain it.

A word may be said as to the climate and soil of this region, and their
adaptation to the purposes of agriculture. By the tables of temperature
annexed (_vide_ Appendix), the mean solar heat, in the shade, during the
time of our being in the country, is shown to be 67°. It is evident that
it is the idle habits of the Indians, and no adverse circumstances of
climate or soil, that prevent their raising crops for their subsistence.

Arrangements for a light party to ascend the Mississippi, and seek for
its sources, having been made, we left Sandy Lake, in two canoes, at
nine o'clock in the morning on the 17th. This party, in addition to his
Excellency Gov. Cass, consisted of Dr. Alex. Wolcott, Capt. Douglass,
Lieut. Mackay, Maj. Forsyth, and myself, with nineteen voyageurs and
Indians, provisioned for twelve days. A voyage of about a mile across
the western prolongation of the lake, brought us to its outlet--a wide
winding stream, with a very perceptible current, and rich alluvial
banks, bearing a forest. After pursuing it some mile and a half, we
descended a small rapid, where the average descent of water in a short
distance may be perhaps three feet; it appeared, however, to give the
men no concern, for they urged their way down it, with full strength of
paddle and song, and we soon found ourselves in the Mississippi. The
first sight of this stream reminded me of one of its striking
characteristics, at far lower points, namely, its rapidity. Its waters
are slightly turbid, with a reddish tint. Its width, at this point, as
denoted by admeasurements subsequently made,[68] is three hundred and
thirty-one feet. Its banks are alluvial and of a fertile aspect, bearing
a forest of oaks, maples, elms, ash, and pines, with a dense undergrowth
of shrubbery. I observed a species of polyganum in the water's edge, and
wherever we attempted to land it was miry and the borders wet and damp.
We were now, from our notes, a hundred and forty-seven miles due west of
the head of Lake Superior, by the curved lines of travelling, and
probably one hundred in an air line; and had struck the channel of the
Mississippi, not less, by the estimates, than two thousand five hundred
miles above its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico. It could not, from the very
vague accounts we could obtain from the traders, originate, at the
utmost, more than three hundred miles higher, and our Canadian voyageurs
turned up the stream, with that Troubadour air, or _gaite de cour_,
keeping time with song and paddle, with which New France had at first
been traversed by its Champlains, Marquettes, and Frontenacs. To conquer
distance and labor, at the same time, with a song, has occurred to no
other people, and if these men are not happy, in these voyages, they, at
least, have the semblance of it, and are merry. To keep up this flow of
spirits, and bravery of capacity in demolishing distances, they always
overrate the per diem travel, which, as I have before observed, is put
about one-third too high--that is to say, their league is about two
miles. On we went, at this rapid rate, stopping every half hour to rest
five minutes. During this brief rest, their big kettle of boiled corn
and pork was occasionally brought forward, and dipped in, with great
fervency of spoon; but, whether eating or working, they were always gay,
and most completely relieved from any care of what might happen
to-morrow. For the mess kettle was ever most amply supplied, and not
according to the scanty pattern which these couriers de bois often
encounter in the Indian trade on these summits, when they are sometimes
reduced to dine on tripe de Roche and sup on buton de rose; but they
bore in mind that their employer, namely, Uncle Sam, was a full-handed
man, and they kept up a most commendable mental balance, by at once
eating strong and working strong.

  [68] Expedition to Hasca Lake in 1832.

During the first twenty-seven miles, above the inlet of Sandy Lake, we
passed six small rapids, at distances of three, four, three, one, five,
and eleven miles, where the river sinks its level twenty-nine feet, in
the estimated aggregate distance of seven hundred yards.[69] Above the
latter, extending twenty miles, to the point of our encampment, there is
no perceptible rapid. It was eight o'clock when we encamped, having been
eleven hours in our canoes, without stretching our legs, and we had
ascended forty-six miles.

  [69] _Vide_ Appendix--Elevations.




CHAPTER X.

  Proceed up the Mississippi River--Its velocity and character--Swan
    River--Trout River, and Mushkoda or Prairie River--Rapids
    ascended--Reach, and make a portage around Pakagama Falls--Enter a
    vast lacustrine region--Its character and productions, vegetable
    and animal--Tortuous channel--Vermilion and Deer Rivers--Leech
    Lake branch--Lake Winnipek--Ascent of the river to Upper Red
    Cedar, or Cass Lake--Physical character of the Mississippi River.


Our encampment was near the mouth of Swan River, a considerable stream,
originating in Swan Lake, near the head of the St. Louis River of Lake
Superior.

We had been pushing our way, daily, up to our arrival at Sandy Lake; but
the word, from leaving that point, was, emphatically, push--and we can
hardly be said to have taken proper time to eat or sleep. There was a
shower of rain, during the night; it ceased at four o'clock, and we
again embarked at five, in a cloudy and misty morning, and it continued
cloudy all day. The current of the Mississippi continues to be strong;
its velocity, during the ascent of this day, was computed by Capt.
Douglass at two and a half miles per hour. We passed a rapid about six
miles below Trout River, where there is a computed descent of three feet
in a hundred and fifty yards. A few miles before reaching Trout River,
we passed through a forest of dead pines, occupying ridges of sand,
through which the river has cut its way. Four miles above the entrance
of Trout River, we passed the mouth of a considerable stream, called by
the Chippewas Mushkoda, or Prairie River, and encamped about five
hundred yards above its mouth on a high sandy elevation. It was now
eight o'clock P.M. We had ascended the river fifty-one miles, having
been fifteen hours in our canoes, and we here first took our breakfast.
This severity of fasting was, I think, quite unintentional, the
mess-basket being in the other canoe, which kept ahead of us the entire
day. We had this day observed specimens of the Unio and some other
species of fresh-water shells along the shore. And of birds, besides the
duck, plover, and loon, which frequent the water, we noticed the thrush,
robin, blackbird, and crow. The comparative coolness of the day rendered
the annoyance from mosquitos less severe than we had found them the
preceding day. The night on this sandy and bleak elevation proved cool,
with a heavy dew, which resulted in a dense fog in the morning. We found
ice on the bottoms of the canoes, which are turned up at night, of the
thickness of a knife-blade.

Our third day's ascent witnessed no diminution of the strength and
alacrity with which our canoemen urged our way up the stream. We were
off betimes, in a lowering and dense atmosphere, which obscured objects.
After advancing some six miles, there are a series of small rapids,
which are, taken together, called Ka-ka-bi-ka,[70] where I estimated the
river to sink its level sixteen feet, in a short distance; at none of
these is the navigation, however, impeded. The rock stratification
appears too compact for sand-rock, and is obscured by contiguous
boulders, which are indicative of the strong drift-formation, which has
spread from the north and east over this region. Four miles after
ascending the last of the Kakabika Rapids, we landed at the foot of the
Pakagama Falls. Here the lading was immediately put ashore, the canoes
landed, and the whole carried over an Indian portage path of two hundred
and seventy-five yards. This delay afforded an opportunity to view the
falls. The Mississippi, at this point, forces its way through a
formation of quartzy rock, during which it sinks its level, as
estimated, twenty feet, in a distance of about three hundred yards.
There is no perceptible cascade or abrupt fall, but the river rushes
with the utmost velocity down a highly inclined rocky bed towards the
northeast. It forms a complete interruption to navigation, and must,
hereafter, be the terminus of the navigation of that class of small
steamboats which may be introduced above the Falls of St. Anthony. The
general elevation of the geological stratum at the top of this fall must
be but little under fourteen hundred feet above the Gulf of Mexico.[71]
This summit bears a growth of the yellow pine. I observed, amongst the
shrubs, the vaccinium dumosum. Immediately above the falls is a small
rocky island, bearing a growth of spruce and cedars, being the first
island noticed above Sandy Lake. This island parts the channel into two,
at the precise point of its precipitation. On coming to the head of
these falls, we appear to have reached a vast geological plateau,
consisting of horizontal deposits of clay and drift on the nucleus of
granitical and metamorphic rocks, which underlie the sources of the
Mississippi River. The vast and irregular bodies of water called Leech
Lake, Winnipek, and Cass Lakes, together with a thousand lesser lakes of
a mile or two in circumference, lie on this great diluvial summit. These
lakes spread east and west over a surface of not less than two hundred
miles; most of them are connected with channels of communication forming
a tortuous and intricate system of waters, only well known to the
Indians; and there seems the less wonder that the absolute and most
remote source of the Mississippi has so long remained a matter of doubt.

  [70] From _ka_, a particle affirmative of an adverse quality,
  _aubik_, rock, and _ons_, a diminutive inflection.

  [71] Mr. Nicollet places the summit of the falls at 1,340 feet above
  the Gulf.

By the time we had well seen the falls, and made some sketches and
notes, the indefatigable canoemen announced our baggage all carried over
the portage, and the canoes put into the water. Embarking, at this
point, we found the river had lost its velocity; it was often difficult
to determine that it had any current at all. We wound about, by a most
tortuous channel, through savannas where coarse species of grass, flags,
reeds, and wild rice struggled for the mastery. The whole country
appeared to be one flat surface, where the sameness of the objects, the
heat of the weather, and the excessively serpentine channel of the
river, conspired to render the way tedious. The banks of the river were
but just elevated above these illimitable fields of grass and aquatic
plants. In these banks the gulls had their nests, and as they were
disturbed they uttered deafening screams. Water-fowl were intruded upon
at every turn, the blackbird and rail chattered over their clusters of
reeds and cat-tails; the falcon screamed on high, as he quietly sailed
above our heads, and the whole feathered creation appeared to be
decidedly intruded on by our unwonted advance into the great watery
plateau, to say nothing of the small and unimportant class of reptiles
who inhabit the region.

Forty miles above the falls, the River Vermilion flows in through these
savannas on the left hand; and three miles higher the Deer River is
tributary on the right hand. We ascended six miles above the latter, and
encamped in a dry prairie, on the same side, at a late hour. The men
reported themselves to have travelled sixteen leagues, notwithstanding
their detention on the Pakagama Portage. How far we had advanced, in a
direct line, is very questionable. At one spot, we estimated ourselves
to have passed, by the river's involutions, nine miles, but to have
advanced directly but one mile. I noticed, on the meadow at this spot, a
small and very delicious species of raspberry, the plant not rising
higher than three or four inches. This species, of which I preserved
both the roots and fruit, I referred to Dr. J. Torrey, of New York, who
pronounced it the Rebus Nutkanus of Moçino--a species found by this
observer in the Oregon regions. It is now known to occur eastwardly, to
upper Michigan. As night approached on these elevated prairies, we
observed for the first time the fire-fly.

The next morning (20th) we were again in motion at half-past five
o'clock. It had rained during the night, and the morning was cloudy,
with a dense fog. At the distance of ten miles, we passed the Leech Lake
River. This is a very considerable river, bringing in, apparently,
one-third as much water as the main branch. It is, however, but fifty
miles in length, and is merely the outlet of the large lake bearing that
name. It was thought the current of the Mississippi denoted greater
velocity above this point, while the water exhibited greater clearness.
We had still the same savanna regions, with a serpentine channel to
encounter. Through this the men urged their way for a distance of
thirty-five miles, when Winnipek Lake displayed itself before us. The
waters of this lake have a whitish, slightly turbid aspect, after the
prevalence of storms, which appears to reveal its shallowness, with a
probably whitish clay bottom. The Chippewa name of Winnebeegogish[72]
is, indeed, derivative from this circumstance. This lake is stated to be
ten miles in its greatest length. We crossed it transversely in order to
strike the inlet of the Mississippi, and encamped on the other side. In
this transit we met a couple of Indian women in a canoe, who, being
interrogated by the interpreter, stated that they came to observe
whether the wild rice, which is quite an item of the Indian subsistence
in this quarter, was matured enough to be tied into clusters for beating
out. We estimated our advance this day, by the time denoted by the
chronometer, at fifty-one miles.

  [72] From _weenud_, dirty, _beegog_, waters, and _ish_, a derogative
  inflection of nouns.

We were again in our canoes the next morning at half-past four o'clock.
In coasting along the north shores of Winnipek Lake, an object of limy
whiteness attracted our attention, which turned out to be a small island
composed of granitical and other boulders, which had served as the
resting-place of birds, for which the region above the Pakagama Falls is
so remarkable. On landing, a dead pelican was stretched on the surface.
We had not before observed this species on the river, and named the
island Shayta, from its Chippewa name. The buzzard, cormorant, brant,
eagle, and raven had hitherto constituted the largest species. Along the
shores of the river, the king-fisher and heron had been frequent
objects. With respect to the cormorant, it was observed that the Indians
classify it with the species of duck, their name for it, ka-ga-ge-sheeb,
signifying, literally, crow-duck.

On again reaching the inlet of the Mississippi, its size and appearance
corresponded so exactly to its character below the Winnipek, that it had
evidently experienced but little or no change by passing through this
lake. The same width and volume were observed which it had below this
point; the same moderate velocity; the same borders of grassy savanna,
and the same tendency to redouble its length, by its contortions,
appeared. In some places, however, it approaches those extensive ridges
of sandy formation, bearing pines, which traverse, or rather bound,
these wide savannas. Through these channels the canoemen urged their
course with their usual alacrity--now stopping a few moments to breathe,
and then, striking their paddles again in the water with renewed vigor,
and often starting off with one of their animated canoe-songs. From
about eight o'clock in the morning till two in the afternoon we
proceeded up the winding thread of this channel, when the appearance of
a large body of water in the distance before us attracted attention. It
was the first glimpse we had of the upper Red Cedar Lake. The
Mississippi River here deploys itself in one of those large sheets of
pellucid water which are so characteristic of its sources. On reaching
the estuary at its entrance, a short halt was made. A large body of the
most transparent water spread out before us. Its outlines, towards the
south, were only bounded by the line of the horizon. In the distance
appeared the traces of wooded islands. If Sandy Lake had, on emerging
from the wilderness, impressed us with its rural beauty, this far
transcended it in the variety and extent of outlines, and that oceanic
amplitude of freshness, which so often inspires admiration in beholding
the interior American lakes. It was determined to cross a part of the
lake towards the north-east, in order to strike the site of an ancient
Indian village at the mouth of Turtle River; and under the influences of
a serene day, and one of their liveliest chants, the men pushed for that
point, which was reached at three o'clock in the afternoon of the 21st
July. The spot at which we landed was the verge of a green lawn, rising
in a short distance to a handsome eminence, crowned with oaks and
maples. One or two small log tenements stood on this slope occupied by
two Canadians in the service of the American Fur Company. Several
wigwams of bark and poles lifted their fragile conical forms on either
side.

In one of these tenements, consisting of a small cabin of poles,
sheathed with bark, we found an object of human misery which excited our
sympathies. It was in the person of one of the Canadians, to whom
reference has been made, of the name of Montruille. He had, in the often
severe peregrinations of the fur trade in this quarter, been caught in a
snow-storm during the last winter, and frozen both his feet in so severe
a manner that they eventually sloughed off, and he could no longer stand
upright or walk. He lay on the ground in a most pitiable state of
dejection, with the stumps of his legs bound up with deer skins, with a
gray, long-neglected beard, and an aspect of extreme despair. English he
could not speak; and the French he uttered was but an abuse of the noble
gift of language to call down denunciations on those who had deserted
him, or left him thus to his fate. A rush mat lay under him. He had no
covering. He was emaciated to the last degree, every bone in his body
seemed visible through the skin. His cheeks were fallen in, and his eyes
sunk in their sockets, but darting a look of despair. His Indian wife
had deserted him. Food, of an inadequate quality, was occasionally
thrown in to him. Such were the accounts we received. Governor Cass
directed groceries, ammunition, and presents of clothing to be made to
him, to the latter of which, every member of the party added. He also
engaged a person to convey him to Sandy Lake.

We examined the environs of the place with interest; the village
occupies the north banks of Turtle River Valley. Turtle River, which
cuts its way through this slope and plain, constitutes the direct line
of intercourse for the Indian trade, through Turtle and Red Lakes, to
the Red River Valley of Hudson's Bay. On inquiry, we learned that this
river had constituted the ancient Indian line of communication by canoes
and portages, from time immemorial, with that valley, the distance to
the extreme plateau, or summit, being about sixty miles. On this summit,
within a couple of miles of each other, lie Turtle and Red Lakes, the
one having its discharge into the Gulf of Mexico and the other into
Hudson's Bay. When Canada was settled by the French, this aboriginal
route was adopted. The fur companies of Great Britain, on coming into
possession of the country, after the fall of Quebec, 1759, followed the
same route. The factors of these companies told Lieutenant Pike, in
1806, at Sandy Lake and Leech Lake, that the Turtle portage was the only
practicable route of communication to the Red River, and that it was the
true source of the Mississippi; and they furnished him manuscript maps
of the country conformable to these views. The region has actually been
in possession of the Americans only since 1806, adopting the era of
Pike's visit.

By inquiry from the Chippewa Indians at this village, sanctioned by the
Canadian authorities, we are informed that the Mississippi falls into
the south end of Cass Lake, at the distance of eight or ten miles; that
it reaches that point from the west, by a series of sharp rapids
stretching over an extent of about forty miles from a large lake;[73]
and that this celebrated stream originates in Lac la Biche, about six
days' journey from our present position, and has many small lakes,
rapids, and falls. It is further asserted by the Indians, that the water
in these remote streams, and upon these rapids, is at all times
shallow, but it is particularly so this season; and that it is not
practicable to reach these remote sources of the river with boats, or
large canoes of the size we have.

  [73] Called Andrúsia. Expedition to Starca Lake in 1837.

On submitting these facts to the gentlemen composing his party, Governor
Cass asked each one to give his views, beginning with the youngest, and
to express his opinion on the feasibility of further explorations. They
concurred in opinion that, in the present low state of the water on
these summits, considering the impossibility of ascending them with our
present craft, and in the actual state of our provisions, such an
attempt was impracticable. Thereon, he announced his decision to rejoin
our party at Sandy Lake, and to pursue the exploration of the river down
its channel to the Falls of St. Anthony, to the inlet of the Wisconsin
and Fox Rivers, and to return into the great lake basins, and complete
their circumnavigation.

Having reached the ultimate geographical point visited by the
expedition, I thought it due to the energy and enlightened zeal of the
gentleman who had led us, to mark the event by naming this body of water
in my journal Cassina, or Cass Lake. There was the more reason for this
in the nomenclature of the geography of the upper Mississippi, by
observing that it embraces another Red Cedar Lake. The latitude of upper
Red Cedar, or Cass Lake, is placed by Pike at 47° 42´40´´.[74] Its
distance above Sandy Lake, by the involutions of the river, is two
hundred and seventy miles, and from Fond du Lac, at the head of Lake
Superior, by the travelled route, four hundred and thirty miles. It is
situated seventeen degrees north of the Gulf of Mexico, from which it is
computed to be distant two thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight
geographical miles. Estimating the distance to the actual origin of the
river, as determined at a subsequent period, at one hundred and
eighty-two miles above Cass Lake, the length of the Mississippi River is
shown to be three thousand one hundred and sixty miles,[75] making a
direct line over the earth's surface of more than half the distance from
the arctic circle to the equator. It may also be observed of the
Mississippi, that its sources lie in a region of snows and
long-continued winter, while it enters the ocean under the latitude of
perpetual verdure; and at last, as if disdaining to terminate its career
at the ordinary point of embouchure of other large rivers, has protruded
its banks into the Gulf of Mexico, more than a hundred miles beyond any
other part of the main. To have visited both the source and the mouth of
the stream has fallen to the lot of but few, and I believe there is no
person living beside myself of whom the remark can be made. On the tenth
of July, 1819, I passed out of the mouth of the Mississippi in a brig
bound for New York, after descending it in a steamboat from St. Louis,
but little thinking I should soon visit its waters, yet, on the
twenty-first of July of the following year, I reached its sources in
this lake.

  [74] Nicollet, in the report of his exploration of 1836, places it in
  47° 25´ 23´´.

  [75] _Vide_ Expedition to Stasca Lake in 1832.

In deciding upon the physical character of the Mississippi River, it may
be advantageously considered under four natural divisions, as indicated
by permanent differences in its geological and physical character--its
vegetable productions, and its velocity and general hydrographical
character. Originating in a region of lakes upon the table-lands which
throw their waters north into Hudson's Bay, south into the Gulf of
Mexico, and east into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it pursues its course
south to the Falls of Pakagama, a distance of two hundred and thirty
miles, through natural meadows or savannas covered with wild rice,
rushes, reeds and coarse grasses, and aquatic plants. During the
distance, it is extremely devious in its course and width, often
expanding into lakes which connect themselves through a vast system of
reticulated channels. Leech Lake, Cass Lake, and Lake Andrúsia would
themselves be regarded as small interior seas, were they on any other
part of the continent but that which develops Superior, Michigan, Huron,
Erie, and Ontario. Its velocity through the upper plateau is but little,
and it affords every facility for the breeding of water fowl and the
small furred quadrupeds, the favorite reliance of a nomadic population.

At the Falls of Pakagama, the first rock stratum and the first wooded
island is seen. Here the river has an aggregate fall of twenty feet, and
from this point to St. Anthony's Falls, a distance of six hundred miles,
it exhibits its second characteristic division. The granitical and
metamorphic rocks, which support the vast plateaux and beds of draft of
its sources, are only apparent above this point, in boulders. The
permanent strata are but barely concealed at several rapids below the
Pakagama, but appear plainly below the influx of the De Corbeau, at Elk
River, Little Falls, and near Sac River. And this system of rock is
succeeded, before reaching the Falls of St. Anthony, by the horizonal
white sand rock and its superior limestone series of the carboniferous
formation.

Vegetation is developed as the river descends towards the south. A
forest of maples, elm, oak, ash, and birch, is interspersed with spruce,
birch, poplar, and pine above the Pakagama, and continues, in favorable
positions, throughout this division. The black walnut is first seen
below Sandy Lake, and the sycamore below the River De Corbeau. The river
in this division has numerous well-wooded islands; its velocity is a
striking feature; it abounds with rapids, none of which, however, oppose
serious obstacles to its navigation. Agreeably to memoranda kept,[76] it
has fifty-six distinct rapids, including the Little and Big Falls, in
all of which the river has an aggregate estimated descent of two hundred
and twenty-four feet, within a distance of fourteen thousand six hundred
and forty yards, or about eight miles. The mean fall of the current,
exclusive of these rapids, may be computed at nearly six inches per
mile.

  [76] _Vide_ Appendix.

The course of the river, below the Falls of Pakagama, is still
serpentine, but strikingly less so than above, and its bends are not so
short and abrupt. The general course of this river, till it reaches the
rock formation of Pakagama, is from the west. Thence, to Sandy Lake
inlet, it flows generally southeast; from this point to the inlet of the
De Corbeau or Crow Wing, it is deflected to the southwest; thence almost
due south, to the mouth of the Watab River; and thence again southeast
to the Falls of St. Anthony. A geographical line dropped from the inlet
of Sandy Lake, where the channel is first deflected to the southwest, to
St. Anthony's Falls, or the mouth of the St. Peter's,[77] forms a vast
bow-shaped area of prairie and forest lands of high agricultural
capabilities, whose future products must be carried to a market through
the Fond du Lac of Lake Superior. These prairies and grove lands, which
cannot square less than two by four hundred miles, constitute the
ancient area of the Issati,[78] and are now the resort of great herds of
the buffalo, elk, and deer; and it is a region known as the predatory
border, or battle-ground of the Chippewas and Dacotas.

  [77] Now called Minnesota River.

  [78] _Vide_ Hennepin.




CHAPTER XI.

  Physical traits of the Mississippi--The elevation of its sources--Its
    velocity and mean descent--Etymology of the name
    Mississippi--Descent of the river to Sandy Lake, and thence to the
    Falls of St. Anthony--Recross the great Bitobi Savanna--Pakagama
    formation--Description of the voyage from Sandy Lake to Pine
    River--Brief notices of the natural history.


The third geographical division in which it is proposed to consider the
Mississippi, begins at the Falls of St. Anthony. Within half a day's
march, before reaching this point from its sources, the primitive and
crystallized, and the altered and basaltic rocks are succeeded by the
great limestone and sandstone horizontal series of the carboniferous,
magnesian, and metalliferous rocks, which constitute by themselves so
extraordinary a body of geological phenomena. Entering on the level of
the white sandstone stratum, which is fundamental in this column, about
the inlet of Rum River, the Mississippi urges its way over a gently
inclining bed of this rock, to the brink of this cataract, where it
drops perpendicularly about sixteen feet; but the whole descent of its
level from the head to the foot of the portage path, cannot be less than
double that height.

The river, at this point, enters a valley which is defined by rocky
cliffs, which attain various elevations from one to three hundred feet,
presenting a succession of picturesque or sublime views. In some places
these cliffs present a precipitous and abrupt façade, washed by the
current. In far the greatest number of cases, the eminence has lost its
sharp angles through the effects of frosts, rains, and elemental action,
leaving a slope of debris at the foot. As the river descends, it
increases in volume and in the extent of its alluvions. These form, in
an especial manner, its characteristic features from St. Anthony's Falls
to the junction of the Missouri, a distance of not less than eight
hundred miles. The principal tributaries which it receives in this
distance, are, on the right, the St. Peter's, Upper and Lower Iowa,
Turkey River, Desmoines, and Salt Rivers; and, on the left, the St.
Croix, Chippewa, Wisconsin, Rock River, and the Illinois. One hundred
miles below St. Anthony, it expands for a distance of twenty-four miles
into the sylvan sheet of Lake Pepin, at the foot of which it receives
the large volume of the Chippewa River, which originates on the sandy
tracts at the sources of the Wisconsin, Montreal, and Ontonagon; and it
is from this point that its continually widening channel exhibits those
innumerable and changing sand-bars, which so embarrass the navigation.
But in all this distance, it is only at the Desmoines and Rock River
rapids that any permanent serious impediment is found in its navigation,
with the larger craft.

The fourth change in the physical aspect of this river, is at the
junction of the Missouri, and this is an almost total and complete one;
for this river brings down such a vast and turbid flood of commingled
earths and floating matter, that it characterizes this stream to its
entrance into the Gulf of Mexico. If its length of channel, velocity,
and other leading phenomena had been accurately known at an early day,
it should also have carried its name from this point to the ocean. Down
to this point, the Mississippi, at its summer phases, carries the
character of a comparatively clear stream. But the Missouri, which, from
its great length and remote latitude, has a summer freshet, flows in
with a flood so turbid and opaque, that it immediately communicates its
qualities and hue to the milder Mississippi. At certain seasons, the
struggle between the clear and turbid waters of the two streams can be
seen, at opposite sides of the river, at the distance of twenty or
thirty miles. Entire trees, sometimes ninety feet long, with their giant
arms, are swept down the current; and it is not unusual, at its highest
flood, to observe large, spongy masses of a species of pseudo pumice
carried into its channel, from some of its higher western tributaries.

To such a moving, overpowering liquid mass, there are still, below the
Missouri, rocky banks, and occasionally isolated cliffs, to stand up and
resist its sweep; but its alluvions become wider and deeper opposite to
these rocky barriers. Its bends stretch over greater distances, and its
channel grows deeper at every accession of a tributary. The chief of
these, after passing the Missouri, are from the Rocky Mountains and
Ozark slopes, the St. Francis, White, Arkansas, and Red Rivers; and from
the other bank the Kaskaskia, the Ohio, Wolf, and Yazoo. It is estimated
to flow twelve hundred miles below the Missouri. Its width is about one
mile opposite St. Louis. It is narrower but more than twice the depth at
New Orleans, and yet narrower, because more divided, at its embouchure
at the Balize, where a bar prevents ships drawing over eighteen feet of
water from entering.

No attempt has heretofore been made to determine the elevation of that
part of the American continent which gives rise to the Mississippi
River. From the observations made on the expedition, the elevation is
confessedly less than would _à priori_ be supposed. If it is not, like
the Nile, cradled among mountains, whose very altitude and position are
unknown, there is enough of the unknown about its origin to wish for
more information. Originating on a vast continental plateau, or
watershed, the superabundance of its waters are drained off by the three
greatest rivers of North America, namely, the St. Lawrence, the Nelson's
rivers of Hudson's Bay, and the Mississippi. Yet the apex of this height
of land is moderate, although its distance from the sea at either point
is immense. From the best data at command, I have endeavored to come at
the probable altitude of this plateau, availing myself at the same time
of the judgment of the several members of the expedition. Taking the
elevation of Lake Erie above tide-water, as instrumentally determined,
in the New York surveys, as a basis, we find Lake Superior lying at an
altitude of six hundred and forty-one feet above the Atlantic. From
thence, through the valley of the St. Louis, and across the Savanna
summit, to the Mississippi, at the confluence of the Sandy Lake River,
estimates noted on the route, indicate an aggregate rise of four hundred
and ninety feet. The ascent of the river, from this point to Cass Lake,
is estimated to be one hundred and sixty-two feet; giving this lake an
aggregate elevation of thirteen hundred and ninety-three feet above the
Atlantic. Barometrical admeasurements made in 1836, by Mr. Nicollet, in
the service of the United States Topographical Bureau, place the
elevation of this lake at fourteen hundred and two feet above the Gulf
of Mexico,[79] being just twelve feet above these early estimates. The
same authority estimates its length from the Balize, at twenty-seven
hundred and fifty miles. Its velocity below Cass Lake may be estimated
to result from a mean descent of a fraction over five inches per mile.

  [79] Senate Document No. 237, 26 Con. 2d Session, A. D. 1843.

The name of the Mississippi River is derived from the Algonquin
language, through the medium of the French. The term appears first in
the early missionary letters from the west end of Lake Superior about
1660. Sippi, agreeably to the early French annotation of the word,
signifies a river. The prefixed word Missi is an adjective denoting all,
and, when applied to various waters, means the collected or assembled
mass of them. The compound term is then, properly speaking, an adverb.
Thus, Missi-gago, means all things; Missi-gago-gidjetod, He who has made
all things--the Creator. It is a superlative expression, of which great
river simply would be a most lean, impracticable, and inadequate
expression. It is only symbolically that it can be called the father of
American rivers, unless such sense occurs in the other Indian tongues.

Finding it impracticable to proceed higher in the search of the remote
sources of the river at this time, a return from this point was
determined on. The vicinity had been carefully scanned for its drift
specimens, and fresh-water conchology. Wishing to carry along some
further memorial of the visit, members of the party cut walking-canes in
the adjoining thickets, and tied them carefully together; and at five
o'clock in the afternoon (21st July) we embarked on our descent. An
hour's voyage over the surface of this wide lake, with its refreshing
views of northern scenery, brought us to the point where the Mississippi
issues from it. Never did men ply their paddles with greater animation;
and having the descent now in their favor, they proceeded eighteen miles
before they sought for a spot to encamp. Twilight still served, with
almost the clearness of daylight, while we spread our tents on a
handsome eminence on the right-hand shore. Daylight had not yet dawned
the next morning, when we resumed the descent. It was eight o'clock A.
M. when we reached the border of Lake Winnipek. This name, by the way,
is derived from a term heretofore given, which, having the Chippewa
inflection of nouns in _ish_, graphically describes that peculiarity of
its waters created by the disturbance of a clay bottom.

The winds were high and adverse, which caused the canoemen to toil two
hours in crossing. After reaching the river again, we passed its sedgy
borders, to, and through Rush Lake, or the Little Winnipek; then by the
inlet of Leech Lake River, and through the contortions of its channel,
to within a few miles of the spot of our encampment at Deer River, on
the 20th.

The great savannas, through which the Mississippi winds itself above the
Pakagama, are called collectively, the Gatchi Betobeeg, Great Morasses,
or bog meadows.

While descending the river, we encountered nine canoes filled with
Chippewa Indians and their families. They were freighted with heavy
rolls of birch-bark, such as their canoes are made from; together with
bundles of rushes designed for mats. The annoyance suffered from
mosquitos on this great plateau, was almost past endurance. We embarked
again at a quarter past four, and reached the Falls of Pakagama at five
o'clock. Just forty minutes were spent in making the portage. The rock
at this spot is quartzite. The day was cloudy, with some rain. As night
approached an animal, judged to be the wolverine, was seen swimming
across the stream. The efforts of the men to overtake it were
unavailing; it nimbly eluded pursuit, and dashed away into the thickets.
In some queries sent to me by the New York Lyceum, this animal is
alluded to as a species of the glutton. The Indians said there was no
animal in their country deserving this name; the only animal they knew
deserving of it, was the horse; which was eating all the time. We
encamped on an abrupt sandy bank, where, however, sleep was impossible.
Between the humidity of the atmosphere and the denseness of the foliage
around us, the insect world seemed to have been wakened into unusual
activity. Besides, we encamped so late, and were so jaded by a long
day's travel, that the mosquito-nets were neglected. To get up and stand
before a camp-fire at midnight and switch off the mosquitos, requires as
much philosophy as to write a book; and at any rate, ours completely
failed. We were again in our canoes (24th), at an early hour. Daylight
apprised us of the clearing up of the atmosphere, and brought us one of
the most delightful days. Animated by these circumstances, we descended
the stream with rapidity. Soon after midday, we entered and ascended
the short channel of the Sandy Lake River, and, by two o'clock in the
afternoon, we rejoined our camp at the Fur Company's Fort, having been
three days in descending a distance which had consumed four and a half
in the ascent.

We were received with joy and acclamation by the Sandy Lake party, and
felicitated ourselves on the accomplishment of what had all along
appeared as the most arduous part of our route. Nor had we indeed,
overrated its difficulties; the incessant motion of travelling depriving
us of mature opportunities of observation, and also rest at night, the
stings of the mosquitos whenever we attempted to land, and the cravings
of an often unsatisfied appetite, had made this visit one of peculiar
privation and fatigue. Without such an effort, however, it is doubtful
whether the principal objects of the expedition could have been
accomplished. Nothing untoward had happened at the camp, no difficulty
had occurred with the Indians, and all the party were in good health.
Having left my thermometer with Mr. Doty, during my absence, the
observations made by him are denoted in the appendix.

The following day was fixed on for our departure for the Falls of St.
Anthony. The distance to these falls is generally put by the traders at
from five to six hundred miles. These estimates denote, however, rather
the difficulties and time employed by days' journeys in the trade than
any other measurements.[80] Pike states the latitude some thirteen
minutes too far north. It is found to be 46° 47´ 10´´. It appears from
Lieut. Pike (_Expt._ p. 60), that the stockade at this place was erected
in 1794. Its elevation above the Gulf of Mexico is 1,253 feet. The soil
of the environs yields excellent potatoes, and such culinary vegetables
as have been tried. The mean temperature of July is denoted to be 73°.
The post is one of importance in the fur trade. It yields the deer,
moose, bear, beaver, otter, martin, muskrat, and some other species,
whose skins or pelts are valuable.

  [80] Nicollet, in his report to the Top. Bureau, in 1836, states the
  direct distance from St. Peter's to Sandy Lake, at but 334 miles.

It was twelve o'clock on the morning of the 25th, before we were ready
to embark. Our flotilla now consisted of three canoes, of the kind
called _Canoe-allege_ in the trade, and a barge occupied by the
military. To this array, the chief Babesakundiba, or the Curly Head,
added a canoe filled with Chippewa delegates, who accompanied him on a
mission of peace to the Sioux. This chief is the same individual who met
Lieut. Pike in this quarter, in 1806, and he appears to be a man of much
energy and decision of character. His reputation also gives him the
character of great skill, policy, and bravery in conducting the war
against the Sioux. Indian wars are not conducted as with us, by opposing
armies. It is altogether a guerilla affair. War parties are raised,
marched, fight, and disperse in a few days. The war is carried on
altogether by stealth and stratagem. Each one furnishes himself with
food and weapons. In such a warfare, there is great scope for individual
exploits and daring. In these wars the Curly Head had greatly
distinguished himself, and he was, therefore, an ambassador of no mean
power. In every view, the mission assumed an interesting character; and
we kept an eye on the chief's movements, on our journey down the river,
chiefly that we might notice the caution which is observed by the
Indians in entering an enemy's country.

After entering the Mississippi, below Sandy Lake, the stream presents
very much the character it has above. It was below this point that we
first observed the juglans nigra in the forest. Its banks are diluvial
or alluvial formations, elevated from six to ten feet. The elm, maple,
and pine are common. There are some small grassy islands, with tufts of
willows, and driftwood lodged. No rock strata appear. The river winds
its way through vast diluvial beds, exhibiting at its rapids granitical,
quartz, and trappose boulders. It appears to glide wholly over the
primitive or crystalline rocks, which rise in some places through the
soil, or show themselves at rapids. The expedition descended the stream
twenty-eight miles, and encamped on a sandy elevation on the west shore,
near Alder River, which seemed to promise an exemption from the
annoyance of insects; but in this we were mistaken. In the hurry of a
late encampment, it had been omitted to pitch the tents. The first ill
effect of this was felt on being awakened at night by rain. A humid
atmosphere is ever the signal for awakening hordes of insects, and the
mosquitos became so troublesome that it was impossible to sleep at all
after the shower. We got up and whiled away the time as best we could
around the camp-fire.

We embarked a few minutes before 5 A. M., the morning being lowering and
overcast, which eventuated in rain within an hour. The atmosphere
resumed its serenity, and the sun shone out at noon. The river, as on
the preceding day, has its course between alluvial and diluvial banks,
sweeping its way over the smooth orbicular beds of the granitical age.
The influx of rivers, the occurrence of islands, which bear witness of
their entire submersion during the freshets, and the succession of
bends, points, and rapids--these changes, with notices of the wild fowl,
forest birds, and sometimes a quadruped, or a mass of boulders, absorbed
my notices, which it seems unimportant, at this time, to refer to. No
fixed stratification of rocks was encountered this day.

We encamped at about eight o'clock, on the east bank, on an open
eminence, just below the rapids which mark the confluence of Pine River,
having been in our canoes, with very brief and infrequent landings,
fifteen hours. At the points of landing, I observed the rosa parviflora,
and ipomea nil. As night approached, we heard the monotonous notes of
the caprimulgus virginianus. We had also observed during the day, the
bald eagle, king-fisher, turdus polyglottis, teal, plover, robin, and
pigeon. The nimble sciuris vulgaris was also observed on shore. Boulders
of sienite, hornblende rock, silicious slate, sandstone, and quartz,
served as so many monuments to testify that heavy oceanic currents had
heretofore disrupted the northern stratification, and poured down over
these long and gradual geological slopes.

High and open as our position was on this eminence, our old friends the
mosquitos did not forget us. Even the Indians could not endure their
continued attacks. A fine fellow of our original auxiliaries, called
Iaba Waddik, or the Buck, took this occasion to give us a specimen of
his English, exclaiming, as he came to the camp-fire, "Tia![81] no
sneep!" putting the usual interchangeable _n_ of the tribe for the _l_
in the noun.

  [81] An exclamation.




CHAPTER XII.

  Description of the descent from Pine River--Pine tracts--Confluence of
    the Crow-wing River--Enter a sylvan region--prairies and groves,
    occupied by deer, elk, and buffalo--Sport of buffalo
    hunting--Reach elevations of sienitic and metamorphic
    rocks--Discover a pictographic inscription of the Sioux, by which
    they denote a desire for peace--Pass the Osaukes, St. Francis's,
    Corneille, and Rum Rivers--St. Anthony's Falls--Etymology of the
    name--Geographical considerations.


The night dew was heavy on this elevation, and a dense fog prevailed at
the hour of our embarkation (5 o'clock A. M., on the 27th). The pine
lands come in with the valley of Pine River, a large and important
stream tributary from the west, which has a connection with Leech Lake.
These lands characterize both banks of the Mississippi to the entrance
of the River De Corbeau. We were seven hours, with a strong current, in
passing through this tract. It is to be observed that ancient fires have
been permitted to run through these forests, destroying immense
quantities of the timber. It was twelve o'clock, A. M., when we came
opposite to the entrance of the great Crow-wing River.[82] This stream,
which has a large island in its mouth, is a prime tributary with a
large, full-flowing current, and must bring in one-third of the entire
volume of water to this point.[83] Such is the effect of this current on
the opposite shore, that, at the distance of a couple of leagues below,
at a spot called _Prairie Perciê_ by the French, it appears to have
forced its way headlong, till, meeting obstructions from the primary
rocks, it was again deflected south. At this point, the whole face of
the country has an exceedingly sylvan aspect. It is made up of
far-stretching plains, covered with grass and wild flowers, interspersed
with groves of oak, maple, and other species. The elevation of these
beautiful plains, above the river, is not less than twenty to thirty
feet, placing them above the reach of high waters. We were now passing
below the latitude of 46°. Everything indicated a climate favorable to
the vegetable kingdom. While passing in the valley, through the fine
bends which the river makes, through these plains, we came to a
hunting-camp of probably one hundred and fifty Indians. They were
Chippewas, who, on landing at their camp, saluted us in the Indian
fashion, and were happy to exchange some dried buffalo meat and
pemmican, for corn and flour. Some miles below we observed several
buffalo, on the eastern shore, on the sub-plains below the open bluffs.
Alarmed by our approach, these animals set out, with a clumsy, shambling
trot, for the upper plains. Clumsy as their gait seemed, they got over
the ground with speed. Our whole force was immediately landed, a little
below, and we eagerly climbed the banks, to engage in the sport of
hunting them. Quite a large drove of this animal was seen on the
prairie. Our best marksmen, and the Indians, immediately divided
themselves, to approach on different sides the herd. Cautiously
approaching, they fired; the effect was to alarm and divide them. Most
of the herd pushed directly to the spot on the banks of the river, where
the non-combatants of the party stood; and there arose a general firing,
and _mêlée_ of men and buffaloes, which made it quite doubtful, for
awhile, who stood in greatest danger of being hit by the bullets, the
men or animals. I am certain the bullets whizzed about the position I
occupied on the top of the alluvial cliffs. None of the herd were,
however, slain at that time; but at our encampment, a short distance
below, the flesh of both the buffalo and elk was profusely brought in by
the Indians. It is stated that this animal lifts both the feet on one
side, at the same time; but this remark, I presume, arises from a mode
of throwing its feet forward, which is decidedly different from other
quadrupeds.

  [82] CROW-WING RIVER.--In returning from Itasca Lake, in 1832, I
  passed from Leech Lake by a series of old Indian portages into Lake
  Ka-ge-no-ge-maug, or Long Water Lake, which is its source; and from
  thence descended it to its entrance into the Mississippi.--Vide _Exp.
  to Itasca Lake_. N. Y., Harpers, 1834: vol. i. 8vo. with maps.

  [83] The Indian name of this river is Kagiwegwon, or Raven's-wing, or
  Quill, which is accurately translated by the term _Aile de Corbeau_,
  but it is improperly called Crow-Wing. The Chippewa term for crow is
  _andaig_, and the French, _corneille_--terms which are appropriately
  applied to another stream, nearer St. Anthony's Falls.

On descending the river two miles, the next morning, we found ourselves
opposite the mouth of Elk River, a stream coming in from the west. This
point has been determined to be but four minutes north of latitude 46°
[_Sen. Doc._ 237]. A short distance below the river, we passed, on the
west shore, the Painted Rock, an isolated or boulder mass, having Indian
devices, which we had no opportunity of examining. We were now passing
down a channel of manifestly increased velocity, and at the distance of
a couple of miles more, found ourselves hurried through the west channel
of the Little Falls. At this point the primitive or basis stratification
over which we had been so long gliding, crosses the river, rising up and
dividing it, by an abrupt rocky island, into two channels. The breadth
of the stream is much compressed, and the velocity of its current
increased. By what propriety of language it is called "falls" did not,
however, appear; perhaps there are seasons when the descent assumes a
greater degree of disturbance and velocity. To us, it appeared to be
about ten feet in a hundred and fifty yards. Here, then, in N. lat. 46°,
the Mississippi is first visibly crossed by the primary series of rocks.

Being now in the region of buffalo, it was decided to land in the course
of the day, for the purpose of entering into the chase. An occasion for
this was presented soon after passing the Little Falls, by observing one
of these animals on shore. On landing, and reaching the elevation of the
prairies, two herds of them were discovered at a distance. An attack on
them was immediately planned, for which the tall grass and gentle
inequalities of surface, appeared favorable. The fire proved
unsuccessful, but served to distract the herds, giving scope for
individual marksmanship and hunter activity, during which, innumerable
shots were fired, and three animals killed. While this scene was
passing, I had a good stand for witnessing the sport, some of the herd
passing by very near, as with the blindness of fury. The bison is
certainly an animal as clumsy as the ox, or domestic cow; but, unlike
these, it is of a uniform dun color, and ever without being spotted, or
mottled. Its horns are nearly straight, short, very black, and set wide
apart. The male is formidable in look, and ferocious when wounded. Its
ordinary weight is eight hundred to a thousand pounds.

It may be said, in reference to this animal being found in this region,
that it is a kind of neutral ground, between the Chippewas and Sioux,
neither of which tribes permanently occupy the country between the mouth
of the Raven's-wing and Rum Rivers.[84]

  [84] The Chippewas affirm that this was the last time the buffalo
  crossed the Mississippi eastwardly. It did not appear, in the same
  region, in 1821.

Having spent several hours in the chase, we again embarked, and
proceeded down the river until three o'clock in the afternoon. On the
left bank of the river two prominent elevations of the granitical
series, rising through the prairie soil, attracted my attention.
Immediately below this locality, a high and level prairie stretches on
the west shore, which had a striking appearance from its being crowned
with the poles and fixtures of a large, recently abandoned Sioux
encampment. At this spot the expedition landed and encamped. The quick
glances of Babasikundiba and his party of delegates immediately
discovered a pole, at the site of the chief's lodge, bearing a birch
bark scroll, or letter, inscribed with Indian hieroglyphics, or devices.
It turned out that this spot was the northern terminus of a Sioux peace
embassage, dispatched from St. Peter's shortly previous, under the
direction of Col. H. Leavenworth, U. S. A., the newly-arrived commanding
officer at that post. The message was eagerly received and read by the
Chippewa delegates. By it they were informed that the Sioux also desired
a termination of hostilities. The scroll was executed by tracing lines,
with the point of a knife, or some sharp instrument. The pictographic
devices thus drawn denoted the exact number of the party, their chiefs,
and the authority under which these crude negotiations were commenced.

Of this mode of communicating ideas among the Algonquin tribes, we have
before given details in crossing the boggy plateau of Akik Sepi, between
the St. Louis River and Sandy Lake. The present instance of it is
commented on in an interesting communication of the era, in the
appendix, from the pen of Gov. Cass. It was now no longer doubtful that
the Chippewa mission would be successful, and the satisfaction it
produced was evident in the countenances and expressions of
Babasikundiba and his colleagues.

I took a canoe and crossed the Mississippi, to inspect the geology of
the opposite shore. On reaching the summit of the rock formations
rising through the prairies, which had attracted my notice from the
river, I found them to consist of sienite, which was almost exclusively
made up of a trinary compound of white quartz, hornblende, and
feldspar--the two former species predominating. The feldspar exhibited
its splendent black crystals in fine relief in the massy quartz. This
formation extended a mile or more. What excited marked attention, in
surveying these rocks, was their smoothly rubbed surfaces, which seemed
as if they must have been produced by equally hard and heavy masses of
rock, driven over them from the north. I registered this locality, in my
Geological Journal, as the Peace Rock, in allusion to the purport of the
Indian mission, evidences of which were found at the opposite
encampment.[85]

  [85] In the treaty of Indian boundaries of Prairie du Chien, of 1825,
  this mission of the Sioux became a point of reference by the Sioux
  chiefs Wabishaw, Petite Corbeau, and Wanita, as denoting the limit of
  their excursions north. The Chippewas, on the contrary, by the mouths
  of Babasikundiba, Kadawabeda, and the Broken Arm of Sandy Lake,
  contended for Sac River as the line. I discussed this subject, having
  Indian maps, at length, with the chiefs and Mr. Taliaferro, the Sioux
  agent, of St. Peter's. An intermediate stream, the Watab River, was
  eventually fixed on, as the separating boundary between these two
  warlike tribes.--_Indian Treaties_; Washington, D. C. 1837. Vol. i.
  8vo. p. 370.

During our night's encampment at this spot we heard the howling of a
pack of wolves, on the opposite bank--a sure indication, hunters say,
that there are deer, or objects of prey in the vicinity. There are two
species of wolves on the plains of the Mississippi--the canis lupus, and
the animal called coyote by the Spanish. The latter is smaller, of a
dingy yellow color, and bears the generic name of prairie wolf. I have
also seen a black wolf on the prairies of Missouri and Arkansas, three
feet nine inches long, with coarse, bristly, bear-like hair. As daylight
approached, our ears were saluted with the hollow cry of the strix
nictea, a species which is asserted to be found, sometimes, as far south
as the Falls of St. Anthony.

On embarking, at an early hour, we found the humidity of the night
atmosphere to be such, that articles left exposed to it were completely
saturated. Yet, the temperature stood at 50° at half-past four o'clock,
the moment of our embarkation. On descending six miles we passed the
mouth of the Osakis, or Sac River, a considerable tributary from the
west, which opens a line of communication with the Red River valley.

About ten o'clock we encountered a series of rapids extending some eight
hundred or a thousand yards, in the course of which the river has a
probable aggregate fall of sixteen feet. These rapids bear the
malappropriate title of the Big Falls. Following these, were a series
called Prairie Rapids. At half-past four we passed the entrance of the
River St. Francis, a considerable stream on the left bank. At this spot,
Hennepin terminated his voyage in 1681, and Carver in 1766. There is an
island at the point of confluence. At six o'clock we passed the entrance
on the west shore of the stream called _Corneille_, by the French, which
is the true interpretation of the Sioux name _Karishon_, and the
Chippewa term _Andaig_, which mean the crow, and not the raven. We
encamped five miles below, on the east bank, having been thirteen hours
in our canoes, with a generally strong current. My mineralogical
gleanings, during the day, had given some specimens of the interesting
varieties of the quartz family, for which the geological drift is noted,
and a single piece of agatized wood. The geological floor on which the
river runs, has been indicated.

At five o'clock the following morning (30th) we resumed the descent, and
at the distance of two leagues reached the entrance of the
Missisagiegon, or Rum River. It is Carver, I believe, who first gives us
this name, for a stream which the Indians describe as a river flowing
from a lake of lakes--a term, by the way, which the French, with their
usual adherence to Indian etymology, have called _Mille Lacs_. The term
_missi_, in this word, does not signify great, but a collected mass, or
all kinds, and sometimes everywhere--the allusion being to water.
_Sa-gi-e-gon_ is a lake, and when the prefixed term _missi_, is put to
it, nothing could more graphically describe the large body of water,
interspersed with islands, which give a confused aspect, from which the
river issues. The Dacotas call this lake _Mini Wakan_, meaning
Spirit-water, which is probably the origin of the name of Rum River.

About thirteen miles below Rum River, and when within half a mile of the
Falls,[86] I observed calcareous rocks in horizontal beds, on the left
bank of the river. It was now evident we had passed out of the primitive
range of deposits, and had entered that of the great sedimentary
horizontal and semi-crystalline or silurian system of the Mississippi
Valley; and descending with a strong current, we came, rather suddenly,
it appeared, to the Falls of St. Anthony, where the river drops, by a
cascade, into a rock-bordered valley. Surprise and admiration were the
first emotions on getting out of our canoes and gazing on this
superlative scene; and we were not a little struck with the idea that
the Sioux had named the Falls from manifestly similar impressions,
calling it Rara, from the Dacota verb _irara_, to laugh. By another
authority, the word is written _Ha Ha_, or _Dhaha_, the letters _h_ in
the word representing a strong guttural sound resembling the old Arabic
r.[87] (S. R. Riggs's _Dakota Dict. and Gram._) Nothing can exceed the
sylvan beauty of the country which is here thrown before the eye; and we
should not feel surprised that the Aboriginal mind has fallen on very
nearly identical sounds with the English, to express its impressions. A
not very dissimilar principle has been observed by the Chippewas, who
have a uniform termination of their names in _ish_, which signifies the
very same quality which we express by ish in whitish, blackish,
saltish--meaning a lesser, or defective quality of the noun.

  [86] It is recently asserted that this change in the stratification
  occurs about a mile above the Falls. [_Sen. Doc._ p. 237.] By the
  same authority it is shown that the aggregate fall of the Mississippi
  from the mouth of Sandy Lake River to the Falls of St. Anthony is 397
  feet.

  [87] Both words are derived from the verb _to laugh_.

The popular name of these Falls, it is known, is due to Father Louis
Hennepin, a missionary who accompanied La Salle to the Illinois, in
1679, and was carried captive into the country of the Issati, a Dacota
tribe, in 1680. Lt. Pike states the portage to be two hundred and sixty
poles. By the time we had taken a good view of the position, and made a
few sketches, the men had completed carrying over our baggage and
canoes. It was now one o'clock, when we embarked to proceed to the
newly-established military encampment, a few miles below. It was a
noticeable feature, in our descent of the river above the Falls, that
Babasikundiba had always kept behind the flotilla of canoes; but the
moment we advanced below the Falls, he shot ahead with his delegates,
each one being dressed out in his best manner. His canoe had its little
flag displayed--the Indian drum was soon heard sending its measured
thumps and murmurs of vocal accompaniment over the water, and ever and
anon guns were fired. All this was done that the enemy might be apprised
of the approach of the delegation in the boldest and most open manner.
It was eight or nine miles to the post, near the influx of the St.
Peter's, and long before we reached Col. Leavenworth's camp, which
occupied a high bluff, the attention of the Sioux was arrested by their
advance, and it was inferable from the friendly answering shouts which
they gave, that the mission was received with joy. Although we had known
nothing of the movement which produced the pictographic letter found on
a pole at the Petite Roche, above Sac River, it was, in fact, regarded
by the Dacotas as an answer to that letter. And the Chippewa chief, and
his followers, were received with a salute by the Sioux, by whom they
were taken by the hand, individually, as they landed.

Col. Leavenworth, the commanding officer, received the expedition in the
most cordial manner, and assigned quarters for the members. Gov. Cass
was received with a salute due to his rank. We learn that the post was
established last fall. Orders for this purpose were issued, as will be
seen by reference to the _Preliminary Documents_, p. 35, early in the
spring. The troops destined for this purpose, were placed under the
orders of Col. Leavenworth, who had distinguished himself as the
commander of the ninth and twenty-second regiments, in the war of 1812.
They left Detroit in the spring (1819), and proceeding by the way of
Green Bay and Prairie du Chien, where garrisons were left, they ascended
to the mouth of the St. Peter's, in season to erect cantonments before
winter. The site chosen, being on the alluvial grounds, proved
unhealthy, in consequence of which the cantonment was removed, in the
spring of 1820, to an eminence and spring on the west bank of the
Mississippi, about a mile from the former position.




CHAPTER XIII.

  Position of the military post established at the mouth of
    the St. Peter's--Beauty, salubrity, and fertility of
    the country--Pictographic letter--Indian treaty--The
    appearance of the offer of frankincense in the burning of
    tobacco--Opwagonite--native pigments--Salt; native copper--The
    pouched or prairie rat--Minnesota squirrel--Etymology of the
    Indian name of St. Peter's River--Antiquities--Sketch of the
    Dacota--Descent of the Mississippi to Little Crow's village--Feast
    of green corn.


In favor of the soil and climate, and of the salubrity of the position,
the officers speak in terms of the highest admiration. The garrison has
directed its attention to both horticulture and agriculture. About
ninety acres of the choicest bottom land along the St. Peter's Valley,
and the adjacent prairies, have been planted with Indian corn and
potatoes, cereal grains, and esculents, inclusive of a hospital, a
regimental, and private gardens. At the mess-table of Col. Leavenworth,
and in our camp, we were presented with green corn in the ear, peas,
beans, cucumbers, beets, radishes, and lettuce. The earliest garden peas
were eaten here on the 15th of June, and the first green corn on the
20th July. Much of the corn is already too hard for the table, and some
of the ears can be selected which are ripe enough for seed corn. Wheat,
on the prairie lands, is found to be entirely ripe, and melons in the
military gardens nearly so. These are the best practical commentaries on
the soil and climate.[88]

  [88] This is now (1854) the central area of Minnesota Territory--a
  territory in a rapid process of the development of the population and
  resources of a State.

The distance of the St. Peter's from the Gulf of Mexico is estimated to
be about two thousand two hundred miles. Its position above St. Louis is
estimated at nine hundred miles. Its elevation above the Gulf is but 744
feet. The precise latitude of this point is 44° 52´ 46´´.[89] The
atmosphere is represented as serene and transparent during the summer
and spring seasons, and free from the humidity which is so objectionable
a trait of our eastern latitudes. The mean temperature is 45°.[90] Its
geology and mineralogy will be noticed in my official reports. It will
be sufficient here to say that the stratification, at and below St.
Anthony's Falls, consists wholly of formations of sandstones and
limestones, horizontally deposited, whose relative positions and ages
are chiefly inferable from the evidences of organic life, in the shape
of petrifactions, which they embrace. The lowest of this series of rocks
is a white sandstone, consisting of transparent, loosely cohering
grains, special allusion to which is made by Carver, in his travels in
1766, and which may be received as testimony, were there no other, that
this too much discredited author had actually visited this region.

  [89] Ex. Doc., No. 237.

  [90] Army Register.

I have mentioned the interest excited by our Chippewas finding the bark
letter, or pictographic memorial at the deserted Sioux encampment above
Sac River. It turned out, as we were informed, that this Aboriginal
missive was a reply to a similar proposition transmitted from Sandy
Lake, by the Chippewas. The very person, indeed, who inscribed the
Chippewa bark message, was one of the ten persons who had accompanied us
from that lake. Gov. Cass, on learning this fact, requested him to draw
a duplicate of it on a roll of bark. He executed this task immediately.
We thus had before us the proposition in this symbolic character, which
is called _ke ke win_ by the Chippewas, and its answer. By this mode of
communication two nations of the most diverse language found no
difficulty in understanding each other.[91]

  [91] _Vide_ Appendix, for a letter from Gen. Cass to the Secretary of
  War on this curious topic.

On the second day after our arrival, the Indians consummated their
intentions, as signified by the bark letter, and the Sandy-Lake
delegation assembled with the Sioux at the old quarters of the military,
now occupied as an Indian agency, and smoked the pipe of peace. There
were present at this pacification, besides the chiefs Shacopee and
Babasikundiba, and minor chieftains, His Excellency Gov. Cass, Col.
Leavenworth, and sundry officers of the garrison and the expedition.
The ceremonies were conducted under the auspices of the U. S. Indian
Agent, Mr. Taliaferro. Every attention was given to make these
ceremonies impressive, by a compliance with the Aboriginal customs on
these occasions, and it is hoped not without leaving permanent effects
on their minds.

The pipe employed by the native diplomatists, in these negotiations, is
invested with a symbolic and sacred character, as if the fumes of the
weed were offered, in the nature of frankincense, to the Deity. The
genuflections with which it is presented, more than the words expressed,
countenance this idea. The bowl of the pipe used on this occasion
consisted of the well-known red pipe-stone, called opwagonite,[92] so
long known in Indian history as being brought from the _Coteau des
Prairies_. It is furnished with a wooden stem two or three feet long,
and two and a half inches broad, shaved down thin so as to resemble a
spatula. It is then painted with certain blue or green clays, and
ornamented with braids of richly dyed porcupine quills, or the holcus
fragrans, and the tuft feathers of the male duck or red-headed
woodpecker. These state pipes are usually presented by the speakers as
memorials of the speeches, and laid aside by the officials having charge
of Indian affairs. Col. Leavenworth presented us with some of these
carefully ornamented diplomatic testimonials.

  [92] Schoolcraft's View of the Lead Mines of Missouri. Scenes and
  Adventures in the Ozark Mountains, the Catlinite of Dr. Jackson.

I obtained from the Sioux some very carefully moulded pyramidal-shaped
pieces of the blue and green clays from the valley of the St. Peter's,
which they employ in painting their pipe-stems and persons. The coloring
matter of these appears to be carbonate of copper. It is brought from
the Blue Earth River. I also obtained from the Indians very small and
carefully tied leathern bags of the red oxide of iron, which they obtain
in the state of a dry, powdery mass, on the prairies near the Big Stone.
The Indians brought me, from the same region, crystals of salt, scraped
up from the margin of certain waters on the prairies, of a dark cast,
mixed with impurities. The tendency of these crystals to assume a cubic
form was quite distinct. The most interesting development, in the
mineralogical way, consisted of small lumps of native copper, which I
obtained on an eminence on the banks of the Mississippi, directly
opposite the influx of the St. Peter's. They occupy, geologically, a
diluvial position, being at the bottom of the prairie-drift stratum, and
immediately above the superior limestone.

In the luxurious kitchen gardens of Camp Leavenworth, great depredations
have been made by a small quadruped of a burrowing character, called
gopher. By patient watching, gun in hand, one of these was killed, and
its skin preserved and prepared. The animal is ten inches long to the
termination of the tail, with a body very much the size and color of a
large wharf-rat. It has five prominent claws, and two broad cutting
teeth, but its most striking peculiarity is a duplicature of the cheek,
which permits it to carry earth to the mouth of its burrow. It has been
called the pouched rat. Sir Francis Drake found a similar animal in his
visit to the Gulf of California, in 1587. The distribution of this
species, of which this seems to be the northern limit, is very wide
through Atlantic America, and it is known to be destructive to
vegetation throughout Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. I had, two
years ago, been led to notice its ravages in Missouri and Arkansas. But
the animal called gopher, in the southern country, is a burrowing
tortoise, and the name is improperly applied to this species, which is
the _Pseudostoma pinetorum_.

A peculiar species of squirrel was observed in this vicinity, which is
also found to be a destructive visitor to the military gardens. In
appearance, this species resembles the common striped squirrel, but it
has a more elongated body, and shorter legs. The body has six black
stripes, with the same number of intervening lines of spots, on a
reddish-brown skin. This Minnesota squirrel has, since the return of the
Expedition, been named, by the late Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, _sciurus
tredeceum_.

The River St. Peter's is called, by the Dacotas, _Watepa Minnesota_. The
prefixed term _watepa_, is their word for river; _minni_ is the name for
water. The term _sota_ has been variously explained. The Canadian
French, who have proved themselves most apt translators of Indian
phrases, render it by the word _brouille_, or _blear_; or, if we regard
this as derivative from the verb _brouiller_, _mixed_, or _mottled_--a
condition of the waters of this river, whenever the Mississippi is in
flood, and consequently at a higher elevation when it rushes into the
mouth of the St. Peter's, producing that addled aspect of the water, to
which the Dacotas, it is believed, apply the term _sota_.

The scenery around St. Peter's is of the most sylvan and delightful
character. About six miles west of the cantonment there are several
beautiful lakes, in the prairies. The largest of these is about four
miles in circumference, and is called Calhoun Lake, in compliment to the
Secretary of War. Its waters are stored with bass and other varieties of
fish. There are several pure springs of sparkling water, issuing from
the picturesque cliffs which face the Mississippi at this place. I
visited one about a mile from the cantonment, which deposits a yellow
sulphurous flocculent mass along its course. On the prairies is found
the _holcus fragrans_, which is braided by the Indian females, and
employed in some instances to decorate their deer-skin clothing. This
aromatic grass retains its scent in the dried state. Along the waters of
the St. Peter's is found the _acer negundo_, the inner bark of which,
mixed with the common nettle, is employed by the natives in the state of
a strong decoction, as a cure for the _lues venerea_.

Mr. Carver having described certain antiquities near the foot of Lake
Pepin, in 1766, inquiries were made after objects of this kind in the
vicinity. I was informed that traces of such remains existed in the
valley of the St. Peter's, but can say nothing concerning them from
actual inspection.[93]

  [93] The last known platform mound in the spread of the
  mound-builders north, is at Prairie du Chien. The monuments, supposed
  to be mounds, in the St. Peter's region, are found by Mr. Owen to be
  geological elevations. The remains on Blue Earth River are attributed
  to a fort or inclosure built by Le Seur, in his search for copper on
  that stream, in 1700. Other remains, in the St. Peter's valley,
  appear to be old trading-houses, fallen in.

Of the Dacotas, or Sioux, for which St. Peter's forms the central point,
some anecdotes have been related which denote that they are, on certain
occasions, actuated by exalted motives. It is related that the chief
Little Crow, going out to the confines of the Chippewa Territory, to
examine his beaver-traps, discovered an individual of that tribe in the
act of taking a beaver from the trap. As he was himself unperceived, the
tribes being at war, and the offence an extreme one, a summary
punishment would have been justified by Indian law. But the Sioux chief
decided differently: "Take no alarm," said he, approaching the offender:
"I come to present you the trap, of which I see you stand in need. Take
my gun, also, as I see you have none of your own, and return to the
land of your countrymen; and linger not here, lest some of my young men
should discover your footsteps."

A still more striking and characteristic incident is related of a chief
called the Red Thunder. Col. Wm. Dixon, a Scotchman of family, who made
his influence felt in the late war of 1812 as a leader of the Sioux and
a merchant among them, married the sister of this notable chief. So
daring were the acts of Red Thunder, that he had put the Chippewa nation
in awe of him. At length, however, after a long series of the bravest
acts, he was taken prisoner, with a favorite dog, and condemned to
expiate his offences at the stake. It was a time of want by his captors.
One day he said to them: "Why do you not feed my dog?" They replied,
"feed him yourself." "Then," he said, "give me a knife." This being
thrown to him, he cut a piece of flesh from one of his large and fleshy
thighs, and threw it to the dog. Admiration of this act ran through the
Indian camp. They immediately released him, and bestowed on him the
highest attentions and honors.

The Dacota or Sioux nation constitute one of the families of America who
speak a peculiar language. Lieut. Pike, who visited them in 1806,
estimated their numerical strength at twenty-one thousand six hundred
and seventy-five; of which number he computed three thousand eight
hundred to be warriors. They consist of six or seven independent tribes,
or sub-tribes, bearing different names, who occupy most of the country
between the Mississippi and Missouri, between N. latitude 43° and 46°.
The Mendawekantoñs are located on the Mississippi, below the Falls of
St. Anthony and the mouth of the St. Peter's. The Sessitoñs and Yanktoñs
occupy the upper waters of the St. Peter's. The Titoñs only extend west
of the Missouri. The several tribes regard themselves as a confederacy,
which is the signification of the term Dacota. They do not acknowledge
the name of Sioux as an Indian word. We first hear of them from the
early French missionaries, who visited the head of Lake Superior about
the middle of the 17th century, under the name of _Nadowasie_.[94] They
speak a language which prevails over an immense area, which is now
occupied by the prairie tribes towards the west and southwest, from
whence, it is inferred, they came. They appear, at a former time, to
have reached and dwelt at the sources of the Mississippi, and to have
approached, if not reached, the west end of Lake Superior; for it is
from these positions that the oldest traditions represent them to have
been driven by the Chippewas. Lieut. Pike thinks they are, undeniably,
descendants of Tartars. If so, I feel inclined to think that they must
have made the circuit of the Mexican provinces before reaching the
Mississippi Valley, for the track of their migration is traced towards
the south certainly as far as the country of the Kansas and Osages;
while they preserve some striking traits and characteristics which
appear to be referable to those intertropical regions.

  [94] This is an Algonquin expression, signifying enemy. It is derived
  from _Nodowa_, an Iroquois, or a Dacota; the word was originally
  applied to a serpent. The termination in _sie_ is from _awasie_, an
  animal or creature. This term is the root, it is apprehended, of the
  French sobriquet _Sioux_.

Having passed the better part of three days in the vicinity of St.
Peter's, adding to our collections and portfolios, we left it on the
second of August, and proceeded down the river to the village of La
Petite Corbeau, or the Little Raven, situated on the east bank not far
above the mouth of the St. Croix. The river, in this distance flows
between lofty cliffs of the white sandstone and neutral-colored
limestones, which are first conspicuously displayed at the Falls of St.
Anthony. Springs of water, not infrequently, issue from these cliffs. We
landed at one of these, flowing in through a gorge at the distance of
four miles below St. Peter's, on the east bank, for the purpose of
visiting a remarkable cave, from the mouth of which a small stream
issues. The cave is seated wholly within the beautiful white crumbling
sandstone rock. It is, in fact, the loose character of the rock which
permits the superincumbent waters of the plains above to permeate
through it, that has originated the cave. The stream consisted of the
purest filtrated water, which is daily carrying away the loosened grains
of sand into the Mississippi, and thus enlarging the boundaries of the
cavern.[95] We had been erroneously informed that this was Carver's
Cave, and looked in vain for this traveller's name on its walls.[96] The
atmosphere in this cave was found to be seven degrees higher than the
water. We noticed nothing in the form of bones or antiquities.

  [95] St. Paul's, the present capital of Minnesota (1854), is situated
  on the high grounds, a few miles below this cave.

  [96] Carver's Cave is four miles lower down, on the same side of the
  river, agreeably to subsequent observation. It is now obstructed by
  fallen rock and debris.

The village of Petite Corbeau consists of twelve large lodges, which are
said to give shelter to two hundred souls. They plant corn, and
cultivate vines and pumpkins. They sallied from their lodges on seeing
us approach, and, gathering along the margin of the river, fired a _feu
de joie_ on our landing. The chief was among the first to greet us. He
is a man below the common size, but brawny and well proportioned, and,
although above fifty years of age, retains the look and vigor of forty.
He invited us to his lodge--a spacious building about sixty feet by
thirty, substantially constructed of logs and bark. Being seated, he
addressed himself to His Excellency Gov. Cass. He said that he was glad
to see him in his village. That, in his extensive journey, he must have
suffered many hardships. He must also have noticed much of the Indian
mode of life, and of the face of the country, which would enable him to
see things in their proper light. He was glad that he had not, like
others who had lately visited the country, passed by his village without
calling. He referred, particularly, to the military force sent to
establish a garrison at St. Peter's, the year before, who had passed up
on the other side of the river. He acquiesced in the treaty that had
been recently concluded with the Chippewas. He referred to a recent
attack of a party of Fox Indians on their people, on the head waters of
the St. Peter's. He said it was dastardly, and that, if that _little_
tribe should continue their attacks, they would at length drive him into
anger, and compel him to do a thing he did not wish.

While this speech was being interpreted, the Indian women were employed
in bringing basketsful of ears of Indian corn from the fields, which
they emptied in a pile. This pile, when it had reached a formidable
height, was offered as a present to the Expedition. It was, indeed, the
beginning of the season of green corn, with them, and we were soon
apprised, by the sound of music from another lodge, that the festival of
the green-corn dance was going forward. Being admitted to see the
ceremonies, the first thing which attracted notice was two large iron
kettles suspended over a fire, filled with green-corn cut from the cob.
The Indians, both men and women, were seated in a large circle around
them; they were engaged in singing a measured chant in the Indian
manner, accompanied by the Sioux cancega or drum and rattles; the utmost
solemnity was depicted on every countenance. When the music paused,
there were certain gesticulations made, as if a mysterious power were
invoked. In the course of these ceremonies, a young man and his sister,
joining hands, came forward to be received into the green corn society,
of whom questions were asked by the presiding official. At the
conclusion of these, the voice of each member was taken as to their
admission, which was unanimous. At the termination of the ceremonies, an
elderly man came forward and ladled out the contents of the kettles into
separate wooden dishes for each head of a family present. As these
dishes were received, the persons retired from the lodge by a backward
movement, still keeping their faces directed to the kettles, till they
had passed out.




CHAPTER XIV.

  Descent of the river from the site of Little Crow's Village to Prairie
    du Chien--Incidents of the voyage, and notices of the scenery and
    natural history.


The next morning we embarked at 5 o'clock. On descending the river six
miles, we passed the mouth of the St. Croix.[97] This stream heads on
high lands, which form a rim of hills around the southern and western
shores of Lake Superior, where it is connected with the River Misacoda,
or Broulè of Fond du Lac. The Namakagon, its southern branch of it, is
connected with the Maskigo,[98] or Mauvais River of La Pointe, Lake
Superior. Immediately above its point of entrance into the Mississippi
the St. Croix expands into a beautiful lake, which is some twelve miles
long, and about two in width. The borders of the Mississippi about this
point assume an increased height, and more imposing aspect. In many
places, as the voyager descends from this spot to Lake Pepin, he
observes the calcareous cliffs to terminate in pyramids; the crest of
the hills frequently resemble the crumbling ruins of antique towers. At
12 o'clock we came to the vicinity of an isolated calcareous cliff,
called La Grange, which may be regarded as one of those monuments
resulting from geological denudation, which constitute a striking
feature in the St. Peter's region. The top of this cliff affords a fine
view of the scenery of the Mississippi for a long distance above and
below it. It has been found to be three hundred and twenty-two feet
above the river.[99]

  [97] This river was explored by me in 1832. Vide _Schoolcraft's
  Expedition to Itasca Lake_. 1 vol. 8vo. p. 307--1834: N. Y., Harp.

  [98] In 1831, this river was ascended by me with a public expedition,
  dispatched into the Indian country to quell the disturbances which
  eventuated the next year in the Sauk war. Vide _Schoolcraft's Thirty
  Years in the Indian Country_. Lippincott, Grambo, & Co., Philad.: 1
  vol. p. 703, 1851.

  [99] Doc. 237.

This spot is noted as being near the site of Tarangamani, or the Red
Wing's Village. This chief is one of the notable men of his tribe. He
has been long celebrated as a man skilled as a native magician. The
village consists of four large, elongated, and of several small lodges.
Tarangamani is now considered the first chief of his nation. He is noted
for his wisdom and sagacity. He bears the marks of being sixty years of
age. His grand-daughter married Col. Crawford, a man of commercial
activity about Prairie du Chien and Michilimackinac, during the late war
of 1812, who has left descendants in the lake country. We observed, at
this village, several buffalo skins undergoing the Indian process of
dressing. The hair having been removed, they were stretched on the
ground, where they were subjected to a process analogous to tanning by
being covered with a decoction of oak bark.

In ascending the hill of La Grange, we first encountered the
rattlesnake, two of which we killed. This is the highest northern point
at which we have observed this species on the Mississippi. I observed on
this elevation small detached masses of radiated quartz,
cinnamon-colored and white, together with an ore of iron crystallized in
cubes. Having cursorily examined the environs, the expedition again
embarked. It was 1 o'clock when we entered Lake Pepin. This admired lake
is a mere expansion of the Mississippi, having a length of twenty-four
miles by a varying width of from two to four miles. During this distance
there is not the least current during calm weather. The prospects, in
passing through this expanse of water, are of the most picturesque kind.
Its immediate shores are circumscribed with a broad beach of gravel, in
which may be found rolled pieces of the chalcedonies, agates, and other
species of the quartz family, which are characteristic of the
drift-stratum of the upper borders of the Mississippi. On the eastern
shore, at a short distance from the margin, there is a lofty range of
limestone cliffs. On the west, the eye rests on an elevated formation of
prairie, nearly destitute of trees. From this plain several conical
hills ascend, which have the appearance, but only the appearance, of
artificial construction. The lake is quite transparent, and yields
several species of fish. The most remarkable of these is the _acipenser
spatularia_, of which we obtained a specimen. It is also remarkable for
its numerous varieties, and the large size of its fresh-water shells. I
procured several species of _unio_, which, from their size and
character, attracted my attention, particularly to the subject of this
branch of American conchology. Several of these, from the duplicates of
my cabinet, have attracted the attention of conchologists.[100] Lake
Pepin receives a river from the west called the Ocano, or more properly
_Au Canot_; its mouth having been, in former times, a noted place for
concealing canoes during the winter season.[101] At a point, on the east
shore, about half way down the lake, where a small stream enters, we
were informed there existed the remains of an old French fort, or
factory; but we did not land to examine them.

  [100] Silliman's Journal of Science, 1823; also, Trans. Am. Phil.
  Soc.

  [101] Travellers who are disposed to regard La Hontan's fiction of
  his purported discoveries on _Rivier la Longue_, as entitled to
  notice, have suggested _this_ river as the locality intended.
  Nicollet, otherwise reliable, has gone so far as to call it La Hontan
  River.

In passing through this lake the interpreters pointed to a high
precipice in the cliffs on the east shore, which Indian tradition
assigns as the locality of a tragical love tale, of which a Dacota girl
was the heroine. To avoid the dilemma of being compelled to accept a
husband of repulsive character, and to sacrifice her affections for
another person, she precipitated herself down this precipice. The tale
has been so differently told to travellers visiting the region, that
nothing but the simple tradition appears worth recording. Olaita and
Winona, have been mentioned as the name of the Dacota Sappho.

At 6 o'clock in the evening we encamped on a gravelly beach on the east
shore of the lake, the weather threatening a storm. Rain commenced at 8
o'clock, and continued at intervals, with severe thunder and most vivid
flashes of lightning during the night. At 5 o'clock the next morning
(4th), the expedition was again in motion. The rain had ceased, but the
morning remained cloudy. The scenery on the borders of the lake
continued to be impressive. The precipices on the east shore shot up
into spiral points; yet the orbicular elevations are covered with grass
and shrubbery. These high grass-crowned elevations, without forest,
terminate near the influx of the Chippewa River in a remarkable isolated
elevation, called _Mont La Garde_, from the fact that it is, and long
has been, a noted look-out station for Chippewa war parties, who descend
this stream, against the Sioux. It commands an extensive view of Lake
Pepin. This lake was thought to be two miles wide opposite our last
night's encampment; it narrows to probably less than half a mile at its
mouth. The west shore along this portion of the lake consists of
singularly striking, picturesque, level, and elevated prairie lands.

Carver, in 1768, places his remains of ancient circumvallations in this
vicinity, but "some miles below Lake Pepin."[102] This was a period when
no attention had been directed to the subject of antiquities in the
United States, and his mind appears to have been impressed strongly by
what he saw. As opportunities did not allow me to land, nor was the
precise spot, indeed, known to any of our guides or men, reference can
only be made to the observations of a man who is known to have been the
first American traveller that has called attention to our western
antiquities. Mr. H. V. Hart, long a resident of this region, verbally
assures me that he has visited these works.[103]

  [102] Carver's Travels, p. 30.

  [103] Mr. G. W. Featherstonehaugh, in his _Geological Reconnoissance_,
  in 1834, landed at the location of these antiquarian remains, and is
  disposed to recognize their authenticity.

Chippewa River, just referred to, comes into the Mississippi on its left
bank, within half a mile of the foot of Lake Pepin. It is a tributary of
prime volume, draining the Chippewa territories lying around the south
and west shores of Lake Superior. Originating on the sandy tracts
extending over the elevated central plains of the Wisconsin, it brings a
large deposit of sand into the Mississippi, the navigation of which is
visibly more embarrassed below this point with sand-bars, willow, and
cotton-wood islands.

At four o'clock in the afternoon we reached and landed at Wabashaw's
village. It is eligibly seated on the west shore, and consists of four
of the large elongated Sioux lodges before mentioned, containing a
population of about sixty souls. The usual intercourse and speeches of
congratulation by the Indians, and acknowledgment of the American
authorities were made, and we again embarked, after a detention of forty
minutes. A few miles below Wabashaw's village, we came to a high rocky
or mountain island, called _La montaigne qui trompe dans l'eau_, a term
which is shortened by western phraseology into TROMPLEDO mountain. This
is a very remarkable feature in the geography of the Upper Mississippi.
The rock is calcareous; it is, in fact, the only fast or rocky island we
have encountered below the little islet at the head of the Packagama
Falls. It is not only striking from its lofty elevation, but is several
miles in circumference; standing in the bed of the river and parting its
channel into two, it appears to be the first bold geological monument
which has effectually resisted its course.

We had passed this island but a short distance, and the approaches of
evening began to be manifest, when a large gray wolf sprang into the
river to cross it. The greatest animation at once arose in our flotilla;
the canoemen bending themselves to their paddles, the auxiliary Indians
of our party shouting, and the whole party assuming an unwonted
excitement. A shot was soon fired from one of our rifles, but either the
distance was too great, or the aim incorrect. The wolf was fully
apprised of his peril, put forth all his strength, outstripped his
pursuers, reached the shore, and nimbly leaped into the woods.

We encamped on the west shore, a few miles below the island at seven
o'clock, having been twelve hours in our canoes. The confinement of the
position nobody can appreciate who has not tried it, and I hastened to
stretch my legs, by ascending the river cliffs in our rear, to have a
glimpse of its geology and scenery. The view westwardly was one of
groves and prairies of most inviting agricultural promise. In front, the
island mountain rises to an elevation which appears to have been the
original geological level of the stratification before the Mississippi
cut its way through it.

At the rapids of Black River, which enters opposite our encampment, a
saw-mill, we were informed, had been erected by an inhabitant of Prairie
du Chien. Thus the empire of the arts has begun to make its way into
these regions, and proclaims the advance of a heavy civilization into a
valley which has heretofore only resounded to the savage war-whoop. Or,
if a higher grade of society and arts has ever before existed in it, as
some of our tumuli and antiquities would lead us to infer, the light of
history has failed to reach us on the subject.[104]

  [104] _American Antiquities._ As the tumuli and earthworks of the
  Mississippi Valley are more closely scrutinized, they do not appear
  to denote a higher degree of civilization than may be assigned to the
  ancestors of the present races of Indians, prior to the epoch of the
  introduction of European arts into America. Certainly there is
  nothing in our earthworks and mounds, to compare with the Toltec and
  Aztec type of arts at the opening of the 16th century; while the
  possession by our tribes of the zea maize, a tropical plant, and
  other facts indicative of a southern migration, appear to denote a
  residence in warmer latitudes. The distribution of the Mexican
  teocalli and pyramid is also plainly traceable from the south.
  Neither the platform nor the solid conical mound has been traced
  higher north than Prairie du Chien; nor have the earthworks (adopting
  Carver's notices) reached higher than Lake Pepin. There are no mounds
  or earthworks at the sources of the Mississippi nor in all British
  America to the shores of the Arctic Seas. We cannot bring arts or
  civilization from that quarter.

At the spot of our encampment, as soon as the shades of night closed in,
we were visited by hordes of ephemera. The candles lighted in our tents
became the points of attraction for these evanescent creations. They
soon, however, began to feel the influence of the sinking of the
thermometer, and the air was imperceptibly cleared of them in an hour or
two. By the hour of three o'clock the next morning (5th) the expedition
was again in motion descending the river. It halted for breakfast at
Painted Rock, on the west shore. While this matter was being
accomplished, I found an abundant locality of unios in a curve of the
shore which produced an eddy. Fine specimens of U. purpureus, elongatus,
and orbiculatus were obtained. With the increased spirit and animation
which the whole party felt on the prospect of our arrival at Prairie du
Chien, we proceeded unremittingly on our descent, and reached that place
at six o'clock in the evening.

Prairie du Chien does not derive its name from the dog, but from a noted
family of Fox Indians bearing this name, who anciently dwelt here. The
old town is said to have been about a mile below the present settlement,
which was commenced by Mr. Dubuque and his associates, in 1783. The
prairie is most eligibly situated along the margin of the stream, above
whose floods it is elevated. It consists of a heavy stratum of diluvial
pebbles and boulders, which is picturesquely bounded by lofty cliffs of
the silurian[105] limestones, and their accompanying column of
stratification. The village has the old and shabby look of all the
antique French towns on the Mississippi, and in the great lake basins;
the dwellings being constructed of logs and barks, and the courtyards
picketed in, as if they were intended for defence. It is called
Kipisagee by the Chippewas and Algonquin tribes generally, meaning the
place of the jet or outflow of the (Wisconsin) River. It is, in popular
parlance, estimated to be 300 miles below St. Peter's, and 600 above St.
Louis.[106] Its latitude is 43° 3´ 6´´. It is the seat of justice for
Crawford County, having been so named in, honor of W. H. Crawford,
Secretary of the Treasury of the U. S. It is, together with all the
region west of Lake Michigan, attached to the territory of Michigan.
There is a large and fertile island in the Mississippi, opposite the
place.

  [105] This term, unknown to geology at the period, has been
  subsequently introduced by Sir Roderic Murchison.

  [106] These distances are reduced by _Ex. Doc._ 237, respectively to
  260 and 542 miles.

We found the garrison to consist of a single company of infantry, under
the command of Capt. J. Fowle, Jun.,[107] who received us courteously,
and offered the salute due to the rank of His Excellency, Gov. Cass. The
fort is a square stockade, with bastions at two angles. There was found
on this part of the prairie, when it came to be occupied with a garrison
by the Americans, in 1819, an ancient platform-mound, in an exactly
square form, the shape and outlines of which were preserved with
exactitude by the prairie sod. This earthwork, the probable evidence of
a condition of ancient society, arts, and events of a race who are now
reduced so low, was, with good taste, preserved by the military, when
they erected this stockade. One of the officers built a dwelling-house
upon it, thus converting it, to the use, and probably the only use, to
which it was originally devoted. No measurements have been preserved of
its original condition; but judging from present appearances, it must
have squared seventy-five feet, and have had an elevation of eight feet.

  [107] This officer entered the army in 1812, serving with reputation.
  He rose, through various grades of the service, to the rank of Lieut.
  Col. of the 6th infantry. He lost his life on the 25th April, 1838,
  by the explosion of the steamer Moselle, on the Ohio River.




CHAPTER XV.

  Mr. Schoolcraft makes a visit to the lead mines of Dubuque--Incidents
    of the trip--Description of the mines--The title of occupancy, and
    the mode of the mines being worked by the Fox tribe of
    Indians--Who are the Foxes?


I solicited permission of Gov. Cass to visit the lead mines of Dubuque,
which are situated on the west bank of the Mississippi, at the computed
distance of twenty-five leagues below Prairie du Chien. Furnished with a
light canoe, manned by eight voyageurs, including a guide, I left the
prairie at half past eleven A. M. (6th). Passed the entrance of the
Wisconsin, on the left bank, at the distance of a league.[108] Opposite
this point is the high elevation which Pike, in 1806, recommended to be
occupied with a military work. The suggestion has not, however, been
adopted; military men, probably, thinking that, however eligible the
site might be for a work where civilized nations were likely to come
into contact, a simpler style of defensive works would serve the purpose
of keeping the Indian tribes in check. I proceeded nine leagues below,
and encamped at the site of a Fox village,[109] located on the east
bank, a mile below the entrance of Turkey River from the west. The
village, consisting of twelve lodges, was now temporarily deserted, the
Indians being probably absent on a hunt; but, if so, it was remarkable
that not a soul or living thing was left behind, not even a dog. My
guide, indeed, informed me that the cause of the desertion was the fears
entertained of an attack from the Sioux, in retaliation for the massacre
lately perpetrated by them on the heads of the St. Peter's, which was
alluded to in the speech of the Little Crow, while we were at his
village (_ante_, p. 160).

  [108] It was at this spot, one hundred and thirty-seven years ago,
  that Marquette and M. Joliet, coming from the lakes, discovered the
  Mississippi.

  [109] Now the site of Cassville, Grant County, Wisconsin. It is a
  post town, pleasantly situated, with a population of 200.

It was seven o'clock P. M. when I landed here, and having some hours of
daylight, I walked back from the river to look at the village, and its
fields, and to examine the geological structure of the adjacent cliffs.
In their gardens I observed squashes, beans, and pumpkins, but the
fields of corn, the principal article of cultivation, had been nearly
all destroyed, probably by wild animals. I found an extensive field of
water and musk melons, situated in an opening in a grove, detached from
the other fields and gardens. None of the fruit was perfectly ripe,
although it had been found so at Prairie du Chien; some of it had been
bitten by wild animals.[110] The cliffs consisted of the same horizontal
strata of sandstones and neutral colored limestone, prevailing at higher
positions in this valley. Returning to the river beach, I perceived the
same pebble drift which characterizes higher latitudes. This seems the
only difference in its structure or form, namely, that the pieces of
quartz pebble, limestone, and other fragments brought down, become
smaller and smaller, as they are carried down.

  [110] Fondness for melons, and annual vine fruits of the garden, is a
  striking trait of the Indians. Some curious facts on this head are
  published in the statistics.--_Indian Information_, vol. iii. p. 624,
  1853, Philadelphia, Lippincott & Co.

There were frequent thunders, and a rain-storm, during the night, which,
with a slight intermission, characterized the morning until noon. I
embarked at half past three A. M. (7th), and landed at the Fox village
of the Kettle chief, at the site of Dubuque's house,[111] at ten
o'clock; a moderate rain having continued all the way. It ceased an hour
after my arrival.

  [111] This is now (1854) the site of the city of Dubuque, State of
  Iowa, which is reputed to be the oldest settlement in that State.
  This city is eligibly situated on a broad plateau, between limestone
  cliffs. The soil rests on a rock foundation, which renders it
  incapable of being undermined by the Mississippi. Its streets are
  broad and laid out at right angles. It has several Protestant
  churches, a Catholic cathedral, a public land office, two banks, four
  printing offices, and by the last census contains a population of
  7,500, the county of which it is the seat of justice, has 10,840. Two
  railroads have their terminal points at this place. At the time of my
  visit, in 1820, the house which had been built by Mr. Dubuque, had
  been burnt down; and there was not a dwelling superior to the Indian
  wigwam within the present limits of Iowa. The State of Iowa was
  admitted into the Union in 1837. By the 7th U. S. census, the
  population of this State, in 1850, is shown to be 192,214. The number
  of square miles is 50,914. No Western State is believed to contain a
  less proportionate quantity of land unsuited to the plough, and its
  population and resources must have a rapid development.

The Kettle chief's village is situated fifteen miles below the entrance
of the Little Makokety River, consisting of nineteen lodges, built in
two rows, pretty compact, and having a population of two hundred and
fifty souls. There is a large island in the Mississippi, directly
opposite this village, which is occupied by traders. I first landed
there to get an interpreter of the Fox language, and obtain some
necessary information respecting the location of the mines, and the best
means of accomplishing my object. Meantime the rain had ceased. I then
proceeded across the Mississippi to the Kettle chief's lodge, to solicit
his permission to visit the mines, and obtain Indian guides. I succeeded
in getting Mr. Gates, as interpreter; and was accompanied by Dr. S.
Muir, a trader, who politely offered to go with me. On entering the
lodge of Aquoqua, the chief, I found him suffering under a severe attack
of bilious fever. As I approached him, he sat upon his pallet, being
unable to stand, and bid me welcome; but soon became exhausted by the
labor of conversation, and was obliged to resume his former position. He
appeared to be a man of eighty years of age, had a venerable look, but
was reduced to the last stage of physical debility. Yet he retained his
faculties of sight and hearing unimpaired, together with his mental
powers. He spoke to me of his death with calm resignation, as a thing to
be desired. On stating the object of my visit, some objections were made
by the chiefs who surrounded him, and they required further time to
consider the proposition. In the mean time, I learned from another
source, that since the death of Dubuque, to whom the Indians had
formerly granted the privilege of working the mines, they had manifested
great jealousy of the whites, were afraid they would encroach on their
rights, denied all former grants, and did not make it a practice even to
allow strangers to view their diggings. Apprehending some difficulties
of this kind, I had provided myself with some presents, and concluding
this to be the time, because of the reluctance manifested, directed one
of my voyageurs to bring in a present of tobacco and whiskey; and in a
few moments I received their assent, and two guides were furnished. One
of these was a minor chief, called Scabass, or the Yelling Wolf; the
other, Wa-ba-say-ah, or the White Foxskin. They led me up the cliff,
where I understood the Indian woman, Peosta, first found lead ore; after
reaching the level of the river bluffs, we pursued a path over
undulating hills, exhibiting a half prairie, and quite picturesque rural
aspect. On reaching the diggings, the most striking part of them, but
not all of them, exhibited excavations such as the Indians only do not
seem persevering enough in labor to have made.

The district of country called Dubuque's Mines, embraces an area of
about twenty-one square leagues, commencing at the mouth of the Little
Maquaquity River, sixty miles below Prairie du Chien, and extending
along the west bank of the Mississippi River, seven leagues in front by
three in depth. The principal mines are situated on a tract of one
square league, beginning immediately at the Fox village of Aquoqua, or
the Kettle chief, and extending westwardly. This is the seat of the
mining operations carried on by Dubuque, as well as of what are called
the Indian Diggings.

Geologically it is the same formation that characterizes the mines of
Missouri; but there are some peculiarities. The ore found is the common
sulphuret of lead, with a broad foliated, or lamellated structure, and
high metallic lustre. It occurs massive and disseminated, in a red loam,
resting on a horizontal limestone rock. Sometimes small veins of the ore
are seen in the rock, but it has been generally explored in the soil. It
generally occurs in narrow beds, which have a fixed direction; these
beds extend three or four hundred feet, when they cease, or are traced
into crevices in the rock. At this stage, the pursuit of ore, at most of
the diggings, has been abandoned, frequently with small veins of the
metal in view. No matrix, so far as I observed, is found with the ore
which is dug out of the soil, unless we may consider such an ochery
oxide of iron, with which it is slightly incrusted. Occasionally, pieces
of calcareous spar are thrown out with the earth in digging after ore. I
picked up from one of these heaps of earth a specimen of transparent
crystallized sulphate of barytes; but this mineral appears to be rare.
There appears to be none of the radiated quartz, or white opaque heavy
spar, which are so abundantly found at the Missouri mines.[112]

  [112] _Vide_ my View of the Lead Mines of Missouri, &c., New York,
  1819.

The ore at these mines is now exclusively dug by the Indian women. Old
and superannuated men also partake in the mining labor, but the warriors
and men hold themselves above it. In this labor, the persons who engage
in it employ the hoe, shovel, pick-axe, and crow-bar. These implements
are supplied by the traders at the island, who are the purchasers of the
crude ore. With these implements they dig trenches, till they are
arrested by the solid rock. There are no shafts, even of the simplest
kind, and the windlass and bucket are unknown to them--far more so the
use of gunpowder in the mining operations. Their mode of going down into
the deepest pits, and coming up from them, is by digging an inclined
way, which permits the women to keep an erect position in walking.[113]
I descended into one of these inclined excavations, which had probably
been carried down forty feet, at the perpendicular angle.

  [113] This is believed to be an oriental mode of excavation, which
  appears to have been practised in digging wells.

When a quantity of ore has been got out, it is carried in baskets to the
banks of the Mississippi, by the females, who are ferried over to the
island. They receive at the rate of two dollars for a hundred and twenty
pounds, payable in goods. At the profit at which these are usually sold,
it may be presumed to cost the traders at the rate of seventy-five cents
or a dollar, cash value, per hundred weight. The traders smelt the ore
on the island, in furnaces of the same construction which I have
described, and given plates of, in my treatise on the mines.[114] They
observe that it yields the same per centum of metallic lead. Formerly,
the Indians were in the habit of smelting the ore themselves on log
heaps, by which an unusual proportion of it was converted into
lead-ashes and lost. They are now induced to search about the sites of
these old fires to collect these lead-ashes, which consist, for the most
part, of desulphuretted ore, for which they receive a dollar per bushel.

  [114] New York, 1819.

There are three mines in addition to those above mentioned, situated
upon the Upper Mississippi, which are worked by the Indians. They are
located at Sinsinaway, at Rivière au Fevre, and at the Little Makokety.
1. Sinsinaway mines. They are situated fifteen miles below Aquoqua's
Village, on the east shore of the Mississippi, at the junction of the
Sinsinaway River. 2. Mine au Fevre. Situated on the River au Fevre,
which enters the Mississippi on its east banks, twenty-one miles below
Dubuque's mines. The lead ore is found ten miles from its mouth. At this
locality, the ore is accompanied by the sulphate of barytes, and is
sometimes crystallized in cubes or octohedrons.[115] 3. Mine of the
Makokety, or Maquoqueti. This small river enters the Mississippi fifteen
miles above Dubuque's mines. The mineral character and value of the
country has been but little explored.

  [115] The city of Galena has subsequently been built on this river,
  at the distance of six miles from the Mississippi. The river is,
  indeed, thus far, an arm of the Mississippi, which permits steamboats
  freely to enter, converting the place into a commercial depot for a
  vast surrounding country. Not less than 40,000,000 pounds of lead
  were shipped from this place in 1852, valued at one million six
  hundred thousand dollars. It is the terminus of the Chicago and
  Galena Railroad, connecting it by a line of 180 miles with the lakes.
  It contains a bank, three newspaper offices, and several churches of
  various denominations, and has, by the census of 1850, a population
  of 6,004.

The history of the mines of Dubuque is brief and simple. In 1780, a
discovery of lead ore was made by the wife of Peosta, a Fox Indian of
Aquoqua's Village. This gave the hint for explorations, which resulted
in extensive discoveries. The lands were formally granted by the Indians
to Julien Dubuque, at a council held at Prairie du Chien in 1788, by
virtue of which he permanently settled on them, erected buildings and
furnaces, and continued to work them until 1810. In 1796, he received a
confirmation of his grant from Carondelet, the governor of Louisiana, in
which they are called "the mines of Spain." By a stone monument which
stands on a hill near the mines, Dubuque died on the 24th March, 1810,
aged forty-five years and six months. After his death, the Indians burnt
down his house and fences--he leaving, I believe, no family[116]--and
erased every vestige of civilized life; and they have since revoked, or
at least denied the grant, and appear to set a very high value on the
mines. Dubuque's claim was assigned to his creditors, by whom it was
presented to the commissioners for deciding on land titles, in 1806. By
a majority of the board it was determined to be valid, in which
condition it was reported to Washington for final action. At this stage
of the investigation, Mr. Gallatin, who was then Secretary of the
Treasury, made a report on the subject, clearly stating the facts, and
coming to the conclusion that it was not a perfect title, stating that
no patent had ever been issued for it, at New Orleans, the seat of the
Spanish authority, from which transcripts of the records of all grants
had been transmitted to the Treasury.[117]

  [116] There is believed to be no instance, in America, where the
  Indians have disannulled grants or privileges to persons settling
  among them, and leaving families founded on the Indian element.

  [117] For the facts in this case, see _Collection of Land Laws of the
  United States_, printed at Washington, 1817.

On the arrival of Lieut. Pike at Mr. Dubuque's on the 1st of September,
1805, he endeavored to obtain information necessary to judge of the
value and extent and the nature of the grant of the mines; but he was
not able to visit them. To the inquiries which he addressed to Mr.
Dubuque on the subject, the latter replied in writing that a copy of the
grant was filed at the proper office in St. Louis, which would show its
date, together with the date of its confirmation by the Spanish
authority, and the extent of the grant to him. He states the mine to be
twenty-seven or twenty-eight leagues long, and from one to three leagues
broad. He represents the per centum of metal to be yielded from the ore
to be seventy-five, and the quantity smelted per annum at from 20,000 to
40,000 pounds. He stated that the whole product was cast into pig lead,
and that there were no other metals at the mines but copper, of the
value of which he could not judge.

Having examined the mines with as much minuteness as the time allowed me
would permit, and obtained specimens of its ores and minerals, I
returned to the banks of the Mississippi, before the daylight departed,
and, immediately embarking, went up the river two leagues and encamped
on an island.

It may be proper to add to this narrative of my mineralogical visit to
these mines, a few words respecting the Fox Indians, by whom the country
is owned. The first we hear of these people is from early missionaries
of New France, who call them, in a list drawn up for the government in
1736, "Gens du Sang," and Miskaukis. The latter I found to be the name
they apply to themselves. We get nothing, however, by it. It means
Red-earths, being a compound from _misk-wau_, red, and _auki_, earth.
They are a branch of the great Algonquin family. The French, who formed
a bad opinion of them, as their history opened, bestowed on them the
name of Renouard, from which we derive their long-standing popular name.
Their traditions attribute their origin to eastern portions of America.
Mr. Gates, who acted as my interpreter, and is well acquainted with
their language and customs, informs me that their traditions refer to
their residence on the north banks of the St. Lawrence, near the ancient
Cataraqui. They appear to have been a very erratic, spirited, warlike,
and treacherous tribe; dwelling but a short time at a spot, and pushing
westward, as their affairs led them, till they finally reached the
Mississippi, which they must have crossed after 1766, for Carver found
them living in villages on the Wisconsin. At Saginaw, they appear to
have formed a fast alliance with the Saucs, a tribe to whom they are
closely allied by language and history. They figure in the history of
Indian events about old Michilimackinac, where they played pranks under
the not very definite title of Muscodainsug, but are first conspicuously
noted while they dwelt on the river bearing their name, which falls into
Green Bay, Wisconsin.[118] The Chippewas, with whom they have strong
affinity of language, call them Otagami, and ever deemed them a
sanguinary and unreliable tribe. The French defeated them in a
sanguinary battle at Butte de Mort, and by this defeat drove them from
Fox River.

  [118] This name was first applied to a territory in 1836.

Their present numbers cannot be accurately given. I was informed that
the village I visited contained two hundred and fifty souls. They have a
large village at Rock Island, where the Foxes and Saucs live together,
which consists of sixty lodges, and numbers three hundred souls.
One-half of these may be Saucs. They have another village at the mouth
of Turkey River; altogether, they may muster from 460 to 500 souls. Yet,
they are at war with most of the tribes around them, except the Iowas,
Saucs, and Kickapoos. They are engaged in a deadly, and apparently
successful war against the Sioux tribes. They recently killed nine men
of that nation, on the Terre Blue River; and a party of twenty men are
now absent, in the same direction, under a half-breed named Morgan. They
are on bad terms with the Osages and Pawnees of the Missouri, and not on
the best terms with their neighbors the Winnebagoes.

I again embarked at four o'clock A. M. (8th). My men were stout fellows,
and worked with hearty will, and it was thought possible to reach the
Prairie during the day, by hard and late pushing. We passed Turkey River
at two o'clock, and they boldly plied their paddles, sometimes animating
their labors with a song; but the Mississippi proved too stout for us;
and some time after nightfall we put ashore on an island, before
reaching the Wisconsin. In ascending the river this day, observed the
pelican, which exhibited itself in a flock, standing on a low sandy spot
of an island. This bird has a clumsy and unwieldy look, from the
duplicate membrane attached to its lower mandible, which is constructed
so as when inflated to give it a bag-like appearance. A short sleep
served to restore the men, and we were again in our canoes the next
morning (9th) before I could certainly tell the time by my watch.
Daylight had not yet broke when we passed the influx of the Wisconsin,
and we reached the Prairie under a full chorus, and landed at six
o'clock.




CHAPTER XVI.

  The expedition proceeds from Prairie du Chein up the Wisconsin
    Valley--Incidents of the ascent--Etymology of the name--The low
    state of its waters favorable to the observation of its
    fresh-water conchology--Cross the Wisconsin summit, and descend
    the Fox River to Winnebago Lake.


We were now at the foot of the Wisconsin Valley--at the point, in fact,
where Marquette and Joliet, coming from the forests and lakes of New
France, had discovered the great River of the West, in 1673. Marquette,
led by his rubrics, named it the River "Conception," but, in his
journal, he freely employs the aboriginal term of Mississippi, which was
in use by the whole body of the Algonquin tribes. While awaiting, at
Prairie du Chein, the preparations for ascending the Wisconsin, the
locality was found a very remarkable one for its large unios, and some
other species of fresh-water shells. Some specimens of the unio crassus,
found on the shores of the island in the Mississippi, opposite the
village, were of thrice the size of any noticed in America or Europe,
and put conchologists in doubt whether the species should not be named
_giganteus_.[119] I had, in coming down the Mississippi, procured some
fine and large specimens of the unio purpureus of Mr. Say, at the
Painted Rock, with some other species; and the discovery of such large
species of the crassus served to direct new attention to the subject.

  [119] American Journal of Science, vol. vi. p. 119.

Our sympathies were excited, at this place, by observing an object of
human deformity in the person of an Indian, who, to remedy the want of
the power of locomotion, had adjusted his legs in a large wooden bowl.
By rocking this on the ground, he supplied, in a manner, the lost
locomotive power. This man of the bowl possessed his faculties of mind
unimpaired, spoke several Indian languages, besides the Canadian
French, and appeared cheerful and intelligent. An excursion into the
adjacent country, to view some caves, and a reported mineral locality
made by Mr. Trowbridge, during my descent to the mines of Dubuque,
brought me some concretions of carbonate of lime, but the Indian guides
either faltered to make the promised discoveries, through their
superstitions, or really failed in the effort to find the object. By
tracing the shores of the Mississippi, I found the rolled and hard
agates and other quartz species, which characterize the pebble-drift of
its sources, still present in the down-flowing shore-drift.

The aboriginal name of this place is Kipesági, an Algonquin word, which
is applied to the mouth or outflow of the Wisconsin River. It appears to
be based on the verb _kipa_, to be thick or turbid, and _sauge_,
outflow--the river at its floods, being but little else than a moving
mass of sand and water.

It was the 9th (Aug.) at half-past ten in the morning before the
expedition left the Prairie to ascend the Wisconsin, the mouth of which
we reached after descending the Mississippi three miles. This is an
impressive scene--the bold cliffs of the west bank of the Mississippi,
with Pike's-hill rising in front on the west, while those of the
Wisconsin Valley stand at but little less elevation on the north and
south. At this season of the year the water is clear and placid, and
mingles itself in its mighty recipient without disturbance. But it is
easy to conceive, what the Indians affirm, that in its floods it is a
strong and turbid mass of moving waters, against which nothing can
stand. This character of the stream is believed, indeed, to be the
origin of the Indian name of Wisconsin. Miskawägumi, means a strong or
mixed water, or liquid. By adding to this word _totoshabo_ (milk), the
meaning is coagulated or turning milk; it is often used to mean brandy,
which is then called strong water; by adding _iscodawabo_, the meaning
is fire-water. Marquette, in 1673, spells the name of the river
indifferently Meshkousing, and Mishkousing. Of this term, the inflection
_ing_, is simply a local form, the letter _s_ being thrown in for
euphony. This word appears to be a derivation from the term _mushkowa_,
strong water. By admitting the transmutation of _m_ to _w_, the initial
syllable _mis_ is changed to _wis_, and the interpretation is then river
(or place) of strong waters. The term of _kipesagi_, applied to its
mouth, is but another characteristic feature of it--the one laying
stress on its _turbidity in flood_, and the other on its _strength of
current_. These are certainly the two leading traits of the Wisconsin,
which rushes with a great average velocity over an inclined plane,
without falls, for a great distance. It originates in a remarkable
summit of sandy plains, which send out to the west the Chippewa River of
Lake Pepin, to the north the Montreal and Ontonagon of Lake Superior,
and to the east the Menomonee of Green Bay, while the Wisconsin becomes
its southern off-drain, till it finally turns west at the Portage, and
flows into the Mississippi.

We ascended, the first day, eighteen miles; the next, thirty-six; the
third day, thirty-four miles; the fourth, forty; the fifth,
thirty-eight, and the sixth, sixteen, which brought us to the Fox and
Wisconsin Portage, a spot renowned from the earliest French days of
western discovery. For here, on the waters separating the Mississippi
from the great lakes, there had, at successive intervals, been pitched
the tents of Marquette, La Hontan, Carver, and other explorers, who
have, in their published journals, left traces of their footsteps. La
Salle, who excelled them all in energy of character, proceeded to the
Mississippi from Lake Michigan, down the Illinois.

Our estimates made the distance from the Mississippi to this point one
hundred and eighty-two miles. It is a wide, and (at this season) shallow
stream, with transparent waters, running over a bed of yellow sand,
checkered with numerous small islands, and long spits of sand-bars.
There is not a fall in this distance, and it must be navigable with
large craft during the periodical freshets. It receives the Blue, Pine,
and other tributaries in this distance. Its valley presents a geological
section, on a large scale, of the series of lead-bearing rocks extending
in regular succession from the fundamental sandstone to the topmost
limestones. The water being shallow and warm, we often waded from bar to
bar, and found the scene a fruitful one for its fresh-water conchology.
The Indians frequently amused me by accounts of the lead mines and
mineral productions of its borders; but I followed them in this search
only to be convinced that they were without sincerity in these
representations, and had no higher objects on this head, than, by
assuming a conciliatory manner, to secure temporary advantages while the
expedition was passing through their country. The valley belongs to the
Winnebagoes, whom we frequently met, and received a friendly reception
from. We also encountered Menomonies, who occupy the lower part of the
adjacent Fox River Valley, but rove widely west and north over the
countries of the tribes they are at peace with.

The Wisconsin Valley was formerly inhabited by the Sacs and Foxes, who
raised large quantities of corn and beans on its fertile shores. They
were driven by the French, in alliance with the Chippewas and
Menomonies. It is now possessed exclusively by the Winnebagoes, a savage
and bloodthirsty tribe, who came, according to tradition, many years ago
from the south, and are thought to be related to some of the Mexican
tribes. Their language is cognate with the great Sioux or Dakota stock
west of the Mississippi, who likewise date their origin south. To those
accustomed to hear the softer tones of the Chippewa and Algonquin, it
sounds harsh and guttural. Their name for themselves is Hochungara; the
French call them _Puants_.

In passing up this valley, an almost never-failing object of interest
was furnished by the univalve shells found along its banks, and by the
variety in size, shape, and color which they exhibited. Of these, the
late Mr. Barnes has described, from my duplicates, the U. plicatus, U.
verrucosus, U. ventricosus, U. planus, U. obliqua, and U. gracilis.[120]
We frequently observed the scolipax minor, the plover, the A. alcyon, a
small yellow bird, and C. vociferus, along its sandy shores; and, in
other positions, the brant, the grouse, the A. sponsa, and the summer
duck, and F. melodia. A range of hills extends from the Mississippi, on
each shore, to within twenty miles of the Portage, where it ceases, on
the south side, but continues on the north--receding, however, a
considerable distance. This section is called the Highlands of the
Wisconsin. The stratification is exclusively sandstone and limestone, in
the usual order of the metalliferous series of the West, and lying in
horizontal positions.

  [120] American Journal of Science, vol. vi. p. 120, &c.

There are two kinds of rattlesnake in the Valley of the Wisconsin. The
larger, or barred crotalis, is confined to the hills, and attains a
large size. I killed one of this species at the mouth of a small cave
on the summit of a cliff to which I ascended, which measured four feet
in length, and had nine rattles. Its great thickness attracted notice.
Attaching a twig to its neck, I drew it down into the valley as a
present to our Indians, knowing that they regard the reptile in a
peculiar manner. They found it a female, having eleven young, who had
taken shelter in their maternal abdominal-covering. The Ottowas
carefully took off the skin, and brought it with them. The second kind
of this reptile is called prairie rattlesnake, is confined to the
plains, and does not exceed fifteen or twenty inches in length.

The Indians had reported localities of lead, copper, and silver at
various places, but always failed, as we ascended, to reveal anything of
more value than detached pieces of sulphuret of iron, or brown
iron-stone. When we reached the portage, a Winnebago, who had been the
chief person in making these reports, came with great ceremony to
present a specimen of his reported silver. On taking off the envelop it
turned out to be a small mass of light-colored glistening folia of mica.
We had found the horizontal rocks along the stream thus far, but the
primitive shows itself, within a mile north of the portage, in orbicular
masses in situ, coming through the prairies.

Having reached the summit, we proceeded across it to the banks of Fox
River, where we encamped. It consists of a level plain. The distance is
a mile and a half. It required, however, some time to have our baggage
and canoes transported, which was done by a Frenchman residing at this
summit. Such is the slight difference in the level of the two rivers,
that Indian canoes are pushed through the marshy ridges when the rivers
are swelled by freshets. It was half-past three o'clock of the 15th, the
day following our arrival, before the transportation and loading of our
canoes was completed. It was then necessary to push our canoes through
fields of rushes and other aquatic plants, through which the river
winds. This was a slow mode of progress, and we spent the remainder of
the day in passing fifteen miles, which brought us to the FORKS, so
called, where the northern unites with the southern branch of the river.
At this spot we encamped. Next day we estimated our descent at
sixty-three miles, having found the navigation less intricate and
obstructed from the aquatic growth. In this distance we passed, at
thirty miles below the fork, a piece of clear water of nine miles
extent, called Buffalo Lake; and at the distance of twelve miles lower,
another lake of some twelve miles in extent, called Puckaway Lake. Down
to this point, the Fox River has scarcely a perceptible current. We
found we had not only, in parting from the Wisconsin to the Fox,
exchanged an open, swift, and strong flowing current, for a very quiet
and still one, winding through areas of wild rice and the whole family
of water plants; but had intruded into a region of water-fowl and birds
of every plumage, who, as they rioted upon their cherished zizania
aquatica, made the air resound with their screams. The blackbird
appeared to be lord of these fields. We had also intruded upon a
favorite region of the water-snake, who, coiled up on his bed of plants
at every bend of the stream, slid off with spiteful glance into the
stream. In passing these places of habitation, which the Chippewas call
_wauzh_, we perceptibly smelt an unpleasant odor arising from it.

The next day we descended the river seventy miles. There is a
perceptible current below Puckaway Lake. The river increases in width
and depth, and offers no impediment whatever to its navigation. Fox
River runs, indeed, from the portage to Winnebago Lake on a summit, over
which it winds among sylvan hills, covered with grass and
prairie-flowers, interspersed with groves of oak, elm, ash, and hickory,
and dotted at intervals with lakes of refreshing transparent water. The
height of this summit, above the Mississippi and the lakes, must be
several hundred feet (stated at 234), which permits the stream to flow
with liveliness, insuring, when it comes to be settled,[121] the
erection of hydraulic works; and it would be difficult to point to a
region possessing in its soil, climate, and natural resources, a more
favorable character for an agricultural population. It has a diversified
surface, without mountains; a fine dry atmosphere; an admirable
drainage east, west, north, and south, and a ready access to the great
oceanic marts through the Great Lake and the Mississippi.

  [121] WISCONSIN. This region was separated from Michigan, and formed
  into a separate territory in 1836; and admitted as a State in 1848.
  By the census of 1850, it has a population of 305,391, divided into
  33,517 families, occupying 32,962 dwellings, and cultivating
  1,045,499 acres of land. There are 43 organized counties, and 334
  churches of all denominations, giving one church to every 1,250
  inhabitants. It has three representatives in the popular branch of
  Congress. It was 16 years after my visit, before it had a distinct
  legal existence--it increased to become a State in twelve years; and,
  according to our ordinary rate of increase, will contain one million
  of inhabitants in 1890.

We passed, this day, several encampments and villages of Winnebagoes and
Menomonies--tribes, who, with the erratic habits of the Tartars, or
Bedouins, once spread their tents in the Fox and Wisconsin valleys, but
have now (1853) relinquished them to the European race; and it does not,
at this distance of time, seem important to denote the particular spots
where they once boiled their kettles of corn, or thumped their magic
drums. God have mercy on them in their wild wanderings! We also passed
the entrance of Wolf River, a fine bold stream on the left; and soon
below it the handsome elevation of La Butte de Morts, or the Hillock of
the Dead. This eminence was covered by the frail lodges of the
Winnebagoes. The spot is memorable in Indian history, for a signal
defeat of the Foxes, by the French and their Indian allies in the
seventeenth century, after which, this tribe was finally expelled from
the Fox valley. Our night's encampment (17th) was below this spot. The
night air was remarkably cold, and put an end to our further annoyance
from mosquitos. We embarked at five o'clock the next morning during a
dense fog, which was in due time dissipated by the rising sun. We had
been five hours in our canoes, under the full force of paddles, when we
entered Winnebago Lake. This is a most beautiful and sylvan expanse of
water some twenty-four miles long by ten in width, surrounded by
picturesque prairie and sloping plains. It has a stream at Fond du Lac,
its southern extremity,[122] which is connected by a short portage with
the principal source of Rock River of the Mississippi.

  [122] This spot is now the site of the flourishing town of Fond du
  Lac, which was laid out in 1845. It had a population of 2,014 in
  1850, including two newspaper offices, two banking houses, one iron
  foundry, a car factory, twelve drygoods stores, and sixty other
  stores. It is situated 72 miles N. N. W. from Milwaukie, and 90 N. E.
  from Madison, the capital of the State of Wisconsin. It is the shire
  town of a county containing a population of 14,510, with 17 churches,
  and 2,844 pupils attending public schools, and 85 attending
  academies. It has a plank road to Lake Michigan, and will soon be
  connected by a railroad with Chicago. It is by such means that the
  American wilderness is conquered.

The Fox River, after having displayed itself in the lake, leaves it, at
its northern extremity, flowing by a succession of rapids and falls over
horizontal limestones to the head of Green Bay. There is a Winnebago
village, under Hoo Tshoop, or Four Legs, at the point of outlet, where
we landed, and as the first rapid begins at that point, creating a
delay, I took the occasion to examine its geology more closely, by
procuring fresh fractures of the masses of rock in the vicinity. This
process, it appeared, was narrowly watched by the Indians, who wondered
what such a scrutiny should mean. The French, said the chief to one of
our interpreters, formerly held possession of this country; and,
afterwards, came the British. They contented themselves with common
things, and never disturbed these rocks, which have been laying here
forever. But the moment the Americans get possession of the country,
they must come and knock off pieces of the rock, and look at them. It is
marvellous!

A brilliant mass of native copper, weighing ten or twelve pounds, was
found by an Indian, some years ago, on the shores of this lake. The
moment he espied it, his imagination was fired, and he fancied he beheld
the form of a beautiful female, standing in the water. Glittering in
radiancy, she held out in her hand a lump of gold. He paddled his canoe
towards her, furtively and slow, but, as he advanced, a transformation
gradually ensued. Her eyes lost their brilliancy, her face the glow of
life and health, her arms disappeared; and when he reached the spot, the
object had changed into a stone monument of the human form, with the
tail of a fish. Amazed, he sat awhile in silence; then, lighting his
pipe, he offered it the incense of tobacco, and addressed it, as the
guardian angel of his country. Lifting the miraculous image gently into
his canoe, he took his seat, with his face in an opposite direction, and
paddled towards shore, on reaching which, and turning round to the
object of his regard, he discovered, in its place, nothing but a lump of
shining virgin copper.

Such are the imaginative efforts of this race, who look to the eyes of
civilization as if they had themselves faces of stone, and hearts of
adamant.




CHAPTER XVII.

  Descent of the Fox River from Winnebago Lake to Green
    Bay--Incidents--Etymology, conchology, mineralogy--Falls of the
    Konomic and Kakala--Population and antiquity of the settlement of
    Green Bay--Appearances of a tide, not sustained.


A rapid commences at the precise point where Fox River issues from
Winnebago Lake. This rapid, down which canoes descend with half loads,
extends a mile and a half, when the river assumes its usual navigable
form, presenting a noble volume. Nine miles below this, a ledge of the
semi-crystalline limestone rock crosses the entire channel, lifting
itself five feet above the bed of the stream. Over this the Fox River
throws itself by an abrupt cascade. Down this shelf of rock, the canoes,
previously lightened of their burden, are lifted by the men. It was
sometime after dark when we reached and encamped on the north shore, at
the foot of this cascade, which bears the name of Konamik. The syllable
_kon_, in this word, appears to me to be the same as _con_ in Wisconsin,
and is, apparently, a derivative from a term for strong water, which
has, in this case, the meaning of cascade or fall. The word _amik_, its
terminal, means a beaver. We thus have the probable original meaning in
beaver-water, or, by implication, beaver cascade. There is a rapid below
this fall. I judged the water must sink its level, in this vicinity,
about fifteen feet. On examining the character of the limestone, I
discovered crystals of calcareous spar occupying small cavities. At
other localities, at lower points, there were found crystals of black
sulphuret of zinc, and yellow sulphuret of iron. The rock appears to be
of the same age as the lead-bearing limestone of the West; it is also
overlaid by the red marly clay, and I should judge it to contain
deposits of sulphuret of lead.

The next morning, we resumed our descent of the Fox River with
difficulty. It was now the 19th of August, and the waters had reached
their lowest summer stage. The entire distance of twelve miles from the
Konamik to the Kákala fall may be deemed to be, at this season, a
continuous rapid. Our barge was abandoned on the rapids. While the men
toiled in these rapids to get down their canoes, it was found rather a
privilege to walk, for it gave a more ample opportunity to examine the
mineral structure and productions of the country.

It was high noon when we reached the rapids of the Kákala. This is a
formidable rapid, at which the river rushes with furious velocity down a
rocky bed, which it seems impossible boats or canoes should ever safely
descend. It demands a portage to be made, under all circumstances, the
water sweeping round a curve or bow, of which the portage path is the
string. This is the apparent meaning of the term, in the Indian tongue;
but it is disguised by early orthography, in which the letter _l_ has
taken the place of _n_, and the syllable _in_ of _au_. The term _kakina_
is the ancient French form of the Indian transitive-adjective _all_,
inclusive, entirely. There is another root for the term in _kakiwa_,
which is the ordinary term for a portage, or walk across a point of
land, which is rendered local by the usual inflection, _o-nong_.

We found the portage path to be a well-beaten wagon road across a level
fertile plain, which appeared to have been in cultivation from the
earliest Indian period. Probably it had been a locality for the tribes,
where they raised their favorite maize, long before the French first
reached the waters of Green Bay. Evidence of such antiquity in the plain
of Kákala appeared in an ancient cemetery of a circular shape, situated
on one side of the road, on a comparatively large surface, which had
reached the height of some eight or ten feet, by the mere accumulation
of graves. This has all the appearance of a sepulchral mound, in the
slow process of construction; for, on viewing it, I found a recent
grave. We passed, on this plain, a Winnebago village of ten or twelve
lodges, embracing two hundred souls. The portage is continued just one
mile. Embarking again, at this point, we proceeded down the river, and
encamped eight miles below this point, having, with every exertion, made
but twenty miles this day.

The interest which had been excited by the conchology of the
Mississippi and Wisconsin valleys, was renewed in the descent of the Fox
River, particularly in the section of it below Winnebago Lake. Shrunk to
its lowest summer level, its shores disclosed almost innumerable species
of unios, many of which had been manifestly dragged to the shores and
opened by the muskrat, thus serving to give hints for finding the living
species. Among these, the U. obliqua, U. cornutus, U. ellipticus, U.
carinatus, U. Alatus, U. prælongus, and U. parvus, were conspicuous; the
latter of which, it is remarked by Mr. Barnes, is the smallest and most
beautiful of all the genus yet discovered in America.[123] In the
duplicates, from this part of the Fox River, transmitted to Mr. Isaac
Lea, of Philadelphia, he found a species with green-rayed beaks, on a
yellow surface and iridescent nacre, having a peculiar structure, which
he did me the honor to name after me.[124] The description of Mr. Lea is
as follows: "Unio Schoolcraftensis. Shell subrotund, somewhat angular at
posterior dorsal margin, nearly equilateral, compressed, slightly
tuberculate posteriorly to umbonical slope. Substance of the shell
rather thick; beaks elevated; ligament short; epidermis smooth yellow,
with several broad green rays; teeth elevated, and cleft in the left
valve, single, and rising from a pit in the right; lateral teeth
elevated, straight, and lamellar; anterior cicatrices distinct,
posterior cicatrices confluent; dorsal cicatrices within the cavity of
the shell on the base of the cardinal tooth; cavity of the beaks angular
and deep; nacre pearly white and iridescent. Diameter ·7, length 1·1,
breadth 1·3 inches."

  [123] Amer. Journ. Science, vol. vi. pp. 120, 259, &c.

  [124] Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. v. p.
  37; plate 3, fig. 9.

The next morning (20th), a heavy fog in the Fox Valley detained us in
our encampment till 7 o'clock. Six miles brought us to another rapid,
called the Little Kakala, which, however, opposes no obstacle to the
descent of canoes. At this spot, which is the apparent western terminus
of the Bay settlement, we found a party of U. S. soldiers, from Fort
Howard, engaged in digging the foundations for a saw-mill. Our
appearance must have been somewhat rusty at this time, from our
deficiences in the tonsorial and sempstrescal way, for these sons of
Mars did not recognize their superior officers in Capt. Douglass and Lt.
Mackay; glibly saying, in a jolly way, as they handed them a drink of
water: "After me, sir, is manners;" and drinking off the first cup. At
this rapid I got out of my canoe, wishing to see the geological
formation more fully, and walked quite to the Rapide du Pere, where Fox
River finds its level in the broad, elongated, and lake-like tongue of
water, extending up from the head of Green Bay. On reaching this point,
the scene of the settlement first burst on our view, with its
farm-houses and cultivated fields stretching, for five miles, along both
banks of the river; disclosing the flagstaff of the distant fort, and
the bannered masts of vessels, all of which brought vividly to mind our
approach to the civilized world. If the Canadian boat-song was ever
exhilarating and appropriate, it was peculiarly so on the present
occasion; and when our _voyageurs_ burst out, in full chorus, with the
ancient ditty, beginning,

    "_La fille du Roi son vout chassau,
    Avec son grande fusee d'largent_,"

they waked up a responsive feeling, not alone in the breasts of the
French _habitans_, lining the shores of the river, but in our own
breasts. On reaching the fort, the salute due to the governor of a
territory was paid, in honor of our leader, Governor Cass; and in
exchanging congratulations with the officers and citizens, we began
first to feel, in reality, that, after passing among many savage tribes,
our scalps were still safely on our heads. I found, at the fort, letters
from my friends, and was thus reminded that warm sympathies had been
alive for our fate. Weary regions had now been past, and privations
endured, of which we thought little, at the time; the flag of the Union
had been carried among barbarous tribes, who hardly knew there was such
a power as the United States, or, if they knew, despised it; and some
information had been gathered, which it was hoped would enlarge the
boundaries of science, and would at the same time send a thrill of
satisfaction, and impart a feeling of security, along the whole line of
the advanced and extended western settlements. If Berkeley, in the dark
days of the Commonwealth of England, could turn to the West, with
exultation, as the hope of the nation, it must be admitted that it is by
some out-door means, like this, that the way for the car of "empire"
must be prepared.

We found the fort, which bears the name of Howard, in charge of Capt.
W. Wistler, during the absence of Col. Joseph L. Smith. Its strength
consists of three hundred men, together with about the same number of
infantry at Camp Smith, at Rock or Dupere Rapid, a few miles above, who
are engaged in quarrying stone for a permanent fortification at that
point. On visiting this quarry, I found it to consist of a bluish-gray
limestone, semi-crystalline in its structure, containing small
disseminated masses of sulphuret of zinc, calcspar, and iron pyrites,
and corresponding, in every respect, with the beds of this rock observed
along the upper parts of the Fox and Wisconsin valleys.

Fort Howard is seated on a handsome fertile plain, on the north banks of
the Fox, near its mouth. It consists of a stockade of timber, thirty
feet high, inclosing barracks, which face three sides of a quadrangle.
This forms a fine parade. There are blockhouses, mounting guns, at the
angles, and quarters for the surgeon and quartermaster, separately
constructed. The whole is whitewashed, and presents a neat military
appearance. The gardens of the military denote the most fruitful soil
and genial climate. Data observed by the surgeon, indicate the site to
be unexcelled for its salubrity, such a disease as fever, of any kind,
never having visited it, in either an endemic or epidemic form.

The name of Green Bay is associated with our earliest ideas of French
history in America. When La Salle visited the country in the 17th
century, it had been many years known to the French, and was esteemed
one of the prime posts for trading with the Indians. The chief tribes
who were located here, and in the vicinity, making this their central
point of trade, were the _Puants_, i. e. Winnebagoes, Malomonies, or
Folle Avoins, known to us as Menomonies, Sacs, and Foxes, called also
Sakis, Outagami, and Renouards, and it was also the seat of trade for
the equivocal tribe of the Mascoutins. The present inhabitants are, with
few exceptions, descendants of the original French, who intermarried
with Indian women, and who still speak the French and Indian languages.
They are indolent, gay, and illiterate. I was told there were five
hundred inhabitants, and about sixty principal dwellings, beside
temporary structures. There are seventy inhabitants enrolled as
militia-men, and the settlement has civil courts, being the seat of
justice from Brown County, Michigan, so called in honor of Major-General
Jacob Brown, U. S. A. The place is surrounded by the woodlands and
forests, and seems destined to be an important lake-port.[125] The
Algonquin name for this place is Boatchweekwaid, a term which describes
an eccentric or abrupt bay, or inlet. Nothing could more truly depict
its singular position; it is, in fact, a kind of cul-de-sac--a
duplicature of Lake Michigan, with the coast-shore of which it lies
parallel for about ninety miles.

  [125] GREEN BAY. This town has just (1854) been incorporated as a
  city, the anticipations respecting it having been slow in being
  realized. It has now an estimated population of 3,000, with several
  churches in a healthy and flourishing state, two printing presses, a
  post-office, collectorship, and thriving agricultural and commercial
  advantages, which will be fully realized when the internal
  improvements in process of construction through the Fox and Wisconsin
  valleys are finished. Its extreme salubrity has, it seems, been
  disregarded by emigrants.

The singular configuration of this bay appears to be the chief cause of
the appearances of a tide at the point where it is entered by Fox River.
This phenomenon was early noticed by the French. La Hontan mentions it
in 1689. Charlevoix remarks on it in 1721, and suggests its probable
cause, which is, in his opinion, explained by the fact that Lakes
Michigan and Huron, alternately empty themselves into each other through
the Straits of Michilimackinac. The effects of such a flux and reflux,
under the power of the winds, would appear to place Green Bay in the
position of a siphon, on the west of Lake Michigan, and go far to
account for the singular fluctuations of the current at the mouth of the
Fox River. On reaching this spot of the rising and falling of the lake
waters, Governor Cass caused observations to be made, which he greatly
extended at a subsequent period.[126] These give no countenance to the
theory of regular tides, but denote the changes in the level of the
waters to be eccentrically irregular, and dependent, so far as the
observations extend, altogether on the condition of the winds and
currents of the lakes.

  [126] American Journal of Science, vol. xvii.

Something analogous to this is perceived in the Baltic, which has no
regular tides, and therefore experiences no difference of height, except
when the wind blows violently. "At such times," says Pennant,[127]
"there is a current in and out of the Baltic, according to the points
they blow from, which forces the water through the sound, with the
velocity of two or three Danish miles in the hour. When the wind blows
violently from the German Sea, the water rises in several Baltic
harbors, and gives those in the western tract a temporary saltness;
otherwise, the Baltic loses that other property of a sea, by reason of
the want of tide, and the quantity of vast rivers it receives, which
sweeten it so much as to render it, in many places, fit for domestic
use."

  [127] Arctic Geology.




CHAPTER XVIII.

  The expedition traces the west shores of Lake Michigan southerly to
    Chicago--Outline of the journey along this coast--Sites of
    Manitoowoc, Sheboigan, Milwaukie, Racine, and Chicago, being the
    present chief towns and cities of Wisconsin and Illinois on the
    west shores of that Lake--Final reorganization of the party and
    departure from Chicago.


Two days spent in preparations to reorganize the expedition, enabled it
to continue its explorations. For the purpose of tracing the western and
northern shores of Green Bay, and the northern shores of Lake Michigan,
a sub-expedition was fitted out, under Mr. Trowbridge, our
sub-topographer, who was accompanied by Mr. J. D. Doty, Mr. Alex. R.
Chase, and James Riley, the Chippewa interpreter. The auxiliary Indians,
who had, thus far, attended us in a separate canoe, were rewarded for
their services, furnished with provisions to reach their homes, and
dismissed. The escort of soldiers under Lieut. Mackay, U. S. A., were
returned to their respective companies at Fort Howard and Camp Smith.
The Chippewa chief, _Iaba Wawashkash_, or the Buck, who belonged
to Michilimackinac, went with Mr. Trowbridge, together with Jo
Parks, the intelligent Shawnee captive, and assimilated Shawnee of
Waughpekennota,[128] Ohio. The Ottowa chief, Kewaygooshkum, of
Grand-River, took the rest of the party in a separate canoe to their
destination. Our collections in natural history were shipped in the
schooner Decatur, Capt. Burnham (Perry's boatswain in the memorable
naval battle of Lake Erie, Sept. 11, 1813), to Michilimackinac, together
with the extra baggage.

  [128] WAUGHPEKENNOTA. This place was _then_ the residence of the
  Shawnee tribe, under the Prophet Elksattawa, of war memory, the
  celebrated brother of Tecumseh, who, seeing the intrusive tread of
  the Americans, headed, in 1827, the first exploring party of the
  tribe to the west of the Mississippi, where they finally settled.
  After living twenty-seven years at this spot, they found themselves
  within the newly-erected territory of Kansas, and sold their surplus
  lands to the U. States by a treaty concluded at Washington in May,
  1854, the said Parks being at this time first chief of the Shawnee
  tribe.

Thus relieved in numbers and canoe-hamper, we were reduced to two
canoes; the travelling family of Gov. Cass now consisted of Capt.
Douglass, Dr. Wolcott, Maj. Forsyth, Lieut. Mackay, and myself. Leaving
Fort Howard at two o'clock P. M., we parted with Mr. Trowbridge and his
party at the mouth of Fox River, at half past two, and taking the other,
or east side of the bay, proceeded along its shores about twenty-five
miles, and encamped on the coast called Red Banks. This is a term
translated from the Winnebago name, which is renowned in their
traditions as the earliest spot which they can recollect. They dwelt
here when the French first reached Green Bay in their discoveries in the
seventeenth century. Here, then, is a test of the value and continuity
of Indian tradition, so far as this tribe is concerned, for admitting,
what is doubtful, that the French reached this point so early as 1650,
the period of recognized Winnebago history, as proved by geography,
reaches but 170 years prior to the above date.

In a short time after entering the bay, we were overtaken by
Kewaygooshkum and his party, who travelled and encamped with us. In the
course of the evening he pointed out a rocky island, at three or four
miles distance, containing a large cavern, which has been used by the
Indians from early times as a repository for the dead. The chief, as he
pointed to it, as if absorbed in a spirit of ancestral reverence, seemed
to say:--

    "It hath a charm the stranger knoweth not,
    It is the [sepulchre] of mine ancestry;
    There is an inspiration in its shade,
    The echoes of its walls are eloquent,
    The words they speak are of the glorious dead;
    Its tenants are not human--they are more!
    The stones have voices, and the walls do live;
    It is the home of memories dearly honored
    By many a trace of long departed glory."

The appearance of ancient cultivation of this coast is such as to give
semblance to the Winnebago tradition of its having been their former
residence. The lands are fertile, alluvion, bearing a secondary growth
of trees, mingled with older species of the acer saccharinum, elm, and
oak.

The next day, after traversing this coast twenty miles further, we
reached and passed up Sturgeon Bay, to a portage path leading to Lake
Michigan. This path begins in low grounds, where several of the swamp
species of plants occur. On reaching the open shores of Lake Michigan,
the wind was found strongly ahead, and we were compelled to encamp. At
this spot we found several species of madreperes, and some other organic
forms, among the shore debris. The next day the wind abated, and,
agreeably to the estimate of Capt. Douglass, we advanced along the
shore, southwardly, forty-six miles. The day following, we made forty
miles, and reached the River Manitowakie,[129] and encamped on the lake
shore, five miles south of it.

  [129] From _Manito_, a spirit, _auk_, a standing or hollow tree that
  is under a mysterious influence, and the generic inflection _ie_,
  which is applied to vital or animate nouns. A town, at present,
  exists at the spot called Manitoowoc. It is the shire town of a
  county of the same name in Wisconsin; it has a good harbor, and by
  the census of 1850 contains four churches, twelve stores, two steam
  mills, two ship-yards, a newspaper, post-office, and 2,500
  inhabitants. We found the site inhabited by a village Monomonees of
  six lodges.

In passing along the lake shore this day (25th), we observed it to be
strewed abundantly with the carcasses of dead pigeons. This bird, we
were told, is often overcome by the fatigue of long flights, or storms,
in crossing the lake, and entire flocks drowned. This causes the shores
to be visited by great numbers of hawks, eagles, and other birds of
prey. The Indians only make use of those carcasses of pigeons, as food,
when they are first cast on shore.

The next day the expedition passed the mouth of the Sheboigan River, a
stream originating not remotely from the banks of Winnebago Lake, with
which, as the name indicates, there is a portage or passage
through.[130] Pushing forward with every force during the day, we
reached the mouth of the Milwaukie River, and encamped on the beach some
time after dark. This is a large and important river, and is connected
by an Indian portage with the Rock River of the Mississippi. The next
morning adverse winds confined us to this spot, where we remained a
considerable part of the day, which enabled us to explore the locality.
We found it to be the site of a Pottawattomie village. There were two
American families located at that place, engaged in the Indian trade.

  [130] _Shebiau_, is to look critically; _shebiabunjegun_, a spy-glass
  or instrument to look through. Sheboigan appears to have its
  termination from the word _gan_, a lake, and the combination denotes
  a river, or water pass from lake to lake. This place is now (1854) a
  town and county site of Wisconsin. The county was organized in 1839,
  and by the last census has seven churches, two newspapers, 624 pupils
  at schools, and a population of 8,379. The town of this name contains
  2,000 inhabitants. It is 62 miles N. from Milwaukie, and 110 N. E.
  from Madison, the State capital. It has a plank road of 40 miles to
  Fond du Lac, and is noted for its lumber trade.

The name of Milwaukie,[131] exhibits an instance of which there are many
others, in which the French have substituted the sound of the letter _l_
in place of _n_, in Indian words. _Min_, in the Algonquin languages
signifies _good_. _Waukie_, is a derivative from _auki_, earth or land,
the fertility of the soil, along the banks of that stream, being the
characteristic trait which is described in the Indian compound.

  [131] Milwaukie is the principal city of the State of Wisconsin. It
  lies in latitude 43° 3´ 45´´ North. It is ninety miles north of
  Chicago and seventy-five east from Madison. It contains thirty
  churches, five public high schools, two academies, five orphan
  asylums, and other benevolent institutions, seven daily and seven
  weekly newspapers, four banks, and, by the census of 1850, 20,161
  inhabitants.

When the wind lulled so as to permit embarkation, we proceeded on our
course. At the computed distance of five miles, we observed a bed of
light-colored tertiary clay, possessing a compactness, tenacity, and
feel, which denote its utility in the arts. This bed, after a break of
many miles in the shores, reappears in thicker and more massive layers,
at eight or ten miles distance. The waves dashing against this elevated
bank of clay,[132] have liberated balls and crystallized-masses of
sulphuret of iron.

  [132] An admired kind of cream-colored bricks are manufactured from
  portions of the clay found near Milwaukie.

Some of the more recently exposed masses of this mineral are of a bright
brass color. The tendency of their crystallization is to restore
octahedral and cubical forms. We advanced along this shore about
thirty-five miles, encamping on an eligible part of the beach before
dark. I found, in examining the mineralogy of the coast, masses of
detached limestone, containing fissures filled with asphaltum. On
breaking these masses, and laying open the fissures, the substance
assumed the form of naphtha. We observed among the plants along this
portion of coast, the tradescantia virginica, and T. liatris, and
squarrosa scariosa.[133] By scrutinizing the wave-moved pebble-drift
along shore, it is evident that inferior positions, in the geological
basin of Lake Michigan, contain slaty, or bituminous coal, masses of
which were developed.

  [133] Dr. J. Torrey, _Am. Journ. Science_, vol. 4, p. 56.

The next day's journey, 28th, carried us forty miles, in which distance,
the most noticeable fact in the topography of the coast, was the
entrance of the Racine, or Root River;[134] its eligible shores being
occupied by some Pottawattomie lodges. Having reached within ten or
twelve miles of Chicago, and being anxious to make that point, we were
in motion at a very early hour on the morning of the 29th, and reached
the village at five o'clock A. M. We found four or five families living
here, the principal of which were those of Mr. John Kinzie, Dr. A.
Wolcott, J. B. Bobian, and Mr. J. Crafts, the latter living a short
distance up the river. The Pottawattomies, to whom this site is the
capital of their trade, appeared to be lords of the soil, and truly are
entitled to the epithet, if laziness, and an utter inappreciation of the
value of time, be a test of lordliness. Dr. Wolcott, being the U. S.
Agent for this tribe, found himself at home here, and constitutes no
further, a member of the expedition. Gov. Cass determined to return to
Detroit from this point, on horseback, across the peninsula of Michigan,
accompanied by Lt. Mackay, U. S. A., Maj. Forsyth, his private
secretary, and the necessary number of men and pack horses to prepare
their night encampments. This left Capt. Douglass and myself to continue
the survey of the Lakes, and after reaching Michilimackinac and
rejoining the party of Mr. Trowbridge, to return to Detroit from that
point.

  [134] RACINE.--This is now the second city in size in the State of
  Wisconsin. By the census of 1850, its population is 5,110. It has a
  harbor which admits vessels drawing twelve feet water; it has
  fourteen churches, a high school, college, bank, several newspapers,
  three ship-yards, and exhibits more than two millions of imports and
  exports. The settlement was commenced in 1835.

The preparation for these ends occupied a couple of days, which gave us
an opportunity to scan the vicinity. We found the post (Fort Dearborn)
under the command of Capt. Bradley, with a force of one hundred and
sixty men. The river is ample and deep for a few miles, but is utterly
choked up by the lake sands, through which, behind a masked margin, it
oozes its way for a mile or two, till it percolates through the sands
into the lake. Its banks consist of a black arenaceous fertile soil,
which is stated to produce abundantly, in its season, the wild species
of cepa, or leek. This circumstance has led the natives to name it the
place of the wild leek. Such is the origin of the term Chicago,[135]
which is a derivative, by elision and French annotation, from the word
_Chi-kaug-ong_. _Kaug_, is the Algonquin name for the hystrix, or
porcupine. It takes the prefix _Chi_, when applied to the mustela
putorius. The particle _Chi_, is the common prefix of nouns to denote
greatness in any natural object, but it is also employed, as here, to
mean increase, or excess, as acridness, or pungency, in quality. The
penultimate _ong_, denotes locality. The putorius is so named from this
plant, and not, as has been thought, the plant from it. I took the
sketch, which is reproduced in the fourth vol. of my _Ethnological
Researches_, Plate xxvii., from a standpoint on the flat of sand which
stretched in front of the place. This view embraces every house in the
village, with the fort; and if the reproduction of the artist in vol.
iv. may be subjected to any criticism, it is, perhaps, that the stockade
bears too great a proportion to the scene, while the precipice observed
in the shore line of sand, is wholly wanting in the original.

  [135] CHICAGO is the largest city of the State of Illinois, excelling
  all others in its commercial and business capacities, and public and
  moral influences. Standing on the borders of the great western
  prairies, it is the great city of the plains, and its growth cannot
  be limited, or can scarcely be estimated. It began to be built about
  1831, eleven years after this visit. It was incorporated as a city in
  1836, with 4,853 inhabitants. In 1850, it had 29,963, and it is now
  estimated to exceed 60,000. This city lies in lat. 41° 52´ 20´´. It
  is connected by lakes, canals, and railroads, with the most distant
  regions. Its imports and exports the last year, were twenty millions.
  Like all the cities and towns of America, its political and moral
  influence, are seen to keep an exact pace with its sound religious
  influences; the number of churches and newspapers, having a certain
  fixed relation. More than any other city of the West, its position
  destines it to be another Nineveh.

The country around Chicago is the most fertile and beautiful that can be
imagined. It consists of an intermixture of woods and prairies,
diversified with gentle slopes, sometimes attaining the elevation of
hills, and it is irrigated with a number of clear streams and rivers,
which throw their waters partly into Lake Michigan, and partly into the
Mississippi River. As a farming country, it presents the greatest
facilities for raising stock and grains, and it is one of the most
favored parts of the Mississippi Valley; the climate has a delightful
serenity, and it must, as soon as the Indian title is extinguished,[136]
become one of the most attractive fields for the emigrant. To the
ordinary advantages of an agricultural market town, it must add that of
being a depot for the commerce between the northern and southern
sections of the Union, and a great thoroughfare for strangers,
merchants, and travellers.

  [136] This was done in 1821; having been, myself, secretary to the
  Commissioners, Gov. Cass and Hon. Sol. Sibley, who were appointed to
  treat with the Indians. Vide _Indian Treaties_, p. 297.

The Milwaukie clays to which I have adverted, do not extend thus far,
although the argillaceous deposits found, appear to be destitute of the
oxide of iron, for the bricks produced from them burn white. There is a
locality of bituminous coal on Fox River, about forty miles south. Near,
the junction of the Desplaines River with the Kankakee, there exists in
the semi-crystalline or sedimentary limestone, a remarkable
fossil-tree.[137]

  [137] FOSSIL FLORA OF THE WEST.--Of this gigantic specimen of the
  geological flora of the newer rocks of the Mississippi Valley, I
  published a memoir in 1822, founded on a personal examination of the
  phenomena. Albany, E. and E. Hosford, 24 pp. 8vo. This paper (_Vide_
  Appendix) was prepared for the American Geological Society, at New
  Haven. See _American Journ. Science_, vol. 4, p. 285; See also, vol.
  5, p. 23, for appreciating testimony of the value of geological
  science (then coming into notice), from Ex-Presidents John Adams,
  Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, to whom copies of it were
  transmitted.




CHAPTER XIX.

  South and Eastern borders of Lake Michigan--Their Flora and
    Fauna--Incidents of the journey--Topography--Geology, Botany, and
    Mineralogy--Indian Tribes--Burial-place of Marquette--Ruins of the
    post of old Mackinac--Reach Michilimackinac after a canoe journey
    north of four hundred miles.


It was now the last day of August. Having partaken of the hospitalities
of Mr. Kinzie, and of Captains Bradley and Green, of Fort Dearborn,
during our stay at Chicago, and completed the reorganization of our
parties, we separated on the last day of the month, at two o'clock P.
M.; Gov. Cass and his party, on horseback, taking the old Indian trail
to Detroit, and Capt. Douglass and myself being left, with two canoes,
to complete the circumnavigation of the lakes. We did not delay our
departure over thirty minutes, but bidding adieu to Dr. Wolcott, whose
manners, judgment, and intelligence had commanded our respect during the
journey, embarked with two canoes; our steersmen immediately hoisted
their square sails, and, favored by a good breeze, we proceeded twenty
miles along the southern curve, at the head of Lake Michigan, and
encamped.

Within two miles of Chicago, we passed, on the open shores of the lake,
the scene of the massacre of Chicago, of the 15th of August, 1812, being
the day after the surrender of Detroit by Gen. Hull. Gloom hung, at that
eventful period, over every part of our western borders. Michilimackinac
had already been carried by surprise; and the ill-advised order to
evacuate Chicago, was deemed by the Indians an admission that the
Americans were to be driven from the country. The Pottawattomies
determined to show the power of their hostility on this occasion. Capt.
Heald, the commanding officer, having received Gen. Hull's order to
abandon the post, and having an escort of thirty friendly Miamis, from
Fort Wayne, under Captain Wells, had quitted the fort at nine o'clock
in the morning, with fifty-four regulars, a subaltern, physician, twelve
militia, and the necessary baggage wagons for the provisions and
ammunition, which contained eighteen soldiers, women and children. They
had not proceeded more than a mile and a half along the shore of the
lake, when an ambuscade of Indians was discovered behind the sand-hills
which encompass the flat sandy shore. The horrid yell, which rose on the
discovery being made, was accompanied by a general and deadly fire from
them. Several men fell at the first fire, but Capt. Heald formed his
men, and effected a charge up the bank, which dispersed his assailants.
It was only, however, to find the enemy return by a flank movement, in
which their numbers gave them the victory. In a few moments, out of his
effective force of sixty-six men, but sixteen survived. With these, he
succeeded in drawing off to a position in the prairie, where he was not
followed by the Indians. On a negotiation, opened by a chief called
Mukudapenais, he surrendered, under promise of security for their lives.
This promise was afterwards violated, with the exception of himself and
three or four men. Among the slain was Ensign Ronan, Dr. Voorhis, and
Capt. Wells. The latter had his heart cut out, and his body received
other shocking indignities. The saddest part of the tragedy was the
attack on the women and children who occupied the baggage wagons, and
were all slain. Several of the women fought with swords. During the
action, a sergeant of infantry ran his bayonet through the heart of an
Indian who had lifted his tomahawk to strike him; not being able to
withdraw the instrument, it served to hold up the Indian, who actually
tomahawked him in this position, and both fell dead together.[138] The
Miamis remained neuter in this massacre. Mr. Kinzie, of Chicago, of
whose hospitalities we had partaken, was a witness of this transaction,
and furnished the principal facts of this narrative.

  [138] Gouverneur Morris recites a similar incident at the battle of
  Oriskany, in 1777.--_Coll. New York Hist. Soc._

The morning (Sept. 1) opened with a perfect gale, and we were _degradè_,
to use a Canadian term, all day; the waves dashed against the shore with
a violence that made it impossible to take the lake with canoes, and
would have rendered it perilous even to a large vessel. This violence
continued, with no perceptible diminution, during the day. As a mode of
relief from the tedium of delay, a short excursion was made into the
prairie. I found a few species of the unio, in a partially choked up
branch of the Konamek. Capt. Douglass improved the time by taking
observations for the latitude, and we footed around ten miles of the
extreme southern head of the lake. It is edged with sand-hills, bearing
pines. A few dead valves of the fresh-water muscle were found on the
shore.

On the following day the wind lulled, when we proceeded fifty-four
miles, passing in the distance the remains of the schooner Hercules,
which went ashore in a gale, in November, 1816, and all on board
perished; her mast, pump, spars, and the graves of the passengers, among
which, was that of Lieut. W. S. Eveleth, U. S. A., were pointed out to
us. We landed a few moments at the entrance of the River du Chemin,[139]
where the trail to Detroit leaves the lake shore. The distance to that
city is estimated at three hundred miles. Ten miles beyond this spot we
passed the little River Galien, where, at this time, the town and harbor
of New Buffalo, of Michigan, is situated, and we encamped on the shore
twelve miles beyond it.

  [139] Michigan City, of the State of Indiana, is located near this
  spot. This city has its harbor communicating with Lake Michigan
  through this creek. It has a newspaper, branch bank, railroad, and
  (in 1853) 2,353 inhabitants.

We had been travelling on a slightly curved line from Chicago to the
spot, in the latitude of 41° 52´ 20´´, and had now reached a point where
the course tends more directly to the northeast and north. By the best
accounts, the length of Lake Michigan, lying directly from south to
north, is four hundred miles. There is no other lake in America, north
or south, which traverses so many degrees of latitude, and we had reason
to expect its flora and fauna to denote some striking changes. We had
passed down its west, or Wisconsin shore, from Sturgeon Bay, finding it
to present a clear margin of forest, with many good harbors, and a
fertile, gently undulating surface. But we were now to encounter another
cast of scenery. It is manifest, from a survey of the eastern shore of
this lake, that the prevalent winds are from the west and northwest, for
they have cast up vast sand dunes along the coast, which give it an arid
appearance. These dunes are, however, but a hem on the fertile prairie
lands, not extending more than half a mile or more, and thus masking the
fertile lands. Water, in the shape of lagoons, is often accumulated
behind these sand-banks, and the force of the winds is such as to choke
and sometimes entirely shut up the mouth of its rivers. We had found
this hem of sand-hills extending around the southern shore of the lake
from the vicinity of Chicago, and soon found that it gave an appearance
of sterility to the country that it by no means merited. On reaching the
mouth of St. Joseph's River (3d), a full exemplification of this
striking effect of the lake action was exhibited. This is one of the
largest rivers of the peninsula, running for more than a hundred and
twenty miles through a succession of rich plains and prairies; yet its
mouth, which carries a large volume of water into the lake, is rendered
difficult of entrance to vessels, and its lake-borders are loaded with
drifts of shifting sand.

The next day's journey carried us fifty miles; and, on proceeding ten
miles further on the 4th, we reached the mouth of the Kalamazoo.[140]
Before reaching this river, I discovered on the beach a body of detached
orbicular masses of the calcareous marl called septaria--the ludus
helmontii of the old mineralogists. On breaking some of these masses,
they disclosed small crystalline seams of sulphuret of zinc. The
Kalamazoo irrigates a fine tract of the most fertile and beautiful
prairies of Michigan, which, at the date of the revision of this
journal, is studded with flourishing towns and villages.

  [140] KALAMAZOO. This word is the contraction of an Indian phrase
  descriptive of the stones seen through the water in its bed, which,
  from a refractive power in the current, resembles an otter swimming
  under water. Hence the original term, Negikanamazoo. This term has
  its root forms in _negik_, an otter, the verb _kana_, to hide, and
  _ozoo_, a quadruped's tail. The letter _l_ is the mere transposition
  of _l_ in native words passing from the Indian to the Indo-French
  language.

Fifteen miles further progress towards the north, brought us to the
mouth of Grand River--the Washtenong of the Indians--which is, I believe
the largest and longest stream of the Michigan peninsula. It is the
boundary between the hunting-grounds of the Pottowattomies (who have
thus far claimed jurisdiction from Chicago) and the Ottowas. The latter
live in large numbers at its rapids and on its various tributaries.[141]
The next stream of note we encountered was the Maskigon, twelve miles
north of Grand River, where we encamped, having travelled, during the
day, fifty-four miles. The view of this scene was impressive from its
bleakness, the dunes of sand being more at the mercy of the winds. I
found here a large, branching specimen of the club-fungus, attached to a
dead specimen of the populus tremuloides, which had been completely
penetrated by these drifting sands, so as to present quite the
appearance, and no little part of the hardness and consistency, of a
fossil. The following figure of this transformation from a fungus to a
semi-stony body, presents a perfect outline of it as sketched in its
original position.

  [141] OTTOWAS. So late as 1841, the number of the tribe, reported to
  the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Michigan, was 1,391, which
  was divided into 13 villages, scattered over its whole
  valley.--_Schoolcraft's Report on Indian Affairs_, Detroit, A. S.
  Bagg, 1840.

[Illustration]

On the day of our departure from the Maskigon, we enjoyed fine weather
and favorable winds, and proceeded, from the data of Captain Douglass,
seventy miles, and encamped a few miles beyond the Sandy River. In this
line of coast, we passed, successively, the White, Pentwater, and
Marquette. Of these, the latter, both from its size and its historical
associations, is by far the most important; for it was at this spot,
after having spent years of devotion in the cause of missions in New
France--in the course of which he discovered the Mississippi River--that
this zealous servant of God laid down in his tent, after a hard day's
travel, and surrendered up his life. The event occurred on the 8th of
May, 1675, but two years after his grand discovery. Marquette was a
native of Laon, in Picardy, where his family was of distinguished rank.
The precise moment of his death was not witnessed, his men having
retired to leave him to his devotions, but returning, in a short time,
found him lifeless. They carried his body to the mission of old
Michilimackinac, of which he was the founder, where it was
interred.[142]

  [142] PLACE OF INTERMENT OF MARQUETTE. It is known that the mission
  of Michilimackinac fell on the downfall of the Jesuits. When the post
  of Michilimackinac was removed from the peninsula to the island,
  about 1780, the bones of the missionary were transferred to the old
  Catholic burial-ground, in the village on the island. There they
  remained till a land or property question arose to agitate the
  church, and, when the crisis happened, the whole graveyard was
  disturbed, and his bones, with others, were transferred to the Indian
  village of La Crosse, which is in the vicinity of L'Arbre Croche,
  Michigan.

It rained the next morning (6th), by which we lost two hours, and we had
some unfavorable winds, but, by dint of hard pushing, we made forty-five
miles, and slept at Gravelly Point. In this line we passed successively,
at distances of seventeen and thirty miles, the rivers Manistic and
_Becsie_, which is the Canadian phrase for the anas canadensis. Clouds
and murky weather still hovered around us on the next morning, but we
left our encampment at an early hour. Thirteen miles brought us to the
Omicomico, or Plate River, nine miles beyond which found us in front of
a remarkable and very elevated sand June, called the Sleeping Bear--a
fanciful term, derived from the Indian, through the French _l'ours qui
dormis_. Opposite this feature in the coast geology, lie the two large
wooded islands called the Minitos--well-known objects to all mariners
who venture into the vast unsheltered basin of the southern body of Lake
Michigan. Thirty miles beyond this sandy elevation, brought us to the
southern cape of Grand Traverse Bay, where we encamped, having advanced
fifty-two miles. This was the first place where we had noticed rocks in
situ, since passing the little Konamic River, near Chicago. It proved to
be limestone, of the same apparent era of the calcareous rock which we
had observed at Sturgeon Bay and the contiguous west shore of Lake
Michigan. The line of lake coast included in this remark is three
hundred and twenty miles; during all which distance the coast seems, but
only seems, to be the sport of the fierce gales and storms, for there is
reason to believe that the formations of drift clay, sand, and gravel
rest, at various depths, on a stratification of solid, permanent rock.
To us, however, it proved a barren field for the collection of both
geological and mineralogical specimens. There were gleaned some rolled
specimens of organic remains, of no further use than to denote the
occurrence of these in some part of a vast basin. There was a specimen
of gypsum from Grand River. The few patches of iron sand I had noticed,
were hardly worthy of record after the heavy beds of this mineral which
we had passed in Lake Superior. The same remark may be made of the few
rolled fragments of calcedonies, and other varieties of the quartz
family, gleaned up along its shores, for neither of these constitute a
reliable locality.

[Illustration: Petrified leaf of the _Fagus Ferruginea_.]

Of the floræ and fauna we had been observant, but the sandy character of
the mere coast line greatly narrowed the former, in which Captain
Douglass found but little to preserve, beyond the parnassia caroliniana
and seottia cerna.[143] The fury of the waves renders it a region wholly
unfitted to the whole tribe of fresh-water shells. A petrifaction of the
fagus ferruginia, brought from a spring on the banks of the St. Joseph's
River by Gov. Cass, on his home route, on horseback, presented the
petrifying process in one of its most perfect forms (_vide_ p. 206).
Surfeited with a species of scenery in which the naked sand dunes were
often painful to the eye, from their ophthalmic influence, and of
geological prostrations which seemed to lay the coast in ruins, we were
glad to reach the solid rock formations, supporting, as they did, a soil
favorable to green forests.

  [143] Dr. John Torrey, _Am. Journ. Science_, vol. iv.

A partial eclipse of the sun had been calculated for the 5th of
September (1820), to commence at seven o'clock, twenty minutes; but,
though we were on the lake, and anxious to note it, the weather proved
to be too much overcast, and no effects of it were observed. This
eclipse was observed, according to the predictions, at Philadelphia.

The morning of the 8th proved calm, which permitted us to cross the
mouth of Grand Traverse Bay. This piece of water is nine miles across,
with an unexplored depth, and has some 300 Chippewas living on its
borders. Six miles north of this point, we reached and crossed Little
Traverse Bay, which is occupied by Ottawas. These two tribes are close
confederates, speak dialects of the same language which is readily
understood by both, and live on the most friendly terms. The Ottowas on
the head of Little Traverse Bay, and on the adjoining coast of Lake
Michigan--which, from its principal village, bears the names of Village
of the Cross, and of Waganukizzie,[144] or L'Arbre Croche--are, to a
great extent, cultivators of the soil, and have adopted the use of hats,
and the French _capot_, having laid aside paints and feathers. They
raise large quantities of Indian corn for the Mackinac market, and
manufacture, in the season, from the sap of the acer saccharinum,
considerable quantities of maple sugar, which is put up, in somewhat
elongated bark boxes, called muckucks, in which it is carried to the
same market. We found them, wherever they were encountered, a people of
friendly manners and comity.

  [144] From _Waganuk_, a crooked or croched tree, and _izzie_, an
  animate termination, denoting existence or being, carrying the idea
  of its being charmed or enchanted.

We were now drawing toward the foot of Lake Michigan, at the point where
this inland sea is connected, through the Straits of Michilimackinac,
with Lake Huron. A cluster of islands, called the Beaver Islands, had
been in sight on our left hand, since passing the coast of the Sleeping
Bear, which are noted as affording good anchorage ground to vessels
navigating the lake. It is twenty-five miles from the site of the old
French mission, near L'Arbre Croche, to the end of point
Wagoshance,[145] which is the southeast cape of the Straits of
Michilimackinac, and nine miles from thence to the Island. Along the
bleak coast of this storm-beaten, horizontal limestone rock, with a thin
covering of drift, we diligently passed. Night overtook us as we came
through the straits, hugging their eastern shore, and we encamped on a
little circular open bay, long after it became pitchy dark. We had
traversed a coast line of fifty-seven miles, and were glad, after a
refreshing cup of tea and our usual meal, to retire to our pallets.

  [145] Little Fox Point. This word comes from _Wagoush_, a fox, and
  the denominative inflection a _ainc_ or _aiñs_.

The next morning revealed our position. We were at the ancient site of
old Michilimackinac--a spot celebrated in the early missionary annals
and history of New France. This was, indeed, one of the first points
settled by the French after Cadaracqui, being a missionary and trading
station before the foundation of Fort Niagara, in 1678; for La Salle,
after determining on the latter, proceeded, the same fall, up the lakes
to this point, which he installed with a military element. The mission
of St. Ignace had before been attempted on the north shore of the
straits, but it was finally removed here by the advice of Marquette. On
gazing at the straits, they were found to be agitated by a perfect gale.
This gave time for examining the vicinity. It was found a deserted
plain, overspread with sand, in many parts, with the ruins of former
occupancy piercing through these sandy drifts, which gave it an air of
perfect desolation. By far the most conspicuous among these ruins, was
the stone foundation of the ancient fort, and the excavations of the
exterior buildings, which had evidently composed a part of the military
or missionary plan. Not a house, not a cultivated field, not a fence was
to be seen. The remains of broken pottery, and pieces of black bottles,
irridescent from age, served impressively to show that men had once
eaten and drank here. It was in 1763, in the outbreak of the Pontiac
war, that this fort, then recently surrendered to the English, was
captured, by a _coup-de-main_, by the Indians. The English, probably
doubting its safety, during the American Revolution, removed the
garrison to the island, which had, indeed, furnished the name of
Michilimackinac before; for the Indians had, _ab initio_, called the old
post Peekwutinong, or Headland-place, applying the other name
exclusively, as at this day, to the Gibraltar-like island which rises
up, with its picturesque cliffs, from the very depths of Lake Huron. The
sketch of this scene of desolation, with the Island in view, is given in
the second volume of my _Ethnological Researches_, Plate LIII.

After pacing the plain of this ancient point of French settlement in
every point, we returned to our tent about eleven o'clock A. M., and
deemed it practicable to attempt the crossing to the island in a light
canoe, for, although the gale was little if any abated, the wind blew
fair. I concurred in the opinion of Captain Douglass that this might be
done, and very readily assented to try it, leaving the men in the
baggage canoe to effect the passage when the wind fell. It cannot be
asserted that this passage was without hazard; for my own part, I had
too much trust in my nature to fear it, and, if we were ever wafted on
"the wings of the wind," it was on this occasion; our boatmen,
volunteers for the occasion, reefing the sails to two feet, and we owed
our success mainly to their good management. On rounding the Ottowa
point, which is the south cape of the little harbor of 'Mackinac, our
friends who had parted from us at Green Bay were among the first to
greet us. By the union of these two parties, the circumnavigation of
Lake Michigan had been completely made. The rate of travel along the
line traversed by them was computed at forty-five miles per day. They
had been eight days on the route. The coast line traversed by Captain
Douglass and myself, since quitting Chicago, is four hundred and
thirty-nine miles, giving a mean of forty-three miles per diem, of which
one entire day was lost by head winds.




CHAPTER XX.

  Topographical survey of the northern shores of Green Bay and of the
    entire basin of Lake Michigan--Geological and Mineralogical
    indicia of the coast line--Era of sailing vessels and of the
    steamboat on the lakes--Route along the Huron coast, and return of
    the expedition to Detroit.


The coast line traversed by the party detached from Green Bay on the 22d
of August, under Mr. Trowbridge, extended from the north shore of Fox
River to the entrance of the Monominee River, and thence around the
Little and Great Bay de Nocquet, to the northwestern cape of the
entrance of Green Bay. From the latter point, the northern shore of Lake
Michigan was traced by the Manistic, and the other smaller rivers of
that coast, to the northern cape of the Straits of Michilimackinac, and
through these to Point St. Ignace and the Island of Michilimackinac. The
line of survey, agreeably to their reckoning, embraced two hundred and
eighty miles, thus closing the topographical survey of the entire coast
line of the basin of Lake Michigan, and placing in the hands of Captain
Douglass the notes and materials for a perfect map of the lake.[146]

  [146] It is to be regretted that Capt. Douglass, who, immediately on
  the conclusion of this expedition, was appointed to an important and
  arduous professorship in the U. S. Military Academy of West Point,
  could not command the leisure to complete and publish his map and
  topographical memoir of this part of the U. S. So long as there was a
  hope of this, my report of its geology, &c., and other data intended
  for the joint PUBLIC WORK, were withheld. But in revising this
  narrative, at this time, they are submitted in the Appendix. Prof.
  Douglass, of whose useful and meritorious life, I regret that I have
  no account to offer, died as one of the Faculty of Geneva College,
  October 21, 1849.

Mr. Trowbridge, whom I had requested to note the features of its geology
and mineralogy, presented me with labelled specimens of the succession
of strata which he had collected on the route. These denoted the
continuance of the calcareous, horizontal series of formations of the
Fox Valley, and of the islands of Green Bay, quite around those northern
waters to the closing up of the surveys at Point St. Ignace and
Michilimackinac. Nor do the primitive rocks disclose themselves on any
part of that line of coast. Of this collection, Mr. Trowbridge well
observes, in his report to me, the most interesting will probably be the
organic remains. These were procured on the northeast side of Little
Nocquet Bay, where areas of limestone appear. They consist of duplicates
of the pectinite. Three layers of this, the magnesian limestone, show
themselves at this place, of which the intermediate bed is of a dull
blue color and compact structure, and is composed in a great measure of
the remains of this species. It is comparatively soft when first taken
up, but hardens by exposure. About ten miles north of this point, the
upper calcareous, or surface rock, embraces nodules of hornstone.
Specimens of a semi-crystalline limestone, labelled "marble," were also
brought from a cliff, composed of this rock, on the lake shore, about
thirty to forty miles southwest from Michilimackinac. Mr. Doty also
brought some specimens of sulphate of lime, cal. spar, and some of the
common rolled members of the quartz-drift stratum.

Michilimackinac is a name associated with our earliest ideas of history
in the upper lakes. How so formidable a polysyllabic term came to be
adopted by usage, it may be difficult to tell, till we are informed that
the inhabitants, in speaking the word, clip off the first three
syllables, leaving the last three to carry the whole meaning. The full
term is, however, perpetuated by legal enactment, this part of Michigan
having been organized into a separate county some time, I believe,
during the administration of Gen. Hull. The military gentlemen call the
fort on the cliff, "Mackin[=a]," the townspeople pronounce it Mackinaw;
but if a man be hauled up on a magistrate's writ, it is in name of the
sovereignty of Michilimackinac. Thus law and etymology grow strong
together.

Commerce, we observe, is beginning to show itself here, but by the few
vessels we have met, while traversing these broad and stormy seas, and
their little tonnage, it seems as if they were stealthily making their
way into regions of doubtful profit at least. The fur trade employs most
of these, either in bringing up supplies, or carrying away its avails.
La Salle, when, in 1679, he built the first vessel on the lakes, and
sent it up to traffic in furs, was greatly in advance of his age; but he
could hardly have anticipated that his countrymen should have adhered so
long to the tedious and dangerous mode of making these long voyages in
the bark canoe. It is memorable in the history of the region, that last
year (1819) witnessed the first arrival of a steamer at Michilimackinac.
It bore the characteristic name of Walk-in-the-water,[147] the name of a
Wyandot chief of some local celebrity in Detroit, during the last war.

  [147] So called from the water insect, called _Miera_ by the
  Wyandots, one of the invertebrata which slips over the surface of
  water without apparently wetting its feet.--Vide _Ethnological
  Researches_, vol. ii. p. 226.

The astonishment produced upon the Indian mind by the arrival of this
steamer has been described to us as very great; but, from a fuller
acquaintance with the Indian character, we do not think him prone to
this emotion. He gazes on new objects with imperturbability, and soon
explains what he does not understand by what he does. Perceiving heat to
be the primary cause of the motion, without knowing how that motion is
generated, he calls the steamboat Ishcoda Nabequon, _i. e._ fire-vessel,
and remains profoundly ignorant of the motive power of steam. The story
of the vessel's being drawn by great fishes from the sea, is simply one
of those fictions which white loungers about the Indian posts fabricate
to supply the wants of travellers in search of the picturesque.

The winds seem to be unloosed from their mythologic bags, on the upper
lakes, with the autumnal equinox; and we found them ready for their
labors early in September; but it was not till the 13th of that month,
after a detention of two days, that we found it practicable for canoes
to leave the island. Mustering now a flotilla of three canoes, we
embarked at three o'clock P.M., with a wind from the east, being
moderately adverse, but soon got under the shelter of the island of
Boisblanc; we passed along its inner shore about ten miles, till
reaching Point aux Pins--so named from the prevalence here of the pinus
resinosa. At this point, the wind, stretching openly through this
passage from the east, compelled us to land and encamp. The next day, we
were confined to the spot by adverse winds. While thus detained, Captain
Douglass, under shelter of the island, returned to Mackinac, in a light
canoe, doubly manned, for something he had left. When he returned, the
wind had so far abated that we embarked, and crossed the separating
channel, of about four miles, to the peninsula, and encamped near the
River Cheboigan.[148] This was a tedious beginning of our voyage to
Detroit; the first day had carried us only _ten_ miles, the second but
_four_.

  [148] CHEBOIGAN. This is a noted river of the extreme of the
  peninsula of Michigan, which has just been made the centre of a new
  land district by Congress. It affords a harbor for shipping, and
  communicates with Little Travers Bay on Lake Michigan. A canal
  across a short route, of easy excavation, would avoid the whole
  dangerous route through the Straits of Michilimackinac, converting
  the end of the peninsula into an island, and save ninety miles of
  dangerous travel.

We were now to retraverse the shores of the Huron, along which we had
encountered such delays in our outward passage, and the men applied
themselves to the task with that impulse which all partake of when
returning from a long journey. Winds we could not control, but every
moment of calm was improved. Paddle and song were plied by them late and
early. A violent rain-storm happened during the night, but it ceased at
daybreak, when we embarked and traversed a coast line of forty-four
miles, encamping at Presque Isle. Rain fell copiously during the night,
and the unsettled and changing state of the atmosphere kept us in
perpetual agitation during the day. Notwithstanding these changes, we
embarked at five o'clock in the morning (16th), and, by dint of
perseverance, made thirty miles. We slept on the west cape of Thunder
Bay. Next morning, we landed a few moments on the Idol Island, in
Thunder Bay, and, continuing along the sandy shore of the _au sauble_,
or Iosco coast, entered Saganaw Bay, and encamped, on its west shore, at
Sandy Point. Indians of the Chippewa language were encountered at this
spot, whose manners and habits appeared to be quite modified by long
contact with the white race.

The morning of the 18th (Sept.) proved fair, which enabled us to cross
the bay, taking the island of Shawangunk in our course, where we stopped
an hour, and re-examined its calcedonies and other minerals. We then
proceeded across to Oak Point, on its eastern shore, and, coasting down
to, and around, the precipitous cliffs of Point aux Barques, encamped in
one of its deeply-indented coves, having made, during the day, forty-two
miles.

The formation of this noted promontory consists of an ash-colored, not
very closely-compacted sandstone, through original crevices in which the
waves have scooped out entrances like vast corridors. In one of these,
which has a sandy beach at its terminus, we encamped. He who has
travelled along the shores of the lakes, and encamped on their borders,
having his ears, while on his couch, close to the formation of sand, is
early and very exactly apprised of the varying state of the wind. The
deep-sounding roar of the waves, like the deep diapason of a hundred
organs, plays over a gamut, whose rising or falling scale tells him,
immediately, whether he can put his frail canoe before the wind, or must
remain prisoner on the sand, in the sheltering nook where night
overtakes him. These notes, sounded between two long lines of cavernous
rocks, told us, long before daybreak, of a strong head wind that fixed
us to the spot for the day. I amused myself by gathering some small
species of the unio and the anadonta. Captain Douglass busied himself
with astronomical observations. We all sallied out, during the day, over
the sandy ridges of modern drift, in which the pinus resinosa had firmly
imbedded its roots, and into sphagnous depressions beyond, where we had,
in the June previous, found the sarracenia purpurea, which is the cococo
mukazin, or oral's moccasin of the Indians. Here we found, as at more
westerly points on the lake, the humble juniperus prostrata, and, in
more favorable spots, the ribes lacustre.[149]

  [149] Am. Journ. Science, vol. iv. 1822.

It was stated to us at Michilimackinac, that Lake Huron had fallen one
foot during the last year. It was also added that the decrease in the
lake waters had been noticed for many years, and that there were, in
fact, periodical depressions and refluxes at periods of seven and
fourteen years. A little reflection will, however, render it manifest
that, in a region of country so extensive and thinly populated,
observations must be vaguely made, and that many circumstances may
operate to produce deception with respect to the permanent diminution or
rise of water, as the prevalence of winds, the quantity of rain and snow
which influences these basins, and the periodical distribution of solar
heat. It has already been remarked, while at the mouth of Fox River,
that a fluctuation, resembling a tide, has been improperly thought to
exist there, and, indeed, similar phenomena appear to influence the
Baltic. Philosophers have not been wanting, who have attributed similar
appearances to the ocean itself. "It has been asserted," observed
Cuvier, "that the sea is subject to a continual diminution of its level,
and proofs of this are said to have been observed in some parts of the
shores of the Baltic. Whatever may have been the cause of these
appearances, we certainly know that nothing of the kind has been
observed upon our coast, and, consequently, that there has been no
general lowering of the waters of the ocean. The most ancient seaports
still have their quays and other erections, at the same height above the
level of the sea, as at their first construction. Certain general
movements have been supposed in the sea, from east to west, or in other
directions; but nowhere has any person been able to ascertain their
effects with the least degree of precision."[150]

  [150] Theory of the Earth. Modern geologists attribute these changes
  to the rising or sinking of the earth from volcanic forces.

On the next day (20th) the wind abated, so as to permit us, at six
o'clock A.M., to issue from our place of detention; but we soon found
the equilibrium of the atmosphere had been too much disturbed to rely on
it. At seven o'clock, and again at nine o'clock, we were driven ashore;
but as soon as it slackened we were again upon the lake; it finally
settled to a light head wind, against which we urged our way diligently,
until eight o'clock in the evening. The point where we encamped was upon
that long line of deposit of the erratic block, or boulder stratum, of
which the White Rock is one of the largest known pieces. At four o'clock
the next morning, we were again in motion, dancing up and down on the
blue waves; but after proceeding six miles the wind drove us from the
lake, and we again encamped on the boulder stratum, where we passed the
entire day. Nothing is more characteristic of the upper lake geology,
than the frequency and abundance of these boulders. The causes which
have removed them, at old periods, from their parent bed, were doubtless
oceanic; for the area embraced is too extensive to admit of merely local
action; but we know of no concentration of oceanic currents, of
sufficient force, to bear up these heavy masses, over such extensive
surfaces, without the supporting media of ice-floes. The boulders and
pebbles are often driven as the moraines before glacial bodies, and
there are not wanting portions of rock surface, in the west, which are
deeply grooved or scratched by the pressing boulders. The crystallized
peaks of the Little Rocks, above St. Anthony's Falls, have been
completely polished by them.--_Vide_ p. 149.

The next morning (22d) we were released from our position on this bleak
drift-coast, although the wind was still moderately ahead, and after
toiling twelve hours adown the closing shores of the lake, we reached
its foot, and entered the River St. Clair. Halting a few moments at Fort
Gratiot, we found it under the command of Lieut. James Watson Webb, who
was, however, absent at the moment. Two miles below, at the mouth of
Black River, we met this officer, who had just returned from an
excursion up the Black River, where he had laid in a supply of fine
watermelons, with which he liberally supplied us. From this spot, we
descended the river seven miles, to Elk Island, on which we encamped at
twilight, having made fifty-seven miles during the day. Glad to find
ourselves out of the reach of the lake winds, and of Eolus, and all his
hosts, against which we may be said to have fought our way from
Michilimackinac, and animated with the prospect of soon terminating our
voyage, we surrounded our evening board with unwonted spirits and glee.
Supper being dispatched, with many a joke, and terminated with a song in
full chorus, and the men having carefully repaired our canoes, it was
determined to employ the night in descending the placid river, and at
nine o'clock P.M. all was ready and we again embarked. Never did men
more fully appreciate the melody of the Irish bard:--

    "Sweetly as tolls the evening chime,
    Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time."

At half past three the next morning, we found ourselves at the entrance
to Lake St. Clair, thirty miles from our evening repast. Owing to the
dense fog and darkness, it was now necessary to await daylight, before
attempting to cross. Daylight, which had been impatiently waited for,
brought with it our old lake enemy, head winds, which made the most
experienced men deem the passage impracticable. Counselled, however,
rather by impatience than anything else, it was resolved on. Rain soon
commenced, which appeared the signal for increased turbulence; but by
dint of hard pushing in the men, with some help from our own hands, we
succeeded in weathering Point Huron, the first point of shelter. The
right hand shore then became a continued covert, and we successively saw
point after point lessen in the distance. It was noon when we reached
Grosse Point, the original place of our general embarkation on
commencing the expedition; the rest of the voyage ran like a dream "when
one awaketh," and we landed at the City of Detroit at half past three
o'clock P. M.

Gov. Cass, and his equestrian party from Chicago, had preceded us
thirteen days, as will be perceived from the following article from the
weekly press of that city, of September 15, 1820, which embraces a
comprehensive notice of the expedition; its route, the objects it
accomplished, and the effects it may be expected to have on the leading
interests and interior policy of the country, as well as the drawing
forth of its resources.


EXPLORING EXPEDITION.

FROM THE DETROIT GAZETTE.

Last Friday evening, Governor Cass arrived here from Chicago,
accompanied by Lieutenant M'Kay and Mr. R. A. Forsyth,[151] both of whom
belonged to the expedition--all in good health.

  [151] Major Robert A. Forsyth was a native of the Detroit Country, of
  Canadian descent, and born a few years after its transfer to the
  United States. At the time of the expedition, he was the Secretary of
  Governor Cass, and was admirably qualified to take a part in it, by
  his energy and perseverance, his indomitable courage, and his
  physical power and activity. Some of these traits of character were
  developed at an early age. He was but yet a lad at the time of the
  surrender of Detroit, and was so much excited by that untoward event,
  that he insulted the British officers in the fort by his reproaches,
  and so irritated them that one of them threatened to pin him to the
  floor with a bayonet. During the war upon the frontier, he was
  actively employed, and on more than one occasion distinguished
  himself by his conduct and courage. He was with Major Holmes at the
  battle near the Long Woods, and behaved with great gallantry. In
  1814, he was sent with Chandruai, a half-breed Pottowatamie, and with
  a small party of Indians, to invite the various Indian tribes to come
  to Greenville, at the treaties about to be held by Generals Harrison
  and Cass, with a view to detach the North-Western Indians from
  British influence. On the route, they met a superior party of
  Indians, led by an officer of the British Indian Department, who
  attempted to take them prisoners. They resisted, and, by their prompt
  and almost desperate courage, drove off the British party. Forsyth
  distinguished himself in the contest, in which the British leader of
  the party was killed. Soon after the war, he was appointed Private
  Secretary to Governor Cass, and continued in that capacity for
  fifteen years, till the latter was transferred to the War Department.
  He accompanied the General in all his expeditions into the Indian
  country, and rendered himself invariably useful, having a peculiar
  talent to control the rough men who took part in these dangerous
  excursions. He was ultimately appointed a paymaster in the army, in
  which capacity he served in Mexico, where he acquired the seeds of
  the disorder which proved fatal to him in 1849. He will be long
  recollected and regretted by those who knew him, for the shining
  qualities of head and heart which endeared him to all his
  acquaintances.

We understand that the objects of the expedition have been successfully
accomplished. The party has traversed 4,000 miles of this frontier since
the last of May. Their route was from this place to Michilimackinac, and
to the Sault of St. Mary's, where a treaty was concluded with the
Chippewas for the cession of a tract of land, with a view to the
establishment of a military post. They thence coasted the southern shore
of Lake Superior to the Fond du Lac; ascended the St. Louis River to one
of its sources, and descended a small tributary stream of Sandy Lake to
the Mississippi. They then ascended this latter river to the Upper Red
Cedar Lake, which may be considered as the principal source of the
Mississippi, and which is the reservoir where the small streams forming
that river unite. From this lake they descended between thirteen and
fourteen hundred miles to Prairie du Chien, passing by the post of St.
Peter's on the route. They then navigated the Ouisconsin to the portage,
entered the Fox River, and descended it to Green Bay. Then the party
separated, in order to obtain a topographical sketch of Lake Michigan.
Some of them coasted the northern shore to Michilimackinac, and the
others took the route by Chicago. From this point they will traverse the
eastern shore of the lake to Michilimackinac, and may be expected here
in the course of a week. Governor Cass returned from Chicago by land. A
correct topographical delineation of this extensive frontier may now be
expected from the accurate observations of Captain Douglass, who is
fully competent to perform the task. We have heretofore remained in
ignorance upon this subject, and very little has been added to the stock
of geographical knowledge since the French possessed the country. We
understand that all the existing maps are found to be very erroneous.
The character, numbers, situation, and feelings of the Indians in those
remote regions have been fully explored, and we trust that much valuable
information upon these subjects will be communicated to the Government
and to the public. We learn that the Indians are peaceable, but that the
effect of the immense distribution of presents to them by the British
authorities, at Malden and at Drummond's Island, has been evident upon
their wishes and feelings through the whole route. Upon the
establishment of our posts, and the judicious distribution of our small
military force, must we rely, and not upon the disposition of the
Indians. The important points of the country are now almost all occupied
by our troops, and these points have been selected with great judgment.
It is thought by the party, that the erection of a military work at the
Saut is essential to our security in that quarter. It is the key of Lake
Superior, and the Indians in its vicinity are more disaffected than any
others upon the route. Their daily intercourse with Drummond's Island,
leaves us no reason to doubt what are the means by which their feelings
are excited and continued. The importance of this site, in a military
point of view, has not escaped the observation of Mr. Calhoun, and it
was for this purpose that a treaty was directed to be held. The report
which he made to the House of Representatives, in January last, contains
his views upon the subject.

We cannot but hope that no reduction will be made in the ranks of the
army. It is by physical force alone, and by a proper display of it, that
we must expect to keep within reasonable bounds, the ardent, restless,
and discontented savages, by whom this whole country is filled and
surrounded. Few persons living at a distance are aware of the means
which are used, and too successfully used, by the British agents, to
imbitter the minds of the Indians, and preserve such an influence over
them as will insure their co-operation in the event of any future
difficulties. A post at the Fond du Lac will, before long, be necessary,
and it is now proper that one should be established at the portage
between the Fox and Ouisconsin Rivers.

Mr. Schoolcraft has examined the geological structure of the country,
and has explored, as far as practicable, its mineralogical treasures. We
are happy to learn that this department could not have been confided to
one more able or zealous to effect the objects connected with it.
Extensive collections, illustrating the natural history of the country,
have been made, and will add to the common stock of American science.

We understand that copper, iron, and lead are very abundant through the
whole country, and that the great mass of copper upon the Outanagon
River has been fully examined. Upon this, as well as upon other
subjects, we hope we shall, in a few days, be able to communicate more
detailed information.




    DISCOVERY

    OF THE

    ACTUAL SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

    IN

    ITASCA LAKE,

    BY AN EXPEDITION, AUTHORIZED BY THE WAR DEPARTMENT OF
    THE UNITED STATES, IN 1832.


    BY HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT,
    UNITED STATES SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR MICHIGAN, ETC.





CHAPTER XXI.

  The search for the veritable source of the Mississippi is
    resumed.--Ascent to Cass Lake, the prior point of
    discovery--Pursue the river westerly, through the Andrúsian Lakes
    and up the Metoswa Rapids, forty-five miles--Queen Anne's Lake.


Twelve years elapse between the closing of the prior, and the opening of
the present narrative. In the month of August, 1830, instructions were
received by Mr. Schoolcraft to proceed into the Upper Mississippi
valley, to endeavor to terminate the renewed hostilities existing
between the Chippewa and Sioux tribes. These directions did not come to
hand at the remote post of Sault de Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake
Superior, in season to permit the object to be executed that year. On
reporting the fact that the tribes would be dispersed to their
hunting-grounds before the scene could be reached, and that severe
weather would close the streams with ice before the expedition could
possibly return, the plan was deferred till the next year. Renewed
instructions were issued in the month of April, 1831, and an expedition
organized at St. Mary's to carry them into immediate effect.

These instructions did not require the broad table-lands on which the
river originates to be visited, though the journey connected itself with
preliminary questions; nor was it found practicable to extend the
geographical examinations, in the Mississippi Valley, beyond about
latitude 44°.

The force designed for this expedition consisted of twenty-seven men,
including a botanist and geologist, and a small military party under
Lieut. Robert E. Clary, U. S. A. Entering Lake Superior, in the month of
June, with a bright pure atmosphere and serene weather, the party
enjoyed a succession of those clear transporting vistas of rock and
water scenery, which render this picturesque basin by far the most
magnificent, varied, and affluent in its prospect in America. It is in
this basin only, of all the series of North American lakes which
stretch west from the St. Lawrence, that peaks and high mural walls of
volcanic formation, pierce through, or lift up, the horizontal series of
the silurian system; and that, in the lake region, the latter is found
in singular juxtaposition, by means of these upheavals, with the
senites, sienitic granites, and metamorphic rocks composing the globe's
nucleus, or primary out-pushed stony coats of these latitudes.

I had passed through this varied and wonder-creating scene of coast
views and long-stretching vistas in 1820, when geology, in America, at
least, was in its infancy, as a member of the organic government
expedition into this quarter of the Union, as detailed in the preceding
pages. I had, in 1826, revisited the whole coast from Point Iroquois to
Fond du Lac, in the exercise of official duties, connected with the
Indian tribes; besides making sectional expeditions into the regions of
the Gargontwa and Mishepecotin, and of the Takwymenon sand-rock,
interior, and coast lines. But the beauty of the prospects presented in
1831, the serenity of the weather, and the opportunity which it gave of
revisiting scenes which had before flitted by, as the fragments of a
gorgeous dream, gave to this visit a charm which no length of time can
obliterate. And these attractions were enhanced by association with the
agreeable men who accompanied me; of whom it may be said that they
represented the place of strings in a melodious harp, whose concurrence
was at all times necessary to produce harmony. The sainted and
scene-loving Woolsey[152]--the self-poised and amiable Houghton, just
broke loose from the initial struggles of life to luxuriate on the
geological smiles of the face of nature in this scene--ah! where are
they? Death has laid his cold hand on them, to open their eyes on other,
and to us inscrutable scenes.

  [152] _Vide_ Letters on Lake Superior, in _Southern Literary
  Messenger_, 1836.

Passing through this lake, the expedition met the brigade of boats of
the late Mr. Wm. Aitken, from the Upper Mississippi waters, with the
annual returns of furs from that region. He represented the urgent
necessity of an official visit to that section of the country, where the
Indians were in turmoil; but stated, at the same time, that the waters
were too low in the streams at the sources of the Mississippi to render
explorations practicable. He also represented it impracticable, this
season, to enter the Mississippi by the way of the _Broulé_, or Misakoda
River. This information was confirmed on reaching Chegoimegon, at the
remarkable group of the Confederation Islands (_ante_, p. 105).
Returning eight miles on my track, I entered the Muskigo, or Mauvais
River, and ascended this stream by all its bad rafts, rapids, and
portages, to the upper waters of the River St. Croix of the Mississippi.
Crossing the intermediate table-lands, with their intricate system of
lakes and portages to _Lac Courteroille_, or Ottawa Lake, I entered one
of the main sources of Chippewa River, and descended this prime
tributary stream to its entrance into the Mississippi, at the foot of
Lake Pepin. From the latter point I descended to Prairie du Chien, and
to Galena in Illinois. Dispatching the men and canoes from this place
back to ascend the Wisconsin River, and meet me at the portage of Fort
Winnebago, I crossed the lead-mine country by land, by the way of the
Pekatolica, Blue Mound, and Four Lakes, to the source of the Fox River,
and rejoining my canoes here, descended this stream to Green Bay, and
returned to my starting-point by the way of Michilimackinac and the
Straits of St. Mary. Two months and twelve days were employed on the
journey, during which a line of forests and Indian trails had been
passed, of two thousand three hundred miles.

The Indians had been met, and counselled with at various points, at
which presents and provisions were distributed, and the peace policy of
the Government enforced. A Chippewa war party, under Ninaba, had been
arrested on its march against the Sioux in descending the Red Cedar fork
of the Chippewa River. Information was obtained that nine tribes or
bands had united in their sympathies for the restless Sauks and Foxes,
who broke out in hostility to the United States the following spring.
Messages, with pipes and belts, and in one case notice, with a tomahawk
smeared with vermilion, to symbolize war, had passed between these
tribes.[153]

  [153] An outline of the expedition of 1831 is found in Schoolcraft's
  "Thirty Years on the American Frontiers." Lippincott & Co. Phila.
  1850.

The information was communicated to the Government, with a suggestion
that an expedition should be organized for visiting remoter regions the
next year, and forwarding, at the same time, detailed estimates of the
expenditures essential to its efficiency. These suggestions were
approved by the Secretary of War on the 3d of May, 1832, and
instructions forwarded to me for organizing an expedition to carry the
reconnoissance and scrutiny to the tribes on the sources of the
Mississippi. A small escort of U. S. infantry was ordered to accompany
me, under Lieut. James Allen, U. S. A., who, being a graduate of the
West Point Military Academy, undertook the departments of topography and
trigonometry. I secured the services of Dr. Houghton, as physician and
surgeon, and acting botanist and geologist--positions which he had
occupied on the prior expedition of 1831. The American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions were invited to send an agent to
observe the wants and condition of the Indian tribes in these remote
latitudes; who directed the Rev. Wm. T. Boutwell to join me at St.
Mary's. I charged myself especially with inquiring into the Indian
history and languages, statistics, and general ethnography.

The expedition left the Sault de Ste. Marie on the 7th of June, taking
the route through Lake Superior to Fond du Lac and the St. Louis River,
and the Savanna Summit to Sandy Lake, which lies 500 miles above St.
Anthony's Falls of the Upper Mississippi. The width of the Mississippi
at the outlet of Sandy Lake, by a line stretched across, was found to be
331 feet. At my camp here, a general council was summoned of the lower
tribes, who were notified to assemble at the mouth of the River Des
Corbeau on the 20th of July; and a boat with presents and supplies was
sent down the Mississippi to await the return of the expedition through
that river. Lightened thus of baggage, and having fixed a point of time
within which to finish the explorations above, I proceeded up the main
channel of the river to, and across the Pakagama Falls, and its wide
plateau of savannas, and through the Little and Great Winnipek Lakes, to
the Upper Red Cedar, or Cass Lake, which we entered on the 10th of July.
This is a fine lake of transparent water, about eighteen miles in
length, with several large bays and islands as denoted in the
accompanying sketch, which give it an irregular shape. The largest
island, called _Grande Isle_ by the French, which is the _Gitchiminis_
of the Indians, and the _Colcaspi_[154] of my initial narrative of 1832.
This lake was the terminus of the respective explorations of Lieutenant
Zebulon Pike, U. S. A., in 1806, and Governor Lewis Cass in 1820. The
points at which they approached it were not, however, the same. Pike
visited it in a dog train, on the snow, in the month of January, across
the land, from the Northwest Company's trading post at Leech Lake. He
visited an out-station of that company on Grand Island. Cass landed in
July, after tracing its channel from Sandy Lake to the entrance of
Turtle River, the line of communication to Turtle Lake, which was long
the reputed source of the river. This has been called by a modern
traveller in the region Lake Julia, that he might call it the _Julian_
source of the Mississippi.[155]

  [154] This is an anagram composed of the names of Schoolcraft, Cass,
  and Pike, the geographical discoverers, in reversed order, of the
  region.

  [155] Beltrami.

I found the Mississippi, at the point where it flows from the lake, to
be 172 feet wide, not having lost half the width it had at Sandy Lake,
although in this distance it is diminished by the volume of its Leech
Lake tributary, which the northwest agents informed Lieutenant Pike, in
1806, to be its largest tributary. I had reached it ten days earlier in
the season than Governor Cass, having been exactly one day less in
traversing the long line of intervening country from Sault de Ste.
Marie. I proceeded directly to Grand Isle, the residence of a Chippewa
band numbering 157 persons. This island was found to have a fertile
soil, where they had always raised the zea maize. Its latitude is 47°
25´ 23´´. Not only had I reached this point ten days earlier in the
month than the expedition of 1820, but it was found that the state of
the water on these summits was very favorable to their ascent.
Ozawindib,[156] the Chippewa chief, said that his hunting-grounds
embraced the source of the Mississippi, but that canoes of the size and
burden which I had could not ascend higher than the _Pemidjegumaug_, or
Queen Anne's Lake. I determined to encamp my extra men permanently on
this island, with the heavy canoes, provisions, and baggage, leaving
the camp in charge of Louis Default, a trusty man, of the _metif_ class,
well acquainted with the Indian language, who had been a guide in 1820,
and to make explorations, in the lightest class of Indian canoes,
provisioned for an _élite_ movement. Lieutenant Allen also determined to
encamp the United States soldiers of the party, leaving them under a
sergeant. To give each gentleman of the party an opportunity of joining
in this movement, it was necessary to procure five hunting canoes, which
were of no greater capacity than to bear one _sitter_[157] and two
paddlers.

  [156] This name is derived from _ozawau_, yellow; _winisis_, hair,
  and _kundiba_, bone of the forehead or head.

  [157] The term "sitter," which is a northwest phrase in common use,
  is equivalent to the Canadian word _bourgoise_.

Ozawindib and his companions produced these canoes at an early hour on
the following morning, and having, at my request, drawn a map of the
route, embarked himself as the guide to the party. We left the island
before it was yet daylight. The party now consisted of sixteen persons,
including three Chippewas and eight _engagees_. The Mississippi enters
this lake through a savanna, on its extreme western borders, after
performing one of those evolutions through meadow lands so common to its
lower latitudes; after reaching to within fifty yards of the lake, it
winds about, through a natural meadow, for many miles before its
debouchure. The chief, who was familiar with this feature, carried me to
a fifty yards portage, by which we saved some miles of paddling. We
reached the Mississippi at a place where it expands into an elongated
lake, for which I heard no name, and which I called Lake Andrúsia.[158]
After passing through this, the river appeared very much in size and
volume as it had on the outlet below Cass Lake. It winds its way through
the same species of natural meadows, during which there is but little
current. On ascending this channel but a short distance, the river is
found to display itself in a second lake--which the natives call
Pamitascodiac[159]--which, in general appearance and character, may be
deemed the twin of Lake Andrúsia. On its upper margin, a tract of
prairie land appears, of a sandy character, bearing scattered pines.
This appears to be the particular feature alluded to by the Indian name.
About four miles above this lake, and say fifteen from Cass Lake, the
rapids commence. It was eight o'clock A. M. when we reached this point,
and we had then been four hours in our canoes from the Andrúsia portage.
These rapids soon proved themselves to be formidable. Boulders of the
geological drift period are frequently encountered in ascending them,
and the river spreads itself over so considerable a surface that it
became necessary for the bowsmen and steersmen to get out into the
shallows and lead up the canoes. These canoes were but of two fathoms
length, drew but a few inches water, and would not bear more than three
persons. It was ten o'clock when we landed, on a dry opening on the
right shore, to boil our kettle, and prepare breakfast. So dry, indeed,
was the vegetation here, that the camp-fire spread in the grass and
leaves, and it required some activity in the men to prevent its burning
the baggage. There were ten of these rapids encountered before we
reached the summit, or plateau, of Lake Pemidjegumaug, which is the _Lac
Traverse_ of the French. These were called the Metóswa rapids, from the
Indian numeral for ten.

  [158] From Andrew Jackson, at that time President of the United
  States.

  [159] This word appears to be a derivation from _pemidj_, across,
  _muscoda_, a prairie, and _ackee_, land.

The term _Lac Traverse_ has been repeated several times by the Canadian
French, in our northwestern geography; being prominently known in the
Upper Mississippi for a handsome sheet of water, connecting the St.
Peter's, or Minnesota River, with Red River of Hudson's Bay; and as the
Indian name, though very graphic, is not euphonious, I named it Queen
Anne's Lake.[160] It is a clear and beautiful sheet of water, twelve
miles in length, from east to west, and six or seven broad, with an open
forest of hard wood. It is distant forty-five miles from Cass Lake, and
lies at an elevation of fifty-four feet above that lake, and of 1,456
feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The latitude is 47° 28´ 46´´. The
peculiarity recognized by the Indian name of Pemidjegumaug, or
Crosswater, is found to consist in the entrance of the Mississippi into
its extreme south end, and its passage through or across part of it, at
a short distance from the point of entrance. Another feature of its
topography consists of its connection, by a lively channel of less than
a mile's length, with another transverse lake of pure waters, to which I
applied the name of Washington Irving. These features are shown by the
subjoined sketch.

  [160] In allusion to an interesting period of British history, in its
  influences on America.

[Illustration: 1. Queen Anne's Lake. 2. Washington Irving's Lake. 3.
Mississippi River.]




CHAPTER XXII.

  Ascent of the Mississippi above Queen Anne's Lake--Reach the primary
    forks of the river--Ascend the left-hand, or minor branch--Lake
    Irving--Lake Marquette--Lake La Salle--Lake Plantagenet--Encamp at
    the Naiwa rapids at the base of the Height of Land, or Itasca
    Summit.


A short halt was made on entering Queen Anne's Lake, to examine an
object of Indian superstition on its east shore. This consisted of one
of those water-worn boulders which assume the shape of a rude image, and
to which the Chippewas apply the name _Shingabawassin_, or image-stone.
Nothing artificial appeared about it, except a ring of paint, of some
ochreous matter, around the fancied neck of the image.[161] We were an
hour in crossing the lake southwardly from this point, which would give
a mean rate of five miles. At the point of landing, stood a small,
deserted, long building, which Ozawindib informed me had been used as a
minor winter trading station. I observed on the beach at this spot some
small species of unios, and, at higher points on the shore, helices. We
here noticed the passenger pigeon. The forest exhibited the elm, soft
maple, and white ash. Proceeding directly south from this spot a short
distance, we entered the Mississippi, which was found to flow in with a
broad channel and rapid current. This channel Lieutenant Allen estimated
to be but one hundred yards long, at which distance we entered into a
beautiful little lake of pellucid water and a picturesque margin,
spreading transversely to our track, to which I gave the name of Irving.
Ozawindib held his way directly south through this body of water,
striking the river again on its opposite shore. We had proceeded but
half a mile above this lake, when it was announced that we had reached
the primary forks of the Mississippi. We were now in latitude 47° 28´
46´´. Up to this point, the river had carried its characteristics in a
remarkable manner. Of the two primary streams before us, the one flowing
from the west, or the Itascan fork, contributes by far the largest
volume of water, possessing the greatest velocity and breadth of
current. The two streams enter each other at an acute angle, which
varies but little from due south, as denoted in the diagram.

  [161] An object of analogous kind was noticed, during the prior
  expedition of 1820, at an island in Thunder Bay of Lake Huron. _Vide_
  p. 55.

[Illustration: Primary forks of the Mississippi River, in lat. 47° 28´
46´´.]

Ozawindib hesitated not a moment which branch to ascend, but shooting
his canoe out of the stronger current of the Itascan fork, entered the
other. His wisdom in this movement was soon apparent. He had not only
entered the shallower and stiller branch, but one that led more directly
to the base of the ultimate summit of Itasca. This stream soon narrowed
to twenty feet. We could distinctly descry the moving sands at its
bottom; but its diminished velocity was apparent from the intrusion of
aquatic plants along its shores. It was manifest also from the forest
vegetation, that we were advancing into regions of a more alpine flora.
The branches of the larches, spruce, and gray pines, were clothed with
lichens and floating moss to their very tops, denoting an atmosphere of
more than the ordinary humidity. Clumps of gray willows skirted the
margin of the stream.

It was found that the river had made its utmost northing in Queen Anne's
Lake. From the exit from that point, the course was nearly due south,
and from this moment to our arrival at the ultimate forks, which cannot
exceed a mile and a half or two miles, it was evident why the actual
source of this celebrated river had so long eluded scrutiny. We were
ascending at every curve so far _south_, as to carry the observer out of
every old line of travel or commerce in the fur trade (the sole interest
here), and into a remote elevated region, which is never visited indeed,
except by Indian hunters, and is never crossed, even by them, to visit
the waters of the Red River--the region in immediate juxtaposition
north. This semi Alpine plateau, or height of land for which we were now
pushing directly, is called in the parlance of the fur trade _Hauteurs
de Terre_. It was evident that we were ascending to this continental
plateau by steps, denoted by a series of rapids, presenting step by
step, in regular succession, widespread areas of flat surface spotted
with almost innumerable lakes, small and large, and rice-ponds and
lagoons. Thus, after surmounting the step of the Packagama Falls, we
enter on a wide and far stretching plateau which embraces the great area
of Leech Lake, and its numerous lacustrine beds. This step or plateau
may, in the descending order of the Mississippi, be called the fifth
plateau, and is, by barometrical observation, 1,356 feet above the Gulf
of Mexico. The next, or fourth step, is that of the plateau of Cass
Lake, caused chiefly by the lively waters of the Leech Lake, the Upper
Red Cedar, and the Winnepek outlets. The Cass Lake level extends west of
this lake to the foot of the Metoswa rapids. This is forty-six feet
above the Leech Lake level. The third plateau, on which the Mississippi
spreads itself, is that of the Queen Anne summit, which is elevated by
the Metoswa rapids sixty-four feet above the former. We had now entered
on this third plateau, on which we found the river flowing with a just
perceptible current, and frequently expanding itself in small lakes. On
the first of these, after ascending the left hand, or minor fork, I
bestowed the name of Marquette; and on the second, that of La Salle. We
proceeded beyond these to a third lake of larger dimension, which the
Chippewas call Kubba-Kunna, or the Rest in the Path, being the site of
crossing of one of their noted land-trails; I named it Lake Plantagenet.
Lt. Allen deemed this lake ten miles long and five wide. At a point a
short distance above the head of this lake, we encamped at a late hour.
It was now seven o'clock P. M., and we had been in our canoes sixteen
hours, and travelled fifty-five miles. It was not easy to find ground
dry enough to encamp on, and while we were searching for it, rain
commenced. We had pushed through the ample borders of the Scirpus
lacustris and other aquatic plants, to a point of willows, alders, and
spruce and tamarack, with pinus banksiana in the distance. The ground
was low and wet, the foot sinking into a carpet of green moss at every
tread. The lower branches of the trees were dry and dead, exhibiting
masses of flowing gray moss. Dampness, frigidity, and gloom marked the
dreary spot, and when a camp fire had been kindled it threw its red
glare around on strange masses of thickets and darkness, which might
have well employed the pencil of a Michael Angelo. Tired and overwearied
men are not, however, much given to the poetic on these occasions, and
they addressed themselves at once to the pacification of that uneasy
organ, the stomach. Travelling with men who strangely mix up two foreign
languages, one falls insensibly into the same jargon habits, of which I
convicted myself of a notable instance this evening. I had on landing
and pushing into the forest, laid a green morocco portfolio on the
branches of a little spruce, and could not find it. _Kewau bemuasee_, I
said to one of the men, _en petite chose ver, mittig onsing_? Have you
not seen a small green roll in a sapling? not recollecting that the
middle clause of the sentence, though in regimen with the Ojibwa, could
have only been construed by one familiar both with the Canadian French
and the Algonquin. Such, however, proved to be the case, and he soon
handed me the missing portfolio.

I observed, as the crews of the several canoes threw down their day's
game before the cook, there was a species of duck, the anas canadensis,
I think, which had a small unio attached to one of its mandibles, having
been engaged in opening the shell at the moment it was shot. With every
aid, however, from the tent and the tea-kettle, and our cook's art in
spitting ducks, the night here, in a gloomy and damp thicket, just
elevated above the line of the river flags, and quite in the range of
the frogs and lizards, proved to be one of the most dreary and forlorn.
It was felt that we were no longer on the open Mississippi, but were
winding up a close and very serpentine tributary, nowhere over thirty
feet wide, which unfolded itself in a savanna, or bog, bordered closely
with lagoons and rice ponds. Indian sagacity, it was clear, had led
Ozawindib up this tributary as the best, shortest, and easiest possible
way of reaching to, and surmounting the Itasca plateau, but it required
a perpetual use of hand, foot, paddle, and pole; nor was there a gleam
of satisfaction to be found in anything but the most intense onward
exertion. Besides, I had agreed to meet the Indians at the mouth of the
Crow-Wing River on the 24th of July, and that engagement must be
fulfilled.

At five o'clock the next morning (12th) we were on our feet, and resumed
the ascent. The day was rainy and disagreeable. There was little
strength of current, but quite a sufficient depth of water; the stream
was excessively tortuous. Owing to the sudden bends, we often frightened
up the same flocks of brant, ducks, and teals again and again, who did
not appear to have been in times past much subjected to these
intrusions. The flora of this valley appeared unfavorable. Dr. Houghton
has reported a new species of malva and some five or six other species
or varieties from the general region, but these have not, I think, been
elaborately described. The localities of the known species of fauna
might be marked by the occurrence, on this fork, of the cervus
virginianus, which had not been seen after leaving the Sandy Lake summit
till after getting above the primary forks, which flow from the south
and west.

We toiled all day without intermission from daybreak till dark. The
banks of the river are fringed with a species of coarse marshland grass.
Clumps of willows fringe the stream. Rush and reed occupy spots
favorable to their growth. The forest exhibits the larch, pine, and
tamarack. Moss attaches itself to everything. Water-fowls seem alone to
exult in their seclusion. After we had proceeded for an hour above Lake
Plantagenet, an Indian in the advance canoe fired at and killed a deer.
Although fairly shot, the animal ran several hundred yards. It then fell
dead. The man who had killed it brought the carcass to the banks of the
river. The dexterity with which he skinned and cut it up, excited
admiration. He gave the _moze_, which I understood to mean the hide and
feet, to my guide, Ozawindib. Signs of this animal were frequent along
the stream. But we were impelled forward by higher objects than hunting.
It was, indeed, geographical and scientific facts that we were hunting
for. To trace to its source an important river, and to fix the actual
point of its origin, furnished the mental stimulus which led us to care
but little where we slept or what we ate.

When the usual hour for breakfast arrived, the banks of the river proved
too marshy to land, and we continued on till a quarter past twelve P.
M., before a convenient landing could be made. After this recruit to
stomach and spirits, the men again pushed forward, threading the stream
as it wound about in a savanna, seldom halting more than a few minutes
at a time. Frequently, a shot was fired at the numerous water-fowl, so
abundant on these waters. Sometimes a small unio or anadonta was picked
up from the shores; occasionally a plant pulled up, for the botanical
press. Nowhere was the water found too shallow for our canoes, which
were only embarrassed at some points by the density of vegetable tissue.
Rain showers were encountered during the whole of the day, the
equilibrium of the atmosphere being disturbed by rolling, cumulous
clouds, which often poured down their contents with little warning, and
without, indeed, driving us from our canoes. For, on these occasions,
where a fixed point is to be made, and the showers are not anticipated
to be long or heavy, it is better to travel in the rain and submit to
the wetting, than to attempt landing. Neither can the meal of dinner be
stopped for. At length, at half past five o'clock in the evening, we
came to the base of the highlands of the Itasca or Hauteurs de Terre
summit. The flanks of this elevation revealed themselves in a high,
naked precipice of the drift and boulder stratum, on the immediate
margin of the stream which washed against it. Our pilot, Ozawindib, was
at the moment in the rear; halting a few moments for him to come up, he
said that we were within a few hundred yards of the Naiwa rapids, and
that the portage around them commenced at this escarpment. We had seen
no rock of any species, in place, thus far.

A general landing was immediately made at the foot of the hill, and as
the five canoes came up the baggage was prepared in bundles and packages
for being carried, the canoe-paddles and poles securely tied in bundles,
and the canoes lifted from the water and dried in the sun to make the
transportation of them as light as possible, and mended and pitched
wherever they leaked. It was found that the whole baggage, canoes and
all, could be arranged for eleven back-loads, this being the precise
number of our carriers, white and red; and being ready, Ozawindib led
the way, having a single canoe for his share, and he was soon followed
by the whole line, each one of our sitters falling in this line, charged
with the particular instrument of his observation, or record of it. The
hill was steep, and the footing soft and yielding in the crumbling
diluvion, and the scene, as the party struggled up the ascent, presented
quite a study for the picturesque. Lieutenant Allen carried his
canoe-compass, which I had had mounted by an artisan of Detroit; Dr.
Houghton grasped his hortus siccus under his arms; Mr. Johnston, our
interpreter, had his pipe and fowling-piece, and Mr. Boutwell had
wellnigh lost his pocket-bible and notes, while staying himself against
the treacherous influence of a steep sand cliff. While the party thus
took their way over the hill to cross a peninsula of a mile or two, and
strike the river above the junction of the Naiwa River, I went to
observe the rapids. The river, at this point, is forced through a narrow
gorge, where the water descends with loud murmuring over a series of
rapids, which form a complete check to navigation. The portage is two
miles. I judged the entire descent of the channel, from the beginning to
the terminus of the portage, to be forty-eight feet. Boulders of the
peculiar northern sienite, highly charged with hornblende, and of
trap-rock, or greenstone, quartz, and sandstone, were scattered over
this elevation, and mixed with the more finely comminuted portions of
the same rocks, and of amygdaloids and schistose fragments. Among these,
I observed some specimens of the zoned agate, which identifies the
stratum with the extensive drift formation of the upper Mississippi. It
would seem that extensive amygdaloidal strata formerly extended over
these heights, which have been broken down by the fierce and general
rush of the oceanic currents of the north, which once manifestly swept
over these elevations.

Darkness fell as we reached an elevation overlooking the river above the
Naiwa Rapids, and after some deliberation as to the spot where we should
suffer less annoyance from mosquitos, I proceeded to the lower part of
the valley near the river, and set up my tent there for the night. On
questioning Ozawindib of the Naiwa River, he informed me that it was a
stream of considerable size, and that it originated in a lake on a
distant part of the plateau, which was infested with the copper-head
snake; hence the name. Mr. Allen's estimate of this day's journey was
fifty-two miles. We had reached the second, or Assawa plateau of the
Mississippi, which is, barometrically, seventy-six feet above the Queen
Anne summit, and now had but one more to surmount.




CHAPTER XXIII.

  The Expedition having reached the source of the east fork in Assawa
    Lake, crosses the highlands of the Hauteurs de Terre to the source
    of the main or west fork in Itasca Lake.


The next morning (13th) a dense fog prevailed. We had found the
atmosphere warm, but charged with water and vapors, which frequently
condensed into showers. The evenings and nights were, however, cool, at
the precise time of the earth hiding the sun's disk. It was five o'clock
before we could discern objects with sufficient distinctness to venture
to embark. We found the channel of the river strikingly diminished on
getting above the Naiwa. Its width is that of a mere brook, running in a
valley half a mile wide. The water is still and pond-like, the margin
being encroached on by aquatic plants. It presents some areas of the
zizania palustris, and appeared to be the favorite resort for several
species of duck, who were continually disturbed by our progress. After
diligently ascending an hour and a half, or about eight miles, the
stream almost imperceptibly began to open into a lake, which the Indians
called Assawa, or Perch Lake. Its borders are fringed with the _monomin_
of the Chippewas, or wild rice, and several of the liliaceous water
plants. The water is transparent when dipped up and viewed by the light,
but from the falling of leaves and other carbonaceous fibre to the
bottom, it reflects a sombre hue. We were just twenty minutes in passing
through it, denoting a length of perhaps two miles, and a width of half
a mile. Our course through it was directly south. Ozawindib, who took
the advance, entered an inlet, but had not ascended it far, when he
rested on his paddles, and exclaimed _o-omah mekunnah_, here is the
path, or portage. We had, in fact, traced this branch of the river into
its utmost sources. It was seven o'clock in the morning. We were
surrounded by what the natives term _azhiskee_, or mire, broad-leaved
plants extending over the surface of the water, in which I recognized a
diminutive species of yellow pond-lily. There was no mode of reaching
dry land but by stepping into this yielding azhiskee. The water was
rather tepid. After wading about fifty yards the footing became more
firm, and we soon began to ascend a slight elevation. Some traces of an
Indian trail appeared here, which led to an opening in the thicket,
where vestiges of the bones of birds, and old camp-poles, indicated the
prior encampment of Indians.

I had now traced this branch of the Mississippi to its source, and was
at the south base of the inter-continental highlands, which give origin
to the longest and principal branch of the Mississippi. To reach its
source it was necessary to ascend and cross these. Of their height, and
the difficulty of their ascent, we knew nothing. This only was sure,
from the representation of the natives, that it could be readily done,
carrying the small bark canoes we had thus far employed. The chief said
it was thirteen _opugidjiwenun_, or putting-down-places, which are
otherwise called _onwaybees_, or rests. From the roughness of the path,
not more than half a mile can be estimated to each _onwaybee_. Assawa
Lake is shown, by barometric measurement, to be 1,532 feet above the
Gulf. Having followed out this branch to its source, its very existence
in our geography becomes a new fact.

While the baggage and canoes were being carried to the spot of our
encampment, a camp-fire was kindled and the cook busied himself in
preparing breakfast. The canoes were then carefully examined and
repaired, and the baggage parted into loads, so as to permit the whole
outfit and apparatus to be transported at one trip. These things having
been arranged, and the breakfast dispatched, we set forward to mount the
highlands. Ozawindib having thrown one of the canoes over his shoulders,
led the way, complaisantly, being followed by the entire party.

The prevailing growth at this place is thick bramble, spruce, white
cedar, and tamarak. The path plunges at once into a marshy and matted
thicket, which it requires all one's strength to press through--then
rises to a little elevation covered with white cedar, and again plunges
into a morass strewed with fallen and decayed logs, covered with moss.
From this the trail emerges on dry ground. Relieved from the
entanglement about our feet, we soon found ourselves ascending an
elevation of the drift stratum, consisting of oceanic sand, with
boulders. On the side of this eminence we enjoyed our first _onwaybee_.
The day had developed itself clear and warm, and glad indeed were we to
find the chief had put down his canoe, and by the time we reached had
lit his pipe. The second onwaybee brought us to the summit of this
elevation; the third to the side of a ridge beyond it; the fourth to
another summit; in fine, we found ourselves crossing a succession of
ridges and depressions, which seemed to have owed their original
outlines to the tumultuous waves of some mighty ocean, which had once
had the mastery over the highlands. Trail there was often none. The day
being clear, the chief, however, held his course truly, and when he was
turned out of it by some defile, or thicket, or bog, he again found his
line at the earliest possible point. In one of the depressions, we
crossed a little lake in the canoes; in another, we followed the guide
on foot, through and along the border of a shallow lake, to avoid the
density of the thickets.

Ripe strawberries were brought to me at one of our onwaybees. I observed
the diminutive rebus nutkanus on low grounds. The common falco was
noticed, and the Indians remarked tracks of the deer, not, however, of
very recent date. The forest growth is small, by far the most common
species being the scrubby pinus banksianus, exhibiting its parasitic
moss. The elevated parts of the route were sufficiently open, with often
steep ascents. Over these sienite and granite, quartz and sandstone
boulders were scattered. Every step we made in crossing these sandy and
diluvial elevations, seemed to inspire renewed ardor in completing the
traverse. The guide had called the distance, as we computed it, about
six, or six and a half miles. We had been four hours upon it, now
clambering up steeps, and now brushing through thickets, when he told us
we were ascending the last elevation, and I kept close to his heels,
soon outwent him on the trail, and got the first glimpse of the
glittering nymph we had been pursuing. On reaching the summit this wish
was gratified. At a depression of perhaps a hundred feet below, cradled
among the hills, the lake spread out its elongated volume, presenting a
scene of no common picturesqueness and rural beauty. In a short time I
stood on its border, the whole cortege of canoes and pedestrians
following; and as each one came he deposited his burden on a little open
plat, which constituted the terminus of the Indian trail. In a few
moments a little fire threw up its blaze, and the pan of _pigieu_, or
pine pitch, was heated to mend the seams of the bark canoes. When this
was done, they were instantly put into the lake, with their appropriate
baggage; and the little flotilla of five canoes was soon in motion,
passing down one of the most tranquil and pure sheets of water of which
it is possible to conceive. There was not a breath of wind. We often
rested to behold the scene. It is not a lake overhung by rocks. Not a
precipice is in sight, or a stone, save the pebbles and boulders of the
drift era, which are scattered on the beach. The water-fowl, whom we
disturbed in their seclusion, seemed rather loath to fly up. At one
point we observed a deer, standing in the water, and stooping down,
apparently to eat moss.

The diluvial hills inclosing the basin, at distances of one or two
miles, are covered with pines. From these elevations the lands slope
gently down to the water's edge, which is fringed with a mixed foliage
of deciduous and evergreen species. After passing some few miles down
its longest arm, we landed at an island, which appeared to be the only
one in the lake. I immediately had my tent pitched, and while the cook
exerted his skill to prepare a meal, scrutinized its shores for
crustacea, while Dr. Houghton sought to identify its plants. While here,
the latter recognized the mycrostylis ophioglossoides, physalis
lanceolata, silene antirrhina, and viola pedata. We found the elm, lynn,
soft maple, and wild cherry, mingled with the fir species.

An arm of the lake stretches immediately south from this island, which
receives a small brook. Lieutenant Allen, who estimates the greatest
length of the lake at seven miles, drew the following sketch of its
configuration. (See p. 243.)

The latitude of this lake is 47° 13´ 35´´.[162] The highest grounds
passed over by us, in our transit from the Assowa Lake, lie at an
elevation of 1,695 feet. The view given of the scene in the first
volume of my _Ethnological Researches_, p. 146, is taken from a point
north of the island, looking into the vista of the south arm of the
lake. I inquired of Ozawindib the Indian name of this lake; he replied
_Omushkös_, which is the Chippewa name of the Elk.[163] 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.[164]

  [162] By the report of Governor Stevens (June, 1854), the selected
  pass for the contemplated railroad through the St. Mary to the
  Columbia valley is in 47° 30´, where there is but little snow at any
  time, and rich pasturage for cattle. The phenomena of the climates of
  our northern latitudes are but little understood.

  [163] A The Canadian French call this animal _la Biche_, from
  _Biche_, a hind.

  [164] This myth is further alluded to, in the following stanzas from
  the _Literary World_, No. 337:--

    STANZAS.

    ON REACHING THE SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER IN 1832.[165]

    I.

    Ha! truant of western waters! Thou who hast
      So long concealed thy very sources--flitting shy,
    Now here, now there--through spreading mazes vast
      Thou art, at length, discovered to the eye
    In crystal springs, that run, like silver thread,
      From out their sandy heights, and glittering lie
    Within a beauteous basin, fair outspread
      Hesperian woodlands of the western sky,
    As if, in Indian myths, a truth there could be read,
    And these were tears, indeed, by fair Itasca shed.

    II.

    To bear the sword, on prancing steed arrayed;
      To lift the voice admiring Senates own;
    To tune the lyre, enraptured muses played;
      Or pierce the starry heavens--the blue unknown--
    These were the aims of many sons of fame,
      Who shook the world with glory's golden song.
    I sought a moral meed of less acclaim,
      In treading lands remote, and mazes long;
    And while around aerial voices ring,
    I quaff the limpid cup at Mississippi's spring.

      H. R. S.

  [165] Narrative of an Expedition to Itasca Lake. Harpers. 1834. 1
  vol. 8vo. p. 307.

[Illustration: Itasca Lake, the source of the Mississippi River, 3,160
miles from the Balize.

A. Mississippi River. B. Route of expedition to the Lake. C.
Schoolcraft's Island.]

The line of discovery of the Mississippi, explored above Cass Lake,
taking the east fork from the primary junction, as shown by Mr. Allen's
topographical notes, is one hundred and twenty-three miles.[166] This is
the shortest and most direct branch. The line by the Itascan or main
branch of it is, probably, some twenty or twenty-five miles longer. It
is evident, as before intimated, that the river descends from its summit
in plateaux. From the pseudo-alpine level of the parent lake, there is a
principal and minor rapids, for the former of which the Indians have the
appropriate name of _Kakabikons_, which is a descriptive term for a
cascade over rocks or stones. Then the river again deploys itself in a
lake and a series of minor lakes on the same level, and this process is
repeated, until it finally plunges over the horizontal rocks at St.
Anthony's Falls, and displays itself, for the last time, in Lake Pepin.
Commencing with the latter lake, it may be observed for the purposes of
generalization, and to give definite notions rather of its hydrography
than geology, that there are nine plateaux, of which Governor Cass, in
1820, explored six. The other three, beginning at his terminal point,
have now been indicated. The heights of these are given, barometrically.
The distances travelled are given from time. The annexed diagram of
these plateaux, extending to the Pakagama summit, will impress these
deductions on the eye.

  [166] Mr. Nicollet, who ascended the same fork in 1836, makes the
  distance twelve miles more. _Vide_ Ex., Doc. No. 237.

The length of the Mississippi, from the Gulf of Mexico, pursuing its
involutions, may be stated to be three thousand miles. By estimates from
the best sources made, respectively, during the expeditions of 1820 and
1832, it is shown to have a winding thread of three thousand one hundred
and sixty miles. Taking the barometrical height of Itasca Lake at
fifteen hundred and seventy-five feet, it has a mean descent of a
fraction over six inches per mile. As one of the most striking epochs in
American geography, we have known this river, computing from the era of
Marquette's discovery to the present day (July 13, 1832), but one
hundred and fifty-nine years--a short period, indeed! How rich a portion
of the geology of the globe lies buried in the flora and fauna of the
tertiary, the middle or secondary, and the palæozoic eras of its valley,
we have hardly begun to inquire. It will, _doubtless_, and, so far as we
know, _does_, contribute evidences to the antiquity and mutations of the
earth's surface, conformably to the progress of discoveries in other
parts of the globe. The immense basins of coal, found in the middle and
lower parts of its valley, prove the same gigantic epoch of its flora
which has been established for the coal measures of Europe,[167] and
sweep to the winds the jejune theory that the continent arose from a
chaotic state, at a period a whit less remote than the other quarters of
the globe. While the large bones of its later eras, found imbedded in
its unconsolidated strata, prove how large a portion of its fauna were
involved in the gigantic and monster-period.

  [167] Entire trees are often found imbedded in its rocks of the
  middle era, as is evidenced by an individual of the juglans nigra, of
  at least fifty feet long, in the River De Plaine, valley of the
  Illinois. _Vide_ Appendix.




CHAPTER XXIV.

  Descent of the west, or Itascan branch--Kakabikoñs Falls--Junction of
    the Chemaun, Peniddiwin, or De Soto, and Allenoga Rivers--Return
    to Cass Lake.


Itasca Lake lies in latitude twenty-five seconds only south of Leech
Lake, and five minutes and eleven seconds west of the ultimate northerly
point of the Mississippi, on the Queen Anne summit; it is a fraction
over twelve minutes southwest of Cass Lake. The distance from the latter
point, at which discovery rested in 1820, is, agreeably to the
observations of Lieutenant Allen, one hundred and sixty-four miles.

On scrutinizing the shores of the island, on which I had encamped,
innumerable helices, and other small univalves, were found; among these
I observed a new species, which Mr. Cooper has described as planorbis
companulatus.[168] There were bones of certain species of fish, as well
as the bucklers of one or two kinds of tortoise, scattered around the
sites of old Indian camp fires, denoting so many points of its natural
history. Amidst the forest-trees before named, the betula papyraceæ and
spruce were observed. Directing one of the latter to be cut down, and
prepared as a flagstaff, I caused the United States flag to be hoisted
on it. This symbol was left flying at our departure. Ozawindib, who at
once comprehended the meaning of this ceremony, with his companions
fired a salute as it reached its elevation.

  [168] Appendix.

Having made the necessary examinations, I directed my tent to be struck,
and the canoes put into the water, and immediately embarked. The outlet
lies north of the island. Before reaching it, we had lost sight of the
flagstaff, owing to the curvature of the shore. Unexpectedly, the outlet
proved quite a brisk brook, with a mean width of ten feet, and one foot
in depth. The water is as clear as crystal, and we at once found
ourselves gliding along, over a sandy and pebbly bottom, strewed with
the scattered valves of shells, at a brisk rate. Its banks are overhung
with limbs and foliage, which sometimes reach across. The bends are
short, and have accumulations of flood-wood, so that, from both causes,
the use of the axe is often necessary to clear a passage. There was also
danger of running against boulders of black rock, lying in the margin,
or piled up in the channel. As the rapid waters increased, we were
hurled, as it were, along through the narrow passages, and should have
descended at a prodigiously rapid rate, had it not been for these
embarrassments to the navigation. Its course was northwest. After
descending about ten miles, the river enters a narrow savanna, where the
channel is wider and deeper, but equally circuitous. This reaches some
seven or eight miles. It then breaks its way through a pine ridge, where
the channel is again very much confined and rapid, the velocity of the
stream threatening every moment to dash the canoe into a thousand
pieces. The men were sometimes in the water, to guide the canoe, or
stood ever ready, with poles, to fend off. After descending some
twenty-five miles, we encamped on a high sandy bluff on the left hand.

The next morning (14th), we were again in our canoes before five
o'clock. The severe rapids continued, and were rendered more dangerous
by limbs of trees which stretched over the stream, threatening to sweep
off everything that was movable. We had been one hour passing down a
perfect defile of rapids, when we approached the Kakabikoñs Falls.
_Kakábik_,[169] in the Chippewa, means a cascade, or shoot of water over
rocks. _Oñs_ is merely the diminutive, to which all the nouns of this
language are subject. How formidable this little cataract might be, we
could not tell. It appeared to be a swift rush of water, bolting through
a narrow gorge, without a perpendicular drop, and Ozawindib said it
required a portage. Halting at its head, for Lieut. Allen to come up,
his bowsman caught hold of my canoe, to check his velocity. It had that
effect. But, being checked suddenly, the stern of his canoe swung
across the stream, which permitted the steersman to catch hold of a
branch. Thus stretched tensely across the rapid stream, in an instant
the water swept over its gunwale, and its contents were plunged into the
swift current. The water was about four feet deep. Allen and his men
found footing, with much ado, but his canoe-compass, apparatus, and
everything, was lost and swept over the falls. He grasped his manuscript
notes, and, by feeling with his feet, fetched up his fowling-piece; the
men clutched about, and managed to save the canoe. Fortunately, I had a
fine instrument to replace the lost compass, though wanting the nautical
rig of the other.

  [169] Kakábik. _Abik_ is a rock. The prefixed syllable, _Kak_, may be
  derived from _Kukidjewum_, a rapid stream. _Ka_ is often a prefix of
  negation in compound words, which has the force of a derogative.

We made a short portage. Two of the canoes, with Indian pilots, went
down the rapids, but injured their canoes so much as to cause a longer
delay than if they had carried them by land. Below this fall, the river
receives a tributary on the right hand, called the _Chemaun_, or Ocano.
It contributes to double its volume, very nearly, and hence its savanna
borders are enlarged. Conspicuous among the shrubbery on its shores are
the wilding rose and clumps of the salix. The channel winds through
these savanna borders capriciously. At a point where we landed for
breakfast, on an open pine bank on the left shore, we observed several
copious and clear springs pouring into the river. Indeed, the extensive
sand ranges which traverse the woodlands of the Itasca plateau are
perfectly charged with the moisture which is condensed on these
elevations, which flows in through a thousand little rills. On these
sandy heights the conifera predominate.

The physical character of the stream made this part of our route a most
rapid one. Willing or unwilling, we were hurried on; but, indeed, we had
every desire to hasten the descent. At four o'clock P. M., we came to
the junction of the Piniddiwin,[170] or Carnage River, a considerable
tributary on the left. On this river, which originates in a lake, on the
northeastern summit of the Hauteur des Terres, I bestowed the name of De
Soto. It has also a lake, called Lac la Folle, at the point of its
junction with the Mississippi, whose borders are noted for the abundant
and vigorous growth of wild rice, reeds, and rushes. It is called
Monomina,[171] by the Chippewas. By this accession, the width and depth
of the river are strikingly increased. The Indian reed first appears at
this spot.

  [170] From the term _Iah-pinuniddewin_, an emphatic expression for a
  place of carnage, so called from a secret attack made at this place,
  in time past, by a party of Sioux, who killed every member of a lodge
  of Chippewas, and then shockingly mangled their bodies.

  [171] From _Monominakauning_, place of wild rice.

While passing through this part of the river, I observed a singular
trait in the habits of the onzig duck, which, on being suddenly
surprised by the traveller, affects for the moment to be disabled;
flapping its wings on the water, as if it could not rise, in order to
allow its brood, who are now (July) unfledged, to escape, when the
mother instantly rises from the water, and wings her flight vigorously.
We observed, sailing above the marshy areas of this fork, the falco
furcatus, the feathers of which are much esteemed by the Indians, for
this is considered a brave species, as its habit is to seize serpents by
the neck, who twist themselves around its elongated body, while it flies
off to some convenient perch to devour them. The deer is also noticed
along the Itascan fork. Ozawindib landed a little below the junction of
the Chemaun, to fire at one of them, which he discovered grazing at some
distance; but, although he carefully landed and crept up crouchingly, he
failed in his shot, either from the distance or some other cause.
Immediately, he put a fresh charge of powder in his gun, and threw in a
bullet, unwadded, and fired again before the animal had made many leaps,
but it held its way.

We descended about eighteen miles below the Piniddiwin, and landed to
encamp. The day's descent had been an arduous one. Lieut. Allen
estimated it at seventy-five miles. We had now fairly followed the
Mississippi out of what may be denoted its Alpine passes. All its
dangerous rapids had been overcome. It was now a flowing stream of sixty
feet wide. Immediately on landing, one of the Indians captured an animal
of the saurian type, called _ocaut-e-kinabic_,[172] eight inches in
length, striped blue, black, and white, with four legs of equal length.
The colors were very vivid.

  [172] From _ocaut_, a leg, and _kinabic_, a snake.

Having reached a part of the stream which could be safely navigated, I
resolved to re-embark after supper, and continue the descent by night.
We were now about fifteen miles above the primary forks. Lieut. Allen
determined to remain till daylight, in order to trace the river down to
the point at which it had been left in the ascent. Nothing of an
untoward nature occurred. A river of some size enters, on the left hand,
about six miles below the saurian encampment, which originates in a
lake. This stream, for which I heard no name, I designated _Allenoga_,
putting the Iroquois local terminal in _oga_ to the name of the worthy
officer who traced out the first true map of the actual sources of the
Mississippi.[173] We passed the influx of the east fork, about half-past
one A. M. on the 15th, traversed the Lake of Queen Anne, and descended
the whole series of the Metoswa rapids, to Lake Andrúsia, by the hour of
daybreak, and reached the island of my primary encampment, in Cass Lake,
at nine o'clock in the morning. We had been eleven hours and a half in
our canoes, from the time of re-embarkation at the camp above Allenoga.
Lieut. Allen did not rejoin us till six o'clock in the afternoon. He
estimated the entire distance, _out_ and _in_, at 290 miles, it being
125 miles to Itasca Lake, and, as before intimated, 165 miles from
thence to Cass Lake. He estimates the length of the Mississippi, above
the Falls of St. Anthony, at 1,029 miles. Taking the distance from the
Gulf of Mexico to the Falls at 2,200 miles,[174] this would give to this
stream a development of 3,229 miles, which exceeds my prior estimates
more than fifty miles.

  [173] Lieut.-Col. James Allen, U. S. A. This officer graduated at
  West Point in 1825. After passing through various grades, he was
  promoted to a captaincy of infantry in 1837. He was lieutenant-colonel
  and commandant of the battalion of Mormon volunteers in the Mexican
  war, which was raised by his exertions, and died at Fort Leavenworth,
  on the Missouri, on the 23d of August, 1846.

  [174] Doc. No. 237.




CHAPTER XXV.

  The expedition proceeds to strike the source of the great Crow-Wing
    River, by the Indian trail and line of interior portages, by way
    of Leech Lake, the seat of the warlike tribe of the Pillagers, or
    Mukundwa.


Having, while at Sandy Lake, summoned the Indians to meet me in council
at the mouth of the _L'aile de Corbeau_, or Crow-Wing River, on the 20th
of July, no time was to be lost in proceeding to that place. The 15th,
being the Sabbath, was spent at the island, where the Rev. Mr. Boutwell
addressed the Indians. The next day, I met the Cass Lake band in
council, and, having finished that business, rewarded the Indians for
their services and canoes on the trip to Itasca Lake, distributed the
presents designed for them, replied to a message from Nezhopenais of Red
Lake, and invested Ozawindib with the President's largest silver medal
and a flag, and was ready by 10 o'clock A. M. to embark. Dr. Houghton
employed the time to complete his vaccinations. I rewarded Mr. Default
for taking charge of my camp during the journey to Itasca Lake. As well
to shorten the line of travel as to visit an entirely unexplored section
of the country, I resolved to pursue the Indian trail and line of
interior portages from Cass to Leech Lake, and from the latter to the
source of the great Crow-Wing fork.

Passing southwardly across the lake, between Red Cedar and Garden
Islands, we have a prolonged bay running deep into the land, toward the
south. This bay is in the direct line to Leech Lake; and as it had been
crossed on the ice in January, 1806, by Lieutenant Pike, in his
adventurous and meritorious journey of exploration, I called it Pike's
Bay. It was twelve o'clock, meridian, when we debarked at its head. The
portage commenced on the edge of an open pine forest, interspersed with
scrub oak. The path is deeply worn, in the sand-plain, and looks as if
it had been trod by the Indians for centuries. I observed, as we passed
along, the alum root, hyacinthus, and sweet fern, with the ledum
latifolium, vaccinium dumosum, and more common species of pine plains.
The pinus resinosa assumes here a larger size, and the Indians pointed
out to me markings and pictographs drawn with charcoal, and covered with
the resin of the tree, which were made by the Indian tribe who preceded
them in the occupancy of the sources of the Mississippi. This must have
been, if I rightly apprehend their history, prior to A. D. 1600. That
such markings should be preserved by the pitch, which sheds the rain,
is, however, probable. They were of the totemic character, _i.e._
relating to the exploits or achievements of groups of families, in which
the individual actor sinks his specific in the generic family or clan
name. Antiquities of this character are certainly a new feature in
Indian history. Letters have perfectly preserved the landing of Cartier
at the mouth of the St. Lawrence in 1534. Pictography here records, that
certain clans had killed bears and taken human scalps before that time.
And the fact is deeply important in shedding light on Indian history and
character; for the killing of deers and bears, and the taking of human
scalps, is precisely what these tribes are doing at the present time. In
the three hundred years' interval, they have made no mental progress.
The Chippewa is just as fierce to-day, in hunting a Dacota scalp, as the
Dacota is in hunting a Chippewa scalp. The conquering tribe has,
however, pushed the Dacotas nearly one thousand miles down the
Mississippi.

    "Talk of your Hannibals, Napoleons, and Alps,
     My glory," quoth the feathered hunter, "is in scalps."

After following the deeply indented path nine hundred and fifty yards,
we reached a small lake which disclosed, as we passed it, patches of a
dark, coarse, mossy-like substance at its bottom. On reaching down with
their paddles, the men brought up a singular species of aquatic plant
with coral-shaped branches. After crossing this lake, the pine plain
resumed its former character. There was then a shallow bog of fifty or
sixty yards. The rest of the path consists of an arid sand plain, which
is sometimes brushy, but generally presents dry, easy travelling. We had
walked four thousand one hundred yards, or about two and a half miles,
when we reached an elongated body of clear living water, having its
outflow into Leech Lake. Embarking on this, we crossed it, and entered a
narrow stream, winding about in a shaking savanna, where it was found
difficult to veer the large five-fathom canoes in which we now
travelled. This tortuous stream was joined by a tributary from the
right, and at no remote distance, entered an elongated duplicate body of
water, named by the Indians _Kapuka Sagatawag_, or the Abrupt
Discharges.[175] Below the junction of these lakes, which appear to be
outbursts from the Hauteur de Terre range, the stream is a wide-flowing
river. Its shores abound in sedge, reeds, and wild rice. The last
glimpses of daylight left us as this broad river entered into Leech
Lake. Moonlight still served us, as we began the traverse of this
spreading sea, but it soon became overcast, and it was intensely dark
before we reached the recurved point of land of the principal chief's
village. It was now ten o'clock at night, and it was eleven before the
military canoes, under Lieutenant Allen, came up. In the morning a
salute was fired by the Indians, who welcomed us. Aishkebuggekozh,[176]
or the Flat-mouth, the reigning chief, invited me to breakfast. As this
chief exercises a kind of imperial sway over the adjacent country, it
was important to respect him. Having sent a dish of hard bread before
me, I took my interpreter and went to his residence. I found him living
in a tenement built of logs, with two rooms, well floored and roofed,
with two small glass windows. At one end of the breakfast-room were
extended his flags, medals, and warlike paraphernalia. In the centre of
the floor, a large mat of rushes, or Indian-woven _apukwa_ was spread,
and upon this the breakfast and breakfast things were arranged in an
orderly manner. There were teacups, teaspoons, plates, knives and forks,
all of plain English manufacture. A salt-cellar contained salt and
pepper mixed in unequal proportions. There were just as many plates as
expected guests. A large white fish, boiled, and cut up in good taste,
occupied a dish in the centre. There was a dish of sugar made from the
acer saccharinum. There were no stools, or chairs, but small apukwa
mats were spread for each guest. I observed the dish of hard bread,
which came opportunely, as there was no other representative form of
bread. The chief sat down at the head of his breakfast, in the oriental
fashion. Imitating his example, I sat down with a degree of repose and
nonchalance, as if this had been the position I had practised from
childhood. His empress--Equa,[177] sat on one side, near him, to pour
out the tea, but neither ate nor drank anything herself. Her position
was also that of the oriental custom for females; that is, both feet
were thrown to one side, and doubled beside her.[178] The chief helped
us to fish and to tea, taking the cups from his wife. He was dignified,
grave, yet easy, and conversed freely, and the meal passed off agreeably
and without a pause, or the slightest embarrassment. This was, perhaps,
owing in part to my having been acquainted with him before, he having
visited me at my agency at Sault Ste. Marie in 1828, and sat as a guest
at my own table. Nor, in a people so loath to give their confidence as
the Indian, is the fact undeserving of mention, of general affiliation
to the tribe, caused by my marriage with a grand-daughter of the ruling
chief of Lake Superior, a lady of refinement and intelligence, who was
the child of a gentleman of Antrim, Ireland, where she was educated.

  [175] From the word _puka_, abrupt phenomenon, and the verb _saugi_,
  outflowing.

  [176] From _Aizhenagozze_, countenance, and _kozh_, a bill of a bird,
  or snout of an animal. The word is appropriately translated _guelle_
  by the Canadians.

  [177] _Equa_, a female; it is not, appropriately, the term of wife,
  for which the vocabulary has a peculiar term, but is generally
  employed in the sense of woman.

  [178] I have observed this to be the universal custom among all the
  aboriginal females of America. They never part the feet.

On rising to leave, I invited him to a council, at my tent, which was
ordered to assemble at the firing of the military. It is not unimportant
to observe, that, in preparing to set out on this expedition into the
Indian country, at a time when the Blackhawk had raised the standard of
revolt on Rock River, and the tribes of the Upper Mississippi were
believed to be extensively in his views, I had caused my canoe, after it
had been finished in most perfect style of art known to this kind of
vessel, to be painted with Chinese vermilion, from stem to stern. Ten
years' residence among the tribes, in an official capacity, had
convinced me that fear is the controlling principle of the Indian mind,
and that the persuasions to a life of peace, are most effectively made
under the symbols of war. To beg, to solicit, to creep and cringe to
this race, whether in public or private, is a delusive, if not a fatal
course; and though I was told by one or two of my neighbors that it was
not well, on this occasion, to put my canoe in the symbolic garb of war,
I did not think so. I carried, indeed, emphatically, messages of peace
from the executive head of the Government, and had the means of insuring
respect for these messages, by displaying the symbol of authority at the
stern of each vessel, by an escort of soldiery, and by presents, and the
services of a physician to arrest one of the most fatal of diseases
which have ever afflicted the Indian race. But I carried them fearlessly
and openly, with the avowed purpose of peace. The canoe, itself, was an
emblem of this authority, and, like the _oriflamme_ of the Mediæval
Ages, cast an auspicious influence on my mission over these bleak and
wide summits, lakes, and forests, inhabited alone by fierce and
predatory tribes, who acknowledged no power but force. Long before I had
reached the sources of the Mississippi, St. Vrain, my fellow agent, had
been most cruelly murdered at his agency, and General Scott, with the
whole disposable army of the United States, had taken the field at
Chicago.

Lieut. Allen paraded his men that morning with burnished arms. We could
not, jointly, in an emergency, muster over forty men, of whom a part
were not reliable in a melée, but arranged our camp in the best manner
to produce effect. Effect, indeed, it required, when the hour of the
council came. Not less than one thousand souls, men, women, and
children, surrounded my tent, including a special deputation from the
American borders of Rainy Lake. Of these, two hundred were active young
warriors, who strode by with a bold and lofty air, and glistening eyes,
often lifting the wings of my tent, to scan the preparations going
forward. Aishkebuggekozh entered the council area, having in his train
Majegabowi, the man who had led the revolt in the Red River settlement
of Lord Selkirk, and who had tomahawked Gov. Semple, after he fell
wounded from his horse. This association did not smack of peaceful
designs. The chief, Aishkebuggekozh, himself, has the countenance of a
very ogre. He is over six feet high, very brawny, and stout. That
feature of his countenance from which he is named Flat-mouth, consisting
of a broad expansion and protrusion of the front jaws, between the long
incision of the mouth, reminds one much of a bull-dog's jaw. He held in
his hand, suspended by ribbons, five silver medals, smeared with
vermilion, to symbolize blood.

A person not familiar with Indian symbols, might deem such signs
alarming. I knew him to be very fond of using these symbols, and,
indeed, a man who never made a speech without them; and I had the
fullest confidence that, while he aimed to produce the fullest effect
upon his listening, but less shrewd tribe of folks, and upon all,
indeed, he never dreamed of an act which should bring him into conflict
with the United States. Like Blackhawk, who was now exciting and leading
the tribes at lower points to war, he had, from his youth, been in the
British interests. He displayed a British flag at his breakfast, and
three of his medals were of British coinage, but he was a man of far
more comprehensive mind and understanding than Blackhawk.

Having been, as a government agent, the medium of the agreement of the
Chippewas and Sioux in fixing on a boundary line for their respective
territories at the treaty of Prairie-du-Chien, in 1825, I made that
agreement, on the present occasion, the basis of my remarks, for their
preserving in good faith the stipulations of that treaty, and of
renewing the principles of it in the points where they had since been
broken and violated. I concluded by assuring them of the friendship of
the United States, of which my visit to this remote region must be
deemed proof, and of the sincerity with which I had communicated the
words of the President. The presents were then delivered and
distributed.

Aishkebuggekozh, or the Guelle Plat, replied, with much of the skill and
force of Indian oratory. He began by calling the attention of the
warriors to his words; he then turned to me, thanking me for the
presents. He said that he had been present when Pike visited this lake
in 1806. He pointed with his fingers across the lake, to the Ottertail
Point, where the old trading-house of the British Northwest Company had
stood. "You have come," he continued, "to remind us that the American
flag is now flying over the country, and to offer us counsels of peace.
I thank you. I have heard that voice before, but it was like a rushing
wind. It was strong, but soon went. It did not remain long enough to
choke up the path. At the treaty of Prairie-du-Chien, it had been
promised that whoever crossed the lines, the long arms of the President
should pull them back; but, that very year, the Sioux attacked us, and
they have killed my people almost every year since. I was myself present
when they fired on a peaceful delegation, and killed four Chippewas
under the walls of Fort Snelling. My own son--my _only_ son--has been
killed. He was basely killed, without an opportunity to defend himself."
A subordinate here handed him, at his request, a bundle of small sticks.
"This," handing them to me, "is the number of Leech Lake Chippewas
killed by the Sioux since the treaty of Prairie-du-Chien." There were
forty-three sticks.

He then lifted up a string of silver medals, smeared with vermilion.
"Take notice, they are bloody. I wish you to wipe the blood off. I
cannot do it. I find myself in a war with this people, and I believe it
has been intended by the Creator that we should be at war with them. My
warriors are brave [looking significantly at them]; it is to them that I
owe success. But I have looked for help where I did not find it."[179]

  [179] It is hoped, hereafter, to give further sketches of this
  interview, and of this chief's life and character.




CHAPTER XXVI.

  Geographical account of Leech Lake--History of its Indians, the
    Mukundwas--The expedition proceeds to the source of the Crow-Wing
    River, and descends that stream, in its whole length, to the
    Mississippi.


Leech Lake is a large, deep, and very irregularly-shaped body of water.
It cannot be less than twenty miles across its extreme points. I
requested the chief to draw its outlines, furnishing a sheet of
foolscap. He began by tracing a large ellipsis, and then projecting
large points and bays, inwardly and outwardly, with seven or eight
islands, and that peculiar feature, the Kapuka Sagotawa, which I
apprehend to originate in gigantic springs. The following eccentric
figure of the lake is the result.

This lake has been the seat of the Mukundwa, or Pillagers, from early
days. The date of their occupancy is unknown. The French found them here
early in the seventeenth century, when they began to push the fur trade
from Montreal. They were the advance of the Algonquin group, who, when
they had reached the head of Lake Superior, proceeded still towards the
west and northwest. Two separate bodies assumed the advance in this
migratory movement, one of which went from the north shore, at the old
Grand Portage, north-northwest, by the way of the Rainy Lakes, and the
other went northwest from Fond du Lac. The former soon earned for
themselves the title of Killers, or Kenistenos,[180] and speak a
distinct dialect; the other, whose language continued to be, with little
variations, good Odjibwa, acquired in a short time the name of Takers,
or Mukundwa. The Kenistenos advanced, through the Great Lake Winnepeck,
and up its inflowing waters, to the Portage du Trait, of the great
Churchill or Missi-nepi (much water) River, where they sent up a
skinned frog, in derision of the feebler Athapasca race, whom they here
encountered. _Mackenzie's Voyages_, p. lxxiii. _Hist. Fur_ _Trade_. The
Odjibwas were led from Chegoimegon, in Lake Superior, by two noted
chiefs, called Nokay and Bainswah, under whom they drove the Sioux from
the region of Sandy Lake and the source of the Mississippi.
(_Ethnological Researches_, vol. ii. p. 135.)

  [180] Called by the French _Crees_.

[Illustration: Leech Lake.--_a_, Rush Bay; _b_, Leech Lake River; _c_,
Three Points; _d_, Boy's River; _e_, Bear Island; _f_, Pelican Island;
_g_, Two Points; _h_, Ottertail Point; _i_, Chippewa Village; _j_, Sugar
Point; _k_, Carp River; _l_, Old N. W. House; _m_, Goose Island; _n_,
Encampment, July 16; _o_, Trading House Am. P. Co.; _p_, Flatmouth's
House; _q_, Chippewa Village; _r_, Encampment, July 17; _s_, _s_, Route
to Crow-Wing River; _t_, Sandy Point; _u_, Big Point; _v_, Sandy Bay
River.]

Another party of this Algonquin force, which conquered the country lying
round the sources of the Mississippi, proceeded through the Turtle River
to Red Lake, and thence descended into the valley of the Red River of
Hudson's Bay, where their descendants still reside. Large portions of
these mingled with the Canadian stock, forming that remarkable people
called Boisbrules. These advanced parties pressed into the buffalo
plains, along the Rivers Assinabwoin and Saskatchawine, which is the
ultimate western area of the spread of the Algonquin language. And to
this migration the Blackfeet are believed to be indebted for the
intermixture of this language which exists, and which Mr. Gallatin has
erroneously supposed to arise from original elements, in the Blackfeet
tongue.

This lake yields in abundance the corregonus albus, a fish which is
unknown to the Mississippi, and which delights only, it appears, in very
limpid and cold waters.

I found the population living at this lake to be eight hundred and
thirty-two souls, under three chiefs, the Guelle Plat, Nesia, or the
Elder Brother, and Chianoquet, or the Big Cloud, the latter of whom is
exclusively a war chief. Having dined these chiefs at my tent, and
finished my business, and the vaccinations and very numerous cases of
odontalgia being got through with, I directed my canoes to be put in the
water, with the view of going a few miles down the shore, in order to
get a quiet night's encampment, and be ready for an early start on the
morrow. It was near the hour of sunset before we could embark.
Aiskebuggekozh came down to the boat to take leave of me. He was
dressed, on this occasion (having been in Indian costume all the
morning), in a blue military frock coat, with scarlet collar and cuffs,
white underclothes, a ruffled shirt, shoes and stockings, and a
citizen's hat. He was accompanied by Nesia and other followers, and it
appeared to me if there ever was a person who had popular and
undisputable claims to imperial sway, notwithstanding this poor taste in
costume, it was he.

We went about five miles in the general direction towards the source of
the L'ail de Corbeau, and encamped. Dr. Houghton, who had been left
behind with Lieut. Allen, to complete the vaccinations, rejoined me
about seven o'clock. Guelle Plat had promised to send me guides, to
cross the country to the Crow-Wing River, early the next morning (18th),
but, as they did not arrive, I proceeded across the arm of the lake for
the main shore without them. After reaching it, some time was spent in
searching for the commencement of the portage path. It was found to lie
across a dry pine plain. The Canadians, who are quick on finding the
trail of a portage, wanted nothing more, but pushed on, canoes and
baggage, without any further trouble about the Indian guides. A portage
of 1,078 yards brought us to the banks of a small, clear, shallow lake,
called Warpool, which had a very narrow, tortuous outlet, through which
the men, with great difficulty, and by cutting away acute turns of the
bank with their paddles, made way to force the canoes into Little Long
Lake, which we were twenty-four minutes in crossing. The outlet from
this lake expanded, at successive intervals, into three pond-like lakes,
redolent with the nymphæ valerata; the series terminating in a fourth
lake, lying at the foot of elevated lands, which was called the Lake of
the Mountain. At the head of the latter, we debarked on a shaking bog.
At this spot commences the portage _Plé_, which lies over a woodless and
bleak hill. It is short and abrupt, and terminates on the banks of a
deep bowl-shaped lake, where we took breakfast at twelve o'clock. We
were now at the foot of elevated lands. Here began the mountain portage,
so called. Its extent is, first, nine hundred and ten yards, terminating
on the shores of a little lake, without outlet, called the Lake of the
Isle. There is then a portage of 1,960 yards to another mountain lake,
without outlet. We were now near the apex of the summit between Leech
Lake and the source of De Corbeau. Another portage of one onwaybee or
about a thousand yards, partly through a morass, carried us quite across
this summit, and brought us out on elevated and highly beautiful grounds
overlooking the Kaginogumaug, or Longwater Lake, which is the source of
the Crow-Wing River. Here we encamped (18th).

There is no rock stratum seen in place, on the De Corbeau summit. Its
surface is purely composed of geological drift and boulders. The journey
had been a very hard and fatiguing one for the men, who were on the
push and trot all day, embarking and debarking continually on lakes, or
scrambling, with their burdens and canoes, over elevations or through
morasses. It was particularly severe on the soldiers, who are
ill-prepared for this kind of toil.

The chief Guelle Plat, with some companions of the Mukandwa band, had
overtaken us, at the Lake of the Isle, and came and encamped beside us.
I invited him to sup with us, and the evening was passed in conversing
with him on various topics. I found him a man of understanding and
comprehensive views, who was well acquainted with the history of his
people. It was twelve o'clock before these conversations ended, when he
got up to go to his camp fire. With him there sat Majegabowee,[181] a
tall, gaunt, and savage-looking man of Red River, who scarcely uttered a
word, but sat a silent listener to the superior powers of conversation
and reflection of his chief. But I could not look at this person without
a sense of horror, when I reflected that in him I beheld the murderer of
Gov. Semple, of the Hudson's Bay Territory, a circumstance which I have
previously adverted to, while at Leech Lake.[182]

  [181] The Fore-standing man. From the verb _maja_, to go, _ninabow_,
  I stand, and _izzee_, a person or man.

  [182] For an account of this transaction, _vide_ Reports of the
  Disputes between the Earl of Selkirk and the Northwest Company, at
  the assizes held at York, Upper Canada, Oct. 1818. 1 vol. 8vo. pp.
  664. Montreal, Casie & Mower, 1819.

Bidding adieu to the Leech Lake chief the next morning at sunrise (4 h.
45 m.), after giving him a lancet, with directions to vaccinate any of
his people who had been overlooked, I embarked on the Kaginogamaug. This
is a beautiful lake, with sylvan shores and crystal water, some four or
five miles long. We were just forty minutes, with full paddles, in
passing it. The outlet is narrow, and overhung with alders. The width is
not over six feet, with good depth, but the turns are so sudden, and the
stream so thickly overhung with foliage, that the use of the axe and the
paddle as an excavator were often necessary. It then expands into a
lake, called Little Vermilion, which is fringed with a growth of birch
and aspen, with pines in the distance. Its outlet is fully doubled in
width, and we had henceforth no more embarrassment in descending. This
outlet is pursued about eight miles. I noticed the tamarack on its
banks, and the nymphæ odorata, scirpus lacustris, and Indian reed on the
margin. It expands into Birch Lake, a clear sheet, about one mile long,
with pebbly bottom, interspersed with boulders. A short outlet, in which
we passed a broken fish-dam, connects it with Lac Plè. This lake is
about three and a half miles long, exhibiting a portion of prairie on
its shores, interspersed with small pines. From it, there is a portage
to Ottertail Lake, the eastern source of Red River. This is the common
war road of the Mukundwa against the Sioux.

On coming out of Lac Plè, freshwater shells began to show themselves,
chiefly species of naiades, a feature in the natural history of this
stream which is afterwards common; but I observed none of much size, and
they are often greatly decorticated. Four or five miles lower, we
entered Assowa Lake, and about a mile and a half further, Lac Vieux
Desert, or Old Gardon Lake, so called from the remains of a trading
station, where we halted for breakfast. On resuming the descent, just
twenty minutes were required, with vigorous strokes of the paddle, to
pass it. It has an outlet about two miles long, when the stream again
expands into a lake of considerable size, which we called Summit Lake.
Thus far, we had been passing on a geological plateau of the diluvial
character, extending southwest. But from this point the course of the
river veers, at first towards the east and northeast, and, after a wide
circuit, to the southeast, and eventually again to the southwest. From
this point, rapids begin to mark its channel. The river, consequently,
assumes a velocity which, while it hurries the traveller on, increases
his danger of running his frail bark against rocks or shoals. We had
been driven down this accelerated channel two hours and fifteen minutes,
when it expanded into a sheet called Long Rice Lake. This is some three
miles in length, and, at a very short distance below it, the river again
expands into a considerable lake, which, from the circumstance of Lieut.
Allen having circumnavigated it, I called Allen's Lake. He found it the
recipient of a small river from the north. It is, apparently, the
largest of this series of river lakes below the Kaginogumaug. While
crossing it, we experienced a very severe and sudden tempest of wind and
rain, accompanied by most severe and appalling peals of thunder and
vivid lightning. Broad ribbons of fire, in acute angles, appeared to
rend the skies. Before the shore could be reached, the tempest had
subsided, so sudden was its development. A short distance below this,
the river makes its tenth evolution, in the shape of a lake, on which,
as my Indian maps gave no name, I bestowed the name of _Illigan_.[183]

  [183] From _ininéeg_, men, and _sugiegan_, lake, signs of a war party
  having been discovered at this place. In this derivative, the usual
  transition of _n_ to _l_ of the old Algonquin is made.




CHAPTER XXVII.

  Complete the exploration of the Crow-Wing River of Minnesota--Indian
    council--Reach St. Anthony's Falls--Council with the Sioux--Ascent
    and exploration of the River St. Croix and Misakoda, or Broulé, of
    Lake Superior--Return of the party to St. Mary's Falls, Michigan.


At Illigan Lake, large oaks and elms appear in the forest; its banks are
handsomely elevated, and the whole country puts on the appearance of
being well adapted to cultivation. We landed to obtain a shot at some
deer, which stood temptingly in sight, and were impressed with the
sylvan aspect of the country. While in the act of passing out of the
lake in our canoes, a small fire was observed on shore, with the usual
signs of its having been abandoned in haste by Indians, who had been
lying in ambush. Every appearance seemed to justify such a conclusion,
and it was evident a party of Sioux had been concealed waiting the
descent of Chippewas, but, on observing our flag, and the public
character of the party, they hastily withdrew. Our men, knowing the
perfidious and cruel character of this tribe, were evidently a good deal
alarmed at these signs. We had been one hour in our canoes, descending
the river with the double force of current and paddles, when the river
was found again expanded, and for the eleventh and last time, in a lake,
which the natives call _Kaitchebo Sagatowa_, meaning the lake through
one end of which the river passes. As this is not a term, however
graphic, which will pass into popular use, I named it Lake Douglas, in
allusion to a former companion in explorations in the northwest.[184]
Ten miles below this lake, the river receives its first considerable
tributary in Shell River, the Aisisepi of the Chippewas, which flows in
from the right, from the slope of the Hauteurs des Terres, near the
Ottertail Lake. Below this tributary, the Crow-Wing is nearly doubled in
width, and there is no further fear of shallow water. We held on our
way for a distance of fourteen miles below the point of junction, and
encamped on the right hand bank at eight o'clock P.M. It had rained
copiously during the afternoon, and everything in the shape of kindling
stuff had become so completely saturated with moisture, that it was
quite an enterprise in the men to light a camp-fire. Lieut. Allen did
not reach our encampment this night, having been misled in Allen's Lake,
and, being driven ashore by the tempest, he encamped in that quarter.
Presuming him to be in advance, I had pushed on, to a late hour, and
encamped under this impression.

  [184] Professor D. B. Douglas.

The next morning (20th), we set off from our camp betimes, and, having
now a full flowing river, made good speed. The river passes for a dozen
or more miles through a willowy low tract, on issuing from which there
begins a series of strong rapids. Twenty-four of these rapids were
counted, which were called the Metunna Rapids. Lieut. Allen estimates
that they occupy thirty miles of the channel of the river. Below these
rapids, the river extends to a mean width of three hundred feet. At this
locality we were overtaken by Mr. Allen, at about two o'clock in the
afternoon, and were thus first apprised of the fact that he had been all
the while in our rear instead of in front.

Twenty miles below the Metunna Rapids, Leaf River flows in from the
right, by a mouth of forty yards wide. This stream originates in Leaf
Lake, and is navigable sixty miles in the largest craft used by the
traders.[185] The volume of the Crow-Wing River is constantly increased
in width and velocity by these accessions, which enabled us fearlessly
to make a large day's journey. We encamped together after sunset, on an
elevated pine bank, having descended ninety miles.

  [185] The angle of country above Leaf River, on the Crow-Wing, has
  been proposed as a refuge for the Menomonee tribe, of Wisconsin, for
  whom temporary arrangements, at least, are now made, on the head of
  Fox River, of that State.

The 21st, we were early in motion, the river presenting a broad rushing
mass of waters, every way resembling the Mississippi itself. On reaching
within twenty miles of its mouth, we passed, on the right bank, the
mouth of the Long Prairie River,[186] a prime tributary flowing from the
great Ottertail slope, which has been, time out of mind, the war road
between the Chippewas and Sioux; and between this point and the
confluence coming in we passed, on the left bank, the confluence of the
Kioshk, or Gull River, through which there is a communication, by a
series of portages, with Leech Lake.[187]

  [186] This river has been assigned as the residence of the Winnebago
  Indians. It is the present seat of the United States agency, and of
  the farming and mechanical establishment for that tribe.

  [187] Mr. J. J. Nicolet pursued this route in 1836, on his visit to
  the sources of the Mississippi. _Vide_ Senate Doc. No. 237.
  Washington, D. C., 1843.

From head to foot, we had now passed through the valley of the De
Corbeau River, without finding in it the permanent location of a single
Indian. We had not, in fact, seen even a temporary wigwam upon its
banks. The whole river lies, in fact, on the war road between the two
large rival tribes of the Chippewas and Sioux. It is entered by war
parties from either side, decked out in war-paints and feathers, who
descend either of its tributaries, the Leaf and Long Prairie Rivers. The
Mukundwa descends the main channel from the Kaginogumaug Lake in canoes.
On reaching the field of ambush, these canoes are abandoned, and the
parties, after an encounter, haste home on foot.

From this deserted and uninhabited state of the valley we were the more
surprised, as noon drew on, to descry an Indian canoe ascending the
river. It proved to be spies on the look-out, from the body of Chippewas
encamped at the mouth of the river, agreeably to my invitation at Sandy
Lake. After mutual recognitions, and learning that we were near the
mouth of the river, we resumed our descent with renewed spirit, and soon
reached its outflow into the Mississippi, and crossed it to the point at
which the Indians had established their camp. We were received with
yells of welcome. It occupied an eminence on the east bank of the
Mississippi, directly opposite to the mouth of the De Corbeau.[188] The
site was marked by a flag hoisted on a tall staff. The Indians fired a
salute as we landed, and pressed down to the shore, with their chiefs,
to greet us. They informed me that by their count of sticks, of the time
appointed by me at Sandy Lake, to meet them at this spot, would be out
this day, and I had the satisfaction of being told, within a short time
of my arrival, that the canoe, with goods and supplies, from Sandy Lake,
was in sight. The Indians were found encamped a short distance above the
entrance of the Nokasippi[189] River, which is in the line of
communication with the Mille Lac and Rum River Indians. I found the
latter, together with the whole Sandy Lake Band, encamped here, awaiting
my arrival. They numbered 280 souls, of whom 60 were warriors.

  [188] CROW-WING RIVER.--This stream is the largest tributary of the
  Mississippi above the falls of St. Anthony. It enters the Mississippi
  in lat. 46° 15´ 50´´, 180 miles above the latter, and 145 miles below
  Sandy Lake. Government first explored it, in 1832, from its source in
  Lake Kaginogumaug to its mouth, and an accurate map of its channel,
  and its eleven lakes, was made by Lieut. Allen, U. S. A., who
  accompanied the party as topographer. It is 210 miles in length, to
  its source in Long Lake. The island, in its mouth, is about three
  miles long, and covered with hard-wood timber. The whole region is
  noted for its pine timber; the lands lie in gentle ridges, with much
  open country; a large part of it is adapted to agriculture, and there
  is much hydraulic power It is navigable at the lowest stages of
  water, about 80 miles, and by small boats to its very source.

  [189] From _Noka_, a man's name, and _seebi_, a river.

A council was immediately summoned, to meet in front of my tent, at the
appointed signal of the firing of the military; the business of my
mission was at once explained, the presents distributed, and the
vaccinations commenced. Replies were made at length, by the eldest
chief, Gros Guelle, or Big Snout; by Soangekumig, or the Strong Echoing
Ground; by Wabogeeg, or the White Fisher; and by Nitumegaubowee, or the
First Standing Man. The business having been satisfactorily concluded,
the vaccination finished, and having still a couple of hours of
daylight, I embarked and went down the Mississippi some ten or fifteen
miles, to a Mr. Baker's trading-house at Prairie Piercie.

At this place, I remained encamped, it being the Sabbath day, and rested
on the 22d, which had a good effect on the whole party, engaged as it
had been, night and day, in pushing its way to accomplish certain
results, and it prepared them to spring to their paddles the more
cheerfully on Monday morning. Indeed, it had been part of my plan of
travel, from the outset, to give the men this rest and opportunity to
recruit every seventh day, and I always found that they did more work in
the long run, from it. I had also engaged them, originally, not to drink
any ardent spirits, promising them, however, that their board and pot
should be well supplied at all times. And, indeed, although I had
frequently travelled with Canadian canoemen, I never knew a crew who
worked so cheerfully, and travelled so far, per diem, on the mean of the
week, as these six days' working canoemen.

At Mr. Baker's, 170 miles above St. Anthony's Falls, I found a stray
number of a small newspaper, and first learned the state of the Sauc and
Fox war. The chief, Blackhawk, had crossed the Mississippi, to enter the
Rock River valley; had murdered Mr. St. Vrain, the United States agent,
sustained a conflict with the Illinois militia, under Major Stillman,
fled to Lake Gushkenong, on the head of Rock River, and drawn upon his
movement the United States army, leaving, at last accounts, Generals
Atkinson and Dodge in pursuit of him.

Having struck the Mississippi at the point where the prior narrative
describes it (_vide_ Chap XII.), it becomes unnecessary to give details
of my descent to St. Anthony's Falls. Leaving Prairie Piercie on the
23d, two days were employed in the descent to Fort Snelling. I found
Captain Wm. R. Jouett in command, who received me with courtesy and
kindness, and offered every facility, in the absence of Mr. Talliaferro,
the United States Indian Agent, for laying the object of my mission
before the Sioux. He had received no very recent intelligence of the
progress of the Sauc war, in addition to that which I had learned at the
mouth of the De Corbeau; although he was in the habit of sending a mail
boat or canoe twice a month to Prairie du Chien.[190]

  [190] It was not till some time after my return to St. Mary's that I
  learned of the overthrow of the chief and his army, and his being
  taken prisoner at the battle of the Badaxe, on the 14th of August,
  1832.

On the 25th, being the day after my arrival, I met the assembled, Sioux,
in council, at the Agency House, the commanding officer being present,
and having finished that business, and finding the Sioux wholly
unconnected with, and disapproving the proceedings of Blackhawk and his
adherents, I embarked early the next morning on my return to Lake
Superior. I reached the mouth of the River St. Croix, at three o'clock
P. M. on the 26th, and having entered the sylvan sheet of Lake St.
Croix, ascended it to within a few miles of its head, and encamped.
Lieut. Allen did not reach my camp, but halted for the night some seven
or eight miles short.[191] This lake is one of the most beautiful and
picturesque sheets of water in the West, being from two to three miles
wide, and some four-and-twenty or thirty in length.[192] The next
morning I reached the head of the lake after a couple of hours of
travel, and, by a diligent and hard day's work, during which we passed
between perpendicular walls of sonorous trap-rock, reached and encamped
at the falls of St. Croix, at eight o'clock in the evening.[193] We were
now about fifty miles from the line of the Mississippi River. For the
last few miles, there had been either a very strong current or severe
eddies of water, around angular masses of trap-rock; and we were
encamped at the precise foot of the falls, where the river, narrowed to
some fifty feet, breaks its way through trap-rock, falling some fifty
feet in the course of six hundred yards. We had been carried, at a
tangent, from the great Mississippi series of the silurian period,
beginning at St. Anthony's Falls, to the vitric formations of trap and
greenstone of the Lake Superior system, and were now to ascend a
valley, in which a heavy diluvial drift and boulder stratum rested on
this broken and angular basis.[194] On reaching the summit of the St.
Croix, there are found vast plateaux of sand, supporting pine forests;
and on descending the Misakoda, or Brulé of Fond du Lac, the sandstone
strata of that basin are again encountered. This ascent was rendered
arduous, from the low state of the water. I reached Snake River on the
30th, had an interview with the Buffalo chief (Pezhikee) and his
subordinates; finding the population 300, with thirty-eight half breeds.
The men, while here, cut their feet, treading on the trap-rock debris,
in the mouth of the river. The distance thence to Yellow River is about
thirty-five miles, which we accomplished on the 31st, by eight o'clock
in the morning, having found our greatest obstacle at the Kettle Rapids,
which discloses sharp masses of the trap-rock. The river, in this
distance, receives on its right, in the ascent, the Aisippi, or Shell
River, which originates in a lake of that name, noted for its large
unios and anadontas.

  [191] United States soldiers are not adapted to travelling in Indian
  canoes. Comparatively clumsy, formal, and used to the comforts of
  good quarters and shelter, they flinch under the activities and
  fatigue of forest life, and particularly of that kind of life and
  toil, which consists in the management of canoes, and the carrying
  forward canoes and baggage over bad portages, and conducting these
  frail vessels over dangerous rapids and around falls. No amount of
  energy is sufficient on the part of the officers to make them keep
  up, on these trips, with the gay, light, and athletic _voyageur_, who
  unites the activity and expertness of the Indian with the power of
  endurance of the white man. Lieut. Allen deserves great credit, as an
  army officer, for urging his men forward as well as he did on this
  arduous journey, for they were a perpetual cause of delay and anxiety
  to me and to him. They were relieved and aided by my men at every
  practicable point; but, having the responsibility of performing a
  definite duty, on a fixed sum of money, with many men to feed in the
  wilderness, it was imperative in me to push on with energy, day in
  and day out, and to set a manful example of diligence, at every
  point; and, instead of carping at my rapidity of movement, as he does
  in his official report of the ascent of the St. Croix, he having
  every supply within himself, and being, moreover, in a friendly
  tribe, where there was no danger from Indian hostilities, he should
  not have evinced a desire to control my encampments, but rather given
  his men to understand that he could not countenance their
  dilatoriness.

  [192] It is, at this time, a part of the boundary between the State
  of Wisconsin and the Territory of Minnesota, and is the site of
  several flourishing towns and villages. On its western head is the
  town of Stillwater, the seat of justice for Washington County,
  Minnesota. This town has a population of 1,500 inhabitants,
  containing a court house, several churches, schools, printing
  offices, a public land office, and territorial penitentiary, with
  stores, mills, &c. Hudson is a town seated on its east bank, at
  Willow River, being the seat of justice for St. Croix County,
  Wisconsin. It contains a United States land-office, two churches,
  and 94 dwellings, besides stores and mills. Steamboats freely
  navigate its waters from the Mississippi.

  [193] FALLS OF ST. CROIX.--A thriving post town is now seated on the
  Wisconsin side of these falls in Polk County, Wisconsin, which
  contains several mills, at which it is estimated, four millions of
  feet of pine lumber are sawed annually. It is at the head of
  steamboat navigation of St. Croix River.

  [194] _Vide_ Owen's Geological Report, for the first attempt to
  delineate the order of the various local and general formations.
  Philada., Lippincott & Co., 1852.

At Yellow River, I halted to confer with the Indians in front of a
remarkable eminence called Pokunogun, or the Moose's Hip. This eminence
is not, however, of artificial construction. This river, with its
dependencies of Lac Vaseux, Rice Lake, and Yellow Lake, contains a
Chippewa population of three hundred and eighty-two souls. We observed
here the unio purpureus, which the Indians use for spoons, after rubbing
off the alatæ and rounding the margin. We also examined the skin of the
sciurus tredacem striatus of Mitchill.

We reached the forks of the St. Croix about two o'clock P. M. The
distance from Yellow River is about thirteen miles; it required five and
a half hours to accomplish this. The water was, indeed, so low, that the
men had often to wade; and, on reaching this point, we were to lose half
its volume, or more, for the Namakagun[195] fork, which enters here,
carries in more than half the quantity of water.

  [195] From _nama_, a sturgeon, and _kagun_, a yoke or wier. I
  explored this stream in 1831, having reached it after ascending the
  Mauvais or Maskigo of Lake Superior. _Vide_ Personal Memoirs:
  Lippincott, Grambo, & Co., 1851.

I found the chief Kabamappa and his followers encamped at the forks,
awaiting my arrival, who received me with a salute. He disclaimed all
connection with the movement of the Blackhawk. He stated facts, however,
which showed him to be well acquainted with the means which that chief
had used to bring the Indians into an extensive league against the
United States. He readily assented to the measures proposed to the upper
bands, for bringing the Sioux and Chippewas into more intimate and
permanent relations of peace and friendship.

With respect to the ascent of the St. Croix, in the direction of the
Brulé, his exclamation was _iskutta-iskutta_, meaning it is dried up, or
there is no water. Dry the channel, indeed, looked, but by leading the
canoes around the shoals, all the men walking in the water, and picking
out channels, we advanced about seven miles before the time of
encampment. The next morning (Aug. 1) a heavy fog detained us in our
encampment, till five o'clock, when we recommenced the ascent of a
similar series of embarrassments from very low water, rapid succeeding
to rapid, till two o'clock P. M., when we reached the summit of a
plateau, and found still water and comparatively good navigation. Five
hours canoeing on this summit brought us to Kabamappa's village at the
Namakowágon, or sturgeon's dam, where we encamped. The chief gave us his
population at 88 souls, of whom 28 were men, including the minor chief,
Mukudapenas,[196] and his men. We had now got above all the strong
rapids, and proceeded from our encampment at four o'clock, A. M., on the
2d. The river receives two tributaries, from the right hand, on this
summit, namely, the Buffalo and Clearwater, and, at the distance of
about ten miles above the Namakowágon, is found to be expanded in a
handsome lake of about six miles in extent, called Lake St. Croix. This
is the source of the river. We were favored with a fair wind in passing
over it, and having reached its head debarked on a marshy margin, and
immediately commenced the portage to the Brulé, or Misakoda River.[197]

  [196] From _mukuda_, black, and _penaisee_, a bird, the name of the
  rail.

  [197] From _misk_, red or colored, _muscoda_, a plain, and _auk_, a
  dead standing tree, as a tree burned by fire or lightning. From the
  French translation of the word, by the phrase _Brulé_; the Indian
  meaning is clearly shown to be burnt, scorched, or parched--a term
  which is applied to metifs of the mixed race.

I had now reached the summit between the St. Croix and Lake Superior.
The elevation of this summit has not been scientifically determined; but
from the great fall of the Brulé, cannot be less than 600 feet. The
length of the Brulé is about 100 miles, in which there are 240 distinct
rapids. Some of these are from eight to ten feet each. Four of them
require portages, at which all the canoes are discharged. The river
itself, on looking down it, appears to be a perfect torrent, foaming and
roaring; and it could never be used by the traders at all, were it not
that it had abundance of water, being the off-drain for an extensive
plateau of lakes and springs. To give an adequate idea of this foaming
torrent, it is necessary to conceive of a river flowing down a pair of
stairs, a hundred miles long.

The portage from the St. Croix to it begins on marsh, ascending in a
hundred yards or so, to an elevated sandy plain, which has been covered,
at former times, with a heavy forest of the pinus resinosa; that having
been consumed, there is left here and there a dry trunk, or _auk_, as
the Indians call it. The length of the portage path is 3,350 yards, or
about two miles. At this distance, we reach a small, sandy-bottomed
brook, of four feet wide and a foot deep, of most clear crystalline cold
water, winding its way, in a most serpentine manner, through a boggy
tract, and overhung with dense alder bushes. It is a good place to slake
one's thirst, but appears like anything else than a stream to embark on,
with canoes and baggage. Nobody but an Indian would seem to have ever
dreamed of it. Yet on this brook we embarked. It was now six o'clock in
the evening. By going a distance below, and damming up the stream, a
sufficient depth of water was got to float the canoes. The axe was used
to cut away the alders. The men walked, guiding the canoes, and carrying
some of the baggage. In this way we moved slowly, about one mile, when
it became quite dark, and threatened rain. The voyageurs then searched
about for a place on the bog dry enough to sleep on, and came, with joy,
and told me that they had found a kind of bog, with bunches of grassy
tufts, which are called by them _tete de femme_. The very poetry of the
idea was something, and I was really happy, amid the intense gloom, to
rest my head, for the night, on these fair tufts. The next morning we
were astir as soon as there was light enough to direct our steps. After
a few miles of these intricacies, we found a brisk and full tributary,
below which, the descent is at once free, and on crossing the first
narrow geologic plateau, the rapids begin; the stream being constantly
and often suddenly enlarged, by springs and tributaries from the right
and left. To describe the descent of this stream, in detail, would
require graphic powers to which I do not aspire, and time which I cannot
command. We were two days and a part of a night in making the descent,
with every appliance of voyageur craft. It was after darkness had cast
her pall over us, on the evening of the 4th of August, before we reached
still water. The river is then a deep and broad mass of water, into
which coasting vessels from the Lake might enter. Some four miles from
the foot of the last rapids, it enters the Fond du Lac of Lake Superior.
Some time before reaching this point, we had been apprised of our
contiguity to it, from hearing the monotonous thump of the Indian drum;
and we were glad, on our arrival, to find the chief, Mongazid,[198] of
Fond du Lac, with the military barge of Lieut. Allen, left at that place
on our outward trip, which he had promised to bring down to this point.

  [198] From _mong_, a loon, and _ozid_, his foot. The name is in
  allusion to the track of the bird on the sand.

Having thus accomplished the objects committed to my trust, and rejoined
the track described in my prior narrative, I rested here on the next day
(5th), being the Sabbath; and then proceeded through Lake Superior, to
my starting-point at Sault de Ste Marie.[199]

  [199] On passing through Lake Superior, I learned from an Indian the
  first breaking out of Asiatic cholera in the country, in 1832, and
  the wide alarm it had produced.




    APPENDIX.

    No. 1.

    THE EXPEDITION TO THE SOURCES OF THE
    MISSISSIPPI IN 1820.




I. OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE EXPEDITION OF 1820.


1. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.

     I. Announcement of the Return of the Expedition. By Hon. LEWIS
        CASS.

    II. General Report to the Department of War. By Hon. LEWIS CASS.

   III. Further Explorations of Western Geography recommended. By Hon.
        LEWIS CASS.

    IV. Personal Testimonial on the close of the Expedition. By Hon.
        LEWIS CASS.


2. TOPOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY.

     V. Results of Observations for Latitudes and Longitudes during the
        Expedition of 1820. By DAVID B. DOUGLASS, Capt. Engineers, U. S.
        A.


3. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.

    VI. Report on the Copper Mines of Lake Superior. By HENRY R.
        SCHOOLCRAFT.

   VII. Observations on the Mineralogy and Geology of the country
        embracing the sources of the Mississippi River and the Great
        Lake Basins. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

  VIII. Report in reply to a Resolution of the U. S. Senate on the Value
        and Extent of the Mineral Lands on Lake Superior. By HENRY R.
        SCHOOLCRAFT.

    IX. Rapid Glances at the Geology of Western New York, beyond the
        Rome summit, in 1820. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

     X. A Memoir on the Geological Position of a Fossil Tree in the
        secondary rocks of the Illinois. Albany: E. & E. Hosford,
        pp. 18, 1822. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


4. BOTANY.

    XI. List of Plants collected by Capt. D. B. Douglass at the sources
        of the Mississippi River. This paper has been published in the
        4th vol. p. 56 of Silliman's Journal of Science. By Dr. JOHN
        TORREY.


5. ZOOLOGY.

   XII. A Letter embracing Notices of the Zoology of the Northwest,
        addressed to Dr. Mitchell on the return of the Expedition. By
        HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


(1.) FRESH-WATER CONCHOLOGY.

  XIII. Species of Bivalves collected by Mr. Schoolcraft and Capt.
        Douglass in the Northwest. Published in the 6th vol. Amer.
        Journ. of Science, pp. 120, 259. By D. H. BARNES.

   XIV. Fresh-water Shells collected by Mr. Schoolcraft in the valleys
        of the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. American Philosophical
        Transactions, vol. 5. By Mr. ISAAC LEA.


(2.) FAUNA: ICHTHYOLOGY: REPTILIA.

    XV. Summary Remarks respecting the Zoological Species noticed in the
        Expedition. By Dr. SAMUEL L. MITCHELL.

   XVI. Mus Busarius. Medical Repository, vol. 21, p. 248. By Dr. SAMUEL
        L. MITCHELL.

  XVII. Sciurus Tredecem Striatus. Med. Rep. vol. 21. By Dr. SAMUEL L.
        MITCHELL.

 XVIII. Proteus of the Lakes. Am. Journ. Science, vol. 4. By Dr. SAMUEL
        L. MITCHELL.


6. METEOROLOGY.

  XIX. Memoranda on Climatic Phenomena, and the distribution of Solar
      Heat, in 1820. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


7. INDIAN LANGUAGES AND HISTORY.

  XX. A Pictographic mode of communicating ideas by the Northwestern
      Indians. By Hon. LEWIS CASS.

  XXI. Inquiries respecting the History, &c. of the Indians of the
      United States. Detroit, 1822. By Hon. LEWIS CASS.

  XXII. A Letter on the Origin of the Indian Tribes of America, and the
      Principles of their Mode of uttering Ideas. By Dr. J. M'DONNELL,
      Belfast, Ireland.

  XXIII. Difficulties of studying the Indian Tongues of the United
      States. Schoolcraft's Travels in the Central Portions of the
      Mississippi Valley, p. 381. By Dr. ALEXANDER WOLCOTT, Jr.

  XXIV. Examinations of the Elementary Structure of the
      Odjibwa-Algonquin Language. First paper. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

  XXV. A Vocabulary of the Odjibwa-Algonquin. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.




APPENDIX.


1. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS.


I.

  DETROIT, September 14, 1820.

SIR: I am happy to be enabled to state to you that I reached this place
four days since, with some of the gentlemen who accompanied me on my
late tour, after a very fortunate journey of four thousand miles, and an
accomplishment, without any adverse accident, of every object intrusted
to me. The party divided at Green Bay, with a view to circumnavigate
Lake Michigan, and I trust they may all arrive here in the course of a
week.

As soon as possible, I shall transmit to you a detailed report upon the
subject.

Since my arrival, I have learned that Mr. Ellicott, professor of
mathematics, at the military academy, is dead. I cannot but hope that
the office will not be filled until the return of Captain Douglass. I do
not know whether such an appointment would suit him; but from my
knowledge of his views, feelings, and pursuits, I presume it would. And
an intimate acquaintance with him during my tour enables me to say that
in every requisite qualification, as far as I can judge, I have never
found a man who is his superior. His zeal, talents, and acquirements are
of the first order, and I am much deceived if he do not soon take a
distinguished rank among the most scientific men in our country. His
situation as an assistant professor to Colonel Mansfield, and his
connection with the family of Mr. Ellicott, furnish additional reasons
why he should receive this appointment.

    Very respectfully, sir,
    I have the honor to be
    Your obedient servant,
    LEWIS CASS.

    Hon. J. C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.


II.

  DETROIT, October 21, 1820.

SIR: I had the honor to inform you some time since that I had reached
this place by land from Chicago, and that the residue of the party were
daily expected. They arrived soon after, without accident, and this long
and arduous journey has been accomplished without the occurrence of any
unfavorable incident.

I shall submit to you, as soon as it can be prepared, a memoir
respecting the Indians who occupy the country through which we passed;
their numbers, disposition, wants, &c. It will be enough at present to
say, that the whole frontier is in a state of profound peace, and that
the remote Indians, more particularly, exhibit the most friendly
feelings towards the United States. As we approach the points of contact
between them and the British, the strength of this attachment evidently
decreases, and about those points few traces of it remain. During our
whole progress but two incidents occurred which evinced in the slightest
degree, an unfriendly spirit. One of these was at St. Mary's, within
forty-five miles of Drummond's Island, and the other within thirty miles
of Malden. They passed off, however, without producing any serious
result.

It is due to Colonel Leavenworth to say, that his measures upon the
subject of the outrage committed by the Winnebago Indians, in the
spring, were prompt, wise, and decisive. As you have long since learned,
the murderers were soon surrendered; and so impressive has been the
lesson upon the minds of the Indians, that the transaction has left us
nothing to regret, but the untimely fall of the soldiers.

In my passage through the Winnebago country, I saw their principal
chiefs, and stated to them the necessity of restraining their young men
from the commission of acts similar in their character to those
respecting which a report was made by Colonel Smith. I have reason to
believe that similar complaints will not again be made, and I am certain
that nothing but the intemperate passions of individuals will lead to
the same conduct. Should it occur, the act will be disavowed by the
chiefs, and the offenders surrendered with as much promptitude as the
relapsed state of the government will permit.

The general route which we pursued was from this place to
Michilimackinac by the southern shore of Lake Huron. From thence to
Drummond's Island and by the River St. Mary's to the Sault. We there
entered Lake Superior, coasted its southern shore to Point Kewena,
ascended the small stream, which forms the water communication across
the base of the point, and, after a portage of a mile and a half, struck
the lake on the opposite side. Fifty miles from this place is the mouth
of the Ontonagan, upon which have been found large specimens of copper.

We ascended that stream about thirty miles, to the great mass of that
metal, whose existence has long been known. Common report has greatly
magnified the quantity, although enough remains, even after a rigid
examination, to render it a mineralogical curiosity. Instead of being a
mass of pure copper, it is rather copper imbedded in a hard rock, and
the weight does not probably exceed five tons, of which the rock is the
much larger part. It was impossible to procure any specimens, for such
was its hardness that our chisels broke like glass. I intend to send
some Indians in the spring to procure the necessary specimens. As we
understand the nature of the substance, we can now furnish them with
such tools as will effect the object. I shall, on their return, send you
such pieces as you may wish to retain for the Government, or to
distribute as cabinet specimens to the various literary institutions of
our country. Mr. Schoolcraft will make to you a detailed report upon
this subject, in particular, and generally upon the various
mineralogical and geological objects to which his inquiries were
directed. Should he carry into effect the intention, which he now
meditates, of publishing his journal of the tour, enriched with the
history of the facts which have been collected, and with those
scientific and practical reflections and observations, which few men are
more competent to make, his work will rank among the most important
accessions which have ever been made to our national literature.

From the Ontonagon we proceeded to the Fond du Lac, passing the mouths
of the Montreal, Mauvais, and Brulé Rivers, and entered the mouth of the
St. Louis, or Fond du Lac River, which forms the most considerable water
communication between Lake Superior and the Mississippi.

The southern coast of the lake is sterile, cold, and unpromising. The
timber is birch, pine, and trees of that description which characterize
the nature of the country. The first part of the shore is moderately
elevated, the next, hilly, and even mountainous, and the last a low,
flat, sandy beach. Two of the most sublime natural objects in the United
States, the Grand Sable and the pictured rocks, are to be found upon
this coast. The former is an immense hill of sand, extending for some
miles along the lake, of great elevation and precipitous ascent. The
latter is an unbroken wall of rocks, rising perpendicularly from the
lake to the height of 300 feet, assuming every grotesque and fanciful
appearance, and presenting to the eye of the passenger a spectacle as
tremendous as the imagination can conceive, or as reason itself can well
sustain.

The emotions excited by these objects are fresh in the recollection of
us all; and they will undoubtedly be described, so that the public can
appreciate their character and appearance. The indications of copper
upon the western part of the coast, are numerous; and there is reason to
suppose that silver, in small quantities, has been found.

The communication by the Montreal with the Chippewa River, and by the
Mauvais and Brulé Rivers with the St. Croix, is difficult and
precarious. The routes are interrupted by long, numerous, and tedious
portages, across which the boats and all their contents are transported
by the men. It is doubtful whether their communication can ever be much
used, except for the purposes to which they are now applied. In the
present state of the Indian trade, human labor is nothing, because the
number of men employed in transporting the property is necessary to
conduct the trade, after the different parties have reached their
destination, and the intermediate labor does not affect the aggregate
amount of the expense. Under ordinary circumstances, and for those
purposes to which water communication is applied in the common course of
civilized trade, these routes would be abandoned. From the mouth of the
Montreal River alone to its source, there are not less than forty-five
miles of portage.

The St. Louis River is a considerable stream, and for twenty-five miles
its navigation is uninterrupted. At this distance, near an establishment
of the Southwest Company, commences the Grand Portage about six miles in
length, across spurs of the Porcupine ridge of mountains. One other
portage, one of a mile and a half, and a continued succession of falls,
called the Grand Rapids, extending nine miles, and certainly
unsurmountable except by the skill and perseverance of the Canadian
boatmen, conduct us to a comparatively tranquil part of the river. From
here to the head of the Savannah River, a small branch of the St. Louis,
the navigation is uninterrupted, and after a portage of four miles, the
descent is easy into Lake au Sable, whose outlet is within two miles of
the Mississippi.

This was until 1816 the principal establishment of the British Northwest
Company upon these waters, and is now applied to the same purpose by the
American Fur Company.

From Lac au Sable, we ascended the Mississippi to the Upper Red Cedar
Lake, which may be considered as the head of the navigation of that
river. The whole distance, 350 miles, is almost uninhabitable. The first
part of the route the country is generally somewhat elevated and
interspersed with pine woods. The latter part is level wet prairie.

The sources of this river flow from a region filled with lakes and
swamps, whose geological character indicates a recent formation, and
which, although the highest table-land of this part of the Continent, is
yet a dead level, presenting to the eye a succession of dreary
uninteresting objects. Interminable marshes, numerous ponds, and a few
low, naked, sterile plains, with a small stream, not exceeding sixty
feet in width, meandering in a very crooked channel through them, are
all the objects which are found to reward the traveller for the
privations and difficulties which he must encounter in his ascent to
this forbidding region.

The view on all sides is dull and monotonous. Scarcely a living being
animates the prospect, and every circumstance recalled forcibly to our
recollection that we were far removed from civilized life.

From Lac au Sable to the mouth of the St. Peter's, the distance by
computation is six hundred miles. The first two hundred present no
obstacles to navigation. The land along the river is of a better quality
than above; the bottoms are more numerous, and the timber indicates a
stronger and more productive soil. But near this point commence the
great rapids of the Mississippi, which extend more than two hundred
miles. The river flows over a rocky bed, which forms a continuous
succession of rapids, all of which are difficult and some dangerous. The
country, too, begins here to open, and the immense plains in which the
buffaloes range approach the river. These plains continue to the Falls
of St. Anthony.

They are elevated fifty or sixty feet above the Mississippi, are
destitute of timber, and present to the eye a flat, uniform surface,
bounded at the distance of eight or ten miles by high ground. The title
of this land is in dispute between the Chippewas and Sioux, and their
long hostilities have prevented either party from destroying the game in
a manner as improvident as is customary among the Indians. It is
consequently more abundant than in any other region through which we
travelled.

From the post, at the mouth of the St. Peter's, to Prairie du Chien, and
from that place to Green Bay, the route is too well-known to render it
necessary that I should trouble you with any observations respecting it.

The whole distance travelled by the party between the 24th of May and
the 24th of September exceeded 4,200 miles, and the journey was
performed without the occurrence of a single untoward accident
sufficiently important to deserve recollection.

These notices are so short and imperfect that I am unwilling to obtrude
them upon your patience. But the demands upon your attention are so
imperious, that to swell them into a geographical memoir would require
more time for their examination than any interest which I am capable of
giving the subject would justify.

I propose hereafter to submit some other observations to you in a
different shape.

    Very respectfully, sir,
    I have the honor to be
    Your obedient servant,
    LEWIS CASS.

    Hon. J. C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.


III.

Copy of a letter from Gov. Lewis Cass to Hon. John C. Calhoun, Secretary
of War, dated

    DETROIT, September 20, 1820.

SIR: In examining the state of our topographical knowledge, respecting
that portion of the Northwestern frontier over which we have recently
passed, it occurs to me that there are several points which require
further examination, and which might be explored without any additional
expense to the United States.

The general result of the observations made by Capt. Douglass, will be
submitted to you as soon as it can be prepared. And I believe he will
also complete a map of the extensive route we have taken, and embracing
the whole of the United States, bounded by the Upper Lakes and by the
waters of the Mississippi, and extending as far south as Rock Island and
the southern extremities of Lakes Michigan and Erie. The materials in
his possession are sufficient for such an outline, and he is every way
competent to complete it. But there are several important streams,
respecting which it is desirable to procure more accurate information
than can be obtained from the vague and contradictory relations of
Indians and Indian traders. The progress of our geographical knowledge
has not kept pace with the extension of our territory, nor with the
enterprise of our traders. But I trust the accurate observations of
Captain Douglass will render a resort to the old French maps for
information respecting our own country entirely unnecessary.

I beg leave to propose to you, whether it would not be proper to direct
exploring parties to proceed from several of our frontier posts into the
interior of the country, and to make such observations as might lead to
a correct topographical delineation of it. An intelligent officer, with
eight or ten men, in a canoe, would be adequate to this object. He would
require nothing more than a compass to ascertain his course, for it is
not to be expected that correct astronomical observations could be
taken. In ascending or descending streams, he should enter in a journal
every course which he pursues, and the length of time observed by a
watch. He should occasionally ascertain the velocity of his canoe, by
measuring a short distance upon the bank, and should also enter in his
journal his supposed rate of travelling. This, whenever it is possible,
should be checked by the distance as estimated by traders and
travellers. By a comparison of these data, and by a little experience,
he would soon be enabled to ascertain with sufficient precision, the
length of each course, and to furnish materials for combination, which
would eventually exhibit a perfect view of the country. I do not know
any additional expense which it would be necessary to encounter. An
ordinary compass is not worth taking into consideration. A necessary
supply of provisions, a small quantity of powder, lead, and tobacco, to
present occasionally to the Indians, and a little medicine, are all the
articles which would require particular attention. Officers employed
upon such services should be directed to observe the natural appearances
of the country; its soil, timber, and productions; its general face and
character; the height, direction, and composition of its hills; the
number, size, rapidity, &c., of its streams; its geological structure
and mineralogical products; and any facts which may enable the public to
appreciate its importance in the scale of territorial acquisitions, or
which may serve to enlarge the sphere of national science.

It is not to be expected that officers detached upon the duties can
enter into the detail of such subjects in a manner which their
importance would render desirable. But the most superficial observer may
add something to the general stock; and to point their inquiries to
specific objects, may be the means of eliciting facts, which in other
hands may lead to important results. The most important tributary stream
of the Upper Mississippi is the Saint Peter's. The commanding officer at
the mouth of that river might be directed to form an expedition for
exploring it.

It is the opinion of Captain Douglass, and it is strongly fortified by
my personal observation, and by the opinion of others, that Lieut.
Talcott, of the Engineers, now at the Council Bluffs, would conduct a
party upon this duty in a very satisfactory manner. He might ascend the
St. Peter's to its source, and from thence cross over to the Red River,
and descend the stream to the 49th parallel of latitude, with directions
to take the necessary observations upon so important a point.[200]
Thence up that branch of the Red River, interlocking with the nearest
water of the Mississippi, and down this river to Leech Lake. From this
lake, there is an easy communication to the River de Corbeau, which he
could descend to the Mississippi, and thence to St. Peter's.[201]

  [200] This is the origin of Major Long's second expedition.

  [201] Explored by the preceding narrative in 1831-1833.

The St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, entering the Mississippi above and
below the Falls of St. Anthony, might, in like manner, be explored by
parties from the same post.[202] The former interlocks with the Mauvais
and Brulé Rivers, but a descent into Lake Superior would not probably be
considered expedient, so that the party would necessarily ascend and
descend the same stream.[202]

  [202] Explored by the preceding narrative in 1831-1833.

The Chippewa interlocks with the Montreal and Wisconsin Rivers, and
consequently the same party could ascend the former and descend the
latter stream.

A party from Green Bay might explore Rocky River from its source to its
mouth.

A correct examination of Green Bay and of the Menomonie River might be
made from the same post.

The St. Joseph and Grand River, of this peninsula, could be examined by
parties detached from Chicago.

It is desirable, also, to explore the Grand Traverse Bay, about sixty
miles south of Michilimackinac, on the east coast of Lake Michigan.

These are all the points which require particular examination.
Observations made in the manner I have suggested, and connected with
those already taken by Captain Douglass, would furnish ample materials
for a correct chart of the country.

It is with this view that it might be proper, should you approve the
plan I have submitted to you, to direct, that the reports of the
officers should be transmitted to Captain Douglass, by whom they will be
incorporated with his own observations, and will appear in a form best
calculated to promote the views which you entertain upon the important
subject of the internal geography of our country.


IV.

    DETROIT, October 3, 1820.

SIR: On the eve of separating from my associates in our late tour, I owe
it to them and to myself, that I should state to you my opinion
respecting Captain Douglass and Mr. Schoolcraft.

I have found them, upon every occasion, zealous in promoting the
objects of the Expedition, indefatigable in their inquiries and
observations, and never withholding their personal exertions. Ardent in
their pursuit after knowledge, with great attainments in the departments
of literature to which they have respectively devoted themselves, and
with powers which will enable them to explore the whole field of
science, I look forward with confidence to the day when they will assume
distinguished stations among our scientific men, and powerfully aid in
establishing the literary fame of their country.

Should any object of a similar character again require similar talents,
I earnestly recommend their employment. Whoever has the pleasure of
being associated with them, will find how easily profound acquirements
may be united with that urbanity of manners, and those qualities of the
heart, which attach to each other those who have participated in the
fatigues of a long and interesting tour.

    Very respectfully, sir,
    I have the honor to be
    Your obedient servant,
    LEWIS CASS.

    Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.


2. TOPOGRAPHY AND ASTRONOMY.

Topographical materials were collected by Capt. Douglass, U.S.A., for a
map of the northwestern portions of the United States, embracing the
complete circumnavigation of the great lake basins, and accurate
delineations of the sources of the Mississippi, as low down as the
influx of the River Wisconsin. Being provided with instruments from the
Military Academy of West Point, astronomical observations were made at
every practical point over the vast panorama traversed by the
Expedition. A line of some four thousand miles of previously unexplored
country was visited; his notes and memoranda for a topographical memoir
were full and exact; and they were left, I am informed, in a state of
nearly perfect elaboration, accompanied by illustrations, and many
drawings of scenery. Having written to his family recently, for the
astronomical observations, they were transmitted by his son in a letter,
of which the following is an extract:--

    GENEVA, JUNE 23, 1854.

DEAR SIR: I inclose you herewith, on another page, the results of my
father's observations of latitude and longitude, so far as I have been
able to collect them. His calculations indicate great pains and labor to
obtain accurate results. They are too voluminous to copy. I trust,
however, that I have been as particular as was necessary in the inclosed
memoranda. If anything else is wanting, I should like you to inform me.

    I am, sir, with great respect,
    Your obedient servant,
    MALCOLM DOUGLASS.


V.

_Results of Observations for Latitude and Longitude during the
Expedition of 1820._ By DAVID B. DOUGLASS, Capt. Engineers, U.S.A.

            {By 3 sets of observations at Cunningham's  }
            {  Island, 1819, and reduced by             }
            {  exact measurement on the Boundary        }
            {  Bay                                      }
            {                                           }
    Mean    {By 1 set of observations at Gibraltar      }
  latitude  {  Island (Put-in Bay), taken, like the     }
     of     {  preceding, in 1819, and reduced as       } 42° 19´ 20´´
   Detroit  {  before                                   }
            {                                           }
            {By 1 set of observations taken on          }
            {  Sugar Island, and reduced as before      }
            {                                           }
            {By mean results of 2 sets of
               observations--May} 17 and 21, 1820
                                  }
            {By mean observation, Sept. 29, 1820        }

  Mean longitude of Detroit, by 6 sets of observations,
    May 17 and 19, 1820                                   82  39  00

  Latitude of Presque Isle, Lake Huron, June 5, 1820      45  19  45

  Latitude of Mackinaw, by 4 sets of observations,
    June 7 and 11, 1820, by meridian observations,
    Sept. 12, 1820                                        45  50  54

  Height of Fort Holmes. From the water
    to the brow of the hill near Robinson's
    Folly, nearly on a level with
    Fort Mackinaw                            115.8

  Thence to the top of the block H of Fort
    Holmes                                   260.9
                                             -----
                               Total height, 376.7 feet

  Longitude of Mackinaw, by several sets of observations,
    Sept. 12, 1820                                        84  28  40

  Mean latitude of Sault de St. Marie, June 16, 1820      46  26  45

  Latitude of Turtle Camp, on Lake Superior, June
    22--primitive bluff (Granite Point.--S.)              46  41  15

  Latitude of Keweena Camp                                47  02  30

  Mean latitude of Sandy River, July 4, 1820              46  55  24

  Mean longitude (by 25 observations for degrees,
    and 25 observations for time). In time, 6 h. 3 m.
    48 sec. In degrees                                    90  57  00

  Latitude of the gallais[203] on the Grand Portage of
    St. Louis, July 6, 1820                               46  39  34

  Latitude of camp at head of Grand Portage, July
    8, 1820                                               46  41  07

  Latitude of camp at west end of Savanna Portage         46  51  47[204]

  Mean latitude of Sandy Lake post, from observations,
    July 16 and 25                                        46  45  35

  Mean longitude of Sandy Lake post, from 4 sets
    of observations, July 15 and 16                       93  21  30

  Latitude of Wolverine Camp, July 23, 1 day from
    Sandy Lake                                            47   4  15

  Latitude of halting-place above forks of Leech
    River on the Mississippi, July 20                     47  24  00[205]

  Latitude of camp at Lake Winnipec, July 20              47  30  56

  Latitude of halting-place near first return camp,
    July 21                                               47  27  10

  Latitude of return camp; near the above, same
    day                                                   47  26  40

  Latitude of camp at Buffalo hunting-ground, above
    Pe-can-de-quaw Lake, July 28 and 29                   46  00  00

  Breadth of river at camp on the Buffalo Plain,
    148 yards

  Latitude of halting-place between the Great Falls
    and St. Francis River                                 45  25  43

  Breadth of river at camp above Falls of St. Anthony,
    200 yards

  Mean latitude of Fort St. Anthony, new site, July
    31, by 5 sets of observations                         44  53  20

  Mean longitude of Fort St. Anthony, new site, July
    31, by 3 sets of observations                         92  55  45

  Latitude of Fort Prairie du Chien, Aug. 6 and 7.        43  03  19[206]

  Latitude of Fox and Ouisconsin Portage, Aug.
    14 and 15, 43° 42´ 36´´; say                          43  42  00

  Latitude of camp near mouth of River De Loup,
    Aug. 17                                               44   6  44

  Latitude of Fort Howard, Green Bay, Aug. 21             44  31  38

  Longitude of Fort Howard (some error), probably
    between 87° 45´ 30´´ and                              87  46  00

  Latitude of camp at Sturgeon Portage, Lake Michigan,
    Aug. 23                                               44  47  43

  Latitude of camp 3 miles north of the Manetowag,
    Aug. 24                                               44  12  47

  Latitude of camp south of the Sheboyegan, Aug. 25       43  41  26

  Latitude of camp at Milwaukie, Aug. 26                  43  01  35

  Mean latitude of Fort Dearborn, Chicago, by 6 sets
    of equal altitudes, Aug. 31, and meridian altitude
                                                          41  54  06
  Mean longitude of Fort Dearborn, 3 sets of
    observations. In time, 5 h. 50 m. 8 sec. In
    degrees                                               87  32  30

  Longitude of Detroit, calculated from above             82  54  53

  Latitude of camp near head of Lake Michigan,
    Aug. 31 and Sept. 1                                   41  38  48

  Mean latitude of the extreme south point of Lake
    Michigan, 4 sets of observations and meridian
    observation                                           41  37  28

  Latitude of camp next north of the St. Joseph's,
    near Kekalamazo, Sept. 3                              42  32  16

  Latitude of camp at Maskegon River, Sept. 4             43  13  41

  Latitude of camp near Point aux Salles, Lake
    Michigan, Sept. 5                                     44   5  17

  Latitude of camp at Grand Traverse Bay, Lake
    Michigan, Sept. 7                                     45  34  24


  [203] _Galet_, in the Canadian patois, means a smooth, flat
  rock.--H. R. S.

  [204] A little doubtful.

  [205] A little doubtful.

  [206] Or 20´´.


3. MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.


VI.

_Report on the Copper Mines of Lake Superior._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

    To the Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.

    VERNON (Oneida County, N. Y.), November 6, 1820.

SIR: I have now the honor to submit such observations as have occurred
to me, during the recent expedition under GOV. Cass, in relation to the
copper mines on Lake Superior; reserving, as the subject of a future
communication, the facts I have collected on the mineralogy and geology
of the country explored generally.

The first striking change in the mineral aspect of the country north of
Lake Huron, is presented near the head of the Island of St. Joseph, in
the River St. Mary, where the calcareous strata of secondary rocks are
succeeded by a formation of red sandstone, which extends northward to
the head of that river at Point Iroquois, producing the falls called the
_Sault de Ste. Marie_, fifteen miles below; and thence stretching
northwest, along the whole southern shore of Lake Superior, with the
interruptions noted, to Fond du Lac.

This extensive stratum is perforated at various points by upheaved
masses of sienitic granite and trap, which appear in elevated points on
the margin of the lake at Dead River, Keweena Point, Presque Isle, and
the Chegoimagon Mountains. It is overlaid, in other parts, by a stratum
of gray or neutral-colored sandstone, of uncommon thickness, which
appears in various promontories along the shore, and, at the distance of
ninety miles from Point Iroquois, constitutes a lofty perpendicular and
caverned wall, upon the water's edge, called the Pictured Rocks.

So obvious a change in the geological character of the rock strata, in
passing from Lake Huron to Lake Superior, prepares the observer to
expect a corresponding one in the imbedded minerals and other natural
features--an expectation which is realized during the first eighty
leagues, in the discovery of various minerals. The first appearances of
copper are seen at Keweena Point, two hundred and seventy miles beyond
the Sault de Ste. Marie, where the debris and pebbles along the shore of
the lake contain native copper disseminated in particles varying in size
from a grain of sand to a mass of two pounds' weight. Many of the
detached stones of this Point are also colored green by the carbonate of
copper, and the rock strata exhibit traces of the same ore. These
indications continue to the River Ontonagon, which has long been noted
for the large masses of native copper found upon its banks, and about
the contiguous country.

This river is one of the largest of thirty tributaries, mostly small,
which flow into the lake between Point Iroquois and Fond du Lac. It
originates in a district of mountainous country intermediate between the
Mississippi River and lakes Huron and Superior. After running in a
northern direction for about one hundred and twenty miles, it enters the
latter at the computed distance of fifty miles west of the portage of
Keweena, in north latitude 46° 52´ 2´´, according to the observations of
Capt. Douglass. It is connected, by portages, with the Monomonee River
of Green Bay, and with the Chippewa River of the Mississippi. At its
mouth there is a village of Chippewa Indians of sixteen families, who
subsist chiefly on the fish taken in the river. Their location,
independent of that circumstance, does not appear to unite the ordinary
advantages of an Indian village of the region.

A strip of alluvial land of a sandy character extends from the lake up
the river three or four leagues, where it is succeeded by hills of a
broken, sterile aspect, covered, chiefly, with a growth of pine,
hemlock, and spruce. Among these hills, which may be considered as
lateral spurs of the Porcupine Mountains, the copper mines, so called,
are situated, at the computed distance of thirty-two miles from the
lake, and in the centre of a region characterized by its wild, rugged,
and forbidding appearance. The large mass of native copper lies on the
west bank of the river, at the water's edge, at the foot of an elevated
bank, part of which appears to have slipped into the river, carrying
with it the mass of copper, together with detached blocks of sienitic
granite, trap-rock, and other species common to the soil at that place.

The copper, which is in a pure and malleable state, lies in connection
with serpentine rock, one face of which it almost completely overlays.
It is also disseminated in masses and grains throughout the substance of
the rock. The surface of the metal, unlike most oxidable metals which
have been long exposed to the atmosphere, presents a metallic
brilliancy, which is probably attributable to the attrition of the
semi-annual floods of the river.

The shape of the rock is very irregular; its greatest length is three
feet eight inches; its greatest breadth, three feet four inches, with an
average thickness of twelve inches. It may, altogether, contain eleven
cubic feet.[207] It exceeds, in size, the great mass of native iron
found some years ago on the banks of Red River, in Louisiana. I have
computed the weight of metallic copper in the rock at twenty-two hundred
pounds, which is about one-fifth of the lowest estimate made of it by
former visitors. Henry, who visited it in 1766, estimated its weight at
five tons. The quantity may, however, have been much diminished since
its discovery, and the marks of chisels and axes upon it, with the
discovery of broken tools, prove that portions have been cut off and
carried away. Notwithstanding this reduction, it may still be considered
one of the largest and most remarkable bodies of native copper on the
globe, and is, so far as known, only exceeded in weight by a specimen
found in a valley in Brazil, weighing twenty-six hundred and sixty-six
Portuguese pounds. Viewed as a subject of scientific interest, it
presents illustrative proofs of an important character. Its connection
with a rock which is foreign to the immediate section of country where
it lies,[208] indicates a removal from its original bed; while the
intimate connection of the metal and matrix, and the complete
envelopment of masses of the copper by the rock, point to a common and
contemporaneous origin, whether that be referable to volcanic agency or
water. This conclusion admits of an obvious application to the beds of
serpentine and other magnesian rock found in other parts of the lake.

  [207] This copper rock now (1854) lies in the yard of the War Office
  at Washington.

  [208] A locality of serpentine rock has since been discovered at
  Presque Isle, on Lake Superior.

Several other large masses of native copper have been found, either on
this river or within the basin of the lake, at various periods since the
country has been known, and taken into different parts of the United
States and of Europe. A recent analysis of one of these specimens, at
the University of Leyden, proves it to be native copper in a state of
uncommon purity, and uncombined with any notable portion of either gold
or silver.

A mass of copper, weighing twenty-eight pounds, was discovered on an
island in Lake Superior, eighty miles west of the Ontonagon. It was
taken to Michilimackinac and disposed of. The War Department was
formerly supplied with a specimen from this mass, and the analysis above
alluded to is also understood to have been made from a portion of it. A
piece weighing twelve pounds was found at Winnebago Lake. Other
discoveries of this metal have been made, within the region, at various
times and places.

The existence of copper in the region of Lake Superior appears to have
been known to the earliest travellers and voyagers.

As early as 1689, the Baron La Hontan, in concluding a description of
Lake Superior, adds: "That, upon it, we also find copper mines, the
metal of which is so fine and plentiful that there is not a seventh part
lost from the ore."--_New Voyages to North America_, London, 1703.

In 1721, Charlevoix passed through the lakes on his way to the Gulf of
Mexico, and did not allow the mineralogy of the country to escape him.

"Large pieces of copper are found in some places on its banks [Lake
Superior], and around some of the islands, which are still the objects
of a superstitious worship among the Indians. They look upon them with
veneration, as if they were the presents of those gods who dwell under
the waters. They collect their smallest fragments, which they carefully
preserve, without, however, making any use of them. They say that
formerly a huge rock of this metal was to be seen elevated a
considerable height above the surface of the water, and, as it has now
disappeared, they pretend that the gods have carried it elsewhere; but
there is great reason to believe that, in process of time, the waves of
the lake have covered it entirely with sand and slime. And it is certain
that in several places pretty large quantities of this metal have been
discovered without being obliged to dig very deep. During the course of
my first voyage to this country, I was acquainted with one of our order
(Jesuits) who had been formerly a goldsmith, and who, while he was at
the mission of Sault de Ste. Marie used to search for this metal, and
made candlesticks, crosses, and censers of it, for this copper is often
to be met with almost entirely pure."--_Journal of a Voyage to North
America._

In 1766, Captain Carver procured several pieces of native copper on the
shores of Lake Superior, or on the Chippewa and St. Croix Rivers, which
are noticed in his travels, without much precision, however, as to
locality, &c. He did not visit the southern shores of Lake Superior,
east of the entrance of the Brulé, or Goddard's River, but states that
virgin copper is found on the Ontonagon. Of the north and northeastern
shores, he remarks: "That he observed that many of the small islands
were covered with copper _ore_, which appeared like beds of copperas, of
which many tons lay in a small space."--_Three Years' Travels, &c._

In 1771 (four years before the breaking out of the American Revolution),
a considerable body of native copper was dug out of the alluvial earth
on the banks of the Ontonagon River by two adventurers, of the names of
Henry and Bostwick, and, together with a lump of silver ore of eight
pounds' weight, it was transported to Montreal, and from thence shipped
to England, where the silver ore was deposited in the British Museum,
after an analysis had been made of a portion of it, by which it was
determined to contain 60 per cent. of silver.

These individuals were members of a company which had been formed in
England for the purpose of working the copper mines of Lake Superior.
The Duke of Gloucester, Sir William Johnson, and other gentlemen of rank
were members of this company. They built a vessel at Point aux Pins, six
miles above the Sault Ste. Marie, to facilitate their operations on the
lake. A considerable sum of money was expended in explorations and
digging. Isle Maripeau and the Ontonagon were the principal scenes of
their search. They found silver, in a detached form, at Point Iroquois,
fifteen miles above the present site of Fort Brady.

"Hence," observes Henry, "we coasted westward, but found nothing till we
reached the Ontonagon, where, besides the detached masses of copper
formerly mentioned, _we saw much of the same metal imbedded in stone_.

"Proposing to ourselves to make a trial on the hill, till we were better
able to go to work upon the solid rock, we built a house, and sent to
the Sault de Ste. Marie for provisions. At the spot pitched upon for the
commencement of our operations, a green-colored water, which tinges iron
of a copper color, issued from the hill, and this the miners called a
_leader_. In digging, they found frequent masses of copper, some of
which were of three pounds' weight. Having arranged everything for the
accommodation of the miners during the winter, we returned to the Sault.

"Early in the spring of 1772, we sent a boat-load of provisions, but it
came back on the 20th day of June, bringing with it, to our surprise,
the whole establishment of miners. They reported that, in the course of
the winter, they had penetrated forty feet into the face of the hill,
but, on the arrival of the thaw, the clay, on which, on account of its
stiffness, they had relied, and neglected to secure it by supporters,
had fallen in. That, from the detached masses of metal which, to the
last, had daily presented themselves, they supposed there might be
ultimately reached a body of the same, but could form no conjecture of
its distance, except that it was probably so far off as not to be
pursued without sinking an air shaft. And, lastly, that the work would
require the hands of more men than could be fed in the actual situation
of the country.

"Here our operations, in this quarter, ended. The metal was probably
within our reach, but, if we had found it, the expense of carrying it to
Montreal must have exceeded its marketable value. It was never for the
exportation of copper that our company was formed, but always with a
view to the silver, which it was hoped the ores, whether of copper or
lead, might in sufficient quantity contain."--_Travels and Adventures of
Alexander Henry._

[In the summer of 1832, being detained by head winds at the mouth of
Miner's River, on Lake Superior, I observed the names of several persons
engraved on the sand rock, but much obliterated by the water's dashing
over the rock. Tradition represents that Henry's miners were detained
there, and that they made explorations of the river, which is named from
the circumstance. The stream is a mere brook, coming over the shelving
sand rock, which is a part of the precipitous range of the Pictured
Rocks.]

Sir A. Mackenzie passed through Lake Superior, on his first voyage of
discovery, in 1789. He remarks: "At the River Tennagon (Ontonagon) is
found a quantity of virgin copper. The Americans, soon after they got
possession of the country, sent an agent thither; and I should not be
surprised to hear of their employing people to work the mine. Indeed, it
might be well worthy the attention of the British subjects to work the
mines on the north coast, though they are not supposed to be so rich as
those on the south."--_Voyages from Montreal through the Continent of
North America._

It is difficult to conceive what, however, is apparent, from the
references of Dr. Franklin to the subject, that the supposed mineral
riches of Lake Superior had an important bearing on the discussions for
settling the ultimate northern boundary of the United States. The
British ambassadors had, it seems, from an old map which is before me,
claimed a line through the Straits of Michilimackinac and the Illinois
and Mississippi rivers, to the Gulf of Mexico.

The attention of the United States Government appears first to have been
turned toward the subject during the administration of President John
Adams, when the sudden augmentation of the navy rendered the employment
of copper in the equipment of ships an object of moment. A mission was
therefore authorized to proceed to Lake Superior, of the success of
which, as it has not been communicated to the public, nothing can, with
certainty, be stated; but from inquiries which have been made during the
recent expedition, it is rendered probable that the actual state of our
Indian relations, at the time, arrested the advance of the officer into
the region where the most valuable beds of copper were supposed to
exist, and that the specimens transmitted to Government were procured
through the instrumentality of some friendly Indians, employed for the
purpose.

Such are the lights which those who have preceded me in this inquiry
have thrown upon the subject, all of which have operated in producing
public belief in the existence of extensive copper mines on Lake
Superior. Travellers have generally coincided that the southern shore of
the lake is most metalliferous, and that the Ontonagon River may be
considered as the seat of the principal mines. Mr. Gallatin, in his
report on the state of American manufactures in 1810, countenances the
prevalent opinion, while it has been reiterated in some of our literary
journals, and in the numerous ephemeral publications of the times, until
public expectation has been considerably raised in regard to them.

Under these circumstances, the recent expedition under Gov. Cass entered
the mouth of the Ontonagon River on the 27th of June, having coasted
along the southern shore of the lake from the head of the River St.
Mary. We spent four days upon the banks of that stream, in the
examination of its mineralogy, during which the principal part of our
party was encamped at the mouth of the river. Gov. Cass, accompanied by
such persons as were necessary in the exploration, proceeded, in two
light canoes, to the large mass of copper which has already been
described. We found the river broad, deep, and gentle for a distance,
and serpentine in its course; then becoming narrower, with an increased
velocity of current, and, before reaching the Copper Rock, full of
rapids and difficult of ascent. We left our canoes at a point on the
rapids, and proceeded on foot, across a rugged tract of country, around
which the river formed an extensive semicircle. We came to the river
again at the locality of copper. In the course of this curve the river
is separated into two branches of nearly equal size. The copper lies on
the right-hand fork, and it is subsequently ascertained that this branch
is intercepted by three cataracts, at which the river descends over
precipitous cliffs of sandstone. The aggregate fall of water at these
cataracts has been estimated at seventy feet.

The channel of the river at the Copper Rock is rapid and shallow, and
filled with detached masses of rock, which project above the water. The
bed of the river is upon sandstone, similar to that under the Palisades
on the Hudson. The waters are reddish, a color which they evidently owe
to beds of ferruginous clay. The Copper Rock lies partly in the water.
Other details in the geological structure and appearance of the country
are interesting; but they do not appear to demand a more particular
consideration in this report.

During our continuance upon this stream, we procured from an Indian a
separate mass of copper weighing nearly nine pounds; which will be
forwarded to the War Department. This specimen is partially enveloped
with a crust of green carbonate of copper. Small fragments of quartz and
sand adhere to the under side, upon which it would appear to have fallen
in a liquid state. Several smaller pieces of this metal were procured
during our excursion up the Ontonagon, or along the shores of the lake
east of this stream.

It may be added that discoveries of masses of native copper, like those
of gold and other metals, are generally considered indicative of the
existence of mines in the neighborhood. The practical miner regards them
as signs which point to larger bodies of the same metals, in the earth,
and he is often determined by discoveries of this nature in the choice
of the spot for commencing his labors. The predictions drawn from such
evidence are more sanguine in proportion to the extent of the discovery.
They are not, however, unerring indications, and appear liable to many
exceptions. Metallic masses are sometimes found at great distances from
their original repositories; and the latter, on the contrary, sometimes
occur in the earth, or imbedded in rock strata, where there have been no
great external discoveries.

From all the facts, which I have been able to collect on Lake Superior,
and after a full deliberation upon them since my return, I have drawn
the following conclusions:--

1. That the diluvial soil along the banks of the Ontonagon River,
extending to its source, and embracing the contiguous region, which
gives origin to the Monomonee River of Green Bay, and to the Wisconsin,
Chippewa, and St. Croix Rivers of the Mississippi, contains very
frequent, and several extraordinary masses of native, or metallic
copper. But that no body of this metal, which is sufficiently extensive
to become the object of profitable mining operations, has yet been found
at any particular place. This conclusion is supported by the facts
adduced, and, so far as theoretical aids can be relied upon, by an
application of those facts to the theories of mining. A further extent
of country might have been embraced, along the shores of Lake Superior,
but the same remark appears applicable to it.

2. That a more intimate knowledge of the mineralogical resources of the
country, may be expected to result in the discovery of valuable ores of
copper, in the working of which occasional masses and veins of the
native metal, may materially enhance the advantages of mining. This
inference is rendered probable by the actual state of discoveries, and
by the geological character of the country.

These deductions embrace all I have to submit on the mineral geography
of the country, so far as regards the copper mines. Other considerations
arise from the facilities which the country may present for mining--its
adaptation to the purposes of agriculture--the state and disposition of
the Indian tribes, and other topics which a design to commence
metallurgical operations would suggest. But I have not considered it
incumbent upon me to enter into details upon these subjects. It may, in
brief, be remarked that the remote situation of the country does not
favor the pursuit of mining. It would require the employment of a
military force to protect such operations. For, whatever may be their
professions, the Indian tribes of the north possess strong natural
jealousies, and in situations so remote, are only to be restrained from
an indulgence in malignant passions, by the fear of military
chastisement.

In looking upon the southern shore of Lake Superior, the period appears
distant, when the advantages flowing from a military post upon that
frontier, will be produced by the ordinary progress of our
settlements--for it presents but few enticements for the
agriculturalist. A considerable portion of the shore is rocky, and its
alluvions are, in general, of too sandy and light a character for
profitable husbandry. With an elevation of six hundred and forty-one
feet above the Atlantic, and drawing its waters from territories
situated north of the forty-sixth degree of north latitude, Lake
Superior cannot be represented as enjoying a climate favorable to the
productions of the vegetable kingdom. Its forest trees are chiefly those
of the fir kind, mixed with varieties of the betula, lynn, oak, and
maple. Meteorological observations indicate, however, a warm summer, the
average observed heat of the month of June being 69. But the climate is
subject to a long and severe winter, and to sudden transitions of the
summer temperature. We saw no Indian corn among the natives.

A country lacking a fertile soil, may still become a rich mining
country, like the county of Cornwall in England, the Hartz Mountains in
Germany, and a portion of Missouri, in our own country. But this
deficiency must be compensated by the advantages of geographical
position, a contiguous or redundant population, partial districts of
good land, or a good market. To these, the mineral districts of Lake
Superior can advance but a feeble claim, while it lies upwards of three
hundred miles beyond the utmost point of our settlements, and in the
occupation of savage tribes whose hostility has been so recently
manifested.

Concerning the variety, importance, and extent of its latent mineral
resources, I think little doubt can remain. Every fact which has been
noticed tends to strengthen the belief that future observations will
indicate extensive mines upon its shores, and render it an attractive
field of mineralogical discovery. In the event of mining operations, the
facilities of a ready transportation of the crude ores to the Sault de
Ste. Marie, will point out that place as uniting, with a commanding
geographical position, superior advantages for the reduction of the
ores, and the general facilities of commerce. At this place, a fall of
twenty-two feet, in the river, in the distance of half a mile, creates
sufficient power to drive hydraulic works to any extent; while the
surrounding country is such as to admit of an agricultural settlement.

I accompany this report with a geological sketch of a vertical section
of the left bank of the Mississippi at St. Peter's, embracing a
formation of native copper. This formation was first noticed by the
officers of the garrison, who directed the quarrying of stone at this
spot. The masses of copper found are small, none exceeding a pound in
weight.

    I have the honor to be, sir,
    With great respect,
    Your ob't servant,
    HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


VII.

_Observations on the Geology and Mineralogy of the Region embracing the
Sources of the Mississippi River, and the Great Lake Basins, during the
Expedition of 1820. Illustrated with Geological Profiles, and Numerous
Diagrams and Views of Scenery._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, U. S. Geol. and
Minera. Exp.

    To the Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN, _Secretary of War_.

    WASHINGTON, April 2, 1822.

SIR: I have the honor, herewith, to submit the general report of my
observations on the geology and mineralogy of the region visited by the
recent expedition to the sources of the Mississippi River. I transmitted
to the Department on the 6th of November, 1820, a report on the
existence of Copper Mines in the Basin of Lake Superior, together with
specimens of the native metal, which were politely taken charge of at
Albany by General Stephen Van Rensselaer, M. C. Will it be consistent
with the views of the Department to print these reports?

    I have the honor to be, sir,
    Very respectfully,
    Your obedient servant,
    HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


REPLY.

    WAR DEPARTMENT, April 6, 1822.

SIR: I have received your interesting report on the geology and
mineralogy of that section of the western country embraced by the late
expedition of Gov. Cass; and, although I have not had it in my power, as
yet, to peruse it with attention, I will see you, at any time you
please, on the subject of your letter respecting it.

    I am, sir,
    Respectfully,
    Your obedient servant,
    J. C. CALHOUN.

    Mr. HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


    ALBANY, March, 1822.

SIR: Agreeably to your appointment as a member of the expedition to
explore the sources of the Mississippi, by the way of the Lakes, I
proceeded to join the party organized for that purpose at Detroit, by
His Excellency Lewis Cass. Diurnal notes were kept of the changes in the
geological features of the regions visited; of the mineralogy of the
country; and of such facts as could be ascertained, with the means at
command, to determine its general physical character and value.[209]

  [209] The two geological profiles of the Mississippi Valley and the
  Lake Basins accompanying the original are here omitted; as, also,
  most of the illustrative views of scenery which accompanied the
  original.

I have heretofore reported to you the facts and appearances which
indicate the existence of the ores of copper, and of valuable deposits
of copper in its native form, in the basin of Lake Superior--a point
which constituted one of the primary objects to which my attention was
called--and I now proceed to state such particulars in the topics
confided to me as fell within my observation.

In generalizing the facts, it must be observed that the expedition had
objects of a practical character relative to the number, disposition,
and feelings to be learned respecting the Indian tribes; that the
transit over large portions of the country was necessarily rapid; and
that few opportunities of elaborate or long-continued observations
occurred at any one point. The topography was committed to a gentleman
who is every way qualified for that topic, who was well supplied with
instruments, and who will do ample justice to that department. I make
these remarks to prepare you for a class of observations which are
necessarily technical, and quite imperfect, and to which it is felt that
it will not be an easy task to impart a high degree of interest,
whatever may have been the anticipations.

To prepare the mind to appreciate the account which I give of changes
and developments in the physical structure of the country, it may be
observed that the American continent has experienced some of the most
striking mutations in its structure _at_ and _north_ of the great chain
of lakes. That chain is itself rather the evidence of disruptions and
upheavals of formations, which give its northern coasts, to some extent,
the character of ancient--very ancient--volcanic areas of action. These
lakes form--except Erie and Ontario--the general boundaries between the
primitive and secondary strata. But, however striking this fact may, at
particular localities, appear--such as at the Straits of St. Mary, of
which the east and west shores are, geologically, of different
construction--yet nothing in the grand phenomena of the whole region
visited is so remarkable as the boulder stratum, which is spread,
generally, from the north to the south. Some of the blocks of rock are
enormous, and would seem to defy any known cause of removal from their
parent beds; others are smaller, and have had their angles removed, and
far the greater number of these transported boulders are quite smooth
and rounded by the force of attrition. This drift stratum has been
tossed and scattered from its northern latitudes over the surface of the
limestones and sandstones of the south. It is mixed with the diluvial
soils, in Michigan and elsewhere; but it is evident that, in its
diffusion south, the heavier pieces have settled first, while
comparatively minute boulders have been carried over or dropped in the
plains and prairies of Ohio, Illinois, and more southerly regions.
Nobody, with an eye to geology, can mistake the heavy boulder deposits
which mark the southern shores of Huron, and become still more abundant
on the St. Mary's, the shores of Lake Superior, and along the channels
of the River St. Louis and the Upper Mississippi.

Lake Superior has been the central theatre of volcanic upheavals; but
they must have operated at very remote periods, for there is not only no
evidence of existing volcanic fires, but the heavy debris everywhere
bespeaks long intervals of quietude, and slow elementary degradation.
Some of the upheavals were made after the deposition of the sandstone
rocks, which are, as at the foot of the Porcupine Mountains, raised up
to stand nearly vertical; while other districts of the granitic rock, as
at Granite Point, had been elevated before the deposition of the
sandstone rock, which is accurately adjusted to its asperities, and
remains quite horizontal.

The granitical series of strata, which is apparent in northern New York
in the Kayaderasseras Mountains, and at the Thousand Islands of the St.
Lawrence, reappear on the north shores of Huron and Superior, underlie
the bed of the latter, and rise up in the rough coast between the
Chocolate River and Kewaiwenon, cross the Mississippi at the Petite
Roche, above the Falls of St. Anthony, and put out spurs as low down as
the source of the Fox, the St. Croix, and the head of the St. Peter's
Rivers.

These glimpses of some of the leading points in the geological structure
of the regions visited, will enable you to follow my details more
understandingly. These details begin at Detroit. From this place the
expedition passed, by water, along the southern shores of Lakes St.
Clair, Huron, and Superior, to the Fond du Lac; thence, up the River St.
Louis, to the Savanne summit. Thence we proceeded across the portage to
Sandy Lake, which has an outlet into the Mississippi, and followed up
the latter, through the lesser Lake Winnipek, to the entrance of the
Turtle River, in Cass, or upper, Red Cedar Lake, which is laid down by
Pike in north latitude 47° 42´ 40´´.[210] The state of the water was
unfavorable to going higher.

  [210] Pike's Expedition. This observation is corrected by Capt.
  Douglass to 47° 27´ 10´´; the point of observation being, however, a
  few miles south.

From this point, which formed the terminus of the expedition, we
descended the Mississippi, making portages around the Falls of Pekagama
and St. Anthony, to Prairie du Chien. An excursion was made by me down
the Mississippi to the mineral district of Dubuque. We ascended the
Wisconsin, to the portage into the Fox River, and traced the latter down
to its entrance into Green Bay. At this point, the expedition separated;
a part proceeding north, through the bay, to Michilimackinac, and a part
going south, along the west shores of Lake Michigan, to Chicago, the
latitude of which is placed by Capt. Douglass in 41° 54´ 06´´. At this
place, a further division took place. Dr. Wolcott, having reached his
station, remained. Governor Cass proceeded across the peninsula of
Michigan to Detroit on horseback, leaving Capt. Douglass and myself to
complete the survey of Lake Michigan. We rejoined the northern party
detached at Green Bay, under Mr. Trowbridge and Mr. Doty, at
Michilimackinac; and, after repassing the southern coast of Lakes Huron
and St. Clair, reached Detroit.

Topographically, a very wide expanse of wilderness country had been
seen. The entire length of route computed to have been traversed,
exceeds four thousand miles, in the course of which we had crossed
nineteen portages, over which all the baggage and canoes were conveyed
on the shoulders of men. We encountered actual resistance from the
Indians at only one point.[211] I kept my journals continually before
me, and had my pencil in hand every morning as soon as it was light
enough to discern objects. I began my geological observations at
Detroit.

  [211] _Vide_ Narrative Journal.

This ancient city, founded by the French in 1701, stands upon an
argillaceous stratum, which is divided, topographically, into an upper
and lower bank. Wherever this clay has been examined by digging, it
discloses pebbles of various species of rock, denoting it, as far as
these extend at least, to be a part of the great drift stratum.

In digging a well near the old Council House, in the northeast part of
the city, the top soil appeared to be less than two feet. The workmen
then passed through a stratum of blue clay, of eight or ten feet, when
they struck a vein of coarse sand, six or eight inches in thickness,
through which the water entered profusely. The digging was carried
through another bed of blue clay, twenty or twenty-two feet in depth,
when the men reached a stratum of fine yellow sand, into which they dug
three feet and stopped, having found sufficient water. The whole depth
of the well is thirty-three feet. The water is clear and rapid. No
vegetable or other remains were found, and but few primitive pebbles.

In another well, situated near the centre of the town, the depth of
which is twelve feet, the top soil was found to be two feet and a half;
then a bed of gravel, seven feet; a vein of blue clay, eight inches, and
the residue a whitish-blue clay, very compact and hard; a copious supply
of water having been found. The water is, however, slightly colored, and
is of a quality called hard.

In some places, this clay drift yields balls of iron pyrites, which
renders the water unpalatable. At what depth the rock would be struck,
if the excavation were continued, can only be conjectured. A well has
been dug, a short distance below the city, upwards of sixty feet,
chiefly through clay and gravel, without reaching the rock; but abraded
fragments of granite and hornblende rocks were thrown from the greatest
depths.

The bed of the river opposite the city has been stated to consist of
limestone rock, but without any proof or much probability. From the fact
of its affording a good anchorage to vessels, I am inclined to think
that it is wholly composed of clay and gravel.

DETROIT FLUVIATILE CLAY.--The argillaceous stratum of Detroit extends
along both banks of the river to its head; passes around the shores of
Lake St. Clair, and up the River St. Clair to Fort Gratiot--a distance
of seventy miles. In this distance there are some moderate elevations
and depressions in the surfaces of the soil, but no very striking
changes in its general character and composition. The boulder stratum is
prominent at Gros Point, at the foot of Lake St. Clair, where the shore
exhibited some heavy blocks of granite, and other foreign rock.

ST. CLAIR FLATS OF PLASTIC CLAY.--At the mouth of the River St. Clair,
the current is divided into several channels, and spread over a
considerable tract of low ground, which is covered with grasses and
aquatic plants. These channels have worn their way through beds of tough
blue clay, called the flats, over which there is sometimes not over
seven feet eight inches of water in the ship channel. They consequently
form an impediment to commerce. The depth is, however, always increased
in the spring season, when twelve inches more may be generally relied
on. Frequently, during the droughts of summer, a change of wind, and its
steady continuance for some time, will allow ships to pass without
lighters. The permanent removal of this bar is, however, an object of
national importance, which cannot but be felt, as the tonnage of the
lakes increases.

ANCIENT DUNE; A BURIED FOREST.--The principal spot where the lands, in
the immediate vicinity of the water, assume any considerable or abrupt
elevation, is included between Black River of the St. Clair and Lake
Huron. Here the outlet of the lake, which is rapid, washes the base of a
ridge, or ancient dune, elevated fifty or sixty feet above the water.
Fort Gratiot occupies the upper part of this elevation. The lower part
consists of the blue clay stratum, corresponding in character with that
found in the wells of Detroit. It is overlaid by a deposit of sand,
forming two-thirds of the entire height. This elevation is crowned with
a light forest of oak and other species. At the line of junction
between the sand and clay, a number of trees are seen to be
horizontally imbedded, projecting their roots and trunks in a striking
manner above the water. These trees, on inspection, are merely
preserved, not petrified. They appear to have been exposed to view, in
modern times, by the wearing away of the bank. Certainly, none of the
old travellers mention them.

The mode of this formation may be clearly seen. Winds, at some ancient
period, have been the agent of blowing the sands, as they were washed up
by the lake, and redepositing them on part of a prostrated forest,
resting directly on the clay stratum. The trees, thus buried in dry
sand, have been preserved. In process of time, the river encroached upon
these antique beds, exposing them to view. There are also antique
fresh-water shells found in similar positions near this spot. No rock
is, thus far, found _in sitû_ in ascending the lakes. The old surface of
the country is wholly of diluvial formation, except where it shows lake
action.

HURON COAST FROM FORT GRATIOT TO MICHILIMACKINAC.--About two hundred and
thirty miles lie stretched out between these two points. Lake Huron
charms the eye, with the view of its freshness and oceanic expanse. But
the entrance is without rock scenery, and the student of its geology
must be a patient gleaner along its shores. Long coasts of sand and
gravel extend before the eye, and they are surmounted, at a moderate
elevation, with a dense foliage, which limits the view of its structure
to a narrow line. Portions of this coast are heavily loaded with the
primitive debris[212] from the North. These are found, in some places,
in heavy masses, but all are more or less abraded, showing that they
have been transported from their original beds. In one of these, I
observed crystals of staurotide.

  [212] In 1824, an Indian brought me a specimen of native silver found
  on this part of the coast. It was imbedded in a boulder of mixed
  granite and steatite.

The first section of this coast reaches from Fort Gratiot to Point aux
Barques, a distance of about seventy-five miles. Nearly midway lies the
White Rock, a very large boulder of whitish-gray semi-crystalline
limestone, lying off the shore about half a mile, in water of about one
and a half fathom's depth. It is the effect of gulls lighting upon this
rock, and not the intensity of the color of the stone, that has
originated the name--which is a translation of the _Roche Blanche_ of
the older _voyageurs_. The Detroit clay-formation still characterizes
the coast.

FIRST EMERGENCE OF ROCK, IN PLACE, ABOVE THE SURFACE.--We are passing,
in this section, along and near to the outcrop of the secondary strata
of the peninsula, but these strata are covered with a heavy deposit of
diluvial clays, sands, and pebble drift. The first emergence of fixed
rocks, above the line of the drift, occurs after passing Elm Creek in
the advance to Ship Point (_Pointe aux Barques_). It is a species of
coarse gray, loosely compacted sandstone, in horizontal layers. This
rock continues to characterize the coast to and around the Ship Point
promontory into Saganaw Bay. It possesses a few fossil remains of
corallines; but the rock is not of sufficient compactness and durability
for architectural purposes. It is conjectured to be one of the outlying
series of the coal measures, of which this coast exhibits, further on,
other evidences.

SAGANAW BAY.--The phenomena of this large body of water, which is some
sixty miles long, appear to indicate an original rent in the
stratification, having its centre of action very deep. If the peninsula
of Michigan be likened to a huge fish's head, this bay may be considered
as its open mouth. We crossed the inner bay from Point aux Chenes, where
it is estimated to be twenty miles across.[213] The traverse is broken
by an island, to which the Indians, with us, applied the name of
Sha-wan-gunk.[214] It is composed of a dark-colored limestone, of dull
and earthy fracture and compact structure. It presents broken and
denuded edges at the water level. I observed in it nodular masses of
chalcedony and calc. spar. The margin of the island bears fragments of
the boulder stratum.

  [213] Ships make the traverse where it is sixty miles wide.

  [214] The reason of this name I did not learn. It is apparently the
  same name as that bestowed on a mountain range in Orange and Ulster
  Counties, New York, lying south of the Catskills, where it is
  sometimes called, for short, Shongum. The meaning is, evidently,
  something like South-land-place. The local _unk_ may be translated
  hill, island, continent, &c. &c.

HIGHLANDS OF SAUBLE.--On crossing the bay, these highlands present
themselves to view in the distance. They are the north-eastern verge of
the most elevated central strata of the peninsula. Their structure can
only be inferred from the formations along the margin of the lake,
extending by Thunder Bay and Presque Isle, and the Isles of Bois Blanc
and Round Island to Michilimackinac. At Thunder Bay, the compact
limestone of the Saganaw Islands reappears, and is constantly in sight
from this point to Presque Isle. It exists in connection with bituminous
shale, at an island in Thunder Bay. It is of a dark carbonaceous
character on the main opposite Middle Island, at a point which is called
by the Indians _Sho-sho-ná-bi-kó-king_, or Place of the Smooth Rock. I
noticed at this point the cyathophyllum helianthoides in abundance, and
easily detached them from the rock. The more compact portions of this
formation in the approach to Presque Isle, disclosed the ammonite, two
species of the gorgonia, and the fragment of a species of chambered
shell, whose character is indeterminate.

Much of the coast was footed, as the winds were adverse, and its debris
thus subjected to a careful scrutiny. Wherever the limestone was broken
up or receded from the water, long lines of yellow beach-sand and
lake-gravel, including members of the erratic block stratum, intervened.
In some localities, local beds of iron sand occur.

MICHILIMACKINAC.[215]--The approach to this island was screened from our
view by the woody shores and forests of Bois Blanc, an island of some
twelve miles in length lying off the main land; and the view of it first
burst upon us in the narrow channel between it and Round Island. It is a
striking geological monument of mutations. Here the calcareous rock,
which had before exhibited itself in low ledges along the shore is piled
up in masses, which reach an extreme altitude of three hundred and
twelve feet. About two hundred feet of this elevation is precipitous on
its south, east, and west edge. A hundred feet or more is piled up on
its centre, part rock and part soil, in a crowning shape. The highest
part of this apex, which is surmounted by the ruins of Fort Holmes,
consists of the drift stratum, among which are boulders of sienite, and
other foreign rocks. A locality of these abraded boulder-rocks, near the
Dousman farm, is worthy of a visit from all who take an interest in the
phenomena of boulders dispersed over the continent. The fishermen
represent the water around this island to be eighty fathoms in depth.
Yet, across these waters, to the utmost altitude of the island, these
blocks of foreign rock have been transported. No force capable of
effecting this is now known. And the argument of their having been
transported on cakes of ice, in the nascent periods of the globe, is
rendered stronger by these appearances than any geological proofs which
I have yet seen.

  [215] The name, as pronounced by the Indians, is Mich-en-i-mack-in-ong,
  meaning Place of Turtle Spirits, a notion of their mythology. It was
  anciently deemed a sacred spot, or one where Monetoes revealed
  themselves.

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER OF THE MACKINAC LIMESTONE.--Nothing appears so
completely to puzzle the observer as the first glance at this rock. It
is different in appearance from the calcareous rocks, to which my
attention has heretofore been called in Western New York, and in
Missouri and Illinois. The difficulty is to find a point of comparison.
I walked entirely around the island, partly in water, the northern
shores being comparatively low. There appeared to be three layers. The
first, which rises up from the depths of the lake, scarcely, if at all,
reaches the water level. Upon this is superimposed a vesicular rock, of
which the vesicles are filled with carbonate of lime in the state of
agaric mineral. By exposure to the air, this substance readily
decomposes, and assumes an almost limey whiteness, and sometimes a
complete pulverulent state. The reticular, or vesicular lines, by which
the mass is held together, are thus weakened, and large masses of the
craggy parts fall, and assume the condition of debris at the water's
edge. Some conditions of the reticulated filaments are covered with
minute crystals of cal. spar; others of minutely crystallized quartz.
There appear, at other localities, in low positions, layers of quartz in
the condition of a coarse bluish, flinty, striped agate. The entire
stratum appears to be a reproduced mass, which is plainly denoted, if I
mistake not, by some imbedded masses of an elder lime-rock. The whole
stratum is too shelly and fissured to be of value for economical
purposes. It yields neither quicklime nor building stone.

Fort Mackinac is erected on the summit of this stratum. The two objects
of curiosity, called the Arched Rock, and the point called Robinson's
Folly, are evidences of this tendency of the cliffs to disintegration.
The superior stratum which constitutes the nucleus of the Fort Holmes'
summit, contains more silex, diffused throughout its structure. It is,
however, of a loose, though hard and shelly character; and has, in the
geological mutations of the island been chiefly demolished and washed
away. The monumental mass of this period of demolition, called the Sugar
Loaf, is a proof that it contained, either by its shape, or otherwise, a
superior power of resisting these means of ancient prostration. Striking
as it now appears, this is the simple story which it tells. Its apex is
probably level, or nearly so, with the Fort Holmes's summit. Over the
whole island, after these demolitions, the drift stratum was deposited.

The German geognosts apply the term _mushelkalk_, to this species of
calcareous rock. It is, apparently, the magnesian limestone of English
writers.

ANCIENT WATER LINES.--Such marks appear on the most compact parts of the
cliffs, denoting the water to have stood, during the ancient boundaries
of the lake, at higher levels.

LAKE ACTION.--It is known that strong currents set into the Straits of
Michilimackinac, and out of it, from Lake Michigan, at this point. The
fishermen, who set their nets at four hundred feet in the waters, often
bring up, entangled in their nets, large compact masses of limestone,
which have been fretted into a kind of lacework, by the rotatory motion
of little pebbles and grains of sand, kept in perpetual motion by the
water at the bottom of the lake.

ORGANIC IMPRESSIONS.--There are cast up among the lake debris of this
island, casts of some species of orthocaratites, ammonites, and
madrepores, which appear to be derived from the calcareous rocks in
place in the basin of Lake Huron. But the rock strata of the island
itself appear to be singularly destitute of these remains. The only
species which I have noticed, is one that was thrown up from a well
attempted to be dug, on the apex of Fort Holmes, by the British troops,
while they held possession of the island in 1813, 1814, and 1815. But
this is uniformly fragmentary. It has the precise appearance of the head
of a trilobite, but never reveals the whole of the lateral lobes, nor
any of the essential connecting parts. It is silicious.

GYSEUS FORMATION.--Evidences of the extension of this formation to this
vicinity were brought to my notice; in consequence of which I visited
the St. Martin's Islands, which belong to the Mackinac group. Masses of
gypsum were found imbedded in the soil, both of the fibrous and compact
variety. These islands are low diluvial formations. Similar masses are
found on Goose Island; and the mineral has been found at Point St.
Ignace on the main land.

Taken in connection with the discovery of this mineral, at a subsequent
part of the journey on Grand River, the indications of the series of the
saline group of rocks, so prevalent in the Mississippi Valley, are quite
clear up to this extreme point, which is, however, very near the
northern verge of this group.

HONEYCOMBED ROCKS.--As evidences of existing lake action, it has already
been mentioned that the fishermen bring up, from great depths in the
straits, pieces of compact limestone, completely fretted and excavated
by small pebbles, which are kept in motion by the strong currents which
prevail at profound depths. The process of their formation by these
currents is such, as in some instances to give the appearance of
cellepores, and analogous forms of organic life. I have seen nothing in
these carious forms which does not reveal the mechanical action of these
waters.

PSEUDOMORPHIC FORMS.--Amongst the limestone debris, of recent date,
found on these shores, are pieces of rock which have an appearance as if
they had been punctured with a lancet, or blade of a penknife. These
incisions are numerous, and from their regularity, appear to have been
moulded on some crystals which have subsequently decayed. Yet, there are
difficulties in supposing such to have been the origin of these small
angular orifices.

Whenever these masses are examined by obtaining a fresh fracture, they
are found to consist of the compact gray and semi-granular rock of the
inferior Mackinac group, but in no instance of the vesicular or
silicious varieties. These blocks appear to be identical in character
with the White Rock, before noticed.

NORTH SHORE OF LAKE HURON.--The next portion of the country examined was
that of the north shores of the lake, extending from Michilimackinac to
Point Detour, the west Cape of the Straits of St. Mary's, a distance
computed to be forty miles. The calcareous rock, such as it appears in
the inferior stratum of Mackinac, extends along this coast. The first
three leagues of it, consist of an open traverse across an arm of the
lake. Goose Island offers a shelter to the voyager, which is generally
embraced. It consists of an accumulation of pebbles and boulders on a
reef, with a light soil, resting on the lower limestone. It does not,
perhaps, at any point, rise to an elevation of more than eight or ten
feet above the water. Outard Point, a short league, or rather three
miles further, exhibits the same underlying formation of rock, which is
found wherever solid points put out into the lake, during the entire
distance. The chain of islands called Chenos, extends about twenty
miles, and affords shelter during storms to boatmen and canoemen, who
are compelled to pass this coast. Large masses of the rock, with its
angles quite entire, lie along parts of the shore, and appear to have
been but recently detached. The intervals between these blocks and
points of coast, are formed of the loose sand and pebbles of the lake,
which are more or less affected by every tempest. The only organic
remains and impressions are drift-specimens, which have been driven
about by the waves, and are abraded. Broken valves of the anadonta,
occasionally found in similar positions, denote that this species exists
in the region, but that the outer localities of the coast are entirely
unfavorable to their growth.

DRUMMOND ISLAND.--This island, now in the possession of British troops,
who removed from Michilimackinac in 1816, is the western terminus of the
Manatouline chain. We did not visit it, but learn from authentic
sources, that it is a continuation of the nether Mackinac limestone--and
that the locality abounds in loose petrifactions, which appear to have
belonged to an upper stratum of the rock, now disrupted.[216]

  [216] Dr. John Bigsby, in a memoir read before the London Geological
  Society, has described and figured several of these. In a memoir by
  Charles Stokes, Esq., of London, read before this Society in June,
  1837, some of its most striking fossils are figured and described,
  with references to the prior discoveries of Dr. Bigsby, Captain
  Bayfield, and Dr. Richardson. Six new species of the Arctinoceras,
  and five of the Huronia, Ormoceras, and Orthocerata, are figured and
  described in the most splendid manner. This memoir is essential to
  all who would understand its fossil history, and that of the North
  generally.

STRAITS OF ST. MARY'S.--These straits, and the river which falls into
their head, connect Lakes Huron and Superior. They appear to occupy the
ancient line of junction between the great calcareous and granitic
series of rocks on the continent. The limestone, which has been noticed
along the north shore of the Huron from Michilimackinac, and which
continues, with interruptions of water only, from Detour to Drummond
Island, and the Manatoulines, is to be noticed up the straits as high as
Isle a la Crosse, where the last locality of a pure carbonate of lime
appears to occur. The island of St. Joseph is chiefly primitive rock,
and its south end is heavily loaded with granitic, porphyritic, and
quartz boulders. The north shores of the river, opposite and above this
island, are entirely of the granitic series, which continues to Gros
Cape of Lake Superior. On reaching the _Nebeesh_,[217] or Sailor's
Encampment Island, sandstone rocks of a red color present themselves,
and are found also on the American side of the river, and continue to
characterize it to the Falls, or Sault de Ste. Marie,[218] and to Point
Iroquois and Isle Parisien in Lake Superior.

  [217] Strong water.

  [218] Reached somewhere about 1641, by the French missionaries.

The Sault of St. Mary's is _upon_ and _over_ this red sandstone. The
river makes several successive leaps, of a few feet at a time, in its
central channel, falling, altogether, about twenty-two feet in half a
mile. This gives it a foaming appearance, and the volume pours a heavy
murmur on the ear.[219] It is, of course, a complete interruption to the
navigation of vessels, which can, however, come to anchor near its foot,
while barges may be pushed up, empty, on the American shore. The
water-power created by such a change of level, is such as must commend
the spot, at a future period, to manufacturers, lumbermen, and miners.
The foot of these falls is heavily incumbered, both with masses of the
disrupted sand-rock[220] and granitic and conglomerate boulders.

  [219] In 1825, Lieutenant Charles F. Morton, U. S. A., sent to my
  office a mass of this red sand rock, of about twelve inches
  diameter, perfectly round and ball-shaped, which he had directed
  one of the soldiers to pick up, in an excursion among the islands
  of the lower St. Mary's. This ball was a monument of that physical
  throe which had originally carried this river through the sandstone
  pass of St. Mary's, having been manifestly rounded in what geologists
  have called "a pocket hole" in the rock at the falls, and afterwards
  carried away, with the disrupted rocks, down the valley.

  [220] The Indiana call it _Pauwateeg_ (water leaping on the rocks),
  when speaking of the phenomenon, and _Pawating_, when referring to
  the place of it.

RED SANDSTONE OF LAKE SUPERIOR.--That this is the old red sandstone, may
be inferred simply from the fact that, although deposited originally in
horizontal beds, its position has been disturbed in many localities.

PLASTIC CLAY STRATUM OF THE LAKES.--The northern extremity of Muddy
Lake--a sheet of water some twenty miles in length--is the head of the
straits, and the beginning of the River St. Mary's. This sheet of water
has the property of being rendered slightly whitish, or turbid, by
continuous winds. Its bottom appears to be formed of the same plastic
blue clay which obstructs the passage of vessels of large draft on the
St. Clair flats, and forms an impediment of a similar kind in this river
in Lake George. This stratum seems to be the result of causes not now in
operation. If dredged through, or excavated, there is no reason to
suppose it would again accumulate; for the waters of the lake are clear
and pure, and carry down no deposit of the kind. These clay deposits
remain to attest physical changes which are past. They denote the
demolition of formations of slate in the upper regions, which have been
broken down and washed away when the dominion of the waters was far more
potential than they now are.

This formation is favorable to the growth of some species of fresh-water
shells. I observed several species of the anadonta and the plenorbis,
and think, from the broken valves, that research would develop others.

PORPHYRY AND CONGLOMERATE BOULDERS.--A formation of red jasper, in
common white quartz, exists, in the bed of intersection, on the
southeastern foot of Sugar Island. The fragments of jasper are of a
bright vermil red, quite opaque, and have preserved their angles. I had
observed fragments of the formation along the shores of the lower part
of the straits, and even picked up some specimens, entirely abraded,
however, on the south shores of the Huron, between the White Rock and
Michilimackinac--a proof of the course of the drift.

The granitic conglomerates appear quite conclusive, one would think, of
the results of fusion. The attraction of aggregation would seem
inadequate to hold together such diverse masses. In these curious and
striking masses we see the red feldspathic granite, black and shining
hornblende rock, white fatty quartz, and striped jasper, held together
as firmly, and polished by attrition as completely, as if they
were--what they are not--the results of crystallization in this
aggregate form.

ERRATIC BLOCK GROUP.--Wherever, in fact, the geologist sets his foot, on
the shores of the upper lakes, he finds himself on the great drift
stratum, and cannot but revert to that era when waters, on a grander
scale, swept over these plains, and the lakes played rampantly over
wider areas.[221]

  [221] During a subsequent residence of eleven years at this point,
  the excavations made on both sides of the river, in digging wells,
  canals made by the military, &c., fully demonstrated the truth of
  this general observation. In these positions, it was evident that
  some greatly superior force of watery removal, such as does not now
  exist, had heaped together particles of similar matters, according to
  laws which govern moving, compacted masses of water, leaving clay to
  settle according to the laws of diffused clay, sand of sand, and
  pebbles and boulders of pebbles and boulders. In their change and
  redeposit, gravity has evidently been the primary cause, modified by
  compressed currents, attraction, and probably those secret and still
  undeveloped magnetic and electric influences which exist in
  connection with astronomical phenomena. That the earth's surface,
  "standing out of the water and in the water," has been disrupted and
  preyed upon by oceanic power, no one, at this day of geological
  illumination, will deny.

BASIN OF LAKE SUPERIOR.--We entered this island sea as if by a kind of
geological gate, in which the sandstone cliffs of Point Iroquois, on the
one hand, stand opposite to the granitical hills of Gross Cape on the
other.

In order to conceive of its geology, it may subserve the purposes of
description to compare it to a vast basonic crater. The rim of this
crater has been estimated, by Sir Alexander Mackenzie, at fifteen
hundred miles. The primitive formations of Labrador and Hudson's Bay
coasts come up, so as to form the eastern and northern sides of the rim,
around which they stand in cliffs of sienitic greenstone and hornblendic
rocks, in some places a thousand feet high. On its south and southwest
shores, this formation of the elder class of rocks forms also a
considerable portion of the coast; as in the rough tract of Granite
Point, the Porcupine and Iron River Mountains, and the primitive tract
west of Chegoimegon, or Lapointe. It will serve to denote the broken
character of this rim, if we state that the entire plain of the lake,
running against and fitting to this rim, was originally filled up with
the red, gray, and mottled sandstone, which gave way and fell in at
localities west of the great Keweena Peninsula, converting its bottom
into an anteclinal axis.

Volcanic action, to which this disturbance in its westerly bearings may
be attributed, appears to have thrown up the trap-rocks of the Pic, of
the Porcupine chain, of the Isle Royal group, and other trap islands,
and the long peninsula of Keweena. This system of forces appears to have
spent itself from the northeast to the southwest. The shocks brought
with them the elements of the copper and other metallic bodies which
characterize the trap-rock. They exhausted their power, on the American
side, west of the granitic tract of Chocolate and Dead Rivers, and the
Totosh and Cradle-Top Mountains. The most violent disturbance took place
at the west of the Keweena Peninsula, and thence it was propagated in
the direction of the higher Ontonagon, the Iron, and the Montreal
rivers.

This disturbance of the level of the sandstone produced undulations,
which are observable on the St. Mary's, where the variation from a level
is not more than eight or ten degrees. They left portions of it--as
between Isle au Train and the Firesteel River--undisturbed; and they
threw other portions of it--as between Iron and Montreal rivers--almost
completely on their edges.

The entire north shore from Gargontwa to the old Grand Portage,
inclusive of the Michepicotin and Pic regions, cannot be particularly
alluded to, as that part of the coast was not visited; but the accounts
of observers represent it as consisting of trap-rocks. Without the
application of such forces, it appears impossible to understand the
geology of this lake, or to account for the sectional and disturbed
formations.

The lake itself, whose depth is great, and which has an extreme length
of about 500 miles, by an extreme width of some 180, is endowed with
powerful means of existing elemental action. This consists almost
entirely of the force of its winds and long, sweeping waves. Its bottom
may, in this light, be looked upon as an immense mortar or triturating
apparatus, in which its sandstones, trap-boulders, and pebbles are
driven about and comminuted. This power has greatly changed its
configuration, and the process of these mutations is daily going on.

It is only by such a power of geological action that we can account for
the powerful demolitions and inroads which it has made upon some parts
of its southern borders. The coasts of the Pictured Rocks, which have a
prominent development of about 12 to 15 miles, consist in horizontal
strata of coarse gray sandstone, of little cohering power. The effect of
waves beating upon rocks is to communicate a curved line. This has
operated to excavate numerous and extensive caves into the coast. These,
after reaching hundreds of feet, have in some cases united. The effect
is to isolate portions of the coast, and to leave it in fearful
pinnacles, having many of the architectural characters of Gothic or
Doric ruins.

The portion of coast immediately west of Grand Marrais is scarcely less
unique. It denotes the effect of the prostrating power of the lake in
another way. The sandstone of parts of the coast, ground down into
yellow sand by this vast machinery, is lifted up by the winds as soon as
it reaches the point of dryness, and heaped up into vast dunes. Standing
trees are buried in these tempests of sand, and its effect is, for about
nine miles along the coast, to present, at an elevation of several
hundred feet, a scene of arid desolation, which can only be equalled by
the Arabic deserts.

A dyke of trap seems once to have extended from the north shore to Point
Keweena; but, if so, it has been prostrated, and its contents--veins and
deposits, silicious and metallic--scattered profusely around the shores
of the lakes. A cause less general is hardly sufficient to account for
the wide distribution of fragments of the copper veins and vein-stones
which have so long been noticed as characters of this lake. The basal
remains of this antique dyke form the peninsula of Keweena. The tempests
beating against this barrier from the northwest, have ripped up terrific
areas from the solid rock, and left its covering, amygdaloid and
rubblestones, in fantastic patches upon the more solid parts, or
constituting islands in front of them.

STRUCTURE OF ITS SOUTHERN COAST.--The estimated distance from Sault Ste.
Marie to Fond du Lac is a fraction over 500 miles. The sandstone, as it
appears in the Falls of the St. Mary's, does not appear to be entirely
level. It exhibits an undulation of about 8° or 10°, dipping to
west-northwest. Two instances of this waved stratification of the Lake
Superior sandstone deserve notice. The first terminates at the
intersection of red sand rock at la Point des Grande Sables with the
beginning of the horizontal strata of the Pictured Rocks. We again
observe an inclination of the strata of a few degrees at Grand Island,
which is moreingfish River, and appears to dip at Isle aux Trains,
about twenty miles northeast. The scenery is peculiarly soft and
pleasing in passing the Huron Islands, a granitic group, and directing
the view, as in the sketch, to the coast and the rough granitical hills
rising behind Huron Bay. The strata are level, as shown above, around
the Bay of Presque Isle and Granite Point, and continue so, resting on
the roots of the granitical tract of the _Tötosh_, or Schoolcraft, and
Cradletop Mountains, and at Point aux Beignes, and Keweena Bay. This
level position of the rock is preserved to the south cape of the shallow
bay of the Bete Gre, on the north, at which the trap-dykes of the
peninsula first begin; and so continues after passing that rugged coast
of the vitreous series of that remarkable point, to and beyond Eagle
River and Sandy Bay, in the approach to the portage of the Keweena.

The same horizontality is observed on the headland west of it, and upon
all the points and headlands to Misery and Firesteel Rivers and the
mouth of the Ontonagon. The trap-dyke of Keweena crosses this river
about ten miles, in a direct line, inland.

At Iron River, we observe a stratum of compact gray grauwacke, over the
hackly bed of which that river forces its way during the spring months,
and stands in tanks and pools during the summer. On reaching the foot of
the Porcupine Mountains, the sandstone, which is here of a dark
chocolate color, with quartz pebbles of the bigness of a pigeon's egg,
and organic remains of paleozoic type, is found to be tilted up into
nearly a vertical position, as shown in the sketch. The grauwacke
reappears, in a most striking manner, at the Falls of Presque Isle
River, where the whole mass of water precipitated from the highlands
drops into a vast pot-hole, a hundred feet wide and perhaps twice that
depth. The whole upper series of rocks, from the Porcupine Cliffs west
to the Montreal River, is a conglomerate. At the Falls of the Montreal,
the river drops over the vertical edges of the red sandstone. Beyond the
Bay of St. Chares, at Lapointe Chegoimigon, masses of sienitic mountains
arise, which have their apex near La Riviere de Fromboise.

The Islands of the Twelve Apostles, or Federation Group, appear to be
all based on the sienitic or trap, with overlying red sandstone; which
latter again reappears on the point of the entrance into Fond du Lac
Bay, and marks its southern coast, till near the entrance of the Brulé,
or Misakoda River, as seen in the illustration beneath. Shores of sand
then intercept its view to the entrance of the River St. Louis, and up
its channel to its first rapids, about eighteen miles, where the red
sandstone again appears, as the first series of the Cabotian Mountains.

SERPENTINE ROCK.--At the nearest point north of Rivier du Mort is a
headland of this rock, jutting out from the granitical formation.
Lapping against it, at the mouth of the river, is a curious formation of
magnesian breccia. The serpentine rock appears, in nearly every locality
examined, to be highly charged with particles of chromate of iron. It
may be expected to yield the usual magnesian minerals.[222] Its position
is between the Carp River and Granite Point, in the Bay of Presque Isle,
or rather Chocolate River, for that river pours into this bay by far the
largest quantity of water.[223]

  [222] In 1831, in making some explorations of this rock with
  gunpowder, I found the serpentine in a crystalline state, of a
  beautiful deep-green color, but appearing as if the crystallization
  was pseudomorphous.

  [223] The extensive iron mines of Marquette County, Upper Michigan,
  are now worked in this vicinity.

ANCIENT DRIFT-STRATUM.--In the intervals between the points and
headlands, where the rock formation is exposed by streams or gorges, the
drift, or erratic boulder stratum, is found. Such is its position
beneath the sand-dunes of the Grandes Sables, and in the elder plains
and uplands, stretching with interruptions on the coast from the head of
the Mary's valley to that of the St. Louis. The edge of this formation
is composed of the sand and loose pebbles and boulders of the lake.
Mighty as are the existing causes of action of the lake in beating down
and disrupting strata of every kind, and in reproducing alluvial lands
and dunes, they are weak and local when compared to the causes which
have spread these ponderous boulders, and drift masses over latitudes
and longitudes which appear to be limited only by the leading elevations
of the continent. That oceanic torrents of water, suddenly heaped on the
land, and wedged into compactness and power now unknown to it, is after
all, the most plausible theory of the dispersion of this formation, and
this theory avoids the necessary local one of the glacial dispersion
which presupposes a very low temperature over the whole surface of the
globe.

KAUGWUDJU.[224]--This imposing mass of the trap-rocks is the highest on
the southern shores of Lake Superior. The following outlines of it are
taken from a point on the approach to the Ontonagon River, about forty
miles distant.

  [224] Porcupine Mountains. From _kaug_, a porcupine, and _wudju_,
  mountain.

They rise to their apex about thirty miles west of that stream, in north
lat. 46° 52´ 2´´, as observed by Captain Douglass. They are distant
three hundred and fifty miles from St. Mary's. In a serene day they
present a lofty outline, and were seen by us from the east, at the
distance of about eighty miles. The Indians represent them to have a
deep tarn, with very imposing perpendicular walls, at one of the highest
points. If Lake Superior be estimated at six hundred and forty feet
above the Atlantic, as my notes indicate, its peaks are higher than any
estimates we have of the source of the Mississippi, and are, at least,
the highest elevations on this part of the continent. The granitical
tract of the St. Francis, Missouri,[225] and of the quartz high lands of
Wachita, Arkansas, the only two known primitive elevations between the
Rocky and Alleghany chains, are far less elevated.

  [225] _Vide_ my view of the lead mines, in the Appendix to "Scenes
  and Adventures in the Ozark Mountains."

I have now taken a rapid glance at the formations along the southern
shore of the lake between St. Mary's and Fond du Lac; but have passed by
some features which may be thought to merit attention.

EXISTING LAKE DRIFT.--The gleaner among the rock debris of this lake has
a field of labor which is not dissimilar to that of the fossilist. If he
has not, so to say, to put joint to joint, to establish his conclusions,
he has a mineralogical adjustment to make every way as obscure. A
boulder of sienite, or a mass of sandstone, or grauwacke, may be easily
referred to a contiguous rock. But when the observer meets with species
which are apparently foreign to the region, he is placed in a dilemma
between the toil of an impossible scrutiny and the danger of an
unlicensed conjecture.

Among the more common masses which may be assigned a locality within the
compass of the lake, are granites, sienites, hornblendes, greenstones,
schists, traps, grauwackes, sandstones, porphyries, quartz rocks,
serpentines, breccias, amygdaloids, amphiboles, and a variety of masses
in which epidote and hornblende are essential constituents. With these,
the coast mineralogist must associate, in place or out of place, agates,
chalcedonies, carnelians, zeolite, prehnite, calcareous spar,
crystalline quartz, amethystine quartz, coarse jaspers, noble
serpentine, iron-sand, iron-glance, sulphate of lead, chromate of iron,
native copper, carbonate of copper, and various species of pyrites.
These were, at least, my principal rewards for about eighteen days'
labor, in scrutinizing, at every possible point, its lengthened and
varied coasts.

CUPREOUS FORMATION.--The whole region, above Grand Island at least,
appears to have been the theatre of trap-dykes, and an extensive action
from beneath, which brought to the surface the elements of the formation
of copper veins. These have not been much explored; but, so far as
observation goes, there are evidences which cannot be resisted, that the
region contains this metal in various shapes and great abundance. I
refer to my report of the 6th of November, 1820, for evidences of a
valuable deposit of this metal in the valley of the Ontonagon River, and
at other points. I found the metal in its native state at various other
localities, and always under physical evidences which denoted its
existence, in the geological column of the lake, in quantity. These
indications were confined almost exclusively to the area intervening
between the peninsula of Keweena, and La Pointe Chegoimegon, a distance
of about one hundred and fifty miles. Of this district, the two
extremities would make the Ontonagon Valley about the centre.[226] A
profile of one of the detached pieces, found in the Ontonagon Valley,
and forwarded to you by Mr. Van Rensselaer, is herewith given.

  [226] I would also refer, for subsequent information, to my report of
  the 1st of October, 1822, made in compliance to a resolution of the
  Senate, and printed in the Executive Documents of that year, No. 365,
  17th Congress, 2d session.

VITRIC BOULDERS.--Among the debris of Lake Superior are masses of
trachyte, and also small pieces of the sienitic series, in which the red
feldspar has a calcined appearance, the quartz being, at the same time,
converted into a perfectly vitreous texture. Similar productions, but
not of the same exact character, exist on the sandy summits of the
Grande Sable. These exhibit an exterior of glistening cells or
orifices: it may be possible that they have been produced by fusion; but
I think not. The smooth cells appear like grains of sand hurled by the
winds over these bleak dunes. I have brought from that locality a single
specimen of pitchstone, perfectly resinous, bleak and shining.

LA POINTE CHEGOIMEGON.--A sketch of these islands, as given in the
Narrative, denotes that their number is greatly underrated, and will
serve to show the configuration of a very marked part of the Superior
coast. It must, hereafter, become one of the principal harbors and
anchoring-ground for vessels of the lake.

VALLEY OF THE ST. LOUIS RIVER.--The St. Louis River takes its rise on
the southern side of the Hauteur des Terres, being the same formation of
the drift and erratic block stratum which gives origin, at a more
westerly point, to the Mississippi. Its tributaries lie northwest of the
Rainy Lakes. Vermilion Lake, a well-known point of Indian trade, is a
tributary to its volume, which is large, and its outlet rushes with a
great impetus to the lake. At what height its sources lie above Lake
Superior, we can only conjecture. It was estimated to have a fall of two
hundred and nine feet to the head of the Portage aux Coteaux, and may
have a similar rise above.

By far its most distinguishing feature is its passage at the Grand
Portage through the Cabotian Mountains. We entered it at Fond du Lac and
pursued up its channel through alluvial grounds, in which it winds with
a deep channel about nineteen or twenty miles to the foot of its first
rapids. This point was found one mile above the station of the American
Fur Company's trading-house. Here we encountered the first rock stratum,
in the shape of our old geological acquaintance, the old red sandstone
of Lake Superior. It was succeeded in the first sixteen miles, in the
course of which the river is estimated to fall two hundred feet--most of
it in the first twenty-nine miles--by trap, argillite, and grauwacke.
Through these barriers the water forces its way, producing a series of
rapids and falls which the observer often beholds with amazement. The
river is continually in a foam for nine miles, and the wonder is that
such a furious and heavy volume of water should not have prostrated
everything before it. The sandstone, grauwacke, and the argillite, the
latter of which stands on its edges, have opposed but a feeble barrier;
but the trap species, resisting with the firmness, as it has the color
of cast-iron, stand in masses which threaten the life and safety of
everything which may be hurled against them. I found a loose specimen of
sulphuret of lead and some common quartz in place in the slate rock, a
vein of clorite slate, and a locality of coarse graphite, to reward my
search.

The Portage aux Coteaux, which is over the basetting edges of the
argillite, will give a lively idea of the effects of this rock upon the
feet of the loaded voyageurs.

The sandstone is last seen near the Galley on the Nine Mile Portage.
Above the Knife Portage, some eight miles higher, vast black boulders of
hornblendic and basaltic blocks, are more frequent; and these masses are
observed to be more angular in their shapes than the boulders and blocks
of kindred character encountered on the shores of Lakes Superior and
Huron. There is a vast sphagnous formation, which spreads westwardly
from the head of the Coteau Portage, and gives rise to the remote
tributaries of Milles lac and Rum River. Much of this consists of what
the Indians term _muskeeg_, or elastic bog. Hurricanes and tempests have
made fearful inroads upon areas of its timber, and it is seldom crossed,
even by the Indians. This tract lies east of the summit of sand-hills
and drift, which environ Sandy Lake, the _Komtaguma_ of the Chippewas.
The portage of the Savanna River, a tributary of the St. Louis, is the
route pursued by persons with canoes; there is no other species of water
craft adapted to this navigation. But wherever crossed, this swamp-land
tract imposes labor and toil which are of no ordinary cast. It is the
equivalent of the argillite which has been broken down and
disintegrated, forming beds of clay soil which are impervious to the
water, and we way regard this ancient slate formation of the true source
of the St. Lawrence tributaries, as the remote origin of those extensive
beds of an argillaceous kind, which exist at many places in the lower
lakes and plains.

Immediately west of the Savanna Portage, the Komtaguma summit is
reached. This summit consists wholly of arid pebble and boulder drift of
the elder period. It exhibits evidences of broken-down amygdaloids,
which not only furnish a part of its pebbles, but also of the contents
of this stratum, in numerous agates and other subspecies of the quartz
family which are found scattered over the surface. This is, in fact, the
origin of that extensive diffusion of these species, which is found in
the valley of the Upper Mississippi, as at Lake Pepin, &c., and which
has even been traced, in small pieces, as low as St. Louis and
Herculaneum in Missouri.[227] We may conclude that the ancient
sandstones, slates, and rubblestone, and amygdaloids, of which traces
still remain, were swept from the summit of the Mississippi by those
ancient floods which appear to have diffused the boulder drift from the
North.

  [227] _Vide_ View of the lead mines.

SANDY LAKE.--The first view of this body of water was obtained from one
of those eminences situated at the influx of the west Savanna River.

This lake is bounded, on its western borders, by the delta of the
Mississippi; its outlet is about two miles in length. We here first
beheld the object of our search. The soil on its banks is of the richest
alluvial character. From this point, dense forests and a moderately
elevated soil, varying from three or four to fifteen feet, confined the
view, on either side, during more than two days' march. On the third day
after leaving Sandy Lake, at an early hour, we reached the Falls of
Pakágama. Here the rock strata show themselves for the first time on the
Mississippi, in a prominent ledge of quartz rock of a gray color.
Through this formation the Mississippi, here narrowed to less than half
its width, forces a passage. The fall of its level in about fifty rods
may be sixteen or eighteen feet. There is no cascade or leap, properly
so called, but a foaming channel of extraordinary velocity, which it is
alike impossible to ascend or descend with any species of water craft.
It lies in the shape of an elbow. We made the portage on the north side.

PAKÁGAMA SUMMIT.--The observer, when he has surmounted the summit,
immediately enters on a theatre of savannas, level to the eye, and
elevated but little above the water. Vistas of grass, reeds, and aquatic
plants spread in every direction. On these grassy plains the river winds
about, doubling and redoubling on itself, and increasing its cord of
distance in a ratio which, by the most moderate computation, would seem
extravagant. On those plateaux, and the small rivers and lakes
connected with them, the wild rice reaches the highest state of
perfection.

Our men toiled with their paddles till the third day, through this
unparalleled maze of water and plants, when we reached the summit of the
Upper Red Cedar or Cass Lake, where we encamped. In this distance no
rock strata appeared, nor any formation other than a jutting ridge of
sand, or an alluvial plain. Plateau on plateau had, indeed, carried us
from one level or basin to another, like a pair of steps, till we had
reached our extreme height.

CASS LAKE BASIN.--From estimates made, this lake is shown to lie at
thirteen hundred and thirty feet above the Atlantic.[228] This is a
small elevation, when we consider it as lying on the southern flank of
the transverse formation which forms the connecting link with the Rocky
Mountains. A rise or a subsidence of this part of the continent to this
amount, would throw the Hudson's Bay and Arctic waters down the
Mississippi valley. The scenery of its coasts is in part arenaceous
plains, and in part arable land, yielding corn to the Indians.

  [228] Agreeable to barometric observations made in 1836, by Mr.
  Nicollet, its true altitude is found to be 1,402 feet above the Gulf
  of Mexico. Its latitude, by the same authority, is 47° 25´ 23´´.

SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.--In order to understand the geology of this
region, it is necessary to premise, that the St. Lawrence, the Hudson's
Bay, and the Mexican Gulf waters are separated by a ridge or watershed
of diluvial hills, called the Hauteur des Terres, which begins
immediately west of the basin of the Rainy Lakes and Rainy Lake River.
This high ground subtends the utmost sources of the Mississippi, and
reaches to the summit of Ottertail Lake, where it divides the
tributaries of the Red River of Lake Winnepec from those of the Des
Corbeau, or Great Crow-Wing River.

Within this basin, which circumscribes a sweep of several hundred miles,
there appears to have been deposited, upon the trap and primary rocks
which form its nucleus, a sedimentary argillaceous deposit, capable of
containing water. Upon this, the sand and pebble drift reposes in strata
of unequal thickness, and the sand is often developed in ridges and
plains, bearing species of the pine. The effect has been, that the
immense amount of vapor condensed upon these summits, and falling in
dews, rains, and snows, being arrested by the impervious subsoil of
clay, has concentrated itself in innumerable lakes, of all imaginable
forms, from half a mile to thirty miles long. These are connected by a
network of rivers, which pour their redundancy into the Mississippi, and
keep up a circulation over the whole vast area. The sand plains often
resting around the shores of these lakes create the impression of bodies
of water resting on sand, which is a fallacy. Some of these bodies of
water are choked up, or not well drained, and overflow their borders,
forming sphagnous tracts. Hence the frequent succession of arid sand
plains, impassable muskeegs, and arable areas on the same plateaux.
Every system of the latter, of the same altitude, constitutes a plateau.
The highest of these is the absolute source of the Mississippi waters.
The next descending series forms another plateau, and so on, till the
river finally plunges over St. Anthony's Falls.

In this descending series of plateaux, the Cass, Leech Lake, and Little
Lake Winnipec form the third and fourth levels.

In descending the Mississippi below the Pakágama, the first stratum of
rock, which rises through the delta of the river, occurs between the
mouth of the Nokasippi and Elm Rivers, below the influx of the Great De
Corbeau. This rock, which is greenstone trap, rises conspicuously in the
bed of the stream, in a rocky isle seated in the rapid called--I know
not with what propriety--the BIG FALLS, or _Grande Chute_. The
precipitous and angular falls of this striking object decide that the
bed of the stream is at this point on the igneous granitical and
greenstone series. This formation is seen at a few points above the
water, until we pass some bold and striking eminences of shining and
highly crystalline hornblendic sienite, which rises in the elevation
called by us Peace Rock, on the left bank, near the Osaukis Rapids. This
rock lies directly opposite to the principal encampment on the 27th of
July, which was on an elevated prairie on the west bank. To this point a
delegation of Sioux had ascended on an embassy of peace from Fort
Snelling to the Chippewas, having affixed on a pole what the exploring
party called a bark letter, the ideas being represented symbolically by
a species of picture writing, or hieroglyphics. In allusion to this
embassy, this locality was called the Peace Rock. This rock is sienite.
It is highly crystalline, and extends several miles. Its position must
be, from the best accounts, in north latitude about 44° 30´. From this
point to Rum River, a distance of seventy miles, no other point of the
intrusion of this formation above the prairie soil was observed.

INTRODUCTION OF THE PALÆONTOLOGICAL ROCKS.--After passing some fifty
miles below this locality there are evidences that the river, in its
progress south, has now reached the vicinity of the great carboniferous
and metalliferous formations, which, for so great a length, and in so
striking a manner, characterize both banks of the Mississippi below St.
Anthony's Falls. About nine or ten miles before reaching these Falls,
this change of geological character is developed; and on reaching the
Falls the river is found to be precipitated, at one leap, over strata of
white sandstone, overlaid by the metalliferous limestone. The channel is
divided by an island, and drops in single sheets, about sixteen to
eighteen feet, exclusive of the swift water above the brink, or of the
rapids for several hundred yards below. This sandstone is composed of
grains of pure and nearly limpid quartz, held together by the cohesion
of aggregation. If my observations were well taken it embraces,
sparingly, orbicular masses of hornblende. It is horizontal, and
constitutes, in some places, walls of stratification, which are
remarkable for their whiteness and purity. This sandstone is overlaid by
the cliff limestone, the same in character, which assumes at some points
a silicious, and at others, a magnesian character. It is manifestly the
same great metalliferous rock which accompanies the lead ore of Missouri
and mines of Peosta or Dubuque. There rests upon it the elder drift
stratum of boulders, pebble, and loam, which marks the entire valley.
This latter embraces boulders of quartz and hornblende rock, along with
limestones and sandstones. It is overlaid by about eighteen inches of
black alluvial carbonaceous mould.

From St. Anthony's Falls the river is perpetually walled on either side
with those high and picturesque cliffs which give it so imposing and
varied an appearance, and its current flows on with a majesty which
seems to the imagination to make it rejoice in its might, confident of a
power which will enable it to reach and carry its name to the ocean in
its unchanged integrity.

ST. PETER'S RIVER AND VALLEY.--The importance, fertility, and value of
this tributary have particularly impressed every member of the party.
Its position as the central point of the Sioux power, and its border
position to the Chippewas, the representative tribe of the great
Algonquin family, render it now a place of note, which fully justifies
the policy of the department in establishing a military post at the
confluence of the river; and the importance cannot soon pass away, in
the progress of the settlement of the Mississippi Valley.[229] It is the
great route of communication with the valley of the Red River of the
North, and the agricultural and trading settlements of Lord Selkirk in
that fertile valley, and its complete exploration by a public officer is
desirable, if not demanded.[230]

  [229] Thirty years has made it the centre of the new territory of
  Minnesota, which has now entered on the career of nations.

  [230] This object was accomplished by an expedition by Major L. Long,
  in 1823.

Of its geological character but little is known, and that connects it
with both the great formations which have been noticed as succeeding
each other at the great Peace Rock. That the granitical formation
reaches it at a high point is probable, from the large reported
boulders. The Indians bring from the blue earth fork of it, one of their
most esteemed green and blue argillaceous pigments, of which the
coloring matter appears to be carbonate of copper. They also bring from
the Coteau des Prairie, probably Carver's "shining mountains," specimens
of that fine and beautiful red pipe stone, which has so long been known
to be used by them for that purpose. This mineral is fissile, and
moderately hard, which renders it fit for their peculiar ripe
sculptures. I found small masses of native copper in the drift stratum
at the mouth of this stream, on the top of the cliffs on the
Mississippi, opposite the mouth of the St. Peter's.

CRYSTALLINE SAND ROCK.--This stratum reveals the same crystalline
structure which is so remarkable in the sandstone caves, near the Potosi
road, in the county of St. Genevieve, Missouri; and the sand obtained
from it, like that mineral, would probably fuse, with alkali, in a
moderate heat, and constitute an excellent material for the manufacture
of glass. It is also, like the Missouri sandstone, cavernous. In both
situations, these caves appear to be due to water escaping through
fissures of the rock, where its cohesion is feeble, carrying it away
grain by grain.

In stopping at one of these caves, about twelve miles below St. Peter's,
we found this cause of structure verified by a lively spring and pond of
limpid water flowing out of it.

VALLEY OF THE ST. CROIX.--This river originates in an elevated range of
the elder sand and pebble drift, which lies on the summit between the
Mississippi system of formations, and the Lake Superior basin. It
communicates with the Brulé, which is "Goddard's River" of Carver, and
with the Mauvaise or Bad River of that basin. Specimens of native copper
have been found on Snake River, one of its tributaries.[231]

  [231] This river was explored by me in 1831 and 1832, in two separate
  expeditions in the public service, accounts of which have been
  published in 1831 and 1832, of which abstracts are given in the
  preceding pages.

GEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS.--In descending the river for the distance of about
one hundred miles below St. Anthony's Falls, my attention was arrested,
on visiting the high grounds, by a species of natural monuments, which
appear as if made by human hands seen at a distance, but appear to be
the results of the degradation and wasting away, on the Huttonian
theory, of all but these, probably harder, portions of the strata.

LAKE PEPIN.--This sheet commends itself to notice by its extent and
picturesque features. It is an expansion of the river, about twenty-four
miles long, and two or three wide. Both its borders and bed reveal the
drift stratum, and the observer recognizes here, boulders of the
peculiar stratification which has, in ancient periods, characterized the
high plateaux about the sources of the river. Such are its hornblendic,
sienite, quartz, trap, and amygdaloid pebbles, and that variety of the
quartz family which assumes the form of the agate and other kindred
species. Moved as these materials are annually, lower and lower, by the
impetus of the stream, other supplies, it may be inferred, are still
furnished by the shifting sand and gravel bars from above. The mass must
submit to considerable abrasion by this change, and the diminished size
of the drifted masses become a sort of measure of the distance at which
they are found from their parent beds.

CHIPPEWA RIVER.--This stream is the first to bring in a vast mass of
moving sand. Its volume of water is large, which it gathers from the
high diluvial plains that spread southwest of the Porcupine Mountains,
and about the sources of the Wisconsin, the Montreal, and the St. Croix
Rivers, with which it originates.

TROMPELDO (_Le Montaine des Tromps d'Eaux_).--This island mountain
stands as if to dispute the passage of the Mississippi, whose channel it
divides into two portions. Distinct from its height, which appears to
correspond with the contiguous cliffs, and in the large amount of fresh
debris at its base, it presents nothing peculiar in its geology.

PAINTED ROCK.--This vicinity is chiefly noted for its large and fine
specimens of fresh-water shells.

WISCONSIN.--Like the Chippewa, this stream brings down in its floods,
vast quantities of loose sand, which tend to the formation of bars and
temporary islands. It originates in the same elevated plains, and
bespeaks a considerable area at its sources, which must be arid. It is a
region, however, in which lakes and rice lands abound, and it may, in
this respect, be geologically of the same formation as the higher
plateaux of the Mississippi, above the Sandy Lake summit. Its sides
produce many species to enrich our fresh-water Conchology.

LEAD MINES OF PEOSTA AND DUBUQUE.--In my researches into the mineral
geography of Missouri, in 1818 and 1819, I had explored a district of
country between the rivers Merrimak and St. Francis, and on the Ozarks,
which revealed many traits which it has in common with the Upper
Mississippi. There, as here, the mineral deposits appear to be, in many
cases, in a red marly clay, whether the clay is overlaid by the
calcareous rock or not. There, as here, also, the limestone and
sandstone strata are perfectly horizontal. The leads of ore appear, in
this section, to be followed with more certainty, agreeable to the
points of the compass; but this may happen, to some extent, because the
practice of mining on individual account, with windlass and buckets, in
the Missouri district, has led common observers to be more indifferent
to exact scientific methods. To say that the digging, at these mines, is
equally, or more productive, is perhaps just. Capital and labor have
been rewarded in both sections of the country, in proportion as they
have been perseveringly and judiciously expended.

I found much of the ore, which is a sulphuret, at Dubuque's Mines, lying
in east and west leads. These leads were generally pursued in caves,
or, more properly, fissures in the rock. In one of the excavations which
I visited, the digging was continued horizontally under the first
stratum of rock, after an excavation had been made perpendicularly,
through the top soil and calcareous rock, perhaps thirty feet. The ore
is a broad-grained cubical galena, easily reduced, and bids fair very
greatly to enhance the value and resources of this section of the West.

Similar mines exist at Mississinawa, and the River Au Fevé,[232] both on
the eastern or left bank of the Mississippi. And a system of leasing or
management, such as I have suggested for the Missouri mines, appears
equally desirable.

  [232] GALENA has subsequently been made the capital of these mines.

QUARTZ GEODES.--The amount of silex in the cliff limestone is such, in
some conditions of it, as to justify the term silico-calcareous. This
condition of the rock at the passage of the Mississippi through the Rock
River and Des Moines Rapids, is such as to produce a very striking
locality of highly crystalline quartz geodes, which accumulates in the
bed of the stream. Many of these geodes are from a foot to twenty-two
inches in diameter, and on breaking them they exhibit resplendent
crystals of limpid quartz. Sometimes these are amethystine; in other
cases they present surfaces of chalcedony or cacholong. The latter
minerals, if obtained from the rock, and before unduly hardening by
exposure, would probably furnish a suitable basis for lapidaries.

INTERMEDIATE COUNTRY IN THE DIRECTION TO GREEN BAY.--There is a line
which separates, on the north, the granitical and trap region from the
metal-bearing limestone, and its supporting sandstone. This formation of
the elder series of rocks, having been traced to the south shore of Lake
Superior, and having been seen to constitute the supporting bed of the
alluviums and diluviums of the Upper Mississippi, above the Peace Rock,
it may subserve the purpose of inquiry to trace this line of junction by
its probable and observed boundaries.

The line may be commenced where it crosses the Mississippi, at the Peace
Rock, and extended to the St. Croix, the falls of which are on the
trap-rock, to the sources of the Chippewa at Lac du Flambeau, and the
Wisconsin near Plover Portage. The source of Fox River runs amid
uprising masses of sienite, and this formation appears to pass thence
northeasterly, across the Upper Menominee, to the district of the
Totosh and Cradle-Top Mountains, west of Chocolate River, on the shores
of Lake Superior.

I observed the crystalline sandstone and its overlying cliff limestone,
along the valley of the Wisconsin, where ancient excavations for lead
ore have been made. There is an entire preservation of its characters,
and no reason occurs why its mineralogical contents should not prove, in
some positions, as valuable as they have been found in Missouri, or in
the Dubuque district west of the Mississippi.

On reaching the Wisconsin Portage, the limestone is found to have been
swept by diluvial action, from its supporting sand rock. Such is its
position not far north of the highest of the four lakes, and again at
Lake Puckway, in descending the Fox River; consequently, there are no
lead discoveries in this region. On coming to the calcareous rock, which
is developed along the channel of the river, below Winnebago Lake, it
appears rather to belong to the lake system of deposits. Its superior
stratum lies in patches, or limited districts, which appear to have been
left by drift action. Petrefactions are found in these districts, and
the character of the rock is dark, compact, or shelly. The lower series
of deposits, such as they appear at the Kakala Rapids, at Washington
Harbor, in the entrance to Green Bay, and in the cliffs north of
Sturgeon Bay and Portage, are manifestly of the same age and general
character as the inferior stratum of Michilimackinac and the Manatouline
chain.

BASIN OF LAKE MICHIGAN.--This basin, stretching from the north to the
south nearly four hundred miles, lies deeply in the series of formation
of limestones, sandstone, and schists, to which we apply the term of the
Michilimackinac system. Its north and west shores are skirted from Green
Bay to a point north of the Sheboygan, with the calcareous stratum. At
this point, the ancient drift, the lacustrine clay of Milwaukie and the
prairie diluvium of Chicago, constitute a succession, of which the
surface is a slightly waving line of the most fertile soils.

Among the pebbles cast ashore at the southern head of this lake I
observed slaty coal. It seems, indeed, the only one of the lakes which
reaches south into the coal basin of Illinois. If the level at which
coal is found on the Illinois were followed through, it would issue in
the basin of the lake below low-water mark. Digging for this mineral on
the Chicago summit, promises indeed not to be unsupported by sound
hypothesis.

After passing Chicago, of which a sketch is added, the sands which begin
to accumulate at the Konamik, the River du Chemin, and the St. Joseph's
River,[233] appear in still more prominent ridges, skirting the eastern
coasts to and beyond Grand River. These sands, which are the
accumulations of winds, are cast on the arable land, much in the manner
that has been noticed at the Grand Sable on Lake Superior, and reach the
character of striking dunes at the coast denominated the Sleeping Bear.
The winds which periodically set from the western shore, produce
continual abrasions of its softer materials, and are the sole cause of
these intrusive sand-hills. Pent up behind them, the water is a cause of
malaria to local districts of country, and many of the small rivers upon
this side are periodically choked with sand. The sketch transmitted of
this bleak dune-coast (omitted here), as it is seen at the mouth of
Maskigon Lake, will convey a false idea of the value of this coast, even
half a mile from the spot where the surf beats. It is designed to show
the air of aridity which the mere coast line presents. The
stratification regains its ordinary level and appearance before reaching
the Plate or Omicomico River, and the peninsula of the Grand Traverse
Bay, and the settlements of the Ottawa Indians on Little Traverse Bay,
afford tracts of fertile lands. Point Wagonshonce consists of a stratum
of limestone of little elevation, which constitutes the southeast cape
of the strait. Here a lighthouse is needed to direct the mariner.

  [233] The subjoined petrifaction of a leaf, apparently a species of
  betula, was obtained on this river. See _ante_, p. 206.

LAKE HURON.--Notices of this sheet of water have been given in our
outward voyage. It appears rather as the junction of separate lakes
which have had their basins fretted into one another, than as one
original lake. Michigan is connected with it through the Straits of
Michilimackinac. The Georgian Bay, north of the Manatouline chain, seems
quite distinct. The Saganaw Bay is an element of another kind. The
Manitouline chain separates the calcareous and granitic region, and its
numerous trap and basaltic islands towards the north shore, of which
there are many thousands, denote that it has been the scene of
geological disturbance of an extraordinary kind.

ULTERIOR CONCLUSIONS.--In taking these several views of the geological
structure of the Northwest--of the Lake Superior basin, and of the
valleys of the St. Louis River--the region about the Upper Mississippi,
its striking change at the Falls of St. Anthony--and the valleys of the
Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, and the basins of Lakes Michigan and Huron, I
am aware of the temerity of my task. Allowance must, however, be made
for the rapidity of my transit over regions where the question was often
the safety and personal subsistence of the party. A very large and
diversified area was passed over in a short time. At no place was it
possible to make elaborate observations. A thousand inconveniences were
felt, but they were felt as the pressure of so many small causes
impeding the execution of a great enterprise. A sketch has been made,
which, it is hoped, will reveal something of the physical history and
lineaments of the country. These glimpses at wild scenes, heretofore hid
from the curious eye of man, have been made, at all points, with the
utmost avidity. I have courted every opportunity to accumulate facts,
and I owe much to the distinguished civilian who has led the party so
successfully through scenes of toil and danger, not always unexpected,
but always met in a calm, bold, and proper spirit, which has served to
inspire confidence in all; to him, and to each one of my associates, I
owe much on the score of comity and personal amenity and forbearance;
and I have been made to feel, in the remotest solitudes, how easy it is
to execute a duty when all conspire to facilitate it.

The views herein expressed are generalized in two geological maps
(hereto prefixed), which, it is believed, will help to fix the facts in
the mind. They exhibit the facts noticed, in connection with the theory
established by them, and by all my observations, of the construction of
this part of the continent.

The mineralogy of the regions visited is condensed in the following
summary, drawn from my notes, which, it is believed, constitutes an
appropriate conclusion to this report.

With the exception of one species, namely, the ores of copper, the
region has not proved as attractive in this department as I found the
metalliferous surface of Missouri. There are but few traces of mining,
and those of an exceedingly ancient character, in the copper region of
Lake Superior. The excavations in search of lead ore on the Upper
Mississippi do not date back many years, but the indications are such as
to show that few countries, even Missouri, exceed them in promises of
mineral wealth.

I have employed the lapse of time between the termination of the
exploration and the present moment, to extend my mineralogical
observations to some parts of the Mississippi Valley which were not
included in the line of the expedition, but which were visited in the
following year, in the service of the Government, namely, the Miami of
the Lakes, and Wabash Valleys, the Cave in Rock Region in Lower
Illinois, and the Valley of the River Illinois. The whole is
concentrated in the following notices:--

_Tabular View of Minerals observed in the Northwest._


I. ORES.

             _Genera._      _Species._      _Subspecies._ _Varieties._
             { Copper { Native copper.                    { Fibrous.
             {        { Green carbonate of copper         { Compact.
             { Lead     Sulphuret of lead                   Common.
             { Zinc     Sulphuret of zinc                   Blende.
             {        {                                   { Common.
             {        {                                   { Radiated.
    METALLIC {        { Sulphuret of iron                 { Spheroidal.
    MINERALS {        {                                   { Cellular.
             {        {                                   { Hepatic.
             { Iron   { Magnetic oxide of iron              Iron sand.
             {        { Specular oxide of iron. Micaceous.
             {        {                                   { Ochrey.
             {        { Red oxide of iron                 { Scaly.
             {        {                                   { Compact.
             {        { Brown oxide of iron                 Ochrey.
             { Silver.


II. EARTHS AND STONES.

                   _Genus._     _Species._    _Varieties._

                 {             {             { Milky.
                 {             {             { Radiated.
                 {             {             { Tabular.
                 {             { Common      { Greasy.
                 {             { quartz      { Granular.
                 {             {             { Arenaceous.
                 {             {             { Pseudomorphous.
                 {             {             { Amethystine.
                 {             { Amethyst
                 {             {
                 {             { Ferruginous {
                 {             { quartz      { Yellow.
                 {             {             { Red.
                 { Quartz      { Prase
                 {             {             { Common.
                 {             {             { Cacholong.
                 {             { Chalcedony  { Carnelian.
                 {             {             { Sardonyx.
                 {             {             { Agate.
                 {             { Hornstone
                 {             {             { Common.
                 {             { Jasper      { Striped.
                 {             {             { Red.
                 {             { Heliotrope
    SILICIOUS    {             { OPAL          COMMON.
    MINERALS     {
                 { Silicious                 { Common.
                 { slate                     { Basanite.
                 {
                 { Petrosilex
                 {                           { Common.
                 { Mica                      { Gold yellow.
                 {
                 {                           { Common.
                 { Schorl                    { Indicolite.
                 {
                 { Feldspar                    Common.
                 { Prehnite                    Radiated.
                 {
                 { Hornblende  { Common.
                 {             { Actynolite.
                 {
                 { Woodstone                 { Mineralized wood.
                 {                           { Agatized wood.

                 {             { Calcareous  {
                 {             { spar        { Crystallized.
                 {             {             { Lamellar.
                 {             { Granular
                 {             { limestone
                 {             {
                 {             { Compact     { Common.
                 {             { limestone   { Earthy.
                 {             {
                 {             { Agaric      {
                 {             { mineral     { Common.
                 { Carbonate   {             { Fossil farina.
                 { of lime     {
                 {             {             { Oolite.
                 {             { Concreted   {
                 {             { carbonate   { Calcareous  { Stalactite.
                 {             { of lime     { sinter      { Stalagmite.
                 {             {             {
                 {             {             { Calcareous tufa.
    CALCAREOUS   {             {               Pseudomorphous carbonate
    MINERALS     {             {               of lime.
                 {             { Marl          Ludus helmontii.
                 {                           { Fibrous.
                 { Sulphate                  { Granular.
                 { of lime      Gypsum       { Granularly foliated.
                 {                           { Earthy.
                 { Fluate of
                 { lime                        Fluorspar

                            _Genus._             _Varieties._
                        {                       {  Argillite.
                        { Argillaceous slate    { Bituminous shale.
                        {
                        { Chlorite                Chlorite slate.
                        { Stautoride.
    ALUMINOUS MINERALS  {                       { Potters' clay.
                        {                       { Pipe clay.
                        {                       { Variegated clay.
                        { Clay                  { Blue sulphated clay.
                        {                       { Green sulphated clay.
                                                { Opwagunite.

                        { Serpentine              Common serpentine
    MAGNESIAN MINERALS  { Steatite                Steatite.
                        { Asbestus                Com. asbestus.

    BARYTIC MINERALS      Sulphate of barytes     Lamellar.
    STRONTIAN             Sulphate of strontian   Foliated.


III. COMBUSTIBLES.

                        {                       { Petroleum.
                        { Bitumen               {  Maltha.
    BITUMINOUS MINERALS {                       { Asphaltum.
                        {
                        { Graphite                Granular graphite.
                        { Coal                    Slate coal.


IV. SALTS.

                       {                        { Native salt.
    Soda               { Muriate of soda .....  { Salt springs.
                       {
                       { Alkaline sulphate of     Alum.
                       { alumina


a. _Metallic Minerals._


1. COPPER.

This metal is frequently found, in detached masses, in the diluvial soil
along the southern shore of Lake Superior, and in the high and barren
tract included between Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and the
Mississippi River, as general boundaries. Thus, it has been found upon
the sources of the Menomonie, Wisconsin, Chippewa, St. Croix, and
Ontonagon Rivers, but most constantly, and in the greatest quantity,
upon the latter. There are many localities known only to the aborigines,
who appear to set some value upon it, and have been in the habit of
employing the most malleable pieces in several ways from the earliest
times. It occurs mostly in detached masses, resting upon, or imbedded
in, diluvial soil. These masses, which vary in size, are sometimes
connected with isolated fragments of rock. Such is the geognostic
position of the great mass of native copper upon the banks of the
Ontonagon, which has been variously estimated to weigh from two to five
tons. This extraordinary mass is situated at the base of a diluvial
precipice composed of reddish loam and mixed boulders and pebbles of
granite, greenstone, quartz, and sandstone and diallage rocks. The
nearest strata, in situ, are red sandstone, grauwacke, and greenstone
trap. A company of miners was formerly employed in searching for copper
mines upon the banks of this river. They dug down about forty feet into
the diluvial soil, at a spot where a green-colored water issued from the
hill. In sinking this pit, several masses of native copper were found,
and they discovered, as their report indicates, the same metal "imbedded
in stone." But the enterprise was abandoned, in consequence of the
falling in of the pit.

At Keweena Point, on Lake Superior, I found native copper along the
shore of the lake, constituting small masses in pebbles, and, in one
instance, in a mass of several pounds' weight, which was found in the
Ontonagon Valley. I also observed the green carbonate of copper, in
several places, in the detritus. The strata of this point appear to be
charged with this mineral, particularly in its native forms. Hardly a
mass of the loose rock is without some trace of the metal, or its oxides
or salts. It would be difficult, on any known principles, to resist the
testimony which is offered, by every observer, to favor the idea that
extensive and very valuable mines exist. The whole lake shore, from this
peninsula to the Montreal River, is replete with these evidences.

There are indications that this mineral pervades the rocks and soils, in
a radius of one hundred and fifty miles or more, south and west of this
central point. It has been discovered at the sources of the Menominee,
Chippewa, Montreal, and St. Croix, and even at more distant points.

At St. Peter's, in digging down for the purpose of quarrying the rock,
about eighteen inches depth of dark alluvium was passed; then a deposit
of diluvial soil, with large fragments of limestone, greenstone, quartz
rock, &c., about six feet; and, lastly, one foot of small pebbles, &c.,
constituting the copper diluvium. No large mass was found; nor any veins
in the rock.


2. LEAD.

The only ore of lead known to exist within the limits to which these
remarks are confined, is the sulphuret. In the year 1780, Peosta, a
woman of the Misquakee, or Fox tribe of Indians, discovered a lead mine
upon the west banks of the Mississippi, at the computed distance of
twenty-five leagues below Prairie du Chien, which the Indians, in 1788,
gave Julian Dubuque a right to work. This permission was partially
confirmed by the Baron de Carondelet, Governor of Louisiana, in 1796. No
patent was, however, issued; but Dubuque continued to prosecute the
mining business to the period of his death, which happened in 1810, when
the mines were again claimed by the original proprietors.

The ore is the common sulphuret of lead, or galena, which Dubuque stated
to have yielded him seventy-five per cent. in smelting in the large way.
He usually made from 20,000 to 40,000 pounds per annum.

I made a cursory visit to these mines, and found them worked by the Fox
Indians, but in a very imperfect manner. They cover a considerable area,
commencing at the mouth of the Makokketa River, sixty miles below
Prairie du Chien. Traces of the ore are found, also, on the east bank of
the Mississippi at several points. It occurs disseminated in a reddish
loam, resting upon limestone rock, and is sometimes seen in small veins
pervading the rock; but it has been chiefly explored in diluvial soil.
It generally occurs in beds having little width, and runs in a direct
course towards the cardinal points. They are sometimes traced into a
crevice of the rock. At this stage of the pursuit, most of the diggings
have been abandoned. Little spar or crystalline matrix is found in
connection with the ore. It is generally enveloped by a reddish, compact
earth, or marly clay. Occasionally, masses of calcareous spar occur;
less frequently, sulphate of barytes, green iron earth, and ochrey brown
oxide of iron. I did not observe any masses of radiated quartz, which
form so conspicuous a trait in the surface of the metalliferous diluvion
of the mining district of Missouri.

Sufficient attention does not appear to have been bestowed, by
mineralogists, upon the metalliferous soil of the Mississippi Valley. It
is certainly very remarkable that such vast deposits of lead ore,
accompanied by veins of sulphate of barytes, calc spar, and other
crystallized bodies, should be found in alluvial beds; and it would be
very interesting to ascertain whether any analogous formations exist in
Europe, or in any other part of the earth's surface. It is one of the
most striking features of this deposit, that the ore, spars, &c., do not
appear as the debris of older formations, and have no marks of having
been worn or abraded, like those extraneous masses of rock which are
very common in the alluvial soil of our continent. The lead ore and
accompanying minerals appear to have been crystallized in the situations
where they are now found. We should, perhaps, except from this remark
the species of lead called _gravel ore_ by the miners, which is in
rounded lumps, and is never accompanied by spars.

Sulphuret of lead is also found near the spot where the small River
Sissinaway enters the Mississippi, and two leagues south of it, upon the
banks of the River Aux Fevre, at both of which places considerable
quantities have been raised, and continue to be raised, for the purposes
of smelting, by the Fox and Sac tribes of Indians. At these places, it
is most frequently connected with a gangue of heavy spar and calcareous
spar, with pyrites of iron. I procured from a trader, at Dubuque,
several masses of galena crystallized in cubes and octahedrons.

In descending the Upper Mississippi, a specimen of galena was exhibited
to me, by a Sioux Indian, at the village of the Red Wing, six miles
above Lake Pepin, said to have been procured in that vicinity. Galena is
also reported to have been discovered in several places on the south
side of the Wisconsin River, and these localities may be entitled to
future notice, as furnishing important hints.


3. ZINC.

The sulphuret of zinc (black blende) is found disseminated in limestone
rock along the banks of Fox River, between the post of Green Bay and
Winnebago Lake. Although frequently seen in small masses, no body of it
is known to exist. I also found blende, in small, orbicular masses of
calcareous marl, along the east shore of Lake Michigan, between the
Rivers St. Joseph and Kikalemazo.


4. IRON.

This mineral is distributed, in several of its forms, throughout the
region visited, although but little attention has yet been directed to
its exploration. In the basin of Lake Superior it exists, in valuable
masses, in the form of a magnetic oxide, on the coasts of the lake
between Gitchi Sebing (Great River), called by the French Chocolate
River, and Granite Point. Specimens from Dead River (Riviere du Morts)
and Carp River, the Namabin of the Indians, in this district, denote the
latter to be the chief locality. It is the iron glance, and occurs in
mountain masses.

_Sulphuret of Iron._--This variety is found, in limited quantities, in a
state of crystallization, in clay beds, on the west shore of Lake
Michigan, between Milwaukie and Chicago. It is frequently in the form of
a cube or an octahedron. Some of the crystals are in lumps of several
pounds' weight, with a metallic lustre. Often the masses, on being
broken, are found radiated, sometimes cellular, and occasionally irised.

_Iron Sand._--The breaking-up and prostration of the sandstone and other
sedimentary formations, along the shores of lakes Michigan, Huron, and
Superior, liberates this ore in considerable quantities. It arranges
itself, on the principle of its specific gravities, in separate strata
along the sandy shores, where it invariably occupies the lowest position
at and below the water's edge. The shores of Fond du Lac, on Lake
Superior, may be particularly mentioned as an abundant locality.

_Micaceous Oxide of Iron._--In detached mass, among the debris of the
River St. Louis and of Fond du Lac. It exists in veins in the clay slate
which characterizes the banks of this river.

_Ochrey Red Oxide of Iron._ (Red ochre)--Is produced near a spot called
the Big Stone, on the head of the River St. Peter's. It is said to occur
in a loose form, in a stratum of several inches thick, lying below the
soil of a level dry prairie or plain. The Sioux Indians, who employ it
as a paint, make this statement. The color of a portion given to me by
them is of a bright red; and a considerable proportion of the mass is in
a state of minute division. Particles of quartz are occasionally mixed
with it. This ore of iron is also represented to be found in the
prairies north of Gros Point, along the west shore of Lake Michigan,
between Milwaukie and Chicago.

Ochrey red oxide of iron occurs on the shores of Big Stone Lake, at the
source of the St. Peter's River. A large spring rises from a level, dry
plain, a few feet beyond which the mineral occurs. The Indians, who
employ it as a pigment, take it up with their knives. The stratum is
about eight inches thick, but just below the surface it is mixed with
common earth. The spring of water is pure and unadulterated.


5. SILVER.

The belief in the existence of silver ore in the region of the lakes,
and particularly on Lake Superior, seems to have early prevailed. So
much confidence was placed in the reports of its existence, that Henry
tells when a company was formed in England for exploring the copper
mines of Lake Superior (A. D. 1771), they were impelled to the search
more from an expectation of the silver, which it was hoped would be
found in connection with it, than from the copper.[234]

  [234] This metal has subsequently (namely, in 1844) been found to
  constitute a percentage in the native copper of the Eagle River mines
  of Lake Superior. Traces of it were found in a mass of native copper
  found on the shores of Keweena Lake, by Mr. Moliday, in 1826. A mass
  of pure silver was discovered in a boulder in the drift of Lake
  Huron, west of White Rock, in 1824. These discoveries induce the
  belief that this element will be found to be extensively present in
  the eventual metallurgic operations of the Lake Superior basin.


b. _Silicious Minerals._


1. QUARTZ.

This interesting species being distributed in its numerous varieties
throughout the region visited, I shall confine my notices to a few
localities.

Subs. 1.--_Common Quartz._

Occurs in the form of large water-worn masses along the shores of Lakes
Huron, Michigan, and Superior. Also, in veins in the granite of Lake
Superior, and in the argillite of St. Louis River. These localities all
consist of the opaque varieties, with a slight degree of translucence
in some places. It exists in mass at Huron Bay, Lake Superior, and in
fragments of red jasper on Sugar Island, St. Mary's River.

1. _Radiated Quartz._--In detached masses on the Grange, and also at the
rapids of the River Desmoines, on the Upper Mississippi. At the Grange,
the crystals, which are usually minute, sometimes possess a cinnamon
color, or pass into a variety of crystallized ferruginous quartz.

2. _Tabular Quartz._--In small, flattened masses along the shores of
Lake Pepin. These masses are transparent, or only translucent. Their
color is generally white, but sometimes yellow. They appear to be
closely allied to chalcedony.

3. _Greasy Quartz._--In detached masses along the shores of Lake
Superior.

4. _Granular Quartz._--At the Falls of Puckaiguma, on the Upper
Mississippi, in large, compact beds rising through the soil. Also, in
some conditions of the cliffs commencing at the Falls of St. Anthony,
Carrer's Cave, &c.

5. _Arenaceous Quartz._--This is sometimes the condition of fine,
even-grained, translucent sand rock of the preceding localities.
Valuable as an ingredient of glass.

6. _Pseudomorphous Quartz._--On the shores of Lake Pepin, occasionally.
These masses appear to have taken their crystalline _impress_ from
rhomboidal crystals of carbonate of lime.

7. _Amethystine Quartz._--In the trap-rock of Lake Superior.

Subs. 2.--_Amethyst._

This mineral occurs most frequently in the condition of amethystine
quartz, in hexahedral prisms, lining the interior of geodes, in the bed
of the River Desmoines, and on the Rock Rapids, in the channel of the
Mississippi. The crystals which I have examined are generally limpid,
with a high lustre, and of a pale violet color. Sometimes the tinge of
color approaches to a full red, or is only apparent in the summit of the
crystal. These geodes are sometimes eight or ten inches in diameter,
with a rough and dark-colored exterior, often so nearly spherical as to
resemble cannon _balls_. Some of the finest specimens I have observed
from this locality are preserved in the museum of Gov. Clarke, at St.
Louis, Missouri.

Subs. 3.--_Ferruginous Quartz._

In amorphous masses, of a deep-red, brown, or yellowish-red color, along
the southern shore of Lake Superior. Likewise, crystallized, in very
minute hexagonal prisms, terminated by six-sided pyramids, of a reddish
color, on the summit and declivities of the Grange de Terre.

Subs. 4.--_Prase._

In the drift of Lake Superior. Its color is a light green and not fully
translucent. It possesses a hardness and a lustre intermediate between
waxy and resinous.

Subs. 5.--_Chalcedony._

1. _Common Chalcedony._--In globular or reniform masses imbedded in
trap-rock, on the Peninsula of Keweena, Lake Superior. It is found
sometimes in association with other quartz minerals. Its color is white
or gray, sometimes veined or spotted with red. Also, constituting the
interior lining of geodes at the rapids of Rock Island and the River
Desmoines. These geodes, on breaking, often present a mammillary
surface. In the form of translucent fragments, with a highly conchoidal
fracture, among the debris of the shores of Lake Pepin. These fragments
possess an extremely delicate texture, color, and lustre.

2. _Cacholong._--Some loose fragments of this mineral exist along the
west shore of Lake Michigan, between Green Bay and Chicago. These
fragments possess small cavities studded over with very minute and
perfect crystals of quartz.

3. _Carnelian._--This mineral occurs in fragments in the debris of Lake
Superior; also, in the amygdaloid; also, around the shores of the Upper
Mississippi. Its color is various shades of red, or yellowish red,
sometimes spotted or clouded, fully translucent, and occasionally
presenting a considerable richness and beauty. Most commonly, the
fragments are too small to be applied to the purposes of jewelry.
Sometimes it is seen in very regular spheroidal masses, which contain a
nucleus of radiated quartz. Some of the specimens would be considered as
sardonyx.

4. _Agate._--Is found with the preceding. It is more frequently found
in larger masses, in the rock, which are sometimes spheroidal, reniform,
or globular. These agates are chiefly arranged in concentric layers,
which are white, red, yellow, &c., according to the colors of the
different varieties of chalcedonies, carnelians, &c., of which they are
composed. A close inspection would also separate them into several
varieties--as onyx, agate, dotted agate, &c.

Subs. 6.--_Hornstone._

In nodular or angular masses, imbedded in the secondary limestone of the
west shores of Green Bay; and in the beds of argillaceous white clay
strata of Cape Girardeau, of Missouri. Also, on the hills of White
River, Arkansas.

Subs. 7.--_Jasper._

1. _Common Jasper._--In detached fragments, yellow, in the drift of Lake
Superior.

2. _Striped Jasper._--With the preceding. Most commonly, these specimens
consist of alternate bands of red and black, or brown.

3. _Red Jasper._--In quartz rock, Sugar Island, River St. Mary's,
Michigan. Masses of this mineral have been met in situ.

Subs. 8.--_Heliotrope._

A fine specimen of this mineral, now before me, was procured at the
mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon. It is in the form of an Indian
dart. Its color is a deep uniform green, variegated with small spots of
red; those parts which are green being fully translucent, the others
less so, or nearly opaque. This beautiful mineral is represented to have
been in common use by the Indian tribes of the Northwest Coast, for
pointing their arrows, previous to the introduction of iron among them.
It differs chiefly from the dotted jaspers of Lake Michigan, in its
translucence and green color.

Subs. 9.--_Opal._

Common opal occurs as a constituent of agate, along with chalcedony
rarely, in the drift on the south shore of Lake Superior.


2. SILICIOUS SLATE.

1. _Common._--In subordinate beds, in the argillite of the River St.
Louis, northwest of Lake Superior.

2. _Basanite_ (_Touchstone_).--In detached fragments in the drift on
Lake Superior, and along the banks of the Upper Mississippi generally.


3. PETROSILEX.

In large isolated masses in the bed of the Illinois River, on the
shallow rapids between the junction of the Fox and Vermilion Rivers. It
is mostly arranged in stripes or circles of white, gray, yellow, &c.,
resembling certain jaspers, or approaching sometimes to hornstone. The
bed of the Illinois River, at this place, is a species of gray
sandstone. Also, in detached fragments, on the south shore of Lake
Superior, intimately mixed with prehnite. In regard to the latter,
Professor Dewey, of Williamstown College, writes me: "I have received
from Dr. Torrey, a curious mixture of petrosilex and prehnite, in
imperfect radiating crystals, which was sent him by you and collected at
the West. He did not tell me the name, but examination showed what it
was. The association is singularly curious." The locality of this
mineral is Keweena Point, Lake Superior.


4. MICA.

Occurs rarely in the granite of Lake Superior. It is found in place on
the Huron Islands. Also, in minute folia, in the alluvial soil of the
Upper Mississippi. A beautiful aggregate, consisting of plates of
gold-yellow mica, connected with very black and shining crystals of
schorl, has been dug up from the alluvial soil of the Island of
Michilimackinac.


5. SCHORL.

1. _Common Schorl._--In crystals, in boulders of granite, at Green Bay.

2. _Tourmaline._--With the preceding.


6. FELDSPAR.

As an ingredient in the granite of Huron Islands, Lake Superior. Also,
in detached masses of granite along the west shores of Lake Michigan.
Also, in the form of prismatic crystals of a light-green color, in the
rolled masses of hornblende, porphyry, greenstone, and epidotic boulders
of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior.


7. PREHNITE.

This mineral occurs at Keweena Point, on Lake Superior. It is found in
connection with isolated blocks of amygdaloid, of primitive greenstone,
and of petrosilex. Sometimes native copper, and carbonate of copper, are
also present in the same specimen. In some instances, a partial
decomposition has taken place, converting its green color into
greenish-white, or perfect white, and rendering it so soft as to be cut
with a knife. Sometimes the grains or masses of native copper are
interspersed among the prehnite, and slender threads of this metal
occasionally pass through the aggregated mass of greenstone, prehnite,
&c., so that, on breaking it, the fragments are still held together by
these metallic fibres.


8. HORNBLENDE.

1. _Common Hornblende._--Occurs as a constituent of the hornblende rocks
near Point Chegoimegon, Lake Superior. Also, at the Peace Rock, on the
Upper Mississippi, and in certain granite aggregates, and rolled masses
of porphyries, &c., around the shores of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and
Superior.

2. _Actynolite._--In slender, translucent, greenish crystals, pervading
rolled masses of serpentine, on the west shores of Lake Michigan.


9. WOODSTONE.

1. _Mineralized Wood._--In bed of the River Des Plaines, Illinois.

2. _Agatized Wood._--This variety of fossil wood is found along the
alluvial shores of the Mississippi and of the Missouri.


c. _Calcareous Minerals._


1. CARBONATE OF LIME.

Of a substance so universally distributed throughout the western
country, it will not be necessary to give many localities, and these
will be principally confined to its crystalline forms.

Subs. 1.--_Calcareous Spar._

_Crystallized Calcareous Spar._--This mineral occurs, in minute
rhomboidal crystals, in the calcareous rock of the Island of
Michilimackinac. Sometimes these crystals fill cavities or seams of the
rock, or are studded over the angular surfaces of masses of vesicular
limestone of that island. I also found this mineral at Dubuque's mines,
and in small crystals in the metalliferous limestone bordering the Fox
River, between the post of Green Bay and Winnebago Lake, where it is
associated with iron pyrites and blende.

Subs. 2.--_Compact Limestone._

In proceeding northwest of Detroit, this mineral is first observed, in
situ, on an island in Lake Huron. It is afterwards found to be the
prevailing rock along the south and southwest shores of Lake Huron. In
many places, it incloses fossil remains. Sometimes it is _earthy_, as at
Bay De Noquet, a part of Green Bay, on Lake Michigan, where it contains
very perfect remains of the terrebratula. (Parkinson.) In other places,
no remains whatever are visible, and the structure is firm and compact;
or even passes, by a further graduation, into transition-granular, of
which, it is believed, the west shores of Lake Michigan afford an
instance. It is most commonly based upon sandstone, which also contains,
in many places, the fossil organized remains of various species of
crustaceous animals, and of vegetables, sometimes, coal, &c.

Subs. 3.--_Agaric Mineral._

This mineral substance occurs in crevices and cavities in the calcareous
rock of the Island of Michilimackinac, Michigan.

Subs. 4.--_Concrete Carbonate of Lime._

1. _Calcareous Sinter._--In the form of _stalactites_ and _stalagmites_,
in a cave situated near Prairie du Chien, on the Upper Mississippi.

2. _Calcareous Tufa._--A remarkable formation of tufa is seen on the
east banks of the Wabash River, near Wynemac's Village, about ten miles
above the junction of the Tippecanoe. It extends for several miles, and
is deposited to the thickness of thirty or forty feet above the water,
forming cliffs which are covered with alluvial soil and sustain a growth
of forest trees. The precise points of its commencement and
disappearance were not observed. The structure is cellular or vesicular,
and resembles, in some places, a coarse dried mortar. It is very light,
and possesses a white color in inferior situations, but the surface is
somewhat colored by fallen leaves and other decaying vegetation. It
imbeds fluvatile shells and some vegetable remains, the species of which
have not been ascertained. The opposite, or west side of the river
consists of a kind of puddingstone, or caschalo, made up of pebbles of
quartz, &c., cemented by carbonate of lime, of a yellow color and
translucent. This beautiful aggregate is overlayed by a stratum, of
fifteen or twenty feet in thickness, of diluvial soil. These localities
fall within the limits of the State of Indiana; but on territories still
occupied, if not owned, by the aborigines.

3. _Pseudomorphous Carbonate of Lime._--This form of carbonate of lime
occurs in Pope County, Illinois, a district celebrated for its
fluorspar, lead, crystallized quartz, &c., and bearing the unequivocal
marks of a secondary formation. Scattered in large masses over the soil,
we observe compact limestone, with very perfect cubical, octahedral, or
other regular cavities, which have manifestly originated from crystals
of fluorspar. The most common _impress_ of this kind appears to have
resulted from two cubes variously joined--a form of appearance very
common to the Illinois fluates. Some of these cubical cavities exceed
three inches square; but in no case is any remaining portion of the spar
in these cavities, or anywise connected with the fragments of limestone
thus impressed, although, at the same time, the spar is very abundant in
the alluvial soil where these curious limestones are found.

2. SULPHATE OF LIME.

Subs. _Gypsum._

1. _Fibrous Gypsum._--In the alluvial soil of the St. Martin's Islands,
Lake Huron. The fibres are sometimes five or six inches in length, of a
white color and delicate crystalline lustre. Sometimes these fibrous
masses are partially colored yellow or brown, apparently from the clay,
or mixed alluvion, in which they are imbedded.

2. _Granular Gypsum._            }
3. _Granularly-Foliated Gypsum._ }  With the preceding.
4. _Earthy Gypsum._              }


3. FLUATE OF LIME.

_Fluor-Spar._--On the United States Mineral Reserve, Pope County,
Illinois. This locality is abundant, and the mineral readily and
constantly to be obtained. I first obtained specimens in June, 1818, and
afterwards visited it in July, 1821. It is disseminated in loose masses
throughout the soil, and in veins in the calcareous rocks. The spot most
noted and resorted to, and where the original discovery was made, is
four miles west of Barker's Ferry, at Cave-in-Rock, on the banks of the
Ohio, and about twenty-six miles, by the course of the river, below
Shawneetown. It is situated in the midst of a hilly, broken region,
called _the Knobs_, a tract of highlands intervening between the banks
of the Ohio and the Saline. The distance of this range from north to
south, or parallel with the course of the Ohio, cannot be stated. It
probably extends from near the banks of the Wabash River to the Little
Chain of Rocks. Its breadth--from Barker's Ferry, west, to Ensminger's,
at the Saline, is about twenty miles. It thus separates, by a rocky
border, the prairies of the Illinois from the current of the Ohio River.
These knobs, wherever observed, bear the indubitable marks of secondary
formation, and may be stated to consist, essentially, of compact
limestone resting on sandstone. The sandstone is sometimes so much
colored by iron, and by globular or irregular masses of iron stone, as
to give that rock a very singular aspect. This may be particularly
instanced in the mural front of the Battery rocks on the banks of the
Ohio. Every part of this formation has more or less the appearance of a
mineral country; and it is already known as the locality of ores of
lead, iron, and zinc, of crystallized quartz, of opal, heavy spar,
crystallized pyrites, and of very perfect fossil madrepores. In one
place (near the head of Hurricane Island) this spar forms a very large
and compact vein, dipping under the bed of the Ohio. Where the rock has
been explored, it is found in connection with sulphuret of lead, but it
has been mostly procured, because most easy of access, in the alluvial
soil. I went out about half a mile west of the Ohio, where a new
locality has been opened, and, in removing about five or six solid feet
of earth, procured as many specimens as filled a box of fourteen inches
square. None of these were more than two feet below the surface. One of
these specimens is an irregular octahedral crystal, eight inches in
diameter. The color of these masses is various shades of blue, violet,
or red, sometimes perfectly white or yellow; and the form most commonly
assumed is a cube, sometimes truncated at two or more angles, or
variously clustered. The external lustre of the crystals, raised from
alluvial soil, is feeble, but quite brilliant when taken from veins and
cavities in the rock. These spars from the alluvion do not appear to
exist as rock debris, or fragments worn off from other formations, but
as original deposits. There are no marks of attrition. They appear as
much in place as the limestone rocks below. It should also be
recollected that this mineral tract is terminated by one of the greatest
and most valuable salt formations in the western country--that of the
Illinois Saline.

_Septaria: Ludus Helmontii._--This variety of calcareous marl is found,
in orbicular or flattened masses, along the eastern shores of Lake
Michigan, between the rivers St. Joseph's and Kalemazo. Its original
situation appears to be the beds of marly clay which form the banks of
Lake Michigan at these places, from which these masses have been
disengaged by the waves, and left promiscuously among the washed and
eroded debris of the shore. These masses are penetrated by numerous
seams and lines of calcareous spar, sometimes radiating star-like, or
intersecting each other irregularly. Occasionally, these seams are
filled with sulphuret of zinc, and in these cases the spar, if any be
present, is rose-colored.


d. _Aluminous Minerals._


1. ARGILLACEOUS SLATE.

1. _Argillite_, or _Common Argillaceous Slate_.--Along the banks of the
River St. Louis, at the Grand Portage, &c. It occurs in a vertical
position, embracing veins, or subordinate beds, of grauwakke, milky
quartz, chlorite slate, and silicious slate, &c. It is bounded on one
side by red sandstone, and on the other by an extensive tract of
diluvial soil.

2. _Bituminous Shale._--In detached masses, along the shores of Lake
Huron, between Fort Gratiot and Thunder Bay. It contains amorphous
masses of iron pyrites, of a yellow color and metallic brilliancy, which
soon tarnishes on exposure to the air.


2. CHLORITE.

_Chlorite Slate._--In subordinate strata in the argillite of the River
St. Louis.


3. STAUROTIDE.

In garnet-colored crystals, in detached blocks of mica-slate, in the
drift of Lake Huron. These crystals consist of two intersecting
six-sided prisms, truncated at both ends, forming the cross. They are
nearly opaque, or feebly translucent on the fractured edge.


4. CLAY.

1. _Plastic Clay._--Very extensive beds of this clay are seen along the
west shore of Lake Michigan, between Sturgeon Bay Portage and Chicago.
Its color is generally a light blue, verging sometimes into deep blue or
grayish-white. It is plastic in water, adheres strongly to the tongue,
takes a polish from the nail, and emits an argillaceous odor when
moistened or breathed upon. These beds of clay frequently contain iron
pyrites, both in the crystallized and amorphous state.

2. _Pipe Clay._--In the flats of the St. Clair and Lake George,
Michigan. A bed of clay, apparently answering to this description,
exists at White River, Lake Michigan. Its color is a grayish-white,
verging to blue. It is very unctuous and adhesive when first raised, but
acquires more or less of a meagre feel as it parts with its moisture,
drying in firm and compact masses.

3. _Variegated Clay._--On the banks of the River St. Peter's, Upper
Mississippi. Neither the quantity in which it exists, nor the precise
locality is known. Its color is white, variegated with stripes, spots,
or clouds of red or yellow.

4. _Azure Blue Clay of St. Peter's._--The locality of this substance, as
communicated by the Indians, is the declivity of a hill, in the rear of
the village of Sessitongs, one mile above the confluence of the Terre
Blue River with the St. Peter's. It is found near the foot of this hill,
between two layers of sandstone rock, in a vein about fifteen inches in
thickness. This vein is elevated about twenty feet above the waters of
the Terre Bleu, and does not extend far in the direction of the river.
Having been resorted to by the Sioux Indians a long time, a considerable
excavation has been made, but the supply is constant. The color of this
mineral substance (its distinguishing character) is an azure copper
blue of more or less intensity. It is ductile and moderately adhesive,
when first taken up, or when moistened with water, but acquires an
almost stony solidity on drying. It is considerably adulterated with
sand or particles of quartz. It parts with its moisture rapidly on
exposure to the atmosphere, and dries without much apparent diminution
of volume.

5. _Green Clay of St. Peter's._--This differs little from the preceding,
except in its color, which is a deep or verdigris green, admitting some
diversity of shades. Its composition appears to be, essentially,
alumina, silica, carbonate of copper, water, and iron.

6. _Opwagunite_; _Calamet Stone_; _Pipe Stone._--The last of these terms
is a translation of the first, which is Algonquin. Under these names, a
peculiar kind of stone, which is much employed by the Indians for pipes,
has been alluded to by travellers and geographers from the earliest
times. It appears to be a variety of argillaceous wacke. Its color is
most commonly a uniform dull red, resembling that of red chalk.
Sometimes it is spotted with brown or yellow, but these spots are very
minute, and the colors usually faint. It is perfectly opaque, very
compact in its structure, and possessing that degree of hardness which
admits its being cut or scraped with a knife, or sawed without injury to
a common hand-saw, when first raised from the quarry; but it acquires
hardness by exposure, and even takes a polish. But it is not capable of
receiving a polish by the usual process of rubbing with grit-stone and
pumice, these substances being too harsh for it. The Indian process is
to scrape or file it smooth, and give it a polish by rubbing with the
scouring rush. Its powder is a light red, and emits an argillaceous odor
when wetted. This substance is procured at the Coteau des Prairie,
intermediate between the sources of the St. Peter's and the Great Sioux
Rivers. Some other places have been mentioned as affording this mineral,
particularly a locality on the waters of Chippewa River; but the mineral
procured here is chocolate-colored.


e. _Magnesian Minerals._

1. SERPENTINE.

At Presque Isle Point, Lake Superior, common and precious, in isolated
masses; also, in connection with, and imbedding native copper, along
the southern shore of Lake Superior, at Ontonagon River, &c.


2. STEATITE.

At Presque Isle, near River au Mort, Lake Superior, in connection with
the serpentine formation. Also, at the Lake of the Woods, of a black or
very dark color, where it is employed by the Indians in carving pipes.


3. ASBESTOS.

_Common Asbestos._--In serpentine and steatite, at Presque Isle Point,
Lake Superior. Also, in minute veins, in detached masses of diallage and
serpentine rocks, on the west shore of Lake Michigan. These veins are no
more than a fourth of an inch in width; and the fibres of asbestos occur
transversely. They are very flexible, and easily reducible into a
flocculent mass.


f. _Barytic Minerals._


SULPHATE OF BARYTES.

_Lamellar Sulphate of Barytes._--In detached masses, imbedded in
diluvial soil, at the mines of Peosta, or Dubuque, on the Upper
Mississippi, where it is accompanied by sulphuret of lead, calcareous
spar, &c. Also, at the Mine au Fevre (now Galena), and at the mouth of
the Sissinaway River, on the east banks of the Mississippi, between
Prairie du Chien and Fort Armstrong. Its colors are white or yellow, and
it is frequently incrusted with a thin coat of yellow oxide of iron. It
is most commonly opaque. The only translucent specimen seen was procured
at Dubuque's mines.


g. _Strontian Minerals._


SULPHATE OF STRONTIAN.

_Foliated Sulphate of Strontian._--At Presque Isle (Wayne's Battle
Ground), on the Maumee River, Wood County, Ohio. It occurs in veins and
cavities, in compact limestone, most commonly in the form of flattened
prisms. Its color is blue, frequently a very light or sky-blue, and the
crystals are fully translucent, or even transparent. In some instances,
they appear to have suffered a partial decomposition, and fall into
fragments in the act of raising, or are covered with a white powdery
crust, frequently visible only on the summits or terminating points of
the prisms. The same limestone yields crystallized calcareous spar. Both
these substances are abundant in the rocky banks and in the bed of the
Maumee. Also, on Grosse Isle, Detroit River, Michigan.


h. _Bituminous Minerals._

1. BITUMEN.

_Petroleum._--Occurs in cavities, in loose fragments of limestone rock,
along the west shore of Lake Michigan, between Milwaukie and Chicago.
These masses of rock lie promiscuously among fragments of quartz,
granite, sandstone, fossil madrepores, &c., along the alluvial shore of
the lake, and appear to have been washed up from its bed. The petroleum
is in a free and liquid state; but, where it has suffered an exposure to
the atmosphere, it has acquired a stiff and tar-like consistence passing
into _maltha_. Not unfrequently, fragments of mineral coal are also
found scattered along these shores, and there is reason to conclude that
a bituminous formation exists in the contiguous inferior strata forming
the basin of the lake.

2. GRAPHITE.

_Granular Graphite._--In a small vein, in the clay-slate of the River
St. Louis, at the head of the nine-mile portage. It is coarse-grained
and _gritty_.

3. COAL.

_Slaty Coal._--The only spot where this mineral has been observed, in
situ, is at La Charbonniére, on the west banks of the Illinois River, at
the computed distance of one hundred and twenty miles south of the post
of Chicago. It is here seen in horizontal strata, not exceeding two or
three inches in thickness, interposed between layers of sandstone and
shale. Breaking out on the declivity of the bank of the river, where the
overlaying strata are constantly crumbling down, and thus obscuring the
seams, no very satisfactory examination could be made in a hasty visit;
but the nature and position of the rock strata and soils, and the
general aspect of the country, do not justify the conclusion that the
bed is of much thickness or extent. Valuable beds may be discovered,
however, by exploring this formation. This coal has a shining black
color, a slaty structure, inflames readily, burning with a bright flame.
It is very fragile where exposed to the weather, falling into fine
fragments. Hence, a very black color has been communicated to the
contiguous and overlaying soil, which is manifestly more or less the
result of disintegrated coal.

Detached fragments of coal, corresponding in mineral characters with the
above, are occasionally found around the southern shores of Lake
Michigan. The inference, as to the existence of coal around the shores
of this lake, is obvious. And we are led to inquire: Does the La
Charbonniére formation of coal exist in the sandstone and limestone
strata forming the table-land between the Illinois River and Lake
Michigan, and reappearing around the basin of the latter, but at such a
depression below its surface as to elude observation? And, if so, does
not this coal formation extend quite across the southern portion of the
peninsula of Michigan? The secondary character of the region alluded to,
so far as observed, the horizontal and relative position of the strata,
and the general uniformity which is generally observed in the species
and order of the coal measures, favor this suggestion.


i. _Soda._

1. MURIATE OF SODA.

No traces of salt are known to have been discovered in those parts of
the territory of the United States situated north of latitude 46° 31´
(which is that of the Sault Ste. Marie) and _east_ of the Mississippi
River. The great secondary formations which pervade the western country
cease south of this general limit, and with them terminate the salt
springs, the gypsum beds, the coal measures, and other connected
minerals which are generally found in association. It is one of the most
important facts which the science of geology has contributed to the
stock of useful information, that, in the natural order of the rocky and
earthy deposits, muriate of soda always occupies a position contiguous
to that of gypsum. This intimate connection between the sulphate of lime
and the muriate of soda, enables us, by the discovery of the one, to
predict, with considerable but not unerring certainty, the presence of
the other. It adds weight to an observation first made among the salt
formations of Europe, to find its general correctness corroborated by
the relative position of these substances in the United States. These
remarks will apply particularly to the salt formations of New York, and
to some portions of the muriatiferous region of Virginia and the
Arkansas.

There appears to be a salt formation extending from the northwest angle
of the Ohio through Michigan, for a distance of two hundred to three
hundred miles. It commences in the Seweekly country, passing around the
Sandusky River of Lake Erie, where an extensive bed of granular gypsum
has recently been discovered, and continues, probably, northwest, so as
to embrace the Saganaw basin, and reach quite to the end of the
peninsula, and embracing, perhaps, the Gypsum Islands of Lake Huron, ten
miles northeast of Michilimackinac. All the brine springs and gypsum
beds noticed in the region are situated in the line of this formation.

During the fall of 1821, a number of gentlemen at the Island of
Michilimackinac united in the expenses of a tour for exploring the
Skeboigon River, a stream which originates in the peninsula of Michigan,
and flows into Lake Huron opposite the Island of Bois Blanc. The
particular object of this party was to ascertain the precise locality of
certain salt springs reported to exist upon that stream. They proceeded
to the places indicated, and examined several springs more or less
impregnated with salt, but reported that, owing to the jealousy and
hostility of those bands of Indians who were found upon that stream,
they were not enabled fully to accomplish the object in view.

There are several salt springs reported to exist near the Indian village
of Wendagon, on the Sciawassa River, and others on the Titabawassa
River, the principal tributaries of the Sagana. Little is, however,
known respecting these springs, but the water is represented to be so
strongly impregnated, that the Indians manufacture from it all the salt
necessary for their villages.

Grand River Valley has also been mentioned among the localities of salt
water and gypsum rocks.

Hints may thus be derived of value to the future commerce of the
country. Scarcely any of the new states are without indications of the
existence of salt. Every day is adding to the number of localities.

In the region _west_ of the Mississippi, I was informed that salt
occurs, in the crystallized form, in the territories of the Yanktons,
who inhabit the flat country at the sources of the River St. Peter's. In
certain parts of these plains, the salt exists on the surface. It is
mixed with earth, in specimens brought to me, but crystallized in cubes,
very imperfect, of a gray or grayish-white color. The Indians scrape it
up from certain parts of the prairies or plains, where the salt water is
prevented from draining off.


2. ALKALINE SULPHATE OF ALUMINA.

This salt exists, in the form of efflorescences, in the cavities and
fissures of rocks along the southeast parts of the shores of Sagana Bay,
Lake Huron, and in the argillaceous formations at Erie, on Lake Erie,
Pennsylvania.

       *       *       *       *       *

These positions embrace the principal localities of minerals noticed. In
travelling rapidly through a remote wilderness, there was but little
opportunity to explore off the track; and the whole observation was
confined to the mere surface of the country, which is much obscured by
diluvial and alluvial formations.

It will be seen that the region of Lake Superior has been a fruitful
field for mineralogical inquiry, and it is one which invites further
exploration. Its mineralogy affords a variety of interesting substances
which are objects of scientific research, and it may be anticipated to
be the future theatre of extensive mining operations. The country
northwest of Lake Superior, and the Upper Mississippi north of the Falls
of St. Anthony--consisting mostly of upheaved primitive rocks and the
pebble-drift, or diluvial, formations--has furnished but few subjects of
mineralogical remark.

The district of country between the Falls of St. Anthony and Prairie du
Chien, in common with the more southern portions of the Mississippi
Valley, partakes of all the interest which the mineral kingdom presents
in a calcareous and metalliferous country of secondary formation. It
has added considerably to my collection. It is probable the Rivers St.
Peter's, St. Croix, and Chippeway would well reward exploration; but the
mines of Dubuque particularly invite a mineralogical survey. Their
future importance cannot fail to be duly appreciated.

If the country has put on an aspect unfavorable to mineralogy, its
geological features have been observed to sustain its interest.

Much of the interest growing out of the examination, for the first time,
of the mineralogy and natural history of the country, is such as to
commend itself, in an especial manner, to the consideration of men of
science, and of associations devoted to scientific details, rather than
the department of a government. To these former, nature is a storehouse
of facts, and a perpetual anxiety is felt by this class of observers to
know the range, not only of our rock formations, but of our plants,
shells, fossils, and other classes of objects in our physical geography.
Such desires I have endeavored, as far as my means permitted, to
gratify. The fresh-water conchology of the lakes and rivers visited was
often attractive, when other objects excited little interest. The
species collected in this department have been referred to the New York
Lyceum of Natural History.

With these remarks, the result of an arduous and interesting journey
through a part of the continent hitherto unexplored, I have the honor to
conclude my report, and to terminate the trust confided to me.

    I am, sir, with respect,
    Your obedient servant,
    HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT,
    _Geologist, &c. of the Ex. Exp._


VIII.

(A.)

  _A Report to the Senate of the United States, in Answer to a
      Resolution passed by this Body, respecting the Value and Extent of
      the Mineral Lands on Lake Superior._[235] By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

  [235] _To the Senate of the United States:_--

  In compliance with a resolution of the Senate of the 8th May last,
  requesting "information relative to the copper mines on the southern
  shore of Lake Superior, their number, value, and position, the names
  of the Indian tribes who claim them, the practicability of
  extinguishing their titles, and the probable advantage which may
  result to the Republic from the acquisition and working these mines,"
  I herewith transmit a report from the Secretary of War, which
  comprises the information desired in the resolution referred to.

    JAMES MONROE.

    WASHINGTON, 7th December, 1822.


    DEPARTMENT OF WAR, 3d December, 1822.

  The Secretary of War, to whom was referred the resolution of the
  Senate of the 8th May last, requesting the President of the United
  States "to communicate to the Senate, at the commencement of the next
  session of Congress, any information which may be in the possession
  of the Government, derived from special agents or otherwise, showing
  the number, value, and position of the copper mines on the south
  shore of Lake Superior, the names of the Indian tribes who claim
  them, the practicability of extinguishing their title, and the
  probable advantage which may result to the Republic from the
  acquisition and working these mines," has the honor to transmit a
  report of Henry R. Schoolcraft, Indian agent at the Sault of Ste.
  Marie, on the copper mines in the region of Lake Superior, which
  contains all the information in relation to the subject in this
  department.

      All which is respectfully submitted.

      J. C. CALHOUN.

      To the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

    SAULT STE. MARIE, October 1, 1822.

SIR: In reply to the inquiries, contained in a resolution of the Senate
of the United States, respecting the existence of copper mines in the
region of Lake Superior, inclosed to me in a note from the War
Department, dated 8th May, 1822, I have the honor to submit to you the
following facts and remarks:--

1. In relation to "_the number, value, and position of the copper mines
on the south shore of Lake Superior_." The remote position of the
country alluded to, the infrequency of communication, and the little
reliance to be placed on information derived through the medium of the
aborigines or of traders, who are wholly engrossed with other objects,
presents an embarrassment at the threshold of this inquiry, which must
be felt by every person who turns his attention to the subject. The
information sought for demands a minute acquaintance with the natural
features and mineral structure of the country, which can only be
acquired by personal examination; and it is a species of research
requiring more leisure, better opportunities, and a freer participation
in personal fatigue, than usually falls to the share of tourists and
travellers. Not only are those difficulties to be encountered which are
inseparable from the collection of isolated facts in a new and unsettled
country, but those, also, which are peculiar to the subject, connected
as it is, at every stage of the inquiry, with the prejudices and
superstitions of the Indian tribes. [B.] It can, therefore, excite
little surprise that, after having been the theme of speculation for
more than a century, and obtained the notice of several works of merit
in Europe,[236] both the position and value of these mineral beds have
continued to the present times to be but partially known. To ascertain
more clearly their value and importance to the Republic were objects
more particularly confided to me as a member of the expedition sent by
the Indian Department, in the year 1820, to traverse and explore those
regions. My report of the 6th of November of that year--a copy of which,
marked A, is herewith transmitted--gives the result of that inquiry.
After a lapse of two years, little can be added. Reflection and
subsequent inquiry convince me that the facts advanced in that report
will be corroborated by future observation. No circumstance has
transpired which is calculated to prove that my suggestions with regard
to the fertility and future importance of those mines are fallacious; on
the contrary, all information tends to strengthen and confirm those
suggestions. Specimens of pure and malleable copper continue to be
brought in to me by the aborigines from that region, but it is not
deemed necessary to particularize in this place the additional
localities. It will be sufficient to observe, that the number of these
new discoveries justifies the expectations that have been created
respecting the metalliferous character of the region of the Ontonagon,
and the south shore of Lake Superior. [C.]

  [236] _Vide_ Jameson's Mineralogy, Parkes's Chemical Catechism,
  Phillips's Elementary Introduction to Mineralogy.

I shall here add the result of an accurate analysis made upon a specimen
of this copper at the mint of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, at the
request of Mr. Eustis, minister plenipotentiary from the United States,
who carried samples of the American copper to that country. The report
of the inspector of the mint, which communicates the result of this
analysis, has the following remarks upon the natural properties of this
species of copper, and the mode of its production: "From every
appearance, the piece of copper seems to have been taken from a mass
that has undergone fusion. The melting was, however, not an operation of
art, but a natural effect caused by a volcanic eruption. The stream of
lava probably carried along in its course the aforesaid body of copper,
that had formed into one collection, as fast as it was heated enough to
run, from all parts of the mine. The united mass was probably borne in
this manner to the place where it now rests in the soil. The
crystallized form, observable everywhere on the original surface of the
metal that has been left untouched or undisturbed, leads me to presume
that the fusion it has sustained was by a process of nature; since this
crystallized surface can only be supposed to have been produced by a
slow and gradual cooling, whereby the copper assumed regular figures as
its heat passed into other substances, and the metal itself lay exposed
to the air.

"As to the properties of the copper itself, it may be observed that its
color is a clear red; that it is peculiarly qualified for rolling and
forging; and that its excellence is indicated by its resemblance to the
copper usually employed by the English for plating. The dealers in
copper call this sort _Peruvian copper_ to distinguish it from that of
_Sweden_, which is much less malleable. The specimen under consideration
is incomparably better than Swedish copper, as well on account of its
brilliant color as for the fineness of its pores and its extreme
ductility. Notwithstanding, before it is used in manufactures, or for
the coining of money, it ought to be melted anew, for the purpose of
purifying it from such earthy particles as it may contain. The
examination of the North American copper, in the sample received from
his excellency the minister, by the operation of the cupel and test by
fire, has proved that it does not contain the smallest particle of
silver, gold, or any other metal." It is a coincidence worthy of remark,
that the suggestions offered by the assayer respecting the volcanic
origin of these masses of copper, are justified by the leading features
of the Porcupine Mountains, and by the melted granites found upon the
heights called Grande Sables and Ishpotonga.

2. The second and third inquiries of the resolution relate to "_the
names of the Indian tribes who claim the mines, and the practicability
of extinguishing their title_." By the treaty concluded at this post on
the 16th of June, 1820, the Ojibwai[237] Indians cede to the United
States four miles square of territory, bounded by the River St. Mary's,
and including the portage around the falls.[238] This is the most
northerly point to which the Indian title has been extinguished in the
United States. The different bands of Ojibwais possess all the country
northwest of this post, extending through Lake Superior to the sources
of the Mississippi, where they are bounded by the Assennaboins, the
Crees, and the Chippewyans of the Hudson Bay colony. Their lands extend
down the Mississippi to the Sioux boundary, an unsettled line between
the junction of the River De Corbeau and the Falls of St. Anthony. South
of Lake Superior, they claim to the possessions of the Winnebagoes, on
the Ouisconsin and Fox Rivers, and to those of the Pottawatamies and
Ottoways, on Lake Michigan. The Wild Rice, or Monomonee Indians, are an
integral part of the Ojibwai nation, deriving their name from the great
reliance they place on the zizania aquatica as an article of food. They
live in small, dispersed bands between the Ojibwais of the lake, and the
Winnebagoes of Fox River. Those residing among the Ojibwais speak the
same language, but with many peculiarities and corruptions on the waters
of Green Bay. They claim the respective tracts upon which they are
located. These are, principally, the valleys of the Fox and Monomonee
Rivers, and the rice lands contiguous to the Fol. Avoine, Clam Lake, and
Lac de Flambeau, which lie on the table-lands between Lake Superior and
the Mississippi.

  [237] For the different names applied to this tribe of Indians, see
  Appendix H.

  [238] _Vide_ acts passed at the second session of the 16th Congress
  of the United States, page 88.

The right of soil to all that part of the Peninsula of Michigan not
purchased by the United States is divided between the Ojibwais and the
Ottoways. The former claim all the shores and islands of Lake Huron
situated north of the Saganaw purchase, except those in the vicinity of
Michilimackinac and the St. Martin, or Gypsum Islands, which were ceded
by treaty on the 6th of July, 1820.[239] Their territories continue
north, through the River St. Mary's, embracing the country on both
banks, and the islands in the river, saving Drummond's Island, which is
garrisoned by the British, and the Four Mile concession at the Sault or
Falls, now occupied by a detachment of the United States' army. It is
not deemed necessary to point out the limits of their territories with
more precision, or to pursue them into the Canadas, where they are also
very extensive. It will sufficiently appear, from this outline, that the
discoveries of copper on the south shore of Lake Superior are upon their
lands. That some of these discoveries have been made upon, or will be
traced to, the possessions of the North Monomonees, is also probable.

  [239] _Vide_ acts passed at the second session of the 16th Congress,
  p. 91.

With respect to the practicability of extinguishing the Indian title, no
difficulty is to be apprehended. Living in small villages, or tribes of
the same mark, scattered over an immense territory, and often reduced to
great poverty by the failure of game and fish, it is presumed there
would be a disposition among their chiefs and head men to dispose of
portions of it. Those districts which most abound in minerals,
presenting a rough and rocky surface, are the least valuable to them as
hunting-grounds; and the goods and annuities which they would receive in
exchange must be vastly more important to them than any game which these
mineral lands now afford.

3. "_The probable advantage which may result to the Republic from the
acquisition and working of these mines._" How far metallic mines,
situated upon the public domain, may be considered as a source of
national wealth, and what system of management is best calculated to
produce the greatest advantages to the public revenue, are inquiries
which are not conceived to be presented for consideration in this place;
nor should I presume to offer any speculations upon topics which have
been so often discussed, and so fully settled. In applying axioms,
however, to a species of productive industry, the results of which are
so very various under various situations, great caution is undoubtedly
necessary; and it must appear manifest, on the slightest reflection, how
much the comparative value of metallic mines, equally fertile and
productive, ever depends upon situation and local advantages.
Dismissing, therefore, all questions of abstract policy, I shall here
adduce a few facts in relation to the fertility of these mineral beds,
and their position with respect to a market--points upon which their
value to the nation must ultimately turn.

That copper is abundantly found on the south shore of Lake Superior has
been shown. It is unnecessary here to add to, or repeat the instances of
its occurrence, or to urge, from an inspection of the surface, the
fertility of subterranean beds. All the facts which I possess in
relation to this subject are before you, and you will assign to them
such importance as they merit. It is a subject upon which I have
bestowed some reflection and much inquiry, superadded to limited
opportunities of personal observation, and the result has led me to form
a favorable estimate of their value and importance. It is not only
certain that a prodigious number of masses of metallic copper are found
along the borders of the lake, but every appearance authorizes a
conclusion that they are only the indications of near and continuous
veins. Some of these masses are of unexampled size, and all present
metallic copper in a state of great purity and fineness. Of its ductile
and excellent qualities for the purposes of coinage and sheathing, the
analysis of Utrecht leaves no doubt. It is true that a mistaken idea has
prevailed among travellers and geographers respecting the weight of the
great mass of copper on the Ontonagon River; but it is, nevertheless, of
extraordinary dimensions, and I have endeavored to show, from their
works, how these errors have originated, and that the metal is
disseminated throughout a much greater extent of country, and in masses
of every possible form and size. Until my facts and data can, therefore,
be proved to be fallacious, I must be permitted to consider these mines
not only fertile in native copper and its congenerous species, but
unparalleled in extent, and to recommend them as such to the notice of
the Government.

But, whatever degree of incertitude may exist respecting the riches of
these mines, their situation with respect to a market can admit of no
dispute. As little can there be concerning the advantages which this
situation presents for the purposes of mining and commerce. Let us
compare it with that of other mines, and appeal to acknowledged facts
for the decision. The value of a coal mine, a stone quarry, or a gypsum
bed, often arises as much from its situation as its fertility. But the
proposition may be reversed with respect to a metallic mine, the value
of which to the proprietor arises more from its fertility and less from
its situation. Gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, &c., when separated from
the matrix of the mine, are so valuable that they can bear to be
transported a long journey over land, and the most distant voyage by
water. Their worth in coined money, produce, or manufactures, is not
fixed in the particular circles of country where they are dug up, but
depends upon the seaboard market, and embraces all countries. The silver
of Mexico and Peru circulates throughout Europe, and is carried to
China. It is no objection to those mines that they are situated in the
Cordilleras, or upon the high table-lands of the American continent, and
must be carried a thousand miles upon the backs of mules to the seaside.
The very discovery of those mines has rendered many poor silver mines of
Europe of no value, although possibly situated in the environs of the
best silver markets in the world. It is the fertility, and not the
situation of such mines, that constitutes their chief value; and it is
so with many of the coarser metals.

The tin of the Island of Banka, and the Peninsula of Siam in Asia, and
the copper of Japan, find their way to Europe, and are articles of
commerce in the United States. The cobalt of Saxony is sent to Pekin,
and the platina of Choco, to all parts of the world. In all these
instances, the fertility of the mines compensates for every disadvantage
of situation. But this principle is not alone confined to mines of tin,
copper, &c.; it even holds true of the heavy and bulky articles of iron,
lead, and salt. The lead of Missouri finds a market at New York,
Philadelphia, and Boston, and will be carried to Europe. It is no
objection that it must be conveyed in wagons forty miles from the
interior, and sent a voyage of 3,000 miles in steamboats and merchant
ships. The great fertility of the mines counterbalances the
disadvantages of its remote position from the market, and it is the
price of the metal in the market which always regulates its price at the
mines. The malleable iron of Sweden is consumed on the summits of the
Alleghany, although its strata are replete with iron ore, which is
worked at numerous forges along the rivers which proceed from each side
of it. It is believed that the salt springs of Onondaga, from their
copiousness alone, would supply a vast portion of the interior and
seaboard of the United States with salt, even if the facilities of water
carriage had not been presented by the Erie Canal. The value of such
mines and minerals ever depends as much upon the abundance as upon the
favorable position of them. It is far otherwise with quarries of stone,
gypsum, marl, fossil coal, &c., whose contiguity to a good market
establishes their value. No abundance of these articles would justify a
land carriage of one hundred miles. They constitute a species of
mining, the profits and value of which increases in the ratio of the
surrounding population, and as the country advances in improvements. But
this advantage is far less sensibly felt, and cannot be considered
essential to the successful working of mines of silver, copper, &c.
Neither the remote position, therefore, of the Lake Superior copper
mines, nor the want of a surrounding population, present objections of
that force which would at first seem to exist; and it is confidently
believed that, if their fertility is such as facts indicate, they may be
opened and wrought with eminent advantage to the Republic. But let us
examine their situation with respect to a market, and compare it with
that of other mines of the same metal, and of some of the coarser
metals, which bear a considerable land, and the most distant water
carriage. To favor the inquiry, let it be granted for the moment that
proximity of situation to a market, or free water carriage, are
indispensable to the success and value of the most fertile mines.

Assuming the confluence of the Ontonagon River with Lake Superior (which
is apparently the centre of the mine district) as the place where the
metal is first to be embarked for market, it must be carried down the
lake 300 miles to the Sault or rapids of St. Mary's. Here, if it is in
barges, it may descend the rapids in perfect safety, as is the
invariable practice of the traders on arriving with their annual returns
of furs and skins from the north. If in vessels, it must be transferred
either into boats or carts, and carried half a mile to the foot of the
rapids, where it will again be embarked in vessels, and transported
through the Lakes Huron, St. Clair, and Erie, and their connecting
straits, to Buffalo, a distance of 650 miles. The progress made in the
construction of the great canal which is to connect the lakes and
Atlantic, is such as to leave no doubt upon any reasonable mind of the
full completion of that work with the close of the year 1824. Through
this channel, the transportation is to be continued in boats or barges,
by a voyage of 353 miles, to the Hudson at Albany; thence a sloop
navigation of 144 miles, which, for speed and freedom from risk, is
perhaps unequalled in all America, takes it into the harbor of New York,
making the entire distance, from the mouth of the Ontonagon, 1,447
miles. From New York it is distributed to our naval depots, and to the
markets of Europe. It is exchanged for the lead of Missouri, the iron
of Sweden, or the silver of Mexico; and the same ready communication
transports the return cargo to Buffalo, from whence the commerce is
extended, by means of the lakes, throughout western New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and the interminable
regions of the north. Thus it is seen that, when the Erie Canal is
completed, a free and direct water communication, from the mines to one
of the best markets in America, will exist, in which the rapids of St.
Mary's are the only interruption, and this is only an interruption to
large vessels. Not only so, but the Ontonagon River may be ascended many
miles with vessels of light burden, and thus the copper of Lake
Superior, wafted from the heart of the interior, and from the base of
the Porcupine Mountains, into the harbors of New York, Philadelphia, &c.
Of this whole distance, 1,047 miles are now navigated by the largest
class of river craft and lake schooners; the balance of the distance is
the length of the Erie Canal. (See Note D.)

Let it be recollected that there are no mines of copper situated upon
the margin of the sea, and that every quintal of sheet copper, bolts,
nails, &c., which we receive from Great Britain, Russia, Sweden, or
Japan, is transported a greater or less distance on turnpikes or canals,
before it reaches the place of shipment. The richest copper mines of the
Russian empire are seated on the summits of the Uralian Mountains; those
of Fahlun, in Sweden, and Cornwall, in England, are scarcely more
favored as to position; and, owing to a want of coal, all the ores
raised at the latter are transported into Wales to be smelted.[240] But
we need not resort to Europe for instances. All the lead raised at the
fertile mines in Missouri is transported an average distance of forty
miles in carts and wagons before it reaches the banks of the
Mississippi. Steamboats take it to New Orleans, a distance, by the
shortest computation, of 1,000 miles. But it must still pass through the
Gulf of Mexico, and encounter the perils of the Capes of Florida, and a
voyage of 2,000 miles along the coast of the United States, before it
reaches its principal marts. The average cost of transporting a
hundredweight of lead from Mine au Breton and Potosi to the banks of the
Mississippi, during the year 1818, was seventy-five cents. The distance
is thirty-six miles. The price of conveying the same quantity from the
storehouses at Herculaneum and St. Genevieve to New Orleans, by
steamboats, was seventy cents. The distance exceeds 1,000 miles. Hence,
it costs more to transport a given quantity thirty-six miles by land
than to convey it 1,000 by water. These rates have probably varied
since, but the proportionate expense of land carriage, compared to that
of water, will remain the same. A quintal of copper may, therefore, be
transported from the mines of Superior to Buffalo or Lockport, in New
York, for the same sum required to convey an equal quantity of lead from
Potosi to St. Genevieve. If we consider the city of New York as the
market of both, no hesitancy or doubt can be experienced as to the
decided and palpable advantages possessed by the northern mines. It is
only necessary to adduce these facts; the conclusions are inevitable. In
every point of view, the distance of these mines from the market
presents no solid objection to their being explored with profit to the
nation.

  [240] Silliman.

Pig copper, which is the least valuable form in which this metal is
carried to market, is now quoted in the Atlantic cities at 19 cents per
pound; sheathing, at 27; brazier's, at 32. I have no data at hand to
show the amount of these articles consumed in the United States, and for
which we are annually transmitting immense sums to enrich foreign
States. But those who best appreciate the advantages of commerce will
readily supply the estimate. It would be an interesting inquiry to
ascertain how much of the sums yearly paid for sheathing copper, bolts,
nails, engravers' plates, &c., is contributed to the wealth of the
respective foreign States who possess mines of this metal. We can look
back to a period in the history of Great Britain, when that power did
not contribute one pound of copper to the commerce of Europe. During a
period of nine years, closing with the memorable year (in American
history) of 1775, the produce of the copper mines of Cornwall was 2,650
tons of fine copper. (See Note E.) Since that time, the yearly returns
of those mines exhibit a constant increase; and the copper mines of
Great Britain are now the most valuable in the world. The amount
produced by the mines of Cornwall and Devon, after deducting the charges
of smelting, for the single year of 1810, was 969,376 pounds sterling.
(See Note F.) The clear profits of the Dolgoath mine, one of the richest
in Cornwall, for a period of five months, during the year 1805, was
£18,000, which is at the rate of £43,200, or $192,000, per annum. Next
to Great Britain, the most considerable mines of Europe are those of
Russia, Austria, Sweden, and Westphalia, as it was in 1808. Of less
importance are those of Denmark, France, Saxony, Prussia, and Spain. The
proportion in which the British mines exceed those of the most favored
European nation is as 200,000 x 67,000. (See Note G.)

There is another consideration connected with this subject which is
worthy of remark. Should it be inquired what would be the effects of the
purchase of these mines upon the condition of the Indian tribes, the
reply is obvious. It would have the most beneficial tendency. They would
not only profit by an exchange of their waste lands for goods,
implements of husbandry, the stipulated services of blacksmiths,
teachers, &c., but the intercourse would have a happy tendency to allay
those bitter feelings which, through the instigation of the British
authorities in the Canadas, they have manifested, and still continue to
feel, in degree, towards the United States. The measures which the
President has recently directed to be pursued to assuage these feelings
of hostility, and to induce them to cherish proper sentiments of
friendship and respect, are already in a train of execution that bids
fair for success. Continued exertions, and the necessary and proper
means, are all that seem necessary to confirm and complete the effect;
and whatever measures have a tendency to increase the intercourse of
American citizens with these "remote tribes," and to give them a true
conception of the power and justice, and the pacific and benevolent
policy of our Government, must favor and hasten such a result.

    I have the honor to be, sir,
    With the highest respect,
    Your most obedient servant,
    HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT,
    _U. S. Indian Agent at the Sault Ste. Marie_.

    Hon JOHN C. CALHOUN,
    _Secretary of War, Washington_.


_Notes._


(B.)

Among the numerous superstitions which the Indian tribes entertain, that
respecting mines is not the least remarkable. They are firmly impressed
with a belief that any information communicated to the whites,
disclosing the position of mines or metallic treasures situated upon
their grounds, is displeasing to their manitos, and even to the Great
Spirit himself, from whom they profess to derive every good and valuable
gift; and that this offence never fails to be visited upon them in the
loss of property, in the want of success in their customary pursuits or
pastimes, in untimely death, or some other singular disaster or untoward
event. This opinion, although certainly not a strange one to be
cherished by a barbarous people, is, nevertheless, believed to have had
its origin in the transactions of an era which is not only very well
defined, but must ever remain conspicuous in the history of the
discovery and settlement of America. It is very well known that the
precious metals were the principal objects which led the Spanish
invaders to penetrate into the interior of Mexico and Peru, and
ultimately to devastate and conquer the country, to plunder and destroy
its temples, and to tax and enslave its ill-fated inhabitants. It is
equally certain that, to escape these scenes of cruelty and oppression,
many tribes and fragments of tribes, when further resistance became
hopeless, fled towards the north, preferring the enjoyment of liberty
and tranquillity upon the chilly borders of the northern lakes, to the
pains of servitude in the mild and delightful valleys of Mexico, and the
golden plains of the Incas. In this way, many tribes who originally
migrated from the north, along the Pacific Ocean, to the Gulf of
California, and thence over all New Spain, were returned towards the
north over the plains of Texas and the valley of the Mississippi; those
tribes nearest the scenes of the greatest atrocities always pressing
upon the remoter and less civilized, who, in turn, pressed upon the
nations less enlightened than themselves, and finally drove them into
the unfrequented forests of the north. Among these terrified tribes, the
traditions of the Ojibwais affirm that their ancestors came, and that
they originally dwelt in a country destitute of snows. Many tribes who
now speak idioms of their language were left upon the way, and have
since taken distinctive names. Among these, are the Pottawatamies, the
Ottoways, &c. The latter formerly were, as they still remain, the
agriculturists. The Miamis and Shawnees, whose languages bear some
affinity, preceded them in their flight. The Winnebagoes, speaking a
separate and original tongue, came later, and preserve more distinct
traditions of their migration. All these tribes carried with them the
strong prejudices and fixed hatred excited by the cruelty, rapacity, and
cupidity of their European conquerors; and, above all, of that
insatiable thirst for gold and silver which led the Spaniards to sack
their towns, burn their temples, and torture their people. Cruelty and
injustice of so glaring a character must have made upon their minds too
deep an impression ever to be forgotten, or completely erased from their
traditions. To that memorable epoch we must, therefore, look for the
origin of that cautious and distrustful disposition which these tribes
have since manifested with regard to the mines and minerals situated
upon their lands; and the circumstance seems to offer an abundant
excuse, if not a justification, for those prevarications and evasions
which present a continual series of embarrassment to every person who
seeks through their aid to develop the mineral resources, or describe
the natural productions, of their territories. Hence, too, the cause why
they are prone to imagine that all mineral or metallic substances
obtained or sought upon their lands, are susceptible of being converted
or _transmuted_ into the precious metals.


(C.)

The following _additional_ localities of native copper, derived from
sources entitled to respect, and accompanied, in some instances, by
specimens of the metal, may here be given:--

1. Grand Menou, or Isle Royal, Lake Superior. Captain----, of the
schooner----, in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, on Lake
Superior, describes this island as affording frequent masses of copper.
While becalmed off its shores in the spring of 1822, and, afterwards, in
coasting along the island for a distance of one hundred miles, his men
frequently went ashore, and never failed to bring back with them lumps
of metallic copper, which they found promiscuously scattered among the
fragments of rock. These were more abundant in approaching its
southwestern extremity, where they unite in representing it to exist in
a solid vein. Specimens of limpid quartz, chalcedony, and striped agate,
were also brought to me from this island. [J. S. J. J.]

2. On the extremity of the great peninsula, called by the natives
Meenaiewong, or Keweena Point, which forms so prominent a feature in the
physiognomy of Lake Superior. It occurs in the detached form. [J. H. J.
J.]

3. At Point aux Beignes, which is the east cape of the entrance into
L'Ance Quewiwenon. A mass from this place was raised from the sandstone
rock, which predominates there. [J. Y. B.]

4. At Caug Wudjieu, or the Porcupine Mountains, Lake Superior; in
masses, enveloped with a green crust, along the banks of the Carp, or
Neemaibee River, which originates in these mountains. [W. M. G. Y. J.
J.]

5. On the banks of Lac Courterroile. This lake lies near the source of
the River Broule, or Cawesacotai, which enters Lake Superior near La
Pointe. It occurs in the alluvial soil, which is a kind of loamy earth,
with pebbles intermixed, but of a rich quality, and timbered with beech
and maple. It is found mostly in small, flat masses, more or less
oxidated. [B. G. J. G. Y.]

6. In a vein on the shore of Lake Superior, between La Riviere de Mort
and St. John's, a little to the west of Presque Isle. [J. J.]

7. On the northeast branch of the Ontonagon River. [J. H.]

8. In the precipitous bluffs called Le Portail, and the Pictured Rocks.
A green matter oozes from the seams in these rocks, and forms a kind of
stalactites, which is apparently a carbonate of copper. [G. Y.]

These localities embrace a range of more than two hundred miles along
the south shore of Lake Superior, which proves how intimately this metal
and its ores are identified with the rocks and the soil of that region.


(D.)

In all our calculations respecting the position and advantages of these
mines, too much stress cannot be laid upon the facilities of the lake
navigation. It is believed that a ton of merchandise, or a barrel bulk,
can be transported through the lakes at the same rates that are paid in
the coasting trade of the United States. Nor is the risk greater. The
best data which I can command, induce me to conclude that a quintal of
copper can be conveyed from the place of shipment on Lake Superior, to
the city of New York, for _one dollar_. The present price of
transportation, for a barrel bulk, from Buffalo to Mackina, may be
stated, on the average of freights, at 8_s._, New York. The mean weight
of a barrel bulk, taking flour as the standard, may be safely put down
at 200 lbs. gross, being 50 cents per cwt. But it must be recollected
that there is no return freight; and, consequently, that this sum covers
the expenses not only of the outward and return voyage, but still leaves
a profit to the owner. Messrs. Gray and Griswold, sutlers of the 2d
regiment, paid 9_s._ 6_d._, New York, per barrel bulk, from Buffalo to
the Sault. This gives a result of 59 cents per cwt. But, if a return
cargo could be obtained, one-half of this sum would afford an equal
profit on the voyage; and it is believed that the article of bar copper
could at all times be conveyed from the Sault to Buffalo for 20 cents
per cwt. Being a very convenient species of ballast, it would oftentimes
be taken in lieu of stone, and, consequently, cost no greater sum than
the price of carrying it on board. But the facilities and cheapness of
the lake navigation cannot, perhaps, be better illustrated than by
stating the price of provisions at the post of St. Mary's, every article
of which is carried from 300 to 700 miles through the lakes. The
following statement of the assistant commissary has been politely
furnished at my request:--

    SAULT STE. MARIE, October, 1822.

DEAR SIR: Agreeably to your request, I send you a statement of the
actual cost of subsistence stores furnished at this post for the use of
troops at present making the military establishment, ordered by the
Government to this place.

The prices of the several articles below enumerated are at a small
advance on the stores of the settlers outside of the cantonment.

The expenses of subsisting, or rather of maintaining, a garrison at this
place will be as small, if not less, per annum, than at any other
frontier post in our country. The provisions for the soldier cost as
little, I believe, as at any other post, and next year we shall be able
to raise all the forage for the use of our beef cattle, and the horses
and oxen of the quartermaster's department.

    I am, dear sir, yours, &c.,
    W. BICKER,
    _A. C. S. U. S. A._


_Statement of the Cost of United States Subsistence Stores at the Sault
de Ste. Marie, 1822._

                                              Cents.
    Pork, per pound                            4-1/4
    Flour, per pound                           1-9/10
    Whiskey, per gallon                       29
    Fresh beef, per pound                      6-1/2
    Vinegar, per gallon                       22
    Salt, per bushel                          90
    Soap, per pound                           10
    Candles, per pound                        20-1/2
    Beans, per quart                           4-7/10

The total cost of a soldier's ration is 9 cents and 1 mill per diem.

    WALTER BICKER,
    _A. C. S. U. S. A._

H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT, Esq., _U. S. I. Agent_.


(E.)


_Statement of the Returns of Copper Ores Smelted at the Mines of
Cornwall (Eng.) from 1726 to 1775.--[Rees's Cyclopedia.]_

    -------------+------------+-------------+---------+---------------
      Periods.   |Tons of ore.|Average price| Amount. |Annual quantity
                 |            |   per ton.  |         |of fine copper.
    -------------+------------+-------------+---------+---------------
    1726 to 1735 |   64,800   |  £7 15 10   | £473,500|    700 tons
    1736 to 1745 |   75,520   |   7  8  6   |  560,106|    830  "
    1746 to 1755 |   98,790   |   7  8  0   |  731,457|  1,080  "
    1756 to 1765 |  169,699   |   7  6  6   |1,243,045|  1,800  "
    1766 to 1775 |  264,273   |   6 14  6   |1,778,337|  2,650  "
    -------------+------------+-------------+---------+---------------


(F.)

_Statement of the Produce of the Mines of Cornwall and Devon (Eng.) for
a period of four years, ending with 1811._

------------------+-------------+------------+----------+---------
                  |    1808     |    1809    |   1810   |  1811
------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+---------
                  |Corn-  |Devon|Corn- |Devon| Cornwall | Cornwall
                  |wall   |     |wall  |     |and Devon |and Devon
------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+---------
Tons of ore.      |       |     |      |     |          |
    Tons.         |73,434 |3,725|72,038|3,210|  80,238  |73,579
     cwt.         |  2    |  0  |  12  |  0  |    14    |   0
     qrs.         |  1    |  0  |   2  |  0  |    3     |   1
------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+---------
Fine copper.      |       |     |      |     |          |
    Tons.         |7,118  | 369 |6,972 | 365 |   7,006  | 6,272
     cwt.         |  5    | 10  |  17  |  1  |     13   |   0
     qrs.         |  1    |  0  |  0   |  0  |     2    |   2
     lbs.         | 17    |  0  |  17  |  3  |     5    |   2
------------------+-------+-----+------+-----+----------+---------
Average           |       |            |                |
standard    £     |  107  |     122    |       141      |   125
per ton.          |       |            |                |
------------------+-------+------------+----------------+---------
Annual amount    £|781,348|  875,784   |     969,376    | 769,379
after deducting   |       |            |                |
charges of      s.|   16  |     2      |        19      |    4
smelting.         |       |            |                |
------------------+-------+------------+----------------+---------


(G.)

_Table of the Annual Quantity of Copper raised from the Earth in
Different Countries, in Quintals--the Quintal valued at 100 lbs._

     1. England                                 200,000
     2. Russia                                   67,000
     3. Austria, including Bohemia, Gallicia,
          Hungary, Transylvania, Styria,
          Carinthia, Carniola, Salzburg, and
          Moravia                                60,000
     4. Sweden                                   22,000
     5. Westphalia, in 1808                      17,229
     6. States of Denmark                         8,500
     7. Bavaria, including the Tyrol              3,000
     8. France                                    2,500
     9. Saxony, in 1808                           1,320
    10. Prussia, as left by the treaty of Tilsit    337
    11. Spanish European mines                      309
                                               --------
                                         Total, 382,186


(H.)

I shall here give the synonoma for this tribe of Indians, which appears
to have been first recognized by the United States as an independent
tribe by Wayne's treaty of 1795,[241] under the name of Chipewa. This
name has been retained in all subsequent treaties with them, not,
however, without some discrepance in the orthography. These variations
are chiefly marked by the introduction of the letter _p_ at the
beginning of the second syllable, or the vowel _y_ annexed to the third;
producing Chip-_pe_-wa, Chip-_pe_-wa_y_, and Chip-e-_way_. The French
missionaries and traders, whose policy it was to discard the names of
the aboriginal tribes from their conversations, bestowed upon this
tribe, at a very early period, the _nom de guerre_ of _Saulteurs_, or
_Sauteurs_, from the Sault or Falls of St. Mary's, which was the ancient
seat of this tribe--a name which is still retained by the Canadians, and
by many of the American traders. Among the early French writers, they
were also sometimes denominated _Outchipouas_. There is as little
uniformity among travellers and geographers. Pinkerton, Darby, Morse,
Carver, Mackenzie, and Herriot, either employ the word according to the
orthography of Wayne's treaty, or with the modifications above noticed.
The name of Chippewyans, employed by Mackenzie, relates to a tribe
residing north and west of the sources of the Mississippi, who speak a
language having no affinity, and are a distinct people. Henry, who was
well versed in the Chippewa language, also conforms to the popular
usage, but observes that the true name, as pronounced by themselves, is
Ojibwa.

  [241] This fact is not stated in full confidence. I cannot refer to
  any authorities to prove that they were formally recognized by the
  United States before this very recent period. By the French and
  British governments they were known soon after the first settlements
  at Quebec and Albany (A. D. 1608, 1614), and subsequently treated
  with. A band of warriors from Chegoimegon, on Lake Superior, under
  the command of Waub Ojeag, or the White Fisher, was present at the
  taking of Fort Niagara by Sir W. Johnston in 1759.

Having taken pains to ascertain and fix the pronunciation of this word,
I have not hesitated to introduce it into my correspondence and official
accounts; but I am aware of my great temerity in so doing. Popular
prejudices, and several of the authorities above cited, stand opposed to
the proposed innovation. The continued use of the word "Chippewa" is
also sanctioned by a name entitled to conclusive respect. "I write the
word in this way," observes the Executive of Michigan, "because I am
apprehensive the orthography is inveterately fixed, and not because I
suppose it is correct." Still, there are reasons for changing it.
Justice to this unfortunate race requires it. Since the popular apathy
to their condition is such that every remembrance of their actual
customs, manners, and traditions will probably perish with them, and
their _name_, ere long, be all that is left, it is at least incumbent
upon us to transmit _that_ to posterity in its true sound--as the
fathers and sachems pronounced it. If, then, there is an acknowledged
error in this respect, shall we hesitate to correct it?


IX.

_Rapid Glances at the Geology of Western New York, west of the Rome
Summit, in 1820._[242]

  [242] At the time these sketches were written, no geological
  observations had been made on this field, which has, at subsequent
  periods, been so elaborately described; nor had the topic itself
  attracted much attention. I landed at New York, in the ship
  Arethusa, from New Orleans, in the summer of 1819, and published,
  in that city, in the fall of that year, an account of the
  lead-bearing rocks of Missouri, and their supporting white
  sandstones, which rest, in horizontal deposits, on the primitive
  formation of the St. Francis; bringing, at the same time, a rich
  collection of the mineralogy of that region, which soon became
  known in private cabinets. This became the cause of my employment,
  by the United States Government, to visit the alleged copper mines
  on Lake Superior, as a member of the expedition to the sources of
  the Mississippi. I left Oneida County, in the district remarked on,
  on the 10th of April of that year, and reached the banks of the
  Niagara River on the 29th of that month. On returning from the
  sources of the Mississippi, I entered the same region on the 17th of
  October, and reached Oneida on the 21st of the same month. Prior to
  my visit to the Great West, I had dwelt some three years--namely,
  1809, '10, '11, '12--in Oneida and Ontario counties. These were the
  opportunities enjoyed, up to the period, for acquiring a knowledge of
  the geography and geology of the country. Mr. A. Eaton's _Index to
  Geology_, published early in 1820, embraces nothing extending to
  western New York.

ROCK FORMATIONS.--1. Assuming the area of the most eastwardly head of
the Onondaga Valley, the Wood Creek, and the Rome Summit, and the valley
of the Niagara, with an indefinite extent laterally, to form the limits
of this inquiry; it is in coincidence with all known facts to say that
it is a secondary region, consisting of the sedimentary and
semi-crystalline strata, the lines of which are perfectly horizontal.
Colored sandstone, generally red, forms the lowest observed stratum.

Wherever streams have worn deep channels, they either disclose this rock
or its adjuncts, the grits, or silicious sinter. It is apparent in the
chasm at Niagara Falls, about half a mile below the cataract. It is
often seen on the surface of the country, or buried slightly beneath the
soil. In color, hardness, and other characters, there is a manifest
variety. But, considered as a "formation," no doubt can exist of its
unity. Its thickness can only be conjectured, as no labor has, so far as
we know, penetrated through it.

Judging from observations made in Cattaraugus County, in 1818, the coal
measures have been completely swept from this area.

2. Next in point of altitude, is the series of dark, carbonaceous,
shelly slate rock. The thickness of this formation, as indicated at
Niagara, cannot be less than ninety feet. It is also often a
surface-rock in the district, forming portions of the banks of lakes,
streams, &c. It is characterized by organic remains of nascent species.
Portions of it also disclose rounded masses of pre-existing rocks.

3. Last in the order of superposition, is the secondary limestone
formation. It is, most commonly, of a dark, sedimentary aspect. It is
not invariably so, but portions of it have a shining, semi-crystalline
fracture. Shades of color also vary considerably, but it never, in the
scale of colors, exceeds a whitish-gray. Viewed at different localities,
the mass is either compact, fetid, shelly, or silicious. Much of it
produces good quicklime. It is often rendered "bastard," as the phrase
is, by argillaceous and earthy impurities. Organic impressions, and
remains of sea shells and coarse corals are frequent. Encrinites give
some portions of it the appearance of eyed or dotted secondary marble.
The occurrence of a hard variety of hornstone, which is not flint, is
apparently confined to the compact, fetid variety. This formation, like
the two preceding, may be found to consist of separate strata.
Localities, joining, overlaying, substrata, mineral contents, organic
species, &c., require observation. The following notices are added.

GEOLOGICAL CHANGES.--The evidences which are furnished of ancient
submersion, which has "changed and overturned" vast portions of the
solid land, are neither few nor equivocal. They are seen as well in the
rock strata as the alluvial soils. The most elevated hills and the
lowest valleys are equally productive of the evidences of extensive
changes. The whole aspect of the country seems to attest to the ancient
dominion of water. But the most striking proof of its agency is,
perhaps, found in the sea-shells, polypi, and crustacea, which are
preserved, in their outlines, in solid strata. Some of these are most
vivid in their shapes and ray-like markings, particularly the univalve
shells.

A subsequent change, in the surface of the country, is indicated by the
marks of attrition and watery action upon the faces of these rocks, in
situations greatly elevated above the present water-levels. This action
must, consequently, be referred to a period when extensive submersions,
in the nature of lakes or semi-seas, existed; for there is no power in
present lakes and streams, however swelled and reinforced by rains or
melting snows, to reach even a moiety of the elevation of these ancient
water-marks. It is to the era of these last submersions that we are
encouraged, by evidences, to look, as the disturbing cause which has
buried trees, leaves, and bones in alluvial soils.

_Action of Water._--In examining some portions of the flat lands of
Ontario County, such as the township of Phelps, there are strata of a
fine sedimentary soil, such as might be expected to result from the
settlings of water not greatly agitated. The bottoms of mill-ponds
afford an analogous species of soil. In these level districts, there are
also not unfrequently observed fields of bare flat rock, of the
limestone species, which is checkered in its surface, conveying the idea
of their having formed a flooring to some former lake. An appearance of
this kind may be seen a few hundred yards from the meeting-house in
Phelps. The rock, in this instance, is a carbonate of lime, and affords
organic remains.

The Oak Openings, in Erie County, are a kind of natural meadows or
prairies. Many suppose them to have been ancient clearings; but of this
the Indians have no tradition, and the evidences of such a settlement
are by no means satisfactory. In many places, on these extensive
openings, there are naked and barren layers of calcareous rock, whose
surface exhibits appearances analogous to those in Ontario. The
limestone is, however, of a darker color, and contains numerous imbedded
nodules of hornstone, and it emits a fetid odor on breaking.

In crossing the elevated calcareous highlands, between Danville and
Arkport, in Steuben County, we perceive in the bluff rocks which bound
the valley of the Conestoga River, at an elevation of perhaps two
hundred feet above its bed, horizontal water-marks, deeply impressed
upon the face of the rocks, as if the waters had formerly stood at that
level; and it is impossible to resist the conviction, in travelling over
this rugged district of country, that it has not been totally submerged
by waters, which have been suddenly drawn off, but by gradual or
periodical exhaustions, standing for many ages at different levels.

SLATE ROCKS.--These were, not inaptly, denominated "brittle slate," by
Dr. Mitchell, in 1809. Brittleness is their pervading character; and it
is owing to this quality, in a formation of great thickness, that the
action of the water at Niagara Falls is of so very striking a character.
There is no portion of the Niagara slate solid enough to be used for
building stone. It is uniformly shelly, and exhibits, even in hand
specimens, its reproduced character.[243] Those portions of the general
formation which are solid constitute silicious slate. A locality of this
variety may be seen at the Halfway House, eight miles east of
Canandaigua.

  [243] Appropriately pronounced a "secondary graywacke slate," by Mr.
  Eaton.

SENECA LAKE.--This clear and picturesque lake has its bed in the
secondary formations, and may be referred to as exhibiting localities of
them. Its upper parts afford the compact limestone in quadrangular
blocks. Large portions of its margin consist of the brittle carbonaceous
slate. The shores, from the vicinity of Rose's Farm to Appletown, are
little else but a continuous bank of the slate. On the opposite coast,
it is also visible at various localities below the Crooked Lake inlet.
Cashong Creek may be particularly referred to. A short ascent of its
valley brings the spectator into a scene where the walled masses of
slaty rock assume a character of grandeur. Among the recent portions
which have been thrown into the valley, may be seen masses having large
species of the stem-like organic remains, which indicate its newness as
a formation. Here are also disclosed orbicular masses, and pebbles of
other rocks, imbedded in the slate. These prove it to be--what its
texture would, in other places, indicate--a secondary slate.

The order of position on the banks of this lake is the same as at
Niagara; but the sandstone is not apparent above the water line. Its
existence, in the bed of the lake, may be satisfactorily inferred, from
the masses of yellow coarse sand which are driven up at the foot of the
lake, and particularly around its outlet. When the winds prevail, the
water is driven violently against this part of the shore. As it is an
alluvial flat, they soon surmount the stated margin, and produce a
partial inundation. On their recession, wreathes of sand remain.

DILUVIAL ELEVATIONS.--Bounding the alluvial plain of the Seneca outlet
westward, there is a series of remarkable wave-like ridges, whose
direction is parallel to that of the lake. On the declivity-stop of the
first of these ridges, stands the village of Geneva, the buildings of
which are thus displayed in an amphitheatric manner above the clear
expanse of the lake. The substratum of these ridges is an argillaceous,
compact soil of the eldest formation. Some parts of it are a stiff clay,
and yield septaria; but there is no considerable portion of it, which
has been examined, wholly destitute of primitive boulders and pebbles.
Little doubt can remain but that it is the result of the broken-down
slaty rock mixed with the extraneous and far-fetched primitive masses.
They are conclusive of its diluvial character. I have attentively
examined this formation, in the section of it exposed on the shores of
the lake between the village of Geneva and Two-mile Point. All its
solid, stony contents are piled along the margin of the lake, the soil
being completely washed away. Granite, quartz, and trap pebble-stones
and boulders, are here promiscuously strewn with recent debris. Over the
argillaceous deposit is spread a mantle of newer soil, of unequal depth
and character, which forms, exclusively, the theatre of farming and
horticultural labors.

WHITE SPRINGS.--On the declivity of one of these parallel ridges, at the
distance of two miles from the lake, is found an extensive bed of white
marl. This deposit, which is on the estate of the late Judge Nicholas,
covers many acres, and yields so copious a spring of pure water that it
is sufficient, at the distance of about three hundred yards from its
issue, to turn a gristmill. There are to be found in this bed of marl
several species of helix and voluta. The marl is generally covered with
an alluvial deposit of two feet in depth. The depth of the marl itself
is unexplored. Is not this marl the result of decomposed sea shells?

BEDS OF QUARTZOSE SAND.--In certain parts of the Seneca Valley are found
limited deposits of a white quartzose sand, in a state of comparative
purity. This substance is capable of being readily vitrified by the
addition of alkaline fluxes, and is thus converted into glass. Its
existence, as a local deposit, beneath separate strata of alluvial soil,
supporting a growth of trees and shrubs, is such as to render it
probable that the present stream, in its exhausted state, could have had
no agency in producing these deposits. If we are compelled to look to a
former condition of the waters passing off through this valley, as
affording the requisite power of deposit, we are then carried back to an
era in the geology of the country which we must refer to, to account for
by far the greater number of changes in all its recent soils. Indeed,
wherever we examine these soils, out of the range comprehended between
high- and low-water mark, on any existing lake or stream, there will be
found occasion to resort to the agency of more general and anterior
submersions. A few localities may be appealed to.

FOSSIL WOOD.--In digging a well in the Genesee Valley, one mile east of
the river (at Hosmer's), part of the trunk of a tree, of mature growth,
was found at the depth of forty-one feet below the surface. The soil was
a loose sand mixed with gravel. The position is more elevated than the
flats, so called.

ANTLERS.--A large pair of elk's horns were discovered in an excavation
made for the foundation of a mill at Clyde, in Seneca County. They were
imbedded in alluvial soil, ten feet below the surface. This surface had
been cleared of elm and other forest trees of mature growth. Near the
same place, logs of wood were found at the depth of fourteen feet. These
discoveries were made in the valley of Clyde River, which is formed by
the junction of the Canandaigua Outlet with Mud Creek.

FROGS ENCLOSED IN THE GEOLOGICAL COLUMN.--At Carthage, on the Genesee,
twelve or fifteen frogs were found in excavating a layer of compact clay
marl, about nine feet below the surface. The position is several hundred
feet above the bed of the Genesee River, to which elevation no one,
after viewing the spot, will deem it probable its waters could have
reached, this side of the diluvian era.

A frog was dug out of the solid rock, at Lockport, Niagara County, by
the workmen engaged in excavating the canal. It was enveloped by the
limestone which abounds in cavities filled with crystals of strontian
and dog-tooth spar. It came to life for a few moments, and then expired.
There was no aperture by which it could possibly communicate with the
atmospheric air. The cavity was only large enough to retain it, without
allowing room for motion.

The inclosure of animals of the inferior classes in the sedimentary
strata, and even in the most solid substance of rock, is a fact which
has been frequently noticed, without, however, any very satisfactory
theory having been given of the process, at least to common
apprehension. _Vide_ Addenda, for some further notices of this kind.

FOSSIL VEGETATION.--A well was dug in the lower part of the village of
Geneva, in 1820, which disclosed, at the depth of thirteen feet, the
branches and buds of a cedar-tree. They were found lying across the
excavation, and in the sides of it; and were in excellent preservation.
No one could conjecture in what age they had been buried. But this
discovery would seem to establish the position that the catastrophe
occurred _in the spring_.

MADREPORE.--A madrepore, measuring eight inches in diameter, was found
in the upland soil of Caledonia, Genesee County. Smaller specimens of
the same species occur in that township. Madrepores of a large size have
also been found imbedded in the soil, or lying on the surface, in
various places in Cattaraugus and Alleghany counties. They are locally
denominated petrified wasps' nests. The lands containing these loose
fossil remains are contiguous to, or based on, secondary rocks at
considerable elevations.

BOULDERS AND PRIMITIVE GRAVEL.--But the most abundant evidences of
diluvial action are furnished by the masses of foreign crystalline rocks
which are scattered, in blocks of various sizes, on the surface of the
soil, or imbedded at all depths within it. Primitive rocks are foreign
to the district, and these masses could not, therefore, have resulted
from local disintegration. They must have been transported from a
distance. They required not only an adequate cause for their removal,
but one commensurate with the effects. Such a cause Cuvier supposes, in
discussing the general question, may have existed in eruptions, or in
the action of oceanic masses of water, operating at an ancient period.

The latter opinion appears to be generally adopted. Dr. Mitchell, in
reference to northwestern boulders, attributes their distribution over
secondary regions to the draining of interior seas or lakes. Mr. Hayden,
in his _Geological Essays_, refers them to the action of oceanic
currents setting "from north and east to south and west."

SUBORDINATE AND EQUIVALENT STRATA.--These constitute the most intricate
subjects of reference. They are either adjuncts or residuary deposits of
leading formations. But their order, as accompanying series, must
sometimes be sought for by a previous determination of the formations
themselves. Could we certainly know, for instance, that the sandstone of
Western New York is or is not the true coal-sandstone, or the limestone
is or is not the carboniferous limestone, it would at once direct to
positive eras, and serve to impart confidence in the prediction of
unknown deposits of an important character. But, in order to fix the
formations, it is often the safest mode of procedure to employ the
subordinate and local deposits as evidences of the character of the
formations embracing them.

GYPSUM.--A stratum of gypsum of the plaster of Paris kind--that is,
consisting of an admixture of the carbonate with the sulphate of
lime--occurs on the banks of the Canandaigua outlet. It has been chiefly
explored in the township of Phelps, Ontario. In visiting the principal
bed (1820), I found the following order of deposits composing the banks
of the outlet:--

1. Alluvial soil of a dark, arenaceous, and mellow character, having
small stones of the primitive kind sparingly interspersed, two and a
half to three feet. Cultivated in improved farms.

2. Shelly limestone, of an earthy, dull-gray color and loose texture, in
layers, three feet.

3. Limestone of a more firm character, but still shelly, or rather
slaty, fissile, and easily quarried, six feet. This stratum contains
iron pyrites in a decomposed state. Also, nodular or kidney-shaped
masses of what the quarrymen call _plaster-eggs_--apparently snowy
gypsum.

4. Plaster of Paris, ten feet. This stratum yields granular, earthy,
fibrous, and foliated gypsum. It is the first two varieties which are
quarried. In some places, the mass is firm enough to admit of blasting.
In others, it is loose and veiny, and is readily broken up with iron
bars and sledges. Portions of it appear to consist of a shelly limestone
identical with No. 2. They are rejected in quarrying.

5. Limestone similar to No. 3, four feet.

At this depth it is covered by the waters of the outlet. How deep it
extends is uncertain. The rapids at the village of Vienna are caused by
shelving strata of this limestone.

There is a suite character in these strata which appears to constitute
them a single deposit. The plaster-bed at Canasaraga exists in a ledge
more elevated in reference to the local stream, and presents a broader
section of the limestone. The shades of difference which are observable
in its color and texture, do not appear to indicate a difference of
geological era. Nor do appearances denote, for the calcareous formation
which embraces these beds, much antiquity in the scale of secondary
rocks.

SALIFEROUS RED CLAY-MARL.--Examinations, at various points, render it a
probable supposition that the red clay-marl of western New York is the
equivalent for the new red sandstone, in positions where the latter
is--as it often is--wanting. It is extensively deposited in the upland
soils, in the range of the salt rock and gypsum counties, from the
summit grounds of Oneida County west. It may be seen in various stages
of the decomposition. I have more attentively examined it on the upper
parts of the Scanado[244] and Oneida creeks. Large areas of it exist in
Westmoreland, Verona, and Vernon townships, and bordering the valley
grounds of the Oneida reservation, and the northerly portions of
Sullivan County. The existence of salt water might, apparently, be
searched for with as much probability of success, in the district thus
indicated, as at more westerly points.

  [244] Usually written Skenanodoah, but pronounced as above.

COAL-FORMATION.--With a strong predisposition to regard our leading
sandstone and limestone surface-formations as members of the
"independent" or true coal-formation, inquiry has led me to relinquish
the impression that they will, to any great degree, be found to yield
this mineral. If the sandstone is--as facts indicate it to be--the new
red or saliferous sandstone, it may be expected to yield thin seams of
coal, in distant places, but no deposit of this mineral which will
reward exploration in this or its super-incumbent series of rocks, the
slates, limestones, &c. It will result, that the coal-measures, properly
so denominated, are a prior deposit in the order of series; and, should
they hereafter be found, such a discovery must take place above the
range of the sandstone, which is the basis rock at Niagara and Genesee
Falls.

Having premised the character of the sandstone, all the series occupying
a position above it must derive their character, as secondary deposits,
from this. The limestone cannot, therefore, be a part of the
carboniferous or "medial." The slates, as shown at Cashong, are
fragmentary, and rather nearer slaty grauwacks. The arenaceous and
calcareous upper deposits assume nearly the position of the oolitic
series, and, in fact, ought, in some localities, to be regarded as
equivalents.

WESTERN COAL-MINES.--Much of the data employed in these inquiries is the
result of previous examinations of the great coal deposits in the Ohio
Valley, and other parts of the western country. Here we have the
coal-sandstone and the slate clay, with slate, &c., alternating with the
coal-measures. Such is the order of deposits at the junction of the
Alleghany and Monongahela, where the formation is well developed, and
where there exists, too, in the elevated valley hills, several
repetitions of the series. The zechstone, or compact limestone, which is
a pervading rock in the Mississippi Valley, occupies a position next
above the great Mississippi sandstone.[245] It may always be
distinguished from the shelly, entrochal limestone of the Genesee,[246]
by the absence of gypsum and of the fetid odor emitted on fracture.

  [245] This formation cannot be called "red sandstone," from its being
  generally white or gray, but appears to occupy the position of the
  "horizontal red sandstone" among European rocks.

  [246] The cornutiferous lime-rock of Mr. Eaton.

ALLEGHANY VALLEY.--A question of interest, in connection with the extent
of the Ohio Valley coal-formation, arises from the attempt to fix the
point to which this formation ascends the Alleghany Valley--being the
direct avenue into Western New York. I have examined this valley in its
entire length between Pittsburg and Olean, in Cattaraugus County, and
have not been able to observe that there are any evidences of its
termination below the latter point. The general order and parallelism
of strata remain the same. The coal stratum is apparently present. The
qualities of the coal at Armstrong, and at various points below French
Creek--the first primary fork of the river--are not distinguishable from
the products of the Pittsburg galleries. Less search has been made above
that point, but wherever the hills have been penetrated, they have--as
at Brokenstraw--produced the bituminous coal. Above the Conawango
Valley, which brings in the redundant waters of Chatauque Lake, the
Alleghany discloses frequent rapids. The effect of parallelism upon the
strata is to sink the coal-measures deeper as they ascend the Alleghany;
and this cause may, in connection with the unexplored character of the
country, be referred to in accounting for the absence of coal along this
part of the line. The reappearance of traces of this mineral at Potato
Creek, forty miles above Olean, is a proof, however, that the
coal-formation extends to that point. This locality is a few miles
within the limits of Pennsylvania. It occurs in a valley.

COAL IN WESTERN NEW YORK.--The coal-bed above Olean is south of the
summit of the Genesee, and not remote from its primary source. The
expectation may be indulged that the western coal-formation embraces
portions of Cattaraugus and Alleghany or Steuben counties. The noted
spring of naphtha, called Seneca Oil, is on Oil Creek in this county. As
this substance, in the class of bitumens, is nearly allied to the coal
series, it may be deemed favorable to the existence of the formation in
the substrata.[247] Fragments of carbonized wood are frequently found in
the large tracts of marine sand,[248] as well as in some of the mixed
alluvions of these counties; and it needs but an examination, as cursory
as it has fallen to my lot to make, of this portion of the country, to
render it one of high geological interest, and to denote that the
coal-measures probably extend into some portions of Western New
York.[249]

  [247] These tracts bear a valuable growth of pines, which constitute
  the source of a profitable lumber trade with the Ohio Valley.

  [248] This mineral oil also occurs in several of the lower tributaries
  of the Alleghany River, within the coal district.

  [249] A discovery of coal has been announced in Alleghany County, New
  York, as these sheets are going through the press, more than thirty
  years after these lines were penned.


ADDENDA.

_Animals inclosed in Rock, &c._

TOADS.--In 1770, a toad was brought to Mr. Grignon inclosed in two
hollow shells of stone; but, on examining it nicely, Mr. G. discovered
that the cavity bore the impression of a shell-fish, and, of
consequence, he concluded it to be apocryphal.

In 1771, another instance occurred, and was the subject of a curious
memoir read by Mr. Guettard to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris.
It was thus related by that famous naturalist:--

In pulling down a wall, which was known to have existed upwards of a
hundred years, a toad was found without the smallest aperture being
discoverable by which it could have entered. Upon inspecting the animal,
it was apparent that it had been dead but a very little time; and in
this state it was presented to the Academy, which induced Mr. Guettard
to make repeated inquiries into the subject, the particulars of which
will be read with pleasure in the excellent memoir we have just cited.

WORMS.--Two living worms were found, in Spain, in the middle of a block
of marble which a sculptor was carving into a lion, of the natural
color, for the royal family. These worms occupied two small cavities to
which there was no inlet that could possibly admit the air. They
subsisted, probably, on the substance of the marble, as they were the
same color. This fact is verified by Captain Ulloa, a famous Spaniard,
who accompanied the French academicians in their voyage to Peru to
ascertain the figure of the earth. He asserts that he saw these two
worms.

ADDER.--We read in the _Affiches de Provence_, 17 June, 1772, that an
adder was found alive in the centre of a block of marble thirty feet in
diameter. It was folded nine times round, in a spiral line. It was
incapable of supporting the air, and died a few minutes after. Upon
examining the stone, not the smallest trace was to be found by which it
could have glided in or received air.

CRAWFISH.--Misson, in his _Travels through Italy_, mentions a crawfish
that was found alive in the middle of a marble in the environs of
Tivoli.

FROGS.--M. Peyssonel, king's physician at Guadaloupe, having ordered a
pit to be dug in the back part of his house, live frogs were found by
the workmen in beds of petrifaction. M. P., suspecting some deceit,
descended into the pit, dug the bed of the rock and petrifactions, and
drew out himself green frogs, which were alive, and perfectly similar to
what we see every day.

We are informed by the _European Magazine_, February 21, 1771, that M.
Herissan inclosed three live toads in so many cases of plaster, and shut
them up in a deal box, which he also covered with thick plaster. On the
6th of April, 1774, having taken away the plaster, he opened the box,
and found the cases whole and two of the toads alive. The one that died
was larger than the others, and had been more compressed in its case. A
careful examination of this experiment convinced those who had witnessed
it, that the animals were so inclosed that they could have no possible
communication with the external air, and that they must have existed
during this lapse of time without the smallest nourishment.

The Academy prevailed upon M. Herissan to repeat the experiment. He
inclosed again the two surviving toads, and placed the box in the hands
of the Secretary, that the Society might open it whenever they should
think proper. But this celebrated naturalist was too strongly interested
in the subject to rest satisfied with a single experiment; he made,
therefore, the two following:--

1. He placed, 15 April, 1771, two live toads in a basin of plaster,
which he covered with a glass case that he might observe them
frequently. On the 9th of the following month, he presented the
apparatus to the Academy. One of the toads was still living; the other
had died the preceding night.

2. The same day, April 15, he inclosed another toad in a glass bottle,
which he buried in sand, that it might have no communication with the
external air. This animal, which he presented to the Academy at the same
time, was perfectly well, and even croaked whenever the bottle was shook
in which he was confined. It is to be lamented that the death of M.
Herissan put a stop to these experiments.

We beg leave to observe upon this subject, that the power which these
animals appear to possess of supporting abstinence for so long a time,
may depend upon a very slow digestion, and, perhaps, from the singular
nourishment which they derive from themselves. M. Grignon observes that
this animal sheds its skin several times in the course of a year, and
that it always swallows it. He has known, he says, a large toad shed its
skin six times in one winter. In short, those which, from the facts we
have related, may be supposed to have existed many centuries without
nourishment, have been in a total inaction, in a suspension of life, or
a temperature that has admitted of no dissolution; so that it was not
necessary to repair any loss, the humidity of the surrounding matter
preserving that of the animal, who wanted only the component parts not
to be dried up, to preserve it from destruction.

The results of modern chemistry and philosophy have proved the number of
elementary substances to be far greater than was admitted in the
preceding century. And this discovery is progressive, and will probably
go on a long time; after which, it is not improbable a new race of
chemical and philosophical observers will spring up, who will be able to
decompose many substances we now consider elementary, and thus again
reduce the number of elements of which all external matter is composed.
It would not be wonderful if posterity should reduce the number of
elements even as low as the ancients had them. Such a result would throw
new light on the mysterious and intricate connection which seems to
exist between animal, vegetable, and mineral matter. We should then,
perhaps, have less cause to wonder that toads, &c., are capable of
supporting life in stone, that birds should exist in solid blocks of
wood, &c.

But toads are not the only animals which are capable of living for a
considerable length of time without nourishment and communication with
the external air. The instances of the oysters and dactyles, mentioned
at the beginning of this article, may be advanced as a proof of it. But
there are other examples.--_European Magazine_, March, 1791.

A beetle, of the species called capricorn, was found in a piece of wood
in the hold of a ship at Plymouth. The wood had no external mark of any
aperture.--_European Magazine_.

A bug eat itself out of a cherry table at Williamstown, Mass. See an
account of this phenomenon, by Professor Dewey, in the _Lit. and Philos.
Repertory_.

These phenomena remind us of others of a similar nature and equally
certain.

In a trunk of an elm, about the size of a man's body, three or four feet
above the root, and precisely in the centre, was found, in 1719, a live
toad, of a moderate size, thin, and which occupied but a very small
space. As soon as the wood was cut, it came out and slipped away very
alertly. No tree could be more sound. No place could be discovered
through which it was possible for the animal to have penetrated, which
led the recorder of the fact to suppose that the spawn from which it
originated must, from some unaccountable accident, have been in the tree
from the very moment of its first vegetation. The toad had lived in the
tree without air, and, what is still more surprising, had subsisted on
the substance of the wood, and had grown in proportion as the tree had
grown. This fact was attested by M. Hebert, Ancient Professor of
Philosophy at Caen.

In 1731, M. Leigne wrote to the Academy of Sciences at Paris an account
of a phenomenon exactly similar to the preceding one, except that the
tree was larger, and was an oak instead of an elm, which makes the
instance the more surprising. From the size of the oak, M. Leigne judged
that the toad must have existed in it without air or any external
nourishment, for the space of eighty or a hundred years.

We shall cite a third instance, related in a letter the 5th Feb. 1780,
written from the neighborhood of Saint Mexent, of which the following is
a copy.

"A few days ago, I ordered an oak tree of a tolerable size to be cut
down, and converted into a beam that was wanting for a building I was
then constructing. Having separated the head from the trunk, three men
were employed in squaring it to the proper size. About four inches were
to be cut away on each side. I was present during the transaction.
Conceive what was their astonishment when I saw them throw aside their
tools, start back from the tree, and fix their eyes on the same point
with a kind of amazement and terror. I instantly approached, and looked
at that part of the tree which had fixed their attention. My surprise
equalled theirs, on seeing a toad, about the size of a large pullet's
egg, incrusted, in a manner, in the tree, at the distance of four inches
from the diameter and fifteen from the root. It was cut and mangled by
the axe, but still moved. I drew it with difficulty from its abode, or
rather prison, which it filled so completely that it seemed to have been
compressed. I placed it on the grass; it appeared old, thin,
languishing, decrepit. We afterwards examined the tree with the nicest
care, to discover how it had glided in; but the tree was perfectly whole
and sound."--_European Magazine._

BAT.--A woodman engaged in splitting timber for rail-posts in the woods
close by the lake in Haming (a seat of Mr. Pringle's in Selkirkshire),
lately discovered, in the centre of a large wild cherry tree, a living
bat, of a bright scarlet color, which he foolishly suffered to escape,
from fear, being fully persuaded it was (with the characteristic
superstition of the inhabitants of that part of the country) a "being
not of this world." The tree presented a small cavity in the centre,
where the bat was inclosed, but is perfectly sound and solid on each
side.--_N. Y. Lit. Journ. and Belles-Lettres Repository_, taken from the
_London Semi-Monthly Magazine_.

SKULL IN WOOD.--A tenant of the Rev. J. Cattle, of Warwick, lately
presented to him a part of the solid butt of an oak tree, containing
within it the skull of some animal (unknown). It was in the part of the
tree nine feet above the ground, and was perfectly inclosed in solid
timber.--_N. Y. Lit. Journ. and Belles-Lettres Repository_, from
_European Magazine_.


X.

_A Memoir on the Geological Position of a Fossil-Tree in the Series of
the Secondary Rocks of the Illinois._

The spirit of inquiry which has been excited in this country in regard
to objects of natural history, while it has enlarged the boundaries of
our knowledge of existing species, has directed some of its more
valuable researches to those organized forms which have perished and
become embalmed in the shape of petrifactions, in the body of solid
rocks. A petrified tree of this kind has recently been discovered in the
secondary[250] rocks at the source of the Illinois River. Having
recently visited this evidence of former changes in the flora of the
West, I embrace the occasion, while my recollections are fresh, to give
an account of it.

  [250] This term is superseded, in geological discussions of the
  present day, by the term _silurian_, which embraces all strata of the
  era between the _palæozoic_ and _tertiary_ formations.

The tract of country separating the southern shores of Lake Michigan
from the Illinois River, is a plat of table-land composed of compact
limestone, based on floetz or horizontal sandstone. This formation
embraces the contiguous parts of Illinois, and spreads through Indiana,
Ohio, and the Peninsula of Michigan. It is overspread with a deposit of
the drift era, covered with a stratum of alluvial soil, presenting a
pleasing surface of prairies, forests, and streams. These features may
be considered as peculiarly characteristic of the junction of the Rivers
Kankakee and Des Plaines, which constitute the Illinois River. This
junction is effected about forty miles south of Chicago.

The fossil in question occurs about forty rods above the junction of the
Kankakee. The sandstone embracing it is deposited in perfectly
horizontal layers, of a gray color and close grain. It lies in the bed
of the Des Plaines. The action of this stream has laid bare the trunk of
the tree to the extent of fifty-one feet six inches. The part at the
point where it is overlaid in the western bank is two feet six inches in
diameter. Its mineralization is complete. The trunk is simple, straight,
scabrous, without branches, and has the usual taper observed in the
living specimen. It lies nearly at right angles to the course of the
river, pointing towards the southeast, and extends about half the width
of the stream. Notwithstanding the continual abrasion to which it is
exposed by the volume of passing water, it has suffered little apparent
diminution, and is still firmly imbedded in the rock, with the exception
of two or three places where portions of it have been disengaged and
carried away; but no portion of what remains is elevated more than a few
inches above the surface of the rock. It is owing, however, to those
partial disturbances that we are enabled to perceive the columnar form
of the trunk, its cortical layers, the bark by which it is enveloped,
and the peculiar cross fracture, which unite to render the evidence of
its ligneous origin so striking and complete. From these characters and
appearances, little doubt can remain that it is referable to the species
juglans nigra, a tree very common to the forest of the Illinois, as
well as to most other parts of the immense region drained by the waters
of the Mississippi. The woody structure is most obvious in the outer
rind of the trunk, extending to a depth of two or three inches, and
these appearances become less evident as we approximate the heart.
Indeed, the traces of organic structure in its interior, particularly
when viewed in the hand specimen, are almost totally obliterated and
exchanged, the vegetable matter being replaced by a mixed substance,
analogous, in its external character, to some of the silicated and
impure calcareous carbonates of the region. Like those carbonates, it is
of a brownish-gray color and compact texture, effervesces slightly in
the nitric and muriatic acids, yields a white streak under the knife,
and presents solitary points, or facets, of crystals resembling calc
spar. All parts of the tree are penetrated by pyrites of iron of a brass
yellow color, disseminated through the most solid and stony parts of the
interior, filling interstices in the outer rind, or investing its
capillary pores. There are also the appearances of rents or seams
between the fibres of the wood, caused by its own shrinkage, which are
now filled with a carbonate of lime, of a white color and crystallized.

From an effect analogous to carbonization, the exterior rind and bark of
the tree have acquired a blackish-hue, while the inclosing rock is of a
light-gray color, characters which are calculated to arrest attention.

There is reason to conclude that the subject under consideration is the
joint result, partly of the infiltration of mineral matter into its
pores and crevices, prior to inclosure in the rock, and partly to the
chemical action educed by the great catastrophe by which it was
translated from its parent forest, and suddenly enveloped in a bed of
solidifying sand.

At the time of my visit (August 13, 1821), the depth of water upon the
floetz rocks forming the bed of the River Des Plaines, would vary from
one to two feet; but it was at a season when these higher tributaries,
and the Illinois itself, are generally at their lowest stage. Like most
of the confluent rivers of the Mississippi and their tributaries, the
Des Plaines is subject to great fluctuations, and during its periodical
floods may be estimated to carry a depth of eight or ten feet of water
to the junction of the Kankakee. At those periods, the water is also
rendered turbid by the quantity of alluvial matter it carries down, and
a search for this organic fossil must prove unsuccessful. But during the
prevalence of the summer droughts, in an atmosphere of little humidity,
when the waters are drained to the lowest point of depression, and
acquire the greatest degree of transparency, it forms a very conspicuous
trait in the geology of the stream, and no person, seeking the spot, can
fail to be directed to it.

The sand-rock containing this petrifaction is found in a horizontal
position, differing only with respect to hardness and color. The remains
of fossil organized bodies in this stratum are not abundant, or have not
been successfully sought. It is probable that future observations will
prove that its organic conservata are chiefly referable to the vegetable
kingdom. It is certain, that this inference is justified by the facts
which are before me, and particularly by the characteristic appearances
of the strata in the bed of the River Des Plaines, where the imbedded
walnut is the representative of the ancient flora. At a short distance
above, where the bed of the Des Plaines approaches nearer the summit
level, limestone ensues, and continues from that point northward to the
shores of Lake Michigan. In the vicinity of Chicago, where this
limestone is quarried for economical purposes, it is characterized by
the fossil remains of molluscous species.

Lake Erie lies at an elevation of five hundred and sixty-five feet above
the Atlantic.[251]

  [251] Public Documents relating to the New York Canals, with an
  Introduction, &c., by Colonel Haines.

There exists a water communication between the head of Lake Michigan, at
Chicago, and the River Des Plaines, during the periodical rises of the
latter, but its summer level is about seven feet lower, at the
termination of the Chicago portage, than the surface of the lake. From
this point to its junction with the Kankakee, a computed distance of
fifty miles, the bed of the Des Plaines may be considered as having a
mean southern depression of ten inches per mile, so that the floetz
rocks at its mouth, lying on a level of forty-eight feet eight inches
below the surface of Lake Michigan, have an altitude which cannot vary
far from five hundred and fifty feet above the Atlantic. There are no
mountains for a vast distance either east or west of this stream. It is
a country of plains, in which are occasionally to be seen alluvial
hills of moderate elevation; but the most striking inequalities of
surface proceed from the streams which have worn their deep-seated
channels through it; and an oceanic overflow capable of covering the
country, and producing these strata by deposition, would also submerge
all the immense tracts of secondary and alluvial country between the
Alleghany and the Rocky Mountains, converting into an arm of the sea the
great valley of the Mississippi, from the Gulf of Mexico north to the
Canadian Lakes. We find in the alluvial soil along the Illinois and Des
Plaines blocks of granite, hornblende, and gneiss, of the drift stratum,
exhibiting the same appearances of attrition, and of having been
transported from their parent beds, which characterize the secondary
tablelands along the margin of the great American lakes, the prairies of
Illinois, and the western parts of New York.

There is nothing, perhaps, in the progress of modern science, which has
tended to facilitate geological research so much as the study and
investigation of fossil organic remains. They teach, with unerring
lights, how extensively the ancient flora and fauna of this continent
have been prostrated, leaving their exact impressions, in all their
minuteness, in the newly-formed stratifications. That these impressions,
fresh and vivid as we find them, should mark the eras of depositions and
crystallization of rocks from the suspension of their elements in water,
is the observation of Werner, and it is to him we owe the elements of
the Neptunian hypothesis. His general recognition of the epochs of the
primitive, transition, and secondary rocks, appears too probable not to
commend itself to adoption with regard to all strata which can be
conceived to be the products of watery menstrua.

But it remained for Werner, who was the first to perceive an order in
strata, also to point out the important application of fossil organic
bodies in elucidating their eras, and the natural order of their
superposition.

To adopt the words of Dr. Thomas Cooper:--

"There appears to be a series of strata, or, as Werner calls them,
formations, that may be considered as surrounding the nucleus of the
earth. The first formed, or lowest series, always preserve the same
situation to each other, except where occasional eruptions, or
circumstances not of a general nature, make a variety in their
situations. These strata are not only the deepest, but they are also the
highest that are observable in the crust of the earth; forming the tops
of the highest mountains. They are characterized by an appearance of
crystallization, and by containing no remains of organic matter, animal
or vegetable. The strata or formations that in general constitute this
first, deepest, highest, and crystallized series, are granite, gneiss,
mica-slate, clay-slate, primitive greenstone, granular limestone,
serpentine, porphyry, and sienite. These formations are so generally
found, and in the same situations as incumbent upon or subtending each
other relatively, that they may be considered as universal. Their
crystallized appearance shows that their particles have either been
dissolved or very finely suspended in water, so that the attraction of
crystallization has been free to operate; that this water has been deep,
so that the lowermost parts of it have not been much agitated during the
crystallization, which would otherwise have been more confused than it
is; and, indeed, the oldest formations are the best crystallized. A part
of the water covering the nucleus must have been taken up, as water of
crystallization, in the primitive formations. When these were deposited,
there were no vegetables formed; of course, no animals; nay, even the
sea was unpeopled, for there is no trace of any organic remains in these
strata. Even the belemnites, the asteriæ, the echini, the entrochi, the
most simple forms of oceanic animal life, do not occur until the
transition strata appear. Hence the propriety of denominating these
formations _primitive_.

"By processes of nature, besides the consumption of water by the new
crystallized masses, to us unknown, the waters appear to have
diminished. The highest parts of the primitive formations became the
shores to the water superincumbent on their bases and middle regions;
the simplest forms of oceanic animals came into existence; the mosses
and lichens of high latitude would generally occupy the surface of the
primitive strata, gradually decomposed by the alternate action of air
and water after many ages. During this period, while the strata were in
a state of _transition_ from the chaotic to the habitable state, other
deposits would gradually be made from the waters, now decreased in
quantity, and take their place below the summits of the primitive
range. Those summits being exposed to the action of the atmosphere, of
rains, of frost probably, and to the action also of the waters with
their contents still incumbent on the earliest strata, would furnish
masses and particles washed away, which would mingle with the deposits
of the transition series. This series, therefore, will exhibit
appearances of mechanical and chemical intermixture of earths and
stones, such as are found in the silicious porphyries, the graywackes,
the silicious and argillaceous hornblende rocks, the elder red
sandstone, &c. During the period when these transition formations were
deposited, there would be no land animals, for there would be no
vegetables for them to feed upon. There would be no vegetables unless
some few lichens, mosses, or ericas, that would find foothold upon the
slight decomposition that, after the lapse of some ages, would take
place on the surface of the primitive rocks. The sea only would be
peopled, and that but sparingly; for, in that mass of muddy water, none
but the lowest and most inferior grades of animal life, and such as do
not inhabit deep water, could exist. Hence, we find the transition
formations contain in their substances some belemnites, asteriæ,
entrochi, echini, &c., but no organized vegetable substance except, very
rarely, in the latest rocks of this series, and no remains whatever of
terrestrial animals. Indeed, in the high latitudes of the outgoings or
summits of the primitive strata, very few vegetables, even at the
present day, can live. No vegetation fit for animal life could take
place until the transition, and most of the next series of _secondary_
or _floetz_ formations had subsided. These would occupy lower and lower
situations, till a rich soil, from every kind of intermixture of earth
mechanically deposited, would afford a proper temperature of region, and
an easily decomposed soil, wherein vegetables could grow.

"Next to the transition series, come the _secondary_, or, as the German
mineralogists call them, the _floetz_ rocks; so called, because they
appear to be more floated or horizontal, though I confess the
appellation does not appear to me peculiarly appropriate. These strata
consist principally of sandstone, limestone--sometimes fetid from
bituminous impregnations, sometimes shelly--secondary greenstone,
graphite, coal, gypsum, rock salt. I have observed that the Alpine
heights of the primitive mountains could at no time furnish much food.
The same remark, but in a less degree, will apply to the transition
range; the low and kindly climates occupied by the secondary series.
The soft and decomposable nature of these depositions would furnish the
true theatre of vegetable life, and, until these regions were filled
with vegetables, the race of animals could not have been produced; for
on what could they subsist? Graminivorous animals, therefore, must have
succeeded the various forms of vegetable existence; and carnivorous, the
graminivorous. The vegetable matter imbedded in the substance of the
secondary strata will consist of the remains of vegetables that grow in
the transition strata; and the animal remains will consist chiefly of
such animals as were produced in the early stages of animal existence,
particularly the smaller aquatic animals; and, of these, chiefly
shell-fish, as shells are not so soon decomposed as mere animal
substance."

It is to the latter class of depositions--to the secondary series--that
we must refer the sandstone of the River Des Plaines, in which we find a
walnut, of mature growth, enveloped by, and imbedded in the rock, in the
most complete state of mineralization; and, since all geological writers
who subscribe to the Neptunian theory are constrained to employ the
agency of oceanic depositions of different eras, in explaining the
structure of the earth's surface, it is one of the most obvious and
important conclusions, to be drawn from the fact that such submersions
and depositions of rock matter have taken place subsequent to the
existence of forests of mature growth, and that the rock strata and beds
composing the exterior of the earth are the result of different
geological epochs, and of successive subsidences of chaotic
matter--positions which have been so severely attacked and so often
denied, particularly by the disciples of the Huttonian school, that it
is not without a feeling of lively interest, I communicate a discovery
which appears so conclusive on the subject.

Considerations arising from the frontier position of the country, and
the infrequency of the communication, have also induced me to draw from
incidental sources, a corroboration of the facts advanced.

In a letter to Governor Cass, of Michigan, dated September 17, 1821, I
made the following observations on the subject under review:--

"I consider the petrified tree discovered during our recent journey up
the Illinois, so extraordinary an object in the natural history of the
country, and calculated to lead to conclusions so important to the
science of geology, that I am anxious to avail myself of your concurrent
testimony as to the fact of the existence of the tree in a mineralized
state, and the natural appearances of the spot where it lies imbedded. I
feel the more solicitude on this subject, as I am aware that any
description of this phenomenon which I may be induced to communicate to
the public, will be received with a degree of caution and scrutiny which
it is the province of the naturalist to exercise whenever any discovery
is announced affecting the existing theories of the natural sciences, or
tending to increase the volume of facts upon which their advancement and
perfection depend. I am aware, also, that whatever degree of caution and
vigilance it may be proper to exercise to prevent errors from mingling
with the sound doctrines of the physical and other sciences, still more
care and circumspection is requisite in examining facts which affect the
progress of geology."

I quote an extract from Governor Cass's reply on the subject:--

"The appearance of the wood and bark indicates that it was a black
walnut, the juglans nigra of our forests. We computed its original
diameter, at the place where it is concealed in the earth, to have been
three feet, and at the other end eighteen inches. The texture of the
wood, and the bark and knots, are nearly as distinct as in the living
subject, and the process of decay had not commenced previous to the
commencement of this wonderful conversion. Every part of the mass which
we could examine is solid stone, and readily yields fire by the
collision with steel.

"When we visited the spot, the water of the river was at the lowest
stage; but there was no part of the tree within some inches of the
surface. The rocky bed of the stream was formed round and upon it. We
raised from it pieces of the rock, which were evidently _in situ_, and
which had been formed upon the tree posterior to the period of its
deposit in its present situation. This rock is a species of sandstone,
whose characteristic features must be well known to you.

"There are no mineralized substances of vegetable origin in the vicinity
of this specimen, nor are there any appearances which indicate that its
present condition has been caused by any peculiar property in the waters
of the Des Plaines."


ADDENDA.

The publication of the foregoing memoir led to several letters being
addressed to the author on topics connected with it. Some of these were
from gentlemen eminent in science or politics, whose opinions are
entitled to the highest respect. Extracts are given from such only as
introduce new data, either of fact or opinion.

GEOLOGICAL THEORIES.--Professor Dewey, of Williams College, observes: "A
friend has just lent me your 'Memoir on a Fossil-Tree.' Though the
account is very interesting, I do not perceive its exact bearing on the
Neptunian and Plutonian hypotheses. The fault is doubtless in me, and
you will excuse my remarks and set me right. I had supposed the
Huttonians and Wernerians did not dispute about the manner in which the
_secondary_ rocks were formed. Macculloch, and others before him, led me
into this opinion, though it may be erroneous. But Bakewell, who is
referred to as authority in _Rees's Cyclopædia_, says, p. 131:
'Geologists are agreed that secondary rocks have been formed by the
agency of water.' If this be so, they would agree generally with the
account of Dr. Cooper respecting the formation of petrifactions, and
especially those of vegetables, and the fossil-tree would be treated of
in a similar manner by both."

Hutton's original hypothesis, and not the modifications of it introduced
by the Neptu-Vulcanists, were adverted to in reply. Subsequently,
Professor Dewey writes:--

"I was greatly obliged by your letter in various respects, and I write
you now to make my acknowledgments for it, as well as to maintain the
correctness of your notions on the Huttonian hypothesis. As you had seen
a Scotch mineralogist directly from the mint of Playfair, I had every
reason to suppose you had received correct views of Playfair's notions
on the subject. I have been led, therefore, to examine the matter, and,
as I may have set you on the search, I wish to prevent your continuing
it on my account, or from what I wrote.

"Playfair's Illustrations I have never seen. Occasional extracts, or
allusions to its points, have fallen in my way. But I have before me a
very full abstract of Hutton's paper on the subject, from the
_Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh_. It is from the very
paper in which he announces his hypothesis. In that paper he mentions
that the consolidation of all the hard crust of the globe has been
effected by _heat_ and _fusion_, extending it to secondary as well as
primitive rocks, and mentioning particularly Spanish marble, shell
limestone, oolite, and chalk.

"This operation of heat, he says, is exemplified by _chalk, which is to
be found in all gradations, from marble to loose chalk_. This is his
precise notion, but not his words. I had once looked at this paper
before, and thought much of this theory; but this thought had been
obliterated from my mind by thoughts advanced by others, as I thought in
consistency with the sentence I quoted from Bakewell. At least, one
objection to Hutton's views would be removed by modifying his theory in
the manner it seems to be by Bakewell. Though Hutton does not think this
to be necessary; for he appears to feel no difficulty in accounting for
petrifactions of wood on his hypothesis, for he mentions that _we have
many proofs of the penetration of flinty matter, in a state of fusion,
in other bodies, such as insulated pieces of flint in chalk or sand, and
fossil wood penetrated with silicious matter_.

"Still, the grand reasons of Hutton for employing heat as the agent of
consolidation are opposed to the above modification of his theory. These
reasons, as you know, are the insolubility of most mineral substances in
water, and the disappearance of the water from the cavities of minerals
which have been consolidated. The first is, indeed, the great one for
Hutton; for the crystallization of salts in water, and the existence of
liquids, in some cases, in the cavities of the most solid minerals, show
well enough that the water might or might not disappear, as the
circumstances were different.

"If the Huttonians maintain, as he did, the formation of petrifactions
by heat, which consistency requires, I concede, indeed, to you that that
fossil-tree stands as a grand monument of some different process; and
yet, we can hardly suppose that they do not see great difficulty in the
common notion on the subject. The rapidity with which the petrifactions
must have taken place--a point well illustrated in Hayden's _Geological
Essays_--seems to require some new notions on the subject. What these
may be, I cannot tell; but I believe that neither of these two
hypotheses will be adopted exclusively, half a century hence, on this
point, or on geology generally. I think, with you, that our countrymen
need illumination on the subject of Hutton's hypothesis, and I wish some
one would attempt it."

TRAP-ROCKS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA.--"I suspect the greenstone of our
country, when examined as it ought to be, will be found, in its
geological relations, much to resemble the basalt of Europe; and that
the same difficulties will attend it, on Werner's hypothesis, as now
attend the basalt. Indeed, I know not how we can account for what
Bakewell and Macculloch state on this hypothesis."

SANDSTONE OF VIRGINIA.--"I have seen a piece of a petrified tree, about
eight inches through, found in the sandstone of Virginia, but could get
none of it. The petrifaction was far finer than the stone in which it
lay, and was, like it, silex."

SANDSTONE OF OHIO.--C. Atwater, Esq., in a letter to the author,
observes:--

"I can assure you that the finding of whole trees in sandstone is
nothing strange in this State. Some of these trees are imbedded in
sandstone one hundred feet below the surface. Zanesville and Gallipolis
are the best spots to find these fossils.

"There is no part of the tree but what I have in my cabinet, not
excepting their leaves, fruit, and even fungi attached to them."

MOSAICAL HISTORY OF THE CREATION.--B. Irvine, Esq., in adverting to
remarks on the Illinois fossil, observes:--

"They may yet awaken some ideas in the minds of the people on the
wonders of physics--and I had almost said, the _slow miracles of
creation_; for, if ever there was a time when matter existed not, it is
pretty evident that _millions of years_, instead of six days, were
necessary to establish order in chaos, let Cuvier, &c. temporize as they
may. However, it is the humble allotment of the herd to believe or
stare; it is the glory of intelligent men to inquire and admire."

The doctrine of materialism, adverted to by Mr. Irvine, it is the
province of divines to controvert. One remark may be predicted on the
biblical era of the six days. It is now believed to be generally
conceded by eminent geologists and ecclesiastics, that the term "day,"
employed by the translators of the English version of the Scriptures, is
used in Gen. ch. i. in a sense synonymous with "era" or "time," as it is
emphatically used in Gen. ch. ii. ver. 4. For an able exposition of the
present views on this subject, see the _American Journal of Science_,
vol. XXV. No. 1.


4. BOTANY.

XI.

A descriptive list of the plants collected on the expedition, drawn up
by Dr. John Torrey, has been published in the fourth volume of the
_American Journal of Science_. References to this standard work may be
conveniently made by botanists.


5. ZOOLOGY.


No professed zoologist was attached to the expedition, the topic being
left to such casual attention as members of it might find it convenient
to bestow. Of the fauna of the region, it was not believed that there
were any of the prominent species which were improperly classed in the
_Systema Naturæ_ of Linnæus. It was doubtless desirable to know
something more particularly of the character and habitat of the American
species of the reindeer (_C. sylvestris_) and hyena, or glutton. Perhaps
something new was to be gleaned respecting the extent of the genera
arctomys and sciurus, among the smaller quadrupeds, and in the
departments of birds and reptilia. The mode of travel gave but little
opportunity of meeting the larger species in their native haunts, but it
afforded opportunities of examining the skins of the quadrupeds at the
several trading stations, and of listening to the narrations of persons
who had engaged in their capture.

In effect, the crustacea of the streams furnished the most constant and
affluent subject for enlarging the boundaries of species and varieties.
The collections in this department were referred to members of the
Lyceum of Natural History at New York, and of the Academy of Natural
Sciences at Philadelphia. The results of their examinations have been
published in two of the principal scientific journals of the country. It
had been originally proposed to republish these papers in this Appendix,
together with that on the botanical collections, and some other topics;
but the long time that has elapsed, renders it, on second thought,
inexpedient. Distinct references to the several papers are given.


XII.

_A Letter embracing Notices of the Zoology of the Northwest._

    By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

    VERNON, N.Y., October 27, 1820.

DEAR SIR: I reached this place, on my return from the sources of the
Mississippi River, on the 21st instant, having left the canal at Oneida
Creek at four o'clock in the morning, whence I footed it three miles
through the forest, by a very muddy road, to the ancient location of
Oneida Castle, while my baggage was carried by a man on horseback.

The plan of the expedition embraced the circumnavigation of the coasts
of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior. From the head of the latter, we
ascended the rapid River of St. Louis to a summit which descends west to
the Upper Mississippi, the waters of which we entered about five hundred
miles above the Falls of St. Anthony, and some three hundred miles above
the ulterior point reached with boats by Lieutenant Pike in December,
1805.

From this point we ascended the Mississippi, by its involutions, to its
upper falls at Pakagama, where it dashes over a rock formation. A vast
plateau of grass and aquatic plants succeeds, through which it winds as
in a labyrinth. On this plateau we encountered and passed across the
southern Lake Winnipek. Beyond this, the stream appears to be but little
diminished, unless it be in its depth. It is eventually traced to a very
large lake called Upper Lac Ceder Rouge, but to which we applied the
name of Cass Lake. This is the apparent navigable source of the river,
and was our terminal point. It lies in latitude 47° 25´ 23´´.

The whole of this summit of the continent is a vast formation of drift
and boulders, deposited in steps. In descending it, we found the river
crossed by the primitive rocks in latitude about 46°, and it enters the
great limestone formation by the cataract of St. Anthony's Falls, in
latitude 44° 58´ 40´´. We descended the river below this point, by its
windings among high and picturesque cliffs, to the influx of the
Wisconsin, estimated to be three hundred miles. Thence we came through
the Wisconsin and Fox valleys to Green Bay, on an arm of Lake Michigan,
and, having circumnavigated the latter, returned through Lakes Huron and
St. Clair to Detroit. The line of travel is about four thousand two
hundred miles. Such a country--for its scenery, its magnificence, and
resources, and the strong influence it is destined ultimately to have on
the commerce, civilization, and progress of the country--the sun does
not shine on! Its topography, latitudes and longitudes, heights and
distances, have been accurately obtained by Captain Douglass, of West
Point, who will prepare an elaborate map and description of the country.

Personally, I have not been idle. If I have sat sometimes, in mute
wonder, gazing on such scenes as the Pictured Rocks of Lake Superior, or
the sylvan beauty and mixed abruptness of the Falls of St. Anthony, it
has been but the idleness of admiration. I have kept my note book, my
sketch-book, and my pencil in my hands, early and late; nor have once,
during the whole journey, transferred myself, at an early hour, from the
camp-fire or pallet to the canoe, merely to recompose myself again to
sleep. If the mineralogy or geology of the country often presented
little to note, the scenery, or the atmosphere, or that lone human
boulder, the American Indian, did. The evidences of the existence of
copper in the basin of Lake Superior are ample. There is every
indication of its abundance that the geologist could wish. Nature here
has operated on a grand scale. By means of volcanic fires, she has
infused into the trap-rocks veins of melted metal, which not inaptly
represent the arteries of the human system; for wherever the broken-down
shores of this lake are examined, they disclose, not the sulphurets and
carbonates of this ore, but fragments and lumps of virgin veins. These,
the winds and waves have scattered far and wide.

But what, you will ask, can be reported of its quadrupeds, birds,
reptilia, and general zoology? Have you measured the height and length
of the mastodon--"the great bull"--who the Indians told Mr. Jefferson
resisted the thunderbolts, and leaped over the great lakes?[252] Truly,
I beg you to spare me on this head. You are aware that we had no
professed zoologist.

  [252] Notes on Virginia.

I herewith inclose you a list of such animals as came particularly under
our notice. Imperfect as it is, it will give you the general facts. The
dried and stuffed skins of such species as were deemed to be
undescribed, or were otherwise worthy attention, will be transmitted for
description. Among these is a species of squirrel, of peculiar
character, from the vicinity of St. Peter's, together with a species of
mus, a burrowing animal, which is very destructive to vegetation. This
appears to be the hamster of Georgia. Of the larger class of quadrupeds,
we met, in the forest traversed, the black bear, deer, elk, and buffalo.
The latter we encountered in large numbers, about one hundred and fifty
miles above the Falls of St. Anthony, about latitude 45°, on the east
bank of the river. We landed for the chase, and had a full opportunity
of observing its size, color, gait, and general appearance.

Great interest was imparted to portions of the tour by the ornithology
of the country, and it only required the interest and skill in this line
of a Wilson or an Audubon, to have not only identified, but also added
to the list of species.[253]

  [253] The only addition to ornithology which it fell to my lot to
  make, was in the grosbeck family, and this occurred after I came to
  return to St. Mary's. Mr. Wm. Cooper has called the new species
  fringilia vespertina, from the supposition that it sings during the
  evening. The Chippewas call this species paushkundame, from its
  thick and penetrating bill.

The geological character of the country has been found highly
interesting. The primitive rocks rise up in high orbicular groups on the
banks of Lake Superior. The interstices between groups are filled up
with coarse red, gray, or mottled sandstone, which lies, generally, in a
horizontal position, but is sometimes waved or raised up vertically.
Volcanic fires have played an important part here. I have been impressed
with the fact that the granitical series are generally deficient in
mica, its place being supplied by hornblende. Indeed, the rock is more
truly sienite, very little true granite being found, and, in these
cases, it is in the form of veins or beds in the sienite.

There have also been great volcanic fires and upliftings under the
sources of the Mississippi. Greenstone and trap are piled up in huge
boulders. The most elevated rock, in place, on the sources of the
Mississippi, is found to be quartzite. This is at the Falls of Pakagama.
In coming down the Mississippi, soon after passing the latitude of 46°,
the river is found to have its bed on greenstones and sienites, till
reaching near to the Falls of St. Anthony, where the great western
horizontal limestone series begins. To facilitate the study of the
latter, opportunities were sought of detecting its imbedded forms of
organic life, but their infrequency, and the rapid mode of our
journeying, was averse to much success in this line without the
boundaries of the great lake basins.

In the department of mineralogy, I have not as brilliant a collection as
I brought from Potosi in 1819--but, nevertheless, one of value--the
country explored being a wilderness, and very little labor having been
applied in excavations. Among the objects secured, I have fine specimens
of the various forms of native copper and its ores, together with
crystallized sulphurets of lead, zinc, and iron; native muriate of soda,
graphite, sulphate of lime, and strontian, and the attractive forms
which the species of the quartz family assume, in the shore debris of
the lakes, under the names of agate, carnelian, &c. The whole will be
prepared and elaborately reported to the Department.

I found the freshwater shells of this region to be a very attractive
theme of observation in places

    "Where the tiger steals along,
    And the dread Indian chants his dismal song;"

where, indeed, there was scarcely anything else to attract attention;
and I have collected a body of bivalves, which will be forwarded to our
mutual friend, Dr. Mitchell, for description. Indeed, the present
communication is designed, after you have perused it, to pass under his
eye. No one in our scientific ranks is more alive to the progress of
discovery in all its physical branches. Governor Clinton, in one of his
casual letters, has very happily denominated him the Delphic oracle, for
all who have a question to ask come to him, and his scientific memory
and research, in books, old and new, are such, that it must be a hard
question indeed which he cannot solve.

Next to him, as an expounder of knowledge, you, my dear sir, as the
representative of the _corps editorial_, take your place. For, if it is
the writer of books who truly increases information, every decade's
experience more and more convinces me that it is the editor of a diurnal
journal who diffuses it, by his brief critical notices, or by giving a
favorable or unfavorable impetus to public opinion.

I am expected, I find, to publish my private narrative of the
expedition, to serve at least--if I may say so--as a stay to popular
expectation, until the more matured results can be duly elaborated. I am
taking breath here, among my friends, for a few days, and shall be
greatly governed by your judgment in the matter, after my arrival at
Albany.

    I am, sir,
    With sincere respect,
    Your obedient servant,
    HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

To NATHANIEL H. CARTER, Esq., Albany.


_List of Quadrupeds, Birds, &c. observed._

The identification of species in this list, by giving the Indian name,
is herein fixed.

    ENGLISH NAME.   INDIAN (ALGONQUIN)      SCIENTIFIC NAME.
                         NAME.
    Buffalo,        Pe-zhík-i,[254]        Bos Americanus. _Gm._
    Elk,            Mush-kos,              Cervus Canadensis. _L._
    Deer (common),  Wa-wash-ká-shi,        Cervus Virginianus. _Gm._
    Moose,          Möz,                   Cervus alces. _L._
    Black Bear,     Muk-wah,               Ursus Americanus. _Gm._
    Wolf (gray),    My-een-gan,            Canis vulpes. _L._
    Wolverine,      Gwin-gwe-au-ga,[255]   Ursus luscus. _L._
    Fox (red),      Waú-goosh              Canis vulpes. _L._
    Badger,         Ak-kuk-o-jeesh,        Meles labradoria. _C._
    Fox (black),    Muk-wau-goosh,         Canis argenteus. _C._
    Muskrat,        Wau-zhusk,             Fiber vulgaris. _C._
    Martin,         Wau-be-zha-si,         Mustela mortes. _L. & B._
    Fisher,         O-jeeg,                Mustela Pennanti. _C. Am._
                                             ed., app. v.
    Beaver,         Am-ik,                 Castor fiber. _B._
    Otter,          Ne-gik,                Lutra vulgaris. _L._
    Porcupine,      Kaug,                  Hystrix cristata. _C._

  [254] This animal was found grazing the prairies on the east bank of
  the Mississippi, about latitude 45° 30´.

  [255] Means under-ground drummer.

  ENGLISH NAME.           INDIAN (ALGONQUIN) NAME.      SCIENTIFIC NAME.

  Raccoon,                Ais-e-bun (from _ais_,
                            a shell, and _bun_,
                            past tense),             Procyon lotor. _C._
  Hare,                   Wau-bose,                  Lepus Americanus.
                                                       _Gm._
  Polecat,                She-kaug,                  Mephites putorius.
                                                       _Cu._
  Squirrel (red),         Ad-je-dah-mo,              Sciurus vulgaris.
                                                       _C._
  Squirrel (ground or
    striped),             Ah-gwing-woos,             Sciurus striatus.
                                                        _C._
  Squirrel (an apparently
    new species).
  Pouched Rat or Hamster, No-naw-pau-je-ne-ka-si,    Mus busarius. _Shaw._
  Weasel,                 Shin-gwoos,                Mustela vulgaris. _L._
  Mink,                   Shong-waish-ke,            Mustela lutreola. _C._
  Jerboa, called the
    Jumping Mouse,[256]                              Dipus. _C._
  Eagle (bald),           Mik-a-zi,[257]             F. lucocephulus.
                                                       _L._
  Fork-tailed Hawk,       Ca-niew,                   F. furcatus. _L._
  Chicken Hawk,           Cha-mees,                  F. communis. _C._
  Pigeon Hawk,            Pe-pe-ge-wa-zains,         F. columbarius.
                                                       _Wilson._
  Raven,                  Kaw-gaw-ge,                Corvus corax. _L._
  Crow,                   On-daig,                   C. corone. _L._
  Magpie,                 Wau-bish-kau-gau-gi
                            (White Raven),[258]      C. pica. _L._
  Cormorant,              Kau-kau-ge-sheeb
                            (Raven-duck),            P. carbe. _Brin._
  Pelican,                Shay-ta,                   P. onocrotalus.
                                                       _Illig._
  Goose,                  Wa-wa,                     An. anser. _L._
  Brant,                  Ne-kuh,                    An. bernicla.
                                                       _Wilson._
  Duck (d. and m.),       Shee-sheeb (a generic
                            term), Anas.
  Duck (saw-bill),        On-zig,                    A. tadorna. _C._
  Duck (Red-head or       Misquon-dib,               A. rufus. _Gm._
    Fall),
  Duck (alewives),        Ah-ah-wa.
  Swan,                   Wau-bis-si,                A. cygnus. _C._
  Heron,                  Moosh-kow-e-si,            Ardea. _C._
  Plover,                 Tchwi-tchwish-ke-wa,       Charadriûs. _C._
  Turkey,                 Mis-is-sa,                 Meleagris. _C._
  Blackbird,              Os-sig-in-ok,              The red-winged
                                                       species.
  Rail,                   Muk-ud-a-pe-nais,
  Jay (blue),             Dain-da-si,[259]           Garrulus. _C._
  Whippoorwill,           Paish-kwa,                 Caprimulgas. _L._
  Robin,                  O-pee-chi,                 T. migratorius. _L._

  [256] Found at Lapointe, Lake Superior.

  [257] This is a generic term for the eagle family. It is believed the
  kanieu, or black eagle, is regarded by them as the head of the
  family. The feathers of the falco furcatus are highly valued by
  warriors.

  [258] The meaning is white raven.

  [259] The term is from dain-da, a bullfrog.

  ENGLISH NAME.     INDIAN (ALGONQUIN) NAME.   SCIENTIFIC NAME.
  Kingfisher,       Me-je-ge-gwun-a,           Alcedo. _C._
  Pigeon,           O-mee-mi,                  Columba emigratoria.
  Partridge,        Pe-na,[260]                  Tetrao. _C._
  Crane,            Ad-je-jawk,                Crane family.
  Gull,             Ky-aushk,                  Gull family.
  Woodpecker,       Ma-ma,                     Picus. _C._
  Snipe,            Pah-dus-kau-unzh-i,        Scolipax. _C._
  Owl,              Ko-ko-ko-o,[261]        }  Generic terms for the
  Loon,             Mong,                   }  species.
  Mocking-bird
   (seen as far
   north as
   Michilimackinac),                           T. polyglotis. _Wilson._
  Sturgeon,         Na-ma,                     Acipenser. _L._
  Sturgeon
   (paddle-nose),   Ab-we-on-na-ma,            Acipenser spatularia. _C._
  White-fish,       Ad-ik-um-aig[262] (means
                      deer of the water).
  Salmon trout,     Na-ma-gwoos,            }  Salmo. _L._
  Trout (speckled), Na-zhe-ma-gwoos,        }
  Carp,             Nam-a-bin,                 Denotes the red fin.
  Catfish,          Miz-zi,                    Silurus. _C._
  Bass,             O-gau.                     The striped species.
  Tulibee,          O-dön-a-bee (wet-mouth).
  Eel,              Pe-miz-zi (a specific
                      term).                   A specific term.
  Snake,            Ke-ná-bik (a generic),  }
  Snake,            A species supposed      }  Ophidia. _C._
                      peculiar,
  Turtle (lake),    Mik-e-nok,              }
  Turtle (small                             }  Chelonia. _C._
    land),          Mis-qua-dais,           }

  [260] This is the prairie grouse of the West.

  [261] The name is generic for the owl family.

  [262] This term arises from _adik_, a reindeer, and _gumaig_, waters.

PHILOLOGICAL NOTE.--Three of these fifty-seven terms of Indian
nomenclature are monosyllables, and twenty-four dissyllables. The latter
are compounds, as in _muk-wah_ (black animal), and _wau-bose_ (white
little animal); and it is inferable that all the names over a single
syllable are compounds. Thus, aisebun (raccoon), is from _ais_, a shell,
and the term past tense of verbs in _bun_.


XIII.

_Species of Bivalves collected in the Northwest, by Mr. Schoolcraft and
Captain Douglass, on the Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi,
in 1820._ By D. H. BARNES.

This paper, by which a new impulse was given to the study of our
freshwater conchology, and many species were added to the list of
discoveries, was published in two papers, to be found in the pages of
_Silliman's American Journal of Science_, vol. vi. pp. 120, 259.


XIV.

  _Freshwater Shells collected in the Valleys of the Fox and Wisconsin,
      in 1820, by Mr. Schoolcraft._ By ISAAC LEA, Member American
      Philosophical Society.


A description of these shells, in which several new species are
established, was published by the ingenious conchologist, Mr. I. Lea, of
Philadelphia, in the _Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society_, vol. v. p. 37, Plate III., &c.


XV.

  _Summary Remarks respecting the Zoology of the Northwest noticed by
      the Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi in 1820._ By Dr.
      SAMUEL L. MITCHELL.


The squirrel [from the vicinity of the Falls of St. Anthony], is a
species not heretofore described, and has been named _sciurus tredecem
striatus_, or the federation squirrel. (A.)

The pouched rat, or _mus busarius_, has been seen but once in Europe.
This was a specimen sent to the British Museum from Canada, and
described by Dr. Shaw. But its existence is rather questioned by Chev.
Cuvier. Both animals have been described, and the descriptions published
in the 21st vol. of the _Medical Repository_, of New York, pp. 248, 249.
The specimens [from the West] are both preserved in my museum. Drawings
have been executed by the distinguished artist Milbert, and forwarded by
him, at my request, to the administrators of the King's Museum, at
Paris, of which he is a corresponding member. My descriptions accompany
them. The animals are retained as too valuable to be sent out of the
country. [B.]

The paddle-fish is the _spatularia_ of Shaw, and _polydon_ of Lacepede.
It lives in the Mississippi only, and the skeleton, though incomplete,
is better than any other person here possesses. It is carefully
preserved in my collection.

The serpent is a species of the ophalian genus anguis, the oveto of the
French, and the blind worm of the English. The loss of the tail of this
fragile creature renders an opinion a little dubious; but it is
supposed to be _opthiosaureus_ of Dandrige, corresponding to the _anguis
ventralis_ of Linnæus, figured by Catesby.

The shells afford a rich amount of an undescribed species. The whole of
the univalves and bivalves received from Messrs. Schoolcraft and
Douglass have been assembled and examined, with all I possessed before,
and with Mr. Stacy Collins's molluscas brought from the Ohio. Mr. Barnes
is charged with describing and delineating all the species not contained
in Mr. Say's _Memoir of the Productions of the Land and Fresh Waters of
North America_. The finished work will be laid before the Lyceum, and
finally be printed in Mr. Silliman's _New Haven Journal_. The species by
which geology will be enriched will amount, probably, to nine or ten.
(C.) We shall endeavor to be just to our friends and benefactors.

    S. L. MITCHELL.
    For GOV. CASS.

_Notes._

(A.)

An animal similar, in some respects, has been subsequently found on the
Straits of St. Mary's, Michigan, a specimen of the dried skin of which I
presented to the National Institute at Washington; but, from the absence
of the head bones and teeth, it is not easy to determine whether it is a
sciurus, or arctomys.

(B.)

The duplicature of the cheeks of this animal having been extended
_outwardly_ in drying the skin, was left in its rigid state, giving it
an unnatural appearance, which doubtless led to the incredulity of
Cuvier when he saw the figure and description of Dr. Shaw. Dr. Mitchell
was led to a similar error of opinion, at first, as to the natural
position of these bags; but afterwards, when the matter was explained to
him, corrected this mistaken notion.

(C.)

By reference to the descriptions of Mr. Barnes and Mr. Lea, recited
above, the number will be seen to have exceeded this estimate.


XVI.

Mus Busarius. Vide _Medical Repository_, vol. xxi. p. 248.


XVII.

Sciurus Tredecem Striatus. _Medical Repository_, vol. xxi.


XVIII.

Proteus. _American Journal of Science_, vol. iv.


6. METEOROLOGY.


XIX.

_Memoranda of Climatic Phenomena and the Distribution of Solar Heat in
1820._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

The influence of solar heat on the quantity of water which is discharged
from the great table lands which give origin to the sources of the
Mississippi was such, during the summer months of 1820, that, on
reaching those altitudes in latitude but a few minutes north of 47°, on
the 21st of July, it was found impracticable to proceed higher in
tracing out its sources. Attention had been directed to the phenomena of
temperatures, clouds, evaporations, and solar influences, from the
opening of the year, but they were not prosecuted with all the
advantages essential to generalization. Still, some of the details
noticed merit attention as meteorological memoranda which may be
interesting in future researches of this kind, and it is with no higher
view that these selections are made.

_Observations made at Geneva, N. Y._

  1820.         7 A.M.     1 P.M.      7 P.M.       REMARKS.

  April 20        64°         73°         60°         Clear.
    "   21        62          74          61          Clear.
    "   22        65          78          66          Clear.
    "   23        60          69          59          Clear.
    "   24        59          70          61          Clear.
    "   25        54          64          55          Clear.
    "   26        55          67          54          Cloudy, with rain.
    "   27        50          60          51          Rainy.
    "   28        64         ...         ...          Clear.

_Observations made at Buffalo, N. Y._

  1820.          8 A.M.      2 P.M.       REMARKS.

  April 30        43°          60°         Clear.
  May 1           49           64          Clear.
   "  2           45           63          Clear.
   "  3           44           65          Clear.
   "  4           46           79          Cloudy.
   "  5           40           68          Cloudy, with rain.
   "  6           44          ...          Cloudy.

These places are but ninety miles apart, yet such is the influence of
the lake winds on the temperature of the latter position, that it
denotes an atmospheric depression of temperature of 5°. At the same
time, the range between the maximum and minimum was exactly the same.

_Observations made at Detroit._

  1820.       8 A.M.  12 M.   6 P.M.   REMARKS.            WIND.

  May 15,      50°     61°     51°      Fair.              N. E.
   "  16,      49      62      50       Fair.              N. E.
   "  17,      50      64      51       Fair.              N. E.
   "  18,      52      64      60       Fair.              N. E.
   "  19,      60      68      60       Fair.              N. E.
   "  20,      64      68      63       Fair.              N. E.
   "  21,      67      82      66       Fair.              S. W.
   "  22,      64      88      82       Fair.              S. W.
   "  23,      72      84      76       Cloudy, some rain  W. N. W.
   "  24,      53      64      ...      Cloudy.            N. W.

The average temperature of this place for May is denoted to be some five
or six degrees higher while the wind remained at N.E., but on its
changing to S.W. (on the 21st), the temperature ran up four degrees at
once. As soon as it changed to N.W. (on the 24th), the thermometer fell
from its range on the 21st fourteen degrees.

The uncommon beauty and serenity of the Michigan autumns, and the
mildness of its winters, have often been the subject of remark. By a
diary of the weather kept by a gentleman in Detroit, in the summer and
fall of 1816, from the 24th of July to the 22d of October, making
eighty-nine days, it appears that

    57 were fair,
    12 cloudy, and
    20 showery and rainy.

By a diary kept at the garrison of Detroit (Fort Shelby), agreeable to
orders from the War Department, from the 15th of Nov. 1818, to the 28th
of Feb. 1819, making 105 days,

    40 of them are marked "clear,"
    40 "cloudy,"
    13 "clear and cloudy," and
    12 "cloudy, with rain or snow."

By Fahrenheit's thermometer, kept at the same place, and under the same
direction, it appears that the medium temperature of the atmosphere was
agreeable to the following statement:--

                 7 A.M.  2 P.M.  9 P.M. Average. Lowest deg. Highest deg.
  Nov. 13 to 30,  41°     47°     41°     43°      31°           58°
  December,       22      29      25      25        2            50
  January,        30      31      30      30       10            58
  February,       29      39      31      33        8            58
               Prevailing winds, S. W. and N. W.

_Observations on Lake and River St. Clair, Michigan._

    1820. 6 A.M.  8 A.M. 12 M.  2 P.M.  6 P.M. 8 P.M.   REMARKS.
  May 24,   ...    ...    ...    ...     ...     51°
  "   25,   47°    56°    56°    ...     46°     ...  Clear. Wind N. W.
  "   26,   ...    52     53     56°     45      ...  Clear. Wind N. W.
  "   27,   ...    54     55     ...     ...     44   Clear. Wind N. W.

_Temperature of the Water of Lake and River St. Clair._

  May 25,    at 6 A. M., 49°  at 12 M., 54°
   "  26,    at 8 A. M., 55   at 2 P. M., 55
   "  27,    at 8 A. M., 54   at 12 M., 55     at 8 P. M., 50°

_Observations on Lake Huron._

  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
       May| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |June 1 | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   5 A.M. | .. | .. | .. | .. |  46°  | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   6 A.M. | .. | .. | .. | .. |  ..   | .. | 50°| 52 | 48 | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   8 A.M. |54° | 44 | 46 | .. |  ..   | .. | .. | .. | .. | 49
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   9 A.M. | .. | .. | .. | 54°|  57   | .. | .. | 51 | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   11 A.M.| .. | .. | .. | .. |  61°  | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   12 M.  |53° | .. | 53 | .. |  ..   | 55 | .. | .. | 57 | 57
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   1 P.M. | .. | .. | .. |55° |  ..   | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   2 P.M. | .. | 70°| .. | .. |  ..   | .. | 61 | .. | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   3 P.M. | .. | .. | .. | 54°|  ..   | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   5 P.M. | .. | .. | .. | .. |  ..   | .. | .. | 49°| .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   6 P.M. | .. | 53°| .. | .. |  ..   | .. | .. | .. | 44| 46
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   7 P.M. | .. | .. | 48°| 48 |  54   | 50 | 47 | 45 | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+----
   8 P.M. | 41°| .. | .. | .. |  ..   | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+-------+--------
  Average | 51°| 55 | 49 | 53 |  54   |52-½|52-½| 49 |49-½|  50-½ |51 6-10
  temp.   |    |    |    |    |       |    |    |    |    |       |
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+-------+--------
  REMARKS.|[A] |[B] |[C] |    |       |    |    |[D] |[E] |  [F]  |  [G]
  --------+----+----+----+----+-------+----+----+----+----+-------+--------

  [Note A: Clear. Wind N. W.]
  [Note B: Clear in the morning; in the afternoon high wind from N. W.
           with thunder and lightening.]
  [Note C: Clear. Wind high; N. W.]
  [Note D: Cloudy, with rain. Winds strong; N. W.]
  [Note E: Flying clouds. Wind strong; N. W.]
  [Note F: Clear. Wind Strong; N. W.]
  [Note G: Average temperature]

_Water at Lake Huron._

                                                          Average.
  May 28,  at 5 A.M., 55°  at 12 A.M., 58°  at 7 P.M., 56°    56°
  " 29,    at 7 A.M., 54   at 12 A.M., 60   at 7 P.M., 63     59
  June 1,  at 5 A.M., 42   at 11 A.M., 52   at 7 P.M., 44     40
  " 3,     at 6 A.M., 46   at  2 P.M., 56   at 8 P.M., 46     47
  " 6,     at 8 A.M., 50   at 12 A.M., 52   at 6 P.M., 49     50-½

_Observations at Michilimackinac and on the Straits of St. Mary's._

  ------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------+-----------------
   1820.| 6  | 8  | 9  | 1  | 3  | 7  | 9  |        |
        |A.M.|A.M.|A.M.|P.M.|P.M.|P.M.|P.M.|Average.|     WEATHER.
  ------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------+-----------------
  June 7|... |... | 59°|61° |... |... |59° |59-½°   |Clear.
  " 8   |... |... | 59 |... |64° |... |59  |60      |Clear.
  " 9   |... |... | 53 |... |... |53° |... |52-½    |Cloudy with rain.
  " 10  |... |55° | ...|... |60  |... |54  |56      |Cloudy with rain.
  " 11  |... |52  | ...|... |54  |... |51  |52      |Clear.
  " 12  |... |54  | ...|55  |... |... |52  |53      |Clear.
  " 13  |53° |... | ...|63  |... |... |58  |58      |Fair.
  " 14  |55  |... | ...|73  |... |... |57  |61      |Cloudy.
  " 15  |... |66  | ...|... |68  |62  |... |65      |Clear.
  " 16  |... |52  | 70 |82  |... |66  |... |69      |Clear.
  " 17  |... |58  | ...|... |82  |... |78  |74      |Clear.
  " 18  |56  |... | ...|76  |... |... |68  |66      |Cloudy; rain.
  ------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+--------+-----------------

  ------+---------------
  1820. |    WIND.
  ------+---------------
  June 7| W. N. W.
  " 8   | W. N. W.
  " 9   |
  " 10  | W.
  " 11  | S. E.
  " 12  | S. E.
  " 13  | S. W.
  " 14  | S. W.
  " 15  | S. W. }
  " 16  | S. W. } St.
  " 17  | S. W. } Mary's
  " 18  | N. W.
  ------+---------------

The chief conclusion to be drawn, is the extreme fluctuations of winds
and temperatures, in these exposed positions on the open lakes.

_Observations on Lake Superior._

  --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
   1820.  |  4   |  5   |  6   |  7   |  8   |  9   |  10  |  11  |  12
          | A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | A.M. | A.M.
  --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
  June 19 |  ..  |  ..  |  64  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 20    |  ..  |  72  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  75
          |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  " 21    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  65  |  ..  |  ..
  " 22    |  ..  |  ..  |  55  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 23    |  ..  |  65  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  68
  " 24    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  58  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  74
  " 25    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  60  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  62  |  ..
  " 26    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  69  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 27    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  68  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 28    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  74  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 29    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  79  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 30    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  76  |  ..  |  ..  |  84
  July 1  |  54  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  61  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 2     |  70  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  75  |  ..  |  ..
  " 3     |  ..  |  ..  |  70  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
          |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  " 4     |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  57  |  ..  |  61  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------

  --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
   1820.  |  1   |  2   |  3   |  4   |  5   |  6   |  7   |  8
          | P.M. | P.M. | P.M. | P.M. | P.M. | P.M. | P.M. | P.M.
  --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
  June 19 |  78  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  72  |  ..  |  ..
  " 20    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  68  |  71  |  ..  |  ..
          |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  " 21    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  70  |  ..  |  ..
  " 22    |  ..  |  ..  |  63  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  49  |  ..
  " 23    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 24    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  60  |  63  |  ..
  " 25    |  ..  |  76  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  " 26    |  ..  |  83  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  68
  " 27    |  ..  |  71  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  69  |  ..  |  ..
  " 28    |  91  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  74  |  ..  |  ..
  " 29    |  94  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  86  |  ..
  " 30    |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  60
  July 1  |  ..  |  75  |  ..  |  80  |  ..  |  68  |  ..  |  ..
  " 2     |  ..  |  76  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  65  |  ..  |  65
  " 3     |  ..  |  ..  |  66  |  ..  |  ..  |  52  |  ..  |  61
          |      |      |      |      |      |      |      |
  " 4     |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..  |  ..
  --------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------

  --------+------+------+---------+------------------------------
   1820.  |  9   |  10  | Average |           REMARKS.
          | P.M. | P.M. | temp.   |
  --------+------+------+---------+------------------------------
  June 19 |  ..  |  ..  | 70-½    | Stormy and rain. Wind N. W.
  " 20    |  ..  |  ..  | 71-½    | Stormy and rain. Wind N. W.
          |      |      |         |   Hurricane at night.
  " 21    |  50  |  ..  | 62      | Calm.
  " 22    |  ..  |  ..  | 55-½    | Clear. Wind light from N. W.
  " 23    |  ..  |  70  | 67-½    | Clear. Wind S. E.
  " 24    |  ..  |  ..  | 63      | Clear. High wind, N. W.
  " 25    |  53  |  ..  | 62-½    | Clear. Wind N. W.
  " 26    |  ..  |  ..  | 73      | Rainy. Wind W. N. W.
  " 27    |  ..  |  ..  | 69      | Clear. Wind E. N. E. (Fair!)
  " 28    |  ..  |  ..  | 79-½    | Sky clear. Wind N. W.
  " 29    |  ..  |  ..  | 88      | Clear. Wind N. W.
  " 30    |  ..  |  ..  | 73      | Clear. Wind N. W.
  July 1  |  ..  |  ..  | 67-½    | Misty. Wind light at N. N. W.
  " 2     |  ..  |  ..  | 70      | Clear. Wind W. S. W.
  " 3     |  ..  |  ..  | 65      | Cloudy, mist, and rain. Wind
          |      |      |         | S. S. W.
  " 4     |  ..  |  ..  |         | Wind S. S. W.
  --------+------+------+---------+------------------------------

_Temperature of Lake Superior._

                                                                     Lake
                                                                   average.
  June 20, at  6 P.M., 55°                                              55°
  " 21,    at 10 A.M., 60 at 6 P.M., 56°  at 9 P.M., 56°                57
  " 22,    at  6 A.M., 56  at 3 P.M., 54                                55
  " 23,    at  5 A.M., 52  at 12 A.M., 56  at 10 P.M., 64               57
  " 24,    at  6 P.M., 54  at 7 P.M., 51                                53
  " 25,    at  7 A.M., 67  at 11 A.M., 66  at 9 P.M., 68                60
  " 26,    at  9 A.M., 56  at 8 P.M., 57                                56
  " 27,    at  8 A.M., 57  at 6 P.M., 62                                60
  " 28,    at  8 A.M., Superior  62° at 6 P.M., Lake 72  }              67
                       Ontonagon 54             River 71 }
  " 29,    at  8 A.M., Lake      64                                     61
                      River     68  at 1 P.M., River 76   at 7 P.M.,   75°
  " 30,    at  8 P.M., River     74
  July 1,  at  8 A.M., 61  at 2 P.M., 65   at 6 P.M., 66                64
  " 2,     at  4 A.M., 63  at 11 A.M., 64  at 2 P.M., 68  at 9 P.M., 62 64
  " 3,     at  6 A.M., 62  at 3 P.M., 60   at 9 P.M., 58                60
  " 4,     at  7 A.M., 58

It will be observed that the fluctuations of temperature noticed at
lower points on the lake chain, about the latitude of Michilimackinac,
have also characterized the entire length of Lake Superior. The
atmosphere observed at three separate times, during twenty-four days, by
Fahrenheit's thermometer, during the months of June and July, has varied
from an average temperature of 62° to 88°, agreeable to masses of clouds
interposed to the rays of the sun, and to shifting currents of wind,
which have often suddenly intervened. Its waters, spreading for a length
of five hundred miles from E. to W., observed during the same time by as
many immersions of the instrument, has not varied more than two degrees
below or above the average temperature of 55° in mere surface
observations.

_Observations on the Sources of the Mississippi River._

  --------+-------+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+-------
          |   5   |   7   |   8   |  12 |   2   |   8   |  9
          | A. M. | A. M. | A. M. |  M. | P. M. | P. M. | P. M.
  --------+-------+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+-------
  July 17 |  ...  | ...   |  ...  | 76° |  80°  |  79°  |  78°
  " 18    |  ...  | ...   |  51°  | 64  |  66   |  53   |  50
  " 19    |  ...  | ...   |  46   | 63  |  70   |  55   |  ...
  " 20    |  ...  | ...   |  60   | 80  |  84   |  75   |  ...
  " 21    |  ...  | ...   |  68   | 86  |  88   |  85   |  74
  " 22    |  ...  | ...   |  73   | 88  |  90   |  77   |  ...
  " 23    |  ...  | ...   |  70   | 82  |  88   |  78   |  ...
  " 24    |  ...  | ...   |  74   | 87  |  80   |  78   |  ...
  " 25    |  ...  | ...   |  ...  | ... |  85   |  74   |  ...
  " 26    |  61°  | ...   |  ...  | ... |  81   |  61   |  ...
  " 27    |  62   | ...   |  ...  | ... |  80   |  75   |  ...
  " 28    |  62   | ...   |  ...  | ... |  76   |  61   |  ...
  " 29    |  50   | ...   |  ...  | ... |  74   |  52   |  ...
  " 30    | ...   | 60°   |  ...  | ... |  76   |  ...  |  63
  " 31    | ...   | 65    |  ...  | ... |  81   |  ...  |  69
  Aug. 1  | ...   | 67    |  ...  | ... |  83   |  70   |  ...
  " 2     | ...   | 72    |  ...  | ... |  [263]|  ...  |  ...
  --------+-------+-------+-------+-----+-------+-------+-------

  --------+---------------------------------
          |            REMARKS.
          |
  --------+---------------------------------
  July 17 | Morning rainy, then fair.
  " 18    | Fair.
  " 19    | Night rainy, morning cloudy,
          | then fair.
  " 20    |
  " 21    |
  " 22    | Cloudy, some thunder.
  " 23    | Night and morning rain,
          | afternoon thunder.
  " 24    | Fair.
  " 25    | Fair.
  " 26    | Morning fair, evening cloudy
          | and rain, clear.
  " 27    | Morning fair, evening fair.
  " 28    | Morning fair, rain in afternoon.
  " 29    | Clear.
  " 30    | Wind N. W., weather clear.
  " 31    | Wind W., weather clear.
  Aug. 1  | Fair.
  " 2     | Fair.
  --------+---------------------------------

  [263] Broke instrument.


_Observations at St. Peter's (now Minnesota)._

   1820.   7 A.M.  2 P.M. 9. A.M.  WINDS.  WEATHER.
  July 15,   61°    79°     64°     S.       Clear; fair.
  " 16,      62     82      76      S.       Clear; rain towards morning.
  " 17,      70     88      61      W.       Cloudy; rain, thunder and
                                               lightning.
  " 18,      58     78      56      E.       Clear.
  " 19,      59     80      64      S.       Cloudy; rain P.M.
  " 20,      68     80      65      S.       Clear.
  " 21,      69     84      72      S.       Clear.
  " 22,      75     88      72      W.       Clear; cloudy P.M., rain,
                                               thunder and lightning during
                                               the night.
  " 23,      73     86      70      W.       Clear, cloudy; rain and fair
                                               weather alternately.
  " 24,      70     89      72      W.       Clear; calms.
  " 25,      70     80      66      W.       Clear; high winds at night.
  " 26,      68     82      64      W.       Clear; calm.
  " 27,      72     78      62      W.       Clear.
  " 28,      67     75      58      S. E.    Clear; fresh winds.
  " 29,      60     71      54      N. E.    Clear.
  " 30,      60     76      63      N. W.    Clear.
  " 31,      65     81      69      W.       Clear.

_Meteorological Journal kept at Chicago by Dr. A. Wolcott._

   1820.   Daylight.  9 A. M.  2 P. M.  9 P. M.   WIND.     WEATHER.
  Jan. 1,     4°        11°      10°      0°     W. N. W.  Cloudy; light
                                                             snow; first
                                                             ice in the
                                                             river, 14
                                                             inches thick;
                                                             none in the
                                                             lake.
  " 2,       10         14       25      12      W. N. W.  Clear.
  " 3,        4          9       13      14      W. S. W.  Clear.
  " 4,        9         14       19       9         W.     Clear.
  " 5,        9          5        4      10      W. N. W.  Clear.
  " 6,       11          4       15      28      S. S. W.  Clear.
  " 7,       36         36       39      36       S. W.    Cloudy.
  " 8,       32         32       34      33      N. N. E.  Cloudy.
  " 9,       32         33       36      34       N. E.    Cloudy.
  " 10,      32         31       31      25       N. E.    Snow-storm.
  " 11,      14         14       16       2        N.      Clear.
  " 12,      17         15        2      12      S. S. W.  Clear.
  " 13,      20         24       25      12      W. S. W.  Clear.
  " 14,      14         15       15      15        N.      Snow-squalls.
  " 15,      12         14       15      10      N. N. W.  Clear; lake
                                                             covered with
                                                             moving ice, as
                                                             far as the eye
                                                             can see.
  " 16,      20         20       21      21      E. N. E.  Snow-storm.
  " 17,      14         14       25      10      W. N. W.  Clear.
  " 18,      14         18       15       6         W.     Cloudy.
  " 19,      10          0       10       2      W. N. W.  Clear.
  " 20,       6         12       25      13         W.     Clear.
  " 21,      20         22       26      28      E. N. E.  Snow-storm.
  " 22,       7         11       12       5       N. W.    Clear.
  " 23,      20          4        0       3         W.     Clear.
  " 24,       2          6       18      16         W.     Clear.
  " 25,       4          3        9       7         W.     Clear.
  " 26,      16         19       26      28       E. S. E. Snow-storm.
  " 27,      18         21       25       8       S. W.    Cloudy.
  " 28,       8          1       11      10       W. N. W. Clear.
  " 29,      12         20       31      18         W.     Cloudy; ice 18
                                                             inches on
                                                             river.
  " 30,       6          6        4       5         W.     Clear.
  " 31,       6          5        3      17      W. N. W.  Clear; snow 22
                                                             inches deep.
  Feb. 1,    12          0       14      16       S. E.    Cloudy.
  " 2,       22         25       29      20      E. N. E.  Snow-storm; ice
                                                             18-¾ inches on
                                                             river.
  " 3,       10          7        9       7         W.     Clear.
  " 4,        0          5       25      24      E. S. E.  Clear.
  " 5,       30         36       40      40       S. W.    Clear.
  " 6,       11         12       32      24         S.     Clear.
  " 7,       28         33       42      30      W. S. W.  Clear.
  " 8,       30         34       40      32         E.     Cloudy and mist;
                                                             snow during
                                                             the night fell
                                                             six inches.
  " 9,       30         34       34      31         E.     Clear.
  Feb. 10,   31         32       39      32         E.     Cloudy.
   "   11,   28         32       38      34         S.     Clear.
   "   12,   32         39       34      20       N. E.    Cloudy.
   "   13,   12         22       39      32      W. S. W.  Clear.
   "   14,   34         39       37      36         E.     Cloudy; some
                                                             rain with
                                                             thunder.
   "   15,   36         38       39      36         E.     Cloudy; some
                                                             rain with
                                                             thunder.
   "   16,   38         42       47      33       S. W.    Clear.
   "   17,   27         27       28      22         W.     Light clouds.
   "   18,   10         22       28      30         E.     Cloudy.
   "   19,   32         36       46      24         W.     Clear.
   "   20,   15         22       24      16         W.     Clear.
   "   21,    8         20       37      38       S. W.    Clear.
   "   22,   34         40       45      32         W.     Clear.
   "   23,   28         37       46      36       S. W.    Cloudy; rain
                                                             and hail with
                                                             thunder.
   "   24,   30         33       40      39         E.     Clear.
   "   25,   44         50       59      54       S. W.    Clear.
   "   26,   50         49       38      36       S. W.    Cloudy; tempest
                                                             of wind with
                                                             flurries of
                                                             rain and hail.
   "   27,   30         31       34      28      W. N. W.  Clear.
   "   28,   20         28       30      39       S. E.    Clear.
   "   29,   28         36       50      37       S. W.    Clear.
  Mar. 1,    32         35       36      18      N. N. W.  Clear.
   "   2,     8         15       25      20      N. N. W.  Clear.
   "   3,    26         30       36      22      W. N. W.  Cloudy.
   "   4,    19         28       42      36       S. W.    Clear.
   "   5,    30         32       36      23       N. E.    Cloudy.
   "   6,    13         19       25      14      N. N. W.  Clear.
   "   7,    16         17       24      18      E. N. E.  Cloudy;
                                                             light snow.
   "   8,    17         24       23      21       N. E.    Cloudy.
   "   9,    22         24       26      23      N. N. E.  Cloudy.
   "  10,    24         26       31      24      N. N. E.  Cloudy.
   "  11,    22         24       29      31      E. N. E.  Cloudy.
   "  12,    28         32       33      32      E. S. E.  Cloudy;
                                                             light snow.
   "  13,    32         37       39      34      E. N. E.  Cloudy.
   "  14,    32         36       36      33      E. N. E.  Cloudy;
                                                             light snow.
   "  15,    26         32      ...     ...

Agreeable to a register kept at Council Bluffs during the month of
January, 1820, the highest and lowest temperature at that place were,
respectively, 36° and 22°, the month giving a mean of 17.89. Compared
with the observed temperature, for the same month, at the following
positions in the United States, both east and west of the Alleghanies,
the Missouri Valley reveals the fact of its being adapted to the
purposes of a profitable agriculture.[264]

  [264] In Europe, the mean annual temperature necessary for the
  production of certain plants is--

    For the sugar-cane                67°
    "       coffee                    64
    "       orange                    63
    "       olive                     54
    "       vine (vitis vinifera)     51

                 Mean temperature   Highest.  Lowest.
                  of the month.
  Council Bluffs     17.89°           36°       22°
  Wooster            16.69            36       zero
  Zanesville         25.34            42       zero
  Marietta           28.42            45       zero
  Chillicothe        32.48            48        10
  Cincinnati         28.76            46        11
  Jeffersonville     23.05            50         6
  Shawneetown        32.91            52         8
  Huntsville         36.43            62        12
  Tuscaloosa         46.63            74        17
  Cahaba             65.87            73        54
  Ouachita           34.16            68        10
  New Orleans        52.16            78        25
  Portsmouth, N. H.  19.31            40         4[265]
  Washington City    29.19            45         4

  Council Bluffs, lat. 41° 45´, long. 19° 50´ W. of the capitol.
  New Orleans,     "   29  57    "    12  53  W. "
  Portsmouth,      "   43  05    "     6  10  E. "
  Difference of lat.   13° 48´.      Difference of long. 26°.

  [265] Below zero.

Nor does it appear that the same quantity of snow falls in the Missouri
Valley which is common east of the Alleghany Mountains. At the Council
Bluffs, on the last of January, snow was but twelve inches deep; at the
same period, it was three feet or more throughout the Eastern States.

A snow-storm fell over the middle and eastern latitudes of the United
States, for the first time, during the autumn of the year (1820), in the
first half of November. As a precursor to this, slight drifts and gusts
of snow had showed themselves at Albany on the 25th, 26th, and 28th of
October.[266]

  [266] Meteorological journal kept at the Albany Academy for October,
  1820.

"MONTREAL, CANADA, October 28, 1820.--On Wednesday last we had the first
fall of snow this season. It commenced in the forenoon, and continued
slightly during the remainder of the day. Although expected to
disappear, the frosts in the nights have been pretty severe, and a
considerable quantity still remains (Saturday) at the moment we are
writing."

"SALEM, N. Y. October 31.--On Saturday last (27th), we had our first
snow for the season. It fell during most of the forenoon, and for an
hour or two the atmosphere was quite filled with it. Some cool and
shaded spots still remain whitened, though yesterday was one of our
pleasant autumnal days, with a mild west wind."

_Early Sleighing._--The _Burlington_ (Vt.) _Sentinel_ of the 27th ult.
says: "On Tuesday night and Wednesday, the snow fell in this place about
eight inches deep on the level. It is said to be twelve inches deep in
some of the adjoining towns."--_October, 1820._

At Philadelphia, it began on Saturday, 11th (morning), snow-storm from
the east, and continued all day. At night a hurricane, accompanied by
torrents of rain and snow, which did not subside until the 12th in the
morning. Weather unsettled on the 13th.

At Worcester, a severe snow-storm, from northeast, on the 11th and 12th.
On the 13th, snow was ten inches deep, the weather cold, and sleighing
good.

Snow in Poughkeepsie fell twelve inches deep, and produced excellent
sleighing.

At New Haven (Conn.), it began with snow, hail, and rain, on Saturday
evening, 11th. The day before was wintery cold. The storm continued,
without intermission, till Monday, 13th.

At Boston, it also began on Saturday, 11th, from the northeast, and fell
six inches. On Sunday, rain and snow. Monday cold, and indifferent
sleighing in the _streets_.--_Boston paper_, Nov. 14th.

In Vernon, Oneida County, it began on the 11th, in the evening, and
continued, in all, till Monday, 13th, giving us snow, rain, hail, and
wind, alternately. On the 15th, the snow, which lay six inches deep,
began to thaw, and this was the beginning of our Indian summer.

The Buffalo papers, of November 14th, say that several vessels were
lost in the gale and snow-storm, or driven ashore. The storm closed up
on the 13th, at New York City; the wind at northwest, and very cold. The
rain, snow, and hail which had fallen gave good sleighing a part of that
day. These notices cover an area of about five hundred miles square,
proving, the universality of our autumnal phenomena.


_Indian Summer._

This season appears to be produced by the settling of a thin azure
vapor. It is supposed to arise from the partial decomposition of the
foliage of the forest after the autumnal rains are past. "What is called
the Indian summer," says an observer at Albany, "usually gives us
fifteen or twenty days of uncommonly pleasant fall weather, commencing
in the early part of October. The present season it set in as usual, and
we had a week or ten days of very fine weather, when a northeast storm
commenced, and continued for part of two days; within which time more
rain is supposed to have fallen than during the whole of the preceding
summer and fall. Most of the streams and springs were filled, and the
Hudson River, in many places, overflowed its banks. It however again
cleared off pleasant, and remained so till Tuesday evening, when another
storm of rain commenced, which continued the whole night. In the
morning, there was some fall of hail accompanying the rain, and about 8
o'clock a slight flurry of snow, and another on Thursday evening; since
which the weather has set in cold, and has the appearance of the closing
in of fall or the setting in of winter. We however expect to put off
winter and cold weather for some time yet, and anticipate many pleasant
days in November."

Indian summer, in Oneida, commenced on the 15th November. The weather
had previously been cold, with snow and rain and a murky atmosphere.

  Wednesday, Nov. 15. The snow, which lay six inches deep, began to
                      thaw, and the sky was clear and sunny.
  Thursday,   "   16. Was a clear and pleasant day throughout; snow
                      continued to melt.
  Friday,     "   17. The same, and smoky; warm sunshine; not a cloud to
                      be seen; snow melts.
  Saturday,   "   18. The same.
  Sunday,     "   19. The same; full moon; cloudy, with wind in the
                      evening; snow gone.
  Monday,     "   20. The same; sky clear and warm.
  Tuesday,    "   21. Weather cloudy; wind S. E.; prepares for a change;
                      a little snow during the previous night, but melts
                      from the roofs this morning; no sun appears.
  Wednesday,  "   22. Cloudy, dull morning; rain afternoon; sun appeared
                      a few moments about 4 P. M.
  Thursday,   "   23. Cloudy, with alternate sunshine and rain.
  Friday,     "   24. Clear and pleasant.
  Saturday,   "   25. Clear and pleasant.

Dr. Freeman, of Boston, in one of his occasional sermons, employs the
following poetic language in relation to this American phenomenon:--

"The southwest is the pleasantest wind which blows in New England. In
the month of October, in particular, after the frosts which commonly
take place at the end of September, it frequently produces two or three
weeks of fair weather, in which the air is perfectly transparent, and
clouds, which float in a sky of the purest azure, are adorned with
brilliant colors. If at this season a man of an affectionate heart and
ardent imagination should visit the tombs of his friends, the
southwestern breezes, as they breathe through the glowing trees, would
seem to him almost articulate. Though he might not be so wrapped in
enthusiasm as to fancy that the spirits of his ancestors were whispering
in his ear, yet he would at least imagine that he heard 'the still small
voice' of God. This charming season is called the Indian Summer, a name
which is derived from the natives, who believe that it is caused by a
wind which comes immediately from the court of their great and
benevolent God Cantantowan, or the Southwestern God; the God who is
superior to all other beings, who sends them every blessing which they
enjoy, and to whom the souls of their fathers go after their decease."


7. INDIAN HIEROGLYPHICS, OR PICTURE WRITING, LANGUAGES, AND HISTORY.


XX.

  _Pictographic Mode of Communicating Ideas among the Northwestern
      Indians, observed during the Expedition to the Sources of the
      Mississippi in 1820, in a Letter to the Secretary of War._ By Hon.
      LEWIS CASS.


    DETROIT, February 2, 1821.

SIR: An incident occurred upon my recent tour to the Northwest, so rare
in itself, and which so clearly shows the facility with which
communications may be opened between savage nations, without the
intervention of letters, that I have thought it not improper to
communicate it to you.

The Chippewas and Sioux are hereditary enemies, and Charlevoix says they
were at war when the French first reached the Mississippi. I endeavored,
when among them, to learn the cause which first excited them to war, and
the time when it commenced. But they can give no rational account. An
intelligent Chippewa chief informed me that the disputed boundary
between them was a subject of little importance, and that the question
respecting it could be easily adjusted. He appeared to think that they
fought because their fathers fought before them. This war has been waged
with various success, and, in its prosecution, instances of courage and
self-devotion have occurred, within a few years, which would not have
disgraced the pages of Grecian or of Roman history. Some years since,
mutually weary of hostilities, the chiefs of both nations met and agreed
upon a truce. But the Sioux, disregarding the solemn compact which they
had formed, and actuated by some sudden impulse, attacked the Chippewas,
and murdered a number of them. The old Chippewa chief who descended the
Mississippi with us was present upon this occasion, and his life was
saved by the intrepidity and generous self-devotion of a Sioux chief.
This man entreated, remonstrated, and threatened. He urged his
countrymen, by every motive, to abstain from any violation of their
faith, and, when he found his remonstrances useless, he attached himself
to this Chippewa chief, and avowed his determination of saving or
perishing with him. Awed by his intrepidity, the Sioux finally agreed
that he should ransom the Chippewa, and he accordingly applied to this
object all the property he owned. He then accompanied the Chippewa on
his journey until he considered him safe from any parties of the Sioux
who might be disposed to follow him.

I subjoin an extract from the journal of Mr. Doty, an intelligent young
gentleman who was with the expedition. This extract has already been
published, but it may have escaped your observation, and the incident
which it describes is so heroic in itself, and so illustrative of the
Indian character, that I cannot resist the temptation of transmitting it
to you.

EXTRACT FROM MR. DOTY'S JOURNAL.--"The Indians of the upper country
consider those of the Fond du Lac as very stupid and dull, being but
little given to war. They count the Sioux their enemies, but have
heretofore made few war excursions.

"Having been frequently reprimanded by some of the more vigilant Indians
of the north, and charged with cowardice, and an utter disregard for the
event of the war, thirteen men of this tribe, last season, determined to
retrieve the character of their nation by making an excursion against
the Sioux. Accordingly, without consulting the other Indians, they
secretly departed, and penetrated far into the Sioux country.
Unexpectedly, at night, they came upon a party of the Sioux, amounting
to near one hundred men, and immediately began to prepare for battle.
They encamped a short distance from the Sioux, and, during the night,
dug holes in the ground into which they might retreat and fight to the
last extremity. They appointed one of their number (the youngest) to
take a station at a distance and witness the struggle, and instructed
him, when they were all slain, to make his escape to their own land, and
state the circumstances under which they had fallen.

"Early in the morning, they attacked the Sioux in their camp, who,
immediately sallying out upon them, forced them back to the last place
of retreat they had resolved upon. They fought desperately. More than
twice their own number were killed before they lost their lives. Eight
of them were tomahawked in the holes to which they had retreated; the
other four fell on the field! The THIRTEENTH returned home, according
to the directions be had received, and related the foregoing
circumstances to his tribe. They mourned their death; but, delighted
with the bravery of their friends, unexampled in modern times, they were
happy in their grief.

"This account I received of the very Indian who was of the party and had
escaped."

The Sioux are much more numerous than the Chippewas, and would have
overpowered them long since had the operations of the former been
consentaneous. But they are divided into so many different bands, and
are scattered over such an extensive country, that their efforts have no
regular combination.

Believing it equally consistent with humanity and sound policy that
these border contests should not be suffered to continue; satisfied that
you would approve of any plan of pacification which might be adopted,
and feeling that the Indians have a full portion of moral and physical
evils, without adding to them the calamities of a war which had no
definite object, and no probable termination; on our arrival at Sandy
Lake, I proposed to the Chippewa chiefs that a deputation should
accompany us to the mouth of the St. Peter's, with a view to establish a
permanent peace between them and the Sioux. The Chippewas readily
acceded to this proposition, and ten of their principal men descended
the Mississippi with us.

The computed distance from Sandy Lake to the St. Peter's is six hundred
miles, and, as I have already had the honor to inform you, a
considerable proportion of the country has been the theatre of hostile
enterprises. The Mississippi here traverses the immense plains which
extend to the Missouri, and which present to the eye a spectacle at once
interesting and fatiguing. Scarcely the slightest variation in the
surface occurs, and they are entirely destitute of timber. In this
debatable land, the game is very abundant; buffaloes, elks, and deer
range unharmed, and unconscious of harm. The mutual hostilities of the
Chippewas and Sioux render it dangerous for either, unless in strong
parties, to visit this portion of the country. The consequence has been
a great increase of all the animals whose flesh is used for food, or
whose fur is valuable for market. We found herds of buffaloes quietly
feeding upon the plains. There is little difficulty in approaching
sufficiently near to kill them. With an eagerness which is natural to
all hunters, and with an improvidence which always attends these
excursions, the animal is frequently killed without any necessity, and
no other part of them is preserved but the tongue.

There is something extremely novel and interesting in this pursuit. The
immense plains, extending as far as the eye can reach, are spotted here
and there with droves of buffaloes. The distance and the absence of
known objects render it difficult to estimate the size or the number of
these animals. The hunters approach cautiously, keeping to the leeward,
lest the buffaloes, whose scent is very acute, should observe them. The
moment a gun is fired, the buffaloes scatter and scour the field in
every direction. Unwieldy as they appear, they move with considerable
celerity. It is difficult to divert them from their course, and the
attempt is always hazardous. One of our party barely escaped with his
life from this act of temerity. The hunters, who are stationed upon
different parts of the plain, fire as the animals pass them. The
repeated discharge of guns in every direction, the shouts of those who
are engaged in the pursuit, and the sight of the buffaloes at full speed
on every side, give an animation to the scene which is rarely equalled.

The droves which we saw were comparatively small. Some of the party whom
we found at St. Peter's, and who arrived at that place by land from the
Council Bluffs, estimated one of the droves which they saw to contain
two thousand buffaloes.

As we approached this part of the country, our Chippewa friends became
cautious and observing. The flag of the United States was flying upon
all our canoes, and, thanks to the character which our country acquired
by the events of the last war, I found in our progress through the whole
Indian country, after we had once left the great line of communication,
that this flag was a passport which rendered our journey safe. We
consequently felt assured that no wandering party of the Sioux would
attack even their enemies, while under our protection. But the Chippewas
could not appreciate the influence which the American flag would have
upon other nations, nor is it probable that they estimated with much
accuracy the motives which induced us to assume the character of an
umpire.

The Chippewas landed occasionally to examine whether any of the Sioux
had recently visited that quarter. In one of these excursions, a
Chippewa found in a conspicuous place, a piece of birch bark, made flat
by being fastened between two sticks at each end, and about eighteen
inches long by fifteen broad. This bark contained the answer of the
Sioux nation to the proposition which had been made by the Chippewas for
the termination of hostilities. So sanguinary has been the contest
between these tribes, that no personal communication could take place.
Neither the sanctity of the office, nor the importance of the message,
could protect the ambassadors of either party from the vengeance of each
other. Some time preceding, the Chippewas, anxious for the restoration
of peace, had sent a number of their young men into these plains with a
similar piece of bark, upon which they had represented their desire. The
bark had been left hanging to a tree in an exposed situation, and had
been found and taken away by a party of the Sioux.

The propositions had been examined and discussed in the Sioux villages,
and the bark which we found contained their answer. The Chippewa who had
prepared the bark for his tribe was with us, and on our arrival at St.
Peter's, finding it was lost, I requested him to make another. He did
so, and produced what I have no doubt was a perfect _fac-simile_. We
brought with us both of these _projets_, and they are now in the hands
of Capt. Douglass. He will be able to give a more intelligible
description of them than I can from recollection, and they could not be
in the possession of one more competent to the task.

The Chippewas explained to us with great facility the intention of the
Sioux, and apparently with as much readiness as if some common character
had been established between them.

The junction of the St. Peter's with the Mississippi, where a principal
part of the Sioux reside, was represented, and also the American fort,
with a sentinel on duty, and the flag flying. The principal Sioux chief
is named the Six, alluding, I believe, to the bands or villages under
his influence. To show that he was not present at the deliberations upon
the subject of peace, he was represented upon a smaller piece of bark,
which was attached to the other. To identify him, he was drawn with six
heads and a large medal. Another Sioux chief stood in the foreground,
holding the pipe of peace in his right hand, and his weapons in his
left. Even we could not misunderstand that. Like our own eagle with the
olive-branch and arrows, he was desirous of peace, but prepared for war.

The Sioux party contained fifty-nine warriors, and this number was
indicated by fifty-nine guns, which were drawn upon one corner of the
bark. The only subject which occasioned any difficulty in the
interpretation of the Chippewas, was owing to an incident, of which they
were ignorant. The encampment of our troops had been removed from the
low grounds upon the St. Peter's, to a high hill upon the Mississippi;
two forts were therefore drawn upon the bark, and the solution of this
enigma could not be discovered till our arrival at St. Peter's.

The effect of the discovery of this bark upon the minds of the Chippewas
was visible and immediate. Their doubts and apprehensions appeared to be
removed, and during the residue of the journey, their conduct and
feelings were completely changed.

The Chippewa bark was drawn in the same general manner, and Sandy Lake,
the principal place of their residence, was represented with much
accuracy. To remove any doubt respecting it, a view was given of the old
northwest establishment, situated upon its shore, and now in the
possession of the American Fur Company. No proportion was preserved in
their attempt at delineation. One mile of the Mississippi, including the
mouth of the St. Peter's, occupied as much space as the whole distance
to Sandy Lake; nor was there anything to show that one part was nearer
to the spectator than another; yet the object of each party was
completely obtained. Speaking languages radically different from each,
for the Sioux constitute one of three grand divisions into which the
early French writers have arranged the aborigines of our country, while
the Chippewas are a branch of what they call Algonquins, and without any
conventional character established between them, these tribes thus
opened a communication upon the most important subject which could
occupy their attention. Propositions leading to a peace were made and
accepted, and the simplicity of the mode could only be equalled by the
distinctness of the representations, and by the ease with which they
were understood.

An incident like this, of rare occurrence at this day, and throwing
some light upon the mode of communication before the invention of
letters, I thought it not improper to communicate to you. It is only
necessary to add, that on our arrival at St. Peter's, we found Col.
Leavenworth had been as attentive and indefatigable upon this subject,
as upon every other which fell within the sphere of his command.

During the preceding winter, he had visited a tribe of the Chippewas
upon this pacific mission, and had, with the aid of the agent, Mr.
Talliafero, prepared the minds of both tribes for a permanent peace. The
Sioux and Chippewas met in council, at which we all attended, and smoked
the pipe of peace together. They then, as they say in their figurative
language, buried the tomahawk so deep that it could never be dug up
again, and our Chippeway friends departed well satisfied with the result
of their mission.

I trust that Mr. Bolvin, the agent at Prairie du Chien, has been able
before this to communicate to you a successful account of the
negotiation which I instructed him to open between the Sacs and Foxes,
forming one party, and the Sioux. Hostilities were carried on between
these tribes, which, I presume, he has been able to terminate.

We discovered a remarkable coincidence, as well in the sound as in the
application, between a word in the Sioux language and one in our own.
The circumstance is so singular that I deem it worthy of notice. The
Sioux call the Falls of St. Anthony HA HA, and the pronunciation is in
every respect similar to the same words in the English language. I could
not learn that this word was used for any other purpose, and I believe
it is confined in its application to that place alone.[267] The
traveller in ascending the Mississippi turns a projecting point, and
these falls suddenly appear before him at a short distance. Every man,
savage or civilized, must be struck with the magnificent spectacle which
opens to his view. There is an assemblage of objects which, added to the
solitary grandeur of the scene, to the height of the cataract, and to
the eternal roar of its waters, inspire the spectator with awe and
admiration.

  [267] Iha ha [iha-ikiha] are words given as equivalent to laugh,
  _v._ in Riggs's Dictionary of the Dakota language, published by the
  Smithsonian Institution in 1852. Ihapi, _n._, is laughter. The letter
  _h_, with a dot, represents a strong guttural, resembling the Arabic
  _Kha_. Iha, by the same authority, is the lips or cover to anything;
  it is also an adverb of doubt. The vowel _i_ has the sound of _i_ in
  marine, or _e_ in me.

In his _Anecdotes of Painting_, it is stated by Horace Walpole, that "on
the invention of fosses for boundaries, the common people called them Ha
Ha's! to express their surprise on finding a sudden and unperceived
check to their walk." I believe the word is yet used in this manner in
England. It is certainly not a little remarkable that the same word
should be thus applied by one of the most civilized and by one of the
most barbarous people, to objects which, although not the same, were yet
calculated to excite the admiration of the observer.

Nothing can show more clearly how fallacious are those deductions of
comparative etymology, which are founded upon a few words carefully
gleaned here and there from languages having no common origin, and which
are used by people who have neither connection nor intercourse. The
common descent of two nations can never be traced by the accidental
consonance of a few syllables or words, and the attempt must lead us
into the regions of fancy.

The Sioux language is probably one of the most barren which is spoken by
any of our aboriginal tribes. Colonel Leavenworth, who made considerable
proficiency in it, calculated, I believe, that the number of words did
not exceed one thousand. They use more gestures in their conversation
than any Indians I have seen, and this is a necessary result of the
poverty of their language.

I am well aware, that the subject of this letter is not within the
ordinary sphere of official communications. But I rely for your
indulgence upon the interest which you have shown to procure and
disseminate a full knowledge of every subject connected with the
internal condition of our country.

I am preparing a memoir upon the present state of the Indians, agreeably
to the intimation in my letter of September last. I shall finish and
transmit it to you as soon as my other duties will permit.

    Very respectfully, sir,
      I have, &c.,
        LEWIS CASS.

    Hon. JOHN C. CALHOUN,
      _Secretary of War_.


XXI.

_Inquiries respecting the History of the Indians of the United States._

By LEWIS CASS.

These queries were published at Detroit in separate pamphlets, about the
era of 1822, and communicated to persons in the Indian country supposed
to be capable of furnishing the desired information. The results became
the topic of several critical disquisitions, which appeared in the pages
of the _North American Review_ in 1825 and 1826; disquisitions the
spirit and tone of which created, as the reader who is posted up on the
topic will remember, a sensation among philological and philosophical
readers.

Whether we are most to admire the bold tone of inquiry assumed by Gen.
Cass, the acumen displayed in the discussions, the eloquence of the
language, or the general soundness of the positions taken, is the only
question left for decision. Certainly, nobody can arise from the perusal
of these papers without becoming wiser or better informed on the
subjects discussed. The mere luxury of high-toned and eloquent language
is a gratification to the inquirer. But he cannot close these
investigations into a subject of deep historical and philological
interest without feeling established in the principles of historic
truth, or warmed in his literary ardor.

Prominent among the topics of the initial discussion, was the work of
John Dunn Hunter, a singular adventurer in the Indian country, or,
perhaps, an early captive, who, after wandering to the Atlantic cities,
where his harmless inefficiency of character gained no favorable
attention, found his way to London, where the booksellers concocted a
book of travels from him, in which the United States is unscrupulously
traduced for its treatment of the Indians. The scathing which this
person and his book received arises from its having fallen in the way of
the business journeys of the critic to visit some of the principal
scenes referred to; and among others, the residence of John Dunn, of
Missouri, after whom he professed to be named, who utterly denied all
knowledge of the man or of his purported adventures.

The question of the authenticity of the Indian traditions of Mr.
Heckewelder, derived from a single tribe, and that tribe telling
stories to salve up its own disastrous history, and the mere literary
capacities of the man to put his materials in order, is propounded and
examined in connection with the contemporary traditions and languages of
other tribes. These traditions had been communicated to the Pennsylvania
Historical Society, in 1816, and were published under the special
auspices of Mr. Duponceau, in 1819. From the internal evidence of the
letters themselves, the critic pronounces them to be reproductions of
Mr. Duponceau himself; and it is an evidence of the aptness of this
deduction to be told that Mr. Gallatin admitted (_vide_ my _Personal
Memoirs_, p. 623), that the letters of Mr. Heckewelder had all been
rewritten previous to publication. It could no longer be a subject of
admiration to philologists, that from such imperfect sources of
information, that distinguished scholar should have pronounced the
opinion that the Delaware language rather exceeds than falls short of
the Greek and Latin in the affluence of syntactical forms and capacities
of expression. _Trans. Hist. and Lit. Com., Am. Philo. Soc._, vol. i. p.
415.


XXII.

_A Letter on the Origin of the Indian Race of America, and the
Principles of their Mode of uttering Ideas; addressed to John Johnston,
Esq., late of St. Mary's Falls, Michigan._ By Dr. J. MCDONNELL, of
Belfast, Ireland.

    BELFAST, April 16, 1817.

MY DEAR J.: I feel always as if I am guilty of some great crime, in not
writing to you.

An account came to Sir Joseph Banks, of very curious rocks, with odd
stripes and colors, having been seen, this last war, by sailors on the
lakes, I think on Lake Superior.[268] Pray keep up your thoughts to the
geography of rocks. I got some lately from Bombay, exactly ditto with
our Causeway.[269]

  [268] Most probably this idea arose from the very marked precipices
  of the coast denominated Pictured Rocks.

    H. R. S.

  [269] The Giant's Causeway, on the Coast of Antrim.

I shall ever regret the not having seen your daughter. I think it likely
that mingling the European blood and character with the Indian might
bring out some superior traits of character. Lest my letter should
altogether fail of presenting any useful point, I must put some
questions to you that would be worth something if answered.

A man has published, in 1816, an octavo volume in Trenton (United
States), the author's name Boudinot, to explain some things about the
Indian nations, and, among other things, he fancies some resemblance
between their languages and Hebrew. Baron Von Humboldt, a Prussian, was
in Spanish America lately, and he found the natives had Hebrew opinions
and usages, evidently things borrowed from Jewish doctrines. I don't
want you to inquire much about their being of this extraction, but
observe, for me, whether their languages have no pronouns, as one
author, Colden, stated fifty years ago; and whether they are defective
in the prepositions, as this Boudinot states; and whether those near you
have any words, idioms, or traditions that are expressive of their early
origin, or their connection with European nations.

In fact, I think you are better circumstanced, in most respects, than
any other man that I ever heard of, to do something worth notice in that
way; for, although you have not books, nor knowledge of many tongues,
yet you could collect lists of great and radical words, expressed with
proper letters, so that others could compare those words with Asiatic,
and African, and European tongues, so as to enable mankind to judge of
similitudes or dissimilitudes.

The words most apt to pervade different nations, and to pass from one
people to another, are articles, pronouns, auxiliary verbs,
prepositions; next to these, numerals; next to these, whatever terms are
expressive of striking, useful, hurtful, or very clear and definite
objects and ideas; for, if the conceptions we have of things be not very
definite, clear, and distinct, the idea and the word are not likely to
float down the stream of time together, they will be jostled and
separated. Be very careful in spelling the Indian words; spell them in
different ways, where our letters don't square exactly with their
sounds. Take notice of their musical tones, and whether these tones get
in, as essential parts, into their speech; and, above all, remember that
a _word_ is a _thing_, and that it may be examined as a _record_, or
considered like a coin or medal, as well as if it had the stamp of a
king or mint upon it.

I will write more if this vessel does not sail to-day. God bless you and
yours, and believe me, in haste, your affectionate cousin.

    J. McDONNELL.


XXIII.

_Difficulties of Studying the Indian Tongues of the United States._ By
Dr. ALEXANDER WOLCOTT, Jr.

Dr. Wolcott will be remembered by the early inhabitants of Chicago, when
that place was still a military post and the site of an Indian agency,
the latter of which trusts he filled. In 1820, the Pottowattomie tribe
of Indians and their confederates--the Illinois--Chippewas, and
Ottowas--possessed the whole surrounding regions, roving as lords of the
prairies. These numerous and fierce hunter-tribes, who traded their
peltries for fineries, had many horses, loved rum and fine clothes, and
despised all restraints, came in to him, at his agency, as the
mouthpiece of the President, to transact their affairs, and they often
lingered for days and weeks around the place, which gave him a good
opportunity of becoming familiar with their manners, customs, and
history.

Dr. Wolcott was a man of education, of high morals, dignified manners,
and noble sentiments, with decidedly saturnine feelings, and a keen
perception of the ridiculous. Constitutionally averse to much or labored
personal effort, his leisure hours, in this seclusion from society, were
hours devoted to reading and social converse, and his attention was
appropriately called by Gen. Cass to the "Inquiries," No. 21, above
referred to. The reply which he at length communicated was written in so
happy a vein, that I obtained permission to publish the substance of it,
in 1824, in my _Travels in the Central Portions of the Mississippi
Valley_, p. 381. It declares an important truth, which all must concur
in, who have attempted the study of the Indian languages, for they are
required to perform the prior labor of ascertaining and generalizing the
principles of their accidence and concord. When I first came to St.
Mary's, in 1822, and began the study of the Chippewa, I asked in vain
the simple question how the plural was formed. It was formed, in truth,
in twelve different ways, agreeably to the vowels of terminal syllables;
but this could not be declared until quires of paper had been written
over, the whole vocabulary explored, and days and nights devoted to it.
My first interpreter could not tell a verb from a noun, and was
incapable of translating the simplest sentence literally. Besides his
ignorance, he was so great a liar that I never knew when to believe him.
He sometimes told the Indians the reverse of what I said, and often told
me the reverse of what they said.


XXIV.

_Examination of the Elementary Structure of the Algonquin Language as it
appears in the Chippewa Tongue._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

    SAULT STE. MARIE, May 31, 1823.

SIR: In order to answer your inquiries, I have improved my leisure
hours, during the part of the summer following our arrival here (6th
July last), and the entire winter and spring, in examining the words and
forms of expression of the Chippewa, or (as the Indians pronounce it)
Odjibwa, tongue. I have found, as I anticipated, my most efficient aid,
in this inquiry, in Mr. Johnston, and the several members of his
intelligent family; my public interpreter being too unprecise and
profoundly ignorant of the rules of grammar to be of much use in the
investigation. Mr. Johnston, as you are aware, perhaps, came from the
north of Ireland, where his connections are highly respectable, during
the first term of General Washington's administration. He brought
letters from high sources to the Governor-General of Canada; but having,
while at Montreal, fallen in with Don Andrew Tod, a countryman, who had
the monopoly of the fur trade of Louisiana, in a spirit of enterprise
and adventure, he threw himself into that, at the time, fascinating
pursuit, and visited Michilimackinac. Circumstances determined him to
fix his residence at St. Mary's, where he has resided, making frequent
visits to Montreal and Great Britain, about thirty years. His children
have been carefully instructed in the English language and literature,
and the whole family are familiar with the Indian. Without such
proficient aid, I should have labored against serious impediments at
every step; and, with them, I have found the inquiry, in a philological
point of view, involved in many, and some of them insuperable
difficulties. The results I communicate to you, rather as an earnest of
what may be hereafter done in this matter, than as completely fulfilling
inquiries which it would require Horne Tooke himself, with the aid of
the Bodleian library, to unravel.

    With respect, &c.,
      HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

    His Excellency Gov. LEWIS CASS.


EXAMINATION OF THE ODJIBWA.

1, 2. _Simple Sounds._--The language is one of easy enunciation. It has
sixteen simple consonental and five vowel sounds. Of these, two are
labials, _b_ and _p_; five dentals, _d_, _t_, _s_, _z_, _j_, and _g_
soft; two nasals, _m_ and _n_; and four gutturals, _k_, _q_, _c_, and
_g_ hard. There is a peculiar nasal combination in _ng_, and a peculiar
terminal sound of _g_, which may be represented by _gk_. Of the mixed
dipthongal and consonental sounds, those most difficult to English
organs are the sounds in _aiw_ and _auw_.

3. _Letters not used._--The language is wholly wanting in the sound of
_th_. It drops the sound of _v_ entirely, substituting _b_, in attempts
to pronounce foreign words. The sound of _l_ is sometimes heard in their
necromantic chants; but, although it appears to have been known to the
old Algonquin, it is supplied, in the Odjibwa of this day, exclusively
by _n_. It also eschews the sounds of _f_, _r_, and _x_, leaving its
simple consonental powers of utterance, as above denoted, at sixteen. In
attempts to pronounce English words having the sound of _f_, they
substitute _p_, as in the case of _v_. The sound of _r_ is either
dropped, or takes the sound of _au_. Of the letter _x_ they make no use;
the nearest approach I have succeeded in getting from them is _ek-is_,
showing that it is essentially a foreign sound to them. The aspirate _h_
begins very few words, not exceeding five in fifteen hundred, but it is
a very frequent sound in terminals, always following the slender or
Latin sound of _a_, but never its broad sound in _au_, or its peculiarly
English sound as heard in the _a_ of _may_, _pay_, _day_. The terminal
syllable of the tribal name (Odjibwa), offers a good evidence of this
rule, this syllable being never sounded by the natives either _wah_ or
_wau_, but always _wa_. These rules of utterance appear to be constant
and imperative, and the natives have evidently a nice ear to
discriminate sounds.

_Rule of Euphony._--In the construction of words, it is required that a
consonant should _precede_ or _follow_ a vowel. In dissyllables wherein
two consonants are sounded in juxtaposition, it happens from the joining
of two syllables, the first of which ends and the last begins with a
consonant, as _muk-kuk_, a box, and _os-sin_, a stone; the utterance in
these cases being confluent. But in longer compounds this juxtaposition
is generally avoided by throwing in a vowel for the sake of euphony, as
in the term _assinebwoin_, the _e_ in which is a mere connective, and
has no meaning by itself. Nor is it allowable for vowels to follow each
other in syllabication, except in the restricted instances where the
being or existence of a thing or person is affirmed, as in the
vowel-words _i-e-e_ and _i-e-a_, the animate and inanimate forms of this
declaration. In these cases, there is a distinct accent on each vowel.

4. _Accent._--The accent generally falls on full or broad vowels, and
never on short vowels; such accented vowels are always significant, and
if they are repeated in a compound word, the accents are also repeated,
the only difference being that there are primary and secondary accents.
Thus, in the long descriptive name for a horse, _Pa-bá-zhik-ó-ga-zhé_,
which is compounded of a numeral term and two nouns, meaning, the animal
with solid hoofs; there are three accents, the first of which is
primary, while the others succeed each other with decreased intensity.
By a table of words which I have constructed, and had carefully
pronounced over by the natives, it is denoted that dissyllables are
generally accented on the final syllable, trisyllables on the second,
and words of four syllables on the second and fourth. But these
indications may not be constant or universal, as it is perceived that
the accents vary agreeably to the distribution of the full and
significant vowels.

5. _Emphasis._--Stress is laid on particular words in sentences to which
the speaker designs to impart force, and the whole tone of the entire
sentiment and passages is often adapted to convey particular
impressions. This trait more frequently comes out in the private
narrative of real or imaginary scenes, in which the narrator assumes the
very voice and tone of the real or supposed actor. Generally, in their
dealings and colloquial intercourse, there is a significant stress laid
on the terms, _meenungaika_, certainly; _kaigait_, truly; _kaugaigo_,
nothing at all; _tiau_, behold; _woh-ow_, who; _auwanain_, were; and
other familiar terms of inquiry, denial, or affirmation in daily use.

6. _Conjugation._--The simplest form in which their verbs are heard, is
in the third person singular of the indicative, as _he speaks_, _he
says_, _he loves_, _he dances_, or in the first person present of the
imperative. The want of a distinction between the pronouns _he_ and
_she_, is a defect which the language shares, I believe, with other very
ancient and rude tongues. Conjugations are effected for persons, tenses,
and number, very much as they are in other rude languages, particularly
those of the transpositive class. The verb is often a single root, or
syllable, as _saug_, love; but owing to the tendency of adding
qualifying particles, their verbs are cluttered up with other meanings.
The word _saug_ is therefore never heard as an element by itself. In the
first place, it takes before it the pronoun, and in the second place,
the object of action; so that _nesaugeau_, I love him, or her, or a
person, is one of the simplest of their colloquial phrases. And of this
term, the e, being the fourth syllable, is mere verbiage, means nothing
by itself, and is thrown in for euphony.

Tenses are formed by adding _gee_ to the pronoun for the perfect, and
_gah_ for the future, and _gahgee_ for the second future. These terms
play the part, and supply the want of, auxiliary verbs. The imperative
is made in _gah_, and the potential in _dau_ where the second future is
_daugee_. The subjunctive is made by prefixing the word _kishpin_,
meaning if. The inflection _nuh_, asks a question, and as it can be put
to all the forms of the conjugation, it establishes an interrogative
mood. The particle see, negatives the verb, and thus all verbs can be
conjugated positively and negatively.

To constitute the plural, the letter _g_ is added to the conjugations;
thus, _nesaugeaug_ means, I love them. But this is an animate plural,
and can only be added to words of the vital class. Besides, if the verb
or noun to be made plural does not end in a vowel, but in a consonant,
the _g_ cannot be added without interposing a vowel. It results,
therefore, that the vowel class of words have their plurals in _äg_,
_eeg_, _ig_, _og_, or _ug_. But, if the class of words be non-vital and
numerical, the plural is made in the letter _n_. But this letter cannot,
as in the other form, be added, unless the word terminate in a vowel,
when the regular plurals are _än_, _een_, _in_, _on_, or _un_. This
simple principle clears up one cause of perplexity in the conjugations,
and denotes a philosophical method, which divides the whole vocabulary
into two classes; while this provision _supersedes_, it answers the
purpose of _gender_. There is, in fact, no gender required by the
conjugations, it being sufficient to denote the _vitality_ or
_non-vitality_ of the class. Nothing can be clearer. This is one of the
leading traits of the grammar of the language, upon the observance of
which the best speakers pride themselves.

It does not, however, result that, because there is no gender required
in the conjugations, the idea of sexuality is unknown to the
nomenclature. Quite the contrary. The tenses for male and female, in the
chief orders of creation, are _iaba_ and _nozha_. These words prefixed
to the proper names of animals, produce expressions of precisely the
same meaning, and also the same inelegance; as if we should say, male
goose, female goose, male horse, and female horse, male man and female
man. The term for man (_inini_) is masculine, and that for woman
(_equa_) feminine in its construction. It is only in the conjugations
that the principle of gender becomes lost in that of vitality.

7. _Active and passive voices._--The distinction between these two
classes of verbs is made by the inflection _ego_. By adding this form to
the active verb, its action is reversed, and thrown back on the
nominative. Thus, the verb to carry is _nim bemön_, I carry; _nim
bemön-ego_, I am carried. _Adowawa_ is the act of thumping, as a log by
the waves on the shore._ Adowawa-ego_ is a log that is thumped by the
waves on shore. _Nesaugeah_, I love; _Nesaugeigo_, I am loved. In the
latter phrase, the personal term _au_ is dropped, and the long sound of
_e_ slips into _i_, which converts the inflection into _igo_ instead of
_ego_.

8. _Participles._--My impression is, that the Indians are in the habit
of using participles, often to the exclusion of other proper forms of
the verb. The vocabulary contains abundantly the indicative forms of the
verb. To run, to rise, to see, to eat, to tie, to burn, to strike, to
sing, to cry, to dance, are the common terms of parlance; but as soon as
these terms come to be connected with the action of particular persons,
this action appears to be spoken of as if existing--both the past and
future tenses being thrown away; and the senses appear to be, I, you,
he, or they; running, rising, seeing, eating, tying, burning, striking,
singing, crying, dancing. At least, I have not been able to convince
myself that the action is not referred to as existing. When the
participles should be used, they, on the contrary, employ the indicative
forms, by which such sentences are made as, he run, he walk, for
running, walking.

The general want of the substantive verb, in their colloquial phrases,
constantly leads to imperfect forms of syntax. Thus, _nëbä_ is the
indicative, first person of the verb to sleep; but if the term, I am
sleeping, be required, the phrase is _ne nëbä_, simply, I sleep. So,
too, _tshägiz_ is the first person indicative to burn; but the
colloquial phrase, I am burned, or burning, is _nen tshägiz_--the verb
remaining in the indicative, and not taking the participle form.

It is not common to address persons by their familiar names, as with
us--as John, or James. The very contrary is the usage of Indian society,
the object being to conceal all personal names, unless they be forced
out. If it be required to express this sentence, namely: Adario has gone
out (or temporarily departed), but will soon return; the equivalent is
_Ogima_, _ke mahjaun_, _panema_, _ke takooshin_. This sentence literally
retranslated is, Chief, he gone; by and by, he (will) return--the noun
chief being put for the personal noun Adario. It will be perceived that
the pronoun _ke_ is repeated after the noun, making, chief, he gone.
_Panema_ is an adverb which is undeclinable under all circumstances, and
_tahkooshin_, the future tense of the verb to arrive, or come (by land).
The phraseology is perfectly loaded with local or other particulars,
which constantly limit the action of verbs to places, persons, and
things.


XXV.

_A Vocabulary of the Odjibwa Algonquin Language._ BY H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

On referring to the manuscript of this vocabulary, it is found to fill a
large folio volume, which puts it out of my power to insert it in this
connection. It is hoped to bring it into the series of the Ethnological
volumes, now in the process of being published at Philadelphia, under
the auspices of Congress.




    APPENDIX

    No. 2.

    THE EXPEDITION TO ITASCA LAKE IN 1832.




SYNOPSIS.


1. INDIAN LANGUAGES.

  I. II. Observations on the Grammatical Structure and Flexibility of
         the Odjibwa Substantive. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

  III. Principles Governing the Use of the Odjibwa Noun-adjective. By
       HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

  IV.  Some Remarks respecting the Agglutinative Position and Properties
       of the Pronoun. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


2. NATURAL HISTORY.

  V. Zoology.

   1. Limits of the Range of the Cervus Sylvestris in the Northwestern
      parts of the United States. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.--_Northwest
      Journal._

   2. Description of the Fringilia Vespertina, discovered by Mr.
      Schoolcraft in the Northwest. By WILLIAM COOPER.--_Annals of the
      New York Lyceum of Natural History._

   3. A list of Shells collected by Mr. Schoolcraft during his Expedition
      to the Sources of the Mississippi in 1832. By WILLIAM COOPER.

  VI. Botany.

  1. List of Species and Localities of Plants collected during the
      Exploratory Expeditions of Mr. Schoolcraft in 1831 and 1832. By
      DOUGLASS HOUGHTON, M. D., _Surgeon to said Expeditions_.

  VII. Mineralogy and Geology.

   1. A Report on the Existence of Deposits of Copper in the Trap Rocks
      of Upper Michigan. By Dr. DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.

   2. Remarks on the Occurrence of Native Silver, and the Ores of Silver,
      in the Stratification of the Basins of Lakes Huron and Superior.
      By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

   3. A General Summary of the Localities of Minerals observed in the
      Northwest. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

   4. Geological Outlines of the Valley of Takwymenon in the Basin of
      Lake Superior. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

   5. Suggestions respecting the Geological Epoch of the Deposit of Red
      Sandstone of St. Mary's Falls, Michigan. By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.


3. INDIAN TRIBES.

  VIII. Condition and Disposition.

   1. Official Report to the War Department, of an Expedition through
      Upper Michigan and Northern Wisconsin in 1831. By HENRY R.
      SCHOOLCRAFT.

   2. Brief Notes of a Tour in 1831, from Galena, in Illinois, to Fort
      Winnebago, on the source of Fox River, Wisconsin. By HENRY R.
      SCHOOLCRAFT.

   3. Official Report of the Expedition to Itasca Lake in 1832. By HENRY
      R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

   4. Report of the Vaccination of the Indians in 1832, under the
      authority of an Act of Congress. By Dr. DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.


4. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHY.

  IX. Astronomical and Barometrical Observations.

   1. Table of Geographical Positions observed in 1836. By J. N.
      NICOLLET.


5. SCENERY.

  X. Letters on the Scenery of Lake Superior. By MELANCTHON WOOLSEY.
      _Vide_ Southern Literary Messenger, 1836.




APPENDIX.


1. INDIAN LANGUAGE.

I.

_Observations on the Grammatical Structure and Flexibility of the
Odjibwa Substantive._[270]

  [270] Mr. Du Ponceau did me the honor, in 1834, to translate these
  two inquiries on the substantive in full, for the prize paper on the
  Algonquin, before the National Institute of France.

INQUIRY 1.

  Observations on the Ojibwai substantive. 1. The provision of the
    language for indicating gender--Its general and comprehensive
    character--The division of words into animate and inanimate
    classes. 2. Number--its recondite forms, arising from the terminal
    vowel in the word. 3. The grammatical forms which indicate
    possession, and enable the speaker to distinguish the objective
    person.

Most of the researches which have been directed to the Indian languages,
have resulted in elucidating the principles governing the use of the
verb, which has been proved to be full and varied in its inflections.
Either less attention has been paid to the other parts of speech, or
results less suited to create high expectations of their flexibility and
powers have been attained. The Indian verb has thus been made to stand
out, as it were in bold relief, as a shield to defects in the
substantive and its accessories, and as, in fact, compensating, by its
multiform appendages of prefix and suffix--by its tensal, its
pronominal, its substantive, its adjective, and its adverbial
terminations, for barrenness and rigidity in all other parts of speech.
Influenced by this reflection, I shall defer, in the present inquiry,
the remarks I intend offering on the verb, until I have considered the
substantive, and its more important adjuncts.

Palpable objects, to which the idea of sense strongly attaches, and the
actions or condition, which determine the relation of one object to
another, are perhaps the first points to demand attention in the
invention of languages. And they have certainly imprinted themselves
very strongly, with all their materiality, and with all their local, and
exclusive, and personal peculiarities upon the Indian. The noun and the
verb not only thus constitute the principal elements of speech, as in
all languages; but they continue to perform their first offices, with
less direct aid from the auxiliary parts of speech, than would appear to
be reconcilable with a clear expression of the circumstances of time and
place, number and person, quality and quantity, action and repose, and
the other accidents, on which their definite employment depends. But to
enable the substantives and attributives to perform these complex
offices, they are provided with inflections, and undergo changes and
modifications, by which words and phrases become very concrete in their
meaning, and are lengthened out to appear formidable to the eye. Hence
the polysyllabic, and the descriptive character of the language, so
composite in its aspect and in its forms.

To utter succinctly, and in as few words as possible, the prominent
ideas resting upon the mind of the speaker, appear to have been the
paramount object with the inventors of the language. Hence,
concentration became a leading feature. And the pronoun, the adjective,
the adverb, and the preposition, however they may be disjunctively
employed in certain cases, are chiefly useful as furnishing materials to
the speaker, to be worked up into the complicated texture of the verb
and the substantive. Nothing, in fact, can be more unlike, than the
language, viewed in its original, elementary state--in a vocabulary, for
instance, of its primitive words, so far as such a vocabulary can now be
formed, and the same language as heard under its oral, amalgamated form.
Its transpositions may be likened to a picture, in which the copal, the
carmine, and the white lead, are no longer recognized as distinct
substances, but each of which has contributed its share towards the
effect. It is the painter only who possesses the principle, by which one
element has been curtailed, another augmented, and all, however
seemingly discordant, made to coalesce.

Such a language may be expected to abound in derivatives and compounds;
to afford rules for giving verbs substantive, and substantives verbal
qualities; to concentrate the meaning of words upon a few syllables, or
upon a single letter, or alphabetical sign; and to supply modes of
contraction and augmentation, and, if I may so say, _short cuts_, and
_by-paths_ to meanings, which are equally novel and interesting. To
arrive at its primitives, we must pursue an intricate thread, where
analogy is often the only guide. We must divest words of those
accumulated syllables, or particles, which, like the molecules of
material matter, are clustered around the primitives. It is only after a
process of this kind, that the _principle of combination_--that secret
wire, which moves the whole machinery can be searched for, with a
reasonable prospect of success. The labor of analysis is one of the most
interesting and important, which the subject presents. And it is a labor
which it will be expedient to keep constantly in view, until we have
separately considered the several parts of speech, and the grammatical
laws by which the language is held together; and thus established
principles and provided materials wherewith we may the more successfully
labor.

1. In a general survey of the language as it is spoken, and as it must
be written, there is perhaps no feature which obtrudes itself so
constantly to view, as the principle which separates all words, of
whatever denomination, into animates and inanimates, as they are applied
to objects in the animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom. This principle
has been grafted upon most words, and carries its distinctions
throughout the syntax. It is the gender of the language; but a gender of
so unbounded a scope, as to merge in it the common distinctions of a
masculine and feminine, and to give a twofold character to the parts of
speech. The concords which it requires, and the double inflections it
provides, will be mentioned in their appropriate places. It will be
sufficient here to observe, that animate nouns require animate verbs for
their nominatives, animate adjectives to express their qualities, and
animate demonstrative pronouns to mark the distinctions of person. Thus,
if we say, "I see a man; I see a house," the termination of the verb
must be changed. What was in the first instance _wâb imâ_, is altered
to _wâb indân_. _Wâb_, is here the infinitive, but the root of this verb
is still more remote. If the question occurs "Is it a good man, or a
good house," the adjective, which, in the inanimate form is
_onishish-í_, is, in the animate _onishish-i[n']_. If the question be
put, "Is it this man, or this house," the pronoun _this_, which is _mâ
bum_, in the animate, is changed to _mâ ndun_, in the inanimate.

Nouns animate embrace the tribes of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, insects,
reptiles, crustacæ, the sun, and moon, and stars, thunder, and
lightning, for these are personified; and whatever either possesses
animal life, or is endowed, by the peculiar opinions and superstitions
of the Indians, with it. In the vegetable kingdom, their number is
comparatively limited, being chiefly confined to trees, and those only
while they are referred to, as whole bodies, and to the various species
of fruits, and seeds, and esculents. It is at the option of the speaker
to employ nouns, either as animates or inanimates: but it is a choice
seldom resorted to, except in conformity with stated exceptions. These
conventional exceptions are not numerous, and the more prominent of
them, may be recited. The cause of the exceptions it is not always easy
to perceive. It may, however, generally be traced to a particular
respect paid to certain inanimate bodies, either from their real or
fancied properties--the uses to which they are applied, or the
ceremonies to which they are dedicated. A stone, which is the altar of
sacrifice to their Manitoes; a bow, formerly so necessary in the chase;
a feather, the honored sign of martial prowess; a kettle, so valuable in
the household; a pipe, by which friendships are sealed and treaties
ratified; a drum, used in their sacred and festive dances; a medal, the
mask of authority; vermilion, the appropriate paint of the warrior;
wampum, by which messages are conveyed, and covenants remembered. These
are among the objects, in themselves inanimates, which require the
application of animate verbs, pronouns, and adjectives, and are thereby
transferred to the animate class.

It is to be remarked, however, that the names for animals, are only
employed as animates, while the objects are referred to as whole and
complete species. But the gender must be changed, when it becomes
necessary to speak of separate numbers. Man, woman, father, mother, are
separate nouns, so long as the individuals are meant; but hand, foot,
head, eye, ear, tongue, are inanimates. Buck, is an animate noun, while
his entire carcass is referred to, whether living or dead; but neck,
back, heart, windpipe, take the inanimate form. In like manner, eagle,
swan, dove, are distinguished as animates; but beak, wing, tail, are
arranged with inanimates. So oak, pine, ash, are animate; branch, leaf,
root, inanimates.

Reciprocal exceptions, however, exist to this rule--the reasons for
which, as in the former instance, may generally be sought, either in
peculiar opinions of the Indians, or in the peculiar qualities or uses
of the objects. Thus the talons of the eagle, and the claws of the bear,
and of other animals, which furnish ornaments for the neck, are
invariably spoken of, under the animate form. The hoofs and horns of all
quadrupeds, which are applied to various economical and mystic purposes;
the castorum of the beaver, and the nails of man, are similarly
situated. The vegetable creation also furnishes some exceptions of this
nature; such are the names for the outer bark of all trees (except the
birch), and the branches, the roots, and the resin of the spruce, and
its congeners.

In a language, which considers all nature as separated into two classes
of bodies, characterized by the presence or absence of life; neuter
nouns will scarcely be looked for, although such may exist without my
knowledge. Neuters are found amongst the verbs and the adjectives, but
it is doubtful whether they render the nouns to which they are applied
neuters, in the sense we attach to that term. The subject in all its
bearings is interesting, and a full and minute description of it would
probably elicit new light respecting some doubtful points in the
language, and contribute something towards a curious collateral
topic--the history of Indian opinions. I have stated the principle
broadly, without filling up the subject of exceptions as fully as it is
in my power, and without following its bearings upon points which will
more properly come under discussion at other stages of the inquiry. A
sufficient outline, it is believed, has been given, and having thus met,
at the threshold, a principle deeply laid at the foundation of the
language, and one which will be perpetually recurring, I shall proceed
to enumerate some other prominent features of the substantive.

2. No language is perhaps so defective, as to be totally without
number. But there are, probably, few which furnish so many modes of
indicating it, as the Odjibwa. There are as many modes of forming the
plural, as there are vowel sounds, yet there is no distinction between a
limited and unlimited plural; although there is, in the pronoun, an
_inclusive_ and an _exclusive_ plural. Whether we say _man_ or _men_,
_two men_ or _twenty men_, the singular _inin´i_, and the plural
_nin´iwug_, remains the same. But if we say _we_, or _us_, or _our men_
(who are present), or _we_, or _us_, or _our Indians_ (in general), the
plural _we_, and _us_, and _our_--for they are rendered by the same
form--admit of a change to indicate whether the objective person be
_included_ or _excluded_. This principle, of which full examples will be
given under the appropriate head, forms a single and anomalous instance
of the use of particular plurals. And it carries its distinctions, by
means of the pronouns, separable and inseparable, into the verbs and
substantives, creating the necessity of double conjugations and double
declensions, in the plural forms of the first person. Thus, the term for
"Our Father," which, in the inclusive form is _Kósinân_, is, in the
exclusive, _Nósinân_.

The particular plural, which is thus, by the transforming power of the
language, carried from the pronoun into the texture of the verb and
substantive, is not limited to any fixed number of persons or objects,
but arises from the operations of the verb. The general plural is
variously made. But the plurals making inflections take upon themselves
an additional power or sign, by which substantives are distinguished
into animate and inanimate. Without this additional power, all nouns
plural would end in the vowels _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_. But to mark the
gender, the letter _g_ is added to animates, and the letter _n_ to
inanimates, making the plurals of the first class terminate in _âg_,
_eeg_, _ig_, _ôg_, _ug_, and of the second class in _ân_, _een_, _in_,
_ôn_, _un_. Ten modes of forming the plural are thus provided, five of
which are animate, and five inanimate plurals. A strong and clear line
of distinction is thus drawn between the two classes of words; so
unerring, indeed, in its application, that it is only necessary to
inquire how the plural is formed, to determine whether it belonged to
one or the other class. The distinctions which we have endeavored to
convey will, perhaps, be more clearly perceived, by adding examples of
the use of each of the plurals.

Animate Plural.

  a. Odjibwâi,  a Chippewa.         Odjibwaig,   Chippewas.
  e. Ojee,      a Fly.              Oj-eeg,      Flies.
  i. Kosénan,   Our father, (in.)   Kosenân-ig,  Our fathers, (in.)
  o. Ahmô,      a Bee.              Ahm-ôg,      Bees.
  u. Ais,       a Schell.           Ais-ug,      Shells.


Inanimate Plural.

  a. Ishkôdai,     Fire.         Ishkôdain,     Fires.
  e. Wadôp,        Alder.        Wadôp-een,     Alders.
  i. Adetaig,      Fruit.        Adetaig-in,    Fruits.
  o. Nôdin,        Wind.         Nôdin-ôn,      Winds.
  u. Meen,         Berry.        Meen-un,       Berries.

Where a noun terminates with a vowel in the singular, the addition of
the _g_, or _n_, shows at once, both the plural and the gender. In other
instances, as in _peenai_, a partridge--_seebi_, a river--it requires a
consonant to precede the plural vowel, in conformity with a rule
previously stated. Thus, _peenai_, is rendered _peenai-wug_--and
_seebi_, _seebi-wun_. Where the noun singular terminates in the broad,
instead of the long sound of _a_, as in _ogimâ_, a chief, _ishpatinâ_, a
hill, the plural is _ogim-ag_, _ishpatinân_. But these are mere
modifications of two of the above forms, and are by no means entitled to
be considered as additional plurals.

Comparatively few substances are without number. The following may be
enumerated:--

  Missun´,       Firewood.    Ussáimâ,    Tobacco.
  Pinggwi,       Ashes.       Naigow,     Sand.
  Méjim,         Food.        Ahwun,      Mist.
  Kôn,           Snow.        Kimmiwun,   Rain.
  Mishk´wi,      Blood.       Ossâkumig,  Moss.
  Ukkukkuzhas,   Coals.       Unitshimin, Peas.

Others may be found, and indeed, a few others are known. But it is less
an object, in this lecture, to pursue exceptions into their minutest
ramifications, than to sketch broad rules, applicable, if not to every
word, to at least a majority of words in the language.

There is, however, one exception from the general use of number, so
peculiar in itself, that not to point it out would be an unpardonable
remissness in giving the outlines of a language, in which it is an
object neither to extenuate faults nor to overrate beauties. This
exception consists in the want of number in the _third person_ of the
declensions of animate nouns, and the conjugation of animate verbs. Not
that such words are destitute of number, in their simple forms, or when
used under circumstances requiring no change of these simple forms--no
prefixes and no inflections. But it will be seen, at a glance, how very
limited such an application of words must be, in a transpositive
language.

Thus _mang_ and _kâg_ (loon and porcupine) take the plural inflection
_wug_, becoming _mang wug_ and _kâg wug_ (loons and porcupines). So, in
their pronominal declension:--

  My loon          Ni mang   oom
  Thy loon         Ki mang   oom
  My porcupine     Ni gâg    oom
  Thy porcupine    Ki gâg    oom
  My loons         Ni mang   oom    ug
  Thy loons        Ki mang   oom    ug
  My porcupines    Ni gâg    oom    ug
  Thy porcupines   Ki gâg    oom    ug

But his loon, or loons (_o many oom un_), his porcupine or porcupines
(_o gâg oom un_), are without number. The rule applies equally to the
class of words in which the pronouns are inseparable. Thus, my father
and thy father, _nôs_ and _kôs_, become my fathers and thy fathers, by
the numerical inflection _ug_, forming _nôsug_ and _kôsug_. But _ôsun_,
his father or fathers, is vague, and does not indicate whether there be
one father or twenty fathers. The inflection _un_, merely denotes the
_object_. The rule also applies equally to sentences in which the noun
is governed by or governs the verb. Whether we say, "I saw a bear,"
_ningi wâbumâ mukwah_, or "a bear saw me," _mukwah ningi wâbumig_, the
noun, itself, undergoes no change, and its number is definite. But _ogi
wâbumân muk-wun_, "he saw bear," is indefinite, although both the verb
and the noun have changed their endings. And if the narrator does not
subsequently determine the number, the hearer is either left in doubt,
or must resolve it by a question. In fine, the whole acts of the third
person are thus rendered questionable. This want of precision, which
would seem to be fraught with so much confusion, appears to be obviated
in practice, by the employment of adjectives, by numerical inflections
in the relative words of the sentence, by the use of the indefinite
article, _paizhik_, or by demonstrative pronouns. Thus, _paizhik mukwun
ogi wâbumân_, conveys with certainty the information "he saw _a_ bear."
But in this sentence both the noun and the verb retain the objective
inflections, as in the former instances. These inflections are not
uniformly _un_, but sometimes _een_, as in _ogeen_, his mother, and
sometimes _ôn_, as in _odakeek-ôn_, his kettle, in all which instances,
however, the number is left indeterminate. It may hence be observed, and
it is a remark which we shall presently have occasion to corroborate,
that the plural inflection to inanimate nouns (which have no objective
form), forms the objective inflection to animate nouns, which have no
number in the third person.

3. This leads us to the consideration of the mode of forming
possessives, the existence of which, when it shall have been indicated
by full examples, will present to the mind of the inquirer, one of those
tautologies in grammatical forms, which, without imparting additional
precision, serve to clothe the language with accumulated verbiage. The
strong tendency to combination and amalgamation, existing in the
language, renders it difficult, in fact, to discuss the principles of it
in that elementary form which could be wished. In the analysis of words
and forms we are constantly led from the central point of discussion. To
recur, however, from these collateral unravellings to the main thread of
inquiry, at as short and frequent intervals as possible, and thus to
preserve the chain of conclusions and proofs, is so important, that,
without keeping the object distinctly in view, I should despair of
conveying any clear impressions of those grammatical features which
impart to the language its peculiar character.

It has been remarked that the distinctions of number are founded upon a
modification of the five vowel sounds. Possessives are likewise founded
upon the basis of the vowel sounds. There are five declensions of the
noun to mark the possessive, ending in the possessive in _âm_, _eem_,
_im_, _ôm_, _um_, _oom_. Where the nominative ends with a vowel, the
possessive is made by adding the letter _m_, as in _maimai_, a woodcock,
_ni maimaim_, my woodcock, &c. Where the nominative ends in a consonant,
as in _ais_, a shell, the full possessive inflection is required, making
_nin daisim_, my shell. In the latter form, the consonant _d_ is
interposed between the pronoun and noun, and sounded with the noun, in
conformity with a general rule. Where the nominative ends in the broad
in lieu of the long sound of _a_, as in _ogimâ_, a chief, the
possessive is _âm_. The sound of _i_, in the third declension, is that
of _i_ in pin, and the sound of _u_, in the fifth declension, is that of
_u_ in bull. The latter will be uniformly represented by _oo_.

The possessive declensions run throughout both the animate and inanimate
classes of nouns, with some exceptions in the latter, as knife, bowl,
paddle, &c.

Inanimate nouns are thus declined.

Nominative.

Ishkôdai, Fire.

Possessive.

  My,    Nin Dishkod-aim.
  Thy,   Ki Dishkod-aim.
  His,   O Dishkod-aim.
  Our,   Ki Dishkod-aim-inân. (in.)
  --     Ni Dishkod-aim-inân. (ex.)
  Your,  Ki Dishkod-aim-iwâ.
  Their, O Dishko-aim-iwâ.

Those words which form exceptions from this declension, take the
separable pronouns before them as follows:--

  Môkoman,    A Knife.
  Ni môkoman, My Knife.
  Ki môkoman, Thy Knife.
  O môkoman,  His Knife, &c.

Animate substantives are declined precisely in the same manner as
inanimate, except in the third person, which takes to the possessive
inflections, _aim_, _eem_, _im_, _ôm_, _oom_, the objective particle
_un_, denoting the compound inflection of this person, both in the
singular and plural, _aimun_, _eemun_, _imun_, _ômun_, _oomun_, and the
variation of the first vowel sound, _âmun_. Thus, to furnish an example
of the second declension, _bizhiki_, a bison, changes its forms to
_nim_, _bizhik-im_, my bison--_ke bizhik-im_, thy bison, _O
bizhik-imun_, his bison, or bisons.

The cause of this double inflection in the third person, may be left for
future inquiry. But we may add further examples in aid of it. We cannot
simply say, "The chief has killed a bear," or, to reverse the object
upon which the energy of the verb is exerted, "The bear has killed a
chief." But, _ogimâ ogi nissân muk-wun_, literally, "Chief he has has
killed him bear," or, _mukwah ogi_ _nissân ogimân_, "Bear he has killed
him chief." Here the verb and the noun are both objective in _un_, which
is sounded _ân_, where it comes after the broad sound of _a_, as in
_nissân_, objective of the verb to kill. If we confer the powers of the
English possessive (_'s_), upon the inflections _aim_, _eem_, _im_,
_ôm_, _oom_, and _âm_, respectively, and the meaning of _him_, and of
course _he_, _her_, _his_, _hers_, _they_, _theirs_ (as there is no
declension of the pronoun, and no number to the third person), upon the
objective particle _un_, we shall then translate the above expression,
_o bizhik-eemum_, his bison's hisn. If we reject this meaning, as I
think we should, the sentence would read, "His bison," him, a mere
tautology.

It is true, it may be remarked, that the noun possessed, has a
corresponding termination, or pronominal correspondence, with the
pronoun possessor, also a final termination indicative of its being the
_object_ on which the verb exerts its influence--a mode of expression,
which, so far as relates to the possessive, would be deemed superfluous,
in modern languages; but may have some analogy in the Latin accusatives
_am_, _um_, _em_.

It is a constant and unremitting aim in the Indian languages to
distinguish the actor from the object, partly by prefixes, and partly by
inseparable suffixes. That the termination _un_, is one of these
inseparable particles, and that its office, while it confounds the
number, is to designate the object, appears probable from the fact, that
it retains its connection with the noun, whether the latter follow or
precede the verb, or whatever its position in the sentence may be.

Thus we can, without any perplexity in the meaning say,
_Waimittigôzhiwug ogi sagiân Pontiac-un_, "Frenchmen, they did love
Pontiac him." Or to reverse it, _Pontiac-un Waimittigôzhiwug ogi sagiân_,
"Pontiac, he did Frenchmen he loved." The termination _un_, in both
instances, clearly determines the object beloved. So in the following
instance, _Sagunoshug ogi sagiân Tecumseh-un_, "Englishmen, they did
love Tecumseh," or _Tecumseh-un Sagunoshug oji sagiân_, "Tecumseh, he
did Englishmen he loved."

In tracing the operation of this rule, through the doublings of the
language, it is necessary to distinguish every modification of sound,
whether it is accompanied or not accompanied by a modification of the
sense. The particle _un_, which thus marks _the third person and
persons_, is sometimes pronounced _wun_, and sometimes _yun_, as the
harmony of the word to which it is suffixed may require. But not the
slightest change is thereby made in its meaning.

     Wâbojeeg ogi meegân-ân nâdowaisi-wun.

     Wâbojeeg fought his enemies. L.[271] W. he did fight them, his
     enemy, or enemies.

     O sâgi-ân inini-wun.

     He, or she, loves a man. L. He, or she, loves him-man, or men.

     Kigo-yun waindji pimmâdizziwâd.

     They subsist on fish. L. Fish or fishes, they upon them, they live.

     Ontwa o sagiân odi-yun.

     Ontwa loves his dog. L. O. he loves him, his dog, or dogs.

  [271] L. for _literally_.

In these sentences, the letters _w_ and _y_ are introduced before the
inflection _un_, merely for euphony's sake, and to enable the speaker to
utter the final vowel of the substantive, and the inflective vowel,
without placing both under the accent. It is to be remarked in these
examples, that the verb has a corresponding inflection with the noun,
indicated by the final consonant _n_, as in _sagiâ-n_, objective of the
verb _to love_. This is merely a modification of _un_, where it is
requisite to employ it after broad _a_ (_aw_), and it is applicable to
nouns as well as verbs whenever they end in that sound. Thus, in the
phrase, "He saw a chief," _O wâbumâ-n O gimâ-n_, both noun and verb
terminate in _n_. It is immaterial to the sense, which precedes. And
this leads to the conclusion, which we are in some measure compelled to
state in anticipation of our remarks on the verb: That verbs must not
only agree with their nominatives in number, person, and _gender_ (we
use the latter term for want of a more appropriate one), but also with
their objectives. Hence, the objective sign _n_ in the above examples.
Sometimes this sign is removed from the ending of the verb, to make room
for the plural of the nominative person, and is subjoined to the latter.
Thus,

    O sagiâ(wâ)n.
    They love them (him or them).

In this phrase, the interposed syllable (_wâ_) is, apparently, the
plural--it is a reflective plural--of _he_--the latter being indicated,
as usual, by the sign _O_. It has been observed, above, that the
deficiency in number, in the third person, is sometimes supplied "by
numerical inflections in the relative words of the sentence," and this
interposed particle (_wâ_) affords an instance in point.

The number of the nominative pronoun appears to be thus rendered
precise, but the objective is still indefinite.

When two nouns are used without a verb in the sentence, or when two
nouns compose the whole matter uttered, being in the third person, both
have the full objective inflection. Thus,

    Os-(un). Odi-(yun).
    His father's dog. L. His father--his dog or dogs.

There are certain words, however, which will not admit the objective
_un_, either in its simple or modified forms. These are rendered
objective in _een_, or _ôn_.

    O wâbumâ-(n), ossin-(een).
    He sees the stone. L. He sees him--stone or stones.
    O wâbumâ-(n) mittig o mizh-(een). L. He sees him, tree or trees.
    He sees an oak tree.
    O mittig wâb (een), gyai o bikwuk-(ôn).
    His bow and his arrows. L. His bow him, and his arrows, him or them.
    Odyâ | wâ | wâ (n), akkik-(ôn).
    They possess a kettle. L. They own them, kettle or kettles.

The syllable _wâ_, in the verb of the last example included between bars
(instead of parentheses), is the reflective plural _they_ pointed out in
a preceding instance.

I shall conclude these remarks, with full examples of each pronominal
declension.

_a._ First declension, forming the first and second persons in _aim_,
and the third in _aimun_.

Nominative.

    Pinâi, a partridge.
    Pinâi-wug, partridges.


First and second person.

    My,    Nim Bin-aim.
    Thy,   Ki Bin-aim.
    Our,   Ki Bin-aim inân. Inclusive plural.
    Our,   Ni Bin-aiminân. Exclusive plural.
    Your,  Ki Bin-aim wâ.


Third person.

    His,   O Bin-aim (un).
    Their, O Bin-aim iwâ (n).

_e._ Second declension forming the first and second persons in eem, and
the third in _eemun_.

Nominative.

    Ossin, a stone.
    Ossineen, stones.


First and second persons.

    My,    Nin Dossin-eem.
    Thy,   Ki Dossin-eem.
    Our,   Ki Dossin-eeminân. (in.)
    Our,   Ni Dossin-eeminân. (ex.)
    Your,  Ke Dossin-eemewâ.


Third person.

    His,   O Dossin-eem(un).
    Their, O Dossin-eemewâ (n).

_i._ Third declension forming the first and second persons in _im_, and
the third in _imun_.

Nominative.

    Ais, a shell.
    Aisug, shells.

First and second persons.

    My,     Nin Dais-im.
    Thy,    Ki Dais-im.
    Our,    Ki Dais-iminân. (in.)
    Our,    Ni Dais-iminân. (ex.)
    Your,   Ki Dais-imiwâ.

Third person.

    His,   O Dais-im (un).
    Their, O Dais-imewâ (n).

_o._ Fourth declension forming the first and second persons in _ôm_, and
the third in _ômun_.

Nominative.

    Monidô, a Spirit.
    Monidôg, Spirits.

First and second persons.

    My,   Ni Monid-ôm.
    Thy,  Ki Monid-ôm.
    Our,  Ki Monid-ôminân. (in.)
    Our,  Ni Monid-ôminân. (ex.)
    Your, Ki Monid-ômiwâ.

Third person.

    His,   O Monid-ôm (un).
    Their, O Monid-ômewâ (n).

_u._ (_oo_) Fifth declension forming the first and second persons in
_oom_, and the third in _oomun_.

Nominative.

    Môz, a Moose.
    Môzôg, Moose.

First and second persons.

    My,   Ni Môz-oom.
    Thy,  Ki Môz-oom.
    Our,  Ki Môz-oominân. (in.)
    Our,  Ni Môz-oominân. (ex.)
    Your, Ki Môz-oomiwu.

Third person.

    His, O Môz oom (un).
    Their, O Môz oomiwâ (n).

_aw._ Additional declension, required when the noun ends in the broad,
instead of the long sound of a, forming the possessive in _âm_, and the
objective in _âmun_.

Nominative.

    Ogimâ, a Chief.
    Ogimâg, Chiefs.

First and second persons.

    My,   Ni Dôgim âm.
    Thy,  Ki Dôgim âm.
    Our,  Ki Dôgim âminân. (in.)
    Our,  Ni Dôgim âminân. (ex.)
    Your, Ki Dôgim âmiwâ.

Third person.

    His,   O Dôgim âm (un).
    Their, O Dôgim âmiwâ (n).

The abbreviations, _in._, and _ex._, in these declensions, mark the
inclusive and exclusive forms of the pronoun plural. The inflection of
the third person, as it is superadded to the first and second, is
included between parentheses, that the eye, unaccustomed to these
extended forms, may readily detect it.

Where the inseparable, instead of the separable pronoun is employed, the
possessive inflection of the first and second person is dispensed with,
although the inflection of the third is still retained.

Os: Father.

_S. singular._

    Nos. My father.
    Kos. Thy father.
    Os-un. His father.    _Sing. and plural._
    Nos-inân. Our father. (ex.)
    Kos-inân. Our father. (in.)
    Kos-iwâ. Your father.
    Os-iwân. Their father. _Sing. and plural._

_S. plural._

    Nos-ug. My fathers.
    Kos-ug. Thy fathers.
    Os-un. His fathers. _Sing. and plural._
    Nos.-inân ig. Our fathers. (ex.)
    Kos.-inân ig. Our fathers. (in.)
    Kos-iwâg. Your fathers.
    Os-iwân. Their fathers. _Sing. and plural._

The word dog, and this word alone, is declined in the following manner.

Annimoosh: a Dog.

_S. singular._

    Nin  Dy (or Di) My dog.
    Ki   Dy         Thy dog.
    O    Dy-un      His dog or dogs.
    Ki   Dy-inân    Our dog.  (in.)
    Ni   Dy-inân    Our dog.  (ex.)
    Ki   Dy-iwâ     Your dog.
    O    Dy-iwân    Their dog, &c.

_S. plural._

    Nin  Dy-ug    My dogs.
    Ki   Dy-ug    Thy dogs.
    O   Dy-un      His dogs, &c.
    Ki  Dy-inânig  Our dogs. (in.)
    Ni  Dy-inânig  Our dogs. (ex.)
    Ki  Dy-iwâg    Your dogs.
    O   Dy-iwân    His dogs, &c.

The word _Dy_, which supplies this declension, is derived from _Indyiâm_
mine. _pron. an._--a derivative form of the word, which is, however,
exclusively restricted, in its meaning, to the dog. If the expression
_Nin Dy_ or _N' Dy_, is sometimes applied to the horse, it is because it
is thereby intended to call him, my dog, from his being in a state of
servitude similar to that of the dog. It must be borne in mind, as
connected with this subject, that the dog, in high northern latitudes,
and even as far south as 42 degrees, is both a beast of draught and of
burden. He is compelled during the winter season to draw the _odâban_,
or Indian sleigh; and sometimes to support the burden upon his back, by
means of a kind of drag constructed of slender poles.

A review of the facts which have been brought together respecting the
substantive, will show that the separable or inseparable pronouns under
the form of prefixes, are throughout required. It will also indicate,
that the inflections of the first and second persons which occupy the
place of possessives, and those of the third person, resembling
objectives, pertain to words, which are either primitives, or denote but
a single object, as _moose_, _fire_. There is, however, another class of
substantives, or substantive expressions, and an extensive class--for it
embraces a great portion of the compound descriptive terms--in the use
of which no pronominal prefixes are required. The distinctions of person
are, exclusively, supplied by pronominal suffixes. Of this character are
the words descriptive of country, place of dwelling, field of battle,
place of employment, &c. The following example will furnish the
inflections applicable to this entire class of words:--

Aindâd: Home, or place of dwelling.

  _S.  singular._
    Aindâ-yân.   My home.
    Aindâ-yun.   Thy home.
    Aindâ-d.     His home.
    Aindâ-yâng.  Our home. (ex.)
    Aindâ-yung.  Our home. (in.)
    Aindâ-yaig.  Your home.
    Aindâ-wâd.   Their home.

_S. plural._

    Aindâ-yân-in.  My homes.
    Aindâ-yun-in.  Thy homes.
    Aindâ-jin.     His homes.
    Aindâ-yâng-in. Our homes. (ex.)
    Aindâ-yung-in. Our homes. (in.)
    Aindâ-yaig-in. Your homes.
    Aindâ-wâdjin.  Their homes.

By these examples, it is perceived that the final _d_ in _aindâd_ is not
essential to its primitive meaning; and that the place of the pronoun
is, in respect to this word, invariably a suffix. _Aindâd_ means, truly,
not home, but his home. The plural is formed by the inflection _in_,
except in the third person, where the sound of _d_ sinks in _j_.


INQUIRY 2.

  Further remarks on the substantive--Local, diminutive, derogative, and
      tensal inflections--Mode in which the latter are employed to
      denote the disease of individuals, and to indicate the past and
      future seasons--Restricted or sexual terms--Conversion of the
      substantive into a verb, and the reciprocal character of the verb
      by which it is converted into a substantive--Derivative and
      compound substantives--Summary of the properties of this part of
      speech.

In the view which has been taken of the substantive in the preceding
Inquiry, it has been deemed proper to exclude several topics, which,
from their peculiarities, it was believed could be more satisfactorily
discussed in a separate form. Of this character are those modifications
of the substantive by which locality, diminution, a defective quality,
and the past tense are expressed; by which various adjective and
adverbial significations are given; and, finally, the substantives
themselves converted into verbs. Such are also the mode of indicating
the masculine and feminine (both merged, as we have shown, in the
animate class), and those words which are of a strictly _sexual_
character, or are restricted in their _use_ either to males or females.
Not less interesting is the manner of forming derivatives, and of
conferring upon the derivatives so formed a _personality_, distinguished
as either animate or inanimate, at the option of the speaker.

Much of the flexibility of the substantive is derived from these
properties, and they undoubtedly add much to the figurative character of
the language. Some of them have been thought analogous to case,
particularly that inflection of the noun which indicates the locality of
the object. But if so, then there would be equally strong reasons for
establishing an _adjective_, and an _adverbial_, as well as a _local_
case, and a plurality of forms in each. But it is believed that no such
necessity exists. There is no regular declension of these forms, and
they are all used under limitations and restrictions incompatible with
the true principles of case.

It is under this view of the subject, that the discussion of these forms
has been transferred, together with the other accidents of the
substantive just adverted to, and reserved as the subject-matter of a
separate inquiry. And in now proceeding to express the conclusions at
which we have arrived touching these points, it will be an object so to
compress and arrange the materials before us, as to present within a
small compass the leading facts and examples upon which each separate
position depends.

1. That quality of the noun which, in the shape of an inflection,
denotes the relative situation of the object, by the contiguous position
of some accessory object, is expressed in the English language by the
prepositions _in_, _into_, _at_, or _on_. In the Indian, they are
denoted by an inflection. Thus, the phrase "In the box," is rendered in
the Indian by one word, _mukukoong_. Of this word, _mukuk_, simply, is
box. The termination, _oong_, denoting the locality, not of the box, but
of the object sought after. The expression appears to be precise,
although there is no definite article in the language.

The substantive takes this form, most commonly, after a question has
been put, as _Anindi ni môkoman-ais?_ "Where is my penknife?"
_Mukukoong_ (in the box), _addôpowin-ing_ (on the table), are definite
replies to this question. But the form is not restricted to this
relation. _Chimân-ing n'guh pôz_, "I shall embark in the canoe;"
_wakyigum n'ghu izhâ_, "I shall go into the house," are perfectly
correct, though somewhat formal expressions, when the canoe or the house
are present to the speaker's view.

The meaning of these inflections has been restricted to _in_, _into_,
_at_, and _on_, but they are the more appropriate forms of expressing
the first three senses, there being other modes besides these of
expressing the preposition _on_. These modes consist in the use of
prepositions, and will be explained under that head. The choice of the
one or the other is, however, with the speaker. Generally, the
inflection is employed when there is some circumstance or condition
of the noun either concealed or not fully apparent. Thus,
_Muzzinyigun-ing_, is the appropriate term for "In the book," and _may_
also be used to signify "On the book." But if it is meant only to
signify _on_ the book, something visible being referred to, the
preposition _ogidj_ would be used, that word indicating with certainty
_on_, and never _in_. _Wakyigun-ing_ indicates with clearness "In the
house;" but if it is necessary to say "On the house," and it be meant at
the same time to exclude any reference to the interior, the expression
would be changed to _ogidj wakyigun_.

It will be proper further to remark in this place, in the way of
limitation, that there is also a separate preposition signifying _in_.
It is _pinj_. But the use of this word does not, in all cases, supersede
the necessity of inflecting the noun. Thus, the expression _pindigain_,
is literally walk in, or enter. But if it is intended to say, "Walk in
the house," the local, and not the simple form of house must be used;
and the expression is, _Pindigain waky'igun-ing_, "Enter in the house,"
the verbal form which this preposition _pinj_ puts on, having no
allusion to the act of _walking_, but merely implying position.

The local inflection, which, in the above examples, is _ing_ and _oong_,
is further changed to _aing_ and _eeng_, as the ear may direct--changes
which are governed chiefly by the terminal vowel of the noun. Examples
will best supply the rule, as well as the exceptions to it.

SIMPLE FORM.                      LOCAL FORM.

a. First inflection in _aing_.

    Ishkodai    Fire      Ishkod-aing    In, &c. the fire.
    Muskodai    Prairie   Muskod-aing    In, &c. the prairie.
    Mukkuddai   Powder    Mukkud-aing    In, &c. the powder.
    Pimmedai    Grease    Pimmid-aing    In, &c. the grease.

e. Second inflection in _eeng_.[272]

  [272] The double vowel is here employed to indicate the long sound of
  _i_, as _i_ in machine.

    Seebi    River    Seeb-eeng     In, &c. the river.
    Neebi    Water    Neeb-eeng     In, &c. the water.
    Miskwi   Blood    Miskw-eeng    In, &c. the blood.
    Unneeb   Elm      Unneeb-eeng   In, &c. the elm.

i. Third inflection in _ing_.

    Kôn           Snow    Kôn-ing          In, &c. the snow.
    Min           Berry   Meen-ing         In, &c. the berry.
    Chimân        Canoe   Chimân-ing       In, &c. the canoe.
    Muzziny´egun  Book    Muzziny´egun-ing In, &c. the book.

o. Fourth inflection in _oong_.

    Azhibik     Rock    Azhibik-oong   In, &c. the rock.
    Gizhig      Sky     Gizhig-oong    In, &c. the sky.
    Kimmiwun    Rain    Kimmiwun-oong  In, &c. the rain.
    Akkik       Kettle  Akkik-oong     In, &c. the kettle.

       Throw it in the fire.
    1. Puggidôn ishkod-aing.
       Go into the prairie.
    2. Muskôdaing izhân.
       He is in the elm.
    3. Unnib-eeng iâ.
       It is on the water.
    4. Nib-eeng attai.
       Put it on the table.
    5. Addôpôwin-ing attôn.
       Look in the book.
    6. Enâbin muzziny´igun-ing.
       You stand in the rain.
    7. Kimmiwun-oong ki nibow.
       What have you in that box?
    8. Waigonain aitaig mukuk-oong?
       Put it in the kettle.
    9. Akkik-oong attôn, or Pôdawain.
       My bow is not in the lodge; neither is it in the canoe, nor on
       the rock.
   10. Kâwin _pindiq_ iâsi ni mittigwâb; kâwiuh gyai chimân-_ing_;
       kâwin gyai âzhibik-_oong_.

An attentive inspection of these examples will show that the local form
pertains either to such nouns of the animate class as are in their
nature inanimate, or at most possessed of vegetable life. And here
another conclusion presses upon us; that where these local terminations,
in all their variety, are added to the names of animated beings, when
such names are the nominatives of adjectives or adjective-nouns, these
words are converted into terms of qualification, indicating _like_,
_resembling_, _equal_. Thus, if we wish to say to a boy, "He is like a
man," the expression is, _Inin-ing izzhinâgozzi_; or, if to a man, "He
is like a bear," _Mukk-oong izzhinâgozzi_; or, to a bear, "He is like a
horse, _Pabaizhikogâzh-ing izzhinâgozzi_. In all these expressions, the
word _izzhi_ is combined with the pronominal inflection _â_ (or _nâ_)
and the animate termination _gozzi_. And the inflection of the
nominative is merely an adjective corresponding with _izzhi_--a term
indicative of the general qualities of persons or animated beings. Where
a comparison is instituted, or a resemblance pointed out, between
inanimate instead of animate objects, the inflection _gozzi_ is changed
to _gwud_, rendering the expression, which was, in the animate form,
_izzhinâ_gozzi, in the inanimate form _izzhinâ_zgwud.

There is another variation of the local form of the noun, in addition to
those above instanced, indicative of locality in a more general sense.
It is formed by _ong_ or _nong_--frequent terminations in geographical
names. Thus, from _Ojibwai_, Chippewa, is formed _Ojibwai_nong, "Place
of the Chippewas." From _Wamattigozhiwug_, Frenchmen, is formed
_Wamittigozhi_nong, "Place of Frenchmen." From _Ishpatinâ_, Hill,
_Ishpatinong_, "Place of the hill," &c. The termination _ing_, is also
sometimes employed in this more general sense, as in the following names
of places:--

    Monomonikâ_ning_. In the place of wild rice.
    Moninggwunikâ_ning_. In the place of sparrows.
    Ongwashagoosh_ing_. In the place of the fallen tree, &c.

2. The diminutive forms of the noun are indicated by _ais_, _eas_, _ôs_,
and _aus_, as the final vowel of the word may require. Thus, _Ojibwai_,
a Chippewa, becomes _Ojibw-ais_, a little Chippewa: _Inin´i_, a man,
_inin-ees_, a little man: _Amik_, a beaver, _amik-ôs_, a young beaver:
_Ogimâ_, a chief, _ogim-âs_, a little chief, or a chief of little
authority. Further examples may be added.

SIMPLE FORM.          DIMINUTIVE FORM.

--ais.

    A woman      Eekwâ      Eekwâz-ais.
    A partridge  Pinâ       Pin-ais.
    A woodcock   Mâimâi     Mâim-ais.
    An island    Minnis     Minnis-ais.
    A grape      Shômin     Shômin-ais.
    A knife      Môkoman    Môkoman-ais.

--ees.

    A stone    Ossin    Ossin-ees.
    A river    Seebi    Seeb-ees.
    A pigeon   Omimi    Omim-ees.
    A bison    Pizhiki  Pizhik-ees.
    A potato   Opin     Opin-ees.
    A bird     Pinâisi  Pinâish-ees.

--ôs.

    A moose     Môz      Môz-ôs.
    An otter    Nigik    Nigik-ôs.
    A reindeer  Addik    Addik-ôs.
    An elk      Mushkôs  Mushkôs-ôs.
    A hare      Wâbôs    Wâbôs-ôs.
    A box       Mukuk    Mukuk-ôs.

--aus.

    A bass    Ogâ             Og-âs.
    A medal   Shôniâ          Shôni-âs.
    A bowl    Onâgun          Onâg-âns.
    A bed     Nibâgun         Nibâg-aûns.
    A gun     Pâshkizzigun    Pâshkizzig-âns.
    A house   Wakyigun        Wakyig-âns.

In the last four examples, the letter _n_, of the diminutive, retains
its full sound.

The use of diminutives has a tendency to give conciseness to the
language. As far as they can be employed they supersede the use of
adjectives, or prevent the repetition of them. And they enable the
speaker to give a turn to the expression, which is often very
successfully employed in producing ridicule or contempt. When applied to
the tribes of animals, or to inorganic objects, their meaning, however,
is, very nearly, limited to an inferiority in size or age. Thus, in the
above examples, _pizhik-ees_, signifies a calf; _omim-ees_, a young
pigeon; and _ossin-ees_, a pebble, &c. But _inin-ees_, and _ogim-âs_,
are connected with the idea of mental or conventional as well as bodily
inferiority.

  1. I saw a little chief, standing upon a small island, with an inferior
     medal abouthis neck.
     Ogimâs n'gi wâbumâ nibowid minnisainsing onâbikowân shoniâsun.

  2. Yamoyden threw at a young pigeon.
     Ogi pukkitaiwun omimeesun Yamoyden.

  3. A buffalo calf stood in a small stream.
     Pizhikees ki nibowi sibeesing.

  4. The little man fired at a young moose.
     Ininees ogi pâshkizwân môzôsun.

  5. Several diminutive-looking bass were lying in a small bowl, upon
     a small table.
     Addôpowinaising attai onâgâns abbiwâd ogâsug.

Some of these sentences afford instances of the use, at the same time,
of both the local and diminutive inflections. Thus, the word
_minnisainsing_, signifies literally, "in the little island;"
_seebees-ing_, "in the little stream;" _addôpowinais ing_, "on the small
table."

3. The preceding forms are not the only ones by which adjective
qualities are conferred upon the substantive. The syllable _ish_, when
added to a noun, indicates a bad or dreaded quality, or conveys the idea
of imperfection or decay. The sound of this inflection is sometimes
changed to _eesh_, _oosh_, or _aush_. Thus, _Chimân_, a canoe, becomes
_Chimânish_, a bad canoe; _Ekwai_, a woman, _Ekwaiwish_, a bad woman;
_nibi_, water, becomes _nibeesh_, turbid or strong water; _mittig_, a
tree, becomes _mittigoosh_, a decayed tree; _akkik_, a kettle,
_akkikoosh_, a worn-out kettle. By a further change, _wibid_, a tooth,
becomes _wibidâsh_, a decayed or aching tooth, &c. Throughout these
changes the final sound of _sh_ is retained, so that this sound alone,
at the end of a word, is indicative of a faulty quality.

In a language in which the expressions _bad-dog_ and _faint-heart_ are
the superlative terms of reproach, and in which there are few words to
indicate the modifications between positively good and positively bad,
it must appear evident that adjective inflections of this kind must be
convenient, and sometimes necessary modes of expression. They furnish a
means of conveying censure and dislike, which, though often mild, is
sometimes severe. Thus, if one person has had occasion to refuse the
offered hand of another--for it must be borne in mind that the Indians
are a hand-shaking people as well as the Europeans--the implacable party
has it at his option, in referring to the circumstance, to use the
adjective form of hand, not _onindj_, but _oninjeesh_, which would be
deemed contemptuous in a high degree. So, also, instead of _odâwai
winini_, a trader, or man who sells, the word may be changed to _odâwai
winini_wish, implying a bad or dishonest trader. It is seldom that a
more pointed or positive mode of expressing personal disapprobation or
dislike is required; for, generally speaking, more is implied by these
modes than is actually expressed.

The following examples are drawn from the inorganic as well as organic
creation, embracing the two classes of nouns, that the operation of
these forms may be fully perceived.

        SIMPLE FORM.         ADJECTIVE FORM.

--ish.

    A bowl   Onâgun              Onâgun-ish.
    A house  Wakyigun            Wakyigun-ish.
    A pipe   Opwâgun             Opwâgun-ish.
    A boy    Kweewizais          Kweewizais-ish.
    A man    Inini               Ininiw-ish.

--eesh.

    Water    Neebi               Neeb-ish.
    A stone  Ossin               Ossin-eesh.
    A potato Opin                Opin-eesh.
    A fly    Ojee                Oj-eesh.
    A bow    Mittigwâb           Mittigwâb-eesh.

--oosh.

    An otter     Neegik          Neegik-oosh.
    A beaver     Ahmik           Ahmik-oosh.
    A reindeer   Addik           Addik-oosh.
    A kettle     Akkeek          Akkeek-oosh.
    An axe       Wagâkwut        Wagâkwut-oosh.

--aush.

    A foot       Ozid            Ozid-âsh.
    An arm       Onik            Onik-âsh.
    An ear       Otowug          Otowug-âsh.
    A hoof       Wunnussid       Wunnussid-âsh.
    A rush mat   Appukwa         Appukw-âsh.

These forms cannot be said, strictly, to be without analogy in the
English, in which the limited number of words terminating in _ish_, as
saltish, blackish, furnish a correspondence in sound with the first
adjective form.

It may subserve the purposes of generalization to add, as the result of
the foregoing inquiries, that substantives have a diminutive form, made
in _ais_, _ees_, _ôs_, or _âs_; a derogative form, made in _ish_,
_eesh_, _oosh_, or _âsh_; and a local form, made in _aing_, _eeng_,
_ing_, or _oong_. By a principle of accretion, the second or third may
be added to the first form, and the third to the second.

EXAMPLE.

  Serpent, s.           Kinai´bik.

  ---- s. diminutive.       ----ôns,     implying Little serpent.
  ---- s. derogative.       ----ish,         "    Bad serpent.
  ---- s. local.            ----ing,         "    In (the) serpent.
  ---- s. dim. and der.     ----ônsish,      "    Little bad serpent.
  ---- s. dim. and lo.      ----ônsing,      "    In (the) little
                                                    serpent.
  ---- s. dim. der. and lo. ----ônsishing,   "    In (the) little bad
                                                    serpent.
4. More attention has, perhaps, been bestowed upon these points than
their importance demanded; but, in giving anything like a comprehensive
sketch of the substantive, they could not be omitted; and, if mentioned
at all, it became necessary to pursue them through their various changes
and limitations. Another reason has presented itself. In treating of an
unwritten language, of which others are to judge chiefly from examples,
it appeared desirable that the positions advanced should be accompanied
by the data upon which they respectively rest--at least, by so much of
the data employed as to enable philologists to appreciate the justice or
detect the fallacy of our conclusions. To the few who take any interest
in the subject at all, minuteness will not seem tedious, and the
examples will be regarded with deep interest.

As much of our time as we have already devoted to these lesser points of
inquiry, it will be necessary, at this place, to point out other
inflections and modifications of the substantive, to clear it from
obscurities, that we may go into the discussion of the other parts of
speech unincumbered.

Of these remaining forms, none is more interesting than that which
enables the speaker, by a simple inflection, to denote that the
individual named has ceased to exist. This delicate mode of conveying
melancholy intelligence, or alluding to the dead, is effected by placing
the object in the past tense.

    Aiekid-ôpun aieko Garrangula-bun.
    So the deceased Garrangula spoke.

The syllable _bun_, in this sentence, added to the noun, and _ôpun_
added to the verb, place both in the past tense. And, although the
death of the Indian orator is not mentioned, that fact would be
invariably inferred.

Names which do not terminate in a vowel sound, require a vowel prefixed
to the tensal inflection, rendering it _ôbun_ or _ebun_. Inanimate as
well as animate nouns take these inflections.

    PRESENT.            PAST FORM.

    Tecumseh,           Tecumsi-bun.
    Tammany,            Tamani-bun.
    Skenandoah,         Skenandoa-bun.
    Nôs (my father),    Nos-êbun.
    Pontiac,            Pontiac-ibun.
    Waub Ojeeg,         Waub Ojeeg-ibun.
    Tarhe,              Tarhi-bun.
    Mittig (a tree),    Mittig-ôbun.
    Akkik (a kettle),   Akkik-ôbun.
    Môz (a moose),      Môz-ôbun.

By prefixing the particle _Tah_ to these words, and changing the
inflection of the animate nouns to _iwi_, and the inanimates to _iwun_,
they are rendered future. Thus, _Tah Pontiac-iwi_; _Tah Mittig-iwun_,
&c.

The names for the seasons only come under the operation of these rules,
when the year before the last, or the year after the next, is referred
to. The last and the ensuing season are indicated as follows:--

               PRESENT.   LAST.            NEXT.

    Spring,    Seegwun,   Seegwun-oong,    Seegwung.
    Summer,    Neebin,    Neebin-oong,     Neebing.
    Autumn,    Tahgwâgi,  Tahgwâg-oong,    Tahgwâgig.
    Winter,    Peebôn,    Peebôn-oong,     Peebông.

            I spent last winter in hunting.
            Ning´i nunda-wainjigai peebônoong.
            I shall go to Detroit next spring.
            Ninjah izhâ Wâwiâ´tunong seegwung.

5. _Sexual Nouns.--_The mode of indicating the masculine and feminine
having been omitted in the preceding Inquiry, as not being essential to
any concordance with the verb or adjective, is, nevertheless, connected
with a striking peculiarity of the language--the exclusive use of
certain words by one or the other sex. After having appeared to the
founders of the language a distinction not necessary to be engrafted in
the syntax, there are yet a limited number of words to which the idea of
sex so strongly attaches, that it would be deemed the height of
impropriety in a female to use the masculine, and in a male to use the
feminine expressions.

Of this nature are the words _Neeji_ and _Nindongwai_, both signifying
my friend, but the former is appropriated to males and the latter to
females. A Chippewa cannot, therefore, say to a female, my friend; nor a
Chippewa woman to a male, my friend. Such an interchange of the terms
would imply arrogance or indelicacy. Nearly the whole of their
interjections--and they are numerous--are also thus exclusively
appropriated; and no greater breach of propriety in speech could be
committed, than a woman's uttering the masculine exclamation of
surprise, _Tyâ!_ or a man's descending to the corresponding female
interjection, _N'yâ!_

The word _Neenimoshai_, my cousin, on the contrary, can only be applied,
like husband and wife, by a male to a female, or a female to a male. If
a male wishes to express this relation of a male, the term is
_Neetowis_; and the corresponding female term _Neendongwooshai_.

The terms for uncle and aunt are also of a twofold character, though not
restricted like the preceding in their use. _Neemishomai_, is my uncle
by the father's side; _Neezhishai_, my uncle by the mother's side.
_Neezigwoos_, is my paternal aunt; _Neewishai_, my maternal aunt.

There are also exclusive words to designate elder brother and younger
brother; but, what would not be expected after the fore going examples,
they are indiscriminately applied to younger brothers and sisters.
_Neesgai_, is my elder brother, and _neemissai_, my elder sister.
_Neeshemai_, my younger brother or younger sister, and may be applied to
any brother or sister except the eldest.

The number of words to which the idea of sex is attached, in the usual
acceptation, is limited. The following may be enumerated.

    MASCULINE.                              FEMININE.

    Inin´i,        A man.           Ekwai´,           A woman.
    Kwee´wizais,   A boy.           Ekwa´zais,        A girl.
    Oskinahwai,    A young man.     Oskineegakwai,    A young woman.
    Akiwaizi,      An old man.      Mindimô´ed,       An old woman.
    Nôsai,         My father.       Nin Gah,          My mother.
    Ningwisis,     My son.          Nin dânis,        My daughter.
    Ni ningwun,    My son-in-law.   Nis sim,          My daughter-in-law.

    MASCULINE.                                FEMININE.

    Ni nâbaim,    My husband.        Nimindimôimish,    My wife.
    Nimieshomiss, My grandfather.    Nôkômiss,          My grandmother.
    Ogimâ,        A chief.           Ogemâkwâ,          A chiefess.
    Addik,        A reindeer.        Neetshâni,         A doe.
    Annimoosh,    A dog.             Kiskisshâi,        A bitch.

The sex of the brute creation is most commonly denoted by prefixing the
words _Iâbai_, male, and _Nôzhai_, female.

6. _Reciprocal Changes of the Noun._--The pronominal particles with
which verbs as well as substantives are generally encumbered, and the
habit of using them in particular and restricted senses, leave but
little occasion for the employment of either the present or past
infinitive. Most verbs are transitives. A Chippewa does not say I love,
without indicating, by an inflection of the verb, the object beloved:
and thus the expression is constantly, I love him, or her, &c. Neither
does the infinitive appear to be generally the ultimate form of the
verb.

In changing their nouns into verbs, it will not, therefore, be expected
that the change should uniformly result in the infinitive, for which
there is so little use, but in such of the personal forms of the various
moods as circumstances may require. Most commonly, the third person
singular of the indicative, and the second person singular of the
imperative, are the simplest aspects under which the verb appears; and
hence these forms have been sometimes mistaken for, and reported as the
present infinitive. There are some instances in which the infinitive is
employed. Thus, although an Indian cannot say I love, thou lovest, &c.,
without employing the objective forms of the verb to love, yet he can
say I laugh, I cry, &c.; expressions in which, the action being confined
to the speaker himself, there is no transition demanded. And in all
similar instances the present infinitive, with the proper pronoun
prefixed, is employed.

There are several modes of transforming a substantive into a verb. The
following examples will supply the rules, so far as known, which govern
these changes:--

                          INDICATIVE.              IMPERATIVE.

  Chimân, a canoe.        Chimai, he paddles.      Chimain, paddle thou.
  Pashkizzigun, a gun.    Pashkizzigai, he fires.  Pashkizzigain, fire
                                                   thou.
  Jeesidyigun, a broom.   Jeesidyigai, he sweeps.  Jeesidyigain, sweep
                                                   thou.
  Weedjeeagun, a helper.  Weedôkagai, he helps.    Weedjeei-wain, help
                                                   thou.
  Ojibwâi, a Chippewa.    Ojibwâmoo, he speaks     Ojibwâmoon, speak thou
                          Chippewa.                Chippewa.

Another class of nouns is converted into the first person, indicative,
of a pseudo-declarative verb, in the following manner:--

    Monido,    A spirit.    Ne Monidôw,      I (am) a spirit.
    Wassaiâ,   Light.       Ne Wassaiâw,     I (am) light.
    Ishkodai,  Fire.        Nin Dishkodaiw,  I (am) fire.
    Weendigô,  A monster.   Ni Weendigôw,    I (am) a monster.
    Addik,     A deer.      Nin Daddikoow,   I (am) a deer.
    Wakyigun,  A house.     Ni Wakyiguniw,   I (am) a house.
    Pinggwi,   Dust, ashes. Nim Binggwiw,    I (am) dust, &c.

The word _am_, included in parenthesis, is not in the original, unless
we may suppose the terminals _ow_, _aw_, _iw_, _oow_, to be derivatives
from _Iaw_. These changes are reciprocated by the verb, which, as often
as occasion requires, is made to put on a substantive form. The particle
_win_, added to the indicative of the verb, converts it into a
substantive. Thus--

    Keegido,           He speaks.    Keegidowin,        Speech.
    Pâshkizzigai,      He fires.     Pashkizzigaiwin,   Ammunition.
    Agindasoo,         He counts.    Agindasoowin,      Numbers.
    Wahyiâzhinggai,    He cheats.    Wahyiâzhinggaiwin, Fraud.
    Minnikwâi,         He drinks.    Minnikwâiwin,      Drink.
    Kubbâshi,          He encamps.   Kubbâishiwin,      An encampment.
    Meegâzoo,          He fights.    Meegâzoowin,       A fight.
    Ojeengai,          He kisses.    Ojeendiwin,        A kiss.
    Annôki,            He works.     Annôkiwta,         Work.
    Pâpi,              He laughs.    Pâpiwin,           Laughter.
    Pimâdizzi,         He lives.     Pimâdoiziwin,      Life.
    Onwâibi,           He rests.     Onwâibiwin,        Rest.
    Annamiâ,           He prays.     Annamiâwin,        Prayer.
    Nibâ,              He sleeps.    Nibâwin,           Sleep.
    Odâwai,            He trades.    Odâwaiwin,         Trade.

Adjectives are likewise thus turned into substantives:--

    Keezhaiwâdizzi,    He generous.    Keezhaiwâdizziwin,  Generosity.
    Minwaindum,        He happy.       Minwaindumowin,     Happiness.
    Keezhaizeâwizzi,   He industrious. Keezhaizhâwizziwin, Industry.
    Kittimâgizzi,      He poor.        Kittimâgizziwin,    Poverty.
    Aukkoossi,         He sick.        Aukkoossiwin,       Sickness.
    Kittimishki,       He lazy.        Kittimishkiwin,     Laziness.
    Nishkâdizzi,       He angry.       Nishkâdizziwin,     Anger.
    Baikâdizzi,        She chaste.     Baikâdizziwin,      Chastity.

In order to place the substantives thus formed in the third person,
corresponding with the indicative from which they were changed, it is
necessary only to prefix the proper pronoun. Thus, _Ogeezhaiwâdizziwin_,
his generosity, &c.

7. _Compound Substantives._--The preceding examples have been given
promiscuously from the various classes of words, primitive and
derivative, simple and compound. Some of these words express but a
single idea, as, _ôs_, father--_gah_, mother--_môz_, a moose--_kâg_, a
porcupine--_mang_, a loon--and appear to be incapable of further
division. All such words may be considered as primitives, although some
of them may be contractions of dissyllabic words. There are also a
number of dissyllables, and _possibly_ some trisyllables, which, in the
present state of our analytical knowledge of the language, may be deemed
both simple and primitive. Such are _neebi_, water; _ossin_, a stone;
_geezis_, the sun; _nodin_, wind. But it may be premised, as a principle
which our investigations have rendered probable, that all polysyllabic
words, all words of three syllables, _so far as examined_, and most
words of two syllables, are compounds.

The application of a syntax, formed with a view to facilitate the rapid
conveyance of ideas by consolidation, may, it is presumable, have early
led to the coalescence of words, by which all the relations of object
and action, time and person, were expressed. And in a language which is
only spoken, and not written, the primitives would soon become obscured
and lost in the multiform appendages of time and person, and the
recondite connection of actor and object. And this process of
amalgamation would be a progressive one. The terms that sufficed in the
condition of the simplest state of nature, or in a given latitude, would
vary with their varying habits, institutions, and migrations. The
introduction of new objects and new ideas would require the invention of
new words, or what is much more probable, existing terms would be
modified or compounded to suit the occasion. No one who has paid much
attention to the subject, can have escaped noticing a confirmation of
this opinion, in the extreme readiness of our western Indians to bestow,
on the instant, names, and appropriate names--to any new object
presented to them. A readiness not attributable to their having at
command a stock of generic polysyllables--for these it would be very
awkward to wield--but, as appears more probable, to the powers of the
syntax, which permits the resolution of new compounds from existing
roots, and often concentrates, as remarked in another place, the entire
sense of the parent words, upon a single syllable, and sometimes upon a
single letter.

Thus it is evident that the Chippewas possessed names for a living tree,
_mittig_, and a string, _aiâb_, before they named the bow
_mittigwâb_--the latter being compounded under one of the simplest rules
from the two former. It is further manifest that they had named earth
_akki_, and (any solid, stony, or metallic mass) _âbik_, before they
bestowed an appellation upon the kettle, _akkeek_, or _akkik_, the
latter being derivatives from the former. In process of time these
compounds became the bases of other compounds, and thus the language
became loaded with double, and triple, and quadruple compounds, concrete
in their meaning and formal in their utterance.

When the introduction of metals took place, it became necessary to
distinguish the clay from the iron pot, and the iron from the copper
kettle. The original compound, _akkeek_, retained its first meaning,
admitting the adjective noun _piwâbik_ (itself a compound) iron, when
applied to a vessel of that kind, _piwâbik akkeek_, iron kettle. But a
new combination took place to designate the copper kettle, _mishwâkeek_,
red metal kettle; and another expression to denote the brass kettle,
_ozawâbik akkeek_, yellow metal kettle. The former is made up from
_miskôwâbik_, copper (literally _red-metal_--from _miskwâ_, red, and
_âbik_, the generic above mentioned), and _akkeek_, kettle. _Ozawâbik_,
brass, is from _ozawâ_, yellow, and the generic _âbik_--the term
_akkeek_ being added in its separate form. It may, however, be used in
its connected form of _wukkeek_, making the compound expression
_ozawâbik wukkeek_.

In naming the horse _paibâizhikôgazhi, i. e._ the animal with solid
hoofs, they have seized upon the feature which most strikingly
distinguished the horse from the cleft-footed animals, which were the
only species known to them at the period of the discovery. And the word
itself affords an example, at once, both of their powers of
concentration, and brief, yet accurate description, which it may be
worth while to analyze. _Paizhik_ is one, and is also used as the
indefinite article--the only article the language possesses. This word
is further used in an adjective sense, figura-tively indicating, united,
solid, undivided. And it acquires a plural signification by doubling, or
repeating the first syllable, with a slight variation of the second.
Thus, _Pai-baizhik_ denotes not _one_, or _an_, but several; and when
thus used in the context, renders the noun governed plural. _Oskuzh_ is
the nail, claw, or horny part of the foot of beasts, and supplies the
first substantive member of the compound _gauzh_. The final vowel is
from _ahwaisi_, a beast; and the marked _o_, an inseparable connective,
the office of which is to make the two members coalesce, and harmonize.
The expression thus formed becomes a substantive, specific in its
application. It may be rendered plural like the primitive nouns, may be
converted into a verb, has its diminutive, derogative, and local form,
and, in short, is subject to all the modifications of other
substantives.

Most of the modern nouns are of this complex character. And they appear
to have been invented to designate objects, many of which were
necessarily unknown to the Indians in the primitive ages of their
existence. Others, like their names for a copper-kettle and a horse,
above mentioned, can date their origin further back than the period of
the discovery. Of this number of nascent words, are most of their names
for those distilled or artificial liquors, for which they are indebted
to Europeans. Their name for water, _neebi_, for the fat of animals,
_weenin_, for oil or grease, _pimmidai_, for broth, _nâbôb_, and for
blood, _miskwi_, belong to a very remote era, although all but the first
appear to be compounds. Their names for the tinctures or extracts
derived from the forest, and used as dyes, or medicines, or merely as
agreeable drinks, are mostly founded upon the basis of the word _âbo_, a
liquid, although this word is never used alone. Thus--

    Shomin-âbo,        Wine,      From Shomin, a grape, âbo, a liquor.
    Ishkôdâi-wâbo,     Spirits,   From Ishkôdâi, fire, &c.
    Mishimin-âbo,      Cider,     From Mishimin, an apple, &c.
    Tôtôsh-âbo,        Milk,      From Tôtôsh, the female breast, &c.
    Sheew-âbo,         Vinegar,   From Sheewun, sour, &c.
    Annibeesh-âbo,                From Annibeeshun, leaves, &c.
    Ozhibiegun-aubo,              From Ozhibiêgai, he writes, &c.

In like manner their names for the various implements and utensils of
civilized life, are based upon the word _Jeegun_, one of those
primitives, which, although never disjunctively used, denotes, in its
modified forms, the various senses implied by our words instrument,
contrivance, machine, &c. And by prefixing to this generic a
substantive, verb, or adjective, or parts of one or each, an entire new
class of words is formed. In these combinations, the vowels e and o are
sometimes used as connectives.

    Keeshkeebô-jeegun,  A saw,             From Keeshkeezhun, v. a. to
                                             cut.
    Seeseebô-jeegun,    A file,            From Seesee, to rub off, &c.
    Wassakoonen-jeegun, A candle,          From Wassakooda, bright,
                                             biskoona, flame, &c.
    Beeseebô-jeegun,    A coffee-mill,     From Beesâ, fine grains, &c.
    Minnikwâd-jeegun,   A drinking-vessel, From Minnekwâi, he drinks,
                                             &c.
    Tâshkeebôd-jeegun,  A saw-mill,        From Taushkâ, to split, &c.
    Mudwâiabeed-jeegun, A violin,          From Mudwâwâi, sound, âiâb, a
                                             string, &c.

Sometimes this termination is shortened into _gun_, as in the following
instances:--

    Onâ-gun,             A dish.
    Tikkina-gun,         A cradle.
    Neeba-gun,           A bed.
    Puddukkyi-gun,       A fork.
    Puggimmâ-gun,        A war-club.
    Opwâ-gun,            A pipe.
    Wassâitshie-gun,     A window.
    Wakkyi-gun,          A house.
    Pôdahwâ-gun,         A fire-place.
    Sheema-gun,          A lance.

Another class of derivatives is formed from _wyân_, indicating,
generally, an undressed skin. Thus--

    Muk-wyân,       A bear skin,    From Mukwah, a bear, and wyaun, a
                                      skin.
    Wazhusk-wyân,   A muskrat skin, From Wazhusk, a muskrat, &c.
    Wabôs-wyân,     A rabbit skin,  From Wabôs, a rabbit, &c.
    Neegik-wyân,    An otter skin,  From Neegih, an otter, &c.
    Ojeegi-wyân,    A fisher skin,  From Ojeeg, a fisher, &c.
    Wabizhais-ewyân, a martin skin, from wabizhais, a martin, &c.

_Wâbiwyân_, a blanket, and _bubbuggiwyân_, a shirt, are also formed from
this root. As the termination _wyân_, is chiefly restricted to undressed
skins, or peltries, that of _waigin_ is, in like manner, generally
applied to dressed skins or to cloths. Thus--

    Monido-waigin,     Blue cloth, shrouds,  From Monido, spirits, &c.
    Misk-waigin,       Red cloth,            From Miskwâ, red, &c.
    Nondâ-waigin,      Scarlet.
    Peezhiki-waigin,   A buffalo robe,       From Peezhiki, a buffalo,
                                               &c.
    Addik-waigin,      A cariboo skin,       From Addik, a cariboo, &c.
    Ozhauwushk-waigin, Green cloth,          From Ozhâwushkwâ, green.

An interesting class of substantives is derived from the third person
singular of the present indicative of the verb, by changing the vowel
sound of the first syllable, and adding the letter d to that of the
last, making the terminations in _aid_, _âd_, _eed_, _id_, _ood_. Thus,
_Pimmoossâ_, he walks, becomes _pâmmoossâd_, a walker.

aid.

    Munnissai,        He chops.         Mânissaid,         A chopper.
    Ozhibeigai,       He writes.        Wâzhibeigaid,      A writer.
    Nundowainjeegai,  He hunts.         Nândowainjeegaid,  A hunter.

âd.

    Neebâ,            He sleeps.        Nâbâd,             A sleeper.
    Kwâbahwâ,         He fishes (with   Kwyâbahwâd,        A fisher (with
                        scoop net).                          scoop net).
    Puggidowâ,        He fishes (with   Pâgidowâd,         A fisher (with
                        seine).                              seine).

eed.

    Annokee,          He works.         Anokeed,           A worker.
    Jeessakea,        He juggles.       Jossakeed,         A juggler.
    Munnigobee,       He pulls bark.    Mainigobeed,       A bark puller.

id.

    Neemi,            He dances.        Nâmid,             A dancer.
    Weesinni,         He eats.          Wâssinid,          An eater.
    Pimâdizzi,        He lives.         Paimaudizzid,      A living being.

ood.

    Nugamoo,          He sings.         Naigumood,         A singer.
    Keegido,          He speaks.        Kâgidood,          A speaker.
    Keewonimoo,       He lies.          Kâwunimood,        A liar.

This class of words is rendered plural in _ig_--a termination, which,
after _d_ final in the singular, has a soft pronunciation, as if written
_jig_. Thus, _Nâmid_, a dancer, _nâmidjig_, dancers.

The derogative form is given to these generic substantives by
introducing _ish_, or simply _sh_, in place of the _d_, and changing
the latter to _kid_, making the terminations in _ai_, _aishkid_,
in _â_, _âshkid_, in _e_, _eeshkid_, in _i_, _ishkid_, and in _oo_,
_ooshkid_. Thus, _naindowainjeegaid_, a hunter, is changed to
_naindowainjeegaishkid_, a bad or unprofitable hunter. _Naibâd_, a
sleeper, is changed to _naibâshkid_, a sluggard. _Jossakeed_, a juggler,
to _jossakeeshkid_, a vicious juggler. _Wâsinnid_, an eater, to
_wâssinishkid_, a gormandizer. _Kâgidood_, a speaker, _kâgidooshkid_, a
babbler. And in these cases the plural is added to the last educed form,
making _kâgidooshkidjig_, babblers, &c.

The word _nittâ_, on the contrary, prefixed to those expressions,
renders them complimentary. For instance, _nittâ naigumood_, is a fine
singer, _nittâ kâgidood_, a ready speaker, &c.

Flexible as the substantive has been shown to be, there are other forms
of combination that have not been adverted to--forms, by which it is
made to coalesce with the verb, the adjective, and the preposition,
producing a numerous class of compound expressions. But it is deemed
most proper to defer the discussion of these forms to their several
appropriate heads.

Enough has been exhibited to demonstrate its prominent grammatical
rules. It is not only apparent that the substantive possesses number and
gender, but it also undergoes peculiar modifications to express locality
and diminution, to denote adjective qualities and to indicate tense. It
exhibits some curious traits connected with the mode of denoting the
masculine and feminine. It is modified to express person and to
distinguish living from inanimate masses. It is rendered possessive by a
peculiar inflection, and provides particles, under the shape either of
prefixes or suffixes, separable or inseparable, by which the actor is
distinguished from the object--and all this, without changing its proper
substantive character, without putting on the aspect of a pseudo
adjective, or a pseudo verb. Its changes to produce compounds are,
however, its most interesting, its most characteristic trait. Syllable
is heaped upon syllable, word upon word, and derivative upon derivative,
until its vocabulary is crowded with long and pompous phrases, most
formidable to the eye.

So completely transpositive do the words appear, that like chessmen on a
board, their elementary syllables can be changed at the will of the
player, to form new combinations to meet new contingencies, so long as
they are changed in accordance with certain general principles and
conventional rules; in the application of which, however, much depends
upon the will or the skill of the player. What is most surprising, all
these changes and combinations, all these qualifications of the object,
and distinctions of the person, the time, and the place, do not
supersede the use of adjectives, and pronouns, and verbs, and other
parts of speech woven into the texture of the noun, in their elementary
and conjunctive forms.


III.

_Principles Governing the Use of the Odjibwa Noun-Adjective._

INQUIRY 3.

  Observations on the adjective--Its distinction into two classes
      denoted by the presence or absence of vitality--Examples of the
      animates and inanimates--Mode of their conversion into
      substantives--How pronouns are applied to these derivatives, and
      the manner of forming compound terms from adjective bases to
      describe the various natural phenomena--The application of these
      principles in common conversation, and in the description of
      natural and artificial objects--Adjectives always preserve the
      distinction of number--Numerals--Arithmetical capacity of the
      language--The unit exists in duplicate.

1. It has been remarked that the distinction of words into animates and
inanimates, is a principle intimately interwoven throughout the
structure of the language. It is, in fact, so deeply imprinted upon its
grammatical forms, and is so perpetually recurring, that it may be
looked upon, not only as forming a striking peculiarity of the language,
but as constituting the fundamental principle of its structure, from
which all other rules have derived their limits, and to which they have
been made to conform. No class of words appears to have escaped its
impress. Whatever concords other laws impose, they all agree, and are
made subservient in the establishment of this.

It might appear to be a useless distinction in the adjective, when the
substantive is thus marked; but it will be recollected that it is in the
plural of the substantive only that the distinction is marked; and we
shall, presently have occasion to show that redundancy of forms is, to
considerable extent, obviated in practice.

For the origin of the principle itself, we need look only to nature,
which endows animate bodies with animate properties and qualities, and
_vice versâ_. But it is due to the tribes who speak this language, to
have invented one set of adjective symbols to express the ideas
peculiarly appropriate to the former, and another set applicable
exclusively to the latter; and to have given the words good and bad,
black and white, great and small, handsome and ugly, such modifications
as are practically competent to indicate the general nature of the
objects referred to, whether provided with, or destitute of, the vital
principle. And not only so, but, by the figurative use of these forms,
to exalt inanimate masses into the class of living beings, or to strip
the latter of its properties of life--a principle of much importance to
their public speakers.

This distinction is shown in the following examples, in which it will be
observed that the inflection _izzi_ generally denotes the personal, and
_au_, _un_, or _wud_, the impersonal forms.

                ADJ. INANIMATE.       ADJ. ANIMATE.

    Bad,        Monaudud,             Monaudizzi.
    Ugly,       Gushkoonaugwud,       Gushkoonaugoozzi.
    Beautiful,  Bishegaindaugwud,     Bisheguindaugoozzi.
    Strong,     Söngun,               Söngizzi.
    Soft,       Nökun,                Nökizzi.
    Hard,       Mushkowau,            Mushkowizzi.
    Smooth,     Shoiskwau,            Shoiskoozzi.
    Black,      Mukkuddäwau,          Mukkuddäwizzi.
    White,      Waubishkau,           Waubishkizzi.
    Yellow,     Ozahwau,              Ozahwizzi.
    Red,        Miskwau,              Miskwizzi.
    Blue,       Ozhahwushkwau,        Ozhahwushkwizzi.
    Sour,       Sheewun,              Sheewizzi.
    Sweet,      Weeshköbun,           Weeshköbizzi.
    Light,      Naugun,               Naungizzi.

It is not, however, in all cases, by mere modifications of the adjective
that these distinctions are expressed. Words totally different in sound,
and evidently derived from radically different roots, are, in some few
instances, employed; as in the following examples:--

              ADJ. INANIMATE.       ADJ. ANIMATE.

    Good,       Onisheshin,           Minno.
    Bad,        Monaudud,             Mudjee.
    Large,      Mitshau,              Mindiddo.
    Small,      Pungee,               Uggaushe.
    Old,        Geekau,               Gitizzi.

It may be remarked of these forms, that, although the impersonal will,
in some instances, take the personal inflections, the rule is not
reciprocated, and _minno_, and _mindiddo_, and _gitizzi_, and all words
similarly situated, remain unchangeably animates. The word _pungee_ is
limited to the expression of quantity, and its correspondent,
_uggaushi_, to size or quality. _Kishedä_ (hot) is restricted to the
heat of a fire; _keezhautä_, to the heat of the sun. There is still a
third term to indicate the natural heat of the body; _kizzizoo_.
_Mitshau_ (large) is generally applied to countries, lakes, rivers, &c.;
_mindiddo_, to the body; and _gitshee_, indiscriminately. _Onishishin_,
and its correspondent, _onishishshä_, signify handsome or fair, as well
as good. _Kwonaudy_, a. a., and _kwonaudyewun_, a. i., mean, strictly,
handsome, and imply nothing further. _Minno_ is the appropriate personal
form for good. _Mudjee_ and _monaudud_ may reciprocally change genders,
the first by the addition of _iee_, and the second by altering _ud_ to
_izzi_.

Distinctions of this kind are of considerable importance in a practical
point of view, and their observance or neglect is noticed with
scrupulous exactness by the Indians. The want of inanimate forms to such
words as happy, sorrowful, brave, sick, &c., creates no confusion, as
inanimate nouns cannot, strictly speaking, take upon themselves such
qualities; and when they do--as they sometimes do--by one of those
extravagant figures of speech which are used in their tales of
transformations, the animate form answers all purposes; for in these
tales the whole material creation may be clothed with animation. The
rule, as exhibited in practice, is limited, with sufficient accuracy, to
the boundaries prescribed by nature.

To avoid a repetition of forms, were the noun and the adjective both to
be employed in their usual relation, the latter is endowed with a
pronominal or substantive inflection; and the use of the noun in its
separate form is thus wholly superseded. Thus, _onishishin_, a. i., and
_onishishsha_, a. a., become _wänishishing_, "That which is good or
fair," and _wänishishid_, "He who is good or fair." The following
examples will exhibit this rule under each of its forms:--

COMPOUND OR NOUN-ADJECTIVE ANIMATE.

    Black,     Mukkuddawizzi,   Mäkuddäwizzid.
    White,     Waubishkizzi,    Wyaubishkizzid.
    Yellow,    Ozahwizzi,       Wäzauwizzid.
    Red,       Miskwizzi,       Mäskoozzid.
    Strong,    Söngizzi,        Swöngizzid.

NOUN-ADJECTIVE INANIMATE.

    Black,     Mukkuddäwau,     Mäkuddäwaug.
    White,     Waubishkau,      Wyaubishkaug.
    Yellow,    Ozahwau,         Wäzhauwaug.
    Red,       Miskwau,         Maiskwaug.

The animate forms, in these examples, will be recognized as exhibiting a
further extension of the rule, mentioned in the preceding Inquiry, by
which substantives are formed from the indicative of the verb by a
permutation of the vowels; and these forms are likewise rendered plural
in the manner there mentioned. They also undergo changes to indicate the
various persons. For instance, _onishisha_ is thus declined to mark the
person:--

    Wänishish-eyaun,   I (am) good or fair.
    Wänishish-eyun,    Thou (art) good or fair.
    Wänishish-id,      He (is) good or fair.
    Wänishish-eyaung,  We (are) good or fair. (ex.)
    Wänishish-eyung,   We (are) good or fair. (in.)
    Wänishish-eyaig,   Ye (are) good or fair.
    Wänishish-idjig,   They (are) good or fair.

The inanimate forms, being without person, are simply rendered plural by
_in_, changing _maiskwaug_ to _maiskwaug-in_, &c. &c. The verbal
signification which these forms assume, as indicated in the words am,
art, is, are, is to be sought in the permutative change of the first
syllable. Thus, _o_ is changed to _wä_, _muk_ to _mäk_, _waub_ to
_wy-aub_, _ozau_ to _wäzau_, _misk_ to _maisk_, &c. The pronoun, as is
usual in the double compounds, is formed wholly by the inflections
_eyaun_, _eyun_, &c.

The strong tendency of the adjective to assume a personal or
pronomico-substantive form, leads to the employment of many words in a
particular or exclusive sense; and, in any future practical attempts
with the language, it will be found greatly to facilitate its
acquisition, if the adjectives are arranged in distinct classes,
separated by this characteristic principle of their application. The
examples we have given are chiefly those which may be considered
strictly animate or inanimate, admit of double forms, and are of general
use. Many of the examples recorded in the original manuscripts employed
in these inquiries, are of a more concrete character, and, at the same
time, a more limited use. Thus, _shaugwewe_ is a weak person;
_nökaugumme_, a weak drink; _nökaugwud_, a weak or soft piece of wood.
_Sussägau_ is fine, but can only be applied to personal appearance;
_beesau_, indicates fine grains. _Keewushkwä_ is giddy, and
_keewushkwäbee_, giddy with drink--both being restricted to the third
person. _Söngun_ and _songizzi_ are the personal and impersonal forms of
strong, as given above, but _mushkowaugumme_ is strong drink. In like
manner, the two words for hard, as above, are restricted to solid
substances. _Sunnuhgud_ is hard (to endure). _Waindud_ is easy (to
perform). _Söngodää_ is brave; _shaugedää_, cowardly; _keezhinghowizzi_,
active; _kizheekau_, swift; _onaunegoozzi_, lively; _minwaindum_, happy;
_gushkaindum_, sorrowful; but all these forms are confined to the third
person of the indicative, singular. _Pibbigwun_ is a rough or knotted
substance; _pubbiggozzi_, a rough person. _Keenwau_ is long or tall (any
solid mass). _Kaynozid_ is a tall person. _Tahkozid_ a short person.
_Wassayau_ is light; _wassaubizzoo_, the light of the eye; _wasshauzhä_,
the light of a star or any luminous body. _Keenau_ is sharp;
_keenaubikud_, a sharp knife or stone. _Keezhaubikeday_ is hot metal, a
hot stove, &c. _Keezhaugummeday_ is hot water. _Uubudgeetön_ is useful,
a useful thing. _Wauweeug_ is frivolous, anything frivolous in word or
deed. _Tubbushish_ appears to be a general term for low. _Ishpimming_ is
high in the air. _Ishpau_ is applied to any high fixture, as a house,
&c. _Ishpaubikau_ is a high rock. _Taushkaubikau_, a split rock.

These combinations and limitations meet the inquirer at every step; they
are the current phrases of the language; they present short, ready, and
often beautiful modes of expression; and, as they shed light both upon
the idiom and genius of the language, I shall not scruple to add further
examples and illustrations. Ask a Chippewa the name for a rock, and he
will answer _awzhebik_. The generic import of _awbik_ has been
explained. Ask him the name for red rock, and he will answer
_miskwaubik_; for white rock, and he will answer _waubaubik_; for black
rock, _mukkuddäwaubik_; for yellow rock, _ozahwaubik_; for green rock,
_ozhahwushkwaubik_; for bright rock, _wassayaubik_; for smooth rock,
_shoishkwaubik_, &c.--compounds in which the words red, white, black,
yellow, &c., unite with _aubik_. Pursue this inquiry, and the following
forms will be elicited:--

Impersonal.

    Miskwaubik-ud,         It (is) a red rock.
    Waububik-ud,           It (is) a white rock.
    Mukkudäwaubik-ud,      It (is) a black rock.
    Ozahwaubik-ud,         It (is) a yellow rock.
    Wassayaubik-ud,        It (is) a bright rock.
    Shoiskwaubik-ud,       It (is) a smooth rock.

Personal.

    Miskwaubik-izzi,       He (is) a red rock.
    Waububik-izzi,         He (is) a white rock.
    Mukkudäwaubik-izzi,    He (is) a black rock.
    Ozahwaubik-izzi,       He (is) a yellow rock.
    Wassayaubik-izzi,      He (is) a bright rock.
    Shoiskwaubik-izzi,     He (is) a smooth rock.

Add _bun_ to these terms, and they are made to have passed away; prefix
_tah_ to them, and their future appearance is indicated. The word "is"
in the translations, although marked with parentheses, is not deemed
wholly gratuitous. There is, strictly speaking, an idea of existence
given to these compounds, by the particle _au_, in _aubic_, which seems
to be indirectly a derivative from that great and fundamental root of
the language _Iau_. _Bik_ is apparently the radix of the expression for
"rock."

Let this mode of interrogation be continued, and extended to other
adjectives, or the same adjectives applied to other objects, and results
equally regular and numerous will be obtained. _Minnis_, we shall be
told is an island; _miskominnis_, a red island; _mukkuddäminnis_, a
black island; _waubeminnis_, a white island, &c. _Annokwut_, is a cloud;
_miskwaunakwut_, a red cloud; _mukkuddawukwut_, a black cloud;
_waubahnokwut_, a white cloud; _ozahwushkwahnakwut_, a blue cloud, &c.
_Neebe_ is the specific term for water; but is not generally used in
combination with the adjective. The word _guma_, like _aubo_, appears to
be a generic term for water, or potable liquids. Hence, the following
terms:--

    Gitshee,        Great.      Gitshiguma,         Great water.
    Nokun,          Weak.       Nökauguma,          Weak drink.
    Mushkowau,      Strong.     Mushkowauguma,      Strong drink.
    Weeshkobun,     Sweet.      Weeshkobauguma,     Sweet drink.
    Sheewun,        Sour.       Sheewauguma,        Sour drink.
    Weesugun,       Bitter.     Weesugauguma,       Bitter drink.
    Minno,          Good.       Minwauguma,         Good drink.
    Monaudud,       Bad.        Mahnauguma,         Bad drink.
    Miskwau,        Red.        Miskwauguma,        Red drink.
    Ozahwau,        Yellow.     Ozahwauguma,        Yellow drink.
    Weenun,         Dirty.      Weenauguma,         Dirty water.
    Peenud,         Clean.      Peenauguma,         Clean water.

From _minno_, and from _monaudud_, good and bad, are derived the
following terms: _Minnopogwud_, it tastes well; _minnopogoozzi_, he
tastes well; _mawzhepogwud_, it tastes bad; _mawzhepogoozzi_, he tastes
bad. _Minnomaugwud_, it smells good; _minnomaugoozzi_, he smells good;_
mauzhemaugud_, it smells bad; _mauzhemaugoozzi_, he smells bad. The
inflections _gwud_, and _izzi_, here employed, are clearly indicative,
as in other combinations, of the words _it_ and _him_.

_Baimwa_, is sound; _baimwäwa_, the passing sound; _minwäwa_, a pleasant
sound; _maunwäwa_, a disagreeable sound; _mudwayaushkau_, the sound of
waves dashing on the shore; _mudwayaunnemud_, the sound of winds;
_mudwayaukooshkau_, the sound of falling trees; _mudwäkumigishin_, the
sound of a person falling upon the earth; _mudwaysin_, the sound of any
inanimate mass falling on the earth. These examples might be continued
_ad infinitum_. Every modification of circumstances, almost every
peculiarity of thought, is expressed by some modification of the
orthography. Enough has been given to prove that the adjective combines
itself with the substantive, the verb, and the pronoun, that the
combinations thus produced are numerous, afford concentrated modes of
conveying ideas, and oftentimes, happy turns of expression. Numerous and
prevalent as these forms are, they do not, however, preclude the use of
adjectives in their simple forms. The use of the one or the other
appears to be generally at the option of the speaker. In most cases
brevity or euphony dictates the choice. Usage results from these
applications of the principles. There may be rules resting upon a
broader basis; but if so, they do not appear to be very obvious. Perhaps
the simple adjectives are often employed before verbs and nouns, in the
first and second persons singular.

  Ningee minno neebau-nabun,               I have slept well.
  Ningee minno weesin,                     I have eaten a good meal.
  Ningee minno pimmoossay,                 I have walked well, or a good
                                             distance.
  Kägät minno geezhigud,                   It (is) a very pleasant day.
  Kwanaudy ningödahs,                      I have a handsome garment.
  Ke minno iau nuh,                        Are you well?
  Auneende ain deyun,                      What ails you?
  Keezhamonedo aupädush shäwainemik,       God prosper you.
  Aupädush shäwaindaugoozzegun,            Good luck attend you.
  Aupädush nau kinwainzh pimmaudizziyun,   May you live long.
  Onauneegoozzin,                          Be (thou) cheerful.
  Ne minwaindum waubumenaun,               I (am) glad to see you.
  Kwanaudj kweeweezains,                   A pretty boy.
  Kägät söngedää,                          He (is) a brave man.
  Kägät onishishsha,                       She (is) handsome.
  Gitshee kinözee,                         He (is) very tall.
  Uggausau bäwizzi,                        She (is) slender.
  Gitshee sussaigau,                       He (is) fine dressed.
  Bishegaindaugoozzi-wug meegwunug,        They (are) beautiful feathers.
  Ke daukoozzinuh,                         Are you sick?
  Monaudud muundun muskeekee,              This (is) bad medicine.
  Monaudud aindauyun,                      My place of dwelling (is) bad.
  Aindauyaun mitshau,                      My place of dwelling (is) large.
  Ne mittigwaub onishishsha,               My bow (is) good.
  Ne bikwukön monaududön,                  But my arrows (are) bad.
  Ne minwaindaun appaukoozzegun,           I love mild or mixed tobacco.
  Kauweekau neezhikay ussämau ne           But I never smoke pure tobacco.
    suggus-wannausee,
  Monaudud maishkowaugumig,                Strong drink (is) bad.
  Keeguhgee budjeëgonaun,                  It makes us foolish.
  Gitshee Monedo neebe ogee özhetön,       The Great Spirit made water.
  Ininewug dush ween ishködäwaubo ogee     But man made whiskey.
    oz-hetönahwau,

These expressions are put down promiscuously, embracing verbs and nouns
as they presented themselves, and without any effort to support the
opinion, which may or may not be correct, that the elementary forms of
the adjectives are most commonly required before verbs and nouns in the
first and second persons. The English expression is thrown into Indian
in the most natural manner, and, of course, without always giving
adjective for adjective or noun for noun. Thus, God is rendered, not
_monedo_, but _Geezha monedo, merciful spirit_. Good luck is rendered by
the compound phrase, _shäwaindaugoozzegun_, indicating in a very general
sense, the influence of kindness or benevolence on _success in life_.
_Söngedää_ is, alone, _a brave man_, and the word _kägät_ prefixed, is
an adverb. In the expression "mild tobacco," the adjective is entirely
dispensed with in the Indian, the sense being sufficiently rendered by
the compound noun _appaukoozzegun_, which always means the Indian weed
or smoking mixture. _Ussämau_, on the contrary, without the adjective,
signifies pure tobacco. _Bikwukön_, signifies blunt or lumpy-headed
arrows; _assowaun_, is the barbed arrow. _Kwonaudj kweeweezains_ means,
not simply "pretty boy," but _pretty little boy_; and there is no mode
of using the word boy but in this diminutive form, the word itself being
a derivative _kewewe coryugal_, with the regular diminutive in _ains_.
_Onauneegoozzin_, embraces the pronoun, verb, and adjective, _be thou
cheerful_. In the last phrase of the examples, "man" is rendered men
(_inineewuy_) in the translation, as the term _man_ cannot be employed
in the general plural sense it conveys in this connection in the
original. The word "whiskey" is rendered by the compound phrase,
_ishködawaubo_, literally _fire-liquor_, a generic for all kinds of
ardent spirits.

These aberrations from the literal terms will convey some conceptions of
the difference of the two idioms, although, from the limited nature and
object of the examples, they will not indicate the full extent of the
difference. In giving anything like the spirit of the original, much
greater deviations in the written forms must appear. And in fact, not
only the structure of the language, but the mode and _order of thought_
of the Indians is so essentially different, that any attempts to
preserve the English idiom, to give letter for letter, and word for
word, must go far to render the translation pure nonsense.

2. Varied as the adjective is in its changes, it has no comparative
inflection. A Chippewa cannot say that one substance is hotter or colder
than another, or of two or more substances unequally heated, that this
or that is the hottest or coldest, without employing adverbs or
accessory adjectives; and it is accordingly by adverbs and accessory
adjectives that the degrees of comparison are expressed.

_Pimmaudizziwin_, is a very general substantive expression, indicating
the _tenor of being or life_. _Izzhewäbizziwin_, is a term near akin to
it, but more appropriately applied to the _acts_, _conduct_, _manner_,
or _personal deportment_ of life. Hence the expressions--

    Nem bimmaudizziwin,         My tenor of life.
    Ke bimmaudizziwin,          Thy tenor of life.
    O pimmaudizziwin,           His tenor of life, &c.
    Nin dizhewäbizziwin,        My personal deportment.
    Ke dizhewäbizziwin,         Thy personal deportment.
    O Izzhewäbizziwin,          His personal deportment, &c.

To form the positive degree of comparison from these terms, _minno_,
good, and _mudjee_, bad, are introduced between the pronoun and verb,
giving rise to some permutations of the vowels and consonants, which
affect the sound only. Thus--

    Ne minno pimmaudizziwin,    My good tenor of life.
    Ke minno pimmaudizziwin,    Thy good tenor of life.
    Minno pimmaudizziwin,       His good tenor of life.
    Ne mudjee pimmaudizziwin,   My bad tenor of life.
    Ke mudjee pimmaudizziwin,   Thy bad tenor of life.
    Mudjee pimmaudizziwin,      His bad tenor of life.

To place these forms in the comparative degree, _nahwudj_, _more_, is
prefixed to the adjective; and the superlative is denoted by _mahmowee_,
an adverb or an adjective as it is variously applied, but the meaning of
which is, in this connection, _most_. The degrees of comparison may be,
therefore, set down as follows:--

  Positive,    Kishedä.           Hot (restricted to the heat of a fire),
  Comparative, Nahwudj kishedä.   More hot,
  Superlative, Mahmowee kishedä.  Most hot.

  Your manner of life is good,    Ke dizzhewäbizziwin onishishin.
  Your manner of life is better,  Ke dizzhewäbizziwin nahwudj onishishin.
  Your manner of life is best,    Ke dizzhewäbizziwin mahwoweé onishishin.
  His manner of life is best,     Odizzhewäbizziwin mahmowee onishishinine.
  Little Turtle was brave,        Mikkenoköns söngedääbun.
  Tecumseh was braver,            Tecumseh nahwudj söngedääbun.
  Pontiac was bravest,            Pontiac mahmowee söngedääbun.

3. The adjective assumes a negative form when it is preceded by the
adverb. Thus, the phrase _songedää_, he is brave, is changed to _kahween
söngedääsee_, he is not brave.

    POSITIVE.

    Neebwaukah,     He is wise.
    Kwonaudjewe,    She is handsome.
    Oskineegee,     He is young.
    Shaugweewee,    He is feeble.
    Geekkau,        He is old.
    Mushkowizzi,    He is strong.

    NEGATIVE.

    Kahween neebwaukah-see,      He is not wise.
    Kahween kwonaudjewee-see,    She is not handsome.
    Kahween oskineegee-see,      He is not young.
    Kahween Shaugweewee-see,     He is not feeble.
    Kahween Geekkau-see,         He is not old.
    Kahween Mushkowizzi-see,     He is not strong.

From this rule the indeclinable adjectives, by which is meant those
adjectives which do not put on the personal and impersonal forms by
inflection, but consist of radically different roots, form exceptions.

    Are you sick?                   Ke dahkoozzi nuh?
    You are not sick!               Kahween ke dahkoozzi-see.
    I am happy,                     Ne minwaindum.
    I am unhappy,                   Kahween ne minwainduz-see.
    His manner of life is bad,      Mudjee izzhewabizzi.
    His manner of life is not bad,  Kahween mudjee izzhewabizzi-see.
    It is large,                    Mitshau muggud.
    It is not large,                Kahween mitshau-seenön.

In these examples, the declinable adjectives are rendered negative in
_see_; the indeclinable, remain as simple adjuncts to the verbs; and the
_latter_ put on the negative form.

4. In the hints and remarks which have now been furnished respecting the
Chippewa adjective, its powers and inflections have been shown to run
parallel with those of the substantive, in its separation into animates
and inanimates; in having the pronominal inflections; in taking an
inflection for tense--a topic which, by the way, has been very cursorily
passed over--and in the numerous modifications to form the compounds.
This parallelism has also been intimated to hold good with respect to
number--a subject deeply interesting in itself, as it has its analogy
only in the ancient languages--and it was therefore deemed best to defer
giving examples, till they could be introduced without abstracting the
attention from other points of discussion.

_Minno_ and _mudjee_, good and bad, being of the limited number of
personal adjectives which modern usage permits being applied, although
often improperly applied to inanimate objects, they, as well as a few
other adjectives, form exceptions to the use of number. Whether we say
"a good man" or "a bad man," "good men" or "bad men," the words _minno_
and _mudjee_ remain the same. But all the declinable and coalescing
adjectives--adjectives which join on, and, as it were, _melt into_ the
body of the substantive--take the usual plural inflections, and are
governed by the same rules in regard to their use, as the substantive;
personal adjectives requiring personal plurals, &c.

ADJECTIVES ANIMATE.

Singular.

    Onishishewe mishemin,          Good apple.
    Kwonaudjewe eekwä,             Handsome woman.
    Songedää inine,                Brave man.
    Bishegaindaugoozzi peenasee,   Beautiful bird.
    Ozahwizzi ahmo,                Yellow bee.

Plural.

    Onishishewe-wug mishemin-ug,          Good apples.
    Kwonaudjewe-wug eekwä-wug,            Handsome women.
    Songedää-wug inine-wug,               Brave men.
    Bishegaindaugoozzi-wug peenasee-wug,  Beautiful birds.
    Ozahwizzi-wug ahm-ög,                 Yellow bees.

ADJECTIVES INANIMATE.

Singular.

    Onishishin mittig,    Good tree.
    Kwonaudj tshemaun,    Handsome canoe.
    Monaudud ishkoda,     Bad fire.
    Weeshkobun aidetaig,  Sweet fruit.

Plural.

    Onishishin-ön mittig-ön,        Good trees.
    Kwonaudjewun-ön tshemaun-un,    Handsome canoes.
    Monaudud-ön ishkod-än,          Bad fires.
    Weeshkobun-ön aidetaig-in,      Sweet fruits.

Peculiar circumstances are supposed to exist in order to render the use
of the adjective, in this connection with the noun, necessary and
proper. But, in ordinary instances, as the narration of events, the noun
would precede the adjective; and oftentimes, particularly where a second
allusion to objects previously named became necessary, the compound
expressions would be used. Thus, instead of saying "the yellow bee,"
_wazzahwizzid_ would distinctly convey the idea of that insect, _had the
species been before named_. Under similar circumstances,
_kain-waukoozzid_, _agausheid_, _söngaunemud_, _mushkowaunemud_, would
respectively signify, "a tall tree," "a small fly," "a strong wind," "a
hard wind." And these terms would become plural in _jig_, which, as
before mentioned, is a mere modification of _ig_, one of the five
general animate plural inflections of the language.

_Kägät wahwinaudj abbenöjeeug_, is an expression indicating they are
_very handsome children_. But _beeweezheewug monetösug_ denotes _small
insects_. _Minno neewugizzi_, is "good tempered," "he is good tempered."
_Mawshininewugizzi_, is "bad tempered," both having their plural in
_wug_. _Nin nuneenahwaindum_, "I am lonesome." _Nin nuneenahwaindaumin_,
"we (excluding you) are lonesome." _Waweea_, is a term generally used to
express the adjective sense of round. _Kwy_, is the scalp; _weewikwy_,
his scalp. Hence, _weewukwon_, "hat," _wayweewukwonid_, "a wearer of the
hat;" and its plural, _wayweewukwonidjig_, "wearers of the hats"--the
usual term applied to Europeans, or white men generally. These examples
go to prove that under every form in which the adjective can be traced,
whether in its simplest or most compound state, it is susceptible of
number.

The numerals of the language are converted into adverbs by the
inflection _ing_, making one, _once_, &c. The unit exists in duplicate.

  Päzhik,      One, _general unit_.   }   Aubeding,          Once.
  Ingoot,      One, _numerical unit_. }
  Neesh,       Two.                       Neeshing,          Twice.
  Niswee,      Three.                     Nissing,           Thrice.
  Neewin,      Four.                      Neewing,           Four times.
  Naunun,      Five.                      Nauning,           Five times.
  N'goodwaswä, Six.                       N'goodwautsking,   Six times.
  Neeshwauswä, Seven.                     Neeshwautshing,    Seven times.
  Shwauswe,    Eight.                     Shwautshing,       Eight times.
  Shongusswe,  Nine.                      Shongutshing,      Nine times.
  Metauswe,    Ten.                       Meetaushing,       Ten times.

These inflections can be carried as high as they can compute numbers.
They count decimally. After reaching ten, they repeat, ten and one, ten
and two, &c. to twenty. Twenty is a compound signifying two tens;
thirty, three tens, &c.; a mode which is carried up to one
hundred--_n'goodwak_. _Wak_ then becomes the word of denomination,
combining with the names of the digits until they reach a thousand,
_meetauswauk_, literally _ten hundred_. Here a new compound term is
introduced, made by prefixing twenty to the last denominator,
_neeshtonnah duswak_, which doubles the last term, thirty triples it,
forty quadruples it, &c. till the computation reaches to ten thousand,
_n'goodwak dushing n'goodwak_, one hundred times one hundred. This is
the probable extent of all certain computation. The term _gitshee_
(great), prefixed to the last denomination, leaves the number
indefinite.

There is no form of the numerals corresponding to second, third, fourth,
&c. They can only further say, _nittum_, first, and _ishkwaudj_, last.


IV.

_Some Remarks respecting the Agglutinative Position and Properties of
the Pronoun._

INQUIRY 4.

  Nature and principles of the pronoun--Its distinction into
      preformative and subformative classes--Personal pronouns--The
      distinction of an inclusive and exclusive form in the number of
      the first person plural--Modifications of the personal pronouns to
      imply existence, individuality, possession, ownership, position,
      and other accidents--Declension of pronouns to answer the purpose
      of the auxiliary verbs--Subformatives, how employed to mark the
      persons--Relative pronouns considered--Their application to the
      causative verbs--Demonstrative pronouns--Their separation into two
      classes, animates and inanimates--Example of their use.

Pronouns are buried, if we may so say, in the structure of the verb. In
tracing them back to their primitive forms, through the almost infinite
variety of modifications which they assume, in connection with the verb,
substantive, and adjective, it will facilitate analysis to group them
into preformative and subformative, which include the terms that have
already been made use of--pronominal prefixes, and suffixes--and which
admit of the further distinction of separable and inseparable. By
separable, is intended those forms which have a meaning by themselves,
and are thus distinguished from the inflective and subformative
pronouns, and pronominal particles, significant only in connection with
another word.

1. Of the first class, are the personal pronouns _Neen_ (I), _Keen_
(Thou), and _Ween_ or _O_ (He or She). They are declined, to form the
plural persons, in the following manner:--

    I,          Neen.         We,    Keen owind. (in.)
                              We,    Neen owind. (ex.)
    Thou,       Keen.         Ye,    Keen owau.
    He or she,  Ween or O.    They,  Ween owau.

Here the plural persons are formed by a numerical inflection of the
singular. The double plural of the first person, of which both the rule
and examples have been incidentally given in the remarks on the
substantive, is one of those peculiarities of the language which may,
perhaps, serve to aid in a comparison of it with other dialects, kindred
and foreign. As a mere conventional agreement for denoting whether the
person addressed be included or excluded, it may be regarded as an
advantage to the language. It enables the speaker, by the change of a
single consonant, to make a full and clear discrimination, and relieves
the narration from doubts and ambiguity, where doubts and ambiguity
would otherwise often exist. On the other hand, by accumulating
distinctions, it loads the memory with grammatical forms, and opens a
door for improprieties of speech. We are not aware of any inconveniences
in the use of a general plural; but, in the Indian, it would produce
confusion. And it is, perhaps, to that cautious desire of personal
discrimination, which is so apparent in the structure of the language,
that we should look for the reason of the duplicate forms of this word.
Once established, however, and both the distinction, and the necessity
of a constant and strict attention to it, are very obvious and striking.
How shall he address the Deity? If he say, "Our Father who art in
heaven," the inclusive form of _our_ makes the Almighty one of the
suppliants, or family. If he use the exclusive form, it throws him out
of the family, and may embrace every living being but the Deity. Yet,
neither of these forms can be used very well in prayer, as they cannot
be applied directly _to_ the object addressed. It is only when speaking
_of_ the Deity, under the name of father, to other persons, that the
inclusive and exclusive forms of the word _our_ can be used. The dilemma
may be obviated by the use of a compound descriptive phrase, _Wä ö se
mig o yun_, signifying, "Thou, who art the father of all," or "universal
father." In practice, however, the question is cut short by those
persons who have embraced Christianity. It has seemed to them that, by
the use of either of the foregoing terms, the Deity would be thrown into
too remote a relation to them; and I have observed that in prayer they
invariably address Him by the term used by children for the father of a
family--that is, _nosa_, "my father."

The other personal pronouns undergo some peculiar changes when employed
as preformatives before nouns and verbs, which it is important to
remark. Thus _neen_, is sometimes rendered _ne_, or _nin_, and sometimes
_nim_. _Keen_, is rendered _ke_, or _kin_. In compound words, the mere
signs of the first and second pronouns, _N_ and _K_, are employed. The
use of _ween_ is limited; and the third person, singular and plural, is
generally indicated by the sign _O_.

The particle _suh_, added to the complete forms of the disjunctive
pronouns, imparts a verbal sense to them; and appears, in this instance,
to be a succedaneum for the substantive verb. Thus _Neen_, I, becomes
_neensuh_, it is I. _Keen_, thou, becomes _keensuh_, it is thou; and
_ween_, he or she, _weensuh_, it is he or she. This particle may be also
added to the plural forms.

    Keenowind suh,    It is we. (in.)
    Neenowind suh,    It is we. (ex.)
    Keenowau suh,     It is ye, or you.
    Weenowau suh,     It is they.

If the word _aittah_, be substituted for _suh_, a set of adverbial
phrases are formed:--

    Neen aittah, I only.            Neen aittah wind, We, &c. (ex.)
                                    Keen aittah wind, We, &c. (in.)
    Keen aittah, Thou only.         Keen aittah wau, You, &c.
    Ween aittah, He or she only.    Ween aittah wau, They, &c.

In like manner, _nittum_, first, and _ishkwaudj_, last, give rise to the
following arrangement of the pronoun:--

    Neen nittum,          I first.
    Keen nittum,          You or thou first.
    Ween nittum,          He or she first.
    Keen nittum ewind,    We first. (in.)
    Neen nittum ewind,    We first. (ex.)
    Keen nittum ewau,     Ye or you first.
    Ween nittum ewau,     They first.

ISHKWAUDJ.

    Neen ishkwaudj,         I last.
    Keen ishkwaudj,         Thou last.
    Ween ishkwaudj,         He or she last.
    Keenowind ishkwaudj,    We last. (in.)
    Neenowind ishkwaudj,    We last. (ex.)
    Keenowau ishkwaudj,     Ye or you last.
    Weenowau ishkwaudj,     They last.

The disjunctive forms of the pronoun are also sometimes preserved before
verbs and adjectives.

    NEEZHIKA. Alone, (_an._)

    Neen neezhika,         I alone.
    Keen neezhika,         Thou alone.
    Ween neezhika,         He or she alone.
    Keenowind neezhika,    We alone. (in.)
    Neenowind neezhika,    We alone. (ex.)
    Keenowau neezhika,     Ye or you alone.
    Weenowau neezhika,     They alone.

To give these expressions a verbal form, the substantive verb, with its
pronominal modifications, must be superadded. For instance, _I am_
alone, &c. is thus rendered:--

    Neen neezhika nindyau,     I am alone + aumin.
    Keen neezhika keedyau,     Thou art alone + aum.
    Ween neezhika iyau,        He or she is alone, &c. + wug.

In the subjoined examples, the noun OW, body, is changed to a verb, by
the permutation of the vowel, changing OW, to AUW; which last takes the
letter _d_ before it when the pronoun is prefixed:--

    I am a man,          Neen nin dauw.
    Thou art a man,      Keen ke dauw.
    He is a man,         Ween ah weeh.
    We are men, (in.)    Ke dauw we min.
    We are men, (ex.)    Ne dauw we min.
    Ye are men,          Ke dauw mim.
    They are men,        Weenowau ah weeh wug.

In the translation of these expressions, "man" is used as synonymous
with "person." If the specific term _inine_ had been introduced, in the
original, the meaning thereby conveyed would be, in this particular
connection, "I am a man," with respect to _courage_, &c. in opposition
to effeminacy. It would not be simply declarative of _corporeal
existence_, but of existence in a _particular state or condition_.

In the following phrases, the modified forms, or the signs only, of the
pronouns are used:

    N'debaindaun,          I own it.
    Ke debaindaun,         Thou ownst it.
    O debaindaun,          He or she owns it.
    N'debaindaum-in,       We own it. (ex.)
    Ke debaindaum-in,      We own it. (in.)
    Ke debaindaun-ewau,    Ye own it.
    O debaindaun-ewau,     They own it.

These examples are cited as exhibiting the manner in which the
_prefixed_ and preformative pronouns are employed, both in their full
and contracted forms. To denote possession, nouns specifying the things
possessed are required; and, what would not be anticipated had not full
examples of this species of declension been given in another place, the
purposes of distinction are not affected by a simple change of the
pronoun, as _I_ to _mine_, &c., but by a subformative inflection of the
_noun_, which is thus made to have a reflective operation upon the
pronoun speaker. It is believed that sufficient examples of this rule,
in all the modifications of inflection, have been given under the head
of the substantive. But as the substantives employed to elicit these
modifications were exclusively _specific_ in their meaning, it, may be
proper here, in further illustration of an important principle, to
present a generic substantive under their compound forms.

I have selected for this purpose one of the primitives. IE-AU´, is the
abstract term for matter. It is in the animate form. Its inanimate
correspondent is IE-EE´. These are two important roots. And they are
found in combination, in a very great number of derivative words. It
will be sufficient here, to show their connection with the pronoun, in
the production of a class of terms in very general use.

Animate Forms.

Possessive.

    SINGULAR.                                PLURAL.

    Nin dyë aum,   Mine.     Nin dyë auminaun,   Ours. (ex.)
                             Ke dyë auminaun,    Ours. (in.)
    Ke dyë aum,    Thine.    Ke dyë aumewau,     Yours.

Objective.

    O dyë aum-un,  His
                   or Hers.  O dyë aumewaun,     Theirs.


Inanimate Forms.

Possessive.

    SINGULAR.                            PLURAL.

    Nin dyë eem,   Mine.     Nin dyë eeminaun,   Ours. (ex.)
                             Ke dyë eeminaun,    Ours. (in.)
    Ke dyë eem,    Thine.    Ke dyë eemewau,     Yours.

Objective.

    O dyë eem.     His
                   or Hers.  O dyë eemewau,     Theirs. (pos. in.)

In these forms the noun is singular throughout. To render it plural, as
well as the pronoun, the appropriate general plurals _ug_ and _un_, or
_ig_ and _in_, must be superadded. But it must be borne in mind, in
making these additions, "that the plural inflection to inanimate nouns
(which have no objective case), forms the objective case to animate,
which have no number in the third person." (p. 461.) The particle _un_,
therefore, which is the appropriate plural for the inanimate nouns in
these examples, is only the objective mark of the animate.

The plural of I, is _naun_, the plural of thou and he, _wau_. But as
these inflections would not coalesce smoothly with the possessive
inflections, the connective vowels _i_ and _e_ are prefixed, making the
plural of I, _inaun_, and of thou, &c., _ewau_.

If we strike from these declensions the root IE, leaving its animate and
inanimate forms AU and EE, and adding the plural of the noun, we shall
then, taking the _animate_ declension as an instance, have the following
formula of the pronominal declensions:

   ---+---+-----+----+---+------+---+----
   Pronoun singular.
      | Place of the noun.
      |   | Possessive inflection.
      |   |     | Objective inflection to the noun singular.
      |   |     |    | Connective vowel.
      |   |     |    |   | Plural inflection of the
      |   |     |    |   | pronoun.
      |   |     |    |   |      | Objective inflection,
      |   |     |    |   |      | noun plural.
      |   |     |    |   |      |   | Plural of the noun.
   ---+---+-----+----+---+------+---+----
   Ne |   | aum |    | i | naun |   | ig
   Ke |   | aum |    | e | wau  |   |  g
   O  |   | aum | un |   |      |   |
   O  |   | aum |    | e | wau  | n |
   ---+---+-----+----+---+------+---+----

To render this formula of general use, six variations (five in addition
to the above) of the possessive inflection are required, corresponding
to the six classes of substantives, whereby _aum_ would be changed to
_äm_, _eem_, _im_, _öm_, and _oom_, conformably to the examples
heretofore given in treating of the substantive. The objective
inflection would also be sometimes changed to _een_, and sometimes to
_oan_.

Having thus indicated the mode of distinguishing the person, number,
relation, and gender, or what is deemed its technical equivalent, the
mutations words undergo, not to mark the distinctions of _sex_, but the
presence or absence of _vitality_, I shall now advert to the inflections
which the pronouns take for _tense_, or rather to form the auxiliary
verbs, have, had, shall, will, may, &c.; a very curious and important
principle, and one which clearly demonstrates that no part of speech has
escaped the transforming genius of the language. Not only are the three
great modifications of time accurately marked in the verbal form of the
Chippewas, but, by the inflection of the pronoun, they are enabled to
indicate some of the oblique tenses, and thereby to conjugate their
verbs with accuracy and precision.

The particle _gee_ added to the first, second, and third person
singular, of the present tense, changes them to the perfect past,
rendering I, thou, he, I did, have, or had; thou didst, hast, or hadst;
he or she did, have, or had. If _gah_ be substituted for _gee_, the
first future tense is formed, and the perfect past added to the first
future, forms the conditional future. As the eye may prove an auxiliary
in the comprehension of forms which are not familiar, the following
tabular arrangement of them is presented.

First person, I.

    Nin gee,               I did, have, had.
    Nin gah,               I shall, will.
    Nin gah gee,           I shall have, will have.

Second person, Thou.

    Ke gee,                Thou didst, hast, hadst.
    Ke gah,                Thou shalt, wilt.
    Ke gah gee,            Thou shalt have, wilt have.

Third person, He or She.

    O gee,                 He or she did, have, had.
    O gah,                 He or she did, have, had.
    O gah gee,             He or she shall have, will have.

The present and imperfect tense of the potential mood is formed by
_dau_, and the perfect by _gee_ suffixed, as in other instances.

First person, I.

    Nin dau,               I may, can, &c.
    Nin dau gee,           I may have, can have, &c.

Second person, Thou.

    Ke dau,                Thou mayst, canst, &c.
    Ke dau gee,            Thou mayst have, canst have, &c.

               Third person, He or She.

    O dau,                 He or she may, can, &c.
    O dau gee,             He or she may have, can have, &c.

In conjugating the verbs through the plural person, the singular terms
for the pronoun remain, and they are rendered plural by a retrospective
action of the pronominal inflections of the verb. In this manner the
pronoun-verb auxiliary has a general application, and the necessity of
double forms is avoided.

The preceding observations are confined to the formative or _prefixed_
pronouns. The inseparable suffixed or subformative are as follows:--

    Yaun,               My.
    Yun,                Thy.
    Id or d,            His or hers.
    Yaung,              Our. (ex.)
    Yung,               Our. (in.)
    Yaig,               Your.
    Waud,               Their.

These pronouns are exclusively employed as suffixes, and as suffixes to
the descriptive compound substantives, adjectives, and verbs. Both the
rule and examples have been stated under the head of the substantives,
p. 463, and adjectives, p. 492. Their application to the verb will be
shown as we proceed.

2. _Relative Pronouns._--In a language which provides for the
distinction of person by particles prefixed or suffixed to the verb, it
will scarcely be expected that separate and independent relative
pronouns should exist, or if such are to be found, their use, as
separate parts of speech, must, it will have been anticipated, be quite
limited; limited to simple interrogatory forms of expression, and not
applicable to the indicative or declaratory. Such will be found to be
the fact in the language under review; and it will be perceived from the
subjoined examples, that in all instances requiring the relative pronoun
_who_, other than the simple interrogatory forms, this relation is
indicated by the inflections of the verb, or adjective, &c. Nor does
there appear to be any declension of the separate pronoun corresponding
to _whose_ and _whom_.

The word _Ahwaynain_, may be said to be uniformly employed in the sense
of _who_, under the limitations we have mentioned. For instance--

    Who is there?             Ahwaynain e-mah ai-aud?
    Who spoke?                Ahwaynain kau keegoedood?
    Who told you?             Ahwaynain kau weendumoak?
    Who are you?              Ahwaynain iau we yun?
    Who sent you?             Ahwaynain waynönik?
    Who is your father?       Ahwaynain kös?
    Who did it?               Ahwaynain kau tödung?
    Whose dog is it?          Ahwaynain way dyid?
    Whose pipe is that?       Ahwaynain döpwaugunid en-eu?
    Whose lodge is it?        Ahwaynain way weegewomid?
    Whom do you seek?         Ahwaynain nain dau wau bumud?
    Whom have you here?       Ahwaynain oh-amau _ai_ auwaud?

Not the slightest variation is made in these phrases between who, whose,
and whom.

Should we wish to change the interrogative, and to say he who is there,
he who spoke, he who told you, &c., the separable personal pronoun
_ween_ (he) must be used in lieu of the relative; and the following
forms will be elicited:--

    Ween, kau unnönik,            He (who) sent you.
    Ween, kau geedood,            He (who) spoke.
    Ween, _ai_-aud e-mah,         He (who) is there.
    Ween, kau weendumoak,         He (who) told you.
    Ween, kau tödung,             He (who) did it, &c.

If we object that, in these forms, there is no longer the relative
pronoun _who_, the sense being simply he sent you, he spoke, &c., it is
replied that, if it be intended only to say he sent you, &c., and not he
_who_ sent you, &c., the following forms are used:--

    Ke gee unnönig,           He (sent) you.
    Ainnözhid,                He (sent) me.
    Ainnönaud,                He (sent) him.
    Iau e-mau,                He is there.
    Ke geedo,                 He (spoke).
    Ke gee weendumaug,        He (told) you.
    Ke to dum,                He did it.

We reply to this answer of the native speaker, that the particle _kau_
prefixed to a verb, denotes the past tense; that in the former series of
terms in which this particle appears, the verbs are in the perfect
indicative, and in the latter, they are in the present indicative,
marking the difference only between _sent_ and _send_, _spoke_ and
_speak_, &c.; and that there is absolutely no relative pronoun in either
series of terms. We further observe, that the personal pronoun _ween_,
prefixed to the first set of terms, may be prefixed, with equal
propriety, to the second set, and that its use or disuse is perfectly
optional with the speaker, as he may wish to give additional energy or
emphasis to the expression. To these positions, after reflection,
discussion, and examination, we receive an assent, and thus the
uncertainty is terminated.

We now wish to apply the principle thus elicited to verbs causative, and
to other compound terms--to the adjective verbs, for instance--and to
the other verbal compound expressions, in which the objective and the
nominative persons are incorporated as a part of the verb, and are not
prefixes to it. This may be shown in the causative verb--

TO MAKE HAPPY.

    Mainwaindumëid,       He (who) makes _me_ happy.
    Mainwaindumëik,       He (who) makes _thee_ happy.
    Mainwaindumëaud,      He (who) makes _him_ happy.
    Mainwaindumëinung,    He (who) makes _us_ happy. (in.)
    Mainwaindumëyaug,     He (who) makes _us_ happy. (ex.)
    Mainwaindumëinnaig,   He (who) makes _ye_ or _you_ happy.
    Mainwaindumëigowaud,  He (who) makes _them_ happy.

And so the forms might be continued throughout all the objective
persons--

    Mainwaindum ë yun,    _Thou_ (who) makest me happy, &c.

The basis of these compounds is _minno_, "good," and _aindum_, "the
mind." Hence, _minwaindum_, "he happy." The adjective, in this
connection, cannot be translated "good," but its effect upon the noun is
to denote that state of the mind which is at rest with itself. The first
change from this simple compound, is to give the adjective a verbal
form; and this is effected by a permutation of the vowels of the first
syllable--a rule of very extensive application--and by which, in the
present instance, the phrase "he happy," is changed to "he makes happy,"
(_mainwaindum_.) The next step is to add the suffix personal pronouns,
_id_, _ik_, _aud_, &c., rendering the expressions, "he makes _me_
happy," &c. But, in adding these increments, the vowel _e_ is thrown
between the adjective-verb and the pronoun suffixed, making the
expression, not _mainwaindum-yun_, but _mainwaindum ëyun_. Generally,
the vowel e, in this situation, is a connective, or introduced merely
for the sake of euphony. And those who maintain that it is here
employed as a personal pronoun, and that the relative _who_ is implied
by the final inflection, overlook the inevitable inference, that if the
marked _e_ stands for _me_ in the first phrase, it must stand for _thee_
in the second, _he_ in the third, _us_ in the fourth, &c. As to the
meaning and office of the final inflections _id_, _ik_, &c., whatever
they may, in an involuted sense, _imply_, it is quite clear, by turning
to the list of _suffixed personal pronouns_, and _animate plurals_, that
they mark the persons, I, thou, he, &c., we, ye, they, &c.

Take, for example, _minwaindumëigowaud_, "he (who) makes them happy." Of
this compound, _minwaindum_, as before shown, signifies "he makes
happy." But as the verb is in the singular number, it implies that but
_one person_ is made happy; and the suffixed personal pronouns
_singular_, mark the distinctions between _me_, _thee_, and _he_, or
_him_.

_Minwaindum-e-ig_ is the verb plural, and implies that several persons
are made happy; and, in like manner, the suffixed personal pronouns
_plural_, mark the distinctions between we, ye, they, &c.; for it is a
rule of the language, that a strict concordance must exist between the
number of the verb and the number of the pronoun. The termination of the
verb consequently always indicates whether there be one or many objects
to which its energy is directed. And as animate verbs can be applied
only to animate objects, the numerical inflections of the verb are
understood to mark the number of persons. But this number is
indiscriminate, and leaves the sense vague until the pronominal suffixes
are superadded. Those who, therefore, contend for the _sense_ of the
relative pronoun "who" being given in the last-mentioned phrase, and all
phrases similarly formed by a succedaneum, contend for something like
the following form of translation: "He makes them happy--him!" or
"Him--he (meaning 'who') makes them happy."

The equivalent for _what_, is _waygonain_.

    What do you want?       Waygonain wau iauyun?
    What have you lost?     Waygonain kau wonetöyun?
    What do you look for?   Waygonain nain dahwau bundahmun?
    What is this?           Waygonain ewinain maundun?
    What will you have?     Waygonain kad iauyun?
    What detained you?      Waygonain kau oon dahme egöyun?
    What are you making?    Waygonain wayzhetöyun?
    What have you there?    Waygonain e-mau iauyun?

The use of this pronoun, like the preceding, appears to be confined to
simple interrogative forms. The word _auneen_, which sometimes supplies
its place, or is used for want of the pronoun _which_, is an adverb, and
has considerable latitude of meaning. Most commonly, it may be
considered as the equivalent for _how_, in what manner, or at what time.

    What do you say?                         Auneen akeedöyun?
    What do you call this?                   Auneen aizheneekaudahmun
                                               maundun?(i.)
    What ails you?                           Auneen aindeeyun?
    What is your name?                       Auneen aizheekauzoyun?
    Which do you mean, this or that? (an.)   Auneen ah-ow ainud, woh-ow
                                               gämau ewaidde?
    Which do you mean, this or that? (in.)   Auneen eh-eu ewaidumun oh-oo
                                               gämau ewaidde?
    Which boy do you mean?                   Auneen ah-ow-ainud?

By adding to this word the particle _de_, it is converted into an adverb
of place, and may be rendered _where_.

    Where do you dwell?                      Auneende aindauyun?
    Where is your son?                       Auneende ke gwiss?
    Where did you see him?                   Auneende ke waubumud?
    Where did you see it?                    Auneende ke waubundumun?
    Where are you going?                     Auneende azhauyun?
    Where did you come from?                 Auneende ka oonjeebauyun?
    Where is your pipe?                      Auneende ke döpwaugun?
    Where is your gun?                       Auneende ke baushkizzigun?

By a still further modification, it is rendered an adverb of inquiry of
the cause or motive.

    Why do you do so?                        Auneeshween eh eu todumun?
    Why do you say so?                       Auneeshween eh eu ekeedoyun?
    Why are you angry?                       Auneeshween nishkaudizzeyun?
    Why will you depart?                     Auneeshween wee matyauyun?
    Why will you not depart?                 Auneeshween matyauseewun?
    Why have you come?                       Auneeshween ke peëzhauyun?
    Tell me why?                             Weendumowishin auneeshween?
    Wherefore is it so?                      Auneeshween eh-eu izzhewaibuk?
                                               (in.)
    Wherefore did you strike him?            Auneeshween ke pukketaywud?

3. Demonstrative pronouns are either animate or inanimate, and may be
arranged as follows:--

    ANIMATE.                              INANIMATE.

    Mau-bum (impersonal), } This.         Maun-dun (inanimate proper).
    Woh-ow (personal),    }               Oh-oo (inanimate conventional).
    Ah-ow,                  That.         Eh-eu.
    Mau-mig,                These.        Mau-min.
    Ig-eu (personal),   }   Those.        In-eu (inanimate proper).
    I-goo (impersonal), }                 O-noo (inanimate conventional).

These words are not always used merely to ascertain the object, but
often, perhaps always, when the object is present to the sight, have a
substantive meaning, and are used without the noun. It creates no
uncertainty, if a man be standing at some distance to say, _Ah-ow_; or
if a canoe be lying at some distance, to say, _Eh-eu_; the meaning is
clearly, that _person_, or that _canoe_, whether the noun be added or
not. Or, if there be two animate objects standing together, or two
inanimate objects lying together, the words _maumig_ (a.), or _maumin_
(i.), if they be near, or _ig-eu_, (a.), or _in-eu_ (i.), if they be
distant, are equally expressive of the _materiality_ of the objects, as
well as their relative position. Under other circumstances the noun
would be required, as where two animate objects of diverse character--a
man and a horse for instance--were standing near each other; or a canoe
and a package of goods were lying near each other--and, in fact, under
all circumstances--the noun _may_ be used after the demonstrative
pronoun, without violating any rule of grammar, although not without the
imputation, in many instances, of being over-formal and unnecessarily
minute. What is deemed redundant, however, in oral use, and amongst a
people who supply much by sight and gesticulation, becomes quite
necessary in writing the language; and, in the following sentences, the
substantive is properly employed after the pronoun:--

    This dog is very lean,           Gitshee bukaukuddoozo woh-ow
                                       annemoosh.
    These dogs are very lean,        Gitshee bukaukuddoozowug o-goo
                                       annemooshug.
    Those dogs are fat,              Ig-eu annemooshug ween-in-oowug.
    That dog is fat,                 Ah-ow annemoosh ween-in-oo.
    This is a handsome knife,        Gagait onishishin maundun mokomahn.
    These are handsome knives,       Gagait wahwinaudj o-noo mokomahnun.
    Those are bad knives,            Monaududön in-euwaidde mokomahnun.
    Give me that spear,              Meezhishin eh-eu ahnitt.
    Give me those spears,            Meezhishin in-eu unnewaidde
                                       ahnitteen.
    That is a fine boy,              Gagait kwonaudj ah-ow kweewezains.
    Those are fine boys,             Gagait wahwinaudj ig-euwaidde
                                       kweewezainsug.
    This boy is larger than that,    Nahwudj mindiddo woh-ow kweewezains
                                       ewaidde dush.
    That is what I wanted,           Meeh-eu wau iauyaumbaun.
    This is the very thing I wanted, Mee-suh oh-oo wau iauyaumbaun.

In some of these expressions, the pronoun combines with an adjective, as
in the compound words _ineuwaidde_ and _igeuwaidde_, _those yonder_
(in.), and _those yonder_ (an.). Compounds which exhibit the full
pronoun in coalescence with the adverb _ewaidde_, yonder.


2. NATURAL HISTORY.

V.

ZOOLOGY.

  1. _Limits of the Range of the Cervus Sylvestris in the Northwestern
     parts of the United States._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT. (Northwest
     Journal.)

  2. _Description of the Fringilia Vespertina, discovered by Mr.
     Schoolcraft in the Northwest._ By WILLIAM COOPER. (Annals of the
     New York Lyceum of Natural History.)

  3. CONCHOLOGY.--_List of Shells collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, in the
     Western and Northwestern Territory._ By WILLIAM COOPER.


HELIX.

1. HELIX ALBOLABRIS, _Say_. Near Lake Michigan.

2. HELIX ALTERNATA, _Say_. Banks of the Wabash, near and above the
Tippecanoe. Mr. Say remarks, that these two species, so common in the
Atlantic States, were not met with in Major Long's second expedition,
until their arrival in the secondary country at the eastern extremity of
Lake Superior.

PLANORBIS.

3. PLANORBIS CAMPANULATUS, _Say_. Itasca (or La Biche) Lake, the source
of the Mississippi.

4. PLANORBIS TRIVOLVIS, _Say_. Lake Michigan. These two species were
also observed by Mr. Say, as far east as the Falls of Niagara.

LYMNEUS.

5. LYMNEUS UMBROSUS, _Say_, Am. Con. iv. pl. xxxi. Fig. 1. Lake
Winnipec, Upper Mississippi, and Rainy Lake.

6. LYMNEUS REFLEXUS, _Say_, l. c. pl. xxxi. Fig. 2. Rainy Lake, Seine
River, and Lake Winnipec.

7. LYMNEUS STAGNALIS. Lake a la Crosse, Upper Mississippi.

PALUDINA.

8. PALUDINA PONDEROSA, _Say_. Wisconsin River.

9. PALUDINA VIVIPARA, _Say_, Am. Con. i. pl. x. The American specimens
of this shell are more depressed than the European, but appear to be
identical in species.

MELANIA.

10. MELANIA VIRGINICA, _Say_. Lake Michigan.

ANODONTA.

11. ANODONTA CATARACTA, _Say_. Chicago, Lake Michigan. This species, Mr.
Lea remarks, has a great geographical extension.

12. ANODONTA CORPULENTA, _Nobis_. Shell thin and fragile, though less so
than others of the genus; much inflated at the umbones, margins somewhat
compressed; valves connate over the hinge in perfect specimens; surface
dark brown, in old shells; in younger, of a pale dingy green, and
without rays, in all I have examined; beaks slightly undulated at the
tip. The color within is generally of a livid coppery hue, but
sometimes, also, pure white.

Length of a middling sized specimen, four and a half inches, breadth,
six and a quarter. It is often eighteen inches in circumference round
the border of the valves, with a diameter through the umbones of three
inches. Inhabits the Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien to Lake
Pepin.

This fine shell, much the largest I have seen of the genus, was first
sent by Mr. Schoolcraft, to the Lyceum, several years ago. So far as I
am able to discover, it is undescribed, and a distinct and remarkable
species. It may be known by its length being greater in proportion to
its breadth than in the other American species, by the subrhomboidal
form of the posterior half, and generally, by the color of the nacre,
though this is not to be relied on. It appears to belong to the genus
SYMPHYNOTA of Mr. Lea.

ALASMODONTA.

13. ALASMODONTA COMPLANATA, _Barnes_. SYMPHYNOTA COMPLANATA, _Lea_.
Shell Lake, River St. Croix, Upper Mississippi. Many species of shells
found in this lake grow to an extraordinary size. Some of the present
collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, measure nineteen inches in circumference.

14. ALASMODONTA RUGOSA, _Barnes_. St. Croix River, and Lake Vaseux, St.
Mary's River.

15. ALASMODONTA MARGINATA, _Say_. Lake Vaseux, St. Mary's River; very
large.

16. ALASMODONTA EDENTULA? _Say_. ANODON AREOLATUS? _Swainson_. Lake
Vaseux. The specimens of this shell are too old and imperfect to be
safely determined.

UNIO.

17. UNIO TUBERCULATUS, _Barnes_. Painted Rock, Upper Mississippi.

18. UNIO PUSTULOSUS, _Lea_. Upper Mississippi, Prairie du Chien, to Lake
Pepin.

19. UNIO VERRUCOSUS, _Barnes_, _Lea_. St. Croix River of the Upper
Mississippi.

20. UNIO PLICATUS, _Le Sueur_, _Say_. Prairie du Chien, and River St.
Croix.

The specimens of U. PLICATUS sent from this locality by Mr. Schoolcraft
have the nacre beautifully tinged with violet, near the posterior border
of the shell, and are also much more ventricose than those found in more
eastern localities, as Pittsburg, for example; at the same time, I
believe them to be of the same species. Similar variations are observed
in other species; the specimens from the south and west generally
exhibiting a greater development.

21. UNIO TRIGONUS, _Lea_. From the same locality as the last, and like
it unusually ventricose.

22. UNIO EBENUS, _Lea_. Upper Mississippi, between Prairie du Chien and
Lake Pepin.

23. UNIO GIBBOSUS, _Barnes_. St. Croix River, Upper Mississippi,

24. UNIO RECTUS, _Lamarck_. U. PRÆLONGUS, _Barnes_. Upper Mississippi,
from Prairie du Chien to Lake Pepin, and the River St. Croix. The
specimens collected by Mr. Schoolcraft, vary much in the color of the
nacre. Some have it entirely white, others rose purple, and others
entirely of a very fine dark salmon color. This species inhabits the St.
Lawrence as far east as Montreal.

25. UNIO SILIQUOIDEUS, _Barnes_, and U. INFLATUS, _Barnes_. Upper
Mississippi, between Prairie du Chien and Lake Pepin. Large, ponderous,
and the epidermis finely rayed.

26. UNIO COMPLANATUS, _Lea_. U. PURPUREUS, _Say_. Lake Vaseux, St.
Mary's River. Lake Vaseux is an expansion of the River St. Mary, a
tributary of the upper lakes. This shell does not appear to exist in any
of the streams flowing into the Mississippi.

27. UNIO CRASSUS, _Say_. Upper Mississippi, Prairie du Chien.

28. UNIO RADIATUS, _Barnes_. Lake Vaseux. The specimen is old and
imperfect, but I believe it to be the U. RADIATUS of our conchologists,
which is common in Lake Champlain and also inhabits the St. Lawrence.

29. UNIO OCCIDENS, _Lea_. U. VENTRICOSUS, _Say_, Am. Con. U.
VENTRICOSUS, _Barnes?_ Wisconsin and St. Croix Rivers, and Shell Lake.
Epidermis variously colored, and marked with numerous rays.

30. UNIO VENTRICOSUS, _Barnes_. Upper Mississippi, from Prairie du Chien
to Lake Pepin and Shell Lake. The varieties of this, and the preceding
pass insensibly into each other. Those from Shell Lake are of
extraordinary size.

31. UNIO ALATUS, _Say_. SYMPHYNOTA ALATA, _Lea_. Upper Mississippi, and
Shell Lake. Found also in Lake Champlain, by the late Mr. Barnes.

32. UNIO GRACILIS, _Barnes_. SYMPHYNOTA GRACILIS, _Lea_. Upper
Mississippi, and Shell Lake. The specimens brought by Mr. Schoolcraft
are larger and more beautiful than I have seen from any other locality.


VI.

BOTANY.

  1. _A List of Species and Localities of Plants collected in the
     Northwestern Expeditions of Mr. Schoolcraft of 1831 and 1832._
     By DOUGLASS HOUGHTON, M. D., Surgeon to the expeditions.

The localities of the following plants are transcribed from a catalogue
kept during the progress of the expeditions, and embrace many plants
common to our country, which were collected barely for the purpose of
comparison. A more detailed account will be published at some future
day.

  _Aster tenuifolius_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
       "   _sericea_, Nuttall. River de Corbeau, Missouri Ter.
       "   _lævis?_ Willdenow. St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
       "   _concolor_, Willdenow. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
       "  (_N. Spec._). Sources of Yellow River, Northwest Ter.
  _Andropogon furcatus_, Willdenow. Sources of Yellow River, Northwest
                         Ter.
  _Alopecurus geniculatus_, Linnæus. Sault Ste. Marie, M. T.
  _Aira flexuosa._ Sault Ste. Marie, M. T.
  _Allium tricoccum_, Aiton. Ontonagon River of Lake Superior.
        "   _cernuum_, Roth. River de Corbeau to the sources of the
                       Miss.
        "   (_N. Spec._). St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
  _Amorpha canescens_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
  _Artemisia canadensis_, Mx. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                          Miss.
         "     _sericea_, Nuttall. Keweena Point, Lake Superior.
         "     _gnaphaloides_, Nuttall. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
  _Arabis hirsuta_, De Candolle. Upper Mississippi.
         "    _lyrata_, Linn. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Arundo canadensis_, Mx. Lake Superior.
  _Arenaria lateriflora_, Linn. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                          Miss.
  _Alnus glauca_, Mx. St. Croix River to the sources of the Miss.
  _Alliona albida_, Walter. Yellow River, Northwest Ter.
  _Aronia sanguinea._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Alectoria jubata._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Aletris farinosa._ Prairies of Michigan Ter.
  _Bidens beckii_, Torrey. St. Croix River to the sources of the Miss.
  _Bunias maritima_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
  _Baptisia coerulea_, Michaux. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
  _Blitum capitatum._ Northwest Ter.
  _Betula papyracea_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of
                      the Miss.
        "   _glandulosa._ Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
  _Bartramia fontana._ Lake Superior.
  _Bromus canadensis_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
  _Batschia canescens._ Plains of the Mississippi.
        "          "    Var. (or _N. Spec._). Lake Superior.
  _Carex paucifolia._ Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
       "   _scirpoides_, Schkuhr. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
       "   _limosa_, Linn. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
       "   _curata_, Gmelin. Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ter.
       "  (apparently _N. Spec._ allied to _C. scabrata_.) Sources of the
                      Miss.
       "   _washingtoniana_, Dewy. Lake Superior.
       "   _lacustris_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
       "   _oedere_, Ehrhart. Leech Lake.
       "   _logopodioides_, Schkuhr. Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
       "   _rosea_, Var. Lake Superior.
       "   _festucacea_, Schkuhr. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
  _Cyperus mariscoides_, Elliott. Upper Mississippi.
       "     _alterniflorus_, Schwinitz. River St. Clair, Mich. Ter.
  _Cnicus pitcheri_, Torrey. Lakes Michigan and Superior.
  _Coreopsis palmata_, Nuttall. Prairies of the Upper Mississippi.
  _Cardamine pratensis._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Calamagrostis coarctata_, Torrey. Lake Winnipec.
  _Cetraria icelandica._ Lakes Superior and Michigan.
  _Corydalis aurea_, Willdenow. Cass Lake, Upper Mississippi.
        "      _glauca_, Persoon. Lake Superior.
  _Cynoglossum amplexicaule_, Michaux. Sault Ste. Marie.
  _Cassia chamoecrista._ Upper Mississippi.
  _Corylus americana_, Walter. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                       Miss.
        "    _rostrata_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                         Miss.
  _Cistus canadensis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of
                       the Miss.
  _Cornus circinata_, L'Heritier. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                      Miss.
  _Cypripedium acaule_, Aiton. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                        Miss.
  _Cymbidium pulchellum_, Swartz. Lake Superior to the sources of
                          the Miss.
  _Corallorhiza multiflora_, Torrey. Lake Superior.
  _Convallaria borealis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of
                          the Mississippi.
          "      _trifolia_, Linn. Lake Superior.
  _Cenchrus echinatus_, Linn. Upper Mississippi.
  _Cerastium viscosum_, Linn. Lake Superior.
         "       _oblongifolium_, Torrey. Michigan Ter.
  _Campanula acuminata_, Michaux. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
  _Chrysosplenium oppositifolium._ Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
  _Cinna arundinacea_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
  _Drosera linearis_, Hooker. Lake Superior.
        "    _rotundifolia._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
        "    _americana_, Muhlenberg. Lake Superior to the sources of
                          the Miss.
  _Dracocephalum virginicum_, Willdenow. Red Cedar River, Northwest
  Territory.
  _Delphinium virescens_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
  _Danthonia spicata_, Willdenow. Mauvais River of Lake Superior.
  _Dirca palustris_, Willdenow. Ontonagon River of Lake Superior.
  _Equisetum limosum_, Torrey. Lake Superior.
          "    _palustr_e, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
          "    _variegatum_, Smith. Lake Michigan.
  _Erigeron integrifolium_, Bigelow. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Miss.
         "    _purpureum_, Willdenow. Falls of Peckagama, Upper
                           Miss.
         "    (_N. Spec._). Sources of St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
  _Erigeron heterophyllum_, Var. or (_N. Spec._). Sources of St. Croix
                            River, Northwest Ter.
  _Eryngium aquaticum_, Jussieu. Galena, Ill.
  _Euphorbia corollata_, Willdenow. Red Cedar River.
  _Eriophorum virginicum_, Linn. Lake Superior.
       "    _alpinum_, Linn. Lake Superior.
       "    _polystachyon_, Linn. Lake Superior.
  _Empetrum nigrum_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Erysimum chiranthoides_, Linn. Lake Superior:
  _Eriocaulon pellucidum_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Euchroma coccinea_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
  _Elymus striatus_, Willdenow. St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
     "   _virginicus_, Linn. St. Croix River, Northwest Ter.
  _Festuca nutans_, Willdenow. Lake Winnipec.
  _Glycera fluitans_, Brown. Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
  _Gyrophora papulosa_. Lake Superior.
  _Gentiana crinita_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
  _Geranium carolinianum_. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
  _Galium lanceolatum_, Torrey. Red Cedar River to the Mississippi.
  _Gerardia pedicularis_. Fox River, Northwest Ter.
      "    _maritima_, Rafinesque. Lake Michigan.
  _Galeopsis tetrahit_, Var. Falls of St. Mary, Mich. Ter.
  _Gnaphalium plantaginium_, Var. Sources of the Mississippi.
  _Goodyera pubescens_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
  _Hippophæ canadensis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
      "    _argentea_, Pursh. Lake Superior.
  _Hedeoma glabra_, Persoon. Lake Michigan to the sources of the
                    Miss.
  _Hydropeltis purpurea_, Michaux. Northwest Ter.
  _Hippuris vulgaris_. Yellow River to sources of the Mississippi.
  _Hudsonia tomentosa_, Nuttall. Lake Superior.
  _Hypericum canadense_. Lake Superior.
      "     _prolificum_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
  _Hieracium fasciculatum_, Pursh. Pukwàewa Lake, Northwest Ter.
  _Hierochloa borealis_, Roemer & Schultes. Lake Superior.
  _Holcus lanatus_. Savannah River, Northwest Ter.
  _Houstonia longifolia_, Willdenow. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
  _Heuchera americana_, Linn. St. Louis River of Lake Superior.
  _Hypnum crista-castrensis._ Sources of the Mississippi.
  _Hordeum jubatum._ Upper Red Cedar Lake.
  _Helianthus decapetalis._ Northwest Ter.
        " _gracilis_, Torrey. Upper Lake St. Croix, Northwest Ter.
  _Hyssopus anisatus_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
       " _scrophularifolius_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
  _Inula villosa_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
  _Ilex canadensis_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Juncus nodosus._ St. Mary's River.
      "    _polycephalus_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Koeleria nitida_, Nuttall. Lake Winnipec.
  _Lycopodium dendroideum_, Michaux. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                            Mississippi.
      " _annotinum_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                     Mississippi.
  _Lonicera hirsuta_, Eaton. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
      " _sempervirens_, Aiton. Lake Superior.
  _Lechea minor._ Upper Mississippi.
  _Linhea borealis_, Willdenow. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Lathyrus palustris._ Lake Superior.
     " _decaphyllus_, Pursh. Leech Lake.
     " _maritimus_, Bigelow. Lake Superior.
  _Lobelia kalmii_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
     " _claytoniana_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
     " _puberula?_ Michaux. Yellow River, Northwest Ter.
  _Liatris scariosa_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
     " _cylindrica_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
  _Lysimachia revoluta_, Nuttall. Lake Superior.
     " _thyrsifolia_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Ledum latifolium_, Aiton. Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Myrica gale_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
  _Malva (N. Spec.)._ Upper Mississippi.
  _Monarda punctata_, Linnæus. Upper Mississippi.
     " _oblongata_, Aiton. Upper Mississippi.
  _Microstylis ophioglossoides_, Willdenow. Lac la Biche [Itasca].
  _Myriophyllum spicatum._ Lake Superior.
  _Mitella cordifolia_, Lamarck. Lake Superior.
  _Menyanthes trifoliata._ Lake Superior to the sources of the Miss.
  _Myosotis arvensis_, Sibthorp. St. Clair River, Mich. Ter.
  _Nelumbium luteum_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
  _OEnothera biennis_, Var. Bois Brulé River of Lake Superior.
           "     _serrulata_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
  _Psoralea argophylla_, Pursh. Falls of St. Anthony.
  _Primula farinosa_, Var. _Americana_, Torrey. Lakes Huron and
                      Superior.
      "      _mistassinica_, Michaux. Keweena Point, Lake Superior.
  _Pingwicula_ (_N. Spec._). Presque Isle, Lake Superior.
  _Parnassia americana_, Muhlenberg. Lake Michigan.
  _Pedicularis gladiata_, Michaux. Fox River.
  _Pinus nigra_, Lambert. Lake Superior.
       "   _banksiana_, Lambert. Lake Superior.
  _Populus tremuloides_, Michaux. Northwest Ter.
        "    _lævigata_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
  _Prunus depressa_, Pursh. Lakes Superior and Michigan.
  _Petalostemon violaceum_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
        "         _candidum_, Willdenow. Upper Mississippi.
  _Potentilla tridentata_, Aiton. Lake Superior.
        "       _fruticosa_, Linnæus. Lakes Superior and Michigan.
  _Pyrola uniflora_, Mauvais River of Lake Superior.
  _Polygonum amphibium_, Linnæus. St. Croix River.
        "      _cilinode_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
        "      _articulatum_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
        "      _coccinium_, Willdenow. St. Croix River.
  _Polygala polygama_, Walter. Northwest Ter.
  _Phlox aristata_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
  _Poa canadensis._ Upper Mississippi.
  _Pentstemon gracile_, Nuttall. Upper Red Cedar Lake.
         "      _grandiflorum_, Nuttall. Falls of St. Anthony.
  _Physalis lanceolata_, Var. (or _N. Spec._). Lac la Biche [Itasca].
  _Quercus coccinea_, Wangenheim. Upper Red Cedar Lake.
        "    _obtusiloba_, Michaux. Upper Mississippi.
  _Ranunculus filiformis_, Michaux. Falls of St. Mary, Mich. Ter.
        "       _pusillus_, Pursh. Mich. Ter.
        "       _prostratus_, Lamarck. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
        "       _lacustris_, Beck & Tracy. Upper Mississippi.
  _Rudbeckia hirta_, Linnæus. Upper Mississippi and Michigan Ter.
         "     _digitata_, Aiton. Upper Mississippi.
  _Rubus parviflorus_, Nuttall. Lake Superior to the sources of the
                       Miss.
       "   _hispidus_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
       "   _saxatilis_, Var. _canadensis_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Rosa gemella_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
       "  _rubifolia_, Brown. Michigan Ter.
  _Ribes albinervum_, Michaux. Sources of the St. Croix River.
  _Saururus cernuus_, Linnæus. Upper Mississippi.
  _Streptopus roseus_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Sisymbrium brachycarpum_, Richardson. Lake Superior.
         "      _chiranthoides_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
  _Swertia deflexa_, Smith. Bois Brulé River of Lake Superior.
  _Silphium terebinthinaceum_, Elliott. Michigan Territory to the Miss.
         "    _gummiferum_. Fox River to the Mississippi.
  _Stachys aspera_, Var. Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Sterocaulon paschale._ Lake Superior.
  _Struthiopteris pennsylvanica_, Willdenow. Lake Superior.
  _Scirpus frigetur?_ Lake of the Isles, Northwest Ter.
        "    _palustris_, Linnæus. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
  _Salix prinoides_, Pursh. Mauvais River of Lake Superior.
       "   _longifolia_, Muhlenberg. Upper Mississippi.
  _Spiræa opulifolia_, Var. _tomentella_, De Candolle. Lake Superior.
  _Sorbus americana_, Willdenow. Lake Huron to the head of Lake
                      Superior.
  _Smilax rotundifolia_ Linnæus. Lake Superior to the Mississippi.
  _Silene antirrhina_, Linnæus. Lac la Biche.
  _Saxifraga virginiensis_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Scutellaria ambigua_, Nuttall. Upper Mississippi.
  _Solidago virgaurea_, Var. _alpina._ Lake Superior.
  _Stipa juncea_, Nuttall. Usawa R.
  _Symphora racemosa_, Michaux. Source of the Miss. R.
  _Senecio balsamitæ_, Var. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Miss.
  _Sagittaria heterophylla_, Pursh. Upper Miss.
  _Tanacetum huronensis_, Nuttall. Lakes Michigan and Superior.
  _Tussilago palmata_, Willdenow. Lake Michigan.
  _Tofeldia pubens_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
  _Triglochin maritimum_, Linnæus. Lake Superior.
  _Thalyctrum corynellum_, De Candolle. St. Louis River.
  _Triticum repens_, Linnæus. Leech Lake.
  _Troximon virginicum_, Pursh. Lake Winnipec.
  _Talinum teretifolium_, Pursh. St. Croix River.
  _Tradescantia virginica._ Upper Mississippi.
  _Utricularia cornuta_, Michaux. Lake Superior.
         "       _purpurea_, Walter. Lac Chetac, N. W. Ter.
  _Uraspermum canadense_, Lake Superior to the Miss.
  _Viola lanceolata_, Linnæus. Sault Ste. Marie.
       "   _pedata_, Var. (or _N. Spec._). Lac la Biche, sources of the
                     Miss.
  _Viburnum oxycoccus_, Pursh. Lake Superior.
         "    _lentago._ Lake Superior.
  _Vernonia novoboracensis_, Willdenow. Upper Miss.
  _Verbena bracteosa_, Michaux. Upper Miss.
        "    _stricta_, Ventenat. Upper Miss.
  _Zapania nodiflora_, Michaux. Galena, Illinois.
  _Zigadenus chloranthus_, Richardson. Sandy shores of Lake Michigan.
  _Zizania aquatica_, Pursh. Illinois to the sources of the Miss.


VII.

MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.

1. _A Report on the Existence of Deposits of Copper in the Geological
Basin of Lake Superior._ By Dr. D. HOUGHTON.

FREDONIA, N. Y., November 14, 1831.

SIR: In fulfilment of the duties assigned to me in the late expedition
into the Indian country, under the direction of H. R. Schoolcraft, Esq.,
Indian Agent, I would beg leave to transmit to you the following
observations relative to the existence of copper in the country
bordering on the southern shore of Lake Superior.

It is without doubt true that this subject has long been viewed with an
interest far beyond its actual merit. Each mass of native copper which
this country has produced, however insulated, or however it may have
been separated from its original position, appears to have been
considered a sure indication of the existence of that metal in beds;
and hence we occasionally see, upon maps of that section of our country,
particular portions marked as containing "copper mines," where no copper
now exists. But, while it is certain that a combination of circumstances
has served to mislead the public mind with regard to the geological
situation and existing quantity of that metal, it is no less certain
that a greater quantity of insulated native copper has been discovered
upon the borders of Lake Superior, than in any other equal portion of
North America.

Among the masses of native copper which have engaged the attention of
travellers in this section of country, one, which from its great size
was early noticed, is situated on the Ontonagon River, a stream which
empties its waters into the southern part of Lake Superior, 331 miles
above the Falls of the Ste. Marie. The Ontonagon River is, with some
difficulty, navigable by batteaux 36 miles, at which place, by the union
of two smaller streams--one from an easterly and the other from a
westerly direction--the main stream is formed. The mass of copper is
situated on the western fork, at a distance of six or eight miles from
the junction.

The face of the country through the upper half of the distance from Lake
Superior is uneven, and the irregularity is given it by hills of marly
clay, which occasionally rise quite abruptly to the height of one or two
hundred feet. No rock was observed _in situ_, except in one place,
where, for a distance, the red sandstone was observed, forming the bed
of the river.

The mass of copper lies, partly covered by water, directly at the foot
of a clay hill, from which, together with numerous boulders of the
primitive rocks, it has undoubtedly been washed by the action of the
water of the river. Although it is completely insulated, there is much
to interest in its examination. Its largest surface measures three and a
half by four feet, and this, which is of malleable copper, is kept
bright by the action of the water, and has the usual appearance of that
metal when worn. To one surface is attached a small quantity of rock,
singularly bound together by threads of copper, which pass through it in
all directions. This rock, although many of its distinctive characters
are lost, is evidently a dark colored serpentine, with small
interspersed masses of milky quartz.

The mass of copper is so situated as to afford but little that would
enable us to judge of its original geological position. In examining the
eastern fork of the river, I discovered small water-worn masses of
trap-rock, in which were specks of imbedded carbonate of copper and
copper black; and with them were occasionally associated minute specks
of serpentine, in some respects resembling that which is attached to the
large mass of copper; and facts would lead us to infer that the trap
formation which appears on Lake Superior east of the Ontonagon River,
crosses this section of country at or near the source of that river, and
at length forms one of the spurs of the Porcupine Mountains.

Several smaller masses of insulated native copper have been discovered
on the borders of Lake Superior, but that upon Ontonagon River is the
only one which is now known to remain.

At as early a period as before the American Revolution, an English
mining company directed their operations to the country bordering on
Lake Superior, and Ontonagon River was one point to which their
attention was immediately directed. Traces of a shaft, sunk in the clay
hill, near a mass of copper, are still visible--a memento of ignorance
and folly.

Operations were also commenced on the southern shore of Lake Superior,
near the mouth of a small stream, which, from that circumstance, is
called Miners' River. Parts of the names of the miners, carved upon the
sandstone rock at the mouth of the river, are still visible. What
circumstance led to the selection of this spot does not now appear. No
mineral traces are at this day perceptible, except occasional
discolorations of the sandstone rock by what is apparently a mixture of
the carbonates of iron and copper; and this is only to be observed where
water, holding in solution an extremely minute portion of these salts,
has trickled slowly over those rocks.

It does not, in fact, appear that the red sandstone, which constitutes
the principal rock formation of the southern shore of Lake Superior, is
in any instance metalliferous in any considerable degree. If this be
true, it would require but little reflection to convince one of the
inexpediency of conducting mining operations at either of the points
selected for that purpose; and it is beyond a doubt true, that the
company did not receive the least inducement to continue their labors.

In addition to these masses of native copper, an ore of that metal has
long been known to the lake traders as the green rock, in which the
characteristic substances are the green and blue carbonates of copper,
accompanied by copper black. It is situated upon Keweena Point, 280
miles above the falls of the Ste. Marie. The ore is embraced by what is
apparently a recently formed crag; and, although it is of a kind and so
situated as to make an imposing appearance, there is little certainty of
its existence in large quantities in this formation. The ore forms a
thin covering to the pebbles of which the body of the rock is composed,
and is rarely observed in masses separate from it. The crag is composed
of angular fragments of trap-rock, and the formation is occasionally
traversed by broad and continuous belts of calc. spar, here and there
tinged with copper. Although the ore was not observed in any
considerable quantity, except at one point, it apparently exists in
minute specks through a greater part of the crag formation, which
extends several miles, forming the shore of the lake.

This examination of the crag threw new interest upon the trap formation,
which had been first observed to take the place of the sandstone at the
bottom of a deep bay, called Montreal Bay, on the easterly side of
Keweena Point. The trap-rock continues for a few miles, when the crag
before noticed appears to lie directly upon it, and to form the
extremity of the point; the crag, in turn, disappears, and the trap-rock
is continued for a distance of six or eight miles upon the westerly side
of the point, when the sandstone again reappears.

The trap-rock is of a compact granular texture, occasionally running
into the amygdaloid and toadstone varieties, and is rich in imbedded
minerals, such as amethystine quartz, smoky quartz, carnelian,
chalcedony, agate, &c., together with several of the ores of copper.
Traces of copper ore in the trap-rock were first noticed on the easterly
side of Keweena Point, and near the commencement of the trap formation.
This ore, which is an impure copper black, was observed in a vein of
variable thickness, but not in any part exceeding two and a half inches.
It is sufficiently compact and hard to receive a firm polish, but it is
rather disposed to break into small irregular masses. A specimen
furnished, upon analysis, 47.5 per cent. of pure copper.

On the western side of Keweena Point, the same ore appears under
different circumstances, being disseminated through the body of the
trap-rock, in grains varying in size from a pin's head to a pea.
Although many of these grains are wholly copper black, they are
occasionally only depositions of the mineral upon specks of carnelian,
chalcedony, or agate, or are more frequently composed, in part, of what
is apparently an imperfect steatite. The ore is so connected with, and
so much resembles in color the rock, of which it may be said to be a
constituent part, that they might easily, during a hasty examination, be
confounded. A random specimen of the rock furnished, upon analysis, 3.2
per cent. of pure copper. The rock continues combined with that mineral
for nearly the space of three miles. Extremely thin veins of copper
black were observed to traverse this same rock; and in enlargements of
these were discovered several masses of amorphous native copper. The
latter mineral appeared in two forms--the one consisting of compact and
malleable masses, varying from four to ten ounces each; and the other,
of specks and fasciculi of pure copper, binding together confused masses
of copper green, and partially disintegrated trap-rock; the latter was
of several pounds' weight. Each variety was closely embraced by the
rock, although the action of the water upon the rock had occasionally
exposed to view points of the metal. In addition to the accompanying
copper green, which was in a disintegrated state, small specks of the
oxide of copper were associated in most of the native specimens.

Circumstances would not permit an examination of any portion of the trap
formation, except that bordering directly upon the lake. But facts would
lead us to infer that that formation extends from one side of Keweena
Point to the other, and that a range of thickly wooded hills, which
traverses the point, is based upon, if not formed of that rock. An
Indian information, which, particularly upon such a subject, must be
adopted with caution, would sanction the opinion that the prominent
constituents are the same wherever the rock is observed.

After having duly considered the facts which are presented, I would not
hesitate to offer, as an opinion, that the trap-rock formation was the
original source of the masses of copper which have been observed in the
country bordering on Lake Superior; and that, at the present day,
examinations for the ores of copper could not be made in that country
with hopes of success, except in the trap-rock itself; which rock is not
certainly known to exist upon any place upon Lake Superior, other than
Keweena Point.

If this opinion be a correct one, the cause of, failure of the mining
company in this region is rendered plain. Having considered each
insulated mass of pure metal as a true indication of the existence of a
bed in the vicinity, operations were directed to wrong points; when,
having failed to realize their anticipations, the project was abandoned
without further actual investigation. We would be induced to infer that
no attempts were made to learn the original source of the metal which
was discovered, and thus, while the attention was drawn to insulated
masses, the ores, ordinary in appearance, but more important _in sitû_,
were neglected; and perhaps, from the close analogy in appearance to the
rock with which they were associated, no distinction was observed.

What quantity of ore the trap-rock of Keweena Point may be capable of
producing, can only be determined by minute and laborious examination.
The indications which were presented by a hasty investigation are here
embodied, and with deference submitted to your consideration.

I have the honor to be,
  Sir, your obedient, servant,
    DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.

Hon. LEWIS CASS, _Secretary of War_.

2. _Remarks on the Occurrence of Native Silver and Ores of Silver in the
Stratification of the Basins of Lakes Huron and Superior._ By HENRY R.
SCHOOLCRAFT.

Traces of this metal which have been found in the drift and boulder
stratum of both Lakes Huron and Superior, indicate the existence of the
metal in place. During my residence at St. Mary's, two specimens of its
occurrence were brought to my notice. The first of these consisted of
points of native silver in a moderately large mass of native copper,
found in 1823, near the entrance of the _Nama_ or Sturgeon River into
Keweena Lake, of the large peninsula of that name, in Lake Superior.
Like the majority of such masses of the region, it had no adhering
portion of rock or vein stone, from which a judgment might be formed of
its original position.

I had, the prior year, set up my mineralogical cabinet in my office, and
stated to the Indians, who roved over large tracts, my solicitude to
collect specimens of the mineral productions of the country of every
description, and, indeed, of its zoology, always acknowledging their
comity, in bringing me specimens in any department of natural history,
by some small present; and I found this to be a means of extending my
inquiries.

Subsequently, I received a boulder specimen from the shores of Lake
Huron, containing veins of native silver. Part of the metal had been
detached. I submitted these specimens to the Lyceum of Natural History
at New York, in 1825. The following remarks are taken from their annals.

_Mineralogical and Chemical Characters._--By examining this mineral, it
will be perceived to possess the color, lustre, malleability, and other
obvious characters of native silver. It is so soft as to be easily cut
by the knife; and in a state of purity which permits it to spread under
the hammer. These characters serve to distinguish it from antimonial
silver, which is not _malleable_; from native antimony which tarnishes
on exposure, &c. The metal occurs in thin, massive veins in the rock.
These veins sometimes intersect, but never cross each other. It is also
disseminated in small particles through the stone, or spread in
flattened masses over its surface. Some of these masses were detached by
the discoverer, but have been preserved, and are presented to the Lyceum
with the more solid and undisturbed portions.

By submitting a small portion of the metal to the action of nitric acid,
I obtained an imperfect solution. On repeating the experiment, and
adding a little sulphuric acid, the action was more brisk, and a clear
and apparently perfect solution effected. By standing, however, a pulpy,
white precipitate appeared at the bottom of the glass. This was
collected and submitted to the action of the blowpipe, on a basis of
charcoal. The result gave a number of minute, metallic globules,
possessing greater lustre, malleability, and ductility, than the
original mass. I repeated the latter experiment, adding to the
nitro-sulphuric solution muriate of soda. A more perfect precipitation
of the white powder was effected; but the results with the blowpipe
remained the same.

_Geognostic Position._--It is a rolled mass. An opinion of the specific
character of the rock may be dubious, from the smallness of the
specimen. It appears to have been detached from a stratum of gneiss, and
is essentially composed of quartz. The blackish color of some parts of
this latter mineral would, at first glance, lead us to attribute this
color to the presence of hornblende; but, on closer examination, it will
be perceived to be owing to a dark-colored steatite, which, in certain
parts of the rock, is well developed, soft, and easily cut. A little
calcspar is intermingled with the steatite.

_Locality._--I am indebted to the politeness of Lieut. Lewis S.
Johnston, of the British Indian Department, at Malden (U. C.), for the
opportunity of adding this specimen to the mineralogical cabinet of the
Lyceum. This gentleman, as he informed me, obtained it from an Indian,
who picked it up on the southeastern shores of Lake Huron, near Point
aux Barques, in Michigan Territory. That part of Lake Huron was
cursorily examined by me, in the year 1820, in the course of the
expedition conducted by Gov. Cass, through the upper lakes, &c. I
consider it remarkable, even in a region abounding in rolled rocks, for
the great number and variety of granite, gneiss, hornblende, and trap
boulders, scattered along the shores of the lake. The water here is
generally shallow and dangerous to approach in vessels; these boulder
stones sometimes extending and presenting themselves above water for a
mile or more from land. But we could not satisfy ourselves by an
examination necessarily partial, that either of the primitive species
mentioned, existed there in any other condition than as rolled masses,
or displacements of rock strata, contiguous, perhaps, but not observed.
Dr. Bigsby has informed me, that he observed the gneiss _in sitû_, on
the northwestern shores of this lake. The nearest rock in place, and
that which in fact constitutes the abraded and caverned promontory of
Point aux Barques, is gray sandstone.

The occurrence of this metal in the copper-bearing and other
metalliferous rocks of this region, may be confidently affirmed.[273]

  [273] At the date of this publication, it is known that this metal
  occurs, both as a constituent of the mass copper in Lake Superior,
  and is also developed in veins in the stratification.

3. _A General Summary of the Localities of Minerals observed in the
Northwest in 1831 and 1832._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

  CLASS I. _Bodies not metallic, containing an acid._

1. CALCAREOUS SPAR. Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded in small
globular masses, in the trap-rock; also forming veins in the same
formation. Some of the masses break into rhombic forms, and possess a
certain but not perfect degree of transparency; others are opaque, or
discolored by the green carbonate of copper. Also in the trap-rock
between Fond du Lac and Old Grand Portage, Lake Superior, in perfect,
transparent rhombs, exhibiting the property of double refraction. Also,
at the lead mines, in Iowa County, in the marly clay formation, often
exhibiting imperfect prisms, variously truncated.

2. CALCAREOUS TUFA. Mouth of the River Brulé, of Lake Superior. In
small, friable, broken masses, in the diluvial soil. Also, in the gorge
below the Falls of St. Anthony. In detached, vesicular masses, amidst
debris.

3. COMPACT CARBONATE OF LIME. In the calcareous cliffs of horizontal
formation, commencing at the Falls of St. Anthony. Carboniferous.

4. SEPTARIA. In the reddish clay soil, between Montreal River and
Lapointe, Lake Superior.

5. GYPSUM. In the sandstone rock at the Point of Grand Sable West, Lake
Superior. In orbicular masses, firmly imbedded. Not abundant. Granular,
also imperfectly foliated.

6. CARBONATE OF MAGNESIA. Serpentine rock, at Presque Isle, Lake
Superior. Compact.

7. HYDRATE OF MAGNESIA? With the preceding.

  CLASS II. _Earthy compounds, amorphous or crystalline._

8. COMMON QUARTZ. Huron Islands, Lake Superior; also the adjoining
coast. In very large veins or beds. White, opaque.

9. GRANULAR QUARTZ. Falls of Peckagama, Upper Mississippi. _In sitû._

10. SMOKY QUARTZ. In the trap-rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior,
crystallized. In connection with amethystine quartz.

11. AMETHYST. With the preceding. Also, at the Pic Bay, and at
Gargontwa, north shore of Lake Superior, in the trap-rock, in perfect
crystals, of various intensity of color.

12. CHALCEDONY. Keweena Point, Lake Superior. In globular or orbicular
masses, in amygdaloid rock. Often, in detached masses along the shores.

13. CARNELIAN. With the preceding.

14. HORNSTONE. In detached masses, very hard, on the shores of Lake
Superior. Also, at Dodgeville, Iowa County, Mich. Ter., in fragments or
nodular masses in the clay soil.

15. JASPER. In the preceding locality. Common and striped, exceedingly
difficult of being acted on by the wheel. Not observed _in sitû_.

16. AGATE. Imbedded in the trap-rocks of Lake Superior, and also
detached, forming a constituent of its detritus. Variously colored.
Often made up of alternate layers of chalcedony, carnelian, and
cacholong. Sometimes zoned, or in fortification points. Specimens not
taken from the rock are not capable of being scratched by quartz or
flint, and are incapable of being acted on by the file; consequently,
_harder_ than any of the described species.

17. CYANITE. Specimens of this mineral, in flat, six-sided prisms,
imbedded in a dark primitive rock, were brought out from Lac du Flambeau
outlet, where the rock is described as existing _in sitû_. The locality
has not been visited, but there are facts brought to light, within the
last two or three years, to justify the extension of the primitive to
that section of country.

18. PITCHSTONE. A detached mass of this mineral, very black and
lava-like, was picked up in the region of Lake Superior, where the
volcanic mineral, trachyte, is common among the rolled masses. Neither
of these substances have been observed _in sitû_.

19. MICA. Huron Islands, Lake Superior. In granite.

20. SCHORL. Common. Outlet of Lac du Flambeau. Also, in a detached mass
of primitive rock at Green Bay.

21. FELDSPAR. Porcupine mountains, Lake Superior.

22. BASALT. Amorphous. Granite Point, Lake Superior.

23. STILBITE. Amygdaloid rock, Keweena Point, Lake Superior.

24. ZEOLITE. Mealy. With the preceding.

25. ZEOLITE. Radiated. Lake Superior. This mineral consists of fibres,
so delicate and firmly united as to appear almost compact, radiating
from a centre. Some of the masses produced by this radiation measure 2.5
inches in diameter. They are of a uniform, pale, yellowish red. This
mineral has not been traced _in sitû_, being found in detached masses of
rock, and sometimes as water-worn portions of radii. Its true position
would seem to be the trap-rock.

26. ASBESTUS. Presque Isle, Lake Superior. In the serpentine formation.

27. HORNBLENDE. Very abundant as a constituent of the primitive rocks on
the Upper Mississippi, and in the basin of Lake Superior. Often in
distinct crystals.

28. DIALLAGE, GREEN. Lake Superior. In detached masses, connected with
primitive boulders. _Harder_ than the species.

29. SERPENTINE, COMMON. Presque Isle, Lake Superior.

30. SERPENTINE, PRECIOUS. With the preceding. Color, a light pistachio
green, and takes a fine polish. Exists in veins in the common variety.

31. PSEUDOMORPHOUS SERPENTINE. With the preceding. This beautiful green
mineral constitutes a portion of the veins of the precious serpentine.
Its crystalline impressions are very distinct.

32. ARGILLITE. River St. Louis, northwest of Lake Superior. Nearly
vertical in its position.

  CLASS III. _Combustibles._

33. PEAT. Marine sand formation composing the shore of Lake Superior,
between White-fish Point and Grand Marais. Also, on the island of
Michilimackinac.

  CLASS IV. _Ores and Metals._

34. NATIVE COPPER. West side of Keweena Point, Lake Superior. Imbedded
in a vein with carbonate of copper, and copper black, in the trap-rock.

35. COPPER BLACK. With the preceding.

36. CARBONATE OF COPPER, GREEN. With the preceding.

These two minerals (35 and 36) characterize the trap-rock of the
peninsula of Keweena, Lake Superior, from Montreal Bay, extending to and
around its extremity, west, to Sand-hill Bay. The entire area may be
estimated to comprise a rocky, serrated coast of about seventy-five
miles in length, and not to exceed seven or eight miles in width. The
principal veins are at a point called Roche Verd, and along the coast
which we refer to as the Black Rocks. At the latter, native copper is
one of the constituents of the vein.

Green and blue carbonate of copper was also observed in limited
quantity, in small rounded masses, at one of the lead diggings near
Mineral Point, Iowa County.

37. CHROMATE OF IRON. Presque Isle, Lake Superior.

38. SULPHURET OF LEAD. Lead mines of Iowa County, Michigan Territory.

39. EARTHY CARBONATE OF LEAD. Brigham's mine, Iowa County, Mich. Ter.
Also, in small masses, of a yellowish white, dirty color, and great
comparative weight, at several of the lead mines (diggings) in the more
westerly and southern parts of the county.

4. _Geological Outline of the Taquimenon Valley of Lake Superior._ By
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

The River Takquimenon originates on a plateau between the northern
shores of Lake Michigan and the southeastern coast of Lake Superior. At
a central point on this plateau, there lies a lake of moderate size,
which, in the translated Indian phrase, is called Heartsblood Lake. A
little to the west of this lake, and, perhaps, connected with it,
originates the head stream of the North Manistic River of Lake Michigan,
running southwest. Towards the northeast the Takwymenon takes its way,
winding through level grassy plains, till it reaches the rim of the
geological basin that circumscribes Lake Superior. The height of this
point is conjectural. It is probably one hundred and fifty feet above
the level of the lake.

To comprehend the geography of the region, it is necessary to advert to
the fact that the sandstone formation, which appears in the picturesque
form of the Pictured Rocks, is last seen in its range eastward at La
Pointe des Grande Sable, where its surface is of a compact structure and
dull red color. Between this locality and the bold cape of Point
Iroquois, at the head of St. Mary's River, there intervenes an extensive
formation of gravel, boulders, and sand. The length of this line of
coast is about ninety miles, its breadth to the basinic rim, perhaps
thirty. It is covered with small pines, spruce, birch, and poplar, with
frequent sphagnous tracts and ponds; the lake shore, where the sands are
continually accumulated, being higher than the interior portions. It
has, from early days, been a favorite resort for beaver, from which it
is called by the natives, Namikong, meaning, excellent place of beavers.

This tract of the Namikong is primarily due to diluvial formations, with
a comparatively recent hem of lake action, consisting of sands and
pebbles pushed up by the waves of Lake Superior. Through this tract,
from the plateaux, four small rivers make their way to the lake. They
are, in their order, from west to east, the river of Grand Mauvais, the
Twin River, the Shelldrake, and the Tacquimenon, which enters the lake
fifteen miles from Point Iroquois.

Of these streams, the Tacquimenon carries the largest body of water into
the lake. It is already a stream of seventy feet wide, and three feet
deep, when it reaches the rim of sandstone rocks referred to. Over
these, it is plunged, at a single perpendicular leap, forty feet,
falling like a curtain. It drops into a vast concavity in the sand rock,
where the water is of unfathomable depth, black and still. I had reached
this point in a canoe manned by Indians. They had urged their way up a
very rapid brawling bed for six miles above the lower falls, and when we
reached this still, deep, and dark basin, they said that care was
required to keep from under the suction of the falling sheet.

The lower falls of the stream are probably twelve or fourteen feet. They
are broken into several fan-shaped cascades, and present a picturesque
appearance--an idea which has also impressed the Chippewas, for they
refer to it as a favorite locality of fairies. Hence their name for it.
Immediately below these falls the river winds about, making a peninsula,
which is covered with deciduous trees and a fertile soil. The amount of
water power at this point is such as must command attention whenever the
country justifies settlement.

5. _Suggestions respecting the Geological Epoch of the Deposit of
Sandstone Rock at St. Mary's Falls._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

Lake Superior presents to the eye the singular spectacle of a body of
pure translucent water, five hundred miles in length from east to west,
and one hundred and eighty or two hundred miles wide. This vast mass of
water is thought to have an extreme depth--I know not on what
principles--of nine hundred feet deep. It lies at an elevation of six
hundred feet above the Atlantic ocean, at high water.

From this depth there has been protruded from its bottom two species of
formations, which were thus elevated by volcanic forces, namely, the
trap and the granitical series. Cones and high mural cliffs, with large
rents, make this basis one of great inequalities. To fill up these, the
sedimentary rocks, by a natural law of gravitation, let fall the
dissolved and suspended matter which constitutes the horizontal strata,
such as the neutral and deep-colored sandstones. This process also gives
origin to grauwackes and the grauwacke slates and the argillites. But
these horizontal deposits do not all retain their horizontality. They
were tilted up by other volcanic forces, after the deposition and
hardening of the sandstones, as we see them at the north foot of the
Porcupine Mountains and along the rugged valley of the St. Louis River.

This secondary upheaval or series of upheavals, is conceived to furnish
proof of epochs. Strata of the same mineral constitution and system of
formation which are upheaved, are clearly of posterior age to the
horizontal. Some of these strata of the secondary, epoch have only had
their horizontality disturbed, while others are quite vertical. Yet, the
disturbances of an epoch are only relative, and it remains true that any
disturbance, however slight, in the fundamental series, throws the epoch
beyond the newer fletz and tertiary formations.

Some theory of this kind is necessary in scrutinizing the position of
the St. Mary's sandstone, which is manifestly of the palaozoic era. It
has felt the impulse of disturbance, although it appears to be little.
Evidences of this are most perceptible in the British Channel, on the
north side of the Island of St. Joseph. This channel, and, indeed, the
entire course of the river up to Lake Superior, is the line of
juxtaposition between the rocks of elder and the secondary epoch. At the
extreme foot of Sugar Island occurs the remains of a stratum of the
sandstone era, consisting of white quartz filled with coarse red jasper
pebbles. I observed remains of this stratum of remarkable rock, which
have been broken off and swept away in the basin of Lake Huron,
deposited in boulder masses on its southern shores.

The sandstone of St. Mary's is, structurally, brittle, fissile, and
worthless, as a building material. Its substructure is complicated and
made up of thin layers exactly deposited, as if from watery suspension,
but deposited without disturbance. These sub-layers of construction, are
sometimes cut off by parallel lines at right angles, or by new series of
layers diagonally formed, or in echelon.


3. INDIAN TRIBES.

VIII.

CONDITION AND DISPOSITION.

   1. _Official Report of an Expedition through Upper Michigan and Northern
      Wisconsin in 1831._

SAULT STE. MARIE, Sept. 21, 1831.

SIR: In compliance with instructions to endeavor to terminate the
hostilities between the Chippewas and Sioux, I proceeded into the
Chippewa country with thirteen men in two canoes, having the necessary
provisions and presents for the Indians, an interpreter, a physician to
attend the sick, and a person in charge of the provisions and other
public property. The commanding officer of Fort Brady furnished me with
an escort of ten soldiers, under the command of a lieutenant; and I took
with me a few Chippewas, in a canoe provided with oars, to convey a part
of the provisions. A flag was procured for each canoe. I joined the
expedition at the head of the portage, at this place, on the 25th of
June; and, after visiting the Chippewa villages in the belt of country
between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, in latitudes 44° to 46°,
returned on the 4th of September, having been absent seventy-two days,
and travelled a line of country estimated to be two thousand three
hundred and eight miles. I have now the honor to report to you the route
pursued, the means employed to accomplish the object, and such further
measures as appear to me to be necessary to give effect to what has been
done, and to insure a lasting peace between the two tribes.

Reasons existed for not extending the visit to the Chippewa bands on the
extreme Upper Mississippi, on Red Lake, and Red River, and the River De
Corbeau. After entering Lake Superior, and traversing its southern
shores to Point Chegoimegon, and the adjacent cluster of islands, I
ascended the Mauvaise River to a portage of 8-¾ miles into the
Kaginogumac, or Long Water Lake. This lake is about eight miles long,
and of very irregular width. Thence, by a portage of 280 yards, into
Turtle Lake; thence, by a portage of 1,075 yards, into Clary's Lake, so
called; thence, by a portage of 425 yards, into Lake Polyganum; and
thence, by a portage of 1,050 yards, into the Namakagon River, a branch
of the River St. Croix of the Upper Mississippi. The distance from Lake
Superior to this spot is, by estimation, 124 miles.

We descended the Namakagon to the Pukwaewa, a rice lake, and a Chippewa
village of eight permanent lodges, containing a population of 53
persons, under a local chief called Odabossa. We found here gardens of
corn, potatoes, and pumpkins, in a very neat state of cultivation. The
low state of the water, and the consequent difficulty of the navigation,
induced me to leave the provisions and stores at this place, in charge
of Mr. Woolsey, with directions to proceed (with part of the men, and
the aid of the Indians) to _Lac Courtorielle_, or Ottowa Lake, and there
await my arrival. I then descended the Namakagon in a light canoe, to
its discharge into the St. Croix, and down the latter to Yellow River,
the site of a trading-post and an Indian village, where I had, by
runners, appointed a council. In this trip I was accompanied by Mr.
Johnson, sub-agent, acting as interpreter, and by Dr. Houghton, adjunct
professor of the Rensselaer school. We reached Yellow River on the 1st
of August, and found the Indians assembled. After terminating the
business of the council (of which I shall presently mention the
results), I reascended the St. Croix and the Namakagon, to the portage
which intervenes between the latter and Lac Courtorielle. The first of
the series of carrying-places is about three miles in length, and
terminates at the Lake of the Isles (_Lac des Isles_); after crossing
which, a portage of 750 yards leads to _Lac du Gres_. This lake has a
navigable outlet into Ottowa Lake, where I rejoined the advanced party
(including Lieutenant Clary's detachment) on the 5th of August.

Ottowa Lake is a considerable expanse of water, being about twelve miles
long, with irregular but elevated shores. A populous Chippewa village
and a trading-post are located at its outlet, and a numerous Indian
population subsists in the vicinity. It is situated in a district of
country which abounds in rice lakes, has a proportion of prairie or
burnt land, caused by the ravages of fire, and, in addition to the small
fur-bearing animals, has several of the deer species. It occupies,
geographically, a central situation, being intermediate, and commanding
the communications between the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, and
between Lake Superior and the Upper Mississippi. It is on the great
slope of land descending towards the latter, enjoys a climate of
comparative mildness, and yields, with few and short intervals of
extreme want, the means of subsistence to a population which is still
essentially erratic. These remarks apply, with some modifications, to
the entire range of country (within the latitudes mentioned) situated
west and south of the high lands circumscribing the waters of Lake
Superior. The outlet of this Lake (Ottowa) is a fork of Chippewa River,
called Ottowa River.

I had intended to proceed from this lake, either by following down the
Ottowa branch to its junction with the main Chippewa, and then ascending
the latter into Lac du Flambeau, or by descending the Ottowa branch only
to its junction with the northwest fork, called the Ochasowa River; and,
ascending the latter to a portage of sixty _pauses_, into the Chippewa
River. By the latter route time and distance would have been saved, and
I should, in either way, have been enabled to proceed from Lac du
Flambeau to Green Bay by an easy communication into the Upper
Ouisconsin, and from the latter into the Menomonie River, or by Plover
Portage into Wolf River. This was the route I had designed to go on
quitting Lake Superior; but, on consulting my Indian maps, and obtaining
at Ottowa Lake the best and most recent information of the distance and
the actual state of the water, I found neither of the foregoing routes
practicable, without extending my time so far as to exhaust my supplies.
I was finally determined to relinquish the Lac du Flambeau route, by
learning that the Indians of that place had dispersed, and by knowing
that a considerable delay would be caused by reassembling them.

The homeward route by the Mississippi was now the most eligible,
particularly as it would carry me through a portion of country occupied
by the Chippewas, in a state of hostility with the Sioux, and across the
disputed line at the mill. Two routes, to arrive at the Mississippi,
were before me--either to follow down the outlet of Ottowa Lake to its
junction with the Chippewa, and descend the latter to its mouth, or to
quit the Ottowa Lake branch at an intermediate point, and, after
ascending a small and very serpentine tributary, to cross a portage of
6,000 yards into Lake Chetac. I pursued the latter route.

Lake Chetac is a sheet of water about six miles in length, and it has
several islands, on one of which is a small Chippewa village and a
trading-post. This lake is the main source of Red Cedar River (called
sometimes the _Folle Avoine_), a branch of the Chippewa River. It
receives a brook at its head from the direction of the portage, which
admits empty canoes to be conveyed down it two _pauses_, but is then
obstructed with logs. It is connected by a shallow outlet with Weegwos
Lake, a small expanse which we crossed with paddles in twenty-five
minutes. The passage from the latter is so shallow that a portage of
1,295 yards is made into Balsam of Fir or _Sapin_ Lake. The baggage is
carried this distance, but the canoes are brought through the stream.
Sapin Lake is also small; we were thirty minutes in crossing it. Below
this point, the river again expands into a beautiful sheet of water,
called Red Cedar Lake, which we were an hour in passing; and afterward
into _Bois François_, or Rice Lake. At the latter place, at the distance
of perhaps sixty miles from its head, I found the last fixed village of
Chippewas on this stream, although the hunting camps, and other signs of
temporary occupation, were more numerous below than on any other part of
the stream. This may be attributed to the abundance of the Virginia deer
in that vicinity, many of which we saw, and of the elk and moose, whose
tracks were fresh and numerous in the sands of the shore. Wild rice is
found in all the lakes. Game, of every species common to the latitude,
is plentiful. The prairie country extends itself into the vicinity of
Rice Lake; and for more than a day's march before reaching the mouth of
the river, the whole face of the country puts on a sylvan character, as
beautiful to the eye as it is fertile in soil, and spontaneously
productive of the means of subsistence. A country more valuable to a
population having the habits of our northwestern Indians could hardly be
conceived of; and it is therefore cause of less surprise that its
possession should have been so long an object of contention between the
Chippewas and Sioux.

About sixty miles below Rice Lake commences a series of rapids, which
extend, with short intervals, 24 miles. The remainder of the distance,
to the junction of this stream with the Chippewa, consists of deep and
strong water. The junction itself is characterized by commanding and
elevated grounds, and a noble expanse of waters. And the Chippewa River,
from this spot to its entrance into the Mississippi, has a depth and
volume, and a prominence of scenery, which mark it to be inferior to
none, and superior to most of the larger tributaries of the Upper
Mississippi. Before its junction, it is separated into several mouths,
from the principal of which the observer can look into Lake Pepin.
Steamboats could probably ascend to the falls.

The whole distance travelled, from the shores of Lake Superior to the
mouth of the Chippewa, is, by estimation, 643 miles, of which 138 should
be deducted for the trip to Yellow River leaving the direct practicable
route 505 miles. The length of the Mauvaise to the portage is 104; of
the Namakagon, from the portage, 161; of the Red Cedar, 170; of the
Chippewa, from the entrance of the latter, 40. Our means of estimating
distances was by time, corrected by reference to the rapidity of water
and strength of wind, compared with our known velocity of travelling in
calm weather on the lakes. These estimates were made and put down every
evening, and considerable confidence is felt in them. The courses were
accurately kept by a canoe compass. I illustrate my report of this part
of the route by a map protracted by Dr. Houghton. On this map, our
places of encampment, the sites and population of the principal Indian
villages, the trading-posts, and the boundary lines between the Sioux
and Chippewa, are indicated. And I refer you to it for several details
which are omitted in this report.

The present state of the controversy between the Sioux and the Chippewas
will be best inferred from the facts that follow. In stating them, I
have deemed it essential to preserve the order of my conferences with
the Indians, and to confine myself, almost wholly, to results.

Along the borders of Lake Superior, comparatively little alarm was felt
from the hostile relation with the Sioux. But I found them well informed
of the state of the difficulties, and the result of the several
war-parties that had been sent out the last year. A system of
information and advice is constantly kept up by runners; and there is no
movement meditated on the Sioux borders, which is not known and
canvassed by the lake bands.

They sent warriors to the scene of conflict last year, in consequence of
the murder committed by the Sioux on the St. Croix. Their sufferings
from hunger during the winter, and the existence of disease at Torch
Lake (_Lac du Flambeau_), and some other places, together with the
entire failure of the rice crop, had produced effects, which were
depicted by them and by the traders in striking colors. They made these
sufferings the basis of frequent and urgent requests for provisions.
This theme was strenuously dwelt upon. Whatever other gifts they asked
for, they never omitted the gift of food. They made it their first,
their second, and their third request.

At Chegoimegon, on Lake Superior (or _La Pointe_, emphatically so
called), I held my first and stated council with the Indians. This is
the ancient seat of the Chippewa power in this quarter. It is a central
and commanding point, with respect to the country lying north, and west,
and south of it. It appears to be the focus from which, as radii from a
centre, the ancient population emigrated; and the interior bands
consequently look back to it with something of the feelings of parental
relation. News from the frontiers flies back to it with a celerity which
is peculiar to the Indian mode of express. I found here, as I had
expected, the fullest and most recent information from the lines.
Mozojeed, the principal man at Ottowa Lake, had recently visited them
for the purpose of consultation; but returned on the alarm of an attack
upon his village.

The Indians listened with attention to the message transmitted to them
from the President, and to the statements with which it was enforced.
Pezhickee, the venerable and respected chief of the place, was their
speaker in reply. He lamented the war, and admitted the folly of keeping
it up; but it was carried on by the Chippewas in self-defence, and by
volunteer parties of young men, acting without the sanction of the old
chiefs. He thought the same remark due to the elder Sioux chiefs, who
probably did not sanction the crossing of the lines, but could not
restrain their young men. He lived, he said, in an isolated situation,
did not mingle in the interior broils, and did not deem himself
responsible for acts done out of his own village, and certainly not for
the acts of the villages of Torch Lake, Ottowa Lake, and the St. Croix.
He had uniformly advised his people to sit still and remain at peace,
and he believed that none of his young men had joined the war-parties of
last year. The Government, he said, should have his hearty co-operation
in restoring peace. He referred to the sub-agency established here in
1826, spoke of its benefits, and wished to know why the agent had been
withdrawn, and whether he would be instructed to return? In the course
of his reply, he said that formerly, when the Indians lived under the
British government, they were usually told what to do, and in very
distinct terms; but they were now at a loss. From what had been said and
done at the treaty of Fond du Lac, he expected the care and protection
of the American government, and that they would advance towards, instead
of (as in the case of the sub-agency) withdrawing from them. He was
rather at a loss for our views respecting the Chippewas, and he wished
much for my advice in their affairs.

I thought it requisite to make a distinct reply to this point. I told
him that when they lived under the British government, they were
justified in shaping their course according to the advice they received;
but that, on the transfer of the country, their allegiance was
transferred with it. And when our Government hoisted its flag at
Mackinac (1796), it expected from the Indians living within our
boundaries the respect due to it; and it acknowledged, at the same time,
the reciprocal obligations of care and protection. That it always aimed
to fulfil these obligations, of which facts within his own knowledge and
memory would afford ample proofs. I referred him to the several efforts
the Government had made to establish a lasting peace between the
Chippewas and Sioux; for which purpose the President had sent one of his
principal men (alluding to Gov. Cass), in 1820, who had visited their
most extreme northwestern villages, and induced themselves and the Sioux
to smoke the pipe of peace together at St. Peter's. In accordance with
these views, and acting on the information then acquired, the President
had established an agency for their tribe at Sault Ste. Marie, in 1822.
That, in 1825, he had assembled at Prairie du Chien all the tribes who
were at variance on the Upper Mississippi, and persuaded them to make
peace, and, as one of the best means of insuring its permanency, had
fixed the boundaries of their lands. Seeing that the Chippewas and Sioux
still continued an harassing and useless contest, he had sent me to
remind them of this peace and these boundaries, which, I added, you,
Perikee, yourself agreed to, and signed, in my presence. I come to bring
you back to the terms of this treaty. Are not these proofs of his care
and attention? Are not these clear indications of his, views respecting
the Chippewas? The chief was evidently affected by this recital. The
truth appeared to strike him forcibly; and he said, in a short reply,
that he was now _advised_; that he would hereafter feel himself to be
advised, &c. He made some remarks on the establishment of a mission
school, &c., which, being irrelevant, are omitted. He presented a pipe,
with an ornamented stem, as a token of his friendship, and his desire of
peace.

I requested him to furnish messengers to take belts of wampum and
tobacco, with three separate messages, viz: to Yellow River, to Ottowa
Lake, and to Lac du Flambeau, or Torch Lake; and also, as the water was
low, to aid me in the ascent of the Mauvaise River, and to supply guides
for each of the military canoes, as the soldiers would here leave their
barge, and were unacquainted with the difficulties of the ascent. He
accordingly sent his oldest son (Che-che-gwy-ung) and another person,
with the messages, by a direct trail, leading into the St. Croix
country. He also furnished several young Chippewas to aid us on the
Mauvaise, and to carry baggage on the long portage into the first
intermediate lake west of that stream.

After the distribution of presents, I left Chegoimegon on the 18th of
July. The first party of Indians met at the Namakagon, belonging to a
Chippewa village called Pukwaewa; having, as its geographical centre and
trading-post, Ottowa Lake. As I had directed part of the expedition to
precede me there, during my journey to Yellow River, I requested these
Indians to meet me at Ottowa Lake, and assist in conveying the stores
and provisions to that place--a service which they cheerfully performed.
On ascending the lower part of the Namakagon, I learned that my
messenger from Lake Superior had passed, and, on reaching Yellow River,
I found the Indians assembled and waiting. They were encamped on an
elevated ridge, called Pekogunagun, or the Hip Bone, and fired a salute
from its summit. Several of the neighboring Indians came in after my
arrival. Others, with their chiefs, were hourly expected. I did not
deem it necessary for all to come in, but proceeded to lay before
them the objects of my visit, and to solicit their co-operation in an
attempt to make a permanent peace with the Sioux, whose borders we then
were near. Kabamappa, the principal chief, not being a speaker,
responded to my statements and recommendations through another person
(Sha-ne-wa-gwun-ai-be). He said that the Sioux were of bad faith; that
they never refused to smoke the pipe of peace with them, and they never
failed to violate the promise of peace thus solemnly made. He referred
to an attack they made last year on a band of Chippewas and half-breeds,
and the murder of four persons. Perpetual vigilance was required to meet
these inroads. Yet he could assert, fearlessly, that no Chippewa
war-party from the St. Croix had crossed the Sioux line for years; that
the murder he had mentioned was committed within the Chippewa lines; and
although it was said, at the treaty of Prairie du Chien, that the first
aggressor of territorial rights should be punished, neither punishment
was inflicted by the Government, nor had any atonement or apology thus
far been made for this act by the Sioux. He said his influence had been
exerted in favor of peace; that he had uniformly advised both chiefs and
warriors to this effect; and he stood ready now to do whatever it was
reasonable he should do on the subject.

I told him it was not a question of recrimination that was before us. It
was not even necessary to go into the inquiry of who had spilt the first
blood since the treaty of Prairie du Chien. The treaty had been
violated. The lines had been crossed. Murders had been committed by the
Chippewas and by the Sioux. These murders had reached the ears of the
President, and he was resolved to put a stop to them. I did not doubt
but that the advice of the old chiefs, on each side, had been pacific. I
did not doubt but that his course had been _particularly_ so. But rash
young men, of each party, had raised the war-club; and when they could
not go openly, they went secretly. A stop must be put to this course,
and it was necessary the first movement should be made _somewhere_. It
was proper it should be made here, and be made at this time. Nothing
could be lost by it; much might be gained; and if a negotiation was
opened with the Sioux chiefs while I remained, I would second it by
sending an explanatory message to the chiefs and to their agent. I
recommended that Kabamappa and Shakoba, the war-chief of Snake River,
should send jointly wampum and tobacco to the Petite Corbeau and to
Wabisha, the leading Sioux chiefs on the Mississippi, inviting them to
renew the league of friendship, and protesting their own sincerity in
the offer. I concluded by presenting him with a flag, tobacco, wampum,
and ribbons, to be used in the negotiation. After a consultation, he
said he would not only send the messages, but, as he now had the
protection of a flag, he would himself go with the chief Shakoba to the
Petite Corbeau's village. I accompanied these renewed offers of peace
with explanatory messages, in my own name, to Petite Corbeau and to
Wabisha, and a letter to Mr. Taliaferro, the Indian agent at St.
Peter's, informing him of these steps, and soliciting his co-operation.
A copy of this letter is hereunto annexed. I closed the council by the
distribution of presents; after which the Indians called my attention to
the conduct of their trader, &c.

Information was given me immediately after my arrival at Yellow River,
that Neenaba, a popular war-leader from the Red Cedar fork of Chippewa
River, had very recently danced the war-dance with thirty men at Rice
Lake of Yellow River, and that his object was to enlist the young men of
that place in a war-party against the Sioux. I also learned that my
message for Ottowa Lake had been promptly transmitted through Neenaba,
whom I was now anxious to see. I lost not an hour in reascending the St.
Croix and the Namakagon. I purchased two additional canoes of the
Indians, and distributed my men in them, to lighten the draught of
water, and facilitate the ascent; and, by pushing early and late, we
reached Ottowa Lake on the fifth day in the morning. Neenaba had,
however, delivered his message, and departed. I was received in a very
friendly and welcome manner, by Mozojeed, of the band of Ottowa Lake;
Wabezhais, of the Red Devil's band of the South Pukwaewa; and Odabossa,
of the Upper Namakagon. After passing the usual formalities, I prepared
to meet them in council the same day, and communicate to them the
objects of my mission.

In the course of the conference at this place, I obtained the
particulars of a dispute which had arisen between the Chippewas of this
quarter, which now added to their alarm, as they feared the latter would
act in coincidence with their ancient enemies, the Sioux. The reports of
this disturbance had reached me at the Sault, and they continued, with
some variations, until my arrival here. The following are the material
facts in relation to this new cause of disquietude: In the summer of
1827, Okunzhewug, an old woman, the wife of Kishkemun, the principal
chief of Torch Lake, a man superannuated and blind, attended the treaty
of Butte des Morts, bearing her husband's medal. She was treated with
the respect due to the character she represented, and ample presents
were directed to be given to her; among other things, a handsome hat.
The latter article had been requested of her by a young Menomonie, and
refused. It is thought a general feeling of jealousy was excited by her
good reception. A number of the Menomonies went on her return route as
far as the Clover Portage, where she was last seen. Having never
returned to her village, the Chippewas attributed her death to the
Menomonies. Her husband died soon after; but she had numerous and
influential relatives to avenge her real or supposed murder. This is the
account delivered by the Chippewas, and it is corroborated by reports
from the traders of that section of the country. Her singular
disappearance and secret death at the Clover Portage, is undisputed; and
whether caused or not by any agency of the Menomonies, the belief of
such agency, and that of the most direct kind, is fixed in the minds of
the Chippewas, and has furnished the basis of their subsequent acts in
relation to the Menomonie hunting-parties who have visited the lower
part of Chippewa River. Two women belonging to one of these parties
were killed by a Chippewa war-party traversing that part of the country
the ensuing year. The act was disclaimed by them as not being
intentional, and it was declared they supposed the women to be Sioux. On
a close inquiry, however, I found the persons who committed this act
were relatives of Okunzewug, which renders it probable that the murder
was intentionally perpetrated. This act further widened the breach
between the two hitherto fraternal tribes; and the Chippewas of this
quarter began to regard the Menomonie hunting-parties, who entered the
mouth of the Chippewa River, as intruders on their lands. Among a people
whose means of verbal information is speedy, and whose natural sense of
right and wrong is acute, the more than usual friendship and apparent
alliance which have taken place between the Menomonies and Sioux, in the
contest between the Sacs and Foxes, and the murder by them jointly of
the Fox chief White Skin and his companions at a smoking council, in
1830, have operated to increase the feeling of distrust; so much so,
that it was openly reported at Chegoimegon, at Yellow River, and Ottowa
Lake, that the Menomonies had formed a league with the Sioux against the
Chippewas also, and they were fearful of an attack from them. A
circumstance that had given point to this fear, and made it a subject of
absorbing interest, when I arrived at Ottowa Lake, was the recent murder
of a Menomonie chief by a Chippewa of that quarter, and the demand of
satisfaction which had been made (it was sometimes said) by the Indian
agent at Prairie du Chien, and sometimes by the commanding officer, with
a threat to march troops into the country. This demand, I afterward
learned from the Indians at Rice Lake, and from a conversation with
General Street, the agent at Prairie du Chien, had not been made, either
by himself or by the commanding officer; and the report had probably
arisen from a conversation held by a subaltern officer in command of a
wood or timber-party near the mouth of the Chippewa River, with some
Chippewas who were casually met. Its effects, however, were to alarm
them, and to lead them to desire a reconciliation with the Menomonies. I
requested them to lose no time in sending tobacco to the Menomonies, and
adjusting this difference. Mozojeed observed that the murder of the
Menomonie had been committed by a person _non compos_, and he deplored
the folly of it, and disclaimed all agency in it for himself and his
band. The murderer, I believe, belonged to his band; he desired a
reconciliation. He also said the measures adopted at Yellow River, to
bring about a firm peace with the Sioux, had his fullest approbation,
and that nothing on his part should be wanting to promote a result in
every view so wise and so advantageous to the Indians. In this
sentiment, Wabezhais and Odabossa, who made distinct speeches, also
concurred. They confirmed their words by pipes, and all the assembly
made an audible assent. I invested Mozojeed with a flag and a medal,
that he might exert the influence he has acquired among the Indians
beneficially for them and for us, and that his hands might thus be
officially strengthened to accomplish the work of pacification. I then
distributed presents to the chiefs, warriors, women, and children, in
the order of their being seated, and immediately embarked, leaving them
under a lively and enlivened sense of the good-will and friendship of
the American government, on this first official visit to them, and with
a sincere disposition, so far as could be judged, to act in obedience to
its expressed and known wishes.

The Indians at Torch Lake being dispersed, and my message to them not
having been delivered, from this uncertainty of their location, I should
have found reasons for not proceeding in that direction, independent of
the actual and known difficulties of the route at that time. I was still
apprehensive that my appearance had not wholly disconcerted the
war-party of Neenaba, and lost no time in proceeding to his village on
the Red Cedar fork. We found the village at Lake Chetac, which in 1824
was 217 strong, almost totally deserted, and the trading-house burnt.
Scattering Indians were found along the river. The mutual fear of
interruption was such that Mr. B. Cadotte, Sen., the trader at Ottowa
Lake, thought it advisable to follow in our train for the purpose of
collecting his credits at Rice Lake.

While at breakfast on the banks of Sapin Lake, a returning war-party
entered the opposite side of it; they were evidently surprised, and they
stopped. After reconnoitring us, they were encouraged to advance, at
first warily, and afterward with confidence. There were eight canoes,
with two men in each; each man had a gun, war-club, knife, and
ammunition-bag: there was nothing else except the apparatus for
managing the canoe. They were all young men, and belonged to the
vicinity of Ottowa Lake. Their unexpected appearance at this place gave
me the first information that the war-party at Neenaba had been broken
up. They reported that some of their number had been near the mill, and
that they had discovered signs of the Sioux being out, in the moose
having been driven up, &c. In a short conference, I recited to them the
purpose of the council at Ottowa Lake, and referred them to their chiefs
for particulars, enjoining their acquiescence in the proposed measures.

I found at Rice Lake a band of Chippewas, most of them young men, having
a prompt and martial air, encamped in a very compact form, and prepared
at a moment's notice, for action. They saluted our advance with a
smartness and precision of firing that would have done honor to drilled
troops. Neenaba was absent on a hunting-party; but one of the elder men
pointed out a suitable place for my encampment, as I intended here to
put new bottoms to my bark canoes. He arrived in the evening, and
visited my camp with forty-two men. This visit was one of ceremony
merely; as it was late, I deferred anything further until the following
day. I remained at this place part of the 7th, the 8th, and until 3
o'clock on the 9th of August. And the following facts present the result
of several conferences with this distinguished young man, whose
influence is entirely of his own creation, and whose endowments,
personal and mental, had not been misrepresented by the Indians on my
route, who uniformly spoke of him in favorable terms. He is located at
the most advanced point towards the Sioux borders, and, although not in
the line of ancient chiefs, upon him rests essentially the conduct of
affairs in this quarter. I therefore deemed it important to acquire his
confidence and secure his influence, and held frequent conversations
with him. His manner was frank and bold, equally free from servility and
repulsiveness. I drew his attention to several subjects. I asked him
whether the saw-mill on the lower part of the Red Cedar, was located on
Chippewa lands? He said, Yes. Whether it was built with the consent of
the Chippewas? He said, No; it had been built, as it were, by stealth. I
asked him if anything had been subsequently given them in acknowledgment
of their right to the soil? He said, No; that the only acknowledgment
was their getting tobacco to smoke when they visited the mill; that the
Sioux claimed it to be on their side of the line, but the Chippewas
contended that their line ran to a certain bluff and brook below the
mill. I asked him to draw a map of the lower part of Chippewa River,
with all its branches, showing the exact lines as fixed by the treaty at
Prairie du Chien, and as understood by them. I requested him to state
the facts respecting the murder of the Menomonie, and the causes that
led to it; and whether he, or any of his band, received any message from
the agent or commanding officer at Prairie du Chien, demanding the
surrender of the murderer? To the latter inquiry he answered promptly,
No. He gave in his actual population at 142; but it is evident that a
very considerable additional population, particularly men, resort there
for the purpose of hunting a part of the year.

The day after my arrival, I prepared for and summoned the Indians to a
council, with the usual formalities. I opened it by announcing the
objects of my visit. Neenaba and his followers listened to the terms of
the message, the means I had adopted to enforce it, and, finally, to the
request of co-operation on the part of himself and band, with strict
attention. He confined his reply to an expression of thanks, allusions
to the peculiarity of his situation on an exposed frontier, and general,
sentiments of friendship. He appeared to be mentally embarrassed by my
request to drop the war-club, on the successful use of which he had
relied for his popularity, and whatever of real power he possessed. He
often referred to his young men, over whom he claimed no superiority,
and who appeared to be ardently attached to him. I urged the principal
topic upon his attention, presenting it in several lights. I finally
conferred on him, personally, a medal and flag, and directed the
presents intended for his band to be laid, in gross, before him.

After a pause, Neenaba got up, and spoke to the question, connecting it
with obvious considerations, of which mutual rights, personal safety,
and the obligation to protect the women and children, formed the basis.
The latter duty was not a slight one. Last year, the Sioux had killed a
chief on the opposite shore of the lake, and, at the same time, decoyed
two children, who were in a canoe, among the rice, and killed and
beheaded them. He said, in allusion to the medal and flag, that these
marks of honor were not necessary to secure his attention to any
requests made by the American government. And after resuming his seat
awhile (during which he overheard some remarks not pleasing to him, from
an Indian on the opposite side of the ring), he finally got up and
declined receiving them until they were eventually pressed upon him by
the young warriors. Everything appeared to proceed with great harmony,
and the presents were quickly distributed by one of his men. It was not,
however, until the next day, when my canoes were already put in the
water, that he came with his entire party, to make his final reply, and
to present the peace-pipe. He had thrown the flag over one arm, and held
the war-club perpendicularly in the other hand. He said that, although
he accepted the one, he did not drop the other; he held fast to both.
When he looked at the one, he should revert to the counsels with which
it had been given, and he should aim to act upon those counsels; but he
also deemed it necessary to hold fast the war-club; it was, however,
with a determination to use it in defence, and not in attack. He had
reflected upon the advice sent to the Chippewas by the President, and
particularly that part of it which counselled them to sit still upon
their lands; but while they sat still, they also wished to be certain
that their enemies would sit still. And the pipe he was now about to
offer, he offered with a request that it might be sent to the President,
asking him to use his power to prevent the Sioux from crossing the
lines. The pipe was then lit, handed round, the ashes knocked out, and a
formal presentation of it made. This ceremony being ended, I shook hands
with them, and immediately embarked.

On the second day afterward, I reached the saw-mill, the subject of such
frequent allusion, and landed there at 7 o'clock in the morning. I found
a Mr. Wallace in charge, who was employed, with ten men, in building a
new dam on a brook of the Red Cedar, the freshet of last spring having
carried away the former one. I inquired of him where the line between
the Sioux and Chippewas crossed. He replied that the line crossed above
the mill, he did not precisely know the place; adding, however, in the
course of conversation, that he believed the land in this vicinity
originally belonged to the Chippewas. He said it was seven years since
any Sioux had visited the mill; and that the latter was owned by persons
at Prairie du Chien.

The rapids of the Red Cedar River extend (according to the estimates
contained in my notes) about twenty-four miles. They commence a few
miles below the junction of Meadow River, and terminate about two miles
below the mills. This extension of falling water, referred to in the
treaty as a fixed point, has led to the existing uncertainty. The
country itself is of a highly valuable character for its soil, its game,
its wild rice, and its wood. We found the butternut among those species
which are locally included under the name of _Bois franc_, by the
traders. The land can, hereafter, be easily brought into cultivation, as
it is interspersed with prairie; and its fine mill privileges will add
to its value. Indeed, one mile square is intrinsically worth one hundred
miles square of Chippewa country, in some other places.

The present saw-mills (there are two), are situated 65 miles from the
banks of the Mississippi. They are owned exclusively by private
citizens, and employed for their sole benefit. The boards are formed
into rafts; and these rafts are afterward attached together, and floated
down the Mississippi to St. Louis, where they command a good price. The
business is understood to be a profitable one. For the privilege, no
equivalent has been paid either to the Indians or to the United States.
The first mill was built several years ago, and before the conclusion of
the treaty of Prairie du Chien, fixing boundaries to the lands. A permit
was given for building, either verbal or written, as I have been
informed, by a former commanding officer at Prairie du Chien. I make
these statements in reference to a letter I have received from the
Department since my return, but which is dated June 27th, containing a
complaint of one of the owners of the mill, that the Chippewas had
threatened to burn it, and requesting me to take the necessary
precautionary measures. I heard nothing of such a threat, but believe
that the respect which the Chippewas have professed, through me, for the
American government, and the influence of my visit among them, will
prevent a resort to any measures of violence; and that they will wait
the peaceable adjustment of the line on the rapids. I will add that,
_wherever_ that line may be determined, in a reasonable probability, to
fall, the mill itself cannot be supplied with logs for any length of
time, if _it is now so supplied_, without cutting them on Chippewa
lands, and rafting them down the Red Cedar. Many of the logs heretofore
sawed at this mill, have been rafted _up stream_, to the mill. And I
understood from the person in charge of it, that he was now anxious to
ascertain new sites for chopping; that his expectations were directed up
the stream, but that his actual knowledge of the country, in that
direction, did not embrace a circumference of more than five miles.

The line between the Chippewa and Sioux, as drawn on the MS. map of
Neenaba, strikes the rapids on Red Cedar River at a brook and bluff a
short distance below the mill. It proceeds thence, across the point of
land between that branch of the main Chippewa, to an island in the
latter; and thence, up stream, to the mouth of Clearwater River, as
called for by the treaty, and from this point to the bluffs of the
Mississippi Valley (where it corners on Winnebago land), on Black River,
and not to the "_mouth_" of Black River, as erroneously inserted in the
5th article of the treaty; the Chippewas never having advanced any
claims to the lands at the mouth of Black River. This map, being drawn
by a Chippewa of sense, influence, and respectability, an exact copy of
it is herewith forwarded for the use of the Department, as embracing the
opinions of the Chippewas on this point. The lines and geographical
marks were drawn on paper by Neenaba himself, and the names translated
and written down by Mr. Johnston.

It is obvious that the adjustment of this line must precede a permanent
peace on this part of the frontiers. The number of Chippewas
particularly interested in it is, from my notes, 2,102; to which, 911
may be added for certain bands on Lake Superior. It embraces 27
villages, and the most influential civil and war chiefs of the region.
The population is enterprising and warlike. They have the means of
subsistence in _comparative_ abundance. They are increasing in numbers.
They command a ready access to the Mississippi by water, and a ready
return from it by land. Habits of association have taught them to look
upon this stream as the theatre of war. Their young men are carried into
it as the natural and almost only means of distinction. And it is in
coincidence with all observation to say that they are now, as they were
in the days of Captain Carver, the terror of the east bank of this
river, between the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers. No other tribe has
now, or has had, within the memory of man, a village or permanent
possession on this part of the shore. It is landed on in fear. It is
often passed by other nations by stealth, and at night. Such is not an
exaggerated picture. And with a knowledge of their geographical
advantages, and numbers, and distribution, on the tributary streams,
slight causes, it may be imagined, will often excite the young and
thoughtless portion of them to raise the war-club, to chant the
war-song, and follow the war-path.

To remove these causes, to teach them the folly of such a contest, to
remind them of the treaty stipulations and promises solemnly made to the
Government, and to the Sioux, and to induce them to renew those
promises, and to act on fixed principles of political faith, were the
primary objects committed to me; and they were certainly objects of
exalted attainment, according as well with the character of the
Government as with the spirit and moral and intellectual tone of the
age. To these objects I have faithfully, as I believe, devoted the means
at my command. And the Chippewas cannot, hereafter, err on the subject
of their hostilities with the Sioux, without knowing that the error is
disapproved by the American government, and that a continuance in it
will be visited upon them in measures of severity.

Without indulging the expectation that my influence on the tour will
have the effect to put an end to the spirit of predatory warfare, it may
be asserted that this spirit has been checked and allayed; and that a
state of feeling and reflection has been produced by it, which cannot
fail to be beneficial to our relations with them, and to their relations
with each other. The messages sent to the Sioux chiefs, may be
anticipated to have resulted in restoring a perfect peace during the
present fall and ensuing winter, and will thus leave to each party the
undisturbed chase of their lands. The meditated blow of Steenaba was
turned aside, and his war-party arrested and dispersed at the moment it
was ready to proceed. Every argument was used to show them the folly and
the insecurity of a continuance of the war. And the whole tenor and
effect of my visit has been to inform and reform these remote bands. It
has destroyed the charm of their seclusion. It has taught them that
their conduct is under the super-vision of the American government; that
they depend on its care and protection; that no other government has
power to regulate trade and send traders among them; finally, that an
adherence to foreign counsels, and to anti-pacific maxims, can be
visited upon them in measures of coercion. That their country, hitherto
deemed nearly inaccessible, can be penetrated and traversed by men and
troops, with baggage and provisions, even in midsummer, when the waters
are lowest; and that, in proportion as they comply with political
maxims, as benevolent as they are just, will they live at peace with
their enemies, and have the means of subsistence for an increased
population among themselves. The conduct of the traders in this quarter,
and the influence they have exerted, both moral and political, cannot
here be entered upon, and must be left to some other occasion, together
with statistical details and other branches of information not arising
from particular instructions.

It may be said that the Indians upon the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers,
and their numerous branches, have been drawn into a close intercourse
with Government. But it will be obvious that a perseverance in the
system of official advice and restraints, is essential to give
permanence to the effects already produced, and to secure a firm and
lasting peace between them and the Sioux. To this end, the settlement of
the line upon the Red Cedar Fork is an object which claims the attention
of the Department; and would justify, in my opinion, the calling
together the parties interested, at some convenient spot near the
junction of the Red Cedar River with the Chippewa. Indeed, the handsome
elevation, and the commanding geographical advantages of this spot,
render it one which, I think, might be advantageously occupied as a
military post. Such an occupancy would have the effect to keep the
parties at peace; and the point of land, on which the work is proposed
to be erected, might be purchased from the Sioux, together with such
part of the disputed lands near the mills as might be deemed necessary
to quiet the title of the Chippewas. By acquiring this portion of
country for the purposes of military occupancy, the United States would
be justified in punishing any murders committed upon it; and I am fully
convinced that no measure which could, at this time, be adopted, would
so certainly conduce to a permanent peace between the tribes. I
therefore beg leave, through you, to submit these subjects to the
consideration of the honorable the Secretary of War, with every distrust
in my own powers of observation, and with a very full confidence in his.

I have the honor to be, sir,
  Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
    H. R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

TO ELBERT HERRING, ESQ., _Com.  Ind. Affairs._

  2. _Brief Notes of a Tour in 1831, from Galena, in Illinois, to Fort
     Winnebago, on the source of Fox River, Wisconsin._ By HENRY R.
     SCHOOLCRAFT.

Time admonishes me of my promise to furnish you some account of my
journey from Galena to Fort Winnebago. But I confess, that time has
taken away none of those features which make me regard it as a task.
Other objects have occupied so much of my thoughts, that the subject has
lost some of its vividness, and I shall be obliged to confine myself
more exclusively to my notes than I had intended. This will be
particularly true in speaking of geological facts. Geographical features
impress themselves strongly on the mind. The shape of a mountain is not
easily forgotten, and its relation to contiguous waters and woods is
recollected after the lapse of many years. The succession of plains,
streams, and settlements is likewise retained in the memory, while the
peculiar plains, the soils overlaying them, and all the variety of their
mineral and organic contents, require to be perpetuated by specimens and
by notes, which impose neither a slight nor a momentary labor.

Limited sketches of this kind are, furthermore, liable to be
misconceived. Prominent external objects can only be brought to mind,
and these often reveal but an imperfect notion of the pervading
character of strata, and still less knowledge of their mineral contents.
Haste takes away many opportunities of observation; and scanty or
inconvenient means of transporting hand specimens, often deprive us of
the requisite data. Indeed, I should be loath to describe the few facts
I am about to communicate, had you not personally visited and examined
the great carboniferous and sandstone formation on the Mississippi and
Wisconsin, and thus got the knowledge of their features. The parallelism
which is apparent in these rocks, by the pinnacles which have been left
standing on high--the wasting effects of time in scooping out valleys
and filling up declivities--and the dark and castle-looking character of
the cherty limestone bluffs, as viewed from the water, while the shadows
of evening are deepening around, are suited to make vivid impressions.
And these broken and denuded cliffs offer the most favorable points for
making geological observations. There are no places inland where the
streams have cut so deep. On gaining the height of land, the strata are
found to be covered with so heavy a deposit of soil, that it is
difficult to glean much that can be relied on respecting the interior
structure.

The angle formed by the junction of the Wisconsin with the Mississippi,
is a sombre line of weather-beaten rocks. Gliding along the current, at
the base of these rocks, the idea of a "hill country," of no very
productive character, is naturally impressed upon the observer. And this
impression came down, probably, from the days of Marquette, who was the
first European, that we read of, who descended the Wisconsin, and thus
became the true discoverer of the Mississippi. The fact that it yielded
lead ore, bits of which were occasionally brought in by the natives, was
in accordance with this opinion; and aided, it may be supposed, in
keeping out of view the real character of the country. I know not how
else to account for the light which has suddenly burst upon us from this
bank of the Mississippi, and which has at once proved it to be as
valuable for the purposes of agriculture as for those of mining, and as
sylvan in its appearance as if it were not fringed, as it were, with
rocks, and lying at a great elevation above the water. This elevation is
so considerable as to permit a lively descent in the streams, forming
numerous mill-seats. The surface of the country is not, however, broken,
but may be compared to the heavy and lazy-rolling waves of the sea after
a tempest. These wave-like plains are often destitute of trees, except a
few scattering ones, but present to the eye an almost boundless field of
native herbage. Groves of oak sometimes diversify those native meadows,
or cover the ridges which bound them. Very rarely does any rock appear
above the surface. The highest elevations, the Platte Mounds, and the
Blue Mound, are covered with soil and with trees. Numerous brooks of
limpid water traverse the plains, and find their way into either the
Wisconsin, Rock River, or the Mississippi. The common deer is still in
possession of its favorite haunts; and the traveller is very often
startled by flocks of the prairie-hen rising up in his path. The surface
soil is a rich black alluvion; it yields abundant crops of corn, and, so
far as they have been tried, all the cereal gramina. I have never,
either in the West or out of the West, seen a richer soil, or more
stately fields of corn and oats, than upon one of the plateaux of the
Blue Mound.

Such is the country which appears to be richer in ores of lead than any
other mineral district in the world--which yielded forty millions of
pounds in seven years--produced a single lump of ore of two thousand
cubic feet--and appears adequate to supply almost any amount of this
article that the demands of commerce require.

The River of Galena rises in the mineral plains of Iowa county, in that
part of the Northwestern Territory which is attached, for the purposes
of temporary government, to Michigan. It is made up of clear and
permanent springs, and has a descent which affords a very valuable
water-power. This has been particularly remarked at the curve called
Mill-seat Bend. No change in its general course, which is southwest, is,
I believe, apparent after it enters the northwest angle of the State of
Illinois. The town of Galena, the capital of the mining country,
occupies a somewhat precipitous semicircular bend, on the right (or
north) bank of the river, six or seven miles from its entrance into the
Mississippi. Backwater, from the latter, gives the stream itself the
appearance, as it bears the name, of a "river," and admits steamboat
navigation thus far. It is a rapid brook immediately above the town, and
of no further value for the purpose of navigation. Lead is brought in
from the smelting furnaces, on heavy ox-teams, capable of carrying
several tons at a load. I do not know that water _has been_, or that it
_cannot_ be made subservient in the transportation of this article from
the mines. The streams themselves are numerous and permanent, although
they are small, and it would require the aid of so many of these, on any
projected route, that it is to be feared the supply of water would be
inadequate. To remedy this deficiency, the Wisconsin itself might be
relied on. Could the waters of this river be conducted in a canal along
its valley from the portage to the bend at Arena, they might, from this
point, be deflected in a direct line to Galena. This route would cut the
mine district centrally, and afford the upper tributaries of the
Pekatolika and Fever Rivers as feeders. Such a communication would open
the way to a northern market, and merchandise might be supplied by the
way of Green Bay, when the low state of water in the Mississippi
prevents the ascent of boats. It would, at all times, obviate the
tedious voyage, which goods ordered from the Atlantic cities have to
perform through the straits of Florida and Gulf of Mexico. A railroad
could be laid upon this route with equal, perhaps superior advantages.
These things may seem too much like making arrangements for the next
generation. But we cannot fix bounds to the efforts of our spreading
population, and spirit of enterprise. Nor, after what we have seen in
the way of internal improvement, in our own day and generation, should
we deem anything too hard to be accomplished.

I set out from Galena in a light wagon, drawn by two horses, about ten
o'clock in the morning (August 17th), accompanied by Mr. B. It had
rained the night and morning of the day previous, which rendered the
streets and roads quite muddy. A marly soil, easily penetrated by rain,
was, however, as susceptible to the influence of the sun, and, in a much
shorter period than would be imagined, the surface became dry. Although
a heavy and continued shower had thoroughly drenched the ground, and
covered it with superfluous water, but very little effects of it were to
be seen at this time. We ascended into the open plain country, which
appears in every direction around the town, and directed our course to
Gratiot's Grove. In this distance, which, on our programme of the route,
was put down, at fifteen miles, a lively idea of the formation and
character of the country is given. The eye is feasted with the
boundlessness of its range. Grass and flowers spread before and beside
the traveller, and, on looking back, they fill up the vista behind him.
He soon finds himself in the midst of a sylvan scene. Groves fringe the
tops of the most distant elevations, and clusters of trees--more rarely,
open forests--are occasionally presented. The trees appear to be almost
exclusively of the species of white oak and rough-bark hickory. Among
the flowers, the plant called rosin-weed attracts attention by its
gigantic stature, and it is accompanied, as certainly as substance by
shadow, by the wild indigo, two plants which were afterwards detected,
of less luxuriant growth, on Fox River. The roads are in their natural
condition; they are excellent, except for a few yards where streams are
crossed. At such places there is a plunge into soft, black muck, and it
requires all the powers of a horse harnessed to a wagon to emerge from
the stream.

On reaching Gratiot's Grove, I handed letters of introduction to Mr. H.
and B. Gratiot. These gentlemen appear to be extensively engaged in
smelting. They conducted me to see the ore prepared for smelting in the
log furnace; and also the preparation of such parts of it for the ash
furnace as do not undergo complete fusion in the first process. The ash
furnace is a very simple kind of air furnace, with a grate so arranged
as to throw a reverberating flame upon the hearth where the prepared ore
is laid. It is built against a declivity, and charged, by throwing the
materials to be operated upon, down the flue. A silicious flux is used;
and the scoria is tapped and suffered to flow out, from the side of the
furnace, before drawing off the melted lead. The latter is received in
an excavation made in the earth, from which it is ladled out into iron
moulds. The whole process is conducted in the open air, with sometimes a
slight shed. The lead ore is piled in cribs of logs, which are roofed.
Hammers, ladles, a kind of tongs, and some other iron tools are
required. The simplicity of the process, the absence of external show in
buildings, and the direct and ready application of the means to the end,
are remarkable, as pleasing characteristics about the smelting
establishment.

The ore used is the common sulphuret, with a foliated, glittering and
cubical fracture. It occurs with scarcely any adhering gangue. Cubical
masses of it are found, at some of the diggings, which are studded over
with minute crystals of calcareous spar. These crystals, when examined,
have the form of the dog-tooth spar. This broad, square-shaped, and
square-broken mineral, is taken from _east and west leads_, is most easy
to smelt, and yields the greatest per centum of lead. It is estimated to
produce fifty per cent. from the log furnace, and about sixteen more
when treated with a flux in the ash furnace.

Miners classify their ore from its position in the mine. Ore from _east
and west leads_, is raised from clay diggings, although these diggings
may be pursued under the first stratum of rock. Ore from _north and
south leads_, is termed "sheet minerals," and is usually taken from rock
diggings. The vein or sheet stands perpendicularly in the fissure, and
is usually struck in sinking from six to ten feet. The sheet varies in
thickness from six or eight inches, in the broadest part, to not more
than one. The great mass found at "Irish diggings" was of this kind.

I observed, among the piles of ore at Gratiot's, the combination of zinc
with lead ore, which is denominated _dry bone_. It is cast by as
unproductive. Mr. B. Gratiot also showed me pieces of the common ore
which had undergone desulphuration in the log furnace. Its natural
splendor is increased by this process, so as to have the appearance of
highly burnished steel. He also presented me some uniform masses of
lead, recrystallized from a metallic state, under the hearth of the ash
furnace. The tendency to rectangular structure in these delicate and
fragile masses is very remarkable. Crystallization appears to have taken
place under circumstances which opposed the production of a complete and
perfect cube or parallelogram, although there are innumerable rectangles
of each geometric form.

In the drive from Gratiot's to Willow Springs, we saw a succession of
the same objects that had formed the prominent features of the landscape
from Galena. The platte mounds, which had appeared on our left all the
morning, continued visible until we entered the grove that embraces the
site of the springs. Little mounds of red earth frequently appeared
above the grass, to testify to the labors of miners along this part of
the route. In taking a hasty survey of some of the numerous excavations
of Irish diggings, I observed among the rubbish small flat masses of a
yellowish white amorphous mineral substance of great weight. I have not
had time to submit it to any tests. It appears too heavy and compact for
the earthy yellow oxide of lead. I should not be disappointed to find it
an oxide of zinc. No rock stratum protrudes from the ground in this part
of the country. The consolidated masses, thrown up from the diggings,
appear to be silicated limestone, often friable, and not crystalline.
Galena is found in open fissures in this rock.

We reached the springs in the dusk of the evening, and found good
accommodations at Ray's. Distance from Galena thirty miles.

The rain fell copiously during the night, and on the morning (18th) gave
no signs of a speedy cessation. Those who travel ought often, however,
to call to mind the remark of Xenophon, that "pleasure is the result of
toil," and not permit slight impediments to arrest them, particularly
when they have definite points to make. We set forward in a moderate
rain, but in less than an hour had the pleasure to perceive signs of its
mitigating, and before nine o'clock it was quite clear. We stopped a
short time at Bracken's furnace. Mr. Bracken gave me specimens of
organic remains, in the condition of earthy calcareous carbonates,
procured on a neighboring ridge. He described the locality as being
plentiful in casts and impressions such as he exhibited, which appeared
to have been removed from the surface of a shelly limestone. At
Rock-Branch diggings, I found masses of calcareous spar thrown from the
pits. The surface appears to have been much explored for lead in this
vicinity. I stopped to examine Vanmater's lead. It had been a productive
one, and affords a fair example of what are called east and west leads.
I observed a compass standing on the line of the lead, and asked Mr. V.
whether much reliance was to be placed upon the certainty of striking
the lead by the aid of this instrument. He said that it was much relied
on. That the course of the leads was definite. The present one varied
from a due east and west line but nine minutes, and the lead had been
followed without much difficulty. The position of the ore was about
forty feet below the surface. Of this depth about thirty-six feet
consisted of the surface rock and its earthy covering. A vein of marly
clay, enveloping the ore, was then penetrated. A series of pits had been
sunk on the course of it, and the earth and ore in the interstices
removed, and drawn to the surface by a windlass and bucket. Besides the
ore, masses of iron pyrites had been thrown out, connected with galena.
In stooping to detach some pieces from one of these masses, I placed my
feet on the verge of an abandoned pit, around which weeds and bushes had
grown. My face was, however, averted from the danger; but, on beholding
it, I was made sensible that the least deviation from a proper balance
would have pitched me into it. It was forty feet deep. The danger I had
just escaped fell to the lot of Mr. B.'s dog, who, probably deceived by
the growth of bushes, fell in. Whether killed or not, it was impossible
to tell, and we were obliged to leave the poor animal, under a promise
of Mr. V., that he would cause a windlass to be removed to the pit, to
ascertain his fate.

At eleven o'clock we reached Mineral Point, the seat of justice of Iowa
county. I delivered an introductory letter to Mr. Ansley, who had made a
discovery of copper ore in the vicinity, and through his politeness,
visited the locality. The discovery was made in sinking pits in search
of lead ore. Small pieces of green carbonate of copper were found on
striking the rock, which is apparently silico-calcareous, and of a very
friable structure. From one of the excavations, detached masses of the
sulphuret, blue and green mingled, were raised. These masses are
enveloped with ochery clay.

In riding out on horseback to see this locality, I passed over the ridge
of land which first received the appellation of "Mineral Point." No
digging was observed in process, but the heaps of red marly clay, the
vigorous growth of shrubbery around them, and the number of open or
partially filled pits, remain to attest the labor which was formerly
devoted in the search for lead. And this search is said to have been
amply rewarded. The track of discovery is conspicuously marked by these
excavations, which often extend, in a direct line, on the cardinal
points, as far as the eye can reach. Everywhere the marly clay formation
appears to have been relied on for the ore, and much of it certainly
appears to be _in sitû_ in it. It bears no traces of attrition; and its
occurrence in regular leads forbids the supposition of its being an
oceanic arrangement of mineral detritus. At Vanmater's, the
metalliferous clay marl is overlaid by a grayish sedimentary limestone.
Different is the geological situation of what is denominated _gravel
ore_, of which I noticed piles, on the route from Gratiot's. This bears
evident marks of attrition, and appears to have been uniformly taken
from diluvial earth.

On returning to the village from this excursion, I found Mr. B. ready to
proceed, and we lost no time in making the next point in our proposed
route. A drive of five miles brought us to the residence of Colonel
Dodge, whose zeal and enterprise in opening this portion of our western
country for settlement, give him claims to be looked up to as a public
benefactor. I here met the superintendent of the mines (Captain Legate),
and after spending some time in conversation on the resources and
prospects of the country, and partaking of the hospitalities politely
offered by Colonel D. and his intelligent family, we pursued our way.
The village of Dodgeville lies at the distance of four miles. Soon after
passing through it some part of our tackle gave way, in crossing a
gully, and I improved the opportunity of the delay to visit the adjacent
diggings, which are extensive. The ore is found as at other mines, in
regular leads, and not scattered about promiscuously in the red marl.
Masses of brown oxide of iron were more common here than I had noticed
them elsewhere. Among the rubbish of the diggings, fragments of
hornstone occur. They appear to be, most commonly, portions of nodules,
which exhibit, on being fractured, various discolorings.

Night overtook us before we entered Porter's Grove, which is also the
seat of mining and smelting operations. We are indebted to the
hospitality of Mr. M., of whom my companion was an acquaintance, for
opening his door to us, at an advanced hour of the evening. Distance
from Willow Springs, twenty-five miles.

There is no repose for a traveller. We retired to rest at a late hour,
and rose at an early one. The morning (19th) was hazy, and we set
forward while the dew was heavy on the grass. Our route still lay
through a prairie country. The growth of native grass, bent down with
dew, nearly covered the road, so that our horses' legs were continually
bathed. The rising sun was a very cheerful sight, but as our road lay up
a long ascent, we soon felt its wilting effects. Nine miles of such
driving, with not a single grove to shelter us, brought us to Mr.
Brigham's, at the foot of the Blue Mound, being the last house in the
direction to Fort Winnebago. The distance from Galena is sixty-four
miles, and this area embraces the present field of mining operations. In
rapidly passing over it, mines, furnaces, dwelling-houses, mining
villages, inclosed fields, upland prairies (an almost continued
prairie), groves, springs, and brooks, have formed the prominent
features of the landscape. The impulse to the settlement of the country
was first given by its mineral wealth; and it brought here, as it were
by magic, an enterprising and active population. It is evident that a
far greater amount of labor was a few years ago engaged in mining
operations; but the intrinsic value of the lands has operated to detain
the present population, which may be considered as permanent. The lands
are beautifully disposed, well watered, well drained by natural streams,
and easily brought into cultivation. Crops have everywhere repaid the
labors of the farmer; and, thus far, the agricultural produce of the
country has borne a fair price. The country appears to afford every
facility for raising cattle, horses, and hogs. Mining, the cardinal
interest heretofore, has not ceased in the degree that might be inferred
from the depression of the lead market; and it will be pursued, with
increased activity, whenever the purposes of commerce call for it. In
the present situation of the country, there appear to be two objects
essential to the lasting welfare of the settlements: first, a title to
their lands from Congress; second, a northern market for the products of
their mines and farms. To these, a _third_ requisite may be considered
auxiliary, namely, the establishment of the seat of territorial
government at some point west of Lake Michigan, where its powers may be
more readily exercised, and the reciprocal obligations of governor and
people more vividly felt.

Mr. Brigham, in whom I was happy to recognize an esteemed friend,
conducted us over his valuable plantation. He gave me a mass of a white,
heavy metallic substance, taken as an accompanying mineral, from a lead
of Galena, which he has recently discovered in a cave. Without
instituting any examination of it but such as its external characters
disclose, it may be deemed a native carbonate of lead. The mass from
which it was broken weighed ninety or one hundred pounds. And its
occurrence, at the lead, was not alone.

From the Blue Mound to Fort Winnebago is an estimated distance of
fifty-six miles. The country is, however, entirely in a state of nature.
The trace is rather obscure; but, with a knowledge of the general
geography and face of the country, there is no difficulty in proceeding
with a light wagon, or even a loaded team, as the Indian practice of
firing the prairies every fall has relieved the surface from underbrush
and fallen timber. After driving a few miles, we encountered two
Winnebagoes on horseback, the forward rider having a white man in ties
behind him. The latter informed us that his name was H., that he had
come out to Twelve-mile Creek, for the purpose of locating himself
there, and was in pursuit of a hired man, who had gone off, with some
articles of his property, the night previous. With this relation, and a
_boshu_[274] for the natives, with whom we had no means of conversing,
we continued our way, without further incident, to Duck Creek, a
distance of ten miles. We here struck the path, which is one of the
boundary lines, in the recent purchase from the Winnebagoes. It is a
deeply marked horse path, cutting quite through the prairie sod, and so
much used by the natives as to prevent grass from growing on it; in this
respect, it is as well-defined a landmark as "blazed tree," or "saddle."
The surveyor appointed to run out the lines, had placed mile-posts on
the route, but the Winnebagoes, with a prejudice against the practice
which is natural, pulled up many, and defaced others. When we had gone
ten miles further, we began to see the glittering of water through the
trees, and we soon found ourselves on the margin of a clear lake. I
heard no name for this handsome sheet of water. It is one of the four
lakes, which are connected with each other by a stream, and have their
outlet into Rock River, through a tributary called the Guskihaw. We
drove through the margin of it, where the shores were sandy, and
innumerable small unio shells were driven up. Most of these small pieces
appeared to be helices. Standing tent-poles, and other remains of Indian
encampments, appeared at this place. A rock stratum, dark and
weather-beaten, apparently sandstone, jutted out into the lake. A little
further, we passed to the left of an abandoned village. By casting our
eyes across the lake, we observed the new position which had been
selected and occupied by the Winnebagoes. We often assign wrong motives,
when we undertake to reason for the Indian race; but in the present
instance, we may presume that their removal was influenced by too near a
position to the boundary path.

  [274] This term is in use by the Algic or Algonquin tribes,
  particularly by the Chippewas. The Winnebagoes, who have no
  equivalent for it, are generally acquainted with it, although I am
  not aware that they have, to any extent, adopted it. It has been
  supposed to be derived from the French _bon jour_.

We drove to the second brook, beyond the lake, and encamped.

Comfort in an encampment depends very much upon getting a good fire. In
this we totally failed last night, owing to our having but a small piece
of spunk, which ignited and burned out without inflaming our kindling
materials. The atmosphere was damp, but not sufficiently cooled to quiet
the ever-busy mosquito. Mr. B. deemed it a hardship that he could not
boil the kettle, so as to have the addition of tea to our cold repast. I
reminded him that there was a bright moon, and that it did not rain; and
that, for myself, I had fared so decidedly worse, on former occasions,
that I was quite contented with the light of the moon and a dry blanket.
By raising up and putting a fork under the wagon-tongue, and spreading
our tent-cloth over it, I found the means of insulating ourselves from
the insect hordes, but it was not until I had pitched my mosquito net
within it that we found repose.

On awaking in the morning (20th), we found H., who had passed us the day
before in company with the Winnebagoes, lying under the wagon. He had
returned from pursuing the fugitive, and had overtaken us, after twelve
o'clock at night. He complained of being cold. We admitted him into the
wagon, and drove on to reach his camp at Twelve-mile Creek. In crossing
what he denominated Seven-mile Prairie, I observed on our right a
prominent wall of rock, surmounted with image-stones. The rock itself
consisted of sandstone. Elongated water-worn masses of stone had been
set up, so as to resemble, at a distance, the figures of men. The
illusion had been strengthened by some rude paints. This had been the
serious or the sportive work of Indians. It is not to be inferred,
hence, that the Winnebagoes are idolaters. But there is a strong
tendency to idolatry in the minds of the North American Indians. They do
not bow before a carved image, shaped like Dagon or Juggernaut; but they
rely upon their guardian spirits, or personal manitos, for aid in
exigencies, and impute to the skins of animals, which are preserved with
religious care, the power of gods. Their medicine institution is also a
gross and bold system of semi-deification connected with magic,
witchcraft, and necromancy. Their jossakeeds are impostors and jugglers
of the grossest stamp. Their wabenos address Satan directly for power;
and their metais, who appear to be least idolatrous, rely more upon the
invisible agency of spirits and magic influence, than upon the physical
properties of the medicines they exhibit.

On reaching Twelve-mile Creek, we found a yoke of steers of H., in a
pen, which had been tied there two days and nights without water. He
evinced, however, an obliging disposition, and, after refreshing
ourselves and our horses, we left him to complete the labors of a "local
habitation." The intermediate route to Fort Winnebago afforded few
objects of either physical or mental interest. The upland soil, which
had become decidedly thinner and more arenaceous, after reaching the
Lake, appears to increase in sterility on approaching the Wisconsin. And
the occurrence of _lost rocks_ (primitive boulders), as Mr. B. happily
termed them, which are first observed after passing the Blue Mound,
becomes more frequent in this portion of the country, denoting our
approach to the borders of the northwestern primitive formation. This
formation, we have now reason to conclude, extends in an angle, so far
south as to embrace a part of Fox River, above Apukwa Lake.

Anticipated difficulties always appear magnified. This we verified in
crossing Duck Creek, near its entrance into the Wisconsin. We found the
adjoining bog nearly dry, and drove through the stream without the water
entering into the body of the wagon. It here commenced raining. Having
but four miles to make, and that a level prairie, we pushed on. But the
rain increased, and poured down steadily and incessantly till near
sunset. In the midst of this rain-storm we reached the fort, about one
o'clock, and crossed over to the elevated ground occupied by the Indian
Department, where my sojourn, while awaiting the expedition, was
rendered as comfortable as the cordial greeting and kind attention of
Mr. Kinzie, the agent, and his intelligent family, could make it.

A recapitulation of the distances from Galena makes the route as
follows, viz: Gratiot's Grove, fifteen miles; Willow Springs, fifteen;
Mineral Point, seven; Dodgeville, nine; Porter's Grove, nine; Blue
Mound, nine; Duck Creek, ten; Lake, ten; Twelve-mile Creek, twenty-four;
Crossing of Duck Creek, eight; and Fort Winnebago, four; total, one
hundred and twenty miles.

    H. R. S.

    To GEORGE P. MORRIS, ESQ., New York.


   3. _Official Report of the Exploratory Expedition to the Actual Source
      of the Mississippi River in 1832._

    OFFICE OF THE INDIAN AGENCY OF SAULT STE. MARIE,
    Sept. 1, 1832.

SIR: I had the honor to inform you, on the 15th ultimo, of my return
from the sources of the Mississippi, and that I should communicate the
details of my observations to you as soon as they could be prepared.

On reaching the remotest point visited heretofore by official authority,
I found that the waters on that summit were favorable to my tracing this
river to its utmost sources. This point having been left undetermined by
prior expeditions, I determined to avail myself of the occasion to take
Indian guides, with light canoes, and, after encamping my heavy force,
to make the ascent. It was represented to be practicable in five days. I
accomplished it, by great diligence, in three. The distance is 158 miles
above Cass Lake. There are many sharp rapids, which made the trial
severe. The river expands into numerous lakes.

After passing about forty miles north of Red Cedar Lake, during which we
ascended a summit, I entered a fine large lake, which, to avoid
repetitions in our geographical names, I called Queen Anne's Lake. From
this point the ascent of the Mississippi was due south; and it was
finally found to have its origin in a handsome lake, of some seven miles
in extent, on the height of land to which I gave the name of Itasca.

This lake lies in latitude 47° 13' 25". It lies at an altitude of 1,575
feet, by the barometer, above the Gulf of Mexico. It affords me
satisfaction to say, that, by this discovery, the geographical point of
the origin of this river is definitely fixed. Materials for maps and
plans of the entire route have been carefully collected by Lieut. James
Allen, of the U. S. Army, who accompanied me, with a small detachment of
infantry, as high as Cass Lake; and, having encamped them at that point,
with my extra men, he proceeded with me to Itasca Lake. The distance
which is thus added to the Mississippi, agreeably to him, is 164 miles,
making its entire length, by the most authentic estimates, to be 3,200
miles. In this distance there are numerous and arduous rapids, in which
the total amount of ascent to be overcome is 173 feet.

Councils were held with the Indians at Fond du Lac, at Sandy Lake, Cass
Lake, at the mouth of the Great De Corbeau River, &c.

In returning, I visited the military bands at Leech Lake; passing from
thence to its source, and descending the whole length of the Crow-wing
River, and thence to St. Anthony's Falls, I assembled the Sioux at the
agency of St. Peter's, and at the Little Crow's village. The Chippewas
of the St. Croix and Broule Rivers were particularly visited. Many
thousands of the Chippewa and Sioux nations were seen and counselled
with, including their most distinguished chiefs and warriors. Everywhere
they disclaimed a connection with Black Hawk and his schemes. I left the
Mississippi, about forty miles above the point where, in a few days, the
Sauk chief was finally captured and his forces overthrown; and, reaching
the waters of Lake Superior, at the mouth of the Brule, returned from
that point to the agency at Sault de Ste. Marie.

The flag of the Union has secured respect from the tribes at every
point; and I feel confident in declaring the Chippewas and Sioux, as
tribes, unconnected with the Black Hawk movement.

  I am, sir, very respectfully,
    Your obedient servant,
      HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT,
        _U. S. Ind. Agent._

C. HERRING, ESQ., _Commissioner of Indian Affairs_


IV.

VACCINATION OF THE INDIANS.

   4. _Report of the number and position of the Indians vaccinated on the
      Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi, conducted
      by Mr. Schoolcraft, in 1832._ By Dr. DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.

   SAULT STE. MARIE, Sept. 21, 1832.

SIR: In conformity with your instructions, I take the earliest
opportunity to lay before you such facts as I have collected, touching
the vaccination of the Chippewa Indians, during the progress of the
late expedition into their country: and also "of the prevalence, from
time to time, of the smallpox" among them.

The accompanying table will serve to illustrate the "ages, sex, tribe,
and local situation" of those Indians who have been vaccinated by me.
With the view of illustrating more fully their local situation, I have
arranged those bands residing upon the shores of Lake Superior; those
residing in the Folle Avoine country (or that section of country lying
between the highlands southwest from Lake Superior, and the Mississippi
River); and those residing near the sources of the Mississippi River,
separately.

Nearly all the Indians noticed in this table were vaccinated at their
respective villages; yet I did not fail to vaccinate those whom we
chanced to meet in their hunting or other excursions.

I have embraced, with the Indians of the frontier bands, those
half-breeds, who, in consequence of having adopted more or less the
habits of the Indian, may be identified with him.

But little difficulty has occurred in convincing the Indians of the
efficacy of vaccination; and the universal dread in which they hold the
appearance of the smallpox among them, rendered it an easy task to
overcome their prejudices, whatever they chanced to be. The efficacy of
the vaccine disease is well appreciated, even by the most interior of
the Chippewa Indians; and so universal is this information, that only
one instance occurred where the Indian had never heard of the disease.

In nearly every instance the opportunity which was presented for
vaccination, was embraced with cheerfulness and apparent gratitude; at
the same time manifesting great anxiety that, for the safety of the
whole, each one of the band should undergo the operation. When
objections were made to vaccination, they were not usually made because
the Indian doubted the protective power of the disease, but because he
supposed (never having seen its progress), that the remedy must nearly
equal the disease which it was intended to counteract.

Our situation, while travelling, did not allow me sufficient time to
test the result of the vaccination in most instances; but an occasional
return to bands where the operation had been performed, enabled me, in
those bands, either to note the progress of the disease, or to judge
from the cicatrices marking the original situation of the pustules, the
cases in which the disease had proved successful.

  ------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------
  CHIPPEWA INDIANS. |        MALES.         |        FEMALES.
  ------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
                    | U | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |   | U | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
                    | n | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | O | n | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | O
                    | d |   |   |   |   | v | d |   |   |   |   | v
                    | e | t | t | t | t | e | e | t | t | t | t | e
       BANDS.       | r | o | o | o | o | r | r | o | o | o | o | r
                    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
                    | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8
                    | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
                    | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | .
  ------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
  LAKE SUPERIOR     |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
   {Sault Ste. Marie| 93| 22| 19|  8|  2|  1| 75| 28| 21| 10|  3|  1
   {Grand Island    | 17|  9|  7|  2|...|...| 12|  5|  7|...|...|...
   {Keweena Bay     | 23| 11| 10|  6|  1|...| 20| 12| 17|  5|  2|  1
   {Ontonagon River |  7|  8| 10|  3|...|...| 13|  5| 12|  6|  1|...
   {La Pointe       | 37| 32| 40|  6|  2|  1| 38| 25| 28| 12|  2|...
   {Fond du Lac     | 50| 21| 45| 10|  2|...| 41| 18| 35| 13|  6|  2
  FOLLE AVOINE      |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
   COUNTRY          |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
   {Lac du Flambeau |  6|  2|  6|  1|  1|...|  2|  3|  4|  2|  2|...
   {Ottowa Lake     | 11|  4|  8|  1|...|...| 10|  7|  3|  2|...|...
   {Yellow River    | 11|  2|  6|  1|...|...| 11|  3|  6|  2|  1|...
   {Nama Kowagun of |
    {St. Croix River|  4|  1|  2|  1|...|...|  4|...|  3|  2|...|...
   {Snake River     | 14|  3|  7|  4|  1|  1| 25|  3| 12|  1|  1|...
  SOURCES OF THE    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
   MISSISSIPPI RIVER|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    {Sandy Lake     | 75| 21| 47| 10|  2|...| 86| 19| 48| 23|  6|  2
    {Lake Winnipeg  |  4|  4| 10|  3|...|...|  1|  1|  1|  2|...|...
    {Cass, or Upper |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    {Red Cedar Lake | 18|  5| 11|  6|...|  1| 18|  3|  8|  5|  1|  1
    {Leech Lake     | 76| 43| 73| 16|  4|  1| 96| 41| 61| 25|  2|  1
                    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
  Lake Superior     |227|103|131| 35|  7|  2|199| 93|120| 46| 14|  5
  Folle Avoine      |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    Country         | 46| 12| 29|  8|  2|  1| 52| 12| 32|  9|  4|...
  Sources of the    |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
    Mississippi     |173| 73|141| 35|  6|  2|201| 64|118| 55|  9|  4
                    +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
              Total |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |
                    |446|188|301| 78| 15|  5|452|169|270|110| 27|  9
  ------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------

  ------------------+-----------
  CHIPPEWA INDIANS. |
  ------------------+---+---+---
                    |   |   |
                    |   | F |
                    |   | e |
                    | M | m | T
        BANDS.      | a | a | o
                    | l | l | t
                    | e | e | a
                    | s | s | l
                    | . | . | .
  ------------------+---+---+---
  LAKE SUPERIOR     |   |   |
   {Sault Ste. Marie|145|138|283
   {Grand Island    | 35| 24| 59
   {Keweena Bay     | 57|108
   {Ontonagon River | 28| 37| 65
   {La Pointe       |118|106|224
   {Fond du Lac     |128|115|243
  FOLLE AVOINE      |   |   |
   COUNTRY          |   |   |
   {Lac du Flambeau | 16| 15| 29
   {Ottowa Lake     | 24| 22| 46
   {Yellow River    | 20| 23| 43
   {Nama Kowagun of |
    {St. Croix River|  8|  9| 17
   {Snake River     | 30| 42| 72
  SOURCES OF THE    |   |   |
   MISSISSIPPI RIVER|   |   |
    {Sandy Lake     |155|184|339
    {Lake Winnipeg  | 21|  5| 26
    {Cass, or Upper |   |   |
    {Red Cedar Lake | 41| 36| 77
    {Leech Lake     |213|226|439
                    +---+---+---
  Lake Superior     |505|477|982
  Folle Avoine      |   |   |
    Country         | 98|109|207
  Sources of the    |   |   |
    Mississippi     |430|451|881
                    +---+---+---
              Total |  1|  1|  2
                    |033|037|070
  ------------------+-----------

About one-fourth of the whole number were vaccinated directly from the
pustules of patients laboring under the disease; while the remaining
three-fourths were vaccinated from crusts, or from virus which had been
several days on hand. I did not pass by a single opportunity for
securing the crusts and virus from the arms of healthy patients; and to
avoid, as far as possible, the chance of giving rise to a disease of a
spurious kind, I invariably made use of those crusts and that virus, for
the purposes of vaccination, which had been most recently obtained. To
secure, as far as possible, against the chances of escaping the vaccine
disease, I invariably vaccinated in each arm.

Of the whole number of Indians vaccinated, I have either watched the
progress of the disease, or examined the cicatrices of about seven
hundred. An average of one in three of those vaccinated from crusts has
failed, while of those vaccinated directly from the arm of a person
laboring under the disease, not more than one in twenty has failed to
take effect--when the disease did not make its appearance after
vaccination, I have invariably, as the cases came under my examination,
revaccinated until a favorable result has been obtained.

Of the different bands of Indians vaccinated, a large proportion of the
following have, as an actual examination has shown, undergone thoroughly
the effects of the disease; viz: Sault Ste. Marie, Keweena Bay, La
Pointe, and Cass Lake, being seven hundred and fifty-one in number;
while of the remaining thirteen hundred and seventy-eight, of other
bands, I think it may safely be calculated that more than three-fourths
have passed effectually under the influence of the vaccine disease: and
as directions to revaccinate all those in whom the disease failed,
together with instructions as to time and manner of vaccination, were
given to the chiefs of the different bands, it is more than probable
that, where the bands remained together a sufficient length of time, the
operation of revaccination has been performed by themselves.

Upon our return to Lake Superior, I had reason to suspect, on examining
several cicatrices, that two of the crusts furnished by the
surgeon-general, in consequence of a partial decomposition, gave rise to
a spurious disease, and these suspicions were confirmed when
revaccinating with genuine vaccine matter, when the true disease was
communicated. Nearly all those Indians vaccinated with those two
crusts, have been vaccinated, and passed regularly though the vaccine
disease.

The answers to my repeated inquiries respecting the introduction,
progress, and fatality of the smallpox, would lead me to infer that the
disease has made its appearance at least five times, among the bands of
Chippewa Indians noticed in the accompanying table of vaccination.

The smallpox appears to have been wholly unknown to the Chippewas of
Lake Superior until about 1750; when a war-party, of more than one
hundred young men, from the bands resident near the head of the lake,
having visited Montreal for the purpose of assisting the French in their
then existing troubles with the English, became infected with the
disease, and but few of the party survived to reach their homes. It does
not appear, although they made a precipitate retreat to their own
country, that the disease was at this time communicated to any others of
the tribe.

About the year 1770, the disease appeared a second time among the
Chippewas, but, unlike that which preceded it, it was communicated to
the more northern bands.

The circumstances connected with its introduction are related nearly as
follows:--

Some time in the fall of 1767 or 8, a trader who had ascended the
Mississippi, and established himself near Leech Lake, was robbed of his
goods by the Indians residing at that lake; and, in consequence of his
exertions in defending his property, he died soon after.

These facts became known to the directors of the Fur Company, at
Mackinac; and, each successive year after, requests were sent to the
Leech Lake Indians, that they should visit Mackinac, and make reparation
for the goods they had taken, by a payment of furs, at the same time
threatening punishment in case of a refusal. In the spring of 1770, the
Indians saw fit to comply with this request; and a deputation from the
band visited Mackinac, with a quantity of furs, which they considered an
equivalent for the goods which had been taken. The deputation was
received with politeness by the directors of the Company, and the
difficulties readily adjusted. When this was effected, a cask of liquor
and a flag closely rolled were presented to the Indians as a token of
friendship. They were at the same time strictly enjoined neither to
break the seal of the cask nor to unroll the flag, until they had
reached the heart of their own country. This they promised to observe;
but while returning, and after having travelled many days, the chief of
the deputation made a feast for the Indians of the band at Fond du Lac,
Lake Superior, upon which occasion he unsealed the cask and unrolled the
flag for the gratification of his guests. The Indians drank of the
liquor, and remained in a state of inebriation during several days. The
rioting was over, and they were fast recovering from its effects, when
several of the party were seized with violent pain. This was attributed
to the liquor they had drunk; but the pain increasing, they were induced
to drink deeper of the poisonous drug, and in this inebriated state
several of the party died, before the real cause was suspected. Other
like cases occurred; and it was not long before one of the war-party who
had visited Montreal in 1750, and who had narrowly escaped with his
life, recognized the disease as the same which had attacked their party
at that time. It proved to be so; and of those Indians then at Fond du
Lac, about three hundred in number, nearly the whole were swept off by
it. Nor did it stop here; for numbers of those at Fond du Lac, at the
time the disease made its appearance, took refuge among the neighboring
bands; and although it did not extend easterly on Lake Superior, it is
believed that not a single band of Chippewas north or west from Fond du
Lac escaped its ravages. Of a large band then resident at Cass Lake,
near the source of the Mississippi River, only one person, a child,
escaped. The others having been attacked by the disease, died before any
opportunity for dispersing was offered. The Indians at this day are
firmly of the opinion that the smallpox was at this time communicated
through the articles presented to their brethren by the agent of the Fur
Company at Mackinac; and that it was done for the purpose of punishing
them more severely for their offences.

The most western bands of Chippewas relate a singular allegory of the
introduction of the smallpox into their country by a war-party,
returning from the plains of the Missouri, as nearly as information will
enable me to judge, in the year 1784. It does not appear that, at this
time, the disease extended to the bands east of Fond du Lac; but it is
represented to have been extremely fatal to those bands north and west
from there.

In 1802 or 3, the smallpox made its appearance among the Indians
residing at the Sault Ste. Marie, but did not extend to the bands west
from that place. The disease was introduced by a voyager, in the employ
of the Northwest Fur Company, who had just returned from Montreal; and
although all communication with him was prohibited, an Indian
imprudently having made him a visit, was infected with and transmitted
the disease to others of the band. When once communicated, it raged with
great violence, and of a large band scarcely one of those then at the
village survived, and the unburied bones still remain, marking the
situation they occupied. From this band the infection was communicated
to a band residing upon St. Joseph's Island, and many died of it; but
the surgeon of the military post then there, succeeded, by judicious and
early measures, in checking it before the infection became general.

In 1824, the smallpox again made its appearance among the Indians at the
Sault Ste. Marie. It was communicated by a voyager to the Indians upon
Drummond's Island, Lake Huron; and through them several families at
Sault Ste. Marie became infected. Of those belonging to the latter
place, more than twenty in number, only two escaped. The disease is
represented to have been extremely fatal to the Indians at Drummond's
Island.

Since 1824, the smallpox is not known to have appeared among the Indians
at the Sault Ste. Marie, nor among the Chippewas north or west from that
place. But the Indians of these bands still tremble at the bare name of
a disease which (next to the compounds of alcohol) has been one of the
greatest scourges that has ever overtaken them since their first
communication with the whites. The disease, when once communicated to a
band of Indians, rages with a violence wholly unknown to the civilized
man. The Indian, guided by present feeling, adopts a course of treatment
(if indeed it deserves that appellation) which not unfrequently arms the
disease with new power. An attack is but a warning to the poor and
helpless patient to prepare for death, which will almost assuredly soon
follow. His situation under these circumstances is truly deplorable; for
while in a state that even, with proper advice, he would of himself
recover, he adds fresh fuel to the flame which is already consuming him,
under the delusive hope of gaining relief. The intoxicating draught
(when it is within his reach) is not among the last remedies to which he
resorts, to produce a lethargy from which he is never to recover. Were
the friends of the sick man, even under these circumstances, enabled to
attend him, his sufferings might be, at least, somewhat mitigated; but
they too are, perhaps, in a similar situation, and themselves without
even a single person to minister to their wants. Death comes to the poor
invalid, and, perhaps, even as a welcome guest, to rid him of his
suffering.

By a comparison of the number of Indians vaccinated upon the borders of
Lake Superior with the actual population, it will be seen that the
proportion who have passed through the vaccine disease is so great as to
secure them against any general prevalence of the smallpox; and perhaps
it is sufficient to prevent the introduction of the disease to the bands
beyond, through this channel. But in the Folle Avoine country it is not
so. Of the large bands of Indians residing in that section of country,
only a small fraction have been vaccinated; while of other bands, not a
single person has passed through the disease.

Their local situation undoubtedly renders it of the first importance
that the benefits of vaccination should be extended to them. Their
situation may be said to render them a connecting link between the
southern and northwestern bands of Chippewas; and while on the south
they are liable to receive the virus of the smallpox from the whites and
Indians, the passage of the disease through them to their more northern
brethren would only be prevented by their remaining, at that time,
completely separated. Every motive of humanity towards the suffering
Indian, would lead to extend to him this protection against a disease he
holds in constant dread, and of which he knows, by sad experience, the
fatal effects. The protection he will prize highly, and will give in
return the only boon a destitute man is capable of giving; the deep-felt
gratitude of an overflowing heart.

    I have the honour to be,
    Very respectfully, sir,
    Your obedient servant,
    DOUGLASS HOUGHTON.

HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, ESQ.,
    _U. S. Ind. Agt., Sault de Ste. Marie._


4. TOPOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHY.

IX.

ASTRONOMICAL AND BAROMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS.

   1. _A Table of Geographical Positions on the Mississippi River at Low
      Water, observed in 1836._[275] By J. N. NICOLLET.

  [275] Com. Doc. No. 237.

  -------------------------------------------+-------------------+---------
                                             |ESTIMATED DISTANCES|
                                             |     BY WATER.     |Altitudes
           PLACES OF OBSERVATION.            +---------+---------+above the
                                             |From     | From the| Gulf of
                                             |place to | Gulf of | Mexico.
                                             |place.   | Mexico. |  [276]
  -------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------
  Mouths of the Mississippi--                | _Miles._| _Miles._| _Feet._
                                             |         |         |
             { The old Balize of the         |         |         |
  Northeast  {   French and pilot-house,     |   ...   |    ...  |   ...
   pass      { Light-house at the entrance   |   ...   |    ...  |   ...
                                             |         |         |
  South pass--light-house at the entrance    |   ...   |    ...  |   ...
                                             |         |         |
             { The new Balize and pilot-house|         |         |
  Southwest  {   on the east bayou           |   ...   |    ...  |   ...
   pass      { The new light-house, completed|         |         |
             {   January, 1840               |   ...   |    ...  |   ...
                                             |         |         |
  New Orleans Cathedral and level of its     |         |         |
    front pavement                           |   104   |    104  |    10.5
                                             |         |         |
  NOTE.--Level of the Mississippi above    } |         |         |
           the Gulf of Mexico, 0.5 foot.   } |         |         |
         Greatest depth of the Mississippi } |         |         |
           at low water, 113 feet.         } |   ...   |    ...  |
         Range between high and low water, } |         |         |
           13 feet.                        } |         |         |
                                             |         |         |
  Red River, north end of the island,        |         |         |
    opposite the mouth                       |   236   |    340  |    76
                                             |         |         |
  Natchez, light-house                       |    66   |    406  |    86
           general level of the city         |   ...   |    ...  |   264
                                             |         |         |
  NOTE.--Range between high and low water,   |         |         |
           in 1835, 52 feet                  |         |         |
                                             |         |         |
  Yazoo River, the mouth                     |   128   |    534  |   ...
                                             |         |         |
  White River, Montgomery's Landing, one     |         |         |
    mile above the mouth                     |   220   |   754   |    202
                                             |         |         |
  New Madrid, Missouri                       |   361   | 1,115   |    ...
                                             |         |         |
  Ohio River, north side of the mouth        |   101   | 1,216   |    824
                                             |         |         |
  Cape Girardeau                             |    41   | 1,257   |    ...
                                             |         |         |
  St. Genevieve, Catholic church, and level  |         |         |
    of its pavement                          |    73   | 1,330   |    372
                                             |         |         |
  St. Louis, garden of the Cathedral         |    60   | 1,390   |    382
                                             |         |         |
  Illinois River, the mouth                  |    36   | 1,426   |    ...
                                             |         |         |
  Moingonan River (Des Moines River), a      |         |         |
    small island at the mouth                |   168   | 1,594   |    444
                                             |         |         |
  Montrose, or old Fort Des Moines, the      |         |         |
    mouth of the creek                       |    15   | 1,609   |    470
                                             |         |         |
  Flint River, the mouth, above Burlington   |    30   | 1,639   |    486
                                             |         |         |
  Maskudeng, the middle mouth of the slough  |    39   | 1,678   |    505
                                             |         |         |
  Rock Island, a quarter of a mile above     |         |         |
    Davenport's residence                    |    44   | 1,722   |    528
                                             |         |         |
  Head of the Upper Rapids, below Port Biron |         |         |
    and Parkhurst                            |    15   | 1,737   |    554
                                             |         |         |
  Prairie du Chien (Kipi-saging), American   |         |         |
    Fur Company's house                      |   195   | 1,932   |    642
                                             |         |         |
  Summit of bluff  on the eastern side of    |         |         |
    Prairie du Chien                         |   ...   |   ...   |  1,010
                                             |         |         |
  Cap-à-l'ail, the summit--height above the  |         |         |
    Mississipi, 335 feet                     |    32   | 1,964   |  1,013
                                             |         |         |
  Upper Iowa River, island at the mouth      |    14   | 1,978   |    ...
                                             |         |         |
  Hokah River (Root River), the mouth        |    23   | 2,001   |    ...
                                             |         |         |
  Praire à la Crosse River, the mouth        |     3   | 2,004   |    ...
                                             |         |         |
  Sappah River, or Black River opposite the  |         |         |
    old mouth                                |    31   | 2,035   |    683
                                             |         |         |
    Top of mountain on right bank, opposite  |         |         |
      the old mouth                          |   ...   |   ...   |  1,214
                                             |         |         |
    Dividing ridge between Sappah River and  |         |         |
      Prairie à la Crosse River, 6 miles     |         |         |
      east of Mississippi                    |  ...    |  ...    |  1,103

  [276] The numbers in this column refer to the surface of the water in
  the Mississippi at the point mentioned, except when otherwise
  specially expressed.

  -------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------
                                             |           | WEST OF
                                             |           | GREENWICH.
           PLACES OF OBSERVATION.            |North      |
                                             |latitudes. +-----------
                                             |           |Longitudes
                                             |           | in time.
  -------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------
  Mouths of the Mississippi--                | ° ´  ´´   | _h. m. s._
                                             |           |
             { The old Balize of the         |           |
  Northeast  {   French and pilot-house,     | 29  7 15.3| 5 56 18.44
   pass      { Light-house at the entrance   | 29  8 32.8| 5 56  5.52
                                             |           |
  South pass--light-house at the entrance    | 28 59 42.3| 5 56 29.40
                                             |           |
             { The new Balize and pilot-house|           |
  Southwest  {   on the east bayou           | 28 59 49.5| 5 57 15.88
   pass      { The new light-house, completed|           |
             {   January, 1840               | 28 58 50  | 5 57 25.80
                                             |           |
  New Orleans Cathedral and level of its     |           |
    front pavement                           | 29 57 23  | 5 59 56
                                             |           |
  NOTE.--Level of the Mississippi above    } |           |
           the Gulf of Mexico, 0.5 foot.   } |           |
         Greatest depth of the Mississippi } |           |
           at low water, 113 feet.         } |    ..     |   ..
         Range between high and low water, } |           |
           13 feet.                        } |           |
                                             |           |
  Red River, north end of the island,        |           |
    opposite the mouth                       | 31  2 25  | 6  6 45
                                             |           |
  Natchez, light-house                       | 31 33 37  | 6  5 53.5
           general level of the city         |           |
                                             |           |
  NOTE.--Range between high and low water,   |           |
           in 1835, 52 feet                  |           |
                                             |           |
  Yazoo River, the mouth                     | 32 28 00  | 6  3 58
                                             |           |
  White River, Montgomery's Landing, one     |           |
    mile above the mouth                     | 33  57  20| 6  1  47
                                             |           |
  New Madrid, Missouri                       | 36  34  30| 5 57  49
                                             |           |
  Ohio River, north side of the mouth        | 37  00  25| 5 56  10
                                             |           |
  Cape Girardeau                             | 37  18  39| 5 57   8
                                             |           |
  St. Genevieve, Catholic church, and level  |           |
    of its pavement                          | 37  59  47| 6  0  44.7
                                             |           |
  St. Louis, garden of the Cathedral         | 38  37  28| 6  1   2.6
                                             |           |
  Illinois River, the mouth                  | 38  58  12|   ...
                                             |           |
  Moingonan River (Des Moines River), a      |           |
    small island at the mouth                | 40  21  43| 6  6  10
                                             |           |
  Montrose, or old Fort Des Moines, the      |           |
    mouth of the creek                       | 40  30  34| 6  6   4
                                             |           |
  Flint River, the mouth, above Burlington   | 40  52  56|   ...
                                             |           |
  Maskudeng, the middle mouth of the slough  | 41  14  47| 6  5  26
                                             |           |
  Rock Island, a quarter of a mile above     |           |
    Davenport's residence                    | 41  31  50|   ...
                                             |           |
  Head of the Upper Rapids, below Port Biron |           |
    and Parkhurst                            | 41  36   8| 6  1  56
                                             |           |
  Prairie du Chien (Kipi-saging), American   |           |
    Fur Company's house                      | 43   3   6| 6  4  37.3
                                             |           |
  Summit of bluff  on the eastern side of    |           |
    Prairie du Chien                         |           |
                                             |           |
  Cap-à-l'ail, the summit--height above the  |           |
    Mississipi, 335 feet                     |     ...   |   ...
                                             |           |
  Upper Iowa River, island at the mouth      | 43  29  26| 6  4  40
                                             |           |
  Hokah River (Root River), the mouth        | 43  47  00| 6  4  46
                                             |           |
  Praire à la Crosse River, the mouth        | 43  49  00| 6  4  56
                                             |           |
  Sappah River, or Black River opposite the  |           |
    old mouth                                | 43  57  14| 6  5  36
                                             |           |
    Top of mountain on right bank, opposite  |           |
      the old mouth                          |     ...   |   ...
                                             |           |
    Dividing ridge between Sappah River and  |           |
      Prairie à la Crosse River, 6 miles     |           |
      east of Mississippi                    |     ...   |   ...

  -------------------------------------------+------------+------------
                                             |WEST OF    |
                                             |GREENWICH. |
           PLACES OF OBSERVATION.            |           |Authorities,
                                             +-----------+    &c.
                                             |Longitudes |
                                             |  in arc.  |
  -------------------------------------------+-----------+------------
  Mouths of the Mississippi--                | °  ´  ´´  |
                                             |           |
             { The old Balize of the         |           |   Captain A.
  Northeast  {   French and pilot-house,     | 89  4 36.6|    Talcott.
   pass      { Light-house at the entrance   | 89  1 22.9|       do.
                                             |           |
  South pass--light-house at the entrance    | 89  7 27.1|       do.
                                             |           |
             { The new Balize and pilot-house|           |
  Southwest  {   on the east bayou           | 89 18 58.2|       do.
   pass      { The new light-house, completed|           |
             {   January, 1840               | 89 21 27  |       do.
                                             |           |
  New Orleans Cathedral and level of its     |           |
    front pavement                           | 89 59  4  |
                                             |           |
  NOTE.--Level of the Mississippi above    } |           |
           the Gulf of Mexico, 0.5 foot.   } |           |
         Greatest depth of the Mississippi } |           |
           at low water, 113 feet.         } |    ...    |Albert Stein,
         Range between high and low water, } |           |  C. E.
           13 feet.                        } |           |
                                             |           |
  Red River, north end of the island,        |           |
    opposite the mouth                       | 91 41 15  | Nicollet.
                                             |           |
  Natchez, light-house                       | 91 28 22.5|    do.
           general level of the city         |           |
                                             |           |
  NOTE.--Range between high and low water,   |           |
           in 1835, 52 feet                  |           |
                                             |           |
  Yazoo River, the mouth                     | 90 59 30  |   Ferrer.
                                             |           |
  White River, Montgomery's Landing, one     |           |
    mile above the mouth                     | 90 26 45  |Nicollet.
                                             |           |
  New Madrid, Missouri                       | 89 27 15  |Ferrer.
                                             |           |
  Ohio River, north side of the mouth        | 89  2 30  |Ferrer's
                                             |           | longitude.
                                             |           |
  Cape Girardeau                             | 89 17 00  |Long's 1st
                                             |           | expedition.
                                             |           |
  St. Genevieve, Catholic church, and level  |           |
    of its pavement                          | 90 11 10  |Nicollet.
                                             |           |
  St. Louis, garden of the Cathedral         | 90 15 39  |   do.
                                             |           |
  Illinois River, the mouth                  |    ...    |Long's 1st
                                             |           | expedition.
                                             |           |
  Moingonan River (Des Moines River), a      |           |
    small island at the mouth                | 91 32 30  |Nicollet.
                                             |           |
  Montrose, or old Fort Des Moines, the      |           |
    mouth of the creek                       | 91 31 00  |   do.
                                             |           |
  Flint River, the mouth, above Burlington   |    ...    |   do.
                                             |           |
  Maskudeng, the middle mouth of the slough  | 91 21 30  |   do.
                                             |           |
  Rock Island, a quarter of a mile above     |           |
    Davenport's residence                    |    ...    |   do.
                                             |           |
  Head of the Upper Rapids, below Port Biron |           |
    and Parkhurst                            | 90 29 00  |   do.
                                             |           |
  Prairie du Chien (Kipi-saging), American   |           |
    Fur Company's house                      | 91  9 19.5|   do.
                                             |           |
  Summit of bluff  on the eastern side of    |           |
    Prairie du Chien                         |           |
                                             |           |
  Cap-à-l'ail, the summit--height above the  |           |
    Mississipi, 335 feet                     |    ...    |    do.
                                             |           |
  Upper Iowa River, island at the mouth      | 91 10 00  |    do.
                                             |           |
  Hokah River (Root River), the mouth        | 91 11 30  |    do.
                                             |           |
  Praire à la Crosse River, the mouth        | 91 14 00  |    do.
                                             |           |
  Sappah River, or Black River opposite the  |           |
    old mouth                                | 91 24 00  |    do.
                                             |           |
    Top of mountain on right bank, opposite  |           |
      the old mouth                          |    ...    |    do.
                                             |           |
    Dividing ridge between Sappah River and  |           |
      Prairie à la Crosse River, 6 miles     |           |
      east of Mississippi                    |    ...    |    do.


   TABLE OF GEOGRAPHICAL POSITIONS--CONTINUED.
   MISSISSIPPI RIVER AT LOW WATER.

  -------------------------------------------+-------------------+---------
                                             |ESTIMATED DISTANCES|
                                             |     BY WATER.     |Altitudes
           PLACES OF OBSERVATION.            +---------+---------+above the
                                             |From     | From the| Gulf of
                                             |place to | Gulf of | Mexico.
                                             |place.   | Mexico. |
  -------------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------
  Mountain Island, or _Montagne qui trempe à_|_Miles._ |_Miles._ | _Feet._
    _l'Eau_ of the French                    |    7    |  2,042  |  ...
  Miniskah River, or White-water River       |   27    |  2,069  |  ...
  Wazi-oju River, or Pinewood River          |         |         |
    (_Rivière aux Embarras_ of the French)   |    1    |  2,070  |  ...
  At Roque's, two and a half miles below     |         |         |
    Chippeway River                          |   14    |  2,084  |  ...
  Clear Water River, the mouth, northwest    |         |         |
    corner of Lake Pepin                     |   ...   |   ...   |  ...
  Reminicha (_Montagne la Grange_ of the     |         |         |
    French), upper end of Lake Pepin         |   31    |  2,115  |   714
  Top of Reminicha                           |   ...   |   ...   | 1,036
  La Hontan River, the mouth (Cannon River   |         |         |
    of the Americans, Canoe River of the     |         |         |
    French)                                  |    3    |  2,118  |  ...
  St. Croix River, the mouth                 |   32    |  2,150  |   729
  Upland on the banks of the Mississippi     |         |         |
    and Lake St. Croix                       |   ...   |   ...   |   866
  St. Peter's, the mouth                     |   42    |  2,192  |   744
  General level of the plateau on which Fort |         |         |
    Snelling and the Indian agency stand     |   ...   |   ...   |   850
  Pilot Knob, the top                        |   ...   |   ...   | 1,006
  Falls of St. Anthony, United States Cottage|    8    |  2,200  |   856
  Ishkode-wabo River, or Rum River, the mouth|   19    |  2,219  |  ...
  Karishon River (Sioux), or Undeg River     |         |         |
    (Chippewas),                             |         |         |
  Crow River of the Americans                |   10    |  2,229  |  ...
  St. Francis River, Wicha-niwa River of the |         |         |
    Sioux                                    |   9     |  2,238  |   ...
  Migadiwin Creek, or War Creek, the mouth   |  18     |  2,256  |   ...
  Kawakomik River, or Clear-Water River, the |         |         |
    mouth                                    |  24     |  2,280  |   ...
  Round Island, at the lower end of Osakis   |         |         |
    Rapids                                   |  ...    |   ...   |   ...
  Osakis River, the mouth                    |  22     |  2,302  |   ...
  Watab River, the mouth                     |   3     |  2,305  |   ...
  Pekushino River, the mouth                 |  18     |  2,323  |   ...
  Wabezi River, or Swan River, a half mile   |         |         |
    above the mouth                          |  18     |  2,341  |  1,098
  Omoshkos River, or Elk River, the mouth    |  10     |  2,351  |   ...
  Nokay's River, the mouth                   |  18     |  2,369  |   ...
  Kagi-wigwan River, the mouth (_Aile de     |         |         |
    Corbeau River_ of the French, Crow-Wing  |         |         |
    River of the Americans)                  |  12     |  2,381  |  1,130
  Nagadjika River, opposite the mouth        |  18     |  2,399  |   ...
  Pine River, the mouth                      |  30     |  2,429  |  1,176
  Willow River, the mouth                    |  65     |  2,494  |   ...
  Sandy Lake River, the mouth                |  32     |  2,526  |  1,253
  Swan River, the mouth                      |  38     |  2,564  |  1,290
  Kabikons, or Little Falls, the head of the |         |         |
    falls                                    |  63     |  2,627  |  1,840
  Wanomon River, or Vermilion River, the     |         |         |
    mouth                                    |  21     |  2,648  |   ...
  Eagle Nest savannah (_Marais aux Nids      |         |         |
    d'Aigle_ of the French)                  |  16     |  2,664  |   ...
  Leach Lake River, the mouth                |  11     |  2,675  |  1,356
  Lake Cass, the old trading-house on a      |         |         |
    tongue of land near the entrance of the  |         |         |
    Mississippi                              |  80     |  2,755  |  1,402
  Pemidji Lake, or Lake Travers, the entrance|         |         |
    of the Mississippi                       |  45     |  2,800  |  1,456
  Itasca Lake, Schoolcraft's Island          |  90     |  2,890  |  1,575
  Utmost sources of the Mississippi, at the  |         |         |
    summit of the Hauteurs de Terre, or      |         |         |
    dividing ridge, between the Mississippi  |         |         |
    and Red River of the North               |   6     |  2,896  |  1,680

  -------------------------------------------+----------+-----------
                                             |          |  WEST OF
           PLACES OF OBSERVATION.            |North     | GREENWICH.
                                             |latitudes.+-----------
                                             |          |Longitudes
                                             |          | in time.
  -------------------------------------------+----------+-----------
  Mountain Island, or _Montagne qui trempe à_| ° ´ ´´   |_h. m. s._
    _l'Eau_ of the French                    | 44  1  7 | 6  6    2
  Miniskah River, or White-water River       | 44 12 36 | 6  7   25
  Wazi-oju River, or Pinewood River          |          |
    (_Rivière aux Embarras_ of the French)   | 44 13 20 | 6  7   22
  At Roque's, two and a half miles below     |          |
    Chippeway River                          | 44 23 24 | 6  8   00
  Clear Water River, the mouth, northwest    |          |
    corner of Lake Pepin                     | 44 36 20 | 6  9   40
  Reminicha (_Montagne la Grange_ of the     |          |
    French), upper end of Lake Pepin         | 44 33 30 | 6  10   4
  Top of Reminicha                           |    ...   |    ...
  La Hontan River, the mouth (Cannon River   |          |
    of the Americans, Canoe River of the     |          |
    French)                                  | 44 34 00 | 6  10   8
  St. Croix River, the mouth                 | 44 45 30 | 6  11  00
  Upland on the banks of the Mississippi     |          |
    and Lake St. Croix                       |    ...   |     ...
  St. Peter's, the mouth                     | 44 52 46 | 6 12 19.6
  General level of the plateau on which Fort |          |
    Snelling and the Indian agency stand     |    ...   |     ...
  Pilot Knob, the top                        |    ...   |     ...
  Falls of St. Anthony, United States Cottage| 44 58 40 | 6 12   42
  Ishkode-wabo River, or Rum River, the mouth| 45 15 00 |     ...
  Karishon River (Sioux), or Undeg River     |          |
    (Chippewas),                             |          |
  Crow River of the Americans                | 45 16 00 |     ...
  St. Francis River, Wicha-niwa River of the |          |
    Sioux                                    | 45 20 30 |   ...
  Migadiwin Creek, or War Creek, the mouth   | 45 18 14 | 6 15 50
  Kawakomik River, or Clear-Water River, the |          |
    mouth                                    | 45 24 25 | 6 16 30
  Round Island, at the lower end of Osakis   |          |
    Rapids                                   | 45 35 00 | 6 16 48
  Osakis River, the mouth                    | 45 35 35 | 6 16 48
  Watab River, the mouth                     | 45 37 00 | 6 16 58
  Pekushino River, the mouth                 | 45 46 50 | 6 17 14
  Wabezi River, or Swan River, a half mile   |          |
    above the mouth                          | 45 54 30 | 6 17 28
  Omoshkos River, or Elk River, the mouth    | 46  4 00 | 6 17  4
  Nokay's River, the mouth                   | 46 10 30 | 6 17 15
  Kagi-wigwan River, the mouth (_Aile de     |          |
    Corbeau River_ of the French, Crow-Wing  |          |
    River of the Americans)                  | 46 16 50 | 6 17 31
  Nagadjika River, opposite the mouth        | 46 26 00 |   ...
  Pine River, the mouth                      | 46 35 00 |   ...
  Willow River, the mouth                    | 46 40 30 | 6 13 30
  Sandy Lake River, the mouth                | 46 47 10 | 6 12 38
  Swan River, the mouth                      | 47 00 43 | 6 12 36
  Kabikons, or Little Falls, the head of the |          |
    falls                                    | 47 14 50 | 6 13 47
  Wanomon River, or Vermilion River, the     |          |
    mouth                                    | 47 11  4 | 6 14 10
  Eagle Nest savannah (_Marais aux Nids      |          |
    d'Aigle_ of the French)                  | 47 18 10 | 6 14 36
  Leach Lake River, the mouth                | 47 14 00 | 6 14 52
  Lake Cass, the old trading-house on a      |          |
    tongue of land near the entrance of the  |          |
    Mississippi                              | 47 25 23 | 6 18 16
  Pemidji Lake, or Lake Travers, the entrance|          |
    of the Mississippi                       | 47 28 46 | 6 19 22
  Itasca Lake, Schoolcraft's Island          | 47 13 35 | 6 20  8
  Utmost sources of the Mississippi, at the  |          |
    summit of the Hauteurs de Terre, or      |          |
    dividing ridge, between the Mississippi  |          |
    and Red River of the North               |          |

  -------------------------------------------+----------+------------
                                             | WEST OF  |
           PLACES OF OBSERVATION.            |GREENWICH.|Authorities,
                                             +----------+    &c.
                                             |Longitudes|
                                             | in arc.  |
  -------------------------------------------+----------+------------
  Mountain Island, or _Montagne qui trempe à_|  ° ´ ´´  |
    _l'Eau_ of the French                    | 91 30 30 | Nicollet.
  Miniskah River, or White-water River       | 91 51 15 | do.
  Wazi-oju River, or Pinewood River          |          |
    (_Rivière aux Embarras_ of the French)   | 91 50 30 | do.
  At Roque's, two and a half miles below     |          |
    Chippeway River                          | 92 00 00 | do.
  Clear Water River, the mouth, northwest    |          |
    corner of Lake Pepin                     | 92 25 00 | do.
  Reminicha (_Montagne la Grange_ of the     |          |
    French), upper end of Lake Pepin         | 92 31 00 | do.
  Top of Reminicha                           |   ...    | do.
  La Hontan River, the mouth (Cannon River   |          |
    of the Americans, Canoe River of the     |          |
    French)                                  | 92 32 00 | do.
  St. Croix River, the mouth                 | 92 45 00 | do.
  Upland on the banks of the Mississippi     |          |
    and Lake St. Croix                       |   ...    | do.
  St. Peter's, the mouth                     | 93  4 54 | do.
  General level of the plateau on which Fort |          |
    Snelling and the Indian agency stand     |   ...    | do.
  Pilot Knob, the top                        |   ...    | do.
  Falls of St. Anthony, United States Cottage| 93 10 30 | do.
  Ishkode-wabo River, or Rum River, the mouth|   ...    | do.
  Karishon River (Sioux), or Undeg River     |          |
    (Chippewas),                             |          |
  Crow River of the Americans                |   ...    | do.
  St. Francis River, Wicha-niwa River of the |          |
    Sioux                                    |  ...     | Nicollet.
  Migadiwin Creek, or War Creek, the mouth   | 93 57 30 | do.
  Kawakomik River, or Clear-Water River, the |          |
    mouth                                    | 94  7 30 | do.
  Round Island, at the lower end of Osakis   |          |
    Rapids                                   | 94 12 00 | do.
  Osakis River, the mouth                    | 94 12 00 | do.
  Watab River, the mouth                     | 94 14 30 | do.
  Pekushino River, the mouth                 | 94 18 30 | do.
  Wabezi River, or Swan River, a half mile   |          |
    above the mouth                          | 94 22 00 | do.
  Omoshkos River, or Elk River, the mouth    | 94 16 00 | do.
  Nokay's River, the mouth                   | 94 18 45 | do.
  Kagi-wigwan River, the mouth (_Aile de     |          |
    Corbeau River_ of the French, Crow-Wing  |          |
    River of the Americans)                  | 94 22 45 | do.
  Nagadjika River, opposite the mouth        |   ...    | do.
  Pine River, the mouth                      |   ...    | do.
  Willow River, the mouth                    | 93 22 30 | do.
  Sandy Lake River, the mouth                | 93  9 30 | do.
  Swan River, the mouth                      | 93  9 00 | do.
  Kabikons, or Little Falls, the head of the |          |
    falls                                    | 93 26 45 | do.
  Wanomon River, or Vermilion River, the     |          |
    mouth                                    | 93 32 30 | do.
  Eagle Nest savannah (_Marais aux Nids      |          |
    d'Aigle_ of the French)                  | 93 39 00 | do.
  Leach Lake River, the mouth                | 93 43 00 | do.
  Lake Cass, the old trading-house on a      |          |
    tongue of land near the entrance of the  |          |
    Mississippi                              | 94 34 00 | do.
  Pemidji Lake, or Lake Travers, the entrance|          |
    of the Mississippi                       | 94 50 30 | do.
  Itasca Lake, Schoolcraft's Island          | 95  2 00 | do.
  Utmost sources of the Mississippi, at the  |          |
    summit of the Hauteurs de Terre, or      |          |
    dividing ridge, between the Mississippi  |          |
    and Red River of the North               |          |

   TABLE OF GEOGRAPHICAL POSITIONS--CONTINUED.
   REGIONS OF THE SOURCES OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

  -------------------------------+---------+----------+-----------
                                 |         |          |  WEST OF
                                 |Altitudes|          | GREENWICH.
      PLACES OF OBSERVATION.     |above the|North     |
                                 | Gulf of |latitudes.+-----------
                                 | Mexico. |          |Longitudes
                                 |         |          | in time.
  -------------------------------+---------+----------+-----------
  Gayashk River, or Little Gull  | _Feet._ | ° ´ ´´   |_h. m. s._
    River, the mouth             |  1,131  | 46 18 50 | 6  17 44
  Gayashk Lake, or Little Gull   |         |          |
    Lake, end of Long Point      |  1,152  | 46 24 28 | 6  17  30
  Kadicomeg Lake, or White-Fish  |         |          |
    Lake, the entrance of Pine   |         |          |
    River                        |  1,192  | 46 40 25 | 6  16 10
  Lake Chanché, southwest end    |   ...   | 46 46 35 |    ...
  Lake Eccleston, northwest end  |   ...   | 46 57 00 |    ...
  Leech Lake, Otter-tail Point   |  1,380  | 47 11 40 | 6  17 20
  Leech Lake, the bay opposite   |         |          |
    Otter-tail Point             |   ...   | 47  7 22 | 6  17 28
  Kabekonang River, the junction |         |          |
    of the upper fork, near the  |         |          |
    next-mentioned portage       |  1,406  | 47 16 00 |    ...
  Portage from Kabekonang River  |         |          |
    to La Place River, near the  |         |          |
    west end                     |  1,540  | 47 15 00 |    ...
  Assawa Lake, below the south   |         |          |
    end                          |  1,532  | 47 12 10 | 6  19 40
  Highest ridge on the portage   |         |          |
    between Assawa Lake and      |         |          |
    Itasca Lake                  |  1,695  |   ...    |    ...
  Cleared pine camp, on Leech    |         |          |
    Lake River                   |   ...   | 47 18 00 | 6  16 00

  -------------------------------+----------+------------
                                 |WEST OF   |
                                 |GREENWICH.|Authorities,
      PLACES OF OBSERVATION.     +----------+    &c.
                                 |Longitudes|
                                 |  in arc. |
  -------------------------------+----------+------------
  Gayashk River, or Little Gull  |  ° ´ ´´  |
    River, the mouth             | 94 26 00 | Nicollet.
  Gayashk Lake, or Little Gull   |          |
    Lake, end of Long Point      | 94 22 30 | do.
  Kadicomeg Lake, or White-Fish  |          |
    Lake, the entrance of Pine   |          |
    River                        | 94  2 30 | do.
  Lake Chanché, southwest end    |    ...   | do.
  Lake Eccleston, northwest end  |    ...   | do.
  Leech Lake, Otter-tail Point   | 94 20 00 | do.
  Leech Lake, the bay opposite   |          |
    Otter-tail Point             | 94 22 00 |  do.
  Kabekonang River, the junction |          |
    of the upper fork, near the  |          |
    next-mentioned portage       |    ...   | do.
  Portage from Kabekonang River  |          |
    to La Place River, near the  |          |
    west end                     |    ...   | do.
  Assawa Lake, below the south   |          |
    end                          | 94 55 00 | do.
  Highest ridge on the portage   |          |
    between Assawa Lake and      |          |
    Itasca Lake                  |    ...   | do.
  Cleared pine camp, on Leech    |          |
    Lake River                   | 94 00 00 | do.


5. SCENERY.

X.

   (a) _Scenery of Lake Superior._ By HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

Few portions of America can vie in scenic attractions with this interior
sea. Its size alone gives it all the elements of grandeur; but these
have been heightened by the mountain masses which nature has piled along
its shores. In some places, these masses consist of vast walls, of
coarse gray, or drab-colored sandstone, placed horizontally, until they
have attained many hundred feet in height above the water. The action of
such an immense liquid area, forced against these crumbling walls by
tempests, has caused wide and deep arches to be worn into the solid
structure, at their base, into which the billows roll, with a noise
resembling low-pealing thunder. By this means, large areas of the
impending mass are at length undermined and precipitated into the lake,
leaving the split and rent parts, from which they have separated,
standing like huge misshapen turrets and battlements. Such is the varied
coast, called the Pictured Rocks.

At other points of the coast, volcanic forces have operated, lifting up
these level strata into positions nearly vertical, and leaving them to
stand, like the leaves of a vast open book. At the same time, the
volcanic rocks sent up from below, have risen in high mountains, with
ancient gaping craters. Such is the condition of the disturbed
stratification at the Porcupine Mountains.

The basin and bed of this lake act like a vast geological mortar, in
which the masses of broken and fallen stones are whirled about and
ground down, till all the softer ones, such as the sandstones, are
brought into the state of pure yellow sand. This sand is driven ashore
by the waves, where it is shoved up in long wreaths, and dried by the
sun. The winds now take it up, and spread it inland, or pile it
immediately along the coast, where it presents itself in mountain
masses. Such are the great sand dunes of the Grande Sables.

There are yet other theatres of action for this sublime mass of inland
waters, where the lake has manifested, perhaps, still more strongly, its
abrasive powers. The whole force of its waters, under the impulse of a
northwest tempest, is directed against prominent portions of the shore,
which consist of black and hard volcanic rocks. Solid as these are, the
waves have found an entrance in veins of spar, or minerals of softer
texture, and have thus been led on their devastating course inland,
tearing up large fields of amygdaloid, or other rock; or, left portions
of them standing in rugged knobs, or promontories. Such are the east and
west coasts of the great peninsula of Keweena, which have recently
become the theatre of mining operations.

When the visitor to these remote and boundless waters comes to see this
wide and varied scene of complicated geological disturbances and scenic
magnificence, he is absorbed in wonder and astonishment. The eye, once
introduced to this panorama of waters, is never done looking and
admiring. Scene after scene, cliff after cliff, island after island, and
vista after vista are presented. One day's scenes of the traveller are
but the prelude to another; and when weeks, and even months, have been
spent in picturesque rambles along its shores, he has only to ascend
some of its streams, and go inland a few miles, to find falls, and
cascades, and cataracts of the most beautiful or magnificent character.
Go where he will, there is something to attract him. Beneath his feet
are pebbles of agates; the water is of the most crystalline purity. The
sky is filled, at sunset with the most gorgeous piles of clouds. The air
itself is of the purest and most inspiring kind. To visit such a scene
is to draw health from its purest sources, and while the eye revels in
intellectual delights, the soul is filled with the liveliest symbols of
God, and the most striking evidences of his creative power.

   (b) _Letters of Mr. M. Woolsey._ _Southern Literary Messenger_, 1836.
   Oneöta, p. 322.

These spirited and graphic letters are unavoidably excluded. The
evidence they bear to the purity of principle, justness of taste, and
excellence of character of a young man, now no more, ought to preserve
his name from oblivion. He accompanied me in 1831, as a volunteer, in a
leisure moment, an admirer of nature, seeking health.




INDEX.


  A

  A bear trapped, 98
  A box of minerals stolen, 40
  A granitical formation on Lake Superior, 88
  A long fast, 126
  A new philological principle in languages, 455
  A phenomenon, 103
  A precinct of Indian orgies, 115
  A sub-expedition to Sandy Lake, 112
  A war-party surprised, 552
  Account of sub-explorations of Green Bay, 210
  Acipenser oxyrinchus, 95
  Acipenser spatularia, 163
  Advance of Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains, 109
  African and Indian marriages, 108
  Agaric mineral, 60
  Agate, 87
  Agglutinative properties of the Indian pronoun, 502
  Aggregate fall of the Mississippi below Sandy Lake, 150;
    commencement of the calcareous rocks, 150
  Algoma, 107
  Algonquin language justly applauded, 122
  Algonac, 50
  Allenoga River, 250
  Allen's Lake, 263
  Aluminous minerals, 354
  American Indian policy, 546
  American antiquities, 166
  Amygdaloid, 90
  An Indian breakfast, 253
  An Indian grave with hieroglyphics, 88
  An Indian nonplused in the woods, 97
  An Indian salute, 120
  Analysis of Lake Superior copper at Utrecht, 364
  Anodonta corpulenta, 516
  Announcement of return of expedition, of 1820, 279
  Antique markings on the pinus resinosa, 552
  Antique notices of the lake mineralogy, 295
  Antiquities, 157;
    first notice of in 1766, 165
  Apparent tide in the Baltic, 191
  Appearance of dune sand at Point aux Barques, 54
  Appendix No. 2, 449
  Apricots in bloom on the 22d of April, 41
  Arched rock, 61
  Argillaceous stratum of Detroit, 307
  Argillite, 111
  Artesian borings for water, 51
  Art of the wounded duck, 249
  Arts and manufactures of the Chippewas and Ottowas, 70
  Ascent of the Assowa River, 235
  Asphaltum and naphtha, 196
  Assassination of Owen Keveny, 69
  Assowa Lake, 239
  Atmospheric heat 28th June, 96
  Aux Sables Indians, 55


  B

  Bark letter in pictographic characters, 433
  Barometrical height of Cass Lake, 139
  Barytic minerals, 357
  Basin of Lake Michigan, 335
  Basin of Lake Superior, 318
  Bat in wood, 396
  Beltrami, 227
  Birch Lake, 263
  Birds inhabiting the region of Pakagama Falls, 130
  Birds of Lake Superior, 104
  Birds of the Wisconsin Valley, 181
  Bituminous minerals, 358
  Bivalve shells, 415
  Black River, 103
  Boatswain to Com. Perry in 1813, 194
  Botany, 408
  Boulders on the shores of Lake St. Clair, 49
  Boundary between Michigan and Wisconsin, 103
  Breadth of the Mississippi at Sandy Lake, 124
  Brigham's residence at Blue Mound, 568
  Brulé summit, 273
  Buckshot gravel, 62
  Buffalo hunt, 146


  C

  Cabotian Mountains, 110
  Calcareous minerals, 350
  Canadian canoe-song, 189
  Canoe-race, 48
  Capt. Douglass, 210
  Capt. Jouett, 269
  Capture and massacre of the garrison of old Mackinac, 63
  Carnage River, 248
  Carnelian, 87
  Carver's Cave, 159
  Carver's travels, 21
  Cass, his official report, 280
  Cass Lake, 130
  Cass Lake basin, 328
  Cass on Indian hieroglyphics, 430
  Cassville, Wisconsin, 169
  Chagoimegon, 105
  Chalcedony and calcareous spar, 54
  Charles Stokes, Esq., his geological memoir, 315
  Charlevoix's visit to America, 20
  Character and value of Dubuque's lead mines, 172
  Character of the bison, 147
  Character of the Canadian voyageur, 124
  Cheboigan, its etymology, 213
  Chenos, a masked coast, 73
  Chicago, etymology of name, population, and greatness, 198
  Chief Guelle Plat, 255
  Chippewa character of the Kekeewin, 154
  Chippewa dance, 87
  Chippewa term of salutation, 84
  Chippewa village, 94
  Cinnamon-colored radiated quartz, 163
  Claimants to mine lands, 365
  Clinton River, 49
  Club fungus partially fossilized, 204
  Coal in Western New York, 391
  Coast of boulders, 215
  Col. Croghan's attack at Fort Holmes in 1814, 64
  Col. Pierce, 58
  Coluber æstivus, 50
  Combustibles, 536
  Commercial value of copper, 372
  Conchology, 178
  Connection with Blackhawk's plans disclaimed, 272
  Cooper's description of shells, 515
  Copper-bearing trap-dykes, 89
  Copper boulder, its size, 97
  Copper-head snake, 238
  Copper ores of Mineral Point, 567
  Cormorant, 130
  Corn ripens at St. Peter's Valley, 153
  Cornu-ammonis; a fossiliferous coast, 56
  Corregonus albus, 260
  Cost of lake transportation, 376
  Council at Cass Lake, 251
  Council at Sandy Lake, 226
  Council at St. Peter's agency, 269
  Council at the ultimate point of the first expedition, 133
  Council with Indians;
    their hostility, 78;
    they raise the British flag, 79
  Crow-wing River, 145
  Crystals of iron pyrites, 196
  Cupreous formation, 324
  Cup-shaped concavities, 61


  D

  Dacota, or Nadownsie Indians, 158
  Danger escaped, 566
  Date and circumstance of Pike's visit to Sandy Lake, 117
  Date of Prairie du Chien, 167
  Date of the battle of Badaxe, 269
  Date of Wisconsin as a territorial name, 176
  De Witt Clinton offers the use of his library, 23
  Dead scaffolded, 122
  Defect of postal facilities, at Mackinac, 65
  Depth of the Detroit clay beds, 51
  Derogative inflections of the Indian noun, 476
  Descent of Itasca River, 246
  Description of the Indian canoe, 47
  Desiderata of discovery, 227
  Detroit completely burnt down in 1805, 44
  Detroit first founded in 1701, 45
  Difficulty of studying the Indian tongues, 441
  Difficulty of the descent of the Brulé, 273
  Diluvial elevations, 385
  Diminutive forms of the Odjibwa noun, 474
  Discover native copper, 90
  Discovery of Itasca Lake, 573
  Distance from Lake Superior to Lake Pepin, 544
  Distance from St. Peter's to the gulf, 153;
    elevation of the country, 153
  Distances travelled in the expedition of 1831, 544
  Dr. McDonnell's letter, 439
  Dr. Mitchell's summary of discoveries, 416
  Drift-stratum, 115, 322
  Dubuque City, 170
  Du Ponceau's prize essay, 453


  E

  Earliest date of Winnebago history, 194
  Earthy compounds, 534
  Elementary structure of the Algonquin language, 442
  Elk Island, 216
  Elk River, its latitude, 147
  Elevation of Lake Superior, 107
  Elevation of the cliff of La Grange, 162
  Elevation of the country at the Savanna Portage, 120
  Encampment at St. Mary's, 76
  Ephemeral insects, 167
  Epoch of the deposit of St. Mary's sandstone, 539
  Epochs of geological action proved by fossils, 400
  Era of Pontiac's hostile movements, 62
  Era of the discovery of the St. Lawrence, 121
  Erismatolite, 103
  Erratic block stratum, 53
  Erratic block and drift stratum, 61
  Essay on the Odjibwa substantive, 453
  Establishment of a military post at St. Peter's, 152
  Etymology, 116
  Etymology of Manitowakie, 195
  Etymology of Minnesota, 156
  Etymology of Namikong, 85
  Etymology of Pawating, 81
  Etymology of Rum River, 150
  Etymology of the word Konamik, 186
  Etymology of the word Michilimackinac, 70
  Etymology of the word Mississippi, 140
  Etymology of the word Wisconsin, 179
  Etymology of Waganukizzie, 207
  Evidences of ancient Indian cultivation, 59
  Evidences of diluvial action, 318
  Explorations recommended, 285
  Extensive and fertile bow-shaped area, 135


  F

  Fallacious appearance of a tide in Green Bay, 191
  Fallacious information of the Indians, respecting the lead mines, 180
  Falls and precipices, 110
  Falls of St. Croix, 270
  Falls of the Montreal River, 103
  Federation group of islands of Lake Superior, 105, 321
  Feud between the Sioux and Chippewas, 545
  Final embarkation at Grosse Point, 49
  Final separation of the party at Fort Dearborn, 197
  First lake vessel built by La Salle, 212
  First steamboat visits Michilimackinac in 1819, 212
  Flat Rock Point, organic remains, 55
  Flock of pigeons drowned in storms, 195
  Flora of Lake Michigan, 206
  Fluor spar, 353
  Fond du Lac, 184
  Fondness of the Indians for melons, 170
  Forest-trees, 143
  Forest-trees buried by oceanic drift, 51
  Fort Holmes, when dismantled, 64
  Fort Howard, 190
  Fort Niagara built, 62
  Fossil fauna of the West, 199
  Fossil wood, 386
  Foundation of old Mackinac, 62
  Fox chief Aquoqua, 171
  Fox River Valley, 184
  Fox Village, 169
  Freshwater conchology, 188
  Freshwater shells of the Fox and Wisconsin, 416
  Friendship of Wawetum, 67
  Friendly act of the daughter of Wabojeeg, 80
  Frogs inclosed in stone, 386
  Fringillia vespertina, or Schoolcraft's grosbec, 515
  Further discussion of the Odjibwa substantive, 470


  G

  Galena, 174
  Generalizations on the Mississippi River, 139
  Geographical data of the portage from Lake Superior to the St. Croix
    and Chippewa Rivers, 540
  Geological deductions, 300
  Geological memoranda, 119
  Geological monuments, 332
  Geology of Mackinac, 66
  Geological outlines of the Lake Superior coast, 109
  Geological phenomena, 245
  Geology, 261
  Glacial action, 216
  Globe of sandstone from a geological pocket-hole, 316
  Grammatical structure of sentences in the Odjibwa, 495
  Granite Point, 88
  Granular gypsum in sandstone, 86
  Graphic granite, 84
  Gratiot's Grove, 564
  Grauwackke, 111
  Grauwackke of Iron River, 321
  Grave of Dubuque, 174
  Gray wolf, 149, 166
  Great copper boulder on Lake Superior, 294
  Great sand dunes, 85
  Green Bay City, 191
  Group of the Manatouline Islands, 74
  Grosbec--new species, 515
  Gypsum, 65, 313


  H

  Habits of the anas canadensis, 234
  Helix, 515
  Hennepin, 151
  Henry Inman, 23
  Herds of buffalo east of the Mississippi, 432
  High value of the Lake Superior copper mines urged on Congress, 368
  Highest platform mound on the Mississippi, 157
  Highlands of Sauble, 310
  Historical data respecting Dubuque's mines, 174
  Historical data respecting the smallpox, 578
  Historical facts, 150
  History of Green Bay, 190
  History of the Chippewas, 121
  History of the Fox Indians, 175
  Hochungara, or Winnebagoes, 181
  Holcus fragrans, 157
  Houghton's analysis of the lake copper, 527
  Houghton's plants, 519
  How possessives are formed in the Chippewa, 461
  Human skull in the solid part of a living tree, 396
  Huron coast line, 309
  Huttonian theory, 405
  Hystrix, 73


  I

  Ice formed on the 19th of July, 127
  Illigan Lake, 264
  Image stone, 231
  Importance of vaccination to Indians, 581
  Impression of a trilobite in quartz, 66
  Indian altar, 55
  Indian birch-bark letter, 433
  Indian boundary, 149
  Indian chief Red Thunder, 158
  Indian chief Red Wing, 163
  Indian corn-dance, 160
  Indian council, 99
  Indian council at the mouth of the Crow-wing, 267
  Indian dwarf, 178
  Indian language, 453
  Indian myth of Itasca, stanzas on, 243
  Indian oratory, 256
  Indian queen, 254
  Indian summer, 428
  Indian superstition respecting mines, 374
  Indian symbol for a man, 113
  Indian term for geologist, 90
  Indian trait, 151
  Indian translation of an expression, 144
  Indian tribes visited in 1831, 540
  Indian women engage in mining, 173
  Indian women gathering rice, 130
  Indians turn mineralogists, 90
  Inquiries respecting the history of the Indians, 438
  Inter-European amalgamation, 77
  Intrepid act of Gen. Cass, 80
  Iron sand, 106
  Irving's Lake, 230
  Island of ancient Indian sepulchre, 194
  Itasca Lake, 246


  J

  James Riley, 78
  Jargon of the northwest, 234
  John Johnston, Esq., 80
  Journey from Albany to Geneva, 41
  Journey in a sleigh across the Highlands, 40


  K

  Kabamappa accuses the Sioux of treachery, 548
  Kaginogumaug, or Longwater Lake, 261
  Kakabika Falls, 247
  Kakala, its probable meaning, 187
  Kalamazoo, 203
  Kubba-Kunna, 234


  L

  La Hontan's apocryphal discovery on Long River, 19
  Lac Plè, 263
  Lac Traverse, 229
  Lac Vieux Desert, 263
  Lacustrine clay-flats of Lake St. Clair, 49
  Lake action, 318
  Lake Audrusia, 228
  Lake Chetac, 543
  Lake Douglass, 265
  Lake drift, 323
  Lake Pepin, 163, 332
  Lake St. Clair, 216
  Landscape of Michilimackinac, 71
  Last year the bison is seen east of the Mississippi, 148
  Latitude of Mackinac, 64
  Lead mines at Dubuque, 168, 333
  Leading events in the life of Gen. Macomb, 72
  Leaf River of the Crow-wing, 266
  Learn the state of the Sauc war, 269
  Leech Lake, 259
  Leech Lake River, 129; etymology, 129
  Left Hand River, 108
  Legal claim to the mine tract, 174
  Length of the Mississippi, 245
  Letter to Nathaniel H. Carter, Esq., 409
  Level of Lake Erie above tide-water, 43
  Limits of the cervus sylvestris, 515
  Line of discovery above Cass Lake, 244
  List of latitudes and longitudes, 289
  List of quadrupeds and birds observed, 413
  Little Crow chief, 157
  Little Vermilion Lake, 262
  Localities of minerals and rock strata, 211
  Locality of freshwater shells, 167
  Long Prairie River, 266
  Longitudinal phenomena, 109
  Lt. Col. Fowle, notice of, 168
  Lupus Americanus, 56
  Lyceum of Natural History, New York, extract from its annals, 532


  M

  M. Woolsey, 588
  Mackinac limestone, 312
  Magnesian minerals, 356
  Magnitude of Lake Michigan, 202
  Marquette's discovery of the Mississippi, 17
  Mass of native copper, on the shores of Winnebago Lake, 185
  Massachusetts Island, 105
  Mean temperature at the sources of the Upper Mississippi River, 123;
    party for the ultimate discovery of this river, 123
  Mean temperature of St. Peter's Valley, 154
  Mean velocity of current of Mississippi River, 126
  Metallic masses, 100
  Metallic minerals, 340
  Meteorological journal kept at Chicago, 424
  Meteorology, 418
  Metoswa rapids, 229
  Metunna Rapids, 266
  Micaceous oxide of iron, 111
  Michigan--its population at various periods, 46
  Michilimackinac, 57, 311
  Michilimackinac first becomes a capital for the fur trade, 68;
    J. J. Astor occupies it in 1816, 68
  Miera, or Walk-in-the-water, 212
  Milwaukie, its etymology, population, and resources, 196
  Mine of Peosta, 171
  Mineral character of Lake Superior, 100
  Mineralogy and geology, 292
  Mineralogy of the Northwest, 534
  Miners' mode of classifying ore, 564
  Mississippi first crossed by primary rocks, 147
  Mississippi from the influx of the Missouri, 138
  Mistake respecting American antiquities, 157
  Mode of converting a noun to a verb in the Odjibwa, 481
  Mollusks, 127
  Montruille an object of pity, 131
  Mozojeed, a chief of energy, 550
  Mr. Monroe's message of 7th December, 1822, 363
  Mr. Schoolcraft's Report on the Copper Mines of Lake Superior, 292
  Mukkundwa Indians, ethnological sketch, 258
  Murder of Gov. Semple, 255
  Muskego River, 104
  My first portage; what is "a piece," 90
  Mythologic notion, 99


  N

  Naiwa rapids, 236
  Native salt and native copper, 155
  Native silver, and its ores, 531
  Natural history, 515
  Nebeesh Island and Rapids, 75
  Neenaba, a partisan chief, 554
  New localities of copper, 375
  New seat for Hygeia and the Muses, 60
  New species in conchology, 417
  Nicollet's table of geographical positions, 582
  Noble reply of an Algonquin chief, 63
  Noble view, 83
  Number in the Chippewa, 457
  Number, value, &c. of the copper mines of Lake Superior, 363


  O

  Objects of governmental policy, 558
  Oblations to the dead, 123
  Observe the buffalo, 146
  Odjibwa animate and inanimate adjectives, 490
  Odjibwa compound words, 483
  Odjibwa numerals, 501
  Odjibwamong, 82
  Offering food to the dead, 123
  Official report of Gen. Cass, 280
  Okunzhewug, a chieftainess, murdered, 550
  Old English Copper-mining Company, 296
  Old Mackinac, its date, 208
  Onzig River, 84
  Ores and metals, 536
  Organic impressions, 313
  Organization of the expedition of 1832, 223
  Origin of the Indian race, 439
  Ornithology, 130
  Ortho-cerite limestone, 74
  Ottowa Lake, 542


  P

  Pakagama Falls, 127
  Palæontological rocks, 330
  Palaozoic sandstone, 539
  Peace Rock, 149
  Pelican, 177
  Perch or Assawa Lake, 362
  Period of the first military occupation of old Mackinac, 64
  Petrified leaf, with a sketch, 206
  Pewabik River, 102
  Physical Character of the Crow-wing River, 267
  Physical characters of the Mississippi, 133
  Pictographic device, 148
  Pictographic Indian inscription, 113
  Pictographic mode of communicating ideas, 430
  Pictured rocks, 86
  Pike's Bay, 251
  Pipe-stone, or opwagunite, 155
  Planorbis, 515
  Planorbis companulatus, 246
  Plants collected by Dr. Houghton, 519
  Plastic clay of St. Clair flats, 308
  Plateau of lakes and marshes, 128
  Polydon, 416
  Polyganum, 124
  Population and statistics of Mackinac in 1820, 64
  Population of Detroit in 1820, 45
  Population of Leech Lake, 260
  Population of Ottowas, 203
  Porcupine Mountains, 91, 323
  Porphyry and conglomerate boulders, 317
  Portage to the sources of Crow-wing River, 260
  Positive and negative forms of speech, in the Odjibwa, 497
  Potatoes vegetate in pure pebbles, 62
  Pouched rat, 156
  Practicability of working the Superior mines of copper and iron, 370;
    advantages of transportation, 371
  Preliminary incidents at Washington, 39
  Preliminary Report of Exploring Expedition of 1832, 573
  Primary forks of the Mississippi, 232;
    country disposed in plateaux, 233
  Principles of the Odjibwa noun-adjective, 489
  Produce of the copper mines of the world, 379
  Pseudomorphous forms, 314
  Pseudostoma pinetorum, 156
  Pusabika River, 102


  Q

  Quartz geodes, 334
  Quartzite rock, 127
  Queen Anne's Lake, 280
  Question of prepositions, 471


  R

  Racine, 197
  Rapid glances at the geology of Western New York, 381
  Rapids of the Mississippi above Sandy Lake, 125
  Rattlesnake of the Wisconsin Hills, 181
  Reach Detroit, after a passage of 62 hours, 44
  Reach Itasca Lake, its outline, 241
  Reach Lake Superior, 274
  Rebus nutkanus, 129
  Reciprocal death in a combat, 201
  Red Banks, 194
  Red jasper in quantity, 58
  Red oxide of iron, 155
  Red sandstone, 91
  Red sandstone of Lake Superior, 316
  Register of temperature in the United States, 426
  Reorganization of the first expedition at Chicago, 200
  Report of Dr. Houghton on the copper of Lake Superior, 526
  Report of Mr. Schoolcraft to the Senate on the mineral lands of Lake
    Superior, 362
  Residents of Chicago in 1820, 197
  Return of expedition of 1820 to Detroit, 217;
    summary notice of, 217
  Return to Sandy Lake, 142
  Returns of the Cornwall and Devon copper mines, 378
  Rifle shooting, 83
  Rise of waters in the lakes, 214
  River St. Croix, 162
  Robert de la Salle, 17
  Rosa parviflora, 144
  Ruins of Fort St. Joseph, built in 1795, 75
  Rule of euphony in the Algonquin language, 444;
    active and passive voices, 446;
    philosophical mode of denoting number, 445


  S

  Sacred island of the Indians, 70
  Saganaw Bay, 54, 310
  Saliferous red clay, 389
  Sandstone in a vertical position, 102
  Sandstone rock found in place on the east coast of Lake Huron, 52
  Sandy Lake, 327
  Sarracenia purpurea, or owl's moccasin, 214
  Saurian, 249
  Savanna of Gatchi Betobeeg, 141
  Savanna summit, 118
  Saw-mills in the Indian territory, 555
  Scenery of Lake Superior, 587
  Schoolcraft's examination of the Indian vowels, 443
  Schoolcraft's geological report, 304
  Schoolcraft's Island, 243
  Schoolcraft's official report in 1831, 540
  Septaria, 203
  Serpentine rock, 322
  Sexual nouns, 479
  Sheboigan, its etymology, 195
  Shingabawossin reopens negotiations, 81
  Sienitic and hornblende rock, 148
  Silicious minerals, 345
  Silurian limestone, 167
  Silver, a boulder specimen, 532
  Silver medal presented, 99
  Sioux masses of colored clays, 155
  Site of a massacre in 1812, 200
  Site of an ancient dune, 308
  Skeleton paradigm of the Indian verb, 507
  Sketch of Sandy Lake, 116
  Sketch of the banks of the Mississippi from St. Anthony, 137
  Sketch of the river at the Copper Rock, 97
  Sketches addressed to Gen. George P. Morris, 560
  Skull Cave, on the island of Mackinac, 66,
    Alexander Henry's adventures in 1763, 66.
  Smallpox appears among the Chippewas in 1750, 578
  Society on the island;
    its peculiar phases, 69
  Soil and climate of Minnesota, 153
  Soldiers poor canoemen, 269
  Source of Assowa River, 240;
    portage over the height of land, 240
  South coast line of Lake Superior, 320
  Species of freshwater shells, 181
  St. Anthony's Falls, its Indian name, 151
  St. Mary's Canal, 82
  St. Paul's, Minnesota, 159
  State of geological knowledge in 1819, 381
  Stationary distances on Lake Superior, 92
  Statistics of maple sugar made by the Indians, 71
  Statistics of the fur trade, 68
  Staurotide; native silver, 53
  Steamboat Walk-in-the-Water, 43
  Straits of St. Mary, 315
  Stratification, 81
  Stratum of quartzite rock, 141
  Sub-exploring party, 94
  Sub-formative pronouns in the Algonquin language, 509;
    relative pronouns, 509;
    demonstrative pronouns, 513
  Summit Lake, 263
  Sun above the horizon at 12 P. M., 106
  Superstition of the Indians, 571
  Synopsis of Appendix No. 1, 277


  T

  Table of latitudes and longitudes in the Northwest, 582
  Tabular view of minerals of the Northwest, 338
  Temperature required by tropical plants, 426
  Tenacity of life of the deer, 235
  Tensal inflections in the Algonquin, 478
  Testimonial to Capt. Douglass and Mr. Schoolcraft, 287
  The glutton, 141
  The Mississippi viewed in sections, 137
  The trap-rock the true copper-bearing medium, 530
  Thirteen-striped squirrel, 156
  Time required in passing Lake Superior, 107
  Topography and astronomy, 288
  Tortoise, 113
  Tortuous channel, 129
  Totem, 123
  Tour from Galena to Fort Winnebago, 560
  Track of Indian migration, 122
  Tramp through a swamp, 112
  Treaty of June 16, 1820, 81
  Trunk of a tree fossilized, 396
  Turtle River, 131


  U

  Ultimate point reached by the first expedition, 132
  Unio, 167, 517
  Unio food for the wild duck, 234
  Unio Schoolcraftensis, 181
  Upper Red Cedar Lake, 130
  Uva ursi, 88


  V

  Vaccination of Indians, 574
  Valley of Taquimenon, 537
  Valley of the St. Croix, 332
  Valley of the St. Louis, 325
  Vast caldron in grauwackke, 103
  Verbs in the Algonquin, how changed to substantives, 482
  Vermilion canoe, 254
  Vesicular crumbling limestone, 60
  Vestiges of a wreck on Lake Michigan, 202
  View of Lake Huron, 51
  Views of skeptics on the Mosaical chronology, 407
  Virginia Island, 105
  Visit Niagara, its etymology, 41, 42
  Visit to Gen. Dodge at his residence, 567
  Visit to the locality of the great mass of copper on Lake Superior, 299
  Vitric boulders, 324
  Volcanic upheavals, 305
  Voyageurs hired not to drink spirits, and to keep the Sabbath, 268


  W

  War-party of Neenaba broken up, 553
  Water-worn agates on the lacustrine summit, 112
  Waughpekennota, 193
  White crystalline sand rock, 331
  White Rock, 52
  White springs of Ontario, 385
  Width of Sandy Lake River at its outlet, 226
  Width of the Mississippi at the outlet of Cass Lake, 227
  Winnebago idea of geology, 185
  Winonao laita, 164
  Wisconsin, 183, 333
  Wisconsin lead mines;
    aspect of the country, 561
  Wolverine, 141


  Y

  Year 1820 opens with severe weather, 40
  Yellow River war-party, 549


  Z

  Zeolite, 87
  Zinc found in the Wisconsin mines, 565
  Zoned agate, 237
  Zoological objects inclosed in rock, or the solid parts of trees,
    &c., 392
  Zoology, 408




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