Headwaters of the Mississippi

Front matter

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Preface

KOM the authenticated discovery of the Mississippi by Hernando de Soto in 1541^ to the location of its True Source in 1881, comparatively little is known of the early pioneers or of the series of explorations which finally led to a solution of the mystery that surrounded its Headwaters for a period of over three hundred years. The Great Eiver and its tributaries have been revealed to the world through a multitude of daring enterprises, the motives and incidents of which are familiar to but few of the present generation. Both the early and more modern explorers wrote much, but published little, and for the latter reason, tlie records of their travels have seldom found their way to the eye of the general reader.

It is the purpose of this volume to present as far as possible, from all available sources, some idea of the circumstances which led to certain important discoveries in North America, together with such sketches of the old and recent explorers of the Mississippi as the plan of the work will permit. Few or no attempts were made up to 1805 to penetrate the secret of the origin of the river, in which year Lieutenant Pike, commissioned by the Government, sig-

8 PREFACE.

nally failed of his object. The efforts of General Cass in 1820, and of Beltrami three years later, though well directed and zealously executed, also fell short of the attainment of the desired end — the Fountain-head of the Mississippi was unseen and unknown to them. Schoolcraft, in 1832, approached more nearly the solution of the problem than any of his predecessors, and, in the discovery of Lake Itasca, believed he had reached the extreme head of the river. He published his discovery to the world, and it was generally accepted on his authority. For fifty years Lake Itasca was laid down in the maps as the Source of the Father of Waters, still not a few expressed their doubts of the genuineness of the discovery, and the Indians of Northern Minnesota denied it altogether. Nicollet, a French savant, who followed in the footsteps of Schoolcraft in 1836, strangely confirmed the latter in what has since been proved to be a geographical error.

Rumors having reached the author of the present volume, from various sources, of the doubtful correctness of Schoolcraft in assuming Itasca to be the Primal Reservoir of the river, he determined to investigate the matter in the interest of geography, and, having time at his disposal in the summer of 1881, organized an expedition to proceed to the Headwaters. The result was the discovery of a body of water lying immediately to the south of Lake Itasca, and emptying into the latter through a perennial stream, the mouth of which was entirely concealed from view by a dense growth of lake vegetation and fallen trees. This lake, having an area of 255 acres, a circumference of between five and six miles, and an average depth of forty-five feet, being above Itasca, necessarily

PREFACE. 9

invalidated the claim of Schoolcraft^ and the author's location of the True Head of the Mississippi is now recognized by nearly all of the geographers and educational publishers of this country and Europe.

Between 1541 and 1881, every part of the Great River had been visited by intrepid explorers, with the exception of its almost inaccessible Source — of the final discovery of which full particulars will be found in Part Third of this volume.

During the ten years that elapsed between 1881 and 1891, spasmodic efforts, partaking for the most part of a disingenuous and personal character, were made by a few cavilers to discredit the author's discovery, and it was thought by his friends and those who believed in his claim that a further investigation at the Head of the river might have the effect of throwing more light upon the question, and possibly of convincing the opposition. Accordingly, a Second Expedition was projected, and undertaken in August, 1891, composed of geographers, scientists, practical surveyors, and men of culture; a detailed account of which appears in the following chapters, for which the author respectfully bespeaks the reader's fair and candid consideration.

An itinerary of the journey to the Headwaters of the Great River will be found in the early chapters of Part Third, in which occasional but brief reference is made to men and places, which may be of some practical utility to the tourist contemplating a pilgrimage through Northern Minnesota to the Source of the Mighty River.

The writer makes no pretension to have exhausted the topics he has treated, or to placing his work in comparison with more elaborate productions; but

PKEFACE.

presents it to the reader simply as an epitome of the history of our magnificent river — a river in many respects without a peer.

* * * The illustrations accompanying this volume are from drawings by True Williams, of Chicago, and the camera of Fred J. Trost, of the firm of Van Loo & Trost, Toledo, Ohio — the latter a member of the Expedition of 1891, and the first to photograph scenery at the Headwaters of the Mississippi.

Chicago, January 14, 1893.

Chapter I. Alvae Nunez Cabe(;a De Vaca

De Yaca — Pineda — De Narvaez Expedition — Florida — Ponce de Leon — Tampa Bay — Illusions — Weary of the Sea — No Signs of Gold — Disappointment — Much Harassed — Hunger and Fatigue — A Council — Boats Built — Sail West — More Misfortune — Narvaez Lost at Sea — De Vaca Shipwrecked — Four Survivors — De Vaca Saved — Six Years with the Indians — Western Wilderness — Bison — The Rockies — De Vaca and the Mississippi — His Adventures — Returns to Spain-rluterview with the King — Rio de la Plata — Exiled to Africa — Recalled — Death of De Vaca — His Life a Roma

CHAPTER 11.

HERisTANDO DE SOTO.

Discoverer of the Mississippi — Birthplace — Family Misfortunes — Out-of-door Sports — Don Pedro — De Soto and Isabella — Betrothed — Don Pedro's Vexation — His Treatment of De Soto — They Sail for South America — Pedro Plans De Soto's Death — De Soto Joins Pizarro — Battle with Uracca — De Soto's Bravery — Codro — De Soto and Isabella — Letters Intercepted — A Messenger — His Fate — De Soto's Revenge — Don Pedro's Successor — Cordova — De Soto Attacks Pedro — Pedro Orders Him to be Slain — Pizarro's Raid Upon Peru — Requests the Aid of De Soto — De Soto Rejoins Pizarro — Apology for De Soto.

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Chapter III. De Soto With Pizaeeo

A Dark Page — A Lover of Adventure — Soldierly Qualities — Overtures to De Soto — He Starts South — Deceived — Pizarro's Abject Nature — Outrages on the Peruvian King — Pizarro's Plunder — Natives Abandon the City — Cruelties of Pizarro — De Soto Crosses the Andes — A Peaceful Embassy — Novel Spectacle — Magnificent Highway — Strength of the Nation — Peruvian Camp — The Inca's Envoy — Gifts and Friendly Greetings — Pizarro Meets the Inca — Consternation of the Inca — Made Prisoner — De Soto's Conduct — The Inca Burned at the Stake — De Soto's Anger — Peruvians Burn Their Capital — Peru Conquered — De Soto Proposes to Return to Spain.

Chapter IV. Discoveey Of The Mississippi

Don Pedro Dies — Isabella Disinherited — Cabe9a de Vaca — Expedition to North America — Governor of Cuba — Many Join De Soto — Sail for Cuba — Isabella Regent of Cuba — Fleet Reaches Florida — Reconnoitering — Juan Ortiz — Reputed Gold Fields— The "Lady of the Countree"— A Hostage — Disappointments — Discontent — De Soto Hopeful — The Mississippi Reached — Rio Grande — Crossed on Rafts — No Gold Found — De Soto Despondent — Health Undermined—His Death — Buried in the River — Band Disorganized.

Chapter V. Maequette An^d Joliet

Father Marquette — His Birth — Sails for Canada. Arrives at Quebec— Studies Indian Languages — Ordered to Lake Superior — Ste, Marie du Sault — Michilimackinac — Policy of the French — Louis Joliet— Meets La Salle — The Unknown River — Lake Michigan — Allouez and Dablon — The Mississippi — Hostile Natives — Indian Village — TheManitous — Missouri River — Ohio River — Mosquitoes — Descending the Mississippi — Progress Arrested — Resolve to

CONTEJ^TS. 13

Return — Ascend the Illinois — Joliet Leaves Marquette— Goes to Quebec — Loses All His Papers — Makes His Report from Memory — Anticosti — Royal Pilot — Dies — Buried in Labrador — Marquette Dies in Michigan — A Herald of Western Civilization.

Chapter VI. Egbert Cavelier De La Salle

Birth — Sails for Canada — Great Schemes — Father Dollier — Expedition Starts — Joliet and Perd — Discovery of the Ohio — Returns to France — King Louis — Returns to Canada — Fort Frontenac — Again Visits France — Minister Colbert — Returns to Canada — De Tonty — Plans — Misfortune —Jealous Enemies — The "Griffin" — Fresh Troubles — Iroquois — Exploration on Mississippi — Creve-Coeur — Plans Defeated — Father Hennepin.

Chapter VII. La Salle Explores The Lower Mississippi

La Salle Returns to Canada — More Disaster — Starts Out Again- -T'resh Supplies — Reverses — Indian Vengeance — The Great River — Meets Tonty — Attack by Iroquois — Chicago River — Tamaroas — Prudhomme Lost — Nearing the Gulf— The Natchez Tribe— Father Membr6— The Open Sea— La Salle Takes Formal Possession — Louisiana — Fight with Indians — La Salle Falls 111 — Recovers — Prepares to Return to Quebec — His Plans — Disappointment— Returns to France.

Chapter VIII. Last Voyage Akd Death Of La Salle

King Louis Listens to La Salle— Twenty Vessels Sail for Canada — Misunderstanding — Reach the Gulf — Misfortune Presaged— General Discontent — A Faithless Captain — Fort Saint Louis — La Salle Undaunted — Christmas Approached — La Salle's Kephew — His Death Determined On — Also That of La Salle — Assassination of La Salle — Body Left to the Beasts of Prey — All in Confusion — Villainy Avenged — ■ Duhaut Killed — La Salle's Venture Entirely Defeated — The Greatest of Explorers.

Chapter IX. Father Louis Hennepin

Goes to Canada as a Missionary — Fello\y-Passenger with La Salle — Ordered to Fort Frontenac — Joins La Salle — A Doubtful Narrative of Adventures — Proceeds Up the ]Mississippi — Discovers Saint Anthony Falls — Attacked by Sioux — Captured — Life Threatened — Diplomacy — His Prayers — Held a Captive — Learns the Sioux Language — Descends the River — Returns to the Sioux Village — Leaves for Canada — Sails for France — Publishes His Journal — Much Criticised by Cotemporaries.

Chapter X. La Hontan — Chaelevoix — Carver

La Hontan Visits the Mississippi — The "Long River" — Much Criticised — Nicollet Defends Him — Cannon River — Descends the Mississippi — Discoveries — Charlevoix Commissioned by French Government — New France — Quebec — Proceeds Westward— The Mississippi — Beautiful Scenery — New Orleans — Returns to Europe — "History of New France" — Captain Jonathcin Carver — Leaves Boston — A Northwest Passage — Reaches the Mississippi — Ascends the River — Surprised by Indians — Lake Pepin — Ancient Remains — Saint Anthony Falls — Carver River — Sioux Village — Becomes a Chief — Great Storm — Indians Terrified — Carver's Courage — Carver's Cave — Indian Council— Gift of Land — Saint Croix River — Lake Superior — Journeys East ward — Sails for England — Reports to Government — Reverses Overtake Him — Dies, Aged 48.

COI^^TEN'TS. 15

Chapter I. Expeditions Of Lieutekaxt Pike

Enters the Army — Ordered on Exploration — Headwaters of the Mississippi — Twenty Mm under His Command— Leaves Saint Louis — Ascends the River — Disadvantages — Winter Overtakes Him — Much Suffering — Travels on Snow-shoes — Sandy Lake — Leech Lake — Cass Lake — Mantle of Snow — Meets Fur Traders — Hospitably Received — Explains His Object — Turtle Lake — Returns to Saint Louis— His Narrative—Second Expedition— Rocky Mountains — Pike's Peak — Rio Grande — Taken Prisoner by Spaniards — Ordered to Leave Their Territory — Reports to His Government — Promoted — Expedition Against York, Canada — Magazine Explodes — Fatally Injured and Dies— A Zealous Officer.

Chapter II. The Cass Expedition

War of 1812 — Cass Joins the Forces as Colonel — General Hull — Cross s the Detroit River — Hull Surrenders to the Enemy — Cass Goes to Washington on Parole — Promoted — Appointed Governor of Michigan Territory — Treats with the Indians — Suggests an Expedition to the Northwest — Schoolcraft — Headwaters of Mississippi — Upper Cedar Lake— Secretary of War— Black Hawk War— Minister to France— U. S. Senator — Candidate for President — Secretary of State — A Scholar of Fine Attainments — Wrote Several Works — Dies at Detroit, Aaed 84.

Chapter III

Native of Venice — Educated for the Law— Appointed Judge — Extraordinary Energy and Capacity — The Carbonari —

Ordered into Exile — Travels through Europe — Visits the United States — Turns to Exploration — Valley of the Mississippi — Talioferra — Embarks for Fort Snelling — Will Seek the Source of the Mississippi — Major Long's Expedition — Beltrami Offers to Accompany Him — Attempts Made to Dissuade Him — Determines to Go — Restless and Adventurous — The Expedition Leaves Fort Snelling — The Saint Peter — A Curious Contrast — Lake Traverse — Red River — Pembina — Dissatisfied — Leaves Pembina — Two Chippewas and an Interpreter — Kills Two White Bears — Interpreter Leaves Beltrami — Also the Two Indians — Great Portage River — Source of Red River of the North — Highest Land of North America — Sources of the Mississippi — Lake Julia — Beltrami in Error — La Biche Lake — Visits New Orleans — Mexico — Philadelphia — Returns to Europe— Dies in Italy, Aged 75.

Chapter IV. Schoolcraft And Lake Itasca

Native of New York — Middlebury College — Visits the Mississippi Valley — Geological Investigations — Mines and Minerals of Missouri — Goes to Washington — President Monroe — Calhoun Offers Schoolcraft a Position as Geologist to Cass Expedition — Embarks at Detroit — The Mississippi — "Cassina" — Again Commissioned — Upper Mississippi — Sioux and Chippewas — Sandy Lake Council — Visits Cass Lake — In Search of the Source of the Great River — Ozawindib— Schoolcraft Island — William Morrison — Lake Itasca — Crow Wing River — Indian Council— Appointed Indian Agent — The Six Nations — Married to an Indian — Second Marriage— Author of Several Works — Visits Europe — Dies in Washington, Aged 71.

Chapter V. Investigations Of Nicollet

Native of Savoy, France —Enters College— Prof essor of Mathematics—Legion of Honor — Ruined Financially — Comes to America — Explores the Mississippi — Baltimore— Summoned to Washington — To Explore Headwaters of Mississippi — Prehistoric Relics — Pipe-Stone Quarry — Cannon River — His Indian Guide — Red River — Crow Wing — Leech Lake — Flat-Mouth — Lake Itasca — Nicollet Creek — Lake Bemidji — Cass Lake — Returns to Leech Lake — Entertained by Flat-Mouth — 111 Health — Dies at Washington.

Chapter VI. Exploits Of Charles Lanman

Leaves Saint Louis in 1846 — An Excursion — History and Tradition — Lake Pepin — Legends and Romance — "Winona" — Red Wing — Saint Peter River — Sioux and Dakotas — A Dog-feast — Saint Anthony Falls — Crow Wing River — A Wolf Killed — Chased by Wolves — Crow Wing Village — William Morrison — The White Panther — Chief Hole-inthe-day — Indian Traders — Lake Winnebegoshish — Bear Hunt — Cass Lake — The Chippewa Nation — Lake Itasca.

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Chapter I. Recekt Exploration's

Lake Itasca — Schoolcraft — Nicollet — Lake Beyond Itasca — Primal Reservoir — Misrepresentations — Further Investigation — Partisan Opposition — Antagonism to Geographical Truth — Error of Schoolcraft.

CHAPTER 11.

A Second Expedition — Leave Milwaukee — Through Wisconsin — The Dalles — The Mississippi — King of American Rivers — La Crosse — Origin of Name — Nathan Myrick — 2

18 COI^TEKTS.

Growth of La Crosse — Immense Advantages — Population — Minnesota — Wicona — The Republican — D. Sinclair — Growth of Winona — A Beautiful City — Commercial Im- . portance — Enterprise.

CHAPTER III. WIl^OJS^A TO MIKKEAPOLIS

Route — A Contrast — Different Modes of Traveling — Canoeing — Wabasha — Pepin — Lake of Tears- — Le Sueur — Carver — Lake City — Picturesque Scenery — Maiden Rock — Red Wing — Swiss Missionaries — Population — Hastings — Saint Croix River — Saint Paul,

Chapter IV. Eakly History Of Minnesota

Fifty Years Ago — A Wilderness — Indians — Pioneer Times — Father Menard — Carver's Treaties — Elected Chief— Pike, Cass, Beltrami — Schoolcraft — Nicollet — Fremont — Long — Keating — Explorers of Minnesota — Hennepin— Renville — Proven9alle — Morrison — Faribault — Morrison and Lake Itasca — Minnesota Territory — Governor Ramsey — General Sibley — Great Natural Resources.

Chapter V. The ''twin Cities."

Saint Paul and Minneapolis — Phenomenal Growth — ^First Building i.i Saint Paul — The Je?uits-^A Log Chapel — Dedicated to the Apostle Paul — The Capital — Population 18i9, 1854, 1856, 1880, 1890— Location— Five Bridges- Head of Navigation — Well-built City — Large Trade — State Capitol— Institutions of Learning — Religion and Education — The Press — Resorts — Carver's Cave — White Bear Lake — Smaller Lakes — Minneapolis — Saint Anthony - —Colonel J; H. Stevens— Suspension Bridge — Saint Anthony Falls— A Tragic Story— Lumber Businrss— Great Flour Mills— Beautiful Residences- University— Athen-

CONTEIS-TS. 19

aeum — The Press — Resorts — Healthful Climate — Minnehaha — Lake Minnetonka,

CHAPTER VI. PRBPARATIOK FOR SECOlSrU EXPEDITIOI^

Members of Expedition — Route to the Headwaters — Press Comments — Saint Paul Dispatch — Olohe — Northwestern Presbyterian — Red Wing Argus — Albany Knickerbocker — Dubuque Trade Journal — Boston Herald — Philadelphia Times — Geographical News.

Chapter VII. Mikkeapolis To Park Rapids

Leave Minneapolis — Saint Cloud — Brainerd — New Englanders — Pine Park — Sanitarium — Y, M. C. A. — Miss Grandelmeyer— Lake Itasca — Turtle Lake — Dr. Seal — Chenowagesic — Judge Holland — Dr. Rosser — Caplain Seelye — George S. Canfield — Wadena — Park Rapids — Henry R. Cobb — E. M. Horton — Shell Prairies.

CHAPTER YIII.

'THROUGH THE WILDERNESS.

C. D. Cutting and Son — Surveyors Horton and Keay — Adams and Son — Delezene — Equipment — "Jerry" — Start from Park Rapids — Virgin Forest — Dinner Creek — Fording — "Morrison River" — Camp Munsell — Mule Lake — Shooting a Bear — A Correspondent — Height of Land — Lake Gamble — Bear Creek — View of Lake Itasca — Embark for Schoolcraft Island.

Chapter IX. Headwaters Of The Mississippi

Camp Shure — Nicollet Creek — Bogs and Ponds — Dead Lakes —Hauteur de Terre — Infant Mississippi — Pokegama — Primal Reservoir — Schoolcraft — His Narrative Quoted — Poem — One Hour on the Island — Passed out of the Lake — Nicollet — Coasted Itasca — Nicollet Creek — Floating Bog — Government Survey — Hopewell Clarke — Edwin S. Hall.

Chapter X. Joukn"al Of The Expedition"

Field Notes — Permanent Headquarters — Camp Trost — Trolling — Nicollet Creek — Exaggeration — Lake Glazier — Appearance of the Lake — Coasting Itasca — Affluents — Eagle's Nest — Excelsior Creek — Harriet Promontory — Deer Tracks — A Cascade — Variety of Trees — " Hernando de Soto" Lake — Character Overdrawn — A Dead Lake — A Pleasing Incident — Moses Lagard — Horton Creek — Lake Alice — Measurements — Stars and Stripes — Investigations Ended — A Few Remarks — Record of the Expedition — Surveyors' Report — Botany of the Region — Salute the Flag — Sunday Divine Service — First Sermon at the Source.

CHAPTER XL

RETURlsr TO MIN^NEAPOLIS.

Tablets Erected — Tents Struck — Preparations for Departure — Return Journey — Camp Horton — Red Squirrels — Crane Lake — Morrison River — Fording the Stream — Shell Prairies — Park Rapids — Central House — Dr. Winship — A Heavy Storm — Discomfort — Senior Member of the Expedition — Lagard Leaves the Party — Messrs. Horton and Keay — Leave for Wadena — Merchants' Hotel — J. E. Reynolds^ Little Falls— "The Antlers"— Mayor Richardson— Comrade Sutton — Arrive in Minneapolis — A Joint Report — Members of the Expedition Return to Their Homes.

Chapter XII. Indorsement And Conclusion

True Source Unanimously Indorsed — Gratuitous Assertions of Opponents — Corroborative Testimony — Surveyor Horton : Measured All Affluents of Lakes Itasca and Glazier — Excelsior Creek — Lake Glazier — The Source of the River. Assistant Surveyor Keay: Perfectly Familiar with the Region — Lake Glazier the Primal Reservoir. Dr. A. Munsell: Agrees with All the Members of Expedition — Lake Glazier is the True Source. J. C. Crane: Personal Inves-

COI^TENTS. 21

tigation — Traced and Measured all Feeders— Lake Glazier is the True Source. D. S. Knowlton: Lake South of Itasca is the Veritable Source — Geographers Justified in Recognizing It. Charles E. Harrison: Captain Glazier's Claim Fully Justified. Henry R. Cobb: Lake Glazier the Largest Body of Water having Connection with Mississippi through Itasca. Fred. J. Trost: Perfectly Certain Lake Glazier is the True Source. Albert W. Whitney: Lake Glazier Fulfills All Conditions Necessary for the Real Source. W. S. Shure: Explored All the Region — Lake Glazier is the Source. Conclusion — Claim of the Author — Adverse Statements Can Not be Substantiated — The Author's Position Same as Schoolcraft's — Conclusions of Second Expedition Incontrovertib'

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First Glazier Expedition — His Claim — Material for Consideration — Ten Years of Controversy — Reasons for the Expedition — Source Still in Doubt — Companions — Reach Brainerd — Conveyance to Leech Lake — Indian Agency — Major Ruffee — Chenowagesic — Kabekanka River — Lake Garfield — A Portage — Lakes Bayard, Stoneman, Pleasanton, Custer, and Kilpatrick — Portages — Lakes Gregg, Davies, and Sheridan — Lakes George and Payne — River Naiwa — Lake Elvira — De Soto River — Lake Itasca and Schoolcraft Island — Omushkos — Coasting Itasca — Six Small Feeders — Discovery of the Source — Its Affluents — Error of Schoolcraft — Pokegama — Lake Glazier — Elk Lake — Infant Mississippi — Results of First Expedition — Schoolcraft and Nicollet — Nicollet Creek — Critics and Cavilers — Correspondence Relating to First Expedition — Voice of the Press — Correspondence Previous to Second Expedition — After the Return — Editorial Comment — Indorsements of the Glazier Claim.

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page.

Portrait of the Author, ----- Frontispiece.

De Vaca Crossing the Continent, - - - - 33'

Hernando De Soto, - - 40

The Inca Receiving De Soto, - - - _ - 55

Burial of De Soto at Midnight, - - - 1 - 71

Marquette and Joliet Descending the Mississippi, - 85

Early Map of the Illinois, 106

La Salle Taking Possession of the Valley of the Mississippi, 1 21

Assassination of La Salle, 144

Hennepin at the Falls of Saint Anthony, - - - 154

Carver and the Thunder-storm, ----- 168

Pike Exploring on Snow-shoes, 177

Cass Expedition Leaving Detroit, . . . . 183

Beltrami Surprised by Indians, 193

Southern End of Lake Itasca, ----- 203

Nicollet at Lake Itasca, 215

Lanman Pursued by Wolves, 222

Dalles of the Wisconsin, 240

View of Maiden Rock — Lake Pepin, - - - - 252

Map of the Upper Mississippi, 267

White Bear Lake, - 277

Falls of Minnehaha, - 287

Lake Minnetonka, 294

Members of the Second Expedition , - - - - 303

In Pine Park, Brainerd, 314

Log-boom on the Upper Mississippi, - - - 316

The Mississippi at Brainerd, . - - - - - 318

A Pioneer of Northern Minnesota, . . - . 321

Main Street, Wadena, - 323

Waiting for the Train, Wadena, . - - . 325

View of Park Rapids, 327

Starting from Park Rapids, 330

ILLUSTRATIONS. 23

Page.

Map of the Headwaters, .-.-.- 340

Mouth of the Infant Mississippi, ----- 343

Maps of Schoolcraft and Nicollet, - - - - 349

Nightfall at Our Encampment, ----- 355

Eagle's Nest, - - 357

Mouth of Excelsior Creek, ------ 359

Caught in Lake Glazier, ..-.-- 361

On an Indian Trail at the Headwaters, - - - 363

Strange Meeting in the Wilderness, - . - - 365

Outlet of Lake Glazier, r - ... - 367

Lake Alice, - - 309

A Talk on the Promontor}-, ----- 373

First Sermon at the Source of the Mississippi, - - 375

Lake Crane, - 380

Expedition Fording a Stream, ----- 384

An Abandoned Claim, 386

A Frontier Bank, - 388

The Menahga House, 391

Merchants' Hotel and Park, Wadena, - - - 393

Appendix

Map of Lake Glazier and Its Feeders, . - - - 408

Lake Garfield, 433

Lake Sheridan, 456

Bird's-eye View of Lake Glazier, 507

CHAPTER I. ALVAR KUNEZ CABEgA DE VACA

HE position which this early explorer holds among his contemporaries is very important, so far as the narrative of his travels in the New World is concerned, but historians differ widely in their estimation of what is due him as a discoverer, and will probably never be able to settle satisfactorily the question as to whether or not he was the first European to see the Mississippi.

In the confusing mazes of opinion, which are really all that are to be consulted in regard to the earliest discoveries of the Great River, there have been some suggestions of an expedition as early as 1519, under Don Alonzo Alvarez Pineda, an officer in the service of the Governor of Jamaica; justified by the Spanish historian Navarrete, who writes that Pineda discovered the Mississippi at that time, and named it '^ Rio del Espirito Santo/' being influenced to undertake this exploration by the universal enthusiasm excited by the conquest of Mexico by Cortez.

The aim and object of those who, like De Vaca, penetrated the wildernesses of North America was ostensibly to search out the reputed mines of gold and silver, rather than to explore the unknown regions for the enlightenment of their countrymen and the advancement of science; so that tlie recitals of their journeyings were more the detailed accounts of the obstacles which confronted them, and the hardships which they passed through in pursuit of the coveted treasure, than careful reports of geographical research.

It is this vagueness of description in De Vaca^s narrative which has caused so much speculation among those interested in the history of our Great Central Eiver, and which has baffled those who wish to do justice to its discoverer. If he crossed the Rio Grande of the later Spaniards, he has given no evidence that would distinguish it from the other rivers of the South, and which would place him unquestionably among the great explorers. On the other hand, those who follow De Soto in his march through the wilderness can not doubt that he and his companions saw the Mississippi, or that the disappointed cavalier met death upon its shores. It is therefore to him that historians generally give the contested honor. The purpose of these pages is not, however, to advance any personal theories, or to assume the championship of those who have long since passed away, and whose claims could only be considered through uncertain and intricate hypotheses, but only to give a brief account of their lives, as bearing more or less directly upon the history of the Great River.

De Vaca first comes into prominence as the lieutenant of Panfilo de Narvaez in the expedition organized for the conquest and colonization of ^^the whole northern coast of the Gulf ''; an enterprise suggested strangely enough by the personal pique of the commander, who, having failed in his raid upon Oortez, in Mexico, as the lieutenant of the jealous Velasquez,

CABEgA DE VACA. 27

wished to redeem his somewhat tarnished record by glorious action in a new field. Appealing to the Emperor Charles V., he obtained a commission to invade the country and to assume the title of Adelantado of those lands wliich he should discover within the Km'' its of what was then known as Florida — a large area embracing the present division and extending for an almost indefinite distance toward the northwest.

Thus encouraged by the crown^ he sailed from San Lucar on the seventeenth of June, 1527, with a company of six hundred, and a fleet of five vessels. At Hispaniola, where a six-weeks^ halt was made to further prepare for the journey, more tlian a hundred of the volunteers abandoned the expedition; while at Trinidad, whither two vessels had been sent, in charge of De Vaca and Captain Pantoja, to obtain provisions, both crews perished in a violent storm, those only escaping who had gone ashore. Without having sighted the coast of Florida, Narvaez had thus lost a sixth of his men.

Soon overtaking the shipwrecked party, he established winter quarters at Xagua, twelves leagues beyond, where in February he joined the expedition with reinforcements, and arranged for the final voyage.

The Land of Flowers, through which Ponce de Leon had traveled in search of fabled treasures and the magical Fountain of Youth, was still hidden beyond the blue waters of the Gulf, and the shadow of coming misfortunes, which superstition hinted at, found no place among the eager adventurers.

On the eleventh of April Florida was reached, and a landing made just north of Tampa Bay, where the colors of Spain were unfurled and the soil solemnly appropriated in the name of Charles V. It had been the intention to enter the larger bay to the south, but through a miscalculation of the j^ilot, Miruelo, the ships had passed it, and the destiny of the expedition became thus entirely changed.

Narvaez and his officers now anticipated a triumphal march through a country which they had peopled with a race far superior to the Mexicans or Peruvians; whose towns were to be rich in the wealth of precious metals, and whose inhabitants, milder than the South Americans, would offer them no resistance; a country whose limits they believed inclosed an empire greater than Montezuma's, and within whose confines were to be found splendors yet undreamed of.