Jamestown alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1878-1882, 1879-06-26
THE ANCIENT MlSAlSSIPPI
RIVER.
A Theory With Evidence to Back 1t.
That the Minnesota River, Red
River, Lake Winnepeg, Sas-
katcheWan and Assiniboine
Were the Original Missis.

a-~ sippi.
Chicago Tribune, Sunday. A.
The visitor to F,rt Smelling, as he looks
upon the junction at thar point OF tie
Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, will b.
struck with the insignificant measure tf
the Minnesota river a. compared with the
magnitude of it's valley, leaving no ques>
tion that the great breadth of that valley
was due to much greater force than an,
that is now indicated, and shows that The
river at some time in the past was much
larger than is the Mississippi at this time
below the junction. 4t ...... ...
The disproportion in the size Of th'
river valley and of the river itself is eve'
more striking as the river is ssccnaet E,
and while the river diminishes to al in
significant stream, the valley maintains
its wide extent, showing that the river a,
some time in its history was not only til,
course OF deep but also of a sw ift volun,
ut water 1t is a matter of interest, there
tore, to know, if possible, what was the
sourse Of the water which filled this river
and cut out This valley, and in )" dol, z
discover the wonderful change which has
taken place in the face Of the counlr;
once drained through the Minnesota.
BY consulting the map of .Mlnnts tn it
will be seen that tie western hOun'l.r
of that State is Stone Lake. through Ihc'.
the NJ nnesota flows from its sou ct, Lake
Traverse, III which the Red River rIsr =,
ana Red river, which thence flow, uO,lt
t. Lake Winnipeg. The distahc, hetwttn
stone Lake and Lake Travcrs is "A con-
tinuation of the broad valley 1T the ANN
nesOta river, and the present river ~ t.at
name, reduced TO a small volume, eAtriid
nearly to Lake Traverse. Lake I.ay ,,c
itself is Tut a lake situated 1T the c.nrs
of III, extension Of the same broad valley
headquarters ut the junction ot Two smnt.
streams, one of which originates, ~ Lake
Traverse, and its wat, rs a-.Niy prevented
by los ridge from flow n, into The Al.:-
n sofa . ley. All the s,scsm, tr;but;. y
tu the i<ed river basin, even including
the saskatchewan, nave their source in
higher latitude Than their mouths, wh:ci'
indicate that originally the general slope
Of the country "as tn the south, aud thar
the vast valley ot the Minnesota once
drained the country from Lake Winnipeg
to the Mississippi. The formation u a.,
! land along the whole valley of ,he Red
river is that Of an average level .ns
width is very great; there lis a" abseilcr
nt bluffs the river itself SLOW. and gGv,s
he appearance If having cut It's aaN
through al alluvial soil-ths b ghvst Of re
banks aDove the wacr incr as,i:s ir''ni
the south until they are sixty H. c!ghi,
feet above the river " hen il reaches i.sNe
Winnipeg. On bath sides f the l.tu
river extends vast open prairie "s tx
cceding fertility of soil, anu, w'ea OK
amined W thin the defined lines oI the
basin, leaves hardly n Question that AT ot,
time tie waters of Lake Winnipeg, ~hicn
now flow through Nelson's river nit" li"u
sons Bay, ono. flowed s"uthwaldl,, cuvcI
ing this basin or Va ley of lied river, AID
flowing through the MINI, s',ta r.ver into
the Mississippi, river The Saskatchewan II
and the Assiamib"ine ,ivers t~" vast
streams originating iu the H. cky A"u'
tains, aud now emptylng into Lake WA
niptg, then poured their great v'iu!nes
Of water through the present valleys at
Red river and the Minnesota river In
that day the present Mississippi river,
above the junction Of the Minnesota river,
was branch Of the main stream, and
what are now known as the Mnncs. til,
Red river, Lake Winnipeg, tcn, wan,
and Assinnil>Oinc rivers were the Original
Mississippi river, ~hose sources we're ainr
off in the Rocky Mountains The present
basin Of the Red river WAS then a WIDE
spread lake, which has ty some natu'al
change been drained and It's supply
water directed ln,o Lake Winnipeg a,'li
then into Hudson's i;ay, leaving tile
once grand and rapid minnesota II small
tributary only to the great Mississippi
river. Of which it was originally al im-
portant and integra! part.
| In 1865 congress made an appropriation
for survey of the Minnesota river, and
Major Warren, of the engineer corps, was
assigned to the duty illness and othe,
causes permitted him to make only par.
tial report in 1868; but in 1874 he CON-
pleted his report, in which he included d
most interesting discussion Of this whole
subject, he reached the conclusions which
We have briefly stated, that the whole
volume Of water now drained into Lahe
Winnipeg, and into Lake Manitoba, and
the Red River of the North, once flowed
south through the basins of the Red rivel
and of the Minnesota river to what is nov
the Mississippi river, and thence to thu
/ N,,lr IS Nov;on