St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-16

for the scene Nv. B4owet.-
of his SO-called
triumph Of 1881
did not escape the eagle eye of the eX-
ecutive, and he addressed to Commits
slOner Brewer a letter on the subject,
III response TO which the latter makes a
full statement. Addressed to him. the
letter Is as follows:
Sir: Publications in the papers of
the state have been made within few
days past regarding the purported dis
cOvery BY citizen of the state of New
York of new source of the Mississippi
river. which he claims TO have made in
1881, and has since widely published his
right TO be considered as its original
tIscoverer, and causes changes to be
made in the maps of our state in sup
port of such discovery.
My attention has been called to these
statements by citizens interested in the
truth and correctness of the geOgrap ply
of our state, and it is desirable to have
some definite and correct statement Of
ficialy made as to the photographic and
other features OF the Itasca basin. au-
thoriZed by law to be set apart as pub
lie state park. gained from thorough
physical knowledge of the same, TO the
end that facts regarding the ultimate
source of the Mississippi river may be
established and published for the bene-
ii of the people of this state.
[ therefore request you to report to
this department any facts in yOur DOS
session which may be deemed pertinent
TO this question, which have come to
youI knowledge as commissioner or
otherwise. Yours respectfully,
WILLIAM L. MERRIAM, Governor.
Commissioner Brewer tells the whole
story IN the following reply:
BroWer's Revelations.
Sir: | have the honor TO acknowledge
the receipt Of your favor of the Sd inst,
requesting me to report TO your depart
ment any facts in my possession, as
commissioner Or otherwise. descriptive
Of the photographic or other features
of the Itasca basin, authorized by law
to be set apart as public park. to the
END that facts regarding the ultimate
source of the Mississippi river may be
established and published.
During the year 1899, as a special COM
missioner of the Minnesota Historical
sOciety.a coordinate branch of the state
government, | made detailed hydro
graphic survey OF the source OF our
great river, and formulated an exhaust
i've report thereon, which has not, as
yet. been published.
From the field notes then taken, the
correspondence and all examinations
and researches made, | have the honor
10 report the following facts for the use
OF the executive department of Mime
sofa:
The drainage basin of the Mississippi
river extends from the Gulf of Mexico
at the mouth of the river nOrtherly to
an ultimate limit above and beyond
Itasca lake in this state. The great
41,o,, 1 -,
extent. is bOrdered on the east by the
Allegheny and other ranges, and on
the west by the Rocky mountains.
and contains about 100000 rivers aud
streams. which flow toward, and finally
discharge their waters into the Missis-
sppi, principally through the mouths of
the larger and more important confiu-
ent and affiuent tributary rivers. These
waters are entirely supplied by the
copiouS precipitation characteristic of
the fertile basin drained, from north to
south, by the Mississippi, as its principal
and most important river.
To follow the proper rule in aScer-
tanning, under commission, the true and
actual source of this principal river for
geographical purposes, L consulted Eu-
rOpean and American geographerS,
scientists and authorities, gaining the
following varied information as to what
constituted the source of a river:
THAT the main stream of a river is
that which flows along the lowest de-
preston of the basin and that tributary
which descends into it from a higher
elevation, even if longer, is not TO be
considered the main stream"
"a river cannot have a source, but
many ScOurces."
"All our rivers have their source in
the clouds" CTLis authority does not
say that the clouds emanate from the
oceans OF the earth, or whence came the
oceanS.)
The head of the longest continuous
channel
The sources of a river which are i'll a
right line with its mouth, particularly
when they issue from a cardinal point
and flow to the one directly opposite
Other authorities, some remote. and
but few reliable. suggest that the
source must be lake; must be the
largest lake; should be the inner TANKS
OF the heights of land surrounding it
should be the source, because it was
next to the historic pass by which one
river had, from ancient times, been
left to reach another: because it was
fartheSt from the mouth of the system i;
because 1t led down to the axis of the
general valley of the basin; because it
was at the head of the stream of largest
volume; because it was geologically
oldest, etc.. etc.
This wide variance of authorities,
good, bad and Indifferent. gave me but
little comfort, in an interesting geo.
graphic research, the source of no two
principal rivers of the world being
alike. and l arbitrarily adopted a reli-
able rule of no uncertainty, a rule of
nature, in ascertaining where the
waters were gathered which form the
ultimate source of the Mississippi, and
Tor that purpose the
Length of the Main River
in statute miles. upthrough the valley
OF the basin, was aScertained from the
ofhclal records of the United States
government. and otherwise, with the
following result:
Miles.
From Gulf of Mexico at the south-
west pass up the channel of the
river TO city of New Orleans..... III 90
From city of New Orleans to mouth
:, Of Ohio river ..........:.... 965. 50
St Louis: .-.............. 1872 90
Paul -. Observation-Disclosures. 72s. "a
From city of St. Paul to Fails of St
Anthony ............ .... IL on
From Falls of ST. Anthony to Winni-
bigoshish lake ......-...-... 432. SC
From Winnibigoshish to range &c,
west fifth P, 90 50
From range 36, west fifth P NJ, TO foot
Of Itasca lake.. 49,. -. 49,. 1927
Total .......... -, 546. 80
(sThe official surveys of the United States
extend. upon the main river. only to the
point where range 30 west of the fifth prin-
cipal meridian lniersecis the channel OF the
river and from thence measured the phau-