Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1891-07-09
A TRIP TO NORTHERN MIME
sofa.

ICoI II.
WINNEBoGosHIsH, July 1st 1891.
EDITOR EAGLE RIVER REvIBw:-
We left your burg some three weeks
ago for a trip in Minnesota and as it
may be of some benefit to some OF
your readers we will tell them our
experience:
We arrived at Grand Rapids the
present terminus of the Duluth 4
Winnipeg r. r. The town OF Grand
Rapids is the County seat OF ltaska
Co., has about 500 inhabitants, anice
court house and fine little church.
1t also has a good three story hotel
the "P okegama" where they can ac-
commodate 100 guests.
There is drug store, hardware
store, four general stores, meat
market with flies on it, and seven
saloons, although the license is 5000.
Four miles northwest of Grand Rap
ids there is a government dam about
three hundred feet long, has thirty
one gates besides the sluice gate, also
sixteen waste gates. About twenty
rods below this dam is the Grand
Rapids Falls, a clear falls of about
sixteen feet. We spent about two
hours here in a driving rain storm
watching logs going over the falls,
turning end over end. About ninety
per cent of the timber in this country
is Norway and poor at that.
Above the government dam we
embarked with our birch canoes on
the Upper Mississippi. About five
miles above the dam we came to the
mouth of Bass creek. A logging firm
is now building a railroad from this
point directly north, a distance Of
thirty miles, with the understanding
that the Duluth & Winnipeg r. r.
take the road from them after they
get through logging. The Mississippi
at this point is about twice as wide
as our own Wisconsin is at the head
Of Otter Rapids. With about a five
mile current, water will average
about six feet in depth; no snags. no
rocks, only the broad Mississippi,
where YOU can see from three to five
miles on each side of the river over
the incest hay marsh we ever saw.
Thousands of tons Of hay are made
here every year.
Ducks are numerous along the riv-
err, but as the only thing we had load
ed was a quart bottle which we wan
ted for ourselves, we did not get any.
The government also have a dam
at the outlet of Leach lake. Leach
lake is eighteen miles long and TWEEN
ty three miles in breadth.
The only people we meet here are
woodsmen, homesteaders, l,g drjv-
ers and Indians.
Leaving Leach lake we take our
steps nortward, bound forLake Win
nebogoshish. At the outlet OF Win
nebogoshish there is another govern
ment dam capable Of holding twenty
eight feet head. There are three In
dian cillages on this lake, one OF which
we visited. They seemed to be indie
pendent and scorned at Sthe white
men, but when they found out that
one of our party could speak their
language their shyness relaxed and
we spent a couple OF pleasant hours
with them.
Leaving Winnebogoshish we go up
the Pigeon River, portageinto Round
lake etc. until we reach Bow String
lake. the head waters OF the Big Fork
which runs into Rainey lake. Wesup-
posed that we were now in the pine
region, but we failed to see the PINE,
in fact we could not see it, for the
simple reason that itnever was there.
Game is plenty. Moose. caribou
and deer abound all along the Big
Fork and Little Fork clear to Rainey
lake. A hunter is tempted at almost
every bend of the river to shoot the
noble animal whose meat he cannot
use.
We now expect to go down the
Big Fork to Rainey lake and thence
to Vermilion lake, take the train at
Tower and 90 home to Eagle River.
Yours,
700 KNO Hoo.
nr w Hamilton of MPrrilla All