Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-19
THE ITASCA BASIN.

The True Source of the Mississippi River
Announced Changes in the Basin Since
the Time of the Nicollet and Schoolcraft
Explorations.
| The controversy as to the source of the
Mississippi river has placed before the pub
| lie n vast amount of new information of an
interesting character, says the Chicago
Inter Ocean. In 1851 Captain Willard Glazier
made an expedition to the headwaters of
the Mississippi and announced that he had
discovered that Lake Itasca could not be re-
garded as the true source of the great river.
He found lake to the south of Lake Itasca
which he called Lake Glazier, and which he
claimed was the true source of the Missis-
sippi river, 3,ls4 miles from the Gulf of
Mexico, with an elevation above the ocean
of 1852 feet. Captain Glazier started from
Brainerd, Mimi, on the 18th of July, 1881, in
tending to go to Lake Itasca, or the head
waters of the Mississippi and make canoe
voyage to the Gulf of Mexico. In the course
to the south of Itasca on the I'D of July. He
started from there in canoe and made the
journey down the Mississippi, reaching the
Gulf of Mexico on the 18th OF November. On
his return he published the story of this ex
pedition and claimed the discovery of the
true source of the Mississippi.
This announcement precipitated contro-
nesota took issue with Captain Glazier,
denying at first the existence of such lake
as he described. In 1889 j. B. Brewer, a
special commissioner of the Minnesota His
torical Society, made u detailed hydro
graphic survey of the source of the Missis-
sippi and <ormula ted au exhaustive report
thereof, which is soon to be published.
Surveying a Frozen Lake.
This survey was commenced in March
1889, upon the frozen surface of Itasca Lake.
He found to the south of Lake Itasca the
lake described by Captain Glazier, which he
claimed had been discovered by Julius
Chambers in 1879, and which was called by
the Indians Elk Lake. He reached the con-
clusfon, however, that the principal stream
emptying into Lake Itasca from the south
was that extending to the Nicoliet lakes,
and he was disposed to regard these lakes
instead of Elk Lake as the truesourc of the
Mississippi. Nicollet called the river extend
ing from Lake Itasca to the Nicollet lakes
"The Little Mississippi" and Mr.. Brewer
gave the distance of Lake Itasca from the
gulf as 2,54615 miles, from there to the head
waters of Howard creek flowing into Nicol-
let lakes 51a miles, and making the distance
from the gulf to the head of Howard creek
2,552 miles. From the gulf TO Elk Lake he re-
ported the distance as nearly 1850 miles.
In this report Mr.. Brewer claimed that in
1916 Mr.. Nicollet laid down Elk Lake as an
estuary of Itasca, but that at q later date
Lake 1tasca receded from Elk Lake to q
lower level, and the two lakes are now con-
nected by a short creek. He claimed that
the original discovery of this creek and Elk
Lake was made by Julius Chambers, who, on
the 9th of June, 1872, while encamped on
Schoolcraft Island explored the shores of
1tasca, passed up Elk creek in his canoe to
Elk Lake, crossed to the southern shore of
the lake and then passed down the Missis-
sippi in his canoe Mr.. Chambers published
map claiming that this lake, scarcely
quarter of a mile in diameter, was the trues
source of the Mississippi. \. II. Seigfried
visited Elk Lake in july 1879, Edwin s. Hall
claimed to have visited the lake in 1875, o. Z.
Garrison in 1880 and the Rev. L. A. Gilfllan
in 1881.
Beautiful Lake Glazier Explored.
On the 17th Of August last Captain Glazier
and several others left Minneapolis to make
a second survey of the source of the Missis-
sippi. They made q careful survey of Lake
Glazier and the report pronouncedit it a beau
tiful sheet of water one and one-half miles in
length and from one-half to three-quarters of
a mile in width, in extent 255 acres, its depth
As feet. According to this report Glazier
Lake is connected with Itasca by creek
], 100 feet long. This has brisk current and
carries enough water to afford passage to the
large boats between the lakes. The lake is
fed by four tributaries, the largest of which
is Excelsior creek, which has its source one
and five eeighths miles from Glazier Lake. A
careful report is also made to Nicollet
creek, which is reported one and one-half
miles in length. the first of the Nicollet
Lakes is described as lily pond of about
8 acres; the second small lake about II
acres in extent; the third lake beyond the
ridge is about 10 acres in extent. This re-
port decides in favor of Excelsior creek,
which flows into Lake Glazier, as the true
source of the Mississippi.
In Nicollet's map of the source of the Mis-
sissippi 1tasca Lake is given a different con-
fgHIation from that ON the official maps Of
Minnesota. At that time, according to his
W e n fNT-( Ia vi or a q
Standard Books Found to Be Indefinite.
Chambers map of 1872 gives another out
line of Lake Itasca, but marks the lake now
called Elk or Glazier as Lake Dolly Warden,
and describes it as only q quarter of a mile
in diameter. Captain Glazier's map of 1881
agrees with Brewers map of 1890, except
that it places Glazier Lake further from Lake
1tasca than the Brewer map places Elk Lake. |
Glaciers map of 1891 differs from that of 1881
in that it gives more prominence to the |
Nicollet Lakes and places Glazier Lake |
closer to Lake Itasca.
1t is stated that the first white man who |
visited Lake 1tasca was William Morrison,
in 1903. II. r. Schoolcraft visited the lake in |
1882; J. n. Nicollet in 1886; Julius Chambers |
IN 1872; f. S. Hall made "a government survey |
in 1873; Captain Glazier made his first survey |
in 1881; Hopewell Clark made special sur |
vey in 1886; Mr.. Brewer made a special sur
survey in 1891. This is the record.
The standard books of reference, when |
they come to speak of the source of the Mis- |
sissippi, are indefinite. The article ON the |
Mississippi river in the American Cyclope- |
dia says: "The source OF the Mississippi, ;ic- |
cording to Schoolcraft, who visited it i'll 1882, |
is a lake called by him Itasca by the Chip |
pewa Indians Omoshkos Sagaigon, and by |
the French traders Lac In Biche. 1t is a |
beautiful sheet of water, clear and deep, |
about seven miles long and one to three |
miles wide, in latitude 47o and ~ north, |
longitude $50 q west, about 1915 feet above |
the sea. Five creeks fall into Lake Itasca, |
the principal one of which has its origin |
about six miles distant in pond formed by |
water oozing from the bases of the hills |
known as uauteurs de Terre which are |