Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-10-26
DOES THIS SETTLE IT?
HAS THE SOURCE OF THE mISSlS
SIPPI BEEN POSITIVELY FIXED!

II
tie Stream That NicoIIet Christened the
Graded Achilles"
Il have stepped across the Mississippi
river, said DR.. COues. lit was easy, for
| the stream was only about s inches wide
| and 2 inches deep. l have seen the Fa-
| ther of Waters where he rises literally
| out of the ground and starts as an infant
| riyulet, destined to cut the United States
i'll twain with the mighty volume of his
! admit flood
The story of the search for the source
of the Mississippi reads like a romance.
After the discovery of the upper river in
1878 by Joliet and Marquette, and the
discovery of the falls of St Anthony in
1850, by Hennepin, little more was
known of the Father of Waters for near
" century. In 1866 Captain Jonathan
Carver assembled the stream as far as the
mouth of Rum river. In 1898 the IA
nous English astronomer and surveyor.
David Thompson, in the service of the
Northwest company, reached Turtle
lake. This lake, which sends a tributary
to the Mississippi, was for some time
supposed to be the source.
1.-The first white man known to have
visited the neighborhood of the actual
source of the Mississippi was William
Morrison, n fur trader, who was certain
~ at Lake Itasca in 1903 or 1904. He
never published anything on the sub
ject, and it is only very recently that
his priority of discovery has been known.
The next explorer of the sources of the
river was Lieutenant Zebulon Mont
gOmery Pike. He was the first American
citizen TO carry the flag of the United
States into northern Minnesota. He was
sent by tho government to treat with
the Indians and stop the sale of liquor
in that region. Incidentally he purchased
for $3.50 and some whisky n tract of
land nine miles square, which included
the present site of Minneapolis. Con
gress subsequently voted an additional
payment to the Indians for this tract of
81, 900.
Lieutenant Pike proceeded by boat
to the vicinity of the present Little Falls
in Morrison county, Mimi. He got no
farther with boats, and so continued his
journey through the winter of 1906 on
snOwshoes and with slcdges northward.
He finally reached Lcech lake. This lake
he mistOOk for the source of the Missis
sippi, and his report on this subject was
held to be correct fot some years after
ward.
In 1920 the Hon. Lewis Cass, &C
companicd by Henry Il. Schoolcraft, the
historian, Went on an exploring eXpedi-
ton up the Mississippi as far as Cass
lake, so named at the time by School
craft. In 1923 an italian traveller, J. &.
Beltrami, went over David Thompson s
route to Turtle lake and reported that
lake to be the true source. Evidently,
however, he heard from the Indians
about Lake Itasca, for he mapped it with |
approximate accuracy, though he was |
never there and did not imagine that !
the Father of Waters sprang thence.
Lake ltasca was rediscovered i'll |
1882, when SchoOlcraft, accompanied by |
Lieutenant Allen, United States army; |
the Rev. Mr.. Boutwell, and others, was |
guided to the lake by Chippewa IN |
dian, known as Yellow Head. On this !
occasion Lake Itasca received its present /
name, which was made up of parts of |
the words Neritas Caput, signifying the |
true head of the river. The Latin was |
had, for it ought TO have been Verum
Caput The lake had previously been
known by the French name of Lac In
Biches, meaning Elk Lake. This was "a
of the Chippewa Omoshkos
Sogiagon.
"Schoolcraft's party made an exami-
nation of Lake Itasca, being satisfied
that they had found the true source of
the Mississippi. Not again until 1896
did any scientific man visit the spot.
This was n Erenchman, J. n. Nicollet, |
who tried to ascertain the source of the
feeders of Lake Itasca Exploring south
ward, he reached the springs from which
the infant river takes its rise. 1t should
be understood that the Mississippi runs
from its source directly northward for
distance of 80 miles before turning about
i'm n sort of fishhook bend and starting
southwark. To the baby stream, before it
enters Lake Itasca, Nicollet gave the po-
etc name of Graded Achilles He es-
tablished its course in connection with
.hree small lakes, since named Upper,
Middle and Lower Nicollet lakes-that
IS to say, he found that the little river
IAN through two of these small lakes
and connected with the third This eX-
Dlorer mapped the whole of the Itascan
basin and determined the latitude, lon
yitude and altitude with such accuracy
hat subsequent surveys have only con-
irmed and amplified his observations.
The whole subject of which l have
Deen speaking was befogSed and thrown
INTO dispute recently by certain Cap
ain Giazier, who. apparently for no
,ther purpose than to advertise himself,
his alleged discovery of new
md true source of the Mississippi. BY
the size of Lake Itasca, ignor- :
ng Nicollet's Graded Achilles, magni-
wing a small side lake which he called
AXE GIazier, and by stretching out one
# the feeders of the latter, he produced
distorted map which actually imposed
N the Royal Geographical society of
treat Britain. Many of the errors thus
ri ginated have Crept into the standard
maps of the United States
1t may be said that there is nothing