The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1923-07-25

ed the eastern bank, but at the haz-
ard of their lives.
Heating remarks that to one fond
of hunting or fishing residence at
Fort st. Anthony would be a plea
sure; catfish has been caught al
the falls" he says, weighing one
hundred and forty4two pounds"
When the party left ST. Anthony
on July 8, it had recruited that well
known trader and interpreter, JOS
eph Renville, who took the place of
the Inefficient Rogue. Keating's
praise of Renville was as generous
and cnstinted as his estimate of
Rogue had been harsh and uncom-
promising. 1--WE have met with few
men," ne writes, that appeared to
US to be gifted with a more inquiring
and discerning mind, or with more
sorce and penetration than Renville.
We found him uniformly faithful.
intelligent, and as veracious as anv
interpreter we ever had in our COM
pany. Joseph Smelling, son of the
commander at the fort, also accom-
panied the party, in the capacity of
assistant guide and Interpreter. A
third interpreter, named Louis Pei
las, also accompanied the expedition.
Beltrami Joins Party
Another gentleman who joined the
party at this point was Giacomo c.
Beltrami. Beltrami was an Italian
lawyer and hnguist, at one time an
army officer and later a civil Judge.
who had come to America as a pol
itical refugee. He was fired with
the ambition to discover the true
source Of the Mississippi, and short
ly after his arrival in America travel
ed down the Ohio and up the Miss
issippi to Fort Smelling, where he was
when the Long expedition arrived
Upon his request, he was permitted
to join the expedition, but he re-
manned with it only until August z,
when he left the party, then at Penn
bina, and struck out with a guide and
two Chippewa Indians to the south
east, where he believed the Missis-
siDpi to have its source. He discover
ed and named Lake Julia in Beltrami
county, and enormously pronounced
it the source of the Mississippi. He
reached Fort Smelling again on Sep
TENDER Is, from whence he travelled
/ to New Orleans, where in 1924 he
published an account of his supposed
discovery of the source of the Mis-
sissippi. His account of the expedi-
ton is much briefer than Keating's.
and not altogether to be relied on.
Longs entry in his diary on the day
on which Beltrami left the party is
interesting: "Mr. Beltrami. our
Italian companion, having taken of
tense at the party generally, and be-
ing highly provoked at my Directing
to his turning an indian out of our
Lodge, left the party in a very hasty
and angry manner" In the cores
pondence of the Governors office
for the year 1869 is petition sign
ed by Luigia and Linda BeItrami.
nieces of the late explorer, request
ing financial aid from the United
States or from Minnesota as due the
heirs of man who had done so
much for that country and state.
But to return to the main expedi-
ton. The party assembled the Mimi
esota five and one-half miles, then
stopped at the Indian village of Black
Dog on the right or southern bank.
Ascending another mile, they came
to deserted Indian cabin, where
they made themselves comfortable
for the night. The expedition moved
in two divisions, one in canoes. the
other on land. The canoe party
passed two Indian villages, the first
of which, Tetankatane, Heating To-
Gates near the present site of Savage.
Continued on page 81