142 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 



the mouth of Clear River where there was a N. W. Coy's Post, 

 kept by Baptiste Cadotte. After trying fe r several days to proceed 

 further on foot, he was obliged to return to this place and wait for 

 the breaking up of the ice. He places this Post in Lat 47° 54' 21", 

 Long 97° 45'. On 9th April he started up the Clear River with three 

 men in a canoe, on the 11th passed the mouth of Wild Rice River ; on 

 the 15th, carried across to the Red Lake River, and reached Red Lake 

 the 17th, at a point which he places in Lat. 47° 58' 15", Long. 96° 30'. 

 From here he turned southwaixl, and after carrying over several 

 portages and through small brooks and lakes he reached Turtle Lake 

 on April 27th, from which flows " Turtle Brook" which he states to 

 be the source of the Mississippi, since it is from here that the river 

 takes the most direct course to the sea. Thus to this indefatigable but 

 hitherto almost unknown geogi-apher belongs the honor of discovering 

 the head waters of this great river, about whose source there has been 

 almost as much discussion as about those of the Nile itself. His course 

 is well laid down on his " Map of the North- West Tei-ritory of the 

 Province of Canada, made for the North- West Company in 1813- 

 1814;" on a scale of about 15 miles to an inch, and now in the posses- 

 sion of the Government of the Province of Ontario. 



An excellent account of the early expeditions to the head waters 

 of the Mississippi is given by Mr. N. H. Winchell, in his Historical 

 Introduction in the Final Report on the " Geology of Minnesota," 

 1884. In giving an account of Lieut. Pike's journey to Red Cedar 

 (Cass) Lake 1806, he there states that " Mr. Thompson's maps and 

 papers never having been published, Lieut. Pike is to be accredited 

 with the first authenticated examination of the Mississippi valley 

 from the St. Francis River to Red Cedar Lake." The first who is 

 stated to have travelled through the country north of Red Cedar 

 Lake was J. C. Beltrami, an Italian gentleman, who accompanied 

 Major Long's expedition as far as Pembina. He ascended Bloody 

 (Red Lake) River to Red Lake and from thence followed Thompson's 

 route to Turtle Lake whence he descended the Mississippi to its mouth. 

 This was in the summer of 1823, nine years after Thompson had re- 

 corded his discoveries on the above mentioned map, and twenty-five 

 years aftei- he had made the survey of his course. 



In a note at the end of this Historical Introduction however, it is 



