78 NOTES ON THE NORTHWEST. 



November to a river which he called Long River. On the 

 3d he entered into the mouth of Long River, which he 

 describes as forming a sort of lake full of rushes. The 

 river, he remarks, is the stillest in the world. He ascended 

 the stream 200 leagues, which occupied him sixty days. 

 He lays down the course of the river from west to east. It 

 is not easy to conclude, by the account given of this jour- 

 ney, upon w^hat river Lahontan travelled this great distance 

 upon the course he describes. The course of St. Peter's is 

 at this day very different, being first for a large distance from 

 its source from northwest to southeast nearly, and in the 

 latter part of its course about south southwest, and north 

 northeast. If he ascended St. Peter's to its source, he 

 might easily have passed to the waters of Red River, which 

 now at times mingle w^ith those of the former. Mr. Nicollet 

 supposes that Cannon River answers to the Long River of 

 this traveller. The station of the traveller, the large num- 

 ber of his company, the incidents which he relates, and the 

 particularity of his description, forbid the idea that his naiTa- 

 tive is purely fabulous. But there is not, at this day, any 

 stream in that region upon which he could have ascended so 

 far. If he had gone upon the waters of the Red River he 

 could not have failed to perceive that he was going down 

 and not ascending the stream. The Cannon River is a short 

 stream, upon which he could navigate scarcely one sixth 

 of the distance named. We must suppose that since that 

 time, a considerable change has taken place in the waters of 

 that country. It may be, that Cannon River communicated 

 with St. Peter's, or with otlier waters, and that beyond, to 

 the west, some communication existed with the Missouri. 



This supposition is not unsupported. The early travellers 

 to this part of the country received accounts from the Indians 

 of a vast lake that existed, as they said, far to the northwest, 



