THE FOREST WHERE THE MISSISSIPPI BEGINS 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE WOODED AND LAKE-DOTTED TRACT WHERE THE FATHER OF 



WATERS FIRST SHAPES ITS COURSE TO THE SEA 



By D. Lange 



Author of "The Lure of the Mississippi" 



WHEN an old Spanish explorer, Panfilo de Nar- 

 vaez, by name, in 152& sailed past the wide spread 

 estuary of the Mississippi River, what vague and mys- 

 terious wonderment must have possessed him? Was 

 it sea or river? If the latter, from whence did it 

 come and what manner of country lay at its far-flung 

 head? For almost three centuries the birthplace of the 

 Father of Waters remained a mystery to the white 

 man while along the winding reaches of its lower 

 course and those of its larger tributaries, fearless ex- 

 plorers, bold Indian fighters and hardy pioneers were 

 pushing the American frontier westward and north- 

 ward. 



There is no mystery today about the origin of the 

 river, excepting the mystery of age-old Indian legends 

 and of the unwritten adventures of the white men who 

 sought out the river's head. The region of a few 

 thousand acres where the Mississippi first gathers its 

 waters and shapes its course toward the ocean is today 



a State Forest under the jurisdiction of the Minnesota 

 Forest Service. It is known as Itasca State Park and 

 Forest and is situated some thirty miles southwest of 

 the town of Bemidji. It embraces 32,000 acres, of 

 which 6,000 are water, and \yas created in 1891 by Con- 

 gress and the Minnesota Legislature to protect the 

 source of our greatest river. 



Here the Minnesota Forest Service has built roads 

 and trails, preserved much of the virgin forest, pro- 

 tected the wild life, made available camp sites and 

 hotel accommodations, and here every summer come 

 thousands of tourists to spend a few days or a few 

 weeks amid the wild beauty of forest bound lakes, 

 shrouded in the interest and charm of a traditional 

 spot. Itasca State Forest is the jewel of Minnesota's 

 state-owned forests. On the shore of Lake Itasca one 

 stands at the cradle of the mighty river, but here its 

 waters are quiet. Its soul is at rest. That is the spirit 

 which pervades. 



BKALTIFUI, LAKE ITASCA. THK .SOURCE OF THE MISSISSI I'l'I KIVKR, IN ITASCA STATE FOREST ONE OF THE 



SUPERB VIEWS TO BE HAD FROM DOUGLAS LODGE. ERECTED BY THE STATE FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT AND 



COMFORT OF THE MANY TOURISTS AND VISITORS TO THE FOREST. 



