554 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



BREAKING A TRACK THROUGH SPRUCE AFTER A HEAVY 



SNOW STORM, 



come self-supporting and useful citi- 

 zens. 



We now come to a particularly in- 

 teresting part of our trip, namely, the 

 crossing of the so-called "Great Mus- 

 keag." 



After leaving the north shore of Up- 

 per Red Lake we went through a nar- 

 row belt of hardwood and spruce, 

 emerging into tamarack, which soon 

 gave out, and we were on what has 

 been indicated on map after map as 

 an expanse of open swamp. This has 

 deterred everyone from venturing into 

 the district. 



As a matter of fact a large part of 

 the country from Red Lake to the 



Rapid River was wet until the last four 

 or five years, but a change has taken 

 place which is exceedingly important 

 to Minnesota, for it has resulted in 

 giving the state another "Red River 

 Valley." Perhaps due to the driving 

 of the hundreds of millions of fe<"t of 

 timber through the outlet of Red Lake 

 and down the river, the channel has 

 been deepened and the lake permanently 

 lowered. This has reduced the water 

 level in the former open swamp to 

 the north and made of it a prairie. 



I now propose naming it "Beltrami 

 Prairie." It is a wonderfully rich piece 

 of country with a deep black soil cap- 

 able of producing prodigious crops and 



