57 I 237 ] 



tlask, and shot bag; and in my hand, a gun or an umbrella, according to 



circumstances. Such was my accoutrement. i 



It will be readily conceive*!, frotn this description of my equipment, that, 

 although the otiC least loaded, 1 was tlie most iticonvenienced. The hard- 

 earned experience of former portages had not yet familiarized me with their 

 fatigues and anxieties. Necessity engrossed me with the safety of my in- 

 struments. I will confess it — my mind frequently became bewildered, so 

 that twice durina: this portage I lost my way ; twice I got bogged in 

 marshes, from which I extricated myself by walking over slippery and de- 

 cayed trunks of trees; and twice I reproached myself with the rashness 

 that had led me upon such a journey. 



I shall not dwell further on the description of this portage, the first three 

 miles of which, including a momentary rest afforded by the crossing of a 

 small lake, were attended with so many difficulties that it took me five 

 hours to achieve that which my men went over in three; the last three 

 miles bemg over a succession of ascents and descents, between which were 

 most commonly sloughs. The soil is sandy and gravelly, overspread with 

 erratic blocks ; but there is a great variety of evergreens, and they are larger 

 than in the region previously mentioned. 1 measured the elevation of the 

 most prominent ridges. The last in the series, being also the highest, is 

 120 feet above the waters of lake Itasca. This ridge. ViMth a rapid descent, 

 led us to the borders of the lake, where I took a barometrical observation at 

 noon. 



My next move was to pitch my tent on Schoolcraft's island. The 



staff, at the top of which that gentleman informed us he had 



^"^Island^^^'^ raised the American flag, had been cut down by the Indians. 



I made use of what remained of it to fix upon it my artificial 



horizon, and immediately proceeded to make astronomical observations, and 



take up the exploration of the sources of the Mississippi. 



The Mississippi holds its own from its very origin ; for it is not neces- 

 sary to suppose, as has been done, that lake Itasca may be sup- 

 ^M^ll^fL:^^ phed with invisible sources, to justify the character of a re- 

 markable stream, which it assumes at its issue from this lake. 

 There are five creeks that fall into it, formed by innumerable streamlets 

 oozing from the clay-beds at the bases of the hills, that consist of an ac- 

 cumulation of sand, gravel, and clay, intermixed with erratic fragments; 

 being a more prominent portion of the great erratic deposite previous de- 

 scribed, and which here is known by the name oi '■'■ Hauteurs des Terres^^ 

 — heights of land. 



These elevations are commonly flat at top, varying in height from 85 to 

 100 feet above the level of the surrounding waters. They are 

 ^ Ten^es.*^^^ Covered with thick forests, in which the coniferous plants pre- 

 dominate. South of Itasca lake, they form a semicircular 

 region, with a boggy bottom, extending to the southwest a distance of 

 several miles ; thence these Hauteurs des Terres ascend to the northwest 

 and north ; and then, stretching to the northeast and east, through the zone 

 between 47° and 48° of latitude, make the dividing ridge between the 

 waters that empty into Hudson bay and those which discharge themselves 

 into the gulf of Mexico. The principal group of these Hauteurs des 

 Terres is subdivided into several ramifications, varying in extent, elevation, 

 and course, so as to determine the hydrographical basins of all the innumer- 



