232 



NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION. 



this lake, when it was announced that we had reached the pri- 

 mary forks of the Mississippi. We were now in Latitude 47° 28' 

 4G". Up to this point, the river had carried its characteristics 

 in a remarkable manner. Of the two primary streams before us, 

 the one flowing from the west, or the Itascan fork, contributes by 

 far the largest volume of water, possessing the greatest velocity 

 and breadth of current. The two streams enter each other at an 

 acute angle, which varies but little from due south, as denoted in 

 the diagram. 



Primary forks of the Mississippi River, in lat. 47° 28^ 46^^. 



/ Ozawindib hesitated not a moment which branch to ascend, 

 but shooting his canoe out of the stronger current of the Itascan 

 fork, entered the other. His wisdom in this movement was soon 

 apparent. He had not only entered the shallower and stiller 

 branch, but one that led more directly to the base of the ultimate 

 summit of Itasca. This stream soon narrowed to twenty feet. 

 "We could distinctly descry the moving sands at its bottom ; but 

 its diminished velocity was apparent from the intrusion of aquatic 

 plants along its shores. It was manifest also from the forest 

 vegetation, that we were advancing into regions of a more alpine 



