300 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY 
that he saw a few of the same kind on St. Louis River, about forty miles distant, 
the year before. 
At this place we were indebted to the Rev. Mr. Spates, who has charge of the 
Mission, for a kind reception, and some valuable information. 
From the outlet of Sandy Lake to the mouth of Crow Wing River, the course of 
the Mississippi is southwest, the valley through which it runs in that distance being 
parallel to the valley of the St. Croix River from the mouth of Snake River to 
Pijiki Lake; and a line drawn northeast from Sandy Lake would cross St. Louis 
River, after following the course of West Savannah River, and would enter the 
valley of Big Whiteface River, and follow it to the sources of that stream. The 
parallelism of these valleys will be noticed again. 
2. From Sandy Lake to Fond du Lac.—On the 24th of June, we left Sandy Lake 
for Lake Superior, by the route over which the Fur Companies have transported 
their goods toward the far northwestern posts for many years past. 
Prairie River, one of the largest tributaries of Sandy Lake, is about twenty-five 
yards wide at its mouth, and enters the lake between drift-hills sixty-nine feet in 
height, and covered with small pine, aspen, and birch. In winter, and occasionally 
in summer, the Indians, passing from Sandy Lake to Fond du Lac, follow this river 
to its source, and then, by a portage of twelve miles, reach St. Louis River, a few 
miles below the mouth of East Savannah River. The distance to Fond du Lac by 
this route is considerably less than by the Savannah Rivers. In summer, however, 
the swamps about the head of Prairie River are almost impassable, and then the 
line of travel is the same as the one pursued by us. 
West Savannah River enters Prairie River about a mile and a half above Sandy 
Lake. It is twenty feet wide at its mouth, but soon contracts to ten or twelve feet, 
which general width it retains throughout its course. It is extremely crooked, and 
winds through extensive swamps covered with aquatic grasses. It is very shallow, 
becomes rapid towards its source, with a pebbly bottom, and, as the portage is 
approached, is obstructed by boulders. 
Toward the head of the stream, the swamps through which it flows are surrounded 
by high drift-hills, on the sides and tops of which are many enormous boulders, 
derived principally from granitic, gneissoid, and schistose rocks. Among these 
hills, the stream expands into small ponds, connected by a mere rivulet, barely 
wide enough to let a canoe pass. On the summit of a high hill, immediately south 
of the first pond, is a boulder of syenite, sixty-eight feet in circumference. It is 
circular, flat on the top, and exposed above ground three and a half feet. 
The distance from the mouth of the river to the beginning of the portage, is about 
ten miles. The portage is six miles long, and leads over the highlands which 
divide the waters of the Mississippi from those of Lake Superior. The dividing 
ridge is composed of ranges of drift-hills, the highest of which, on the portage, is, 
by barometrical measurement, one hundred and thirty-nine feet above the — of 
od Lake. The observations were made at the end of the fourth “pause,” one 
paces northeast of a small pond. These hills in their prolongation appear 
ta have a general bearing transverse to that of the great ranges of crystalline, meta- 
