December 24, 1886. 



SCIENCE. 



605 



ward ; and to the right the shore of the lake is 

 lined with pine, while the left shore and all the 

 upper (southern) end is bordered with tamarack, 

 €xcept the open space in front, which is bare ex- 

 cept for a few bushes and some rice-grass. The 

 Height of Land is in plain view two miles and 

 a half to the south ; and between these hills and 

 the knoll there is a peculiar light familiar 

 to woodsmen, which indicates an opening 

 or water beyond. It is a striking scene. There 

 is nothing like it anywhere else on the shores 

 of Itasca. And while looking at it, our thoughts 

 went back to the time Nicollet was there ; and 

 we could not but reflect that Francis Brunet, 

 or Kegwedzissag, his Indian guide, would call 

 his attention to it, and no doubt they landed and 

 explored Elk Lake before they went in any other 

 direction. The moment we saw this open country 

 between the lakes, we were satisfied that no man 

 accustomed to the wilderness, certainly no ex- 

 plorer of Nicollet's experience, no guide as trained 

 as his Indian was, could go there on the business on 

 which they were engaged, and miss seeing Elk 

 Lake, unless he were blind. 



As night was rapidly approaching, we landed, 

 and selected a place for camp in the open space 

 between the two lakes ; and while one of my as- 

 sistants was busy pitching camp, and the other 

 prepared supper, I employed the time till dark un- 

 packing and adjusting my instruments, and plan- 

 ning the work for the following days. In all, we 

 spent five days exploring and surveying the basin 

 of Itasca. Wherever there was especial care and 

 detail required, we gave our best and most dili- 

 gent efforts to the work, and I believe there is no 

 material point regarding the sources of the feed- 

 ers of Lake Itasca which is not covered by this 

 report. 



In presenting the results of our work during 

 our stay at Lake Itasca, I shall not attempt to re- 

 port the operations of each day, but rather state 

 the general conclusions and facts obtained from 

 the thorough exploration of every part of the 

 basin of the lake. 



In following the heights of land which form 

 the southern boundary of the basin of Lake 

 Itasca, the general trend of the crest is from 

 north-west to south-east ; but it takes a coiu'se al- 

 most directly east after striking the north-east 

 quarter of section 33, as shown on the map. It 

 also sends out spurs, one striking northward from 

 section 35, and another, also northward, from 

 section 31 in the eastern of the two townships 

 shown. The spur striking north from section 35 

 divides the Itasca basin into two parts, the west- 

 ern furnishing the feeders of the south-western 

 arm of the lake, and the eastern furnishing the 



single feeder of the south-eastern arm. It is not 

 an unbroken ridge of hills, nor are these spurs 

 perfectly defined ; but they are, rather, groups 

 and successions of hills, with the general direc- 

 tion given above. There is also a marked differ- 

 ence in the character of the springs of these two 

 parts of the Itasca basin. The western bowl fur- 

 nishes the feeders that are steady and constant 

 during the year, and the largest feeder lies at the 

 extreme western edge of this bowl. The eastern 

 bowl furnishes a single feeder, which is probably 

 nearly dry parts of the year. It is thus evident 

 that the western streams are fed mainly by living 

 springs, artesian in their character, being sup- 

 plied by water which comes through the strata of 

 the earth from ponds to the west and south, some 

 of them, perhaps, miles away. The single stream 

 of the south-eastern arm simply drains the bowl 

 in which it flows, and while in the rainy season 

 it may be quite a torrent, part of the year it is 

 comparatively dry. I regard this as important in 

 determining the ultimate sources of the waters of 

 the upper Mississippi, it being evident that all the 

 water which flows into the river from Lake Itasca 

 is either surface drainage or comes from reser- 

 vou-s and ponds which lie between the head 

 waters of the Mississippi and the head waters of 

 the Red River. To the north the elevation of the 

 crest of the Height of Land varies from 150 to 250 

 feet above the level of Lake Itasca. In the west- 

 ern half of section 21 the height is about 200 feet ; 

 in sections 28 and 38 it rises to 225 and 250 feet ; 

 in section 34 it is 250 feet in the west part of the 

 section, and 200 feet in the eastern ; 175 feet in 

 section 26. In se<;tion 23 the height is 100 feet, 

 sloping gradually to 75 feet in section 14. The 

 knoll in the western part of section 22 is 150 feet 

 above the level of the lake. To the north, along 

 the border of Elk Lake, the ridge is 90 feet high. 

 Just south of the lake marked D the elevation is 

 120 feet, and just north of the lake marked E it is 

 100 feet. These data are sufficient to show the 

 irregular and broken character of the land in this 

 region. 



One of the most interesting parts of our work 

 was the survey and examination of the narrow 

 strip of land between Lake Itasca and Elk Lake. 

 We found it to be 350 feet wide at the narrowest 

 point between the lakes, and 520 feet measuring 

 along the crooked trail at the base of the knoU. 

 The lakes run nearly parallel for 1,020 feet, and 

 the strip of land contains in all about 10 acres. 



The portion shown as hilly on the plat is a small 

 mound-like elevation, nearly devoid of all timber, 

 which rises with a gradual slope south from Lake 

 Itasca to a height of 33 feet, and descends abruptly 

 to the shore of Elk Lake. Its direction between 



