December 34, 1886.] 



SCIENCE. 



609 



line of section 22 is substantially correct as laid 

 down on the government tnap : but, when they ran 

 the line between sections 21 and 22, this stream 

 was not crossed again, and they naturally sup- 

 posed it ran due north through the western edge 

 of section 22, and that the stream flowing out of 

 section 21 into 22 was a branch running into the 

 main stream : whereas this is the main stream, 

 which, passing westward under their feet into 

 section 21 by an outlet which they did not see be- 

 cause it was underground, takes its course through 

 the eastern part of section 21, and crosses into 

 section 22 again at the point where the govern- 

 ment surveyors had indicated a feeder to the 

 main stream. The two small lakes C and D on 

 section 22, and the two A and B on section 21, 

 would not be crossed by a section line : hence 

 they were not indicated by the surveyors. At 

 a point where the section line between sections 21 

 and a8 crosses the branch of the spring flowing 

 out of section 28, the course of the stream is 

 through a boggy swamp, and it would hardly be 

 noticed as the stream without going a consider- 

 able distance north or south of the section line : 

 hence it is not shown on the government maps, 

 but in place of it is shown a marsh. In all other 

 respects the work of the government surveyors is 

 well done. Their business was to establish sec- 

 tion corners, blaze lines between the sections, note 

 all lakes intercepted by the section lines, meander 

 lakes of more than 40 acres in extent, note streams 

 crossed and indicate their apparent direction, etc. 

 Trifling errors will creep into their woi'k ; but, 

 when we take into consideration the difficulties 

 they have to contend with, it is not to be won- 

 dered at. 



Another part of the duty of the government 

 surveyors is to indicate the names of streams and 

 bodies of water, and, in case no modern name has 

 been given to them, to retain the Indian name or 

 its Enghsh translation. Following this rule, the 

 name of Lake Itasca, being generally accepted, 

 was retained. 



With regard to the name of Elk Lake, Mr. Hall, 

 who was the chief of the surveying party of 1875, 

 recently told me that when he was surveying 

 township 143 N., range 36, he met an Indian 

 trapper at Lake Itasca, who had made this 

 region his ti'apping-ground for years. He asked 

 him the Indian name of Lake Itasca and Elk 

 Lake, and the Indian gave him the name of 

 ' Omushkos,' or ' Elk,' for the lake in section 22, 

 and another name, which Mr. Hall has forgotten, 

 for Itasca. As Lake Itasca had a name already, 

 he simply recommended to the surveyor-general 

 the name ' Elk Lake ' for the other body. But the 

 Indians are by no means agreed upon the designa- 



tion for these lakes. They certainly gave Mr. 

 Schoolcraft the name ' Omushkos ' for Lake 

 Itasca, and to Mr. Gilfillan, ' Gabukeguraag ' for 

 Elk Lake. The latter term signifies ' water that juts 

 off to one side ' of another lake ; that is, branches 

 or projects out from it like the fingers from the 

 hand. 



Other travellers have found still other designa- 

 tions applied by the Indians to these lakes. Sur- 

 veyor-general Baker, in fixing the name finally to 

 be applied to the lake, considered, that, whether 

 'Omushkos' was the original designation of Elk 

 Lake or of Lake Itasca, it was worth while, in 

 the absence of any other fitting name, to retain 

 that designation for the lake which was not yet 

 named. I am certainly of the opinion that the 

 name should stand. 



Nicollet's map, etc. 



It is fitting to say a few words in regard to 

 Nicollet's map and possible changes, past and 



ITASCA LAKE AND VICINITY. FACSIMILE COPY OF NICOLLET'S 

 >IAF DEPOSITED IN THE OFFICE OF ENGINEERS, U.S.A., 1836-37. 



future, in the Itascan region. Careful investiga- 

 tion along the shores of Lake Itasca shows plainly 

 that some time in the past it has been 9 inches 

 higher than it is at the present. This rise would 

 be sufficient to overflow all that portion of the 



