18 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 
The route followed from Minneapolis through Dayton and beyond 
is rich in historic association. The first white man to traverse it 
was Father Louis Hennepin, who in 1680 named the 
Dayton. Falls of St. Anthony and St. Francis River. There 
Elevation 911 feet. is some doubt about the stream to which Hennepin 
Population 343. : ; = 
Se pat ov sais applied the name St. Francis. Some think it was 
the stream now bearing that name; others think it _ 
was Rum River, which joins the Mississippi at Anoka. Hennepin | 
traversed part of the Indian trail to Lake Superior, which is gen- 
erally supposed to have passed by a portage from St. Francis River 
to Mille Lacs, thereby saving greatly in distance over the route up 
Rum River. 
At the village of Elk River the stream visible from the train is 
Elk River, and this is in sight for several miles west of the station. 
St. Francis River enters Elk River nearly due north 
Elk River. of Big Lake station, but can not be seen from the 
allies et et railway. At the town of Elk River a branch of the 
St. Pauli miles, Great Northern turns to the right (north) and joins 
the St. Cloud-Duluth line at the town of Milaca. - 
The second white man to traverse this part of the valley was Jona- 
than Carver, who visited the region in 1766 in order to claim it for 
the British sovereign. Carver ascended the Mississippi as far as St. 
Francis River in an endeavor to reach the Pacific coast, but owing to 
lack of supplies he was obliged to abandon the expedition and return 
to the East. Of the American pioneers, Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike, for 
whom Pikes Peak was subsequently named, was the first to visit the 
newly acquired territory in his search for the source of Mississippi 
River in 1805. An account of his journey will be found in the foot- 
note on page 20. 
Later the route up the Mississippi from Fort Snelling to Sauk 
Rapids became widely known as a part of the Red River trail. Over 
this trail several exploring expeditions went into the 
Big Lake. Northwest, but probably the most important, at least 
A sea eth Me ket = GD far as its influence on the location and building of - 
a teal ans- 4) 4ho Northern Pacific Railroad was concerned, was the 
party of Government engineers under the leadership 
of Gov. I. I. Stevens, which made the first surveys for a Pacific rail- 
Toad in 1853. This expedition followed the Red River trail by the 
sites of Big Lake, Becker, and Clear Lake to Sauk Rapids, and thence 
westward to Bois des Sioux River, which it crossed 
Becker. just below the outlet of Traverse Lake. Although 
—— = the country traversed by this expedition in Minnesota 
St. Paul57mils. | and a part of North Dakota was well known, even at 
that early date, its route farther west lay in large part 
over virgin territory, and the results of its explorations have been of 
