40 



NARRATIVE, &c. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Brief detail of transactions at Cass Lake. — A select exploring party 

 is organised here, for ascending to the actual source of the Mississippi, 

 — Council with the Indians. — Speech of Oza Windib. — The Indians 

 furnish canoes and guides. — Arrangement of the party. — Notice of a 

 Warrior's widow. — Scalp dance. — Facts respecting foreign inter- 

 ference in the trade of the Upper Mississippi. — The question of the 

 use of ardent spirits in the trade. — Act of Congress of 1832, prohib- 

 iting it. — Departure of the exploring party. — Ascent to Pamitchi 

 Gumaug, or Lac Tr avers. — Its elevation and size. — A Shingaba 

 Wassin. — Image worship. — Bay. — Ultimate forks of the Mississippi. 

 — Ascend the east fork. — Lake Marquette. — Lake La Salle. — 

 Kubbakunna Lake. — Notices of the Natural History. 



Having determined to organise a select party at this lake, 

 to explore the source of the river, measures were immediately 

 taken to effect it. A council of the Indians was assembled, and 

 the object declared to them. They were requested to delineate 

 maps of the country, and to furnish the requisite number of 

 hunting canoes and guides. Oza Windib, said, " My father, 

 the country you are going to see, is my hunting ground. I have 

 travelled with you many days.* I shall go with you farther. 

 I will myself furnish the maps you have requested, and will 

 guide you onward. There are many rapids in the way, but the 

 waters are favorable. I shall consult with my band about the 

 canoes, and see who will step forward to furnish them. My 

 own canoe, shall be one of the number." 



Before night the maps were completed, and five different 

 individuals, including Oza Windib, brought each a canoe of the 

 proper size and laid it down. Two young men expressed their 



♦He had returned with the Expedition, from Lake Superior. 



