aUS Th'Aliniiiilii (iiuliKl'ixt . Nt.v.'inltci-. IK'il 
It liaviiiii lit'i'li foiiiid that Nicollet valley eoiitaiiied the liKire 
important reservoii-. siipplyiiiir lo Itasca lake the lai<xer ami the 
loiiirev volume of siirfaee Howage. 1 lte<i' your iM(lul«feuce in a 
minute (leseription of this most remote and ultimate system in the 
ureal Mississippi liasin. situated within tiie stale park. 
Tlu' perennial stream tlowiuij; do\vn the inner tlanks of the Hau- 
teur (h- Terre to Itasc-a throu<rh Nieollet valley was discovered Ity 
Jean X. Nicollet in lS:Ui. At the point wheic its waters How 
into Itasca lake it was forty feet in width and two feet in depth at 
the date of my survey. Narrowinsr as you ascend the stream, it 
Iteconu's three feet in di'pth a short distance fi'om Itasca lak«'. with 
an increased current. 
I'assinir ujjthis interesting stream the exploreiis impn-ssed with 
its inij)ortance liy its sliari)ly defined lianks. with its windincr. me- 
jinderiuii; channel, deeply cut down into tlu' stratum to a .sandy, 
gravelly Wed. with every ajjpearance and characteristic of the ]Mis- 
-sissipi)i Itelow Itasca laki'. It has sandbars. shar|» angles in its 
channel, deep and shallowing currents, and all the m(»re striking 
features of a larger river. Large trees found near its itanks incline 
toward the stri'am : a variety of fish. large and small, were found in 
its waters: the mink, otter and muskrat abounded, and wild ducks 
of many Northern varieties were from time to time noticed in its 
channel. Trees havi- l)een felled in several places across its Itanks 
to permit of passage on foot. I'pon the I'emoval <>f these trees, 
oanoes might We propelled nearly two miles up this principal chan- 
nel from Itasca lake. 
These are a })ortion of the characteristics of the stream, indicat- 
ing its permanency and importance, and. what is true of no otiier 
stream within the state jtark. it has three atllueut liranches flowing 
in fi-om the hights of land to the westward, which augment its 
impoitance and ijcrmancncy al)ove any other stream found there. 
These are l)eniaray creek, over one mile in h'ligtii. Howard 
vreek. nearly one mile in k'ngth. and Spring Kidgi' creek, each fed 
liy numerous springs, sharply indicating aitesian i)ressnre from 
the lakes higher up the flank of the Itasca moraine. At Nicollet's 
middle lake is found tlu' northern limit of the greater ultimate 
re:r>ervoir. with tlu' Mississippi river Howing out from it toward 
Itasca lake. 
My lines of level and im-asurements were continued from this 
point up through the trough of the reservoir to Nicollet s upper 
