While camping here a discovery was made which caused the party much uneasiness. This was the startling fact that their supply of canned meats and other rations was fast giving out! To appreciate their situation under these circumstances we must remember that they were far from any trading post, and in a country where they could not hope to find even an Indian at that season of the year, the many lakes and marshy ground making hunting impracticable. To add to their dismay, it was also discovered that during one of the exhausting portages the trolling hooks had been lost in passing through a bog, while their ammunition was reduced to sixty-five rounds. Too late did the Captain regret the permission given to his brother and Mr. Paine, both of whom were but amateur sportsmen, to fire at any game they might see. They had blazed away recklessly during the entire voyage, so far succeeding in killing but one duck. Evidently they could not be depended upon to replenish the depleted larder. Something had to be done, and after resolutions of strict economy were proposed and unanimously adopted, it was decided that hereafter the Captain should occupy the bow of the first canoe, and, with gun cocked, be ready to fire at any game which a sudden turn in the river might discover. How the explorers wished they could subsist on the blue berries which were fully as abundant as the mosquitoes along the entire route! But it required incessant eating of these to satisfy the appetite, and even then, hunger, in a short time, asserted its former sway.
The morning following this discovery was so foggy that it was impossible to make a start before seven o'clock. The day was warm, and the journey unusually fatiguing, consisting mainly of a portage twice the length of the first one they had encountered. It was, therefore, with unfeigned delight that, late in the afternoon of the twenty-first of July, they discovered the placid waters of Itasca just ahead of them. Launching their canoes, they soon reached Schoolcraft Island, after a pull of about two miles, and prepared to make this point their headquarters.
MAKING A PORTAGE.
Lake Itasca was discovered by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft in 1832, and was located by him as the source of the Mississippi. It is a beautiful body of water, with an extreme length of about five miles, and an average breadth of a mile and a half. It has three arms of nearly equal size, and the island, named after the discoverer of the lake, is situated near the point where they come together. This island proved to be about three acres in extent, and is so covered with underbrush that our gallant little party had much difficulty in clearing a sufficient space for their camp. Only one or two trees of any size were found, and on the largest of these, a pine, Mr. Paine carved their names and the date of their arrival.
By this time Captain Glazier had become more than ever convinced, through conversations with Chenowagesic, that he was right in his preconceived opinion that Itasca was not the source of the Mississippi. He was also satisfied that Chenowagesic was pre-eminently fitted to aid him in discovering the fountain head, owing to the fact that he was thoroughly at home in that region, having hunted and trapped there for many years. So intense had become the Captain's desire not to return until he had thoroughly explored Itasca and the surrounding country, that it was with an anxious heart he now put the question to his companions: would they be willing, on such a limited supply of rations as they had remaining, to assist him in his explorations, or would they vote for an immediate descent of the river? To his great relief he found he had so completely inoculated them, or at least his brother and Mr. Paine, with his own ambition that with one voice they decided in favor of a thorough exploration. The Indians were soon persuaded to give their consent, and so, before retiring for the night, the entire party expressed their determination to stand by the Captain until he was satisfied that every effort had been made to discover the remotest springs in which the Great River really had its origin.
MAP OF LAKE GLAZIER