At Brainerd the Captain delivered his lecture for the first time, to a crowded and appreciative audience. From Brainerd the party dropped down the river to the antiquated town of Crow-Wing, opposite the mouth of the Crow-Wing River. Remaining here over night they re-embarked next morning, and gliding down the stream arrived at about three o'clock in the afternoon at a point just above Little Falls. Here they were met by a number of row-boats and escorted to the town. As the little fleet approached the land the shores were seen to be crowded with people, and the band struck up, merrily "A Life on the Ocean Wave," "See the Conquering Hero comes," and other complimentary airs. As soon as a landing was effected, cries of "Captain Glazier! Captain Glazier! a speech! a speech!" went up, and in response to the demand the Captain made a few remarks. First, thanking them for the kind interest manifested in his voyage, he continued: "I find a great deal of speculation as I go down the river in regard to the objects of this expedition, and it may be well to state what they really are. My desire is to study thoroughly the people, industries, and general features of the grandest valley in the world—a valley which extends from the great watershed almost on the northern boundary of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of three thousand miles, and where the occupations of the people change from the lumbering and fur-hunting of the north to the cotton and sugar-raising of the south. To do this carefully and at leisure I take a method of traveling by which I can devote as much time as is necessary to every section of the river, and by which I can observe from a standpoint not reached by the ordinary traveler. This, ladies and gentlemen, is why you see me to-day descending the Mississippi in a canoe."
The Captain was then escorted to his hotel by the band, and in the evening delivered his lecture at Vasaly Hall, continuing his voyage the following day. Between this point and Minneapolis numerous and dangerous rapids were met, all of which were passed in safety, and the Falls of St. Anthony were reached without accident. Below these Falls the scenery was very beautiful, although the immense number of rain storms interfered sadly with the pleasure of sight-seeing.
When the party arrived at Lake Pepin, a beautiful body of water, thirty miles in length and three in breadth, and surrounded by majestic bluffs, they found navigation almost impossible. The winds sweeping down between the bluffs caused the waves to rise so high that even the river steamers had been compelled to tie up and wait for the storm to subside. The Captain, however, had an engagement to lecture at Lake City, half way down the lake, and as he had never yet failed to appear at the appointed time he now insisted upon attempting to reach his destination. The river men in vain endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose. It took all day to make a pull of sixteen miles, and many a time it seemed as if the frail canoes would certainly be swamped; but nevertheless they arrived at Lake City in time for the lecture. And it may be mentioned here that in this voyage, as in his journey from Ocean to Ocean, he seldom failed to keep an engagement to lecture. No matter what the stress of weather or unforeseen accident which would have delayed most men, he surmounted every obstacle and invariably appeared on the platform at the appointed hour.
Bad weather, violent squalls, and dangerous rapids were of frequent occurrence, but nothing succeeded in crippling the energy which Captain Glazier had all along exhibited. His mind was bent upon reaching the Gulf in his canoe, and he pursued his course unmindful of the dangers which he almost daily encountered. At La Crosse the expedition was reduced in number to the Captain and Mr. Paine, who, for the remainder of the voyage, used the "Alice."
St. Louis was reached on the eighth of October, and the voyagers were heartily welcomed by the various boat-clubs of the city and by many influential citizens. On October the tenth, they re-embarked and continued their voyage towards the Gulf.
From here Cairo, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez, and Baton Rouge were the chief halting-places, although many a time night overtook them before they could reach a town or city, and then they would be entertained at some plantation near the shore with true southern hospitality. Everywhere they were received with the utmost cordiality. The various cities along the banks of the river seemed to vie with each other in doing honor to Captain Glazier; the press spoke in the highest terms of his expedition and of his great success, and every opportunity was afforded him to make the most minute observations respecting the customs, manner of life, business enterprise, and political condition of the people of the different States. These observations he proposed to embody in a work to be entitled "Down the Great River"—a work which, in the light of the Captain's well-known facility as a writer, cannot fail to be both interesting and instructive.
New Orleans was reached at last, but as the Captain intended to return there after visiting Port Eads, no stop was made, and the "Alice" paddled past the Crescent City, arriving at the Jetties on the fifteenth of November, one hundred and seventeen days after beginning the descent of the river from its new found source, Lake Glazier.
Many citizens of Port Eads had assembled in small boats at the entrance to the Gulf to see the "Alice" and her gallant crew in the act of completing their long voyage. Cheer upon cheer rent the air as the beautiful little canoe, bearing aloft at the bow a pennant with the inscription "Alice," and at the stern the glorious "Stars and Stripes," paddled from the mouth of the river out into the wide expanse of the Gulf. Guns were discharged, flags enthusiastically waved, and every possible demonstration made which could give expression to the excitement of the occasion.
Reaching the beacon, the Captain and Mr. Paine disembarked, and, clambering up on the wall, gazed out on the salt waters of the Gulf, hardly able to realize that this was actually the goal towards which they had been slowly paddling for almost four months.
Thus ended the longest canoe voyage on record. De Soto, Marquette, La Salle, Hennepin, Joliet, and Schoolcraft, had all navigated sections of the Mississippi, but Captain Glazier was the first to traverse its entire course, from the remotest headwaters to the outlet, a distance of three thousand one hundred and eighty-four miles. This, too, he had done in a frail canoe, amidst heavy rains and violent winds, in heat and cold, in sunshine and in storm, steadily pursuing his course, unfaltering in his purpose, deterred by no danger, determined only on success. In the wilds of Minnesota he stood by the beautiful little lake whose placid bosom first nourishes the infant stream. Paddling onward with the current, ever increasing in strength and volume, he passed from the dense forests of the North where nature holds undisputed sway, into the realms of a civilization growing daily greater and greater. Finally he reached the broad Gulf, in which the "Father of Waters," now strong in the strength of maturity, and vast in his proportions, pours his mighty flood. Every variety of climate, soil and production came under his observation, and all the striking peculiarities of the Northern, Western and Southern character. No other man had ever accomplished this, and therefore it is not difficult to imagine that Captain Glazier's emotions, when he first saw the salt spray of the Gulf dash high over the seaward wall of the Jetties, were of an elevated order, and lifted him for the time above the plane of every-day life. His long voyage was completed, the objective at which he had aimed was reached, and his plans had all been attended with success. Of little consequence now were the dangers he had encountered, the annoyances which had beset him, the difficulties he had surmounted. He was proud of the fact that he was the first to stand at the fountain-head of his country's grandest river, and was the first to traverse its entire course despite the turbulent waters and dangerous whirlpools which threatened often to engulf him, and now at its outlet could write "finis" to the great work of his life. Few men in the world can say as much—for the energy, perseverance, unfaltering will and indomitable courage which characterize Willard Glazier are of rare occurrence, and entitle him to a prominent position in the ranks of America's distinguished sons.