In the following letter Channing Paine gives a further account of the discovery of the head of the Great River:
"Douglas House,
"Aitkin, Minnesota,
"August 11, 1881.
"To the Editor—Saint Louis Globe-Democrat:
"Lake Itasca, for many years, has been regarded, both by geographical societies and map-makers, as well as by the public generally, as the source of the grandest of rivers—the mighty Mississippi. But geographical knowledge, like all other knowledge, is of little consequence if it is not progressive, and in its history we have seen the firmly-rooted beliefs of centuries torn up and tossed aside by the explorations and reasoning of intrepid travellers, who, respecting truth and facts more than mere theory, have accepted nothing without proof, merely because others have so accepted it. This is the ground occupied by Captain Willard Glazier in his explorations in search of the source of the Mississippi.
"Starting for the headwaters of this great river in July last, he learned that the dense forests which surround the source of the Father of Waters were rarely penetrated by white men, or even by Indians, at any time except in winter, when lakes and rivers were frozen up, and the whole surface of the country covered with a mantle of snow.
"He also heard through the interpreter and Indian guides who accompanied him that the aboriginal inhabitants of these primeval forests did not regard Itasca as the source; but, while rejecting it, differed among themselves as to what lake really was the fountain-head. Some claimed that the stream from Itasca was not itself the main stream, but flowed into the river proper some three miles below the lake. The stream to which it was tributary, though narrower, was, they claimed, deeper and swifter, bringing to the united streams more water than the one from Lake Itasca.
"Others considered the Itascan stream as the main one, but spoke of another lake, broad and beautiful, which lay above Itasca and poured its clear waters into the accepted source through a small stream which entered the southern arm of Lake Itasca. Captain Glazier determined to thoroughly examine all this region, and to settle definitely and forever the true source of the Mississippi.
"Acting in accordance with this resolution, he pushed on toward Itasca, intending to make it a starting-point for further exploration. Reaching this objective point after innumerable hardships, he camped on Schoolcraft Island, and after a day of rest directed operations toward the lakes and streams of the surrounding country.