A Summer in the Wilderness embracing a canoe voyage up the Mississippi and around Lake Superior

Michisawgyegan is the Indian name for the state of Michigan, and the meaning of it is the Lake Country. It is my native state, and as I have recently visited it after an absence...

Generally speaking, the voyager of the northwest is the shipping merchant of the wilderness; for his principal business is to transport furs from the interior county to the fron...

The hamlet of Saint Peter is at the mouth of the Saint Peter’s river, and at the head of steamboat navigation on the Mississippi. My sojourn here has been interesting from many...

The spot thus designated is beautifully situated on the east side of the Mississippi, directly at the mouth of the river known by that name. It is here that the trader Morrison...

Just above Rock Island are the Upper Rapids of the Mississippi, which extend some fifteen miles and have a fall of twenty-seven feet. They made a deep impression upon my mind, b...

By looking on the map you will observe that this river enters Lake Superior on the extreme west. I had not the means of ascertaining its precise length, but was told that above...

This is to be my last letter from the Mississippi valley, and my passion for the gentle art of angling, will not allow me to leave the great river without recounting a few fishi...

The River Queen, as Saint Louis is sometimes called, is looked upon as the threshold leading to the wild and romantic region of the Upper Mississippi. It was founded in the year...

Red Cedar Lake is the sheet of water Mr. Schoolcraft has attempted to name after a distinguished friend; I say _attempted_, because the Indians and traders of the northwest do n...

Leech Lake lies in the midst of a forest, mostly composed of pine, maple, oak, elm, and tamarack. It is supposed to be about forty miles in length, and perhaps twenty to twenty-...

I have sailed upon the Mississippi, from the point where it empties into the Gulf of Mexico, all the way up to the little Lake which gives it existence, and I now intend to reco...

Elk or Itasca Lake is the fountain head of the Mississippi. It is thought to be almost three thousand miles from the Gulf of Mexico and two thousand feet above the level of the...

Winnipeg is the first lake of importance which the traveller _passes through_ on his way up the Mississippi from Crow-Wing, and it is a namesake of the great northern lake. The...

That portion of the Mississippi which extends from Prairie Du Chien to Lake Pepin is the most mountainous and truly beautiful on the whole river, and may with strict propriety b...

This Lake, which the French have named Mill Lac, and certain ignorant Yankees, Rum Lake, was originally called by the Chippeways, Minsisagaigoming, which signifies the dwelling...

The Indian trader belongs to the aristocracy of the wilderness. His business is to barter with the Indians for their furs, as the agent of some established fur company. He is ge...

One more letter from this place, and I shall take my leave of Lake Superior. Saint Mary was formerly a trading post of renown: it is now a village of considerable business; and...

The scenery between Lake Pepin and the Saint Croix is not as lofty nor as picturesque as that we have already passed, but its interest is greatly enhanced by the greater number...

The entire Canadian shore of Lake Superior might be denominated as bold and rocky, but there may occasionally be seen a line of the smoothest beach, as if for the very purpose o...

I now write from Mackinaw, the beautiful, which studs the waters of the north, as does the northern star its own cerulean home. But what can I say about this island that will be...

On my way up the Mississippi, I tarried a few hours at the far-famed city of Nauvoo: and when I resumed my course, I felt like one just awakened from an incomprehensible dream....

I am the owner of a few shares of copper stock, but exceedingly anxious to dispose of my interest, at the earliest possible moment, and on the most reasonable terms. This remark...

It is computed that the American coast of Lake Superior extends to about twice the length of that which belongs to Canada. Our portion of the northern shore is skirted by a rang...

I now write you from the margin of a stream which empties into Lake Superior, towards which I am impatiently pursuing my way. Sandy Lake, where ended my voyaging on the Mississi...

The lead region of the Mississippi occupies not far from one hundred square miles. The two principal towns are Galena and Dubuque, which are both handsome and flourishing. The o...

My mode of travelling, from the Falls of St. Anthony to Crow-Wing river, was on horseback. I obtained my animal of a Frenchman, who accompanied me as a guide. There was no regul...

I have finished my pilgrimage around the shores of Lake Superior, given away my birchen canoe, and parted with my Indian guides and fellow-voyagers. It now remains for me to mou...

Starved Rock is the unpoetical name of a singular spot on the Illinois river about sixty miles east of this place, and eight miles south of Ottawa. It is a rocky bluff, rising f...

Leech Lake—The Pillagers—The Medicine Dance—The Medicine Society—Virgin Dance—Red River Trappers—Legend of the Two Women—Legend of Pelican Island—Legend of a Battle between the...

Red Cedar Lake—The Chippeway Indians—Their Country—Their Idea of Creation—Their Religion—Their Heaven and Hell—Their Manner of Winning the Title of Brave—Their Manner of Life—Th...

The Voyager—My Voyaging Companions—Our Mode of Travelling, with its Pleasures and Miseries—Making Portages—Passing Rapids—Narrow Escape—The Voyager’s Cheerfulness—Canadian Songs...

Mouth of the Saint Peter’s—Dog Feast—Playing Ball—The Sioux Indians—The Soldier Artist—A Naturalist—Carver’s Cave—Beautiful Waterfall—Falls of St. Anthony—Legend connected with...