Chapter 85

BEFORE THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Return to St. Louis.--Lecture at Mercantile Library Hall.--Brilliant audience.--The Missouri Historical Society present.--Eloquent introduction by Judge Todd.--"Pioneers of the Mississippi."--Presentation of the "Itasca" to the Historical Society.--Remarks of Captain Silas Bent on accepting the canoe.--Congratulations of the audience.--Closing scene.

On leaving New Orleans Captain Glazier returned to St. Louis, having an engagement there to deliver his lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi." He had been unable to remain long enough for this purpose during his previous visit to the city on his way down the river, as winter was rapidly approaching and it was expedient to reach the Gulf as soon as possible. Therefore, as many were anxious to hear a lecture which had been so highly spoken of by the press of other cities, he had been induced to return with this object in view.

He was also desirous of presenting one of his canoes, the "Itasca," to the Missouri Historical Society in recognition of the unbounded hospitality he had enjoyed at the hands of the citizens of St. Louis, and it was decided that the donation of the canoe, a beautiful specimen of the Rob Roy pattern, should take place on the night of the lecture.

Accordingly, on the evening of January fourteenth, a large audience consisting of members of the Historical Society, Academy of Sciences, clergy, officers and teachers of the public schools, and the various boat clubs of the city, assembled at Mercantile Library Hall to listen to his thrilling lecture on the pioneer explorers of the Mississippi, and to witness the formalities of the presentation.

At eight o'clock, Captain Glazier, accompanied by Judge Albert Todd, an eminent lawyer, and vice-president of the Historical Society, made his appearance on the platform, and, after the storm of applause which greeted their entry had subsided, Judge Todd stepped to the front and introduced the lecturer in the following terms:--

Mark Twain wrote that in his oriental travels he visited the grave of our common ancestor, Adam, and as a filial mourner he copiously wept over it. To me, the grave of our common ancestress, Eve, would be more worthy of my filial affection; but instead of weeping over it, I should proudly rejoice by reason of her irrepressible desire for knowledge. She boldly gratified this desire, and thereby lifted Adam up from the indolent, browsing life that he seemed disposed and content to pass in the "Garden," and gave birth to that spirit of inquiry and investigation which is developing and elevating their posterity to "man's pride of place"--"a little lower than the angels," by keeping them ever discontented with the status quo, and constantly pressing on to the "mark of their high calling" beneath the blazing legend "Excelsior." It is the ceaseless unrest of the spirit, one of the greatest evidences of the soul's immortality, that is continually contracting the boundaries of the unknown in geography and astronomy, in physics and metaphysics, in all their varied departments. Of those pre-eminently illustrating it in geography were Jason and his Argonauts; Columbus, De Gama and Magellan; De Soto, Marquette and La Salle; Cabot and Cook; Speke, Baker, Livingstone and Franklin; and our own Ledyard, Lewis, Clarke, Kane, Hall and Stanley. And this evening will appear before you another of these irrepressible _discontents_ who would know what is still hidden at any risk or privation.

Impelled by this spirit of enterprise in search of Truth, Captain Willard Glazier has discovered, at last, the true source of our grand and peerless river, the "Father of Waters," down which he has floated and paddled in frail canoes, a distance of more than three thousand miles, to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. One of these canoes is now placed here in your view, and will be presented to-night by its navigator to our Historical Society.

Nearly two hundred years ago La Salle discovered the mouth of the Mississippi, yet only now in this year of grace, 1881, was ascertained its true fountain source.

This, the latest achievement of Captain Glazier, is only in the natural course of his antecedents. Born as late as 1841, he has already gone through the experiences of the Adamic labors of a tiller of the soil, the hard toils of the student and of the successful teacher; of the dashing and brilliant cavalry officer in the Union army through the whole period of our late war, from its disastrous beginning to its successful ending; of the sufferings of capture and imprisonment in the notorious "Libby" and other prisons, and of a daring and perilous escape from their cruel walls; of an adventurous tourist on horseback through the most civilized and savage portions of our continent, beginning with the feet of his horse in the waters of the Atlantic, and ending with their splash in the waters of the Pacific. He delivered lectures along his route wherever a civilized audience could be collected, and suffered capture by the Indians, with all its sensational romance and hideous prospects.

From the material of these antecedents he has written and published several books of singular interest and national value.

From this brief sketch we would naturally expect to see a stalwart man, massive and powerful in form and muscle. Our conception of men of big deeds is that they also are big. But David was a stripling when he slew Goliath of Gath. Napoleon was characterized by the society ladies of the period of his early career as "Puss in Boots." Our own Fremont and Eads would seem at sight capable of only the ordinarily exposed duties of life. Of like physique is the subject of this introduction.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasant privilege to introduce to your acquaintance Captain Willard Glazier as the lecturer for the evening.

At the close of Judge Todd's introduction, Captain Glazier began his instructive historic lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi," holding the attention of all present by the interest of his subject and the eloquence of his delivery. Beginning with De Soto, the discoverer of the Great River, he gave an account of his early life and adventures, of his ambition to found an empire like that of Cortez, and of his arrival at the mighty stream in whose waters he soon found his final resting-place.

Marquette, the self-sacrificing missionary, was brought vividly before the mind's eye of the hearer as the Captain described in glowing terms the zeal with which he preached the Gospel to the poor benighted Indians, and drew a picture with all its poetical surroundings of his death and burial in the wilderness.

La Salle came next, pushing onward down the river until he planted his triumphant banner on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and took possession of the surrounding country in the name of the King of France. Hennepin and Joliet then claimed the attention of the eloquent speaker, and their exploits were clearly and forcibly recounted in graphic language. Other explorers were mentioned, but these formed the ground-work of the lecture--a lecture replete with historical interest, and crowded with such a vivid portrayal of incidents that from beginning to end one can see as in a panorama the Great River and all the mighty men whose fame is indissolubly connected with the history of its waters.

At the conclusion of the lecture the following letter to the President of the Historical Society was read:

1310 Olive Street, St. Louis, _January 14, 1882_.

Edwin Harrison, Esq., President Missouri Historical Society:

Dear Sir:--In my recent canoe voyage down the Mississippi, it was my good fortune to receive many courtesies at the hands of the press, boat clubs, and other citizens of St. Louis. This, coupled with the fact that you have expressed considerable interest in the result of my explorations, inclines me to present to you the "Itasca," one of the canoes used in the expedition, for the Museum of your Society, as a memento of my voyage and discoveries.

During this tour of observation and exploration, extending from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, I had the satisfaction of locating the true source of the mighty stream down which we paddled our canoes to the sea.

I am not now in a position to give you a detailed account of my explorations on the Great River, but shall avail myself of the earliest opportunity to transmit to your Secretary a complete history of the voyage, which will be issued in book form as soon as the matter can be put in proper shape for publication.

Very truly yours, Willard Glazier.

In response to this letter Captain Silas Bent, late of the United States Navy, accepted for the Society the canoe in these words:

Captain Glazier:--It becomes my pleasant duty to accept for the Missouri Historical Society this beautiful canoe, which has itself become historic by reason of the service it has rendered you. It shall be deposited with other treasured relics in our museum.

I have also to express to you the high appreciation in which the Society holds the valuable contributions to geographical knowledge resulting from your explorations among the headwaters of the Mississippi River, and your discovery of the remotest lake that contributes to the perennial birth of this hydra-headed "Father of Waters," whose Genesis near the Arctic regions gives it a length of more than three thousand miles to the tropical gulf, to which it bears upon its ample bosom in safety the freightage of an empire.

I desire, too, to thank you for the interesting lecture just given us upon the achievements of the heroic old explorers, who have in centuries past preceded you in investigations of the characteristics of this river. But whilst past investigations have made us familiar with the general character of the stream, and the peculiarities of its many mouths, yet we know very little of its source; and should be gratified I am sure if you could give us this evening a brief account of the circumstances attending your explorations in that direction, and of the difficulties you had to encounter in the accomplishment of your object.

In compliance with Captain Bent's request that he would give some account of the events connected with his discovery of the source of the Mississippi, Captain Glazier, greatly to the satisfaction of his large and appreciative audience, now briefly narrated the leading incidents in his voyage of exploration.

When he had concluded his personal narrative many came forward to congratulate him upon his discovery, and to express their appreciation of the great work he had accomplished. All inspected the "Itasca," which occupied a prominent position on the platform, with the curiosity human nature invariably feels concerning any object closely connected with the fame of a distinguished man or daring exploit. The beautiful canoe was afterwards placed on exhibition at the rooms of the Historical Society.