Chapter 86

GREETINGS OF THE VOYAGE.

An interesting souvenir.--Greeting at Lake Glazier.--Petition to Geographical Societies.--Voice from Aitkin, Gate City of the Upper Mississippi.--Tributes from Brainerd.--An old friend at La Crosse.--Welcome at Davenport.--Greetings at St. Louis.--Senator Lamar.--Royal welcome at Bayou Tunica.--Sentiment of Port Eads.-- Congratulations of the officers of the "Margaret."--Greetings from New Orleans.--"Fame's triple wreath."--Closing remarks.

Such an expedition as Captain Glazier has recently concluded inevitably gives birth to many souvenirs and trophies of the undertaking which are always interesting, not only to their immediate recipient but also to the public generally; for a man of his calibre is in one sense public property, and as such everything associated with any important enterprise of his, is loudly demanded by men of all classes without regard to what would be considered its privacy under other circumstances. It was the author's good fortune to see such a souvenir of the voyage--an album in which are inscribed the autographs of eminent men from various points along the entire route traversed, the first being dated at the source of the Mississippi, and the last on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico; and the thought occurred to him that this memento of the latest exploit in Captain Glazier's exciting life could not fail to be an object of some interest to the reader who had thus far followed the soldier, author, and explorer in his eventful and successful career. He therefore obtained permission to make a few extracts from the large number before him, and these Greetings of the Voyage are now presented to the public as a fitting conclusion to the story of the Captain's journey from source to sea.

The first in order is naturally that of Barrett Channing Paine, his constant companion during the entire voyage. Standing by the discoverer's side at the fountain-head of the Great River, he wrote:

Lake Glazier, Minnesota, _July 22, 1881_.

My Dear Captain:--From this beautiful lake where the mighty Mississippi rises, my best wishes follow you down the course of the "Father of Waters" till it mingles its flood with the sea.

Very truly yours,

Barrett Channing Paine.

We next quote a petition of Captain Glazier's companions to the Geographical Societies of the country, although it is not found in the album. It was published in the Missouri "_Republican_" and various other newspapers, but being dated Schoolcraft Island, the first stopping place after leaving the source of the river, it seems quite naturally to follow the greeting of Mr. Paine:

Schoolcraft Island, Lake Itasca, _July 22, 1881_.

To Geographical and Historical Societies:--We the undersigned, companions of Captain Willard Glazier, in his voyage of exploration to the headwaters of the Mississippi, are fully convinced that the lake located by him is beyond question the source of the "Father of Waters."

The privilege of bestowing a name upon the new discovery having been delegated to us, we hereby name it LAKE GLAZIER in honor of the leader of the expedition, whose energy, perseverance and pluck carried us through many difficulties and brought us at last to the shores of this beautiful lake--the True Source of the Great River.

We respectfully petition all Geographical Societies to give it that recognition which has heretofore been accorded to Lake Itasca, and to which it is justly entitled as the primal reservoir of the grandest river on this continent.

Barrett Channing Paine, } Indianapolis, Indiana. } _White_ George Herbert Glazier, } _Companions._ Chicago, Illinois. }

Moses Lagard, } _Interpreter_ Chenowagesic, } _and_ Sebatise Lagard, } _Indian_ Leech Lake, Minnesota, } _Guides._

The inhabitants of Aitkin, the first town of importance on the Upper Mississippi, took great interest in the expedition, and did all they could to show their appreciation of the intrepid explorers. The following is from the pen of Warren Potter, one of the pioneer citizens of the place:

Aitkin, Minnesota, _August 15, 1881_.

Captain Willard Glazier:--As you float in your birch canoe upon the bosom of the "Father of Waters" toward the sea, remember Aitkin, the Gate City of the Upper Mississippi.

Yours very truly,

Warren Potter.

Brainerd, situated at the point where the Northern Pacific Railroad crosses the Mississippi, is a thriving town, and has the honor of possessing the first newspaper encountered in the descent of the river. This paper, the Brainerd "_Tribune_," exhibited much cordial interest in Captain Glazier and his successful explorations, and from time to time published accounts of the voyage. The autographs of its editor, Arthur E. Chase, is found in the album, as is that of Hon. Chauncey B. Sleeper, district attorney for the county, who introduced him to the first audience before which he delivered his lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi:"

Brainerd, Minnesota, _August 19, 1881_.

Dear Captain:--That your voyage down the Great "Father of Waters" may be fraught with experiences both pleasant to yourself and beneficial to the public; and that your undertaking may prove a worthy epoch in American history, is the wish of

Your sincere friend,

Arthur E. Chase.

Brainerd, _August 19, 1881_.

To Captain Willard Glazier:--My cordial good wishes go with you on your long and interesting journey. May it result in benefit to yourself and your fellow-man.

Chauncey B. Sleeper, District Attorney.

At St. Cloud, Judge L. A. Evans introduced Captain Glazier to his audience on the evening of his lecture in that city, and wrote as follows in the album:

St. Cloud, Minnesota, _August 23, 1881_.

To Captain Glazier:--May your life voyage and your contemplated voyage to the mouth of our Great River prove pleasant and profitable.

L. A. Evans.

Hon. Samuel E. Adams, whose patriotic greeting we quote next, is the editor of the Monticello "_Times_," and was one of the early pioneers of Wright County, Minnesota.

Monticello, _August 24, 1881_.

Love of one's country is always commendable, and may your labors in its defence in the past, and its development in the future, be crowned with imperishable renown.

Very truly yours,

Samuel E. Adams.

At Hastings, Captain Glazier was cordially and hospitably entertained by the proprietor and editor of the Hastings "_Gazette_," and other prominent citizens. On parting Mr. Todd writes the following in the album:

Hastings, Minnesota, _September 5, 1881_.

With the cordial good wishes of the "_Gazette_" for a prosperous voyage to the Gulf.

Fraternally,

Irving Todd.

The friendly writer of the following is loyal to his State while greeting the man who evokes the sentiment:

Davenport, Iowa, _September 25, 1881_.

Dear Captain:--As you plough the "Father of Waters" in your frail bark, think of "Iowa the Beautiful."

Charles G. Plummer.

At Davenport, Iowa, Captain Glazier had the pleasure of again meeting Colonel P. A. J. Russell, city editor of the "_Democrat_." This gentleman had been the first to greet him on his arrival in that city during his journey across the continent in 1876, and it was with much cordiality that he now shook hands with the Captain and congratulated him upon the success of his latest expedition. But we will let him express his sentiments in his own language:

Davenport, on the Mississippi, _September 25, 1881_. To Captain Glazier:

Safety and success--thus far Adown this mighty stream; May Heaven guard your progress still And grant fulfilment of your dream.

Very truly yours, P. A. J. Russell.

The first man to welcome Captain Glazier at La Crosse was Pearce Giles, an old acquaintance whom he had known for many years in the East. Mr. Giles tenders his congratulations in these words:

La Crosse, Wisconsin, _September 10, 1881_.

My Dear Captain:--I congratulate you on your important discovery of the True Source of the Mississippi--a discovery which must associate your name forever with the "Father of Waters." The intelligence, earnestness, pluck and persistence you have displayed in this, as in numerous other ways, are such as to give you a place among the great Americans who have not lived in vain for their country.

Always sincerely yours,

Pearce Giles.

The visit to Trempealeau, on the left bank of the river, introduced the canoeists to some extremely agreeable people, whose hearty and disinterested welcome will be long remembered by Captain Glazier. The sentiment of one of them is thus kindly expressed:

Trempealeau, Wisconsin, September 11, 1881.

Captain Glazier:--My best wishes follow you down the "Father of Waters" and through Life's Voyage.

Very sincerely yours,

M. H. Melchior.

While at Bellevue, Captain Glazier was entertained most agreeably by Hon. W. O. Evans, editor of the Bellevue "_Republican_" who welcomed him on his arrival, and launched his canoe when he resumed his voyage. He seemed greatly interested in the Captain's explorations, and expressed his interest in this manner:

Bellevue, Iowa, September 18, 1881.

Dear Captain:--That health, wealth, success and perpetual youth may attend you in all your grand schemes and enterprises through the Voyage of Life is the wish of your new-made friend,

W. O. Evans.

At Hannibal, Captain Glazier landed and remained three days, during which interval he met one or two valued friends. Before launching his canoe this entry found a place in the album:

Hannibal, Missouri, _October 3, 1881_.

Dear Captain:--May the Mississippi--that Grand Old Patriarch of Rivers--carry you safely to the Gulf!

A. M. Paget.

The "_Post-Dispatch_" one of the leading newspapers of St. Louis, was foremost in publishing accounts of the explorer's voyage from the time he left the headwaters of the Mississippi until he reached the Gulf, and hence the autograph of its editor, Colonel John A. Cockerill, now editor of the New York "_World_," is of special interest:

St. Louis, Missouri, _October 8, 1881_.

The "_Post-Dispatch_," sailing on prosperous sea, sends greeting and good wishes to Captain Glazier and all daring navigators.

John A. Cockerill.

Thomas E. Garrett, of the staff of the "_Republican_," inscribed the following poetic tribute:

Missouri Republican Office, St. Louis, _October 14, 1881_.

On land and water--staunch and true, You steer and paddle your own canoe, Strong arm, brave heart, will pull you through.

Very truly yours,

Thomas E. Garrett.

The editor of the Helena "_Yeoman_" writes:

Helena, Arkansas, _October 22, 1881_.

Captain Glazier:--May your present voyage down the great Mississippi redound to your credit, and add to the honors you have already won.

W. L. Morris, "_Yeoman_" Office.

Prof. J. J. Flahift, Superintendent of Public Instruction at Helena, greets the navigator in these terms:

Helena, Arkansas, _October_ 26, 1881.

"Nothing great is lightly won, Nothing won is lost; Every good deed nobly done, Will repay the cost; Leave to Heaven in humble trust All you will to do," But, to reach the Gulf, you must Paddle your own canoe.

J. J. Flahift.

At Natchez, Captain Glazier had the pleasure of hearing Senator Lamar deliver a political speech, and was afterwards introduced to him at the Foster House, where both were registered. The Senator seemed much interested in the Captain's explorations, and so signifies over his autograph:

Natchez, Mississippi, _November_ 3, 1881.

Glad to have met you, Captain Glazier, and I leave with you my best wishes for the success of your undertaking.

L. Q. C. Lamar.

Bayou Tunica will always be held in pleasant remembrance by Captain Glazier, for he was there most hospitably received and entertained by John J. Winn, a prosperous merchant and planter. Mr. Winn insisted upon his remaining with him for two days during the progress of a violent storm which rendered the river unnavigable, and every effort was made to make the time pass agreeably. His greeting to the explorer is short but to the point:

Bayou Tunica, Louisiana, _November 5, 1881_.

Captain Glazier:--May your voyage to the Gulf be a pleasant one.

John J. Winn.

Captain Glazier's first acquaintance with a sugar plantation was made on reaching the estates of Messrs. V. U. Lefebre and son, who are extensively engaged in the production of this staple of commerce. This firm is counted among the wealthiest sugar planters of Plaquemine Parish, owning and controlling three large plantations. The Captain made the most of his opportunity to learn something of the art of sugar manufacture. The cane-field and sugar-mill and every detail were explained by his polite host, from the cutting of the canes to the refining process. The Captain and his companion were hospitably entertained an entire day, and on parting the senior Mr. Lefebre greeted him in French, the tongue of his mother country:

Eliza Plantation, Louisiana, _November_ 9, 1881.

Cher Capitaine:--J'espere que votre voyage au Golfe sera agreable que vous garderes un bon souvenir de la Louisiane.

Votre sincere,

V. U. Lefebre.

The inhabitants of Port Eads, the terminal point of the voyage, displayed, if possible, a more lively interest in the expedition than those of any other town along the river, for here it was that the goal was reached and the Captain's long and hazardous undertaking placed beyond the risk of failure. Some description has already been given of the triumphant manner in which the arrival of the "Alice" at the Gulf was proclaimed by the people, and the following lines of F. C. Welschaus, one of the citizens, expresses, in all probability, the general sentiment of Port Eads:

Port Eads, Louisiana, _November_ 15, 1881.

To THE DISCOVERER OF THE MISSISSIPPI'S SOURCE:--May all your undertakings prove as successful as this one.

F. C. Welschaus.

This kindly wish of Mr. Welschaus in reality concludes the greetings of the voyage proper, but when Captain Glazier returned to New Orleans from Port Eads, and afterwards to St. Louis, others were added to the number, some of which are of so much interest that the author takes pleasure in quoting them.

The first in point of time was written by the officers of the steamship _Margaret_, on board of which Captain Glazier steamed back to New Orleans. This vessel was engaged in the fruit trade between the Crescent City and ports in Central America. His reception and entertainment by the officers was characteristic of sailors in general, cordial and hospitable in the extreme. They expressed great wonder that a mere landsman could make such an extended voyage in so small a boat, and many questions were asked and answered upon this subject. Their farewell greeting is thus entered in the album:

On Board Steamship "_Margaret_," _November_ 16, 1881.

To Captain Willard Glazier:--We congratulate you upon the successful completion of your great undertaking, and ask you to accept the following as our sincere wish and fervent prayer:

"May your bark of mortality Glide down the stream of Time, And land at last at that glorious haven Where nothing reigns supreme But joy, health, prosperity and happiness."

John Otteson, _Commander_. Richard Hunter, _Chief Officer_. Albert J. Schlesinger, _Purser_.

While in New Orleans, Captain Glazier had an opportunity to listen to a sermon by Rev. B. M. Palmer, a prominent clergyman of that city. The Captain afterwards had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Palmer, who inscribed this beautiful wish in the album:

New Orleans, Louisiana, _November_ 22, 1881.

Captain Glazier:--May your exploration of the Mississippi from its source to its mouth be typical of your Voyage of Life, as it rolls with its swelling flood into the bosom of God.

Yours in the Faith of the Gospel,

B. M. Palmer, Pastor First Presbyterian Church.

The greetings from New Orleans would be incomplete without some reference to H. Dudley Coleman, a member of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences, and also of the Washington Artillery, of that city, who extended many courtesies to Captain Glazier. Mr. Coleman was a cavalry officer in the Confederate Army, and his command had been frequently opposed to that of the Union soldier on the battle-fields of Virginia. His Southern gallantry, however, prompted a cordial greeting, and the true gentleman appeared in the numerous attentions he showered on his former adversary in arms. Captain Glazier was greatly impressed by this display of good feeling, and the evident desire manifested on the part of many Southern gentlemen who received him to bury the animosities of the late war and promote a state of harmony and cordial friendship. The blue and the grey are no longer estranged, or such a hearty reception could not have been accorded to Captain Glazier, whose name and reputation were well known to many in the Crescent City as of a prolific writer on military subjects from a Union standpoint. Mr. Coleman's apparently sincere expressions of a deep friendly interest in the Captain's exploits on the Mississippi impressed him very sensibly. Want of space must be our excuse for not including his long and very cordial greeting in the album.

Albert G. Blanchard, also a member of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences, and formerly a brigadier-general, C. S. A., shows his appreciation of the explorations which Captain Glazier had successfully completed in these terms:

I congratulate you on your successful exploration of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. Your name will always be honored with that of Robert Cavalier de la Salle, the discoverer of the outlet of this river as you are of its source.

Very respectfully your obedient servant, Albert G. Blanchard, Deputy City Surveyor. New Orleans, _November_ 22, 1881.

We next quote from the pen of Dr. J. S. Copes, the learned President of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences. Dr. Copes manifested an intense interest in the results of Captain Glazier's expedition, and endeavored by every method within his power to show the high estimation in which he held the intrepid explorer:

Captain Glazier:--I congratulate you upon the successful completion of your search for the primal reservoir of the Mississippi River. It would be well for the country to erect before the view of its youths and young men two monuments, three thousand miles asunder--the one at the source, the other at the mouth of the great river of North America--upon which should be chiseled "Enterprise, Courage, Faith, Fortitude, Patriotism, Philanthropy," leaving to posterity the selection of an illustrative name to be engraven on each one when events shall have pointed conclusively to the benefactors most worthy of this honor.

With great respect, Yours very truly, J. S. Copes, President New Orleans Academy of Sciences. New Orleans, _November_ 19, 1881.

We will conclude this pleasing souvenir of the voyage by quoting the sentiment of Judge Albert Todd, who, it will be remembered, introduced Captain Glazier to his audience at St. Louis upon the occasion of his lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi," and the presentation of the "Itasca" to the Missouri Historical Society. Judge Todd is one of the oldest and most reputed citizens of St. Louis, and showed an especial appreciation of the Captain's endeavors to increase the geographical lore of the Mississippi River:

To Captain Willard Glazier--Greeting:

With triple wreaths doth Fame thine head now crown; The patriot-Soldier's, in fierce battles won; The "Pen's," than the "Sword's," mankind's greater boon, The bold Explorer's finding where was born The rivers' King, till now, like Nile's, unknown. * * * * * May years of high emprise increase thy fame, And with thy death arise a deathless name.

Albert Todd, Vice-President Missouri Historical Society. St. Louis, _January_ 14, 1882.

* * * * *

The career of Captain Glazier up to the present time affords much food for thought and speculation. His life is pre-eminently a life of success, and is a brilliant example of what can be accomplished by the aid of an indomitable will and untiring energy. Although his early advantages of education and position were of a most ordinary description, nothing he has ever attempted failed, and none of his successes have been mediocre. As a soldier he rose from a private to the rank of captain, and was known as one of the bravest officers on the field--one of the best disciplinarians in camp; as an author his works are found in nearly every home in the land, and are read with interest by people of all ages, classes, and conditions of life; as a lecturer, the press has ever spoken of him in the kindliest and most favorable terms; as an equestrian traveler he accomplished a feat never before attempted, and probably knows more about the wide stretch of country through which he passed than any other man living; as a navigator and explorer he not only discovered what had baffled the most determined of all previous explorers, the source of the Mississippi River, but also "paddled his own canoe" down the entire course from its fountain-head to the Gulf of Mexico. He has then unquestionably succeeded in all that he has undertaken; and, as all men aim at success, the query naturally arises, why is it that Willard Glazier occupies so high a position in each of his many fields of labor? The answer in all probability lies in the fact that while _many_ men have ambition, _few_ have the untiring industry, the calm perseverance, the determined will, and unfaltering faith in themselves to grasp and hold the objects of that ambition. Captain Glazier has never known what failure means, and recalling the events of his life as portrayed in this narrative, now drawing to a close, we can understand why this is true. Unceasing labor seems to have been his motto. As soon as he had pursued one path of industry or research until it could lead him no further, he sought out and traversed another with unexampled patience and unflagging zeal. What wonder in the light of such energy that unqualified success has crowned his well-directed efforts!

His career affords an example which all men would do well to reflect upon and imitate. May the Youth of America, by the contemplation of a life still comparatively young and yet so fraught with mighty deeds, be especially inspired with the ambition to follow in his footsteps, and a will to "carve with many a sharp incision," from the shapeless block which lies before each, the rounded outlines of a strong and noble character.

"SWORD AND PEN" COMMENDATIONS.

EXTRACTS FROM NOTICES OF THE PRESS.

_Syracuse Times._

"Sword and Pen; or, Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier," is written in a very entertaining style. It gives interesting sketches of Captain Glazier from boyhood down, and many amusing incidents are related, in which is embraced a period covering the lively war times. Near the end of the work is given a minute description of Captain Glazier's discovery of the source of the Mississippi River, in 1881; in which, of course, Lake Itasca loses its claim. The captain, after many adventures, reached the true head of the Great River, which lies many miles back and beyond Lake Itasca, and from thence he made a voyage down the "Father of Waters" in a birch canoe, to the Gulf of Mexico. The book is written by John Algernon Owens, contains 516 pages printed in attractive style, adorned with numerous fine wood cuts, and is generally attractive; in fact, people who have read "Battles for the Union" and "Heroes of Three Wars" with so much interest will be equally interested in the adventurous life of the soldier-author.

_Chicago Tribune._

"Sword and Pen" comprises incidents and reminiscences in the life of Captain Willard Glazier, and in addition to his army experience gives details of a novel and adventurous feat accomplished in 1876. In that year he rode on horseback across the Continent from Boston to San Francisco. Over 200 days were occupied in making the trip, and the distance traveled was more than 4,000 miles. His object in undertaking this journey was to study at comparative leisure the section of country through which he would pass, and note the habits of the people he came in contact with. During this trip he was captured by the Indians after a severe fight, and one of the herders comprising the party was burned at the stake. In 1881, Captain Glazier started on an expedition to discover the source of the Mississippi River. In this he was successful, and immediately thereafter commenced the descent of the river, passing its entire length from the source to the Gulf of Mexico, in a small open canoe. The new book entitled "Sword and Pen" gives a minute and graphic description of the overland ride and the trip down the Mississippi, as well as the early army experience of the well-known soldier and author.

_Hamilton_ (_Ont._) _Times._

"Sword and Pen" is a work replete with stirring pen-pictures of events in the history of the United States during a critical period of its history. Its description of the principal incidents in the late war, and the suffering of the author and others in that detestable "Black Hole of Calcutta"--the Libby Prison--are most graphic. Willard Glazier's life was not confined to warfare, though he saw service in nearly all the great battles between the North and South. A few years ago he rode on horseback from ocean to ocean, and his observations on that extraordinary trip are also included in this handsome and interesting volume. He discovered the true source of the Mississippi in northern Minnesota, and afterwards performed the journey of 3,000 miles to the sea board in an open canoe, and a very interesting account of these journeyings is given in the concluding chapters of the work which is throughout beautifully illustrated.

_Troy Daily Times._

The Works of Captain Willard Glazier, the soldier-author, are so well known and popular that a life of the writer cannot fail to be interesting to a large portion of the public. A very complete and excellent account of Glazier and his achievements has been prepared by John Algernon Owens, and published by P. W. Ziegler & Co., Philadelphia. The book bears the title of "Sword and Pen," and recounts the ventures and adventures of the subject of it in war and literature, comprising incidents and reminiscences of his childhood, his checkered life as a student and teacher, and his remarkable career as a soldier and author; embracing also the story of his unprecedented journey from ocean to ocean on horseback, and an account of his discovery of the source of the Mississippi river, and his canoe voyage from thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The story is told in the simple, direct way that appeals at once to one's favorable attention. It is an exciting, in some portions a thrilling narrative, recounting some of the most dramatic and tragic scenes of the war, in which Glazier, as a youthful cavalry officer, bore a brave and manly part, being then but nineteen years old. The lad abandoned his studies and his school teaching and went from Troy to become a member of the Harris light cavalry, with which he served during many a bloody fray. He was captured by the rebels and shared the hard fate that fell to many a poor Union soldier in the prison pens of the South, and the recital of this part of his experience will recall the angry blood to the face of every old soldier who reads it, and arouse the sentient sympathies of every patriot who peruses the volume. The book contains an appreciative yet discriminating criticism of Glazier's literary achievements, and is in every sense worthy of the hero with whom it deals. It is profusely illustrated with battle and other scenes, and is accompanied by a map giving an accurate presentation of the route pursued by Captain Glazier in his trip to the source of the Mississippi. Altogether this is a book well worth reading.

_Scranton Republican._

"Sword and Pen" by John Algernon Owens, a story of endurance, patient toil, danger and daring, very entertaining, as well as instructive. In Mr. Owens Captain Glazier has found a biographer who has done him justice, and who has made a book that will be widely read.

_Oswego Times and Express._

We have before us a new book, entitled "Sword and Pen; or, Ventures and Adventures in War and Literature." It is a biography of the soldier-author, Willard Glazier, a type of the adventurous American of which we may justly be proud. It takes up the boyish life of Willard Glazier, takes him from the school-room as a pupil to the school-room as a teacher, until the war of the Rebellion called him to the army. It details his adventures as a member of the Ira Harris Cavalry until his capture by the rebels, and the life he led in the prisons of the South; and is detailed in a graphic manner. When the war was over the same spirit of adventure which sent him to the front in the army drove him into other adventures. The horseback ride from ocean to ocean is described in an interesting style, followed by the search for the true source of the Mississippi River and its successful termination, together with an account of his canoe voyage to the Gulf of Mexico. The book is full of action, and is interesting as giving a correct history of the life of this remarkable man. It is profusely illustrated, and is accompanied by a map of the section covered by the source of the Mississippi.

_Boston Transcript._

The biography of Willard Glazier, under the title of "Sword and Pen," has achieved a large sale in the Eastern, Western and Middle States. The subject of the biography, who is still living, was a bright, wide-awake lad, whose childhood was not more eventful than that of hundreds of other boys of like condition. He was ambitious, energetic, and wholly free from any bad habit which would operate as a drawback upon his advancement in life. His parents were not able to do more for him in the way of an education than to send him to a common district school, but he thirsted for an education, and his mind was continually busy devising ways and means to secure it. The much-needed money to pay his expenses at the Albany Normal School was at last gained by trapping minks, whose skins were worth from two to four dollars. From the Normal he went to teach school, and was engaged in this profession when the civil war broke out. He was then nineteen years old. The first shot fired at Sumter changed his whole life plans, and the summer of 1861 found him in the field as sergeant in the Second New York Cavalry. He participated in a good many exciting contests, and was finally wounded and captured at Brandy Station, in October, 1863. The story of his life in prison is vividly told. He made his escape after fourteen months' imprisonment, and made his way through the enemy's lines into Sherman's army. After the war he wrote a volume made up of his war experiences, entitled "Capture, Prison Pen, and Escape," over 400,000 copies of which have been sold. In 1876, Captain Glazier started from the Revere House, in this city, to cross the Continent on horseback, a feat which he successfully performed, reaching San Francisco in two hundred days from the time of starting--a distance of 4,133 miles. In 1881, he made a canoe voyage down the Mississippi of 3,000 miles. Captain Glazier is the author of several books, and has won considerable reputation as a lecturer. The book before us will be read with deep interest, not only for what it is worth historically, but as showing what can be accomplished by pluck and brains without the backing of money.

_Buffalo News._

The readers of Captain Willard Glazier's works will be pleased with the biography of this remarkable man, published by P. W. Ziegler & Co., of Philadelphia. Captain Glazier's life is full of exciting interest, and the well-written biography holds the reader's attention to the last. The account of the discovery of the true source of the Mississippi is especially interesting from the fact that it gives the best account of that memorable event that has ever been published.

_Albany Sunday Press._

"Sword and Pen." This work is the biography of a man already well-known by the American public as a soldier and an author. The subject is an especially interesting one to the people of this section, as Captain Glazier was born in St. Lawrence county of this State, and spent some years of his life in this city. His works have been read with interest by thousands, and now those who have enjoyed them will have the opportunity to learn something of the author who has for so long delighted them. This biography gives a very full and interesting account of the principal events in Captain Glazier's life, among which we notice especially his remarkable journey from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean on horseback, his discovery of the true source of the Mississippi River, and his canoe voyage thence to the Gulf of Mexico. All these episodes are profusely and elegantly illustrated.

_Newark Register._

"Sword and Pen" is the suggestive title of a very readable and interesting biography of Captain Willard Glazier, the soldier-author, by John Algernon Owens. "Biography," the author tells us in his preface, "to be interesting, must be a transcript of an eventful as well as a remarkable career; and to be instructive, its subject should be exemplary in his aims and in his mode of attaining them." The subject of this biography certainly fulfills these requirements, and a much bolder and less graceful narrative of his adventures and exploits would, without doubt, be interesting and instructive. Mr. Owens has, however, heightened the interest, and pointed the moral of his subject's remarkable career by his clear and correct style, and lively and picturesque narrative. Captain Glazier was born in northern New York, near the St. Lawrence, in 1841. His boyhood was passed in the country, and filled with all a rustic lad's delights and exploits as well as disadvantages and privations. Fighting hard for an education, he became a teacher, continuing in this peaceful vocation until the outbreak of the rebellion summoned him to his country's defence. Passing through a succession of the most remarkable adventures and escapes in the war, and rising from the ranks to a captain's post, Captain Glazier has, since the war, become widely known as the soldier-author, and the triumphs of his pen have been fully as great as, if not greater than, those of his sword. The work is well printed and handsomely bound, and will prove very popular.

_Boston Globe._

The adventures of Willard Glazier admirably narrated by John Algernon Owens, under the title of "Sword and Pen," is a fascinating biography in which the author has woven many pleasing incidents, sometimes quite out of the line of his story, yet always to the point and always entertaining. The war adventures of Glazier, who is called the "Soldier-author," have already been largely read and appreciated, particularly by old soldiers. Willard Glazier has enjoyed quite a literary renown, the sale of his first book, "Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape," having been over 400,000 volumes. Mr. Owens has now given us Captain Glazier's life in a neatly bound volume, from the press of P. W. Ziegler & Co. of Philadelphia. The hero of this story had an eventful career which made it interesting. Born of parents of small means, but of the old Puritan stock, and excellent character, and bred and nurtured in the midst of the wildest and grandest scenery in the rugged county of St. Lawrence, with no opportunities for culture, except such as he made for himself, he rose by his ambition, and was the builder of his own fortune. There is a strong lesson pointed out by the graphic history of his career. It teaches to the young uncompromising duty in every relation of life--self-denial and pluck.

_Newark Daily Journal._

"Sword and Pen; or, the Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier." Willard Glazier is an author who has risen into popularity almost unprecedented in this country. It is said that his first book, "Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape," written from facts noted in his diary after a wonderful career on the battle-field, and in prisons of the South, reached the enormous sale of 400,000 volumes. "Sword and Pen" is the story of Captain Glazier's life. Born in obscurity, and toiling for an education with great perseverance and against obstacles that seemed almost unsurmountable, he became a teacher of the first rank when only eighteen years of age. Enlisting in the Second New York Cavalry, at the very beginning of the war, he served gallantly under General Kilpatrick in all the battles of Virginia up to October 19, when he was taken prisoner at New Baltimore, after having two horses shot under him. He participated in digging the tunnel out of Libby Prison, through which one hundred and fifteen Union prisoners escaped. Glazier, however, was left behind. From Richmond he was sent to Danville and other prisons, frequently attempting to escape. He was sent to Charleston jail, where, with other prisoners, he was placed under fire of the Union guns on Morris Island. Next he was sent to Columbia, and then comes a thrilling recital of escapes and recaptures; wading through swamps and across rivers at night, and lying hidden in thickets or negro huts by day; tracked by blood-hounds, frequently shot at; enduring the pangs of starvation, thirst, cold and rain, the hero finally reached Sherman's lines after encountering a hundred deadly perils. The brave boy was a prisoner when the term of his enlistment expired, but he immediately applied for and obtained a new commission, and after a brief visit to his parents, he re-entered the army and served until the end of the war. The story is thrillingly told, yet between the many tragic events depicted, there occur frequent humorous episodes, especially those delineating negro character. Young Glazier's brilliant career as the writer of "Soldiers of the Saddle," "Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape," "Battles for the Union," "Heroes of Three Wars," "Peculiarities of American Cities," etc., is fully given, with copious extracts from each work, together with highly favorable notices from the _Boston Post_, _New York Tribune_, _Chicago Inter-Ocean_ and other leading newspapers. The last part of the book is devoted to a voluminous and somewhat roseate description of Captain Glazier's highly successful lecture tour on horseback from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean; his discovery of the source of the Mississippi River, and his canoe voyage from thence to the Gulf of Mexico. Captain Glazier is unquestionably a hero, possessing genius of a high order, and as he is now only forty-two years of age, it would seem that there are still brilliant achievements before him. Whatever may be said of the literary merits of his biography, the history is of absorbing interest. It is such that takes hold of the popular heart, and the hundreds of thousands of Grand Army men who read it will seem to "fight their battles o'er again."

_New York Herald._

"Sword and Pen; or, Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier," by John Algernon Owens, is a well-written book and altogether readable. It describes the humble origin of one who afterwards became one of the most dashing officers in the Federal cavalry service during the war for the Union. It tells of the vicissitudes of a life restless but resolute, and which bears the stamp of heroism and success. There are stories of school-days full of the activity and frivolity of youth, of failure and fortune, and a graphic sketch of the turning point in Glazier's career, which came with the rebellion. From the day he entered the ranks of the Harris Light Cavalry his course was steadily onward and upward, rising from corporal to be the captain of brave men nerved to the utmost endurance and inured to the dangers and hardships of war. The ensuing pages ring with the enthusiasm of martial achievements, of peril by day and night, of capture, of the dungeon, and the thrilling escape. The book closes with a vivid account of his famous ride on horseback from ocean to ocean, from Boston to San Francisco. This unparalleled ride was accomplished by Captain Glazier in 1876, the Centennial year, and serves as a fitting conclusion to a career marked by indomitable industry, true courage and unquestioned success, showing that

"Honor and shame from no condition rise; Act well your part, there all the honor lies."

The book is profusely illustrated and will be an interesting addition to either a public or private library.

_Hartford Courant._

"Sword and Pen; or, Ventures and Adventures of Willard Glazier," the soldier-author, by John Algernon Owens. Captain Glazier has had a very lively career both during the war and since, in explorations on the upper Mississippi. He is the author of a long list of war books himself, which have been much commended by the press, for their thrilling narrative style, patriotic enthusiasm, and dash. He is evidently of the stuff of which American heroes are made. The book claims for him high rank as an explorer and discoverer in being the first to definitely locate the True Source of the Mississippi. It is a readable story of an adventurous life, and being fully illustrated, commends itself to all classes of readers.

_Cincinnati Commercial Gazette._

John Algernon Owens has compiled incidents and reminiscences in the life of Willard Glazier, the soldier-author, and the work should occupy a position on the shelf of every library. The writings of Captain Glazier are too well known to need any words of commendation from us, his "Capture, Prison-Pen, and Escape," issued soon after the close of the war, having been among the most extensively read annals of the war. The "Sword and Pen" gives a sketch of the early life and adventures of the soldier-author, his school-boy days, and the incidents of that halcyon period of youth, all of which reads like a romance. His academic life is then detailed, after which the stern realities of life are encountered. His military life follows, and his capture by the Confederate troops. Then follows a recital of the dreary and monotonous routine of prison life, together with a vivid account of the scenes enumerated, the escape, and the final entry into the Federal lines. His life after re-entering the cavalry is given, and finally his career as an author and travels across the Continent. The work is written in an attractive style with a recital of much that has never been told before, while the old is so garnished that it cannot fail to interest all classes of readers.

_Wilmington Morning News._

"Sword and Pen" is the life of Willard Glazier, who was born in St. Lawrence county, New York, in 1841, of parents of narrow means, who was a bright, mischievous boy, who educated himself by his own efforts, and became a country school-teacher; who enlisted in the Harris Light Cavalry (a New York regiment), at the beginning of the war; who was promoted from the ranks on account of soldierly qualities and personal bravery, to the office of first lieutenant; who was captured by the rebels and imprisoned in Libby Prison and other rebel pens; who finally escaped and made his way on foot under great privations to General Sherman's lines during that commander's "march to the sea;" who had made full notes of his varied army experience, and from these had written several very popular books about military life at that time, and who, hence, is designated, "The Soldier-Author," and appears to be enjoying all the quiet rewards of a patient, industrious, and resolute effort to improve himself and his fortunes in every legitimate and proper way. As an account of a boy of the people it is clear and instructive; as a picture of patriotic and courageous military service at a time of public peril, it is graphic and often thrilling; as a picture of a determined and honorable effort by a young man of generous instincts, to make his own way in the world, it is wholesome and useful. Its style will probably make its obvious lessons the more impressive to the mass of readers; and its general circulation among the young men of this country, nine-tenths of whom must make their own fortunes if they are to have any, will be a public benefit. It teaches honesty, self-help and patriotism; and we cannot have too many teachers at work upon these things.

_New York Tribune._

The history of a famous man can never fail to interest the reading public, especially when it records such adventures and dangers as those through which the hero of the "Sword and Pen" passed. Willard Glazier's connection with the great civil war is a fact rendering unusually fascinating his biography, as perhaps no other fact could have done. The battles in which he fought are those around which centre the deepest interest, and the vivid descriptions of his life in Libby Prison, his unsuccessful attempt at escape therefrom, and his later imprisonment at Camp Oglethorpe, are replete with interest to both old and young. The book is written in a bright, attractive style, and is well illustrated with many cuts of true war life and its thrilling incidents. For the old, and especially the young, it is a book calculated to work much good, teaching lessons of patriotism, self-reliance, and perseverance. His life was one of unusual events, and his indomitable ambition to advance was not the least of his many excellent qualities. Like many other well-known men, he began life in humble circumstances, and only to his own efforts was due the great success he achieved. The author, John Algernon Owens, brings out vividly the strong points of his hero's character, and throws around the whole narrative a halo of bright fancy, which renders the book as attractive as the most highly wrought romance.

_Baltimore American._

"Sword and Pen." Willard Glazier has made himself prominent both in war and literature. He cast his lot with the Federal cause, and served for a time as a private soldier in the Second Regiment, New York Cavalry. A little later he won laurels at the battles of Cedar Mountain, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Brandy Station, and other historic spots, and rose rapidly in rank, until at the sharp skirmish near Buckland Mills he led his comrades as their captain, and was himself captured. All these features in the career of the soldier-author are portrayed in the most interesting style, and are followed by a graphic description of life in Libby Prison. Mr. Owens winds together the thread of detail in the ventures and adventures of his hero, so that the book reads more like a romance than a veritable history. The book is divided into three parts, which are so closely interwoven that the whole forms one continuous story of a very adventurous life. The hero escapes from Libby, but is recaptured and confined at Camp Oglethorpe, in Georgia. He also escapes from this prison, and with the assistance of negroes, finally reaches the Federal lines. In 1876, he crossed the Continent on horseback, and was captured by hostile Indians. He escapes and subsequently planned the way for an expedition to the source of the Mississippi River.

_Philadelphia Ledger._

"Sword and Pen" by John Algernon Owens. Captain Glazier, the soldier-author, is the writer of several popular works about the war--"Soldiers of the Saddle," "Battles for the Union," etc. Though still a young man he has had a most eventful life, serving throughout the war, and passing through many adventures of which he has since made good use in his life as an author. He has also accomplished the remarkable feat of riding from Boston to San Francisco on horseback. This memoir tells the story of his life in attractive narrative form, and is full of interesting tales of the war.

_Philadelphia Evening Star._

Captain Willard Glazier, who is well known as the author of several popular works about the late war, some of which have had an extraordinary sale, has himself been made the subject of a book by Mr. John Algernon Owens. Captain Glazier has had an eventful life; has been a teacher, a soldier, an author, explorer and a horseback tourist; and there is much in his career inculcating the value of self-reliance and other sterling qualities. He has found an appreciative biographer in Mr. Owens, whose work will more especially interest soldiers and those fond of reading of adventure.

_Philadelphia Evening Bulletin._

"Sword and Pen" is a book describing the ventures and adventures of Captain Willard Glazier, who was one of the many gallant heroes of the civil war, and who wrote some clever books about it after he had laid aside the sword for the pen. The author of the present work is John Algernon Owens, and the account he gives of Glazier's youth and young manhood, his experiences in battle, in prison, after peace came, in domestic life and in literature, is full of interest, entertainment and instruction. We heartily commend it to our readers.

_Philadelphia Inquirer._

Of course all Americans remember Captain Willard Glazier, the well-known soldier-author, who has made himself prominent in war and in literature. The present volume is a more than usually interesting one, and is most carefully and effectively gotten up. It relates graphically the ventures and adventures of Glazier from his youth to the present time; and many of the adventures through which he passed are so thrilling as to seem almost impossible, yet facts prove them true. Glazier's youth is minutely detailed; we are treated to a series of adventures by the youngster, which induce us to believe that his bump of reverence for his teachers and elders was represented by a cavity. But passing through the incidents that precede the age of manhood, he turned up in the Second Regiment, New York Cavalry. From that time until the close of the war, Glazier's career was a stirring one. From the early fight at Flipper's Orchard, he successively took part in the battles of Cedar Mountain, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Brandy Station, Gettysburg and other engagements. At the cavalry engagement of New Baltimore he was taken prisoner, and soon thereafter made the acquaintance of the inside of Libby Prison. We get many glimpses of life in that well-known Prison-Pen, and are treated to numerous pathetic and humorous incidents that fell under Glazier's notice. All have read of what was endured by such of the Union soldiers who passed that ordeal, and the reader can, therefore, imagine what fell to the lot of this dashing cavalryman. The great tunnel attempt at escape is graphically told. Glazier also got a taste of prison fare at Camp Oglethorpe in Georgia. But he made his escape, and fed and sheltered by negroes, at last, after a second capture, reached the Federal lines. Soon after the war he wrote a book, called "Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape;" later he wrote another volume, called "Three Years in the Federal Cavalry." After this came "Battles for the Union," speedily to be followed by "Heroes of Three Wars." After this he rode across the Continent on horseback, and then took the lecture field, and indeed he has proved himself a thorough American in being able to do anything and everything equally well. Being possessed of an energy and audacity that were perfectly marvelous, he rushed in, as Shakespeare observes, "where angels feared to tread." It is a miracle that he ever lived to relate them, for Libby Prison experience alone was sufficient to destroy the constitution of the majority of the prisoners. "Sword and Pen" will have a large sale.

APPENDIX

BY THE

PUBLISHERS OF

"DOWN THE GREAT RIVER."

ADDENDUM.

The following Appendix to "Down the Great River," by Captain Willard Glazier, is here reproduced in verification of his claim to the discovery of the TRUE SOURCE of the Mississippi.

P. W. Ziegler & Co., Publishers. 720 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, May 10, 1889.

* * * * *

The publishers of Captain Willard Glazier's Works, having recently had their attention drawn to sundry articles in the public prints calling in question his claim to have located the source of the Mississippi, conclude to invite the consideration of the reader to a few of the many press notices, letters of endorsement and other papers placed at their disposal by friends of the explorer, bearing directly upon the subject of the primal reservoir or true source of the Great River. In view of the apparent incredulity of some critics, it is thought expedient to lay this matter before the public in connection with Captain Glazier's latest work, "Down the Great River," which gives a detailed account of his discovery, in order that a sound and enlightened conclusion may be arrived at upon the merits of the claim presented.

I. LETTERS FROM BARRETT CHANNING PAINE.

We commence with the press correspondence of Mr. Barrett Channing Paine, who, at the period of the Glazier expedition, was a reporter on the staff of the Saint Paul _Pioneer Press_, and subsequently Managing Editor of the Saint Paul _Globe_. This gentleman accompanied Captain Glazier to the source of the Mississippi, and thence down the river in a canoe to the Gulf of Mexico. During the entire voyage Mr. Paine was in constant correspondence with the _Pioneer Press_ and leading papers of various cities on the banks of the Mississippi, to which he furnished detailed accounts of the discovery and incidents of the journey. We present only a few of these letters, selected from a large number, for the perusal of the reader. The writer was certainly in a position to know the truth of the matters upon which he so intelligently reports.

_Letter to the Brainerd (Minnesota) Tribune from Channing Paine:_

"Schoolcraft Island, "_Lake Itasca, Minnesota,_ "July 22, 1881.

"_To the Editor of the Tribune:_

"Captain Glazier's party arrived at this much-talked-of lake last evening, reaching the south-eastern arm by a three mile portage, and then paddling down to the Island, where we encamped. We left Leech Lake on the sixteenth, after cordial farewells with the gentlemen then at the Agency, especially Mr. Nichols and Rev. Edwin Benedict, to whose kindness we were greatly indebted. Launching our little fleet of canoes, three in number, on the billowy surface of the lake, we started for our first objective, Lake Itasca. After leaving Leech Lake our way lay up a river called by the Indians Gabakauazeba. The river broadens out a short distance from the lake, but narrows again and becomes tortuous and full of snags. Passing safely through all these, we reached, late in the afternoon, a fine lake nearly ten miles long, upon the shore of which we encamped. Next morning we paddled to the upper end of the lake, and were there introduced to our first real portage. Two miles and a half over a very rough country--the hardest work we ever undertook--brought us to another but smaller lake, and then, for five days, lakes and portages followed each other in rapid succession, until at length the waters of Itasca burst upon our view. The talk of our guides, coupled with what we had heard at Leech Lake, had led Captain Glazier to the conclusion that, whatever the source of the Mississippi might be, there was reasonable ground for the belief that Lake Itasca was not. Chief among the theories advanced by the Indian guides, one of whom, Chenowagesic, had hunted and trapped for years at the headwaters of this river, was that there existed a lake of good dimensions and wooded shores _above_ Itasca, which poured its waters into the so-called source, and which was itself really the source of the Great River. They also stated (correctly, as we afterwards learned) that the stream which flowed from the lake spoken of by Paul Beaulieu as perhaps the source, contributed much less water to the main stream at its confluence with it than did the stream from Itasca. Resolved to explore the lake _above_ Itasca, the captain started with two canoes, next morning, from Schoolcraft Island, and pushed up to the head of the lake. Chenowagesic piloted us through the rushes with which this end of Itasca is filled, and presently we found ourselves in a small but rapid stream, up which we went, and after following its windings, paddled again through some rushes, and then shot out upon the smooth surface of a beautiful lake. This lake is about two miles long by a mile and a half broad, and its shape is that of a heart. The shores are beautifully wooded, and its waters are deep and clear. On its one promontory our party landed. After exploring its shores, and first slaking our thirst at a spring of ice-cold water which bubbled up near by, we were marshalled in line, and Captain Glazier made a few remarks pertinent to the discovery of the _true source_ of the Father of Waters. After this six volleys were fired in honor of the occasion, and then the question of a name for the new lake arose. This being left for the party to decide, I addressed my companions, and after alluding to the time, money and energy expended by the leader of the expedition, proposed that it be named LAKE GLAZIER in his honor. This proposition was received with applause and carried by acclamation, and it was further decided that the name and date should be blazed on a pine tree which stood conspicuously on the point. After this we re-embarked in our canoes and returned to the Island."

* * * * *

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.

"Thoroughly surveying the stream that the Indians claimed to be the main one, he found it much inferior in volume to that from Itasca. This point settled, he closely examined the shores of Lake Itasca for tributary streams, finding but three of any importance. Of these three the one by far the largest came in at the extreme head of the lake, at a point where it is nearly filled with bulrushes.

"Taking two canoes, Captain Glazier ascended this stream, which, though shallow, is rapid, yet so narrow in places that to jump across it would be an easy task. Following its windings, he entered what appeared to be a lake filled with rushes. Pushing through this barrier, however, the canoes soon glided out upon the still surface of a beautiful lake, clear as crystal, with pebbly bottom, and its shores covered with a thick growth of pine. This lake is formed in the shape of a heart, having but one marked promontory. Its greatest length is about two miles and its width a mile and a half.

"Captain Glazier found that this fine lake was fed by three rivulets, which rose in swamps a few miles from the lake, and thoroughly convinced that this body of water was the true source of the Mississippi, he proclaimed it as such. Without waiting for discussion, the members of the party decided unanimously to call it Lake Glazier in his honor. Modestly expressing his thanks for this mark of their appreciation, Captain Glazier said that, though he firmly believed this lake to be the source of the river, he should relax none of his vigilance on the trip through the unknown part of the stream, but would carefully examine all water flowing into the Mississippi, in order to be positive as to the main stream."

* * * * *

On reaching Hastings, Captain Glazier and his fellow-voyagers were hospitably entertained by some of the leading citizens and Mr. Paine addressed the following letter to the Editor of the _Hastings Gazette_:

"Foster House, "_Hastings, Minnesota_, "September 5, 1881.

"_To the Editor of the Gazette:_

"For many years the source of the Mississippi was as much a mystery as is at present that of the Nile. But when in 1832 Schoolcraft made his official exploration of the headwaters of this great water-course, and after a long and arduous journey up the stream reached a lake which he named Itasca, and pronounced it the head of the river, the matter was considered settled, and speculation was no longer rife in regard to this point. Now, however, it has been proved by Captain Willard Glazier beyond doubt that the lake which has so long enjoyed the honor of being the source of our greatest river had an honor it did not merit.

"Going thither with the object of visiting the head of the river, Captain Glazier was led to suspect by the talk of his guides, one of whom, Chenowagesic, had hunted and trapped for years in the region around the source, that Lake Itasca had really no greater claim to be considered the head of the river than Cass Lake, or Bemidji or Winnibegoshish, all larger and finer lakes than Itasca. Above and beyond Itasca lay another lake. This, with its feeding springs, was the source of the mighty river, and this lake, if it existed, Captain Glazier resolved to visit and explore. After a long and severe journey he reached it, being the first white traveller to float upon its surface; and after thoroughly examining its feeders and the narrow stream through which it flowed into Itasca, he felt that he had found the _true source_ of the Mississippi. Nevertheless, he continued his explorations along the river below Itasca after passing through that lake, and satisfied himself thoroughly that the new lake was at the head of the main stream. In speaking of the source of the Mississippi, therefore, we should henceforth call it LAKE GLAZIER instead of Lake Itasca."

The following description of Lake Glazier from the pen of Channing Paine appeared in the _Dubuque Herald_ of September sixth, 1881:

LAKE GLAZIER.

"The new-found source of the Mississippi is a sparkling little gem of a lake, situated above and beyond Lake Itasca. It nestles among the pines of an unfrequented and wild region of Northern Minnesota, many miles from the nearest white settlement, and just on the dividing ridge which forms the great watershed of North America. Within a few miles of it can be found lakes and streams, whose waters are tributary to the Red River of the North and the Yellowstone, thus reaching the sea thousands of miles from the mouth of the mighty Mississippi, which flows in a limpid brook from LAKE GLAZIER. This lake, discovered to be the source of one of the greatest rivers of the world, by Captain Willard Glazier, on the Twenty-second of July, 1881, is about two miles in greatest diameter, and would be nearly round in shape but for a single promontory, whose rocky shores give it in outline the form of a heart. The waters of the lake are exceedingly clear and pure, coming from springs, some being at the bottom, but the three most prominent rise a few miles back, in low, wet land enclosed by sand-hills, and flow into the lake in little rills. On the very point of the promontory is a spring whose waters are as cold as ice, and at which the Glazier party slaked their thirst while exploring the shores of the new lake. So lonely is the region around the lake that for fourteen days not even a red-skin was seen, and wearied by the hardships of this rough country, yet with a feeling of having added something to geographical knowledge, the Captain and his party were glad to return to civilization."

* * * * *

The Saint Louis _Post-Dispatch_ published the following, with several other communications, from Mr. Paine:

"1310 Olive Street,

"_Saint Louis, Missouri,_

"October 10, 1881.

"_To the Editor--Post-Dispatch:_

"Lake Itasca has been considered to be the source of the Mississippi for so many years that any man who disputes its title to that honor is looked upon as a radical and one bent upon upsetting all our preconceived geographical ideas. Still it is a fact that Lake Itasca is _not_ the source, and has no greater claim to being called so than has Cass Lake or Lake Bemidji or Lake Pepin. This fact was discovered beyond all doubt by Captain Willard Glazier, who equipped an expedition last July and started for the headwaters of the Mississippi. Reaching Lake Itasca after a journey of great hardship, he camped on Schoolcraft Island, and, using this as a base of operations, he thoroughly explored the lakes and rivers which contribute their waters to the infant Mississippi. The various theories and stories heard from his Indian guides were considered as clues and faithfully followed up until their truth or falsity was ascertained. Success at length crowned his efforts, for a beautiful lake was found above Itasca, and in the direct line of the course of the river below Itasca, which lake proved to be the farthest water--the extreme head of the Mississippi. The lake, which the members of the expedition voted to call LAKE GLAZIER, in honor of their leader, is about two miles in diameter, with clear and beautiful water, fed by springs, and altogether one of the prettiest lakes of its size in Minnesota. The stream which flows from it into Itasca is quite rapid, though so narrow that in some places one can easily jump across it."

The following account of an interview with Mr. Paine is extracted from the New Orleans _Democrat_ of November twentieth, 1881:

"There arrived at the Jetties on the fifteenth a tiny cedar canoe, bearing aloft at the bows a pennant with the inscription _Alice_, and at the stern a United States flag. Its officers and crew consisted of Captain Willard Glazier, a distinguished writer, and a reportorial companion, Mr. Barrett Channing Paine, of the Saint Paul _Pioneer Press_, who had come all the way down the Mississippi, from its source, in this frail bark. Great, indeed, was the joy of the voyagers as they glided down to the mouth of the river, and saw the salt spray of the Gulf dash high over the seaward wall of the Jetties. After clambering up by the beacon, and standing gazing at the broad expanse of water, toward which they had been paddling for the last four months, until they were drenched by an unusually heavy wave, the two men again descended slowly, scarcely conscious that their long voyage was finished. Hailing a passing boat, they boarded her, and the light canoe was made fast behind and towed back to Port Eads, where the travellers were most hospitably entertained until the arrival of an inward bound steamship to bring them to New Orleans.

"As this is by far the longest canoe voyage ever made, and extended the whole length of the Great River, some account of the expedition, its aims and incidents, cannot fail to be of interest.

"A representative of the _Democrat_ had the pleasure of meeting Barrett Channing Paine, who accompanied Captain Glazier, and from him learned the following particulars of the voyage:

"Captain Willard Glazier is a serious, soldierly-looking man, and a military author of repute. Among his best known works are 'Soldiers of the Saddle,' 'Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape,' 'Battles for the Union,' 'Heroes of Three Wars,' and 'Peculiarities of American Cities.' The Captain does not look like a man of thoughtless, adventurous disposition, and it seems strange at first that he should have made the voyage in the manner he did; but it looks sensible enough when his reasons are taken into consideration. The Captain made the trip avowedly for the purpose of study and observation, as he did his horseback ride across the continent, from Boston to San Francisco, in 1876. He wished to thoroughly understand the people of the great valley, their social conditions, industries and modes of life. He also expected to obtain much enjoyment from the changing scenery and climate. Had he travelled by steamboat or railway, he would have been whisked through the country in a week or so, and would have had absolutely no opportunity for obtaining an inside view of the condition of affairs. In addition to seeing the country, the Captain designed delivering a lecture prepared specially for the purpose on the 'Pioneers of the Mississippi,' in all the important towns on his route. The lecture treated chiefly of the early explorers--De Soto, Marquette, La Salle, and Hennepin.

"Actuated by these motives, he procured a fine cedar canoe of the Rushton model, which he shipped to Aitkin, the most northerly point on the river reached by rail. He then went forward, himself, to Saint Paul, accompanied by his brother, where he was joined by his present companion, and there made final preparations for the long voyage.

"At Brainerd the party left the line of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and proceeded by wagon over a road, which was hardly more than a trail, to Leech Lake, where the Government has an Indian Agency. The country traversed was exceedingly wild, being almost without inhabitants, and covered with a growth of jack-pines. It being the blueberry season, quite a number of Indians were seen picking that fruit, which grows there in abundance. As a rule the braves lay in the shade, smoking or sleeping, while the squaws and children did the picking. At night they found a stopping-place at Pine River, and the following afternoon arrived at the Agency, where there are two trading-posts and a number of white men.

"Here three birch-bark canoes were purchased, and the services of an equal number of Indian guides procured, one of whom also acted in the capacity of interpreter. All of these were required to reach the source of the river, which was a matter of great difficulty and some danger. Lake Itasca, which was then supposed by most people to be the source of the Mississippi, lay five days' journey away, through an almost impassable wilderness. Indeed, it was well-nigh impossible to find even an Indian who had visited it. But at last one was found in the person of Chenowagesic, a Chippewa brave, who consented to pilot the party to that lake.

"On July seventeenth everything was in readiness, the three birch canoes were launched on Leech Lake, and the voyage had fairly commenced. After crossing Leech Lake the voyagers pushed up the Gabecanazeba River, which was filled with rushes and wild rice. Laboriously paddling through these, they reached another lake, and encamped for the night. Next morning this lake was crossed, and the first real hardship of the expedition confronted them in the shape of a portage. The provisions and luggage were taken out of the canoes and transported on the backs of the Indians across the country, a distance of three miles, through underbrush so thick that they could not see ten feet in advance. Five days were spent in this manner--first paddling across a little lake, and then making a long portage, until at last Lake Itasca was reached, and the party encamped on Schoolcraft Island. By this time the Captain felt convinced from the talk of the guides, particularly of Chenowagesic, the chief guide, whose words were translated to him, that Itasca was not the source of the Great River.

"Determined to ascertain the truth, he proceeded at once to make a thorough exploration of the headwaters of the river, guided in a great measure by Chenowagesic, who had hunted and trapped for years in this region. Various streams joining the infant Mississippi were examined, and found to contain less water than that stream, thus establishing the fact that Itasca is on the main stream. Then a thorough exploration of the shores of the lake itself was made. Several creeks were found to enter it, the chief of which came in at the southern end of the south-western arm of the lake. Itasca, at this point, is filled with bulrushes, through which, with great difficulty, the explorers forced their way, but were rewarded by finding themselves in a clear, swift-running stream, having an average depth of about ten or twelve inches, and a width of about five feet. Up this tortuous stream the canoes were pushed and dragged, and finally the voyagers shot out upon the surface of a beautiful heart-shaped lake, which proved, upon careful exploration, to be the true source of the Father of Waters. After examining the shores, the party landed on a rocky point, and Captain Glazier made a short speech, expressing his confident belief that they had found the true source of the Great River, and added something to the geographical knowledge of the country. He was followed by Mr. Paine, who, after a few introductory remarks, moved that the new lake be called LAKE GLAZIER, in honor of the man by whom it had been discovered. This motion was adopted by the Captain's companions, and after drinking from a spring of ice-cold water which bubbled up at their feet, the party re-embarked. LAKE GLAZIER is about two miles in greatest diameter, with clear, deep waters and wooded shores, being altogether a prettier lake than Itasca and both wider and deeper, to whose honors, as source of the mighty Mississippi, it succeeds.

"_Reporter._--Then which way did you proceed?"

"_Mr. Paine._--From LAKE GLAZIER the descent of the river began. Below Itasca it runs in a northerly direction for a hundred miles or more, and then swings round to the eastward, finally bending toward the south, which general direction it afterwards maintains. For the first few miles it runs between rich meadows, and the canoeists expected from this that the voyage would be easy and agreeable. Such was not our fortune, however, for we soon found the river to be obstructed by snags, drift-wood and boulders of all sizes. Huge trees had in many places fallen completely across the river. These obstacles were surmounted in different ways. Sometimes the canoes could be pressed down and made to go under the logs; again, they would have to be carried around; sometimes the drift would be removed, and sometimes the canoes would be lifted over. At last they had to be carried across a portage for half a mile, then launched again, until at length the obstructions were passed. Meanwhile, and all through the journey, the mosquitoes hovered around us in clouds, making life a burden, and causing all the members of the expedition to forget their early Christian training.

"Leaving the obstructions behind, we sped smoothly between the waving meadows once more lining the river. But a new hardship now threatened us--our rations gave out entirely, and most of the ammunition having become wet, starvation stared us in the face. To buy anything in that wild country was, of course, impossible. This danger was barely averted by the marksmanship of our leader, and the dexterity of the Indian guides, who would occasionally kill a duck with their paddles. We got down at last to 'hard pan,' and had gone without any breakfast or supper the day we reached Lake Bemidji. Here we were lucky enough to meet an Indian, who had a little flour and pork, and having replenished our larder, we crossed the lake and continued our course down the river.

"A new danger now beset us in the shape of rapids which would occur every few miles, rendering canoe navigation extremely hazardous. Several times holes were stove in the thin birchen canoes, and a number of times we were precipitated into the water, but no one was dangerously hurt, and the guides were very deft in repairing the canoes.

"A half-day's journey from Lake Bemidji is Cass Lake, a fine sheet of water, twenty miles in length by ten wide. The next day, Winnibegoshish, the largest lake of the Mississippi, was reached. It is twenty miles in diameter, and greeted us with a heavy sea, which nearly swamped us as we paddled across the corner to a few scattered wigwams which form the little Indian village on its banks. Two days we were wind-bound, getting away on the morning of the third. That night our camp was invaded by a number of hostile Indians, but, owing to our vigilance, bloodshed was avoided.

"In three days more Pokegama Falls were reached, and we saw the first white man since leaving Leech Lake. Making a portage around the falls, we shot Grand Rapids a few miles below, and slept that night beneath the shelter of a roof. Nothing worthy of mention occurred between this point and Aitkin, which we reached in four days, and at last found ourselves within the bounds of civilization, and bade farewell to our Indian guides. Captain Glazier tried to induce these dusky sons of the forest to accompany him to the Gulf, but the stories they had heard of the alligators and snakes of the Sunny South terrified them, and they refused. A short rest was taken at Aitkin, and then we re-embarked in the pretty modern canoes which awaited us there. The descent of the river in these canoes was easy and pleasant. At all the principal towns the Captain delivered his lecture, 'Pioneers of the Mississippi,' which was listened to with great interest.

"Between Aitkin and Saint Paul numerous and dangerous rapids were met, all of which were shot in safety; and the Falls of Saint Anthony reached without accident. Below Saint Anthony Falls the scenery is very beautiful, high bluffs arising with more or less abruptness from the water's edge.

"Among other points of especial interest along the Upper Mississippi, Lake Pepin occupies the most prominent position after Saint Anthony Falls. Environed by majestic bluffs and with a length of thirty miles it forms a very beautiful sheet of water. But though beautiful it is treacherous, and the winds sweeping down between the high bluffs frequently make navigation on its waters perilous. In the morning when we reached its upper end we found to our dismay that the elements had possession, and the waves ran so high that a number of river steamers had been compelled to tie up and wait for the storm to subside. Captain Glazier, however, having a lecture appointment at Lake City, half way down the lake, determined to keep his appointment despite the weather, and ventured forth regardless of the warning of the river men. It took us all day to paddle a distance of sixteen miles, and many times it seemed that our frail boats would be engulfed by the waves which dashed over them; but the danger was passed in safety.

"From this point things went smoothly until the canoe fleet was just below Winona, when a sudden and violent squall struck the boats and came near sending us to the bottom. Fortunately, this too was weathered, and then the only drawbacks encountered were the continuous and strong headwinds and the seas consequent upon them, which tried our nerves so frequently that they came at length to be naturally expected. While on the Keokuk Rapids the wind blew so strongly that it actually carried the boats up stream, and it was only by the hardest paddling that any downward progress could be made.

"At La Crosse the expedition was reduced in number to the Captain and myself, who proceeded to the Gulf in the _Alice_. Some days were spent in all the principal towns. On October eighth Saint Louis was reached, and we were welcomed by the various boat-clubs of the city and congratulated on having completed the first great section of the navigable river. On October tenth we re-embarked and pushed on towards the mouth of the river. Everywhere we were received with the greatest cordiality. Cairo, Memphis, Vicksburg, Natchez and Baton Rouge were the chief halting places, but frequently night overtook us near some plantation house, and then we were the guests of the planters, and were entertained with true Southern hospitality.

"Special occasion was taken by Captain Glazier to investigate the cotton and sugar crops, the relations of the white and colored races, and the future possibilities of the South; and with very gratifying results. At last New Orleans was reached.

"As it was so near his journey's end, and as it was his intention to return as soon as he had passed through the Jetties, the Captain determined to pass the city on his downward trip without halting. This was accordingly done, and three days' paddling brought us to Captain Eads' great work. Remaining there a day we returned to the city.

"Thus far Mr. Paine; and thus ended the longest canoe voyage ever made, and one which perhaps entailed more hardships on those who made it than any other on record. Starting from the cold springs at its source Captain Glazier followed the windings of the greatest river on our continent from the pine forests and the wheat lands of the extreme Northern States, through all the varying phases of climate and industries, to the cotton and sugar-cane section of the South; past the orange and banana groves, and on to the broad Gulf. Such a journey is full of interesting and strange experiences, pleasures and hardships intermingled, and has, Captain Glazier thinks, fully repaid the cost in time, money and labor of the undertaking.

"The canoe in which this long voyage was made has been presented by the Captain to the New Orleans Academy of Sciences.

"It may be well to mention that no one else has ever traversed either in canoe, steamboat or otherwise more than two-thirds of the course of the Mississippi; and when it is taken into consideration that the distance is considerably over three thousand miles, and that the upper portion is filled with rapids, logs and other obstructions, it is not to be wondered at."

II. RECEPTION AT NEW ORLEANS AND SAINT LOUIS.

On his return to New Orleans from the Gulf, with the purpose of viewing the great maritime city of the South, Captain Glazier was met by Dr. J. S. Copes, President of the New Orleans Academy of Sciences. This gentleman introduced him to Mayor Shakespear, and arrangements were at once made for a public reception by the Academy. The following interesting account of the ceremony is taken from the New Orleans _Picayune_ of November twenty-first, 1881, and shows the estimate placed on the Captain's exploratory labors by many of the most prominent residents of the Crescent City:

"The termination of the exploring expedition and canoe trip of Captain Willard Glazier, extending from his new-found source of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, culminated, after a voyage of one hundred and seventeen days, in a very general and complimentary recognition and ovation on the part of the officials and citizens of New Orleans. In company with Dr. J. S. Copes, President of the Academy of Sciences, Captain Glazier was presented to His Honor, Mayor Shakespear was warmly welcomed, and the freedom of the city tendered him.

"In appreciation of the generous hospitality extended to him, the Captain expressed a wish to present his beautiful canoe, which had safely carried him through his long voyage, to the Academy of Sciences, and the following letter accompanied the presentation:

"'Saint Charles Hotel, "'_New Orleans, Louisiana_, "'November 21, 1881.

"'_Joseph S. Copes, M. D._, "'_President--New Orleans Academy of Sciences:_

"'Dear Sir:--I have just concluded upon the border of the State of Louisiana a voyage of observation, exploration, and discovery; and, as you have expressed considerable interest in the results, and manifested a desire to possess the canoe in which the voyage was made, I find pleasure in presenting it to your honorable society as a souvenir of my expedition.

"'During this canoe journey of over three thousand miles, beginning at the headwaters of the Mississippi and extending to the Gulf of Mexico, I had the satisfaction of locating the source of the Great River which we have traversed, and feel a pride in having corrected a geographical error of half a century's standing.

"'I will not now enter into a detailed account of my explorations on the upper Mississippi, but shall take the earliest opportunity of transmitting to your Secretary a complete narrative of the voyage, which will be issued in book form as soon as the matter can be prepared for publication.

"'Very respectfully yours, "'Willard Glazier.'

"A special meeting of the Academy of Sciences was held--Dr. J. S. Copes, President, in the chair--for the purpose of receiving from Captain Glazier the handsome cedar canoe _Alice_, with which he had navigated the Mississippi from Aitkin to the Gulf.

"By invitation, Captain Glazier gave an account of his explorations on the Upper Mississippi, and especially of that section of country beyond Lake Itasca, a body of water which has hitherto been considered the fountain-head of the Great River.

"Dr. Copes, in the name of the Academy, thanked Captain Glazier for his valuable gift, which would be highly prized, and then congratulated him upon his contribution to American geographical knowledge. In the course of his remarks, the learned doctor said that De Soto penetrated the continent of North America in pursuit of gold, and accidentally discovered the Mississippi. Marquette, the zealous missionary, traversed the river from the mouth of the Wisconsin to the mouth of the Arkansas. La Salle pursued his explorations from the mouth of the Illinois to the Gulf, his sole aim seeming to be the conquest of North America in the name of the King of France. Hennepin explored but a small section of the stream, extending from the mouth of the Wisconsin to Saint Anthony Falls; while Willard Glazier had made the discovery of its primal reservoir, and traversed its entire length from source to sea.

"The members of the Academy listened with great interest to Captain Glazier's account of his explorations and discovery, and also to the historical address of the President.

"Dr. J. R. Walker then offered the following resolutions:

"'_Resolved_, That the thanks of this Academy are due, and are hereby tendered, to Captain Willard Glazier for the donation of his beautiful canoe, _Alice_, and for the brief narrative of his explorations at the source of the Mississippi River, and of his voyage thence to the Gulf of Mexico.

"'_Resolved_, That this Academy not only gratefully accepts this handsome gift, but promises to preserve and cherish it as a souvenir of Captain Glazier's high qualities as an explorer and contributor to the increase of American geographical knowledge.'

"Mr. H. Dudley Coleman then moved that a copy of the resolutions be appropriately written and framed, and presented to Captain Glazier; and that a committee of three be appointed to prepare the same.

"The resolutions were unanimously adopted, when Dr. Copes appointed as the committee Messrs. Coleman, Walker, and Blanchard.

"At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Coleman escorted Captain Glazier to the Washington Artillery Arsenal, and introduced him to Colonel J. B. Richardson, commanding the battalion, who extended to Captain Glazier the hospitalities of the battalion during his stay in the city."

* * * * *

BEFORE THE MISSOURI HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

Captain Glazier returned to Saint Louis from New Orleans, having engaged to deliver a lecture in that city on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi." On his voyage down the river and visit to the city, he was unable to remain long enough to fulfil the engagement, as winter was rapidly approaching, and it was expedient to reach the Gulf as soon as possible. Moreover, he wished to present one of his canoes--the _Itasca_--to the Missouri Historical Society, in return for the hospitality he had received during his previous brief visit; and it was arranged that the presentation should take place on the night of the lecture. Accordingly, on the evening of January fourteenth, 1882, an audience consisting of members of the Historical Society, the Academy of Sciences, clergy, officers and teachers of the public schools, and the several boat clubs of the city, assembled at Mercantile Library Hall, to listen to his lecture on the pioneer explorers of the Great River, and to witness the presentation of the _Itasca_.

At eight o'clock, Captain Glazier, accompanied by Judge Albert Todd, Vice-President of the Historical Society, appeared on the platform, and the Judge introduced the lecturer in the following terms, as reported in the local press:

"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 this 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 conceptions of men of big deeds is that they are also 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."

Captain Glazier then delivered his interesting historical lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi." The adventures and discoveries of De Soto, Marquette, La Salle, Hennepin, Joliet, and others, including the more recent explorers, Pike, Beltrami, Schoolcraft, and Nicollet, were intelligently discussed, and the attention of all present absorbed by the interest of the subject. He spoke of the ambition of De Soto to found an empire like that of Cortez in Mexico; of his arrival on the banks of the Great River, and finally of his death and burial in its depths. Concerning Father Marquette, the lecturer dwelt upon the zeal with which he preached the Gospel to the benighted Indians, and his premature death and burial in the wilderness. La Salle was then presented as an intrepid pioneer, pushing down the mighty river to plant his banner on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and taking possession of the country through which he had passed in the name of the King of France. The exploits of Hennepin, Joliet, and others were then recounted, and the lecturer gave evidence of great familiarity with the lives of these heroic pioneer explorers of the Mississippi. The following letter was then read:

"1310 Olive Street,

"_Saint Louis, Missouri_,

"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 citizens of Saint 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 discovery.

"During this tour of observation, 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 able to give you a detailed account of my voyage, but shall avail myself of the earliest opportunity to transmit to your Secretary a complete history of it, which will be issued in book form as soon as the material can be put in proper shape for publication.

"Very truly yours,

Willard Glazier."

Captain Silas Bent, late of the U. S. N., accepted the canoe for the society, in the following 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 contribution 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 the expedition to the source of the Mississippi, Captain Glazier then briefly narrated the leading incidents of his voyage and explorations. At the conclusion, several gentlemen came forward to congratulate him upon the practical results of his undertaking and expressed their appreciation of the work he had accomplished. The _Itasca_, which occupied a prominent position on the platform, was duly inspected, and afterwards removed to the rooms of the Historical Society.

III. LETTERS PERTINENT TO THE SUBJECT.

A letter from Captain Glazier which appeared in the Saint Paul _Pioneer Press_ in December, 1886, and was copied into several Eastern papers, is here introduced as an epitomized narrative of the discovery. The journey to the headwaters of the Mississippi, the launch of the canoes on Lake Itasca, the search for its feeders and the finding of one larger than the others which the Indian guides said flowed from another lake to the south of it; the passage of the canoes up this feeder and the entrance of the explorers upon a beautiful lake which they ascertained by sounding and measurement to be wider and deeper than Itasca, and _the veritable source of the Great River_; all this is succinctly told in the following letter of the leader of the expedition, and we respectfully commend its perusal to the reader:

"_To the Editor--Pioneer Press, Saint Paul, Minnesota_:

"I solicit the favor of replying through your columns to articles in one or two New York dailies calling in question my claim to have definitely located, in 1881, the true source of the Mississippi River.

"When my attention was first drawn to the articles of those who seem so much exercised by my expedition to the headwaters of the Mississippi, I had no intention of replying, but have finally yielded to the reasoning of friends who feel that longer silence might possibly be construed to my disadvantage.

"I am well aware that I assume grave responsibility in locating the source of the greatest river of North America and correcting a geographical error of half a century's standing, especially since I follow in the footsteps of such eminent explorers as Pike, Beltrami, Schoolcraft and Nicollet; and in view of the fact that I have presumed to pass the limit of their explorations.

"For many years prior to 1881, I had been of the opinion that Lake Itasca occupied an erroneous position in our geography. In fact I had become satisfied through conversations with straggling Chippewas in the Northwest, that the red man's ideal river did not rise in the lake described by his white brother, but that there were other lakes and streams beyond that lake and that some day the truth of their statements would be verified.

"Thoroughly convinced that there was yet a field for exploration in the wilds of Northern Minnesota I resolved, in 1876, to attempt a settlement of the vexed question concerning the source of the Mississippi at an early day. Finding the opportunity I sought in 1881 I proceeded to Saint Paul in June of that year accompanied by Pearce Giles, of Camden, New Jersey. Here I was joined by my brother George, of Chicago, and Barrett Channing Paine, then an attache of the _Pioneer Press_.

"Having completed arrangements we moved from Saint Paul on the morning of July Fourth with Brainerd as our immediate objective. Short stops were made at Minneapolis, Monticello, Saint Cloud and Little Falls on our way up the river. Brainerd was reached July seventh. This enterprising town is situated near the boundary of the Chippewa Indian Reservation and is the nearest place of consequence to Lake Itasca. Here I again halted to further inform myself concerning the topography of the country; to decide upon the most practicable route to our destination, and to provide such extra supplies of rations and clothing as might be considered adequate to the requirements of our undertaking.

"After consulting our maps I concluded that while Schoolcraft and Nicollet had found Itasca by going up the river through Lakes Winnibegoshish, Cass and Bemidji, a more direct course would be by way of Leech Lake and the Kabekanka River.

"A careful study of the route to Leech Lake, with a few valuable suggestions from Warren Leland, of Brainerd, one of its oldest pioneers, led us to seek conveyance to the former place over what is known in Northern Minnesota as the Government Road. This road stretches for seventy-five miles, through immense pine forests, and the only habitations to be seen from it are the 'half-way houses' erected for the accommodation of teamsters who are engaged in hauling government supplies; and the occasional wigwams of wandering Indians.

"While at the Leech Lake Agency it was our good fortune to meet the post-missionary, Rev. Edwin Benedict; Major A. C. Ruffe, the Indian Agent; Paul Beaulieu, the veteran Government Interpreter; White-Cloud, chief of the Mississippi Indians; Flat-Mouth, head chief of the Chippewas, and others well known at the Agency. Through conversations with these parties I learned that pioneers of that region were of the opinion that the lake located by Schoolcraft was the source of the Mississippi, but that the Indians invariably claimed that the Great River had its origin above and beyond Itasca, in a beautiful lake known to them as Pokegama, signifying the 'place where the waters gather.'

"Beaulieu, who is perhaps the best authority in Minnesota, having lived for more than sixty years within its borders, said that Chenowagesic, who afterwards became my chief guide, was the most intelligent Chippewa of his acquaintance, had made his home for many years in the vicinity of the headwaters of the Mississippi, and that he had always asserted, when maps were shown him, that a lake above Itasca would in time change a feature of those maps and confirm his statement that Lake Itasca could not longer maintain its claim to being the fountain-head of the Great River.

"Three days were spent at Leech Lake, during which time we secured an interpreter, Indian guides and birch bark canoes. Everything being in order we launched our canoes on the morning of July seventeenth. Wishing, as previously explained, to approach Itasca by a different route from that adopted by Schoolcraft and Nicollet who went up the Mississippi from Lake Winnibegoshish, I crossed Leech Lake and ascended the Kabekanka River, thence proceeding in a direct westerly course through twenty-one lakes, alternated by as many portages, reaching Itasca between two and three o'clock on the afternoon of the twenty-first. The region traversed, we were told by the guides, had never before been trodden by white men; and considering the nature of the country it is not to be wondered at, as swamps, floating bogs, and dense undergrowth were encountered throughout the entire journey.

"The work of coasting Itasca for its feeders was begun at an early hour on the morning of the twenty-second. We found the outlets of six small streams, two having well-defined mouths, and four filtering into the lake through bogs. The upper or southern end of the south-western arm of Lake Itasca is heavily margined with reeds and rushes, and it was not without considerable difficulty that we forced our way through this barrier into the larger of the two open streams which enter at this point. This stream, at its mouth, is seven feet wide and about three feet deep.

"Slow and sinuous progress of between two and three hundred yards brought us to a blockade of logs and shallow water. Determined to float in my canoe upon the surface of the lake towards which we were paddling, I directed the guides to remove the obstructions, and continued to urge the canoes rapidly forward, although opposed by a strong and constantly increasing current. On pulling and pushing our way through a network of rushes, similar to that encountered on leaving Lake Itasca, the cheering sight of a tranquil and limpid sheet of water burst upon our view.

"This lake, the Chippewa name of which is _Pokegama_, is about a mile and a half in its greatest diameter, covers an area of two hundred and fifty acres, and would be nearly an oval in form but for a single promontory, which extends its shores into the lake, so as to give it in outline the appearance of a heart. Its feeders are three small creeks, two of which enter on the right and left of the headland, and have their origin in springs at the foot of sand hills from two to three miles distant. The third stream is but little more than a rivulet of a mile in length, has no clearly defined course, and is the outlet of a small pond or lakelet to the south-westward.

"The latitude of the lake in question is about 47 deg.; its height above the Atlantic Ocean 1,582 feet, and its distance from the Gulf of Mexico 3,184 miles.

"The statement that the lake now very generally accepted by geographers, and educational publishers as the True Source of the Mississippi was so regarded prior to the organization of my expedition cannot be substantiated; for, on the contrary, both press and people throughout Minnesota were ignorant of its existence, so far as we were able to ascertain by diligent inquiry from Saint Paul to Brainerd; and, in fact, I may add that the missionary, Indian agent, and post-trader at Leech Lake knew no other source of the Mississippi than Lake Itasca, except what they had been told by my chief guide, Chenowagesic, and a few other Chippewas in that vicinity. Barrett Channing Paine, fully confirms this statement in his letters to the Brainerd, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul papers of that period. These letters prove most conclusively that the people of Northern Minnesota had no knowledge whatever of the lake beyond Itasca until its existence was announced by me through the medium of the press in 1881.

"If the assumption by some writers that the lake to the south of Itasca had been seen before my visit to that region in 1881 is well grounded, I need only say in reply that it had not been assigned any geographical importance prior to my visit; in other words, it had not been recognized by any one as the true source of the Mississippi.

"When William Morrison, the fur-trader, pitched his tent on Schoolcraft Island in 1804, he evidently did not know that the outlet of the lake on which he looked was a part of the mighty river. Schoolcraft followed, at the head of an expedition twenty-eight years later, and claimed the lake as the source of the Mississippi. It is very generally admitted that Morrison had seen Itasca before Schoolcraft, but no one questioned that the latter was entitled to the credit of discovery, since he was the first to establish the fact that the Mississippi was its outlet. My claim to have definitely located the _true source_ in the lake beyond Itasca stands on precisely the same ground.

"I do not desire to pass a reasonable limit in an effort to insure justice, but having consumed considerable time and money in locating lakes and streams in Northern Minnesota, and having established that the lake to the south of Itasca is the primal reservoir of the Mississippi, I do not feel disposed to allow myself to be thrust aside by those who know comparatively little or nothing of that region.

"Assuming that the statements of my party are incontrovertible concerning the lake which we claim as the True Source of the Great River, it follows naturally:

"I. That Lake Itasca cannot longer be recognized as the fountain-head of the Mississippi, for the reason that it is the custom, agreeably to the definition of geographers, to fix upon the remotest water, and a lake if possible, as the source of a river.

"II. That the lake to the south of Itasca, and connected therewith by a perennial stream, is the primal reservoir or True Source of the Mississippi; that it was not so considered prior to the visit of my expedition in 1881; and that my party was the first to locate its feeders correctly, and discover its true relation to the Great River.

"III. That Schoolcraft could not have seen the lake located by me, else he would have assigned it its true character in the narrative of his expedition.

"IV. That Nicollet, who followed Schoolcraft, could not have been aware of its existence, as he gives it no place upon his maps, or description in the accounts of his explorations.

"V. That the lake known as Pokegama by the Chippewas was not christened 'Glazier' by me, or through my instrumentality, but was so named by my companions, in opposition to my wish that it should retain its Indian appellation.

"Finally, whatever the verdict may be upon the merits of my claim to have been the first to locate the _source_ of the Mississippi River and publish it to the world, if any person had seen this lake prior to 1881 it was certainly not known to the white residents of Northern Minnesota, or to the Indian tribes in the vicinity of its headwaters. Lake Itasca was still recognized as the fountain-head, was so placed upon maps, and taught as such in all the schools of the country.

"I simply claim to have established the fact that there is a beautiful lake above and beyond Itasca--wider and deeper than that lake--with woodland shores--with three constantly flowing streams for its feeders--and in every way worthy of the position it occupies as the primal reservoir or TRUE SOURCE of the Father of Waters.

"Willard Glazier. Syracuse, New York, December, 1886."

* * * * *

A letter from Pearce Giles, of Camden, New Jersey, who was identified with the GLAZIER expedition from its inception to its close:

"_To the Editor--Boston Herald_:

"In 1832 Henry Rowe Schoolcraft led an expedition through the wilds of Northern Minnesota and discovered what he believed to be the source of the Mississippi. Being at a loss for an appropriate name to bestow upon the lake which constituted this supposed source, so the story goes, he asked a companion what were the Latin words signifying 'true head,' and received in reply '_veritas caput_.' This was rather a ponderous name to give a comparatively small body of water, even though the Father of Waters here took his first start in the world. The explorer, therefore, conceived the idea of uniting the last two syllables of the first word with the first syllable of the second, thus, by a novel mode of orthography, forming a name which might easily pass for one of Indian origin--_Itasca_. A person versed in orthographical science would probably perceive at once that the name did not belong to the same family of harsh Indian appellations which have affixed themselves permanently to many towns and rivers in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but was more allied to the softer language of southern Indian nations. But it has now been discovered that Lake Itasca is not _veritas caput_; and LAKE GLAZIER, discovered in July, 1881, by Captain Willard Glazier, must be regarded by all future generations as the true head of the Mississippi.

"The Mississippi, on its first stages, flows in a northerly direction, the whole system of small lakes which contribute to it being surrounded on the north and west by an amphitheatre of hills. LAKE GLAZIER lies above and beyond Lake Itasca, and its waters have an elevation of probably seven feet above that lake, being connected therewith by a small, swift stream. Lake Itasca is composed of three arms, extending in the form of a trefoil, having a length of five miles and an average width of about one mile. The upper, or southern end of its middle arm apparently terminates in a swamp, which might easily have deceived any one not familiar with the country. But Chenowagesic, Captain Glazier's Indian guide, who had for years used the region of these lakes for his hunting-ground, readily made his way through the reeds and rushes at the mouth of the connecting stream. LAKE GLAZIER at its outlet presents another barricade of reeds, through which the party made their way in their canoes.

"LAKE GLAZIER is about two miles in length by a mile and a half in breadth. Its shores, instead of being low and marshy, as are those of many of the neighboring lakes, present finely wooded slopes and surround the lake in what would have been the shape of a perfect oval, had not a bold, rocky promontory indented its southern end, and given to it the outline of a heart. On the point of this promontory is a spring from which flows ice-cold water. The waters of the lake are exceedingly clear and pure, proceeding from springs, some of them in the bottom of the lake itself, and the others at a greater or less distance from its shores.

"LAKE GLAZIER has three small feeders, one of them named Eagle Creek, entering it near its outlet, and taking its rise a mile or so farther south, in a small pond or lakelet, upon which Captain Glazier bestowed the name of 'Alice,' after his daughter. Eagle Creek runs nearly parallel with the western shore of the lake, a little distance from it. Two streams, two or three miles in length, flow northward into LAKE GLAZIER at its southern extremity on either side of the indenting promontory. Excelsior Creek, so named because it represents the very highest water of the Mississippi, is the longer of these. Deer Creek, to the eastward, and rising a little nearer the lake, has been so named for the reason that numbers of deer were seen in its vicinity.

"LAKE GLAZIER is thus supplied by three feeders, Eagle, Excelsior and Deer Creeks, now named in the order of their importance, and as uniting these waters in one common reservoir, this lake is undoubtedly entitled to be regarded as the _veritas caput_--the true head of the Mississippi.

"Pearce Giles.

"Boston, August 6, 1886."

* * * * *

We insert here an interesting letter from Paul Beaulieu, Interpreter to the United States Indian Agency, White Earth, Minnesota. Mr. Beaulieu is a very intelligent half-breed, about sixty years of age, and has lived nearly all his life in the neighborhood of the headwaters of the Mississippi. His testimony, therefore, upon a subject with which he must necessarily be familiar, will have due weight with the inquiring reader:

"U. S. Indian Service,

"_White Earth Agency, Minnesota_,

"May 25, 1884.

"_Dear Sir_:--I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sixteenth instant. In reply, I would respectfully state that according to the ideas of the people of this section of country, for a score of years past, in alluding to Lake Itasca, which is known only as Elk Lake by the original inhabitants of this country, was never by them considered as the head or source of the Father of Running Waters, or May-see-see-be, as it is by them named. I have received a map showing the route of exploration of Captain Willard Glazier in 1881, and being well acquainted with his chief guide, Chenowagesic, who has made the section of country explored by Captain Glazier his home for many years in the past, and who has proved the truth of his often repeated assertion, when maps were shown him, that a smaller lake above Lake Itasca would in time change a feature of those maps, and proclaim to the world that Lake Itasca cannot longer maintain its claim as being the fountain head of Ke-chee-see-be, or Great River, which is called May-see-see-be, by the Chippewas. The map as delineated by Captain Glazier's guide, Chenowagesic, and published by the Glazier party, is correct; and it is plain to us who know the lay of this whole country (I mean by _us_, the Chippewa tribe in particular, also the recent explorers for pine) that LAKE GLAZIER is located at the right place, and is the last lake on the longest stream of the several rivers at the head of the great Mississippi.

"With respect, yours truly,

"Paul Beaulieu,

"_U. S. Indian Interpreter_."

* * * * *

An eastern correspondent addressed the following communication to the Saint Paul _Dispatch_, in which he claims that the discovery of the true source of the Mississippi should be credited to Captain Glazier:

"_To the Editor--Saint Paul Dispatch_:

"Having been a resident of Minnesota in 1855, I wish to say a word about Captain Glazier and his discovery. Minnesota, at the time of my residence there, was thinly settled. Minneapolis and Saint Anthony were both straggling villages. Saint Paul could boast of something like 10,000 population. The nearest railroad point to the latter city was one hundred and thirty miles distant. In winter Burbank's Northwestern Express carried the mails and the very few passengers that could muster courage to make the toilsome journey; and well do I remember my trip over this route. I know that, at that time, there was a question with the Sioux, Chippewas and many pioneers as to Lake Itasca being the source of the Great River. There was a settled opinion that something would be found beyond that would eventually prove to be the source of that stream. I believe Captain Glazier to have been actuated by a desire to establish the truth of this problem. Interested parties may seek to withhold from him his rightful due as a discoverer, but notwithstanding these attempts, in some schools in this region, LAKE GLAZIER is taught as the true source of the Mississippi. To attempt to discredit one who took front rank for the preservation of the Union, and who suffered in many rebel prisons, is altogether unworthy of the parties who are making themselves conspicuous in the matter.

"J. C. Crane.

"West Millbury, Massachusetts, January, 1887."

* * * * *

Letter from Mr. John Lovell, geographer and historian, and one of the leading educational publishers of the Dominion of Canada:

"Captain Willard Glazier:

"_Dear Sir_:--I owe you an apology for not having earlier acknowledged your courtesy in sending me a copy of your remarkably interesting work 'Down the Great River.' Owing to illness and a variety of calls on my time, I had not an opportunity ere this of finishing the reading of it. I have no hesitation in saying that it is most interesting and instructive, especially where you so ably summarize the results of former expeditions, and where you describe in animated language the aim, course, and outcome of your own explorations. You have had an experience which has fallen to the lot of few travellers, and, in certifying the source of the Father of Waters, have rendered a great service to the cause of geographical discovery. The account of your voyage from the newly discovered Source to the Gulf of Mexico gave me much pleasure and information. The patience and endurance of the brave fellows who were with you, considering the distance, in canoes, is worthy of praise. Your own able management of the expedition is worthy of all commendation and of substantial and immediate thanks from the good men of your own wonderful country.

"Again I sincerely thank you for your handsome and most acceptable present.

"With sincere respect, I remain, dear sir,

"Yours faithfully,

"John Lovell.

"Montreal, October 17, 1887."

The following letter will speak for itself. Mr. Gus. H. Beaulieu, of White Earth, Minnesota, Deputy United States Marshal for the district, is an educated half-breed, and cousin of Paul Beaulieu. His home is on the Chippewa Indian Reservation, within sixty miles of the source of the Mississippi. In this letter he presents the Indian theory as to the comparative volume of water in the two lakes--GLAZIER and Itasca:

"Captain Willard Glazier:

"_Dear Sir_:--I have been somewhat interested in your discussion regarding the source of the Mississippi. Even had you never proclaimed to the world your discoveries, from information received by me from Indians and old mixed-blood Indian voyageurs, there would have always been a doubt existing with me as to whether Itasca was the head of the Mississippi.

"Henry Beaulieu, a brother of Paul Beaulieu, always maintained that LAKE GLAZIER was the true source of the Mississippi. I remember that, after his return from Itasca with Mr. Chambers of the New York _Herald_, I think in 1872, he said that Winnibegoshish or Cass Lake might as well be called the source of the Mississippi as Itasca. Other mixed-blood have repeatedly stated the same thing. I mention this to show you what the general opinion is among Indians and those of mixed blood.

"Chenowagesic's theory concerning the head of the Mississippi is this: That while Itasca presents a larger surface than LAKE GLAZIER, it does not contain as much water as the latter. He arrives at this conclusion from the fact that Itasca freezes over two or three weeks before LAKE GLAZIER. This, he says, is a sure sign that the latter lake is the deeper of the two, and contains more water. His arguments in favor of LAKE GLAZIER are rather novel, and, as a matter of course, are taken from an Indian's standpoint.

"Yours truly,

"Gus. H. Beaulieu.

"White Earth, Minnesota, December 17, 1887."

IV. PUBLIC OPINION IN MINNESOTA.

The evidence here presented in support of LAKE GLAZIER, is, in our judgment, most conclusive; we may add, overwhelming. Many of the most prominent citizens of the State in which the Great River takes its rise volunteer their endorsement of a claim, of the merits of which, they must necessarily be better informed than persons living at a remote distance from the head of the river. State authorities, including the Governor and his staff; senators and representatives, many of whom have resided from twenty to forty years in Minnesota; pioneers, clergymen, and school-teachers, with many of the leading citizens; editors, school-superintendents, professional men, and others, strongly affirm that Lake Itasca is not the source of the Mississippi, but that the lake to the south of it, definitely located by Captain Glazier, is the primal reservoir or _true source_ of the Father of Waters. These witnesses, moreover, unequivocally assert that the credit of the discovery should be awarded to the man who made it, notwithstanding the groundless opposition of a few cavillers who have never themselves visited within many hundred miles a region they affect to be so marvelously familiar with.

_From His Excellency, A. R. McGill, Governor of Minnesota_:

"Captain Glazier's claim to be the discoverer of the true source of the Mississippi seems reasonable, to say the least. I have been a resident of Minnesota twenty-six years, and never until Captain Glazier's expedition, heard the claim of Itasca being the source of the Great River seriously questioned."

* * * * *

_From Hon. Horace Austin, Ex-Governor_:

"I think that it would be a very proper thing to do under the circumstances that Captain Glazier's services should be recognized by the passage of a bill by the Legislature giving his name to the lake which is the real source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From Hon. W. H. Gale, Ex-Lieutenant-Governor, Winona_:

"I have been a resident of Minnesota for more than twenty-eight years, and I believe it was the generally accepted opinion of the people of this State that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi River, until after the expedition of Captain Willard Glazier, and his publication to the world that another lake south of Lake Itasca was the true source, to which lake has been given the name of LAKE GLAZIER. This is now generally recognized as the _true source_ and head of the Mississippi, and Captain Glazier as the man who first made known that fact to the world."

* * * * *

_From F. W. Seeley, Adjutant-General_.

"I desire to say, in justice to Captain Glazier, that, having been a resident of Minnesota for twenty-five years, and quite familiar with the geography of the State, it is my belief that he was the first to discover the true source of the Mississippi River and publish it to the world."

* * * * *

_From Moses E. Clapp, Attorney-General:_

"From such information as I have on the subject, I am convinced that the actual source of the Mississippi had not been recognized prior to the published accounts of the explorations of Captain Willard Glazier."

* * * * *

_From H. W. Childs, Assistant Attorney-General:_

"There is, in my opinion, no reason or ground for disputing Captain Glazier's claim to have located the body of water now undoubtedly regarded as the source of the Mississippi River, and appropriately named LAKE GLAZIER."

* * * * *

_From J. K. Moore, Private Secretary to Governor McGill:_

"From the evidence, it seems clear to me that the actual source of the Mississippi River had never been recognized until Captain Glazier made its discovery in 1881."

* * * * *

_From Gus. H. Beaulieu, Deputy U. S. Marshal, District of Minnesota:_

"Having been born and raised in the State of Minnesota, and a resident of White Earth Indian Reservation, and being familiar with the Indian traditions, I certify that Itasca Lake had never been considered the source of the Mississippi by the best informed Chippewa Indians. Although I had never seen any published maps to the contrary, prior to the expedition of Captain Glazier in 1881, from the best information I have among the Indians, I now regard LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Mississippi River. I regard his chief guide, Chenowagesic, as the best authority among the Indians regarding the section of country about the headwaters of the Mississippi, and consider him thoroughly reliable."

* * * * *

_From Ed. W. S. Tingle, St. Paul Globe:_

"After a study of the literature of the subject, I am convinced that the lake to which the name of GLAZIER was given by the Glazier exploring expedition is undoubtedly the true source of the Mississippi, and that Captain Glazier was the first to call general public attention to the fact."

* * * * *

_From Rev. W. T. Chase, Pastor First Baptist Church, Minneapolis:_

"There seems no reasonable doubt that the actual source of the Mississippi had never been recognized until Captain Willard Glazier made its discovery in 1881. Captain Glazier merits the gratitude of every citizen of the United States who is interested in knowing all that is knowable about the great Father of Waters."

* * * * *

_From Ex-Mayor Pillsbury, Minneapolis:_

"From the best information I have been able to obtain, I am satisfied that Captain Willard Glazier was the first person that discovered the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From Rev. J. L. Pitner, Pastor Methodist Episcopal Church, Minneapolis:_

"From the evidence I have examined, I am convinced that the real source of the Mississippi was not known prior to 1881. I am quite sure the claims of LAKE GLAZIER are not ill-founded, and that in its deep, cool bosom the Great River takes its rise."

* * * * *

_From John E. Bradley, Superintendent Public Schools, Minneapolis:_

"From such examination as I have been able to give to the problem of the _true source_ of the Mississippi, it seems to be satisfactorily established that LAKE GLAZIER is to be so regarded."

* * * * *

_From Hon. Samuel E. Adams, Member of the Minnesota Historical Society, Monticello:_

"I have no doubt of the correctness of Captain Glazier's statement that he discovered the new source of the Mississippi now bearing his name."

* * * * *

_From John H. Elliott, Secretary Y. M. C. A., Minneapolis:_

"I have no hesitation in stating that I believe LAKE GLAZIER to be the real source of the Mississippi River, and that Captain Glazier's claims are entitled to respectful and grateful recognition."

* * * * *

_From J. S. McLain, Evening Journal, Minneapolis:_

"I have no reason to question the claim of Captain Glazier to have been the first to correctly map the section of country about the source of the Mississippi, or that the body of water which bears his name is the true source of the Great River."

_From Albert Shaw, Minneapolis Tribune:_

"Unquestionably Captain Glazier may claim the credit of having called public attention to the fact that there is a lake beyond Lake Itasca which is more strictly to be considered as the source of the Mississippi. That the lake will always be called LAKE GLAZIER, and that it will henceforth be spoken of everywhere as the source of the Great River, I have no doubt; nor do I doubt the propriety of the name."

* * * * *

_From Judge John P. Rea, Commander-in-Chief G.A.R., Minneapolis:_

"I have resided in Minnesota eleven years, and always supposed that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi. I never heard the fact questioned until within the past four or five years. From all the evidence I have upon the subject, I am satisfied that LAKE GLAZIER is the true source."

* * * * *

_From G. M. Wing, Secretary North-West Indian Commission, Minneapolis:_

"Concerning the real source of the Mississippi, I would say that the lake which Captain Willard Glazier has located, and which he claims to be the source, is no doubt more properly the true source of this Great River than Lake Itasca. There is no doubt whatever in my mind but that Captain Glazier was the first person to discover that fact, and make the same known to the world; and that fact alone, though it might have been visited before, should entitle him to the honor of naming the same. I have been over the route traversed by Captain Glazier and party, and find that the map which he has published is a correct delineation of that section."

* * * * *

_From Hon. J. G. Lawrence, Ex-Senator, Wabasha:_

"I believe Captain Glazier is certainly entitled to the credit of having discovered the true source of the Mississippi in a lake above Lake Itasca, and now named LAKE GLAZIER."

* * * * *

_From Judge L. A. Evans, Ex-Mayor, Saint Cloud_

"First Mayor of Saint Cloud, and have served six terms as such. Have resided in Saint Cloud for thirty years. I believe that LAKE GLAZIER is the true source of the Mississippi River, and this is the opinion of the majority of the people residing in this part of the State."

* * * * *

_From Will E. Haskell, President and Managing Editor, Minneapolis Tribune:_

"There can be no longer any doubt, when the question is carefully considered, that the credit of discovering the true source of the Mississippi belongs to Captain Willard Glazier. Captain Glazier's discovery has now become an accepted geographical fact, and future generations of school-boys will speak knowingly of LAKE GLAZIER, as we did in our youth of Itasca."

* * * * *

_From J. O. Simmons, Little Falls._

"Have been a resident of Little Falls for the past twenty-nine years; County Attorney and justice of the peace for several years; would state that I am personally acquainted with the half-breed Indian interpreter, Paul Beaulieu. Have known him since June, 1857, and know him to be a person of intelligence, great experience, and personal knowledge of the northern portion of Minnesota, which up to very recently has been a vast wilderness occupied only by the Chippewas. Have often conversed with him relative to the country north of us, and speaking of the Mississippi, have heard him say that Lake Itasca was not the fountain head; that there was a stream emptying its waters into Itasca from a lake a short distance above the latter, and which, in his opinion, was the true source. Since Captain Glazier's exploration, I accept the lake bearing his name as the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From Rev. Andrew D. Stowe, Rector, Trinity Church, Anoka:_

"This is to certify that from the testimony of Indians and Half-breeds living at White Earth Agency, Minnesota, during my residence there of two years, I am persuaded that LAKE GLAZIER, instead of Itasca, is the real source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From D. Sinclair, Winona:_

"In the autumn of 1862 I spent several weeks in that portion of Northern Minnesota, extending from Crow Wing to Leech Lake, and the country about Red Lake, in company with Paul Beaulieu, the well-known Indian guide and interpreter. During a conversation as to the source of the Mississippi, Beaulieu informed me that Lake Itasca was not the real source of that river, but that a smaller lake, located a short distance south of Itasca, was entitled to that distinction. After investigating the matter recently, I have no doubt of the genuineness of Captain Glazier's claim to be the person who first publicly established the fact that the lake which now bears his name is the true source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From William A. Spencer, Clerk United States District Court, Saint Paul:_

"I have resided in Minnesota upwards of thirty years, and until recently have always thought that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi; but after an examination of the claim of Captain Glazier to be the discoverer of the true source, I am satisfied his claim is well founded."

* * * * *

_From O. C. Chase, Chairman County Commissioners, Otter-Tail County:_

"From information received, I am fully satisfied that Captain Glazier was the first person to publicly announce the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From John J. Ankeny, Postmaster, Minneapolis:_

"From the best information I can obtain, I am persuaded that the source of the Mississippi had not been recognized prior to the published accounts of exploration by Captain Willard Glazier in 1881. I think, therefore, he is entitled to the credit of the discovery."

* * * * *

_From P. P. Swenson, Sheriff, Hennepin County:_

"After a residence of thirty-two years in the State of Minnesota, until recently I have always supposed that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi River. I am now well informed of its true source being LAKE GLAZIER, having personally traversed that section of the State."

* * * * *

_From Freeman E. Kreck, Postmaster, Aitkin:_

"I have been a resident of Aitkin County since 1881; have been County Auditor for past two years, and for a time proprietor and editor of the _Aitkin Age_. Since Captain Glazier's explorations I do not hesitate to say that I believe LAKE GLAZIER to be the true primal reservoir of the Mississippi, and I think I voice the sentiment of the majority of the residents of this section."

* * * * *

_From A. Y. Merrill, County Attorney, Aitkin:_

"I believe that the lake claimed to have been located by Captain Glazier is the real source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From J. W. Wakefield, Aitkin:_

"Resident of Minnesota for thirty years. Personally acquainted with Chenowagesic. Indian trader more than fifteen years. Thoroughly familiar with the Chippewa language. I recognize LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From Lyman P. White, Ex-Mayor, Brainerd:_

"I have been a resident of Brainerd since 1870. Built the first house in Brainerd. Have had charge of the town site for the Lake Superior and Puget Sound Company for sixteen years. I met Captain Glazier on his Mississippi trip, and fully endorse his claim to have discovered the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From W. W. Hartley, Brainerd:_

"Have been a resident of Brainerd for the past fifteen years. Editor and publisher of the _Tribune_ from 1875 to 1881, and postmaster from 1879 to 1886. Met Captain Glazier and his party here in 1881, both _en route_ to the source of the Mississippi River, and on their return voyage by canoes to its mouth. Have no recollection of ever having heard any other than Lake Itasca claimed to be the source of the Mississippi prior to the Captain's expedition. LAKE GLAZIER has since been accepted and is believed to be its source."

* * * * *

_From J. H. Koop, Postmaster, Brainerd:_

"Have been a resident of this State for sixteen years. Met Captain Glazier at the time he made his expedition of discovery to the source of the Mississippi, and I recognize the lake bearing his name as its true source."

* * * * *

_From N. H. Ingersoll, Editor, Brainerd Dispatch:_

"I fully endorse the statement that Captain Glazier was the first to proclaim to the world the _true source_ of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From Rev. Fletcher J. Hawley, D. D., Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Brainerd:_

"I have been a resident of Brainerd since 1880, and have not heard any one question the truth of Captain Glazier's claim to have discovered the true source of the Mississippi to be in LAKE GLAZIER."

* * * * *

_From John F. Peterson, Register of Deeds, Minneapolis:_

"I have resided in Minnesota for the past eighteen years, and fully believe that LAKE GLAZIER is the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From C. P. De Laithe, Superintendent of Schools, Aitkin County:_

"I recognize LAKE GLAZIER as the source of the Mississippi River. Have resided in Aitkin for several years."

* * * * *

_From J. H. Hallett, Brainerd:_

"I recognize the lake discovered by Captain Glazier as the real source of the Mississippi. Have been an Indian trader for the past fifteen years."

* * * * *

_From Hon. N. Richardson, Little Falls, Judge of Probate of Morrison County:_

"I have resided on the banks of the Mississippi for thirty-one years. Met Captain Glazier at Little Falls with his exploring party, that visited the headwaters of this river in the summer of 1881. From information derived from sources that I consider reliable, I regard LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Great River. Have been a member of the Minnesota Legislature for three terms."

* * * * *

_From O. L. Clyde, First Lieutenant, National Guard, Little Falls:_

"I have been a resident of Northern Minnesota for twenty years, and always supposed that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi. I never heard any thing to the contrary until the year 1881, when Captain Glazier explored the Upper Mississippi, and made his report of the same. I now recognize LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Great River."

* * * * *

_From Moses La Fond, Little Falls:_

"LAKE GLAZIER is now considered the true source of the Mississippi. I am one of the old pioneers of this State, having resided in the northern section for over thirty-two years, and was a member of the Legislature in 1874."

* * * * *

_From R. Cronk, of the Government Survey, Sauk Rapids:_

"This is to certify that I was compass-man on the survey of township 143 north, range 36 west of the 5th principal meridian, which embraces Itasca Lake, (the Indian name of which I understood to be _Omushkos_ or Elk Lake,) and hereby affirm that LAKE GLAZIER is the only well-defined body of water emptying into Lake Itasca, and in my opinion is the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From Hon. T. G. Healey, Ex-State Senator, Monticello:_

"Have resided in Monticello since 1856. I regard LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Mississippi River, and it is now so regarded by the people living in this section of Minnesota."

* * * * *

_From William Tubbs, Postmaster and Ex-County Auditor, Monticello:_

"Have resided in Minnesota twenty-nine years. LAKE GLAZIER is regarded by the people generally of this section as the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From W. J. Brown, Principal of the High School, Monticello:_

"I consider LAKE GLAZIER to be the true source of the Mississippi, and know of no other. I teach the same in the public schools of this place, as also do my assistants."

* * * * *

_From Commander A. H. Fitch, J. S. Cady Post, G. A. R., Department Minnesota; Anoka:_

"I am fully convinced that the body of water, known as LAKE GLAZIER since 1881, is the true source of the Mississippi, and not Lake Itasca."

* * * * *

_From J. M. Tucker, M. D., Hastings:_

"I believe Captain Glazier's claim to being the discoverer of the real source of the Mississippi is _just_, and have never heard it questioned. It must stand as one of the facts of history."

* * * * *

_From Daniel O'Brien, Police Justice, Hastings:_

"I am satisfied that the lake to the south of Itasca, located by Glazier, in 1881, is the true source of the Mississippi, and that Captain Glazier is entitled to whatever credit there is in the discovery."

* * * * *

_From J. R. Lambert, Ex-Mayor, Hastings:_

"It has been a generally accepted fact that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi River, and like many others who have preceded me in giving testimonials in favor of Captain Willard Glazier's claim as the discoverer of a body of water now known quite generally as LAKE GLAZIER, and so represented in many of our standard geographical works, I cheerfully admit that Captain Glazier is entitled to credit as the discoverer."

* * * * *

_From S. Westerson, Chairman, Board of County Commissioners, Hastings:_

"It seems to be clearly proven that there is a lake--now called LAKE GLAZIER--which is the true source of the Mississippi, discovered by Captain Willard Glazier in the year 1881, and that said Captain Glazier was the first man to make it public. The honor, therefore, in my estimation, is due to him."

* * * * *

_From B. B. Herbert, Editor, The Republican, Red Wing:_

"After a careful examination of the claim made for and against the reputed discovery of the head of the Mississippi, by Captain Willard Glazier, I am convinced that he was the first to question the received statement that Lake Itasca was its source; and first to connect the lake, which some respectable geographers have called by his name, with the Mississippi as its source. Having lived in Minnesota, on the banks of the Mississippi, for nearly thirty years, had any other person claimed to have discovered any other source than Lake Itasca, I should have been informed thereof."

* * * * *

_From W. W. DeKay, Red Wing:_

"From such information as I have upon the subject, I regard the lake located by Captain Glazier, to the south of Itasca, as the true source of the Mississippi. I have resided in Minnesota for thirty-three years."

* * * * *

_From William Moore, Superintendent of Schools, Lake City:_

"Knowing the facts in regard to Captain Glazier's discovery of the true source of the Mississippi, as brought out by public discussion, I am convinced that he is justly entitled to be considered the discoverer of the source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From George C. Stout, Mayor, Lake City:_

"I have no doubt that Captain Glazier is fully entitled to the honor of first discovery of the true source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From D. O. Irwin, Postmaster, Lake City:_

"I am convinced that the actual source of the Mississippi had not been recognized before the published account of explorations by Captain Glazier; and I regard LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Great River."

* * * * *

_From H. L. Smith, Editor and Proprietor of the Graphic, Lake City:_

"I am fully convinced that LAKE GLAZIER is the real source of the Father of Waters. Have resided in Minnesota seventeen years."

* * * * *

_From F. J. Collins, Mayor of Wabasha:_

"I have no doubt that Captain Glazier is fully entitled to the credit of having discovered the true source of the Mississippi River. I have resided in Minnesota thirty-one years."

* * * * *

_From Hon. James G. Lawrence, Ex-State Senator, Wabasha:_

"I believe Captain Glazier is certainly entitled to the credit of discovering the true source of the Mississippi, in a lake above Lake Itasca, now named after him, LAKE GLAZIER."

* * * * *

_From D. L. Dawley, Principal of Schools, Wabasha:_

"I believe Captain Glazier to be the real discoverer of the true source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From S. B. Sheardown, M. D., Winona:_

"I believe that Captain Glazier is entitled to the credit of discovering the real source of the Mississippi River. I have been a resident of Minnesota over thirty-one years."

* * * * *

_From Judge A. F. Storey, St. Vincent:_

"I have no hesitancy in saying that there can be no question, but, that LAKE GLAZIER is the true and primal source of the Mississippi River."

* * * * *

_From James A. Thompson, Postmaster, Leech Lake (the nearest post-office to the source of the Mississippi):_

"I am of opinion that LAKE GLAZIER is the source of the Mississippi. I have talked on this subject with some of the Indians who accompanied Captain Glazier on his exploring expedition in 1881, and they all say it is the last lake; that they went all the way in their canoes, and could go no further. It is the general belief here that LAKE GLAZIER is the true source."

* * * * *

_From Paul Beaulieu, United States Interpreter, White Earth Indian Agency:_

"I would respectfully state that according to the ideas of the people of this section of country, for scores of years past, in alluding to Lake Itasca, _which is known only as Elk Lake by the original inhabitants of this part of the country_, was never by them considered as the head or source of the Father of Running Waters, or May-see-see-be, as it is by them named. I received a map showing the route of exploration of Captain Willard Glazier, 1881, and being well acquainted with his chief guide, Chenowagesic, who has made the section of country explored by Captain Glazier his home for many years in the past, and who has proved the truth of his often repeated assertion, when maps were shown him, that a smaller lake above Lake Itasca would in time change the feature of those maps, and proclaim to the world that Lake Itasca cannot any longer maintain its claim as being the fountain head of Ke-chee-see-be, or Great River, which is called May-see-see-be, by the Chippewas. The map as delineated by Captain Glazier's guide, Chenowagesic, and published by the Glazier party, is correct; and it is plain to us who know the lay of this whole country (I mean, by _us_, the Chippewa tribe in particular, also the recent explorers for pine) that LAKE GLAZIER is located at the right place, and is the last lake on the longest stream of the several rivers at the head of the great Mississippi."

* * * * *

V. RECOGNITION.

The discovery and final location of the source of the Great River of the North American Continent by Captain Glazier has received general recognition in this country and in Europe, and our aim to place before the reader of this volume, material to assist him in forming his judgment on the validity of the author's claim, would not be attained if we omitted to include in these _addenda_ the following evidence, the nature and weight of which we think should carry conviction to the mind of every impartial critic.

A report of the discovery was duly sent to Hon. Charles P. Daly, President of the American Geographical Society, New York, and by him forwarded to the Editor of the _New York Herald_, and published by that paper, accompanied by a map of the region explored, showing the true source of the Mississippi.

A report was also sent to the Royal Geographical Society, London, England, and the following courteous reply received:

"Royal Geographical Society,

"_London_, January 12, 1885.

"Captain Willard Glazier, New York, U. S. A.

"_Dear Sir:_--We owe you an apology for delaying so long communicating with you on the subject of your interesting letter and its accompanying map; a delay caused by the long summer vacation of our council, which commenced a little before the arrival of your letter.

"I am happy to be able to send you a copy of the January number of the Proceedings of our Society, containing your letter and map, and trust you will find no error has crept in.

"Your discovery was considered a distinct addition to our knowledge of the geography of the Mississippi basin, and well worthy of publication by the Society, and I am directed to thank you for having communicated this brief account of it to us.

"Your obedient servant,

"H. W. Bates,

"_Assistant Secretary and Editor_."

* * * * *

George W. Melville, the famed Arctic Explorer, writes:

"_Philadelphia, Pennsylvania_

"February 5, 1885.

"Captain Willard Glazier:

"Dear Sir:--Your very interesting paper and map of the discovery of the source of the Mississippi came to hand this morning. Having but a single number of your paper I can form but an inadequate idea of your labor and patience, except by a look at your map, which is a very good one, and shows an immense amount of labor; in fact I am astonished at the amount of work done in so short a space of time as is shown on your track chart.

"I am gratified at being made the recipient of your favor; and with sentiments of the highest esteem and regard for a worthy brother in the world of science,

"I am, dear sir, very respectfully,

"George W. Melville,

"_Chief Engineer, U. S. Navy_."

* * * * *

_Geographers and Educational Publishers._

Many of the geographers and educational publishers of the country have not only made the necessary changes in their maps of Minnesota, but have expressed their recognition and acceptance of the GLAZIER discovery in letters addressed to friends of the Captain and others interested in arriving at the truth of this important question. Among these may be mentioned:

Rand, McNally & Company, George F. Cram, and George H. Benedict & Company, Chicago; Matthews, Northrup & Company, Buffalo; A. S. Barnes & Company, New York and Chicago; University Publishing Company, New York; Charles Lubrecht, New York; M. Dripps, New York; W. & A. K. Johnston, Geographers to the Queen, Edinburgh, Scotland; MacMillan & Company, London and New York; Nelson & Sons, New York and Edinburgh, Scotland; Gaylord Watson, P. O'Shea and George H. Adams & Company, New York; W. M. Bradley & Brother, Philadelphia; School Supply Company, John A. Boyle, Boston; J. K. Gill & Company, Portland, Oregon; John Lovell & Son, Montreal, Canada; Map and School Supply Company, Toronto, Canada; F. A. Brockhaus, Leipsic; A. Hartleben, Wein, Austria; and many others.

The following extracts are from BARNES' COMPLETE GEOGRAPHY by the eminent geographer, Professor James Monteith:

_Page 4. "Record of Recent Discoveries and Events._

"The source of the Mississippi River is LAKE GLAZIER, a small lake from which water flows into Lake Itasca, which until recently was thought to be its source."

* * * * *

_Page 73. "North Central States (Western Section)._

"Recent surveys have shown that LAKE GLAZIER is about seven feet higher than Lake Itasca, into which the former discharges its water; and it is now recognized as the source of the Mississippi River."

_"Maury's Manual of Geography, University Publishing Company, New York:_

"Page 56. Minnesota is crossed by the ridge or 'Height of Land' which separates the Valley of the Mississippi from the northern slope of the Great Central Plain. On this elevation, 1,600 feet above the sea, both the Mississippi and the Red River of the North take their rise, the one flowing south and the other north. The crest of the 'Height of Land' is crowned with lakes of clear water. LAKE GLAZIER, one of these, is the source of the Mississippi...."

* * * * *

_From Herr F. A. Brockhaus, Geographer and Publisher of Leipsic, Germany:_

"I shall not fail to recognize and call public attention to your important discovery of the True Head of your Great River."

* * * * *

_From Professor J. W. Redway, of Philadelphia, a well-known geographer and scientist:_

"_Philadelphia_, September 9, 1887.

"Captain Willard Glazier:

"_My Dear Sir:_-- ... You will have the satisfaction of knowing that by your exertions and enterprise an error of more than fifty years standing has been made apparent. The world owes you a debt for determining an important question in geography.

"Sincerely yours,

"J. W. Redway."

* * * * *

_From the Messrs. Harper & Brothers, New York:_

"Recent exploration and survey establish the fact that Lake Glazier has the best claim to the distinction of standing at the head of the Father of Waters. School Geographies generally are being corrected to show it."

* * * * *

_From Rand, McNally & Company, Map-makers and Publishers, Chicago:_

"As to the source of the Mississippi, we gave it considerable attention in preparing our new map of Minnesota, and finally fixed it as LAKE GLAZIER. This, we consider, has the best claim."

* * * * *

_From George F. Cram, Map and Atlas Publisher, Chicago:_

"I mail you to-day a copy of the corrected map of Minnesota, showing LAKE GLAZIER as the source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From Matthews, Northrup & Company, Art Printers, Buffalo, New York:_

"We regard LAKE GLAZIER as the true source of the Mississippi, and are so showing it on all maps, etc., issued by us."

* * * * *

_From Messrs. Cowperthwait & Company, Philadelphia._

"We have added LAKE GLAZIER to our School Maps as the source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From E. A. Lawrence, University Publishing Company, New York:_

"We think LAKE GLAZIER is important enough to outrank Itasca as the source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From W. M. Bradley & Brother, Philadelphia:_

"LAKE GLAZIER appears on our large Atlas of the World, and on Mitchell's Atlas, as the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_From John Lovell & Son, Educational Publishers, Montreal:_

"The collection of testimonials from leading citizens of Minnesota, and others, tells convincingly in Captain Glazier's favor."

* * * * *

_From MacMillan & Company, London and New York:_

"Pray accept our very cordial thanks for your courtesy in sending us the map of the true source of the Mississippi. We are forwarding it on to our London house, who will gladly avail themselves of the information it conveys."

* * * * *

_From Gaylord Watson, Map and Chart Publisher, New York:_

"I shall show LAKE GLAZIER as the source of the Mississippi on my maps."

* * * * *

_From P. O'Shea, Catholic Publisher, New York:_

"I have come to the conclusion that LAKE GLAZIER is the true source of the Mississippi, and intend to give it as the source in the new editions of my geographies."

* * * * *

_From Geo. H. Adams & Son, Map Publishers, New York:_

"We recognize LAKE GLAZIER as the True Source of the Mississippi River, and believe that Captain Glazier's claim to its discovery is now admitted by all the leading Map Publishers of the country."

* * * * *

_From the Map and School Supply Company, Toronto:_

"We consider LAKE GLAZIER the source of the Mississippi River, and are having it appear on all our latest maps as such."

* * * * *

_From Captain A. N. Husted, Professor of Mathematics, State Normal School, Albany, New York:_

"Captain Willard Glazier:

"_My Dear Sir:_--I have been much interested in your trip to the beginning of the Father of Waters, and feel that you have contributed a valuable item to the great volume of geographical knowledge."

* * * * *

_From Colonel George Soule, President of Soule, College, New Orleans:_

"I recognize the correctness of Captain Glazier's claim, and shall teach that the source of the Mississippi is LAKE GLAZIER."

* * * * *

_From Rev. L. Abernethy, A. M., D. D., President of Rutherford College, North Carolina:_

"I am satisfied that LAKE GLAZIER is the true source of the Mississippi and that Captain Glazier is entitled to the honor of its discovery."

* * * * *

_From J. L. Smith, Map Publisher, Philadelphia:_

"Having given considerable attention to the merits of the claim presented by Captain Willard Glazier to have definitely located the source of the Mississippi, I am of the opinion that the lake to the south of Itasca should be recognized as the primal reservoir or true fountain-head of that river, and that Captain Glazier is entitled to the credit of having been the first to discover this fact and call public attention to it."

* * * * *

_From G. H. Laughlin, A. M., Ph. D., President of Hiram College, Ohio:_

"Captain Glazier has rendered an invaluable service to the science of geography. I am glad that the school geographies are being corrected so as to indicate LAKE GLAZIER as the source of the Father of Waters."

* * * * *

_From the firm of W. & A. K. Johnston, of Edinburgh, Scotland, Geographers and Engravers to the Queen:_

"You have the satisfaction of having done a great work in settling the vexed question of the source of your mighty river. For this, all interested in geography are indebted to you."

* * * * *

_From Charles Lubrecht, Map Publisher, New York:_

"I shall show LAKE GLAZIER as the source of the Mississippi River in all future editions of my Maps."

* * * * *

_From M. Dripps, Map Publisher, New York:_

"I will avail myself of Captain Glazier's discovery by showing the True Source of the Mississippi on future editions of my maps of the United States."

* * * * *

_From George H. Benedict & Co., Map, Wood and Photo-Engravers, Chicago:_

"LAKE GLAZIER is now acknowledged to be the True Source of the Mississippi, and in the course of time will appear as such on all maps."

* * * * *

_From John S. Kendall, President of the National School Furnishing Company of Chicago:_

"_Chicago_, October 6, 1887.

"Captain Willard Glazier:

"_Dear Sir:_--Your book 'Down the Great River' has been received and read with interest. I am glad to see the entire narrative in book form. There is no doubt about your expedition having added largely to our rather limited stock of information regarding the country around the headwaters of the Great River. I deem it a graceful and fitting compliment to give your name to the lake south of Itasca.

"Thanking you for the book, which I have placed in my library.

"Yours very respectfully,

"John S. Kendall."

* * * * *

_From Frederick Warne & Company, Publishers, London:_

"Pray accept our very cordial thanks. The alteration in the source of your great river has been noted, and we shall gladly avail ourselves of the information to make the correction in our atlases."

* * * * *

_From Thos. Nelson & Sons, Edinburgh and New York:_

"The correction as to the True Source of the Mississippi will be made as opportunity occurs, when issuing new editions of our publications."

* * * * *

_From Herr A. Hartleben, one of the leading Publishers of Germany:_

"I congratulate Captain Glazier on his important discovery of the source of the Mississippi River, and shall have great pleasure in bringing the subject to the notice of our Geographical Society."

* * * * *

_From Appleton's Annual Encyclopedia--1885:_

"Lake Itasca, which has been distinguished as the head of the Mississippi for fifty years, must, it seems, yield that distinction to a smaller lake about a mile and a half in length by a mile in width, lying further south, discovered by Captain Willard Glazier in, 1881, and named for him 'Lake Glazier.'"

* * * * *

_From American Supplement to the Encyclopedia Britannica:_

"The Mississippi has its source in LAKE GLAZIER, south of Lake Itasca, Minnesota, 47 deg. 34' N. lat, 95 deg. 2' W. long. The greatest width of this lake is a mile and a half, and it is deeper than Itasca, with which it is connected by a shallow stream about six feet wide."

* * * * *

VI. NOTICES OF THE PRESS.

The Press, as the most important indication and expression of public opinion, has been almost unanimous, since 1881, in sustaining Captain Glazier's claim, more especially the Press of Minnesota; while the majority of the leading papers of the East have pronounced strongly in his favor. We can insert here only a few notices, taken chiefly from the journals of the Northwest.

* * * * *

_Saint Paul Dispatch._

"Captain Glazier has just published the record of his experiences in his undertaking to establish that the true source of the Mississippi is not that which geographers have heretofore accepted as such, to wit: Lake Itasca. It is indisputable that Captain Glazier did proceed to a higher point than any reached by previous explorers, and that the body of water located by him and now known as LAKE GLAZIER, is a direct feeder of the generally accredited head of the Mississippi. The _Dispatch_ has always claimed for the writer of this book the honor of being the discoverer of the true source of our Great River. There certainly is a great deal in his work to substantiate his claim, and to sustain the attitude taken by the _Dispatch_.

"...Captain Glazier set out to test the correctness of the generally accepted theories of scholars as to the place of the rise of this Great River; he made the test and found, as we believe, that those theories were not correct. He has given to the world the record of that work, and has done much to perpetuate his own name thereby."

* * * * *

_Minneapolis Spectator._

"'Down the Great River,' by Captain Willard Glazier, gives an account of the discovery of the lake now generally asserted to be the source of the Mississippi; also a description of a canoe voyage during the summer of 1881, from the source to the mouth of the Father of Waters. A journey of over three thousand miles by canoe, and on a single stream, is in itself an arduous and remarkable undertaking, and one seldom, if ever, paralleled. Captain Glazier presents not only reasonable evidence to support his claim as the discoverer of the true source of the Great River, but gives an entertaining and instructive narrative of his researches and adventures, thus affording a graphic history and description of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_Brainerd Dispatch._

"'Down the Great River,' by Captain Willard Glazier, is an account of the author's voyage in 1881, from the source to the mouth of the Mississippi River in a canoe. It is a very interesting and instructive narrative from beginning to end; the descriptions of the scenery through which the river passes being unusually fine. In this volume the Captain presents his claim of having discovered beyond Lake Itasca another lake which is connected with Itasca by a well-defined stream, and consequently is the true source of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_Northwestern Presbyterian, Minneapolis._

"All who live in the valley of America's greatest river will be especially interested in knowing something of its source, its course, and the cities that line its banks. Since De Soto first discovered the Father of Waters in 1541, many eminent explorers have been associated with its history. Marquette, Joliet, La Salle, Hennepin, La Hontan, Charlevoix, Carver, Pike, Cass, and Beltrami preceded Schoolcraft. The last named discovered a lake which he supposed to be the source, but the Indians and the missionaries said there was a lake beyond. A learned few believed them. It remained for some explorer to make further investigation and publish the truth more widely to the world. This was done by Captain Glazier in 1881, who visited the lake, explored its shores and found it to be wider and deeper than Itasca."

* * * * *

_Winona Republican._

"Captain Glazier, who has won fame as the discoverer of the true source of the Mississippi, has recently published a good-sized volume entitled 'Down the Great River.' ... Very few persons realize that a man who passes from the source of the Mississippi to its mouth experiences a greater variety in scene, in populations, and in climate, than would an explorer going from the source to the mouth of any other river in the world.... The narrative of Captain Glazier is interesting, because it gives a panoramic view of the Mississippi from its source to its mouth, describing the appearance of the river wherever tributaries enter, and noting the character of the Indians, fur-traders, pioneers, frontiersmen, and the agricultural and commercial communities along its course. There is, too, a spice of personal adventure in such a journey, because for the greater part of the trip the Captain was accompanied by only one other person, and the novelty of riding in a canoe over every mile of one of the greatest rivers in the world, in itself gives a peculiar character to the record of the journey. The story is simply the narrative of life in a canoe floating down the Mississippi, supplemented by such historical recollections and reminiscences as have seemed appropriate to one who is an enthusiast in the history of exploration...."

* * * * *

_Minneapolis Star-News._

"On the 22d day of July, 1881, the traveler and author, Captain Willard Glazier, discovered a silvery lake nestled among the pineries of Northern Minnesota and situate about a mile and a half to the south of Lake Itasca. He also discovered that a swift current flowed continuously from his new-found wonder to what was supposed to be the source of the Father of Waters. The lake is known to the Indians as _Pokegama_, and when it was reached by the Glazier party they were much surprised by Chenowagesic, an Indian chief, who had accompanied them as guide, addressing Captain Glazier as follows:

"'My brother, I have come with you through many lakes and rivers to the head of the Father of Waters. The shores of this lake are my hunting ground. Here I have had my wigwam and planted corn for many years. When I again roam through these forests, and look on this lake, source of the Great River, I will look on you.'

"Captain Glazier was induced to explore the true source of the Mississippi by Indian traditions which he had picked up while traveling across the continent and which denied Schoolcraft's theory of Itasca.... Fortified with the idea that Schoolcraft was in error he set out to discover the true source of the Father of Waters, and how he succeeded forms the subject of the first five chapters of his very interesting book. The remainder of the book, an interesting and instructive volume of nearly five hundred pages, is devoted to a trip 'down the Great River' to the Gulf of Mexico. To Captain Glazier is due all the honor and glory of discovering to modern geographers the true source of our great river."

* * * * *

_Detroit Commercial Advertiser._

"'Down the Great River' is Captain Willard Glazier's interesting record of his expedition in 1881 in search of the source of the Mississippi River. It is a very exciting narrative from beginning to end, is profusely illustrated and will be especially interesting to students of geography, as well as to all interested in matters of exploration and discovery. Captain Glazier undoubtedly accomplished a great work. The source of the Mississippi had ever been an unsettled question, unsatisfactory attempts at discovery having been made and various ill-founded claims put forward; but the subject for the last half century has been constantly agitated. It remained for Captain Glazier to finish the work begun by De Soto in 1541, and positively locate the true fountain-head.... That the lake from which the Great River starts, known by the Indians as Lake Pokegama, should be re-named LAKE GLAZIER, seems an appropriate honor for the resolute explorer...."

* * * * *

_La Crosse Republican and Leader._

"'Down the Great River' is the title of a book just issued which possesses many claims to popular favor. No one on the North American continent will be at a loss to identify the river by its title; the Amazon undoubtedly discharges a larger volume of water into the sea, and the Volga is claimed to be longer. No river in the Old or New World is surrounded by so many associations, or is so identified with the memories of discoverers and adventurers, warrior-priests and saintly soldiers, peaceful pioneers and devastating armies, as the Mississippi.... For half a century Lake Itasca has been accepted as the fountain-head of the Great River, but Captain Glazier having had reasons for doubting the correctness of that theory, undertook, in 1881, to verify or disprove it, and the book treats of his adventures on that mission and his subsequent voyage by canoe down its entire length from its source to its mouth, a distance of three thousand one hundred and eighty-four miles.... The voyage, embracing as it does over seventeen degrees of latitude, furnishes material for the description of strongly contrasted scenery and greatly diversified industries, and in depicting these the Captain has the pen of a ready writer, simple and concise...."

* * * * *

_Michigan Christian Advocate._

"'Down the Great River' is a book of great current interest. It is packed full of things people ought to know. Not only is there a full and well-written account of the finding of the true source of the Mississippi, but a wonderful amount of fact and incident picked up along its shores from its headwaters clear down to New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico."

* * * * *

_Detroit Tribune._

"This interesting work gives an account of the discovery of the true source of the Mississippi River, by the author. From the first page to the last the book teems with information and topographical and geographical data to be found nowhere else. Captain Glazier carries his readers along with him from the source of the mighty river down through a stretch of over three thousand miles clear into the salt waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The author made the trip in an open canoe, and as he proceeds downwards discourses pleasantly upon the features of the landscape, the characteristics of the people and the important towns upon the banks of the Great River."

* * * * *

_Grand Rapids (Michigan) Leader._

"Lake Itasca has been the accredited head of the Mississippi for fifty years, and the author's desire to pursue further investigations into the great north country was due to conflicting reports published by other navigators and explorers of discoveries made in that region. He decided to investigate the matter personally. The author describes in an entertaining manner the incidents of each day as the journey proceeded towards Lake Itasca. Here a careful survey of the lake was made for feeders, several of which were found, and up the largest of which the party forced their way through a strong barrier of rushes. After a short passage a body of water was found Which the Indians called Lake _Pokegama_, but which the Captain's companions named GLAZIER in honor of the head of the expedition. They then floated down the river in their canoes to the Gulf, and the events of each day form very interesting and often thrilling chapters as they are described by the author."

* * * * *

_New Bedford Standard._

"In 1881 Captain Glazier made a canoe voyage of over three thousand miles from the headwaters of the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and this book gives an interesting account of the voyage, together with a description of the cities and villages along the river banks, not omitting important historical events or quaint bits of legendary lore. While the book is of special value to the young student of geography and history, it is none the less valuable to all who are interested in geographical science, particularly in the question of the source of the Mississippi River...."

* * * * *

_Madisonensis, Madison University, New York._

"Captain Glazier has commanded the attention of educated men generally by asserting and satisfactorily proving that he has at last discovered what De Soto, Marquette, La Salle, Schoolcraft, and other explorers, were unable to find--the true source of the Mississippi. The journey of exploration is here minutely described, and the account is enlivened with bright narratives of personal experiences. The author is an able writer, and a keen critical observer, and the information collected, pertaining to the people and country along the course of the Great River, from its headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico, is of value to every student of our country's history. The book is more than a mere description of an expedition--it is an epitomized collection of historical, geographical and commercial matters interesting to all."

* * * * *

_Hamilton, New York, Republican._

... "The important fact brought out is, that Lake Itasca, discovered by Schoolcraft in 1832, and by him located as the fountain-head of the river, has no just claim to that title. Glazier's expedition has brought public notice to another lake at a remoter distance from the mouth than Itasca, which is united to the latter by a constantly flowing stream.... It now seems that the prominence Itasca has had so long must hereafter be given to LAKE GLAZIER."

* * * * *

_Davenport Tribune._

"This work embraces an account of the discovery by the author of the true source of the Mississippi. It is an interesting tale of how Captain Glazier and his party pursued a voyage in canoes up the stream which flowed into Itasca, and finally located the real source of the river in a new lake, which was named by his companions LAKE GLAZIER. The work is a valuable one and highly instructive, and should be read by all residents of the Mississippi Valley."

* * * * *

_Daily Eagle, Grand Rapids, Michigan._

... "It seems most surprising that it should have been reserved for so recent a date as 1881 to discover the true source of the greatest river of our continent, especially within the borders of a territory that has been a State for nearly forty years. But such is the fact, and to Captain Glazier belongs the honor of the discovery among white men."

* * * * *

_Telegram-Herald, Grand Rapids, Michigan._

... "Captain Glazier, in his search for the true source of the Mississippi, has corrected a geographical error of half a century, and located the fountain-head in a lake above and beyond Lake Itasca. He discovered this lake on the twenty-second day of July, 1881, Chenowagesic, a Chippewa brave, being his guide. The lake, out of which flows the infant Mississippi, is about two miles in its greatest diameter. Its Indian name is _Pokegama_, but Glazier's companions insisted on naming it after their leader."...

* * * * *

_Akron Daily Beacon._

... "Until Captain Glazier traced back from Lake Itasca the perennial stream that supplied it from a more distant lake, called by the Indians _Pokegama_, and beyond which there is no further supply to the Father of Waters, Itasca was considered its source.... July twelfth, 1881, Glazier left Brainerd, Minnesota, on his mission, reaching Leech Lake July seventeenth. Thence the expedition proceeded westward by little lakes and streams and portages, until on the twenty-first they camped on Schoolcraft Island, in Lake Itasca, and then paddling through this lake away, as supposed, from the Mississippi, and by Eagle Creek, the next day they found what is now, and will hereafter be known as, LAKE GLAZIER, the ultimate source of the mighty Mississippi."...

* * * * *

_Youngstown (Ohio) Telegram._

"A pamphlet, entitled the 'True Source of the Mississippi,' by Pearce Giles, has reached us. It proves very clearly that not Lake Itasca but LAKE GLAZIER, a lake just to the south of it, is the true source of the mighty central river. The best part of the discovery seems to be that Captain Glazier so explored the country about this lake that there is no possibility of another discovery of a connecting lake beyond it. One likes to have such matters settled definitely."

* * * * *

_National Republican, Washington, D. C._

... "The birthplace of the Father of Waters is not Lake Itasca, as generally received, but LAKE GLAZIER, in its vicinity, which, by a small stream, flows into Itasca. LAKE GLAZIER, so named from its discoverer, Captain Willard Glazier, has three feeders, Eagle, Excelsior, and Deer creeks. This latest geographical claim is supported by ample testimony from highest and widespread authorities. The story of adventures during the exploration which had so important a result, is extremely interesting."

* * * * *

_Dubuque Trade Journal._

"On July twenty-second, 1881, Captain Willard Glazier dispelled the geographical error of half a century which has placed Lake Itasca on the maps as the source of the Mississippi. Strange as it may seem, there is scarcely a wilder region on this continent than exists in Northern Minnesota, and it has so remained in spite of the explorations of Beltrami, Schoolcraft, and Nicollet, who, perhaps, ought to have been a little more exhaustive in their efforts when on the same depended the designation of the actual source of a great river. Nevertheless, at the date above mentioned, Captain Glazier, at the head of a small but indomitable band, emerged from Lake Itasca, and the birch-bark canoes of the party were urged against a strong current and a bulwark of rushes, through a stream seven feet wide and three deep, until the clear waters of another lake came in view. The greatest diameter of this new body of water is about two miles, its feeders are traceable to springs only, and hence it is unquestionably the primal source whence the Father of Waters starts on his long journey of 3,184 miles to the Gulf of Mexico."...

* * * * *

_Burlington Hawkeye._

"In the summer of 1881, Captain Willard Glazier, well known as a popular writer, made a remarkable canoe voyage from the source of the Mississippi down its entire length to the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to starting on this unprecedented voyage, he organized and led an expedition to the headwaters of the river in Northern Minnesota, with a view of setting at rest the vexed question as to the true source of the mighty river. Captain Glazier and his party left Saint Paul, duly equipped with canoes and commissariat, July Fourth, 1881, and arrived at Lake Itasca July twenty-first. Thence, by the aid of his Indian guides, he penetrated to another lake beyond Itasca, and connected therewith by a stream which is a continuation of the Mississippi, and at that point is simply a narrow creek. The lake thus entered by Captain Glazier he claims to be the true source of the Father of Waters. LAKE GLAZIER now appears on the maps as the source of the Great River."

* * * * *

_Saint Paul Times._

... "Captain Glazier's claims are supported emphatically by the overwhelming testimony of thousands of the most distinguished and competent authorities in the Northwest. Glazier undoubtedly expended much time and treasure in investigating not only the source of the Mississippi, but the geography and history of the entire river, from its source to the Gulf.... The leading map publishers have endorsed his claims, and do so in a way that leaves no doubt that they place implicit confidence in him as a careful and trustworthy geographer and historian. Rand, McNally & Co., and George F. Cram, of Chicago; Matthews, Northrup & Co., of Buffalo; A. S. Barnes & Co., of New York; University Publishing Company, of New York; W. & A. K. Johnston, of Edinburgh, Scotland; MacMillan & Co., London and New York; W. M. Bradley & Brother, Philadelphia, and many others of the leading publishing houses, who have a heavy personal interest in investigating the accuracy of everything they publish, acknowledge Captain Glazier's claims by accepting his views, and reproducing them in their books and maps. The press, bar, pulpit, and legislature of the State of Minnesota give unqualified assent through many of their leading members, to the position of Captain Glazier."

* * * * *

_Chicago Times._

"The most interesting portion of Captain Glazier's 'Down the Great River' is the beginning, where the author gives the details of an expedition made in 1881 by himself with five companions, when he claims, with good grounds, to have fixed the actual, true source of the Great River. His attention was called in 1876 to the fact that, though everybody knows the mouth of the stream, there was then much uncertainty about the source. In 1881 he found time to organize the expedition named, and crossing the country to Itasca, embarked and pushed through that lake up a stream flowing into it, and came upon another considerable body of water fed by three streams originating in springs at the foot of a curved range of hills some miles further on. This lake he fixed upon as the true source, and since his published accounts many geographers and map-workers have modified their works according to his discoveries. He does not claim to be the actual discoverer of the lake, as such, but only to have been the first to discover and establish the fact that it is the highest link in a chain in which Itasca is another; or, in other words, the true source of the river. The Indian name of the lake is _Pokegama_, and this, the author says, he would have retained, but was overruled by the other five, who insisted on calling it LAKE GLAZIER. For the particulars of the interesting story the reader must be referred to the volume itself. Captain Glazier is an old traveler and a practised writer. The manner of his journey down the Mississippi enabled him to see well all there was to see, and he enables his readers to see also."

* * * * *

_Chicago Inter-Ocean._

"Readers of 'Soldiers of the Saddle,' 'Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape,' and other writings of Captain Glazier will require no urging to read the entertaining volume 'Down the Great River.' It is an account of the discovery of the true source of the Mississippi River, with pictorial and descriptive views of cities, towns and scenery gathered from a canoe voyage from its head waters to the Gulf. For fifty years American youth have been taught that 'the Mississippi rises in Lake Itasca,' until Captain Glazier, in this memorable journey of one hundred and seventeen days in his canoe, demonstrated the error and mapped the facts so accurately as to settle the question for all time. Leading geographers and educational publishers have already made changes in their maps and given due credit to Captain Glazier and his new lake. To say the Mississippi rises in LAKE GLAZIER is only doing simple justice to the intrepid explorer and hero of many battles. The book is charmingly written, mainly in the form of a diary, and contains facts of great value, so interwoven with incidents and fine descriptions and novel adventures as to be as interesting as the best romance. One could scarcely find better history or finer descriptions or be more fully impressed with the breadth and length and grandeur of American possessions than by journeying with Captain Glazier in his canoe down the grand river of the continent. The volume is handsomely printed and bound and well illustrated."

* * * * *

_Chicago Evening Journal._

"However the knowledge may affect the world at large that the source of the mighty Mississippi is other than generations of geography students have been taught that it was, there is little doubt left in the reader's mind, after perusing Captain Willard Glazier's 'Down the Great River,' that we have all been in the wrong about it, and that this most peerless river was born, not in Itasca's sparkling springs, but in another wider and deeper lake that lies still further south and bears the name of its discoverer, the author of this interesting volume of exploration and adventure. There is something charming in the simple thought of an expedition such as the one undertaken by Captain Glazier. Imagine long, silent days of absolutely unbroken communion with Nature! Slipping along in a frail canoe, without the sound of an uncongenial human speech, of clanging bells or grating wheels, through circling hours of unbroken calm, with only the swish of bending reeds and lapping waters to break the hush and remind one of a sentient world. Perhaps the author and his Indian guides occasionally exchanged a word, or the two white companions and himself indulged in a laugh that started the rattling echoes of the hills, but there was no chatter, no twaddle, no dissensions. The narrative reads like a story. Reading it, one longs to start for LAKE GLAZIER to-morrow, and thence descending, halt not in his long course until his faithful canoe slips out into the waters of the Southern Gulf, three thousand miles away. A man with a soul in him would rather take such a trip with all its hardships and its perils than go on a hundred cut-and-dried trips to Europe. The book is handsomely bound and well illustrated."

* * * * *

_Chicago Herald._

"For half a century or more it has been understood that Lake Itasca was the source of the Mississippi River, but Captain Willard Glazier has exploded this theory by a canoe voyage undertaken in 1881. The results of his investigations were given to geographers at the time and accepted as satisfactory and complete. Maps were at once changed by the map publishers, and LAKE GLAZIER, a tributary of Lake Itasca, was set down as the true source of the 'Father of Waters.' The story of Captain Glazier's adventures is told by him in a book entitled 'Down the Great River,' which is entertaining as well as being of importance as a contribution to the geography and history of this country. Together with two companions and several guides, Glazier first discovered that the lake now bearing his name was the true source of the Great River, and then journeyed by canoe from that point to the mouth of the Mississippi, a distance of 3,184 miles. This trip occupied one hundred and seventeen days and was attended with various haps and mishaps and numerous adventures of an exciting character. It is not easy from a mere book description to realize the extent and importance of such a trip as that made by Captain Glazier. More than a hundred days of roughing it along one of the greatest waterways in the world could not fail to be productive of much that would interest even a casual reader, and as Captain Glazier is an experienced traveller and a skilled writer, he has made the most of his opportunities."

* * * * *

_Springfield (Ohio) Times._

"The latest book from the pen of Willard Glazier, the well-known soldier-author, is entitled 'Down the Great River.' It is a work of great geographical and historical value, and settles beyond peradventure the disputed question of the true source of the Mississippi. Aside from its scientific value, the work is a charmingly entertaining narrative of the thrilling adventures and amusing incidents of a canoe trip over the whole length of the Mississippi from its source in the cold regions of the North to where it rolls into the ocean over the burning sands of the Gulf coast. It is highly instructive and interesting in its graphic descriptions and character sketches, depicting the varied human nature, local customs, and folk-lore that find habitation along the banks of the Great River. The book is well worth the perusal of every one, and an American library without it would be incomplete."

* * * * *

_Ohio State Journal._

"It seems strange that for nearly fifty years up to 1881, no new thing had been discovered concerning the great Mississippi, whose source in the vast wilderness of the Northwest was supposed to be in Lake Itasca. In that year, however, Captain Willard Glazier, an adventurous spirit, determined to finally solve the mystery of the source of the 'Father of Waters,' and also to navigate its entire length from source to sea. Accordingly he traced with infinite hardship the narrowing stream above Itasca until its true source was finally reached in what is now known as LAKE GLAZIER. Then, turning about, he floated down the constantly growing stream until its mighty volume was emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. Of this great trip, replete with adventure and abounding in incident, he has given a most graphic and interesting account under the title of 'Down the Great River.'"

* * * * *

_The Wheeling Intelligencer._

"Captain Glazier's name is familiar to the reading public of America through his earlier works, 'Soldiers of the Saddle,' 'Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape,' 'Battles for the Union,' 'Heroes of Three Wars,' 'Peculiarities of American Cities,' and 'Ocean to Ocean on Horseback.' His latest book, 'Down the Great River,' is his most important essay in the field of literature, and is in several respects unique. It is a very interesting account of a remarkable canoe voyage from the head waters of the Mississippi to the Gulf; but its importance comes from the fact that, until this voyage was made, the source of the Mississippi was universally placed in Lake Itasca, whereas Glazier and his party demonstrated that a higher basin, now put down in all the new maps and geographies as LAKE GLAZIER, is really the primary reservoir of the Mississippi. It seems almost incredible, but is nevertheless true, that for over forty years previous to 1881, when Captain Glazier made his discovery, it was accepted as settled that Lake Itasca was the remotest body of water from the mouth of the Mississippi. The falsity of this theory, however, has been established and an important discovery given to the geographical world. No discovery rivaling this in interest and importance has been made on the American continent for half a century."

* * * * *

_Philadelphia Public Ledger._

"By the discoveries of Captain Willard Glazier, made in 1881, Lake Itasca is dislodged from its former eminence as the source of the Mississippi, the real head-waters of that mighty stream being traced to LAKE GLAZIER, a distance of 3,184 miles from the Gulf of Mexico."

* * * * *

_Brooklyn Eagle._

"Captain Glazier's very clear map of the Great River shows the True Source to be south of Lake Itasca, accepted by Schoolcraft in 1832 as the head-waters in disregard of the stream entering its southwestern arm.... To Captain Glazier belongs the identification of the fountain-head of the Mississippi."

* * * * *

_Philadelphia Times._

"Captain Willard Glazier has lately discovered the True Source of the Mississippi, which is not in Lake Itasca, but in another lake to the south of it, and succeeds in proving his discovery to the satisfaction of the most competent judges, to wit, the geographers and educational publishers of the country. These accept the new source by placing it on their maps and calling it after its discoverer, 'Lake Glazier.'"

* * * * *

_New York Observer._

"To Captain Glazier is undoubtedly due the honor of tracing the Father of Waters, the great American river, up to its real source in the network of lakes that occupies the central and northern portion of the State of Minnesota."

* * * * *

_Minneapolis Journal._

"...That what is now known as LAKE GLAZIER is the True Source of the Mississippi River; and that to Captain Glazier is due the credit of first placing the fact before the public by accurate chart and maps, is unquestionably true."

* * * * *

_Philadelphia North American._

"The True Source of the Mississippi is settled beyond controversy. Glazier's name will hereafter be classed with those of De Soto, La Salle, and Hennepin, whose names are forever associated with the Great River which divides the United States."

* * * * *

_Philadelphia Inquirer._

"Several years ago Captain Glazier, while meditating upon the exploits of De Soto, Marquette, Father Hennepin and La Salle, the heroic old explorers, who led the way to the Great River of North America, regretted that, although its mouth was discovered by the Chevalier La Salle nearly two hundred years ago, there was still much uncertainty as to its True Source.... The discovery and final location of the source of the Mississippi has now received general recognition in this country and Europe, and there certainly seems to be no doubt of the validity of Captain Glazier's claim. His account of the discovery is very entertaining reading."

CONCLUSION.

The reader who is interested in the question discussed in this Appendix has, we venture to assert, found ample evidence to justify the author of "Down the Great River" in his claim to have been the first to locate the veritable source of the Mississippi. The testimony is of such a character that it is impossible for an impartial critic to arrive at any other verdict than that the fountain-head of the Father of Waters is _not_ in Lake Itasca, but in the lake to the south of it, now known as LAKE GLAZIER. The declarations of the Indians and pioneers in the vicinity of the source of this river are altogether corroborative of Captain Glazier and his companions; the press of Minnesota speaks with but one voice, while geographers and educational publishers are almost unanimous in their recognition of the facts developed by his expedition.

HUBBARD BROTHERS, _Publishers of "Down The Great River_." 723 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, April 30, 1888.