Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820: Resumed and Completed, by the Discovery of its Origin in Itasca Lake, in 1832Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
History
Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River, in 1820: Resumed and Completed, by the Discovery of its Origin in Itasca Lake, in 1832
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Great Lakes (North America); Mississippi River -- Sources; Northwest, Old -- Description and travel
attack on the women and children who occupied the baggage wagons, and
were all slain. Several of the women fought with swords. During the
action, a sergeant of infantry ran his bayonet through the heart of an
Indian who had lifted his tomahawk to strike him; not being able to
withdraw the instrument, it served to hold up the Indian, who actually
tomahawked him in this position, and both fell dead together.[138] The
Miamis remained neuter in this massacre. Mr. Kinzie, of Chicago, of
whose hospitalities we had partaken, was a witness of this transaction,
and furnished the principal facts of this narrative.
[138] Gouverneur Morris recites a similar incident at the battle of
Oriskany, in 1777.--_Coll. New York Hist. Soc._
The morning (Sept. 1) opened with a perfect gale, and we were _degradè_,
to use a Canadian term, all day; the waves dashed against the shore with
a violence that made it impossible to take the lake with canoes, and
would have rendered it perilous even to a large vessel. This violence
continued, with no perceptible diminution, during the day. As a mode of
relief from the tedium of delay, a short excursion was made into the
prairie. I found a few species of the unio, in a partially choked up
branch of the Konamek. Capt. Douglass improved the time by taking
observations for the latitude, and we footed around ten miles of the
extreme southern head of the lake. It is edged with sand-hills, bearing
pines. A few dead valves of the fresh-water muscle were found on the
shore.
On the following day the wind lulled, when we proceeded fifty-four
miles, passing in the distance the remains of the schooner Hercules,
which went ashore in a gale, in November, 1816, and all on board
perished; her mast, pump, spars, and the graves of the passengers, among
which, was that of Lieut. W. S. Eveleth, U. S. A., were pointed out to
us. We landed a few moments at the entrance of the River du Chemin,[139]
where the trail to Detroit leaves the lake shore. The distance to that
city is estimated at three hundred miles. Ten miles beyond this spot we
passed the little River Galien, where, at this time, the town and harbor
of New Buffalo, of Michigan, is situated, and we encamped on the shore
twelve miles beyond it.
[139] Michigan City, of the State of Indiana, is located near this
spot. This city has its harbor communicating with Lake Michigan
through this creek. It has a newspaper, branch bank, railroad, and
(in 1853) 2,353 inhabitants.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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