Thus it was that Captain Glazier determined upon a search for this great unknown of waters. The time, however, was not yet ripe for the fulfilment of his purpose. There was promised work to be done, duties to the public waiting to be fulfilled, various literary responsibilities accumulated from the past which must be met, the projected undertaking itself to be specially prepared for;--all this to be done before he could finally turn his face towards his new purpose. The intervening period was therefore occupied in carefully revising his literary productions. Several of his books, written hastily at the close of the war, had been published in rapid succession in a somewhat incomplete form, and the constantly increasing demand for their subsequent editions brought a public pressure to bear upon him for their needed revision which could not well be resisted. He had also other forthcoming works on his hands, which he was anxious should be put into form before he again launched himself upon the sea of uncertain ventures. In order to collect additional material for his book upon the "Peculiarities of American Cities" it was necessary that he should make an extensive traveling tour; consequently, a considerable portion of this time was spent in visiting the leading cities of the United States and Canada. Adding to all this the necessary preparatory labor attending his contemplated voyage in search of the true source of the Mississippi, and it will be seen that the years elapsing between his journey from ocean to ocean and his latest expedition were actively and well employed. At length, however, all his tasks were accomplished, and the month of May, 1881, found him stopping for a few days at Cleveland, Ohio, in his journey westward from New York. Leaving Cleveland on the first day of June, he proceeded to Chicago, and without further tarrying went from that city directly to St. Paul, Minnesota, intending to make this the first point for gathering his forces and collecting the material needed for his coming exploration. Here he was joined by his brother George and Barrett Channing Paine, of Indianapolis, Indiana. The month of June was spent at St. Paul in collecting tents, blankets, guns, ammunition, fishing tackle and all the various paraphernalia necessary for a six weeks' sojourn in the northern wilderness. Finally, all arrangements being completed, the party left St. Paul on the morning of July the fourth, to go to Brainerd, about a hundred miles above St. Paul, which was to be the point of immediate departure for Leech Lake and thence to Lake Itasca. Brief stoppages were made at Minneapolis, Monticello, St. Cloud and Little Falls on their way up the river, until Brainerd was reached July the seventh.