Paul Beaulieu, the half-breed interpreter to Major Ruffe, possesses a fund of information concerning the Upper Mississippi which cannot be ignored by those who are in pursuit of its mysterious source, and Captain Glazier considered himself most fortunate in meeting him before his departure for Lake Itasca. Beaulieu deserves more than a passing mention, as he is a man of wide experience, and is well known throughout Minnesota, and, in some circles, throughout the country. He was born at Mackinaw, while General Sibley was stationed there in the interest of the American Fur Company, of which John Jacob Astor was then the head. His father was a Frenchman and his mother an Indian. He received an English education, partly in the government school of Mackinaw, and partly at Montreal. On leaving school he was employed by the Fur Company, and sent all over the United States from the St. Lawrence to Lower California. He crossed the continent with the Stevens party on the first Northern Pacific survey, and rendered such valuable services that he was presented with a testimonial in recognition of his efficiency. Beaulieu had a theory of his own regarding the source of the Mississippi, based upon the stories of the Chippewas and other Indians of his acquaintance. In conversation with Captain Glazier upon the subject he said that to the west of Lake Itasca there was another lake, the outlet of which united with the stream from the former, and which contributed a much larger volume of water at its junction with the Mississippi than the outlet of Lake Itasca. He therefore assumed that this nameless and almost unknown lake was the true source of the Mississippi. In corroboration of the Beaulieu theory Major Ruffe said that he had heard the same opinion expressed by a number of old and reliable Indian voyagers. It will thus be seen that there was a great diversity of sentiment among the most trustworthy authorities as to the actual source of the Great River. Captain Glazier was greatly exercised on finding that his arrival at Leech Lake was at a season when the local band of Indians, the Pillagers, as they are called, were away upon their annual hunting and fishing excursion. Their absence from the agency was a serious obstacle in the way of immediate further progress, for the reason that, being compelled to take the final step in their expedition to the source of the Mississippi from this point, it was important that they should complete their equipment by securing an interpreter, reliable guides and birch bark canoes.