The answer is found in "Down the Great River",* a record of Captain Willard Glazier's 1881 expedition to search for the "true headwaters" of the Mississippi River. In his explorations, Captain Glazier found a previously unknown lake that drained into Lake Itasca, proving that in the past the geological information about the headwaters was untrue. And believe it or not, one of the birch bark canoes he purchased from the Leech Lake Chippewa Indians and used on that expedition still survives today.

Earlier explorers had made attempts to explore the upper Mississippi River, such as Carver and Pike in 1805, arriving at Turtle Lake and assuming this to be the source of the Mississippi River. In 1820 General Lewis Cass organized an expedition, was hampered by bad weather, and rested at the lake which now bears his name. In 1832 Henry Schoolcraft reached Lake Itasca, declaring the lake the headwaters of the Mississippi. However, according to Glazier, Schoolcraft neglected to search Lake Itasca for its feeder waters and thus missed the goal he had so industriously sought.

In 1836 Jean Nicollet headed an expedition to the headwaters region. From his maps and the narrative of his expedition, he also overlooked the main stream entering the southwestern edge of Lake Itasca. In 1881 the question of the fountain head of the Great River was again revived. And that's when Captain Willard Glazier's expedition located a lake to the southwest of Lake Itasca as the true source of the Mississippi River, the Father of Waters.

On July 12 of 1881 Captain Glazier and his companions departed Brainerd, Minnesota, in a wagon. Brainerd was an enterprising town situated at the point where the Northern Pacific Railway crosses the Mississippi River. It was also the nearest place for access to Lake Itasca. His entourage followed a wagon road known as the "Government Road," which stretched some 75 miles through immense pine forests and almost impenetrable underbrush leading to Leech Lake. The Brainerd to Leech Lake wagon road was opened in 1836 for the convenience of Indian Agents and fur traders. It was known as "one of the roughest roads in Minnesota."

After several days of visiting and making friends with the Pillagers, as the Leech Lake Indians are known, and upon recommendation by Flat Mouth, head chief of the Chippewas, Glazier was sent to the one Indian in the Chippewa country who had actually traversed the region around Lake Itasca -- Chenowagesic. Arrangements were made to procure three birch bark canoes, one of which was Chenowagesic's personal canoe that he would use while acting as one of two Indian guides for Captain Glazier. In addition to Glazier's two Indian guides, the expedition included an interpreter, Glazier's brother and Barrett Paine, a reporter with the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

On July 17, 1881, the party launched the canoes on Leech Lake. After five days of grueling portages with a mix of canoeing on lakes never before seen by the White Man, with no shortage of mosquitoes and an abundance of blue berries, the party found the shores of Lake Itasca. They were tired and short of food and fish hooks. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft had discovered Lake Itasca in 1832, and according to the Chippewas, he had erroneously reported it as the source of the Mississippi River.

Chenowagisic reminded the intrepid explorers that "the region around Lake Itasca was his hunting ground and that he was thoroughly acquainted with all the rivers, lakes and ponds within a hundred miles." (page 69) The explorers searched the shore line of Itasca thoroughly. At the southwestern edge of Lake Itasca, a small stream was found on which the explorers paddled their canoes, eventually reaching a beautiful transparent body of water, "the source of the father of waters." (page 71)

According to Captain Glazier, "this lake was about a mile and a half in greatest diameter" (page 72) and shaped like a heart. Three small feeder creeks were found to empty into the lake, two of which were found to have origins "in springs at the foot of sand-hills from five to six miles distant." (page 72) The third was but little more than a mile in length and had no clearly defined course. It was the outlet of a small lake situated in a marsh to the southwest, the Hernando DeSoto Lake.

Having satisfied themselves as to Lake Itasca 's remotest feeders, Captain Glazier proclaimed that they were looking upon the TRUE SOURCE of the Great River and that they had completed the work begun by Hernando DeSoto in 1541, correcting a geographical error of half a century's standing. He also proclaimed that the True Source of the Great River will be named Lake Glazier.

Notes from the book: The name of the beautiful lake southwest of Lake Itasca was officially called Lake Glazier for many years. Rand, McNally & Co., George F. Cram, Harper & Brothers, MacMillian & Co., Webster's Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and many other map makers and publishers corrected their map plates and publications to name Lake Glazier as the true source of the Mississippi River . Newspapers such as the Saint Paul Dispatch, the Minneapolis Star News, the Chicago Times, among others, officially acknowledged Captain Glazier's discovery.

Lake Glazier remained the lake's official name for several years. However, for some reason, probably political in nature, the lake was renamed Elk Lake and officialdom again called Lake Itasca the "Headwaters of the Mississippi."

It was Captain Glazier's intention to descend the entire course of the Mississippi River from its remotest springs in the wilds of Minnesota to its outlet into the Gulf of Mexico. This feat eventually was accomplished, and he documented the entire trip in his book, "Down the Great River", published by Hubbard Brothers in 1891. This book also contains a 4-inch wide by 36-inch long map detailing the Mississippi River from start to end.

So the explorers' first day from the headwaters (July 22, 1881) found them traveling about ten miles below Lake Itasca. As they continued canoeing down the Great River, they passed through such lakes as Bemidji (the northernmost point on the Mississippi River), across Cass Lake and Winnibegoshish, where their faithful Indian guides ended their portion of the trip and returned to their own people.

The twelfth day after leaving Lake Itasca found the explorers arriving at the pioneer village of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Grand Rapids at this point in time consisted of the "Potter House," a hotel built by Warren Potter (also an Aitkin businessman), two stores, a saloon and three or four private houses, all built of logs. The Potter House was the first hotel encountered in their descent of the river. August 6, 1881, found the Glazier party arriving in Aitkin, Minnesota, the northernmost settlement of any importance on the Mississippi River and situated on the Northern Pacific Railway line. Ten days were spent in Aitkin, reorganizing and lecturing to various groups. "Down the Great River" describes the remainder of Glazier's journey down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.

Captain Glazier had named each of the three birch bark canoes purchased from the Leech Lake Chippewas. Upon reaching Minneapolis he abandoned his canoe named "Discovery." The two canoes left behind in Aitkin were named the "Alice" (Captain Glazier's daughter) and the " Itasca." It is not known which of the two canoes has been kept intact; however, it is well documented that it is one of the canoes Captain Glazier left with his personal friend, Warren Potter.

The canoe has been in storage all these years with Potter's family. Recently great-grandson Fred W. Hasskamp of Hamilton, Montana, and his brother Steven Hasskamp of Rockwall, Texas, acquired the canoe from the estate of their mother ­ Geraldine Ross Hasskamp, granddaughter of Warren Potter. Geraldine's mother, Marcia Potter Ross, was Warren Potter's daughter.

The original birch bark remains on the canoe, verifying its authenticity, and it is in excellent condition, except - at the age of 12, granddaughter Geraldine got permission to put the canoe into the Mud River (now called Ripple River) which flowed right by her home in Aitkin. She did fine with the canoe until it hit the nearby bridge abutment, leaving some scrapes on one end of the canoe. After that adventure, the canoe was put back into storage in the family's old barn where it remained until its recent relocation. Thank heavens she didn't try to go cruisin' down the Great River !

REFERENCE

*Glazier, Captain Willard, DOWN THE GREAT RIVER ; Embracing an Account of the Discovery of the True Source of the Mississippi . Philadelphia, Hubbard Brothers, Publishers, 1891.