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early gray of last July's first Thursday. We had bargained by post with
Beaulieu, a shrewd, wiry, reckless French half-breed, for transportation
of ourselves, canoes, equipment and provisions to Itasca Lake, or to a
point upon the Mississippi five miles below the lake, as we might elect.
His assurance was that four days and forty-one dollars would carry us to
our first objective point. His helpers were a lively young half-breed,
son-in-law of the murdered chief Hole-in-the-Day, another big mongrel,
fat, plodding and reticent, and a young Indian who could speak a few
English words, but was destitute of ideas in either English or Chippewa.
Their motive-power was grazing on the open prairie back of the ragged
village. The Reservation Indian, denied liquor at home, reckons upon a
trip out of bounds as fair opportunity for a spree, so that catching and
harnessing the ponies and cattle was a tedious task that covered the
hours from breakfast well on toward noon; but at last the Hattie was
firmly imbedded in prairie-grass and soft luggage upon one wagon, the
Fritz and the Betsy were bound together upon a second, and the men of
the fleet, with the stores, filled the third.

From Detroit City to Itasca Lake is about forty miles in a straight
line, but no practicable way thither approximates to a direct line, and
he who would see the beautiful lake and the head of the great river must
travel for seven or eight days and endure many hardships. Sixty miles
were to be done on wheels. The first day's travel was to White Earth
Agency, twenty-two miles across a rolling prairie which steadily rises
toward its climax in the Hauteur des Terres. The soil is of rare
fertility, and the unbounded fields were clothed in the greenest of
green, flecked with wild flowers of every hue in luxuriant profusion.
Clumps of trees gave variety to the broad and beautiful view, while
scores of clear little lakes gemmed the prairie as with great drops of
molten silver. The eye swept an horizon of twenty miles, and once twenty
leagues were within our visual grasp. The plodding fat man went his way
in a dignified walk, but the passenger vehicle and that which bore the
other boats, travelling by order of Beaulieu, who had in him more
Detroit whiskey than ordinary discretion, came more than half the way at
a terrible gait, spite of our remonstrances and greatly to our
trepidation. Examination showed that the Betsy was racked and pounded
beyond all excuse, whil