r.--Starting on the eventful journey.--Joined by his brother
George and Barrett Channing Paine.--Collecting materials for the
expedition.--Brainerd the first point of departure.--Through the
Chippewa Country.--Seventy miles of government road.--Curiosity
its own reward.--Arrival at Leech Lake.

An interval of three years, from 1878 to 1881, now elapsed in the career
of Captain Glazier; years of retirement from public attention, but by no
means of inactivity on his part. During this period he was engaged
mainly in literary work, and in preparation for a forthcoming expedition
which his ever restless brain had evolved, and which, if successful,
would furnish a valuable contribution to the geography of North America.

The design of the expedition was no less than the discovery of the true
source of the "Father of Waters," the mighty Mississippi; and a voyage
thence, in a canoe, to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. It was a novel
and daring project.

The idea of such an undertaking had occurred to him while on his
horseback journey across the continent; of which a brief outline has
been given the reader in previous chapters. He had come to a point in
his onward progress which is noted for its beauty, being one of the most
picturesque spots on the Mississippi, the bridge spanning the river
between Iowa and Illinois, where the rock-divided stream flows grandly
by under the shadow of towering bluffs. His own words best describe the
impression which the scene made upon him, and the consequent birth in
his brain of the most notable achievement of his life:--

"While crossing the continent on horseback from ocean to ocean, in 1876,
I came to a bridge which spans the Mississippi between Rock Island,
Illinois, and Davenport, Iowa. As I saw the flood of this mighty stream
rolling beneath me, I turned in imagination to its discovery in 1541. I
saw the renowned De Soto upon its banks and buried in its depths: I
accompanied Marquette from the mouth of the Wisconsin to the mouth of
the Arkansas: I followed Father Hennepin northward to St. Anthony's
Falls: and I saw the daring La Salle plant the banner of France on the
shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

"Musing thus upon the exploits of the heroic old explorers who led the
way to this grand and peerless river of North America, I felt that it
was a subject of much regret that although its mouth was discovered by
the Chevalier La Salle nearly two hundred years ago, there was