d the following letter:

"St. Charles Hotel,
New Orleans, _November 21, 1881_.
Joseph S. Copes, M. D.
President New Orleans Academy of Sciences:

Dear Sir:--I have just concluded upon the border of the State of
Louisiana, a voyage of observation and exploration; and as you have
expressed considerable interest in the results of my expedition,
and manifested a desire to possess the canoe in which the
explorations were made, I find pleasure in presenting it to your
honorable society as a souvenir of my voyage and discoveries.

During this canoe journey of over three thousand miles, beginning
at the headwaters of the Mississippi and extending to the Gulf of
Mexico, I had the satisfaction of locating the source of the Great
River which we have traversed, and feel a pride in having corrected
a geographical error of half a century's standing.

I will not now enter into a detailed account of my explorations on
the Upper Mississippi, but shall take the earliest opportunity of
transmitting to your secretary a complete history of the voyage,
which will be issued in book form as soon as the matter can be
prepared for publication.

Very respectfully yours,
Willard Glazier.

"A special meeting of the Academy of Sciences was held at No. 46
Carondelet street, Dr. J. S. Copes, president, in the chair, for the
purpose of receiving from Captain Willard Glazier the handsome cedar
canoe 'Alice,' with which he navigated the Mississippi River from Aitkin
to the Gulf.

"By invitation Captain Glazier gave an account of his explorations on
the Upper Mississippi and especially of that section of country beyond
Lake Itasca, which body of water has hitherto been considered the
fountain-head of the Great River.

"Dr. Copes in the name of the Academy thanked Captain Glazier for his
valuable gift, which would be highly prized, and then congratulated the
explorer upon his contribution to American geographical knowledge,
comparing him with De Soto, Marquette, La Salle, Hennepin, and Joliet,
whose highest fame was connected with discoveries relating to the
Mississippi.

"In the course of his remarks the learned doctor said that De Soto
penetrated the continent of Nor