pretty modern canoes which awaited us there. The descent of the
river in these canoes was easy and pleasant. At all the principal
towns the Captain delivered his lecture, 'Pioneers of the
Mississippi,' which was listened to with great interest.

"Between Aitkin and Saint Paul numerous and dangerous rapids were
met, all of which were shot in safety; and the Falls of Saint
Anthony reached without accident. Below Saint Anthony Falls the
scenery is very beautiful, high bluffs arising with more or less
abruptness from the water's edge.

"Among other points of especial interest along the Upper
Mississippi, Lake Pepin occupies the most prominent position after
Saint Anthony Falls. Environed by majestic bluffs and with a length
of thirty miles it forms a very beautiful sheet of water. But
though beautiful it is treacherous, and the winds sweeping down
between the high bluffs frequently make navigation on its waters
perilous. In the morning when we reached its upper end we found to
our dismay that the elements had possession, and the waves ran so
high that a number of river steamers had been compelled to tie up
and wait for the storm to subside. Captain Glazier, however, having
a lecture appointment at Lake City, half way down the lake,
determined to keep his appointment despite the weather, and
ventured forth regardless of the warning of the river men. It took
us all day to paddle a distance of sixteen miles, and many times it
seemed that our frail boats would be engulfed by the waves which
dashed over them; but the danger was passed in safety.

"From this point things went smoothly until the canoe fleet was
just below Winona, when a sudden and violent squall struck the
boats and came near sending us to the bottom. Fortunately, this too
was weathered, and then the only drawbacks encountered were the
continuous and strong headwinds and the seas consequent upon them,
which tried our nerves so frequently that they came at length to be
naturally expected. While on the Keokuk Rapids the wind blew so
strongly that it actually carried the boats up stream, and it was
only by the hardest paddling that any downward progress could be
made.

"At La Crosse the expedition was reduced in number to the Captain
and myself, who proceeded to the Gulf in the _Alice_