s, "veritas,"
truth, and "caput," head, and suggested that a word might be coined out
of the combination that would answer the purpose. He then cut off the
last two syllables of veritas, making "Itas," and the first syllable of
caput, making "ca," and, putting them together, he gave the word
"Itasca," which, in my judgment, is a sufficiently skillful and
beautiful literary feat to immortalize the inventor. Mr. Boutwell died
within a few years at Stillwater, in Minnesota.

Presumptuous attempts have been made to deprive Schoolcraft of the honor
of having discovered the true source of the river, but their transparent
absurdity has prevented their having obtained any credence, and to put a
quietus on such unscrupulous pretenses, Mr. J. V. Brower, a scientific
surveyor, under the auspices of the Minnesota Historical Society, has
recently made exhaustive researches, surveys and maps of the region, and
established beyond doubt or cavil the entire authenticity of
Schoolcraft's discovery. Gen. James H. Baker, once surveyor general of
the State of Minnesota, and a distinguished member of the same society,
under its appointment, prepared an elaborate paper on the subject, in
which is collected and presented all the facts, history and knowledge
that exists relating to the discovery, and conclusively destroys all
efforts to deprive Schoolcraft of his laurels.

ELEVATIONS IN MINNESOTA.

While on the subject of the source of the Mississippi river, I may as
well speak of the elevations of the state above the level of the sea. It
can be truthfully said that Minnesota occupies the summit of the North
American continent. In its most northern third rises the Mississippi,
which, in its general course, flows due south to the Gulf of Mexico. In
about its center division, from north to south, rises the Red River of
the North, and takes a general northerly direction until it empties into
Lake Winnipeg, while the St. Louis and other rivers take their rise in
the same region and flow eastwardly into Lake Superior, which is the
real source of the St. Lawrence, which empties into the Atlantic.

The elevation at the source of the Mississippi is 1,600 feet, and at the
point where it leaves the southern boundary of the state, 620 feet. The
elevation at the source of the Red River of the North is the same as
that of the Mississippi, 1,600 feet, and where it leaves the state at
its northern boundary 767 feet. The average elevation of the sta