Schoolcraft's Expedition to Lake Itasca

Preface

PREFACE HENRY ROWE SCHOOLCRAFT was one of the most remarkable men of the nineteenth century. He won acclaim as a writer, scientist, authority on the North American Indian, and poet. His books on exploration and travel in the Old Northwest were widely read by his contemporaries and gave him an international reputation. In recent years there has been a reawakening of interest in this man and his writings. Consequently all the numerous books he wrote are collectors' items. Schoolcraft's Narrative of an Expedition Through the Upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake, the subject of this edition, was published in 1834 by Harper & Brothers. It was reissued in 1855 as a part of Schoolcraft's Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi River in 1820: Resumed and completed by the discovery of its Origin in Itasca Lake in 1832. To the earlier volume, Schoolcraft added an extensive appendix, including many of the official letters and reports relating to the original expedition. Some of these, such as Schoolcraft's "Lectures on the Chippewa Substantive," and his essay, "Vocabulary of Words and Phrases in the Chippewa Language," have little to do with the 1832 expedition. They were obviously added to lengthen his book. His "Remarks on the Lead Mine Country on the Upper Mississippi" were also included. These articles and lists of shells, plants, and minerals observed and collected by the expedition are omitted from the present edition, as well as Schoolcraft's official report of the expedition to Elbert Herring, Director of the Office of Indian Affairs, dated December 3, 1832; this lengthy report is a summary of the Narrative, and does not contain enough new information to warrant its publication. In this edition, the editor has included in the "Appendices" additional correspondence and reports which did not appear in Schoolcraft's edition. Letters written by Dr. Douglass Houghton, the Reverend Mr. William T. Boutwell, and Lieutenant James Allen, describing the journey, are appended to the main text, as are the various newspaper accounts of the expedition. Also included are the daily journals of Allen, Houghton, and Boutwell. Lieutenant Allen's journal was printed by the federal government shortly after the expedition, but the complete diaries of Houghton and Boutwell appear for the first time in this book. It is possible that George Johnston, the interpreter, and other members of the military escort kept diaries, but they have not been discovered. Although the various journals and reports are to some degree repetitious, there is enough different information in each to warrant including them in full. Whenever possible, the editor has retained the original text, although in some cases the punctuation has been changed slightly and obvious typoxi Xli Preface graphical errors have been corrected. One of the problems of editing Schoolcraft's Narrative is the frequent misspelling of Indian names. In numerous cases the names are spelled in different ways not only in the same chapter, but even in the same paragraph. When there were differences in the spelling of places in the other diarists' writing, the editor has interposed the generally accepted spelling in brackets. Modem geographical names have been inserted in brackets wherever a reader might fail to identify them. The map used as end papers in this volume has been adapted from Lt. James Allen's original manuscript map filed in the National Archives. Notes appear at the end of each of the journals. The diarist's initials are added in brackets to distinguish original footnotes from those of the editor. Many persons have helped with this book. I am particularly indebted to Dr. F. Clever Bald of the University of Michigan, who offered many suggestions , and who stimulated my original interest in the history of Michigan. I am grateful also to Mr. George Wiskemann of Lansing, who made available to me many of his rare Schoolcraft books; to Mr. R. D. Burroughs and Miss Helen Martin of the Michigan Conservation Department, who gave many helpful suggestions about Dr. Douglass Houghton; to Miss Geneva Kebler and Mrs. Elizabeth Rademacher of the Archives of the Michigan Historical Commission; to Mrs. Esther Loughin of the Michigan Section; and to Mr. Francis X. Scannell, Director of Readers Services of the Michigan State Library. I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Amy McPherson and Mr. Robert Land of the Manuscripts Division of the Library of Congress; Dr. Oliver Holmes and Mr. Victor Gondas of the National Archives; Mr. Russell Fridley, Director of the Minnesota Historical Society; Mr. Howard...