Fifty Years In The Northwest
inlet being found the party came to the conclusion that this was, as
the Indians claimed, the true source of the Mississippi river. Mr.
Schoolcraft being satisfied as to the correctness of the observations,
landed his party on an island near the middle of the lake.
He was puzzled to know what name to give the lake, and asked Mr.
Boutwell if he knew of any word that would express the term "true head
of the river." Mr. Boutwell said he could think of no single word that
would express it, but there were two Latin words that would answer the
purpose, and those were _veritas_--true, and _caput_--head. Mr.
Schoolcraft immediately wrote on a piece of paper the two words, and
then erasing the first syllable of the first word and the last
syllable of the latter, joined the remaining syllables. He then
planted the stars and stripes on a little eminence, and formally
christened the lake "Itasca." They then proceeded to descend the
Mississippi. "As we were passing through the outlet of the lake," said
Mr. Boutwell, "I stopped my canoe on the shore and jumped across the
Mississippi. I considered that a great thing to relate in after
years."
The party with their own boats descended the Mississippi, distributing
tobacco, medals and flags to Indians on their way.[E] "When I see the
great cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul now," said Mr. Boutwell, "I
have to reflect that when we made our memorable trip down the river in
1832 we stopped at St. Anthony falls, and I stood on the east bank and
looked across the river in profound admiration of the most beautiful
landscape I had ever seen, with only a few head of government cattle
belonging at Fort Snelling grazing upon it. The whole country on both
sides of the river was as God had made it. When we passed the locality
of St. Paul there was not even an Indian tepee to be seen."
The party halted at a Sioux Indian village at Kaposia, a few miles
below St. Paul, and after a short consultation proceeded to the mouth
of the St. Croix, and ascending the St. Croix to its source, made a
portage of two miles to the source of the Burnt Wood river, which they
descended to Lake Superior, and thence returned to their starting
place. In the following year Mr. Boutwell established a mission at
Leech lake. In giving an account of his reception by the Indians, he
says: "When I arrived the men, with a few exceptions, were making
their fall hunts, while their families remained at the lake and its
vicinity to gather their corn and make rice. A few lodges were
encamped quite near. These I began to visit, for the purpose of
reading, singing, etc., in order to interest the children and awaken
in them the desire for instruction. I told them about the children at
Mackinaw, the Sault, and at La Pointe, who could read, write and sing.
To this they would listen attentively, while the mother would often
reply: 'My children are poor and ignorant.' To a person unaccustomed
to Indian manners and Indian wildness it would have been amusing to
have seen the little ones, as I approached their lodge, running and
screaming, more terrified, if possible, than if they had met a bear
robbed of her whelps. It was not long, however, before most of them
overcame their fears; and in a few days my dwelling, a lodge which I
occupied for three or four weeks, was frequented from morning till
evening by an interesting group of boys, all desirous to learn to
read, sing, etc. To have seen them hanging, some on one knee, others
on my shoulder, reading and singing, while others, whether from shame
or fear I know not, who dared not venture within, were peeping in
through the sides of the cottage, or lying flat upon the ground and
looking under the bottom, might have provoked a smile; especially to
have seen them as they caught a glance of my eye, springing upon their
feet and running like so many wild asses colts. The rain, cold and
snow were alike to them, in which they would come, day after day, many
of them clad merely with a blanket and a narrow strip of cloth about
the loins. The men at length returned, and an opportunity was
presented me for reading to them. The greater part listened
attentively. Some would come back and ask me to read more. Others
laughed, and aimed to make sport of both me and my mission."
He continued to labor here until 1837, when the Indians becoming
troublesome, and having murdered Aitkin, an agent of the fur company,
he deemed it advisable to remove the mission to Pokegama lake. He
labored here faithfully, much respected by the Indians for his
firmness and christian devotion. In 1847 he removed to Stillwater and
settled on a farm near the city, where he is spending the remainder of
his days, cared for by his affectionate daughter Kate and her kind
husband, ----Jones. Though infirm in body on account of advanced age
his mind is clear and his memory retentive. He enjoys the respect
accorded to venerable age, and that which pertains to an early and
middle life spent in unusual toils and hardships in the noblest work
intrusted to the hands of man.
MRS. HESTER CROOKS BOUTWELL deserves honorable mention as the early
companion of the devoted missionary. She was the daughter of Ramsey
Crooks, of New York, an Indian trader. Her mother was a half-breed
Ojibway woman. Hester Crooks was born on Drummond island, Lake Huron,
May 30, 1817. Her father gave her a superior education at Mackinaw
mission. She was a woman of tall and commanding figure, her black hair
and eyes indicating her Indian origin. She was a fluent
conversationalist, and careful and tidy in her personal appearance.
She died in Stillwater in 1853, leaving a family of seven children.
CHENGWATANA.
This town derived its name from the Chippewa words, "cheng-wa" (pine)
and "tana" (city), applied to an Indian village which from time
immemorial had been located near the mouth of Cross lake. This
locality had long been a rallying point for Indians and traders. When
the writer visited it, in 1846, it had the appearance of an ancient
place of resort. Half-breeds and whites with Indian wives settled
here, and in 1852 there were several log houses, and a hotel kept by
one Ebenezer Ayer. There was also a dam built for sluicing logs. Among
the early settlers were Duane Porter, George Goodwin, Herman Trott,
John G. Randall, Emil, Gustave and Adolph Munch. Mr. Trott built a
fine residence on the shore of Cross lake, afterward the home of S. A.
Hutchinson. The Munch brothers built a store and made other
improvements. John G. Randall, in 1856-7-8, manufactured lumber, ran
it down the Kanabec and St. Croix rivers to Rush Seba, Sunrise and
Taylor's Falls. In 1852, and soon after the building of the government
road to Superior City, a post office and a stage route from St. Paul
to Superior City were established. The dam, to which reference has
been made, was built in 1848, by Elam Greely. It is at the outlet of
Cross lake and has ten feet head. The flowage covers many thousands of
acres. The ownership has changed several times. The tolls levied
amount to from ten to fifteen cents per thousand feet. The chartered
operators control the flowage completely, opening and shutting gates
at their pleasure. Many of the first settlers removed to other
localities. Mr. Trott and the Munch brothers to St. Paul, J. G.
Randall to Colorado, and Louis Ayd to Taylor's Falls.
In 1856 an effort was made to found a village on the site of the old
Indian town of Chengwatana. Judd, Walker & Co. and Daniel A. Robertson
surveyed and platted the village of Alhambra, but the name was not
generally accepted, and the old Indian name of Chengwatana superseded
it. The town of Chengwatana was organized in 1874. The first
supervisors were Duane Porter, Resin Denman and Ferdinand Blank.
LOUIS AYD was born in Germany in 1840; came to America in 1852 and
settled in Chengwatana. He served three and a half years as a soldier
during the Rebellion, and was seriously injured in the service. On his
return he settled in Taylor's Falls. He is a well-to-do farmer and
dealer in live stock for the meat market. He has been a member of the
Roman Catholic church from childhood. He was married to Rosabella
Hoffman, of Hudson, Wisconsin, in 1871.
DUANE PORTER, the son of a surgeon in the United States Army in the
war of 1812, was born in Washington county, New York, in 1825; came
West as far as Illinois in 1852, and to St. Croix Falls in 1844. He
was married in 1848 to Mary Lapraire, and in the same year located at
Chengwatama. His occupation is that of an explorer and lumberman. He
has ten children living.
S. A. HUTCHINSON.--Mr. Hutchinson was a native of Maine, and while
yet a youth came to the valley of the St. Croix, and located at
Chengwatana, where he married a Chippewa woman, and raised a family of
half-breed children. "Gus" Hutchinson, as he was familiarly called,
had many noble traits of character and was very popular with his
associates. He had a well trained mind; was skilled as a lumberman and
explorer, and was of a genial disposition, honest in heart and true in
his friendships. He was elected sheriff of Pine county, and served
four years. On the night of Aug. 16, 1880, he was found in a sitting
posture on his bed, lifeless, a rifle ball having pierced his heart.
It appeared, on investigation, that his oldest son wanted to marry an
Indian girl, to which his father objected. On the night after the
murder the marriage took place in Indian style. Suspicion pointing
strongly toward mother and son, they were arrested, and an indictment
found by the grand jury against the son. He was tried and acquitted.
HINCKLEY.
The township of Hinckley was organized in 1872. It includes a large
area of land; heavily timbered with pine and hardwood. The soil is
varied, consisting of black and yellow sand loam with clay subsoil. It
abounds in meadows, marshes, tamarack swamps, pine and hardwood
ridges, and is capable of cultivation.
THE VILLAGE OF HINCKLEY
Lies midway between St. Paul and Duluth, on the St. Paul & Daluth
railroad. It was founded soon after the completion of the road. The
Manitoba railroad passes through the village, running from St. Cloud
to Superior. It was incorporated in 1885. The following were the first
officers: President, James J. Brennan; recorder, S. W. Anderson;
trustees, James Morrison, Nels Parson, John Perry; treasurer, John
Burke; justices of the peace, John Brennan, A. B. Clinch; constable,
Andrew Stone. Prior to this incorporation, Hinckley had suffered
considerably from the lawlessness of its occasional or transient
residents and visitors, and the large majority of the vote in favor of
incorporation is justly considered as a triumph of law and order. The
village has a saw mill doing a large business, a good depot, round
house, four hotels, several stores, shops, and fine residences, a
commodious school house, and two churches--a Lutheran and Catholic.
The Minneapolis & Manitoba railroad connects here with the St. Paul &
Duluth railroad, and is being extended to Superior.
JAMES MORRISON was born on Cape Breton island in 1840. Mr. Morrison
was one of the first settlers of Hinckley, having come to the
settlement in 1869, in the employ of the St. Paul & Duluth railroad.
He has followed farming and hotel keeping. He is an active and
industrious man, the proprietor of a large hotel, and a member of the
Presbyterian church.
SANDSTONE VILLAGE
Is located in the northwest quarter of section 15, township 42, range
20. It contains about forty dwellings, three large boarding houses,
two stores, one hotel and a stone saw mill with diamond-toothed saw,
built by Ring & Tobin, at a cost of $30,000. The stone quarries of the
Kettle River & Sandstone Company are located on sections 3, 10 and 15,