sheds light upon the first navigation of our waters in the very twilight of our history. It comes to us like a voice from the dead past, out of the Bodleian Library and British Museum. I am the more confirmed in my views as to the integrity of the Radisson annals by reason of the fact that the late Alfred J. Hill, long an honored member of this society, and Hon. J. V. Brower, the most careful and laborious archeological scholars this state has yet produced, both fully agree, after a careful consideration of all the facts for a period of four years, that Radisson's story is true, and, in their judgment, ought not to be further questioned.

Next in the order of time came the Jesuit Fathers. In 1665, on the shore of Chequamegon bay, Allouez established the Mission of the Holy Spirit, and four years later was succeeded in the same mission by Marquette. The Jesuits found upon the shores of this inland sea, many warlike tribes, but chief among these were the Chippewas, who filled almost the entire basin of Superior. The French early formed an alliance with these Indians, and the attachment has continued to this day. Their nomenclature was given to many places by the Jesuit Fathers; and it is a debatable question whether Minnesota did not receive its name from Chippewa, rather than Sioux

sources.

A most noteworthy French adventurer came into this country as early as 1683, named Le Sueur, who, twelve years afterward built a fort, or trading post, on the Mississippi a few miles below the mouth of the St. Croix. He came from Montreal, through the northern lakes, following the line of trade then establishing itself within the area that is now Minnesota. Le Sueur returned to France, and received from the Grand Monarch a license to open certain mines on the St. Peter river. The whole story of this mineral search is shrouded in romance and mystery. Instead of entering the country by the old route, he went to the mouth of the Mississippi river, and then, organizing his expedition, which consisted of twenty-five men, mostly miners, he equipped a felucca, and in April, 1700, started upon a journey as visionary as Jason's in search of the Golden Fleece. After some time he increased his means of transportation by the addition of two canoes, and with these

little boats he bravely stemmed the current of the great river a distance of more than 2,300 miles. His felucca was the first boat with sails which ever ascended the Mississippi. Near the confluence of the Blue Earth river with the Minnesota, he seems to have found the object of his search. Here they spent the winter of 1700. When the last detachment of Le Sueur's party left the next year, they cached their tools in that vicinity, and I have often endeavored to find the spot, but without success. Le Sueur failed in the object of his expedition, to discover and open valuable mines, as did De Soto in his pursuit of gold, and Ponce de Leon in quest of the fountain of eternal youth; but he opened up our rivers to transportation, and carried back to France 4,000 pounds of supposed copper ore, being the first boat load of freight, a native product, carried by a white man on the Minnesota river.

LATER TRAFFIC OF THE MINNESOTA VALLEY.

While speaking of the Minnesota river, it is as well to complete such reference to its early navigation as is deemed important. After Le Sueur, it was sixty-six years before we hear of another white man ascending the old St. Peter's river. Ten years before the Declaration of Independence, a medical student from Connecticut, who had become a captain in the colonial French war, Jonathan Carver, turned his canoe into the waters of the St. Peter's river, to the vicinity of the site of New Ulm, where he spent the next winter with friendly Dakotas. Carver was confident that, if he could have continued his travels, he would find some river flowing westerly and leading to the Pacific ocean.

In the year 1800, we find trading posts established in the St. Peter's valley by the Northwest Company of Montreal. The first one was located at Lac Travers, the next at Lac qui Parle, and the third at Traverse des Sioux. These forts were erected by that wonderful race of men called coureurs des bois, who came in by way of the Red river. This was the establishment of an early and fixed trade on that river. After these came Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike, in 1805. He was an officer of the United States army, and came to require obedience to United States laws by certain British traders who still hoisted the

British flag over their trading posts in violation of the treaty of 1783. He found these trading posts, up the St. Peter's river, and others on the upper waters of the Mississippi, in full operation. In 1823, Major Stephen H. Long, of the United States topographical engineers, ascended the St. Peter's river. A little later, our army officers found some remarkable men in charge of the growing trade of the St. Peter's valley. At Lac Travers was Joseph R. Brown; at Lac qui Parle, Joseph Renville; at Traverse des Sioux, Louis Provencalle; and at Little Rapids, Jean B. Faribault. These men were identified with every movement of trade in that era. The trade was carried on by pack

ers, dog trains, and canoes. The earliest of these trading posts was transferred from the Northwest Company to John Jacob Astor, in 1811; Astor transferred them, in 1834, to the American Fur Company, of which Ramsay Crooks was president; and they were finally transferred, in 1842, to Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and Company, of St. Louis. H. H. Sibley became, in 1834, a partner of the American Fur Company, and the same year he established his headquarters at the mouth of the St. Peter's river.

Thus were trade and commerce firmly established in the valley of the St. Peter's river. This was the first era of trade of white men in that region. The next era was the advent of steamboats on that river in 1850, to be followed by the railways in 1867.

LAKE SUPERIOR AND THE FUR TRADE.

We must always remember that Minnesota was discovered by the way of lake Superior; that our earliest traders, voyageurs and missionaries, all came to us by way of the great lakes. Commerce and transportation began from that direction; and our Indian coadjutors there were Chippewas, not Sioux. We recount with pride our early settlements and trade at Fort Snelling, Mendota, and St. Paul; but long before these there were bold and daring men on our northeastern frontier, leading a strange life, and abounding in commercial activity.

It is two hundred and twenty-eight years since Charles II ceased toying with his mistresses long enough to sign a royal license to a company of traders, known as the "Honourable Company of Merchants-Adventurers trading into Hudson's

Bay." The splendor of the precious metals of Mexico and Peru had bitherto dazzled the eyes of Europe. But royalty and beauty were now wrapping themselves in costly furs. So Prince Rupert went to his royal cousin one day and asked and received the sole privilege of trade and commerce in all this vast region, larger than Europe, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from our great lakes to Hudson bay. For this grand monopoly he was to pay annually to his royal master, the king, two elk and two black beaver skins. The royal grant so made still remains and covers more than three million square miles. By the intervention of the crown, the new Dominion of Canada has secured Manitoba, British Columbia and Vancouver's Island, from the grasp of the Hudson Bay company; but the vast area north of these, to the Arctic seas, still belongs to the old monopoly. Under this charter, granted in 1670, this great company received not only the absolute rights of trade, but the privilege to build castles and forts, to carry on war, and to make peace, with any non-Christian people. With wonderful energy, the company raised and palisaded posts along the remote inlets of Hudson bay, extending their operations as far south as our own territory, and thus built up a colonial trade in furs. And when the French came into possession of Quebec, the company boldly pushed their fortunes to the west and established themselves along our own confines.

As a competitor to the Hudson Bay Company there was organized, in the winter of 1783, the Northwest Company of Montreal. These companies became bitter rivals and contested the barbaric field with obstinate pertinacity. Their feuds only ceased after the Earl of Selkirk, in the years 1811 to 1817, founded the Red River Settlement. The rival companies consolidated in 1821, the Northwest Company being merged in the Hudson Bay Company. Long years before the adventurous foot of the white man had pressed the soil where St. Paul now stands, and while St. Anthony's Falls was yet a myth in the wilderness, the bold voyageurs of these aggressive companies had found their way to the west end of lake Superior; had thence threaded the intricate communications which lead by lakes, streams and portages to Lake Winnipeg and the Sas

katchewan; and had penetrated even to lake Athabasca and Great Slave lake.

Fort William, built in 1801 to 1804, on the Kaministiquia river, was the chief western fort of the Northwest Company. Another important fort, of earlier date, was on our own soil, at the southern terminus of the Grand Portage. The first important road, lying partly in our state, was the one built between these two forts, the bridges being made of cedar logs, the remains of some of which I myself have seen. The road was thirty-six miles long, and was built in the earliest years of this century.

The locality called Grand Portage, at the site of the old trading post and fort, on the south end of the portage of this name, is on a small crescent-shaped bay, which has an island at its entrance, 146 miles from Duluth. There is still a band of Chippewa Indians located there. I have read, at Fort William, in a journal of one of the employees of the Northwest Company, a very minute and detailed account, in a rude diary, of the scenes of enterprise and traffic which he saw at Grand Portage in the summer of 1800. It appears that at that time there stood in the center of the semicircular shore of this bay a large fort, well picketed, enclosing several acres of ground. I have camped upon the spot several days, and found the place most eligibly situated for the purposes intended. Here, the diary says, was a house for officers and men, and a building for storage and stores. There was a canoe yard containing one hundred canoes of all sizes. Seventy canoes were contracted for annually for the commerce of that place. His diary notes that on July 3d, 1800, thirty-five great canoes arrived from Mackinaw, each carrying from three to five tons of goods, with eight voyageurs to a canoe. Over seventy canoes had already arrived from the west, coming from Lake Winnipeg through Rainy river, from the Saskatchewan, and from the Athabasca and Great Slave lakes. These were laden with furs and pelts. The thirty-five great canoes, from Montreal, 1,800 miles away, were laden with a year's supply of goods, food, liquors, tea, etc. Grand Portage was at that time, and as early at least as 1767, the grand exchange and distributing center for the fur trade in that part of the world. The factors themselves were present for the great annual settle