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From the falls of St. Anthony I set out by land on the 17th. of November 1776, and proceeded up the Mississippi, about fourteen miles, came to rum River about twenty yards wide, which comes from the North East, the 19th. I arrived to some small Mountains on the East, the 20th. came to a river that joins the Mississippi from the West, the 21st. arrived at the river called St. Louis, about thirty yards wide, here the river Mississippi is narrow and not more than about 90 yards wide: here it appears that the Mississippi is composed chiefly of branches of small rivers, the Country in some places hilly but no large Mountains, the river appears in general, rather of a gentle Current, it being very full of [[unclear]], and in some places, shut up I could not be very certain as to that, the land mostly very good, here I observed very great numbers of Deer, Carraboos, some Elk & abundance of Beaver, Otters and other Furs, a little above this to the North East is a number of small Lakes called the thousand Lakes, at which place is the best hunting Country in all these parts, tho' but seldom frequented, yet the hunters never fail here of having good success. The Mississippi has never been explored farther up than the River St. Louis, and I believe by none so far, but only by farther Hennepin (from whom, [[underline]] he being the first, [[/underline]] these parts derived their names) and myself so that we are intirely obliged to the Indians, for any other intelligence Northward, as far as the passage of the Traders, to what is called the North West trade, to Winnepeck [[catchword]] Lake [[/catchword]]
