Narrative of an Expedition Through the Upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake, the Actual Source of This River Embracing an Exploratory Trip Through the St. Croix and Burntwood — A Closer Reading

Botanical Catalogues as Evidence of Method

The excerpts include a lengthy list of plant species with Latin binomials and locations—e.g., Silene antirrhina at “Lac la Biche,” Zizania aquatica from “Illinois to the sources of the Miss.” This appendix, occupying several pages, reflects Schoolcraft’s training as a naturalist and his commitment to Linnaean taxonomy. However, the list is almost entirely detached from the narrative; it provides no ecological context or Indigenous uses. The catalog subjects include “Natural history – Minnesota,” but the excerpts reveal a practice of collection and naming that treats the landscape as a specimen cabinet. Readers expecting a continuous travel story will encounter these systematic interludes as interruptions, yet they are central to the book’s scientific identity.

Linguistic Lectures and the Structure of Ojibwa

A substantial section titled “Indian Language” presents lectures on the grammatical structure of Ojibwa, delivered before the Algic Society. Schoolcraft focuses on the substantive, arguing that previous researchers overemphasized the verb. He claims the noun “continue[s] to perform its first offices, with less direct aid from the auxiliary parts of speech.” The excerpts show a detailed analysis of gender (animate vs. inanimate), number, and possession. This material is technical and presumes interest in philology. The catalog subjects list “Ojibwa language,” but the lectures are not ethnographic description; they are a formal linguistic treatise, complete with lecture numbers and theoretical claims. The connection to the expedition’s diplomatic goal—negotiating with Ojibwa leaders—is implicit at best.

The Expedition’s Dual Mandate: Peace and Discovery

The preface’s letter of instruction from the War Department orders Schoolcraft to “put an end to the hostilities between the Chippewas and Sioux,” but the book’s title emphasizes geographical discovery. The excerpts do not describe any peace council or treaty; instead, they pivot to botanical and linguistic appendices. This suggests that the narrative may subordinate the diplomatic mission to scientific and exploratory aims. The catalog subjects include “Indians of North America – Government relations,” yet the available text offers no evidence of how Schoolcraft conducted negotiations or interacted with Indigenous leaders. Readers should note that the excerpts are incomplete; the full work likely contains travel accounts and meetings that are not sampled here. The tension between these two purposes remains unresolved in the passages provided.

Schoolcraft’s narrative resists easy categorization. The excerpts reveal a work that is as much a scientific report as a travelogue, with extensive appendices on botany and linguistics that may test the patience of readers seeking a straightforward exploration story. Those interested in the history of natural science or Indigenous language study will find rich material; those expecting a continuous account of the Mississippi’s source may need to navigate around systematic digressions. The book’s value lies in its documentation of early nineteenth-century scientific practices and the intersecting agendas of exploration, diplomacy, and classification.

Schoolcraft’s quiet devotion to mapping every root and branch reminded me of wandering alone through a forest, not needing to reach the end. The way he noticed small things—a plant, a word—felt familiar, almost like a conversation I later had with James's Account of S. H. Long's Expedition, 1819-1820, part 3 — Reading Companion. That one lingered too, in a gentler way, like a footprint left beside my own.