Chapter XLII: Before the Missouri Historical Society

Return to St. Louis.--Lecture at Mercantile Library
Hall.--Brilliant audience.--The Missouri Historical Society
present.--Eloquent introduction by Judge Todd.--"Pioneers of the
Mississippi."--Presentation of the "Itasca" to the Historical
Society.--Remarks of Captain Silas Bent on accepting the
canoe.--Congratulations of the audience.--Closing scene.

On leaving New Orleans Captain Glazier returned to St. Louis, having an engagement there to deliver his lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi." He had been unable to remain long enough for this purpose during his previous visit to the city on his way down the river, as winter was rapidly approaching and it was expedient to reach the Gulf as soon as possible. Therefore, as many were anxious to hear a lecture which had been so highly spoken of by the press of other cities, he had been induced to return with this object in view.

He was also desirous of presenting one of his canoes, the "Itasca," to the Missouri Historical Society in recognition of the unbounded hospitality he had enjoyed at the hands of the citizens of St. Louis, and it was decided that the donation of the canoe, a beautiful specimen of the Rob Roy pattern, should take place on the night of the lecture.

Accordingly, on the evening of January fourteenth, a large audience consisting of members of the Historical Society, Academy of Sciences, clergy, officers and teachers of the public schools, and the various boat clubs of the city, assembled at Mercantile Library Hall to listen to his thrilling lecture on the pioneer explorers of the Mississippi, and to witness the formalities of the presentation.

At eight o'clock, Captain Glazier, accompanied by Judge Albert Todd, an eminent lawyer, and vice-president of the Historical Society, made his appearance on the platform, and, after the storm of applause which greeted their entry had subsided, Judge Todd stepped to the front and introduced the lecturer in the following terms:--

Mark Twain wrote that in his oriental travels he visited the grave
of our common ancestor, Adam, and as a filial mourner he copiously
wept over it. To me, the grave of our common ancestress, Eve, would
be more worthy of my filial affection; but instead of weeping over
it, I should proudly rejoice by reason of her irrepressible desire
for knowledge. She boldly gratified this desire, and thereby lifted
Adam up from the indolent, browsing life that he seemed disposed
and content to pass in the "Garden," and gave birth to that spirit
of inquiry and investigation which is developing and elevating
their posterity to "man's pride of place"--"a little lower than the
angels," by keeping them ever discontented with the status quo, and
constantly pressing on to the "mark of their high calling" beneath
the blazing legend "Excelsior." It is the ceaseless unrest of the
spirit, one of the greatest evidences of the soul's immortality,
that is continually contracting the boundaries of the unknown in
geography and astronomy, in physics and metaphysics, in all their
varied departments. Of those pre-eminently illustrating it in
geography were Jason and his Argonauts; Columbus, De Gama and
Magellan; De Soto, Marquette and La Salle; Cabot and Cook; Speke,
Baker, Livingstone and Franklin; and our own Ledyard, Lewis,
Clarke, Kane, Hall and Stanley. And this evening will appear
before you another of these irrepressible _discontents_ who would
know what is still hidden at any risk or privation.

Impelled by this spirit of enterprise in search of Truth, Captain
Willard Glazier has discovered, at last, the true source of our
grand and peerless river, the "Father of Waters," down which he has
floated and paddled in frail canoes, a distance of more than three
thousand miles, to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico. One of these
canoes is now placed here in your view, and will be presented
to-night by its navigator to our Historical Society.

Nearly two hundred years ago La Salle discovered the mouth of the
Mississippi, yet only now in this year of grace, 1881, was
ascertained its true fountain source.

This, the latest achievement of Captain Glazier, is only in the
natural course of his antecedents. Born as late as 1841, he has
already gone through the experiences of the Adamic labors of a
tiller of the soil, the hard toils of the student and of the
successful teacher; of the dashing and brilliant cavalry officer in
the Union army through the whole period of our late war, from its
disastrous beginning to its successful ending; of the sufferings of
capture and imprisonment in the notorious "Libby" and other
prisons, and of a daring and perilous escape from their cruel
walls; of an adventurous tourist on horseback through the most
civilized and savage portions of our continent, beginning with the
feet of his horse in the waters of the Atlantic, and ending with
their splash in the waters of the Pacific. He delivered lectures
along his route wherever a civilized audience could be collected,
and suffered capture by the Indians, with all its sensational
romance and hideous prospects.

From the material of these antecedents he has written and published
several books of singular interest and national value.

From this brief sketch we would naturally expect to see a stalwart
man, massive and powerful in form and muscle. Our conception of men
of big deeds is that they also are big. But David was a stripling
when he slew Goliath of Gath. Napoleon was characterized by the
society ladies of the period of his early career as "Puss in
Boots." Our own Fremont and Eads would seem at sight capable of
only the ordinarily exposed duties of life. Of like physique is the
subject of this introduction.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasant privilege to introduce
to your acquaintance Captain Willard Glazier as the lecturer for
the evening.

At the close of Judge Todd's introduction, Captain Glazier began his instructive historic lecture on the "Pioneers of the Mississippi," holding the attention of all present by the interest of his subject and the eloquence of his delivery. Beginning with De Soto, the discoverer of the Great River, he gave an account of his early life and adventures, of his ambition to found an empire like that of Cortez, and of his arrival at the mighty stream in whose waters he soon found his final resting-place.

Marquette, the self-sacrificing missionary, was brought vividly before the mind's eye of the hearer as the Captain described in glowing terms the zeal with which he preached the Gospel to the poor benighted Indians, and drew a picture with all its poetical surroundings of his death and burial in the wilderness.

La Salle came next, pushing onward down the river until he planted his triumphant banner on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and took possession of the surrounding country in the name of the King of France. Hennepin and Joliet then claimed the attention of the eloquent speaker, and their exploits were clearly and forcibly recounted in graphic language. Other explorers were mentioned, but these formed the ground-work of the lecture--a lecture replete with historical interest, and crowded with such a vivid portrayal of incidents that from beginning to end one can see as in a panorama the Great River and all the mighty men whose fame is indissolubly connected with the history of its waters.

At the conclusion of the lecture the following letter to the President of the Historical Society was read:

1310 Olive Street,
St. Louis, _January 14, 1882_.

Edwin Harrison, Esq.,
President Missouri Historical Society:

Dear Sir:--In my recent canoe voyage down the Mississippi, it was
my good fortune to receive many courtesies at the hands of the
press, boat clubs, and other citizens of St. Louis. This, coupled
with the fact that you have expressed considerable interest in the
result of my explorations, inclines me to present to you the
"Itasca," one of the canoes used in the expedition, for the Museum
of your Society, as a memento of my voyage and discoveries.

During this tour of observation and exploration, extending from the
headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, I had
the satisfaction of locating the true source of the mighty stream
down which we paddled our canoes to the sea.

I am not now in a position to give you a detailed account of my
explorations on the Great River, but shall avail myself of the
earliest opportunity to transmit to your Secretary a complete
history of the voyage, which will be issued in book form as soon as
the matter can be put in proper shape for publication.

Very truly yours,
Willard Glazier.

In response to this letter Captain Silas Bent, late of the United States Navy, accepted for the Society the canoe in these words:

Captain Glazier:--It becomes my pleasant duty to accept for the
Missouri Historical Society this beautiful canoe, which has itself
become historic by reason of the service it has rendered you. It
shall be deposited with other treasured relics in our museum.

I have also to express to you the high appreciation in which the
Society holds the valuable contributions to geographical knowledge
resulting from your explorations among the headwaters of the
Mississippi River, and your discovery of the remotest lake that
contributes to the perennial birth of this hydra-headed "Father of
Waters," whose Genesis near the Arctic regions gives it a length of
more than three thousand miles to the tropical gulf, to which it
bears upon its ample bosom in safety the freightage of an empire.

I desire, too, to thank you for the interesting lecture just given
us upon the achievements of the heroic old explorers, who have in
centuries past preceded you in investigations of the
characteristics of this river. But whilst past investigations have
made us familiar with the general character of the stream, and the
peculiarities of its many mouths, yet we know very little of its
source; and should be gratified I am sure if you could give us this
evening a brief account of the circumstances attending your
explorations in that direction, and of the difficulties you had to
encounter in the accomplishment of your object.

In compliance with Captain Bent's request that he would give some account of the events connected with his discovery of the source of the Mississippi, Captain Glazier, greatly to the satisfaction of his large and appreciative audience, now briefly narrated the leading incidents in his voyage of exploration.

When he had concluded his personal narrative many came forward to congratulate him upon his discovery, and to express their appreciation of the great work he had accomplished. All inspected the "Itasca," which occupied a prominent position on the platform, with the curiosity human nature invariably feels concerning any object closely connected with the fame of a distinguished man or daring exploit. The beautiful canoe was afterwards placed on exhibition at the rooms of the Historical Society.