NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION TO THE SOURCE OF ST. PETER'S RIVER, Lake Winnepeek, Lake of the Woods, etc. performed in the year 18232 vols. in one.

In 1823, Major Stephen H. Long was sent by Secretary of War John C. Calhoun to investigate the valleys of the Minnesota River and Red River and their potential economic value, and to locate the border between present-day Minnesota and Canada. Contradictory reports were current concerning the nature of the country, in which British and American fur companies carried on a valuable fur trade, and Calhoun's instructions called for a survey which would bring back essential knowledge of the region.

William H. Keating served as the expedition's geologist and historian. This volume is Keating's account of the exploration using his own notes and those of Long and others in the expedition. Keating considered the “flatness” of the Red River Valley a “defect in its character," and the soils appeared “impoverished” and perhaps not productive for farming. The expedition's statements concerning the Sioux and Chippewa tribes are among the most valuable we have.

Reprint of first London edition, with a new introduction by Roy P. Johnson.