Chippewa National Forest

THE CHIPPEWA NATIONAL FOREST lies in the land of Hiawatha in the old Northwest Territory, a region rich in forests, game, and fish. For possession of the area, two great Indian tribes fought a long and bitter War, and the national forest is named for the victorious tribe which forced the vanquished Sioux south and West. It is Indian country still, with many descendants of the Chippewas living Within it and with many of its lakes and rivers bearing picturesque and meaning-packed Indian names. Explored by the French and taken from them by the English, the Territory became part of the United States at the close of the Revolutionary War.

Rich in story, the Chippewa is even richer in the values it offers to vacationists who seek rest and recreation beneath its mighty trees and beside its pine-fringed lakes. The promise of deer, duck, and fish in abundance lures thousands of recreationists year after year to try their luck with camera, gun, or reel. Hundreds of lakes afford delightful swimming. Campgrounds and resorts are scattered throughout the forest, and scenic highways and Forest Service trails provide pleasant travel.

Despite its beauty, the Chippewa is more than a show place. Its stands of timber are managed by the Forest Service to supply work for local people and wood to industry. They are cut selectively on a sustained-yield basis so they need never be exhausted.

You who have come here and you who are coming can do more than enjoy this great, green playground. You can help preserve it by being careful with fire in the woods.

The Chippewa is your forest. Its fires are your loss, its productivity your gain.

Through virgin white and red pine on a Forest Service truck trail. F—401075

WHERE TO GO

Supervisor's headquarters at Cass Lake, a three-story structure of pine logs with 180-ton matched stone fireplace. Here you can get first-hand information about the forest.

Cass Lake Fire Lookout Tower, a 110-foot tower of California redwood.

Lydick Tree Nursery at Cass Lake, established in 1933, one of the largest coniferous nurseries in the United States, covering 70 acres and growing about 26,000,000 seedlings each year.

Cass Lake Nursery and seed extractory, one of the three newest and largest forest seed extractories in the United States.

Indian Museum at Cass Lake, treasure-house of Indian relics and history.

Star Island in Cass Lake, 1,000 acres of wild beauty surrounding tree-framed Windigo, a lake within a lake; accessible only by boat; launches leave on schedule from a public boat landing.

Norway Beach, campground in virgin timber on the east shore of Cass Lake, 4 miles from town; excellent sandy beach and large community house constructed of logs from the Chippewa.

Willow Lake Campground, camp and picnic ground on State Route 6, 9 miles northeast of Remer.

Seelye Point Recreational Area, camp and picnic ground on the Cut Foot Sioux District with a commanding view of Cut Foot Sioux Lake.

Avenue of Pines, a mile-and-a-half drive through 50-year-old red and jack pine, on the Cut Foot Sioux District

Ruby Lake organization camp near Marcell, modern camp available for rent to various groups.

Walker Fire Lookout Tower, 100-foot steel stairway tower in the town of Walker, with excellent view of Leech Lake and its islands and the Onigum Indian settlement.

Stokes Fire Lookout Tower, 4-1/2 miles north of Marcell.

Shingobee Winter Sports Area, 5 miles southwest of Walker.

Turtle Mound along the old Portage Trail on the Cut Foot Sioux District, built by the Sioux when they drove the Chippewas into the north, and turned to face south by the Chippewas when they returned to drive the Sioux back into the plains.

Ranger stations, picturesque log buildings at Marcell and Dora Lake, and completely modern stations at Remer, Cut Foot Sioux, and Blackduck.

Any or all of the CCC camps on the forest, where forest officers will explain the operations of a modern work camp.

Water control and waterfowl dams, flooding marsh areas for fire protection and providing bird refuges for the Chippewa's winged residents. Lists of these dams and the camp and picnic grounds are given at the back of this booklet.

Norway Beach, Cass Lake, where giant red pines tower above a popular playground. F—366963

THE FOREST OF YESTERDAY

The Chippewa National Forest occupies a unique place not only in the history of forestry but also in the history of the United States. Situated on the headwaters of the great Mississippi, it felt the tread of empire even before American settlers pushed their way across the Appalachians.

French fur-traders were in the region as early as 1731. With the removal of French restrictions on the trade when England came into possession of the region in 1763, the fur traffic boomed, and the Hudson's Bay and Northwest fur companies competed for the trade.

British traders remained in northern Minnesota until after the War of 1812, when a law was passed by Congress prohibiting foreign traders from operating within United States territory. Much of their trade was then taken over by the American Fur Co., organized in 1808 by John Jacob Astor.

The activities of British traders and their relations with the Indians were to some extent responsible for early American explorations in northern Minnesota. In 1805 Lt. Zebulon Pike, for whom Pike's Peak is named, conducted an expedition to the upper Mississippi to make treaties with the Indians and secure conformity to the laws of the United States on the part of agents of the Northwest Fur Co. In spite of assurances given by both traders and Indians, in the War of 1812 not only the British but most of the French traders and the Indians supported England.

After the war the chief aim of explorers in this region was to determine the source of the Mississippi. Cass Lake is named for Gov. Lewis Cass of the Michigan Territory, who conducted such an expedition in 1820, Henry R. Schoolcraft, a member of this party. discovered the source of the Father of Waters in Lake Itasca.

When white men first penetrated the American wilds, Leech Lake was a stronghold of the Dakota or Sioux Indians. Encroaching upon their territory, however, came the Ojibways or Chippewas. In 1746 the chief village of the Dakotas fell into their hands, and the Dakotas were driven from their homes on Cass Lake and Winnibigoshish. Clinging to their Leech Lake hunting grounds, they made a final and unsuccessful effort to drive off the Chippewas in 1748.

In the early days the Chippewa tribe had title to a vast area of forest land within the present national forest. Through a series of treaties, each Indian was allotted 80 acres of land and the remainder was ceded to the Government to be disposed of for the benefit of its Indian wards. Cruisers were sent out to estimate the timber, but they knew little about this work, and it was necessary to have it done over by more competent men. The work was finished in 1898 and the sale of timber set for March 1899.

As it was apparent there would he some delay in completing the sale of the timber, Congress passed an act permitting the logging of dead and down timber for salvage purposes. Under this authority a considerable volume of timber was cut and removed, some of it prime, green timber. Seeking to protect the rights of the Indians, an agent named Walker violently protested against the sale of timber at the low prices prevailing under this law, and his efforts resulted ultimately in the establishment of the Minnesota National Forest.

An act of Congress in 1902 provided that the Indians should be paid for the reserved volume of pine timber and land and that, on consummation of this work, a forest reserve should be established. The area was proclaimed the Minnesota National Forest by President Theodore Roosevelt June 23, 1908. By an Executive order of June 22, 1928, the name was changed to the Chippewa.

Up to the time the national forest was created, the history of the white man on the Chippewa was a history of taking—first its furs, next its timber. The first great inroads into its timber resources came with the exhaustion of the eastern woodlands, and the building of railroads into northern Minnesota. Fires followed the heavy cutting with deadly certainty, and the outer portions of the Chippewa, acquired in recent years, show the toll taken by this greatest enemy of the forest. Upon these areas the job of the Chippewa is to rebuild and replant.

In the practice of forestry, man still takes the wealth of the woodlands, but he gives something in return—scientific care. Each section of the forest is used for the purpose to which it is best suited, but the forest is given a chance to renew itself, and no more timber is cut each year than can be replaced by annual growth.

The history of the Chippewa in recent years is a story of wise use—the story of conservation.