Note II-33 — Chapter II · ITINERARY, CONTINUED: ST. PAUL TO LEECH LAKE, SEPTEMBER 22D, 1805-JANUARY 31ST, 1806.

This cache was in the vicinity of present Fort Ripley. The town now so called is on the E. side; railroad; pop. 500. Old Fort Ripley itself is on the W. side, a mile off; some of the buildings still stand. This post, or another in the same place, was once called Fort Gaines; Prairie Percée of the F. intersected the river a little below. The fort is in the N. E. ¼ of Sect. 7, T. 131, R. 29, 5th M., about a half mile below the mouth of Nokasippi r., which falls in from the E. through Sect. 27, T. 43, R. 32, 4th M. This is a considerable stream: Nokasippi and Noka Sipi of Schoolcraft; Nokay r. of Nicollet and of Owen; Nokasele on one of my maps, Nankesele and Nankele on others; Woco-sibi of Beltrami's text, II. p. 466, Wokeosiby and Prophet r. on his map. This hint that the name is a personal one is correct. Noka was a Chippewa, the grandfather of White Fisher or Waubojeeg. "It is from this old warrior and stalwart hunter, who fearlessly passed his summers on the string of lakes which form the head of the No-ka river, which empties into the Mississippi nearly opposite present site of Fort Ripley, that the name of this stream is derived," says W. W. Warren, Minn. Hist. Coll., V. 1885, p. 266. It is mapped by Pike and mentioned by him beyond at date of Mar. 3d, 1806; but he has no name for it. Allen's map gives it as Long r. But the earliest name of the stream I can discover is on Lewis and Clark's map, pub. 1814, where it is called Scrub Oak r., no doubt from the prairie above it, to which Pike gave that name. On reaching ownline 42-3, Pike leaves Morrison for Crow Wing Co., on the right, but still has the former on his left, up to Crow Wing r.