USA > Mississippi > A history of the Mississippi valley, from its discovery to the end of foreign domination. The narrative of the founding of an empire, shorn of current myth, and enlivened by the thrilling adventures of discoverers, pioneers, frontiersmen, Indian fighters, and homemakers > Part 3
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Mississippi Valley.
thought made them tremble. And then there was the heat. Even if the Frenchmen's medicine enabled them to dodge the devils the heat would kill them without doubt.
But Joliet had heard Indians talk in that manner before, and he soon passed up the Fox River, and fin- ally reached a village composed of Miamies, Kicka- poes and Mascoutens. A most beautiful country was that around the village. "From an eminence upon which it is placed one beholds on every side prairies, extending further than the eye can see, interspersed with groves or with lofty trees. The soil is very fer- tile and yields much Indian corn. The sauvages ga- ther quantities of plums and grapes."
It is a far cry to the day of Joliet, but the region is as beautiful and as productive now as when it de- lighted the eyes of these explorers, for it is that lying west and south of Lake Winnebago.
The kindly Indians gave the party two guides who showed the way "to the portage of 2,700 paces" to "a river which discharged into the Mississippi," and helped them to carry their canoes across the land. Por- tage City, Wisconsin, a railroad centre of importance, now stands on this crest between the waters of the great lakes and those of the Mississippi.
After "a new devotion to the blessed Virgin im- maculate," they launched forth on the Wisconsin river, which they called the Meskousing. It was "full of islands covered with vines." The banks were of "fer- tile land, diversified with woods, prairies and hills." There were "oak, walnut and basswood trees," and another kind very interesting to them for it was
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A History of the
"armed with long thorns." And there were the deer, and herds of huge wild "cattle," as they called the buffalo.
For "40 leagues on this same route," as Marquette estimated the distance, they paddled with the cur- rent, and then "We safely entered Mississippi on the 17th of June, with a joy that I cannot express."
To the right was "a large chain of very high moun- taines," or so they seemed in the sunlit air; to the left were "beautiful lands." The stream was "divided by islands." And as they "gently followed its course" the mountains fell away, the islands became if possible "more beautiful," and "covered with finer trees, while the prairies were fairly covered with deer and Cattle," and the waters swarmed with "bustards and Swans."
Then there were the monstrous fish, one of which "struck our Canoe with such violence that I thought it was a great tree, about to break the canoe in pieces."
Quite as interesting if less dangerous was another "monster, with the head of a tiger, a sharp nose like that of a wildcat, with whiskers and straight erect ears," which they saw swimming.
To the eyes of this wondering Frenchman it was a land of enchanting beauties. For over "one hundred leagues" they paddled "without discovering any thing except animals and birds," but they kept a good look- out, nevertheless, building only small fires when cook- ing their food, (Indian corn, fish and dried meat), and sleeping in their canoes anchored in the river "at some distance from the shore."
Finally they saw a "somewhat beaten path lead- ing to a fine prairie." This, Joliet and Marquette fol-
18
Mississippi Valley.
lowed, leaving the canoes afloat, until they saw three villages, and were so near to one that they could hear the voices of the inhabitants. Then they stopped and shouted as loud as they could.
At that "the sauvages quickly issued from their cabins," and stopped and gazed for a time in wonder at the white men. Then four old men advanced, two of whom "bore tobacco pipes, finely ornamented and adorned with various feathers. They walked slowly, and raised their pipes toward the sun, without saying a word"-a method of worship not without one com- mendable feature, although Marquette does not say so.
It was soon learned that these Indians were of the Illinois tribe. They took the strangers to their village, and when the chief met them he held up his hands as if to shade his eyes and said, with a grace that even men of "the most polite nation" could not have ex- ceeded : "How beautiful the sun is, O Frenchmen, when thou comest to visit us! Our village awaits thee, and thou shalt enter all our cabins in peace."
Learning that the Frenchmen were to explore the full length of the river, these Indians gave them a pipe of peace-the Calumet-which Marquette de- scribes in detail. It had a stone bowl with a reed stem which was ornamented with the most beautiful feath- ers and bird heads obtainable. In their way the Indians used the Calumet, when worshipping the sun, as Father Marquette used the Host in his church cere- monies. The chief elevated the pipe before the sun and the people as the priest elevated the Host in the communion services.
The special value of this pipe to the Frenchmen
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A History of the
was in its use as a symbol of peace. They were going into a country where the red inhabitants would drop their weapons, even during the most desperate battle, if the calumet were displayed; and with this to protect them the explorers left their new friends "at the end of June, about three o'clock in the afternoon."
Very soon they came to the great Missouri, with its dominating, debris-laden current, and then on a precipice that towered high on the eastern bank -- a precipice that by its "height and length inspired awe"-they found the monsters, the mere thought of which had made the Indians of Green Bay tremble with fear. So terrible were these monsters, says the priest, that they "at first made Us afraid." "They are as large as a calf; they have horns on their heads as large as a deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face somewhat like a man's, a body covered with scales, and so long a tail that it winds all around the body, passing above the head and going back be- tween the legs, ending in a Fish's tail."
However, if afraid of it "at first," Marquette re- covered his courage far enough to make sketches of the monsters, and was even able to praise them, at last, saying, "those two monsters are so well painted that we cannot believe that any sauvage (sauvage, i. e., wild man) is their author." He adds that "green, red and black are the three colors that compose the pic- ture."
To Joutel, who wrote the story of La Salle's final exploring expedition, these famous monsters were by no means fearsome. His account speaks of them as Marquette's "pretended" monsters, and says that they
20
THE CENTRAL PORTION OF JOLIET'S MAP, 1674, SHOWING THE MISSISSIPPI AS THE "BAUDE."
A
Mississippi Valley.
consist of "two scurvy figures drawn in red, on the flat side of a rock, about ten or twelve feet high, which wants very much of the extraordinary height that Re- lation mentions."
These pictures were painted on the rocks on the east side of the Mississippi, just above Alton, Illinois. The paint was worn away long ago, and in 1867 the owner of the land was quarrying out the rock to supply the needs of the growing community.
One statement made by Marquette regarding the Missouri must be considered. He said he learned from the Indians that a stream rising near its source flowed "towards the west where it falls into The sea." He thought it must empty into the Gulf of California. We know now that the head waters of the Platte, a tributary of the Missouri, lie near the head of the Colorado, which flows to the Gulf of California. And at the head of Jackson's Hole, in Wyoming, is a tiny stream called Two-Oceans Creek, which rises high on a mountain, and flows down to a saddle-back ridge where it divides, the one part running down to Snake River, whose waters reach the Pacific, and the other part running down the Missouri, whose waters reach the Gulf of Mexico.
They found at one point above the Ohio (which appears on his map as the Ouabouskigou), a whirlpool that was dangerous, and that was the "monster" that drowned canoes as well as men; but this expedition crossed it without mishap.
Below the Ohio the explorers saw, on one unnamed day, some Indians on the east bank of the Mississippi, who were "armed with guns." More interesting still,
21
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consist of "two scurvy figures drawn in red, on the flat side of a rock, about ten or twelve feet high, which wants very much of the extraordinary height that Re- lation mentions."
These pictures were painted on the rocks on the east side of the Mississippi, just above Alton, Illinois. The paint was worn away long ago, and in 1867 the owner of the land was quarrying out the rock to supply the needs of the growing community.
One statement made by Marquette regarding the Missouri must be considered. He said he learned from the Indians that a stream rising near its source flowed "towards the west where it falls into The sea." He thought it must empty into the Gulf of California. We know now that the head waters of the Platte, a tributary of the Missouri, lie near the head of the Colorado, which flows to the Gulf of California. And at the head of Jackson's Hole, in Wyoming, is a tiny stream called Two-Oceans Creek, which rises high on a mountain, and flows down to a saddle-back ridge where it divides, the one part running down to Snake River, whose waters reach the Pacific, and the other part running down the Missouri, whose waters reach the Gulf of Mexico.
They found at one point above the Ohio (which appears on his map as the Ouabouskigou), a whirlpool that was dangerous, and that was the "monster" that drowned canoes as well as men; but this expedition crossed it without mishap.
Below the Ohio the explorers saw, on one unnamed day, some Indians on the east bank of the Mississippi, who were "armed with guns." More interesting still,
2I
A History of the
when the explorers landed, they found "hatchets, hoes, knives, beads and flasks of double glass, in which they put Their powder."
"They assured us," writes Marquette, "that they bought Cloth and all other goods from Europeans who lived to The east, that these Europeans had rosaries and pictures; that they played upon instruments; that some of them looked like me, and had been received by these sauvages kindly."
This statement, which is found in Marquette's own story of this exploration (p. 149, vol. lix Thwaite's Jesuit "Relations"), seems plain and easily understood. The fact that the implements made by white men were found in considerable numbers and variety among the Indians confirms the statement. "Europeans (trad- ers) had been received by these sauvages kindly."
"This news animated our courage, and made us paddle with Fresh ardor," writes Marquette. They passed cottonwood, elm and basswood trees that were "admirable for Their height and thickness." They saw "Quail on the water's edge." They heard the bellow of the buffalo. They killed a paroquet that was very beautiful. And then they "perceived a village on the water's edge called Mitchegamea."
This is said to have been located at the mouth of the St. Francis River, that empties into the Mississippi near Helena, Arkansas. The people of it were at first hostile. They came well armed to the bank, yelling, the while, in fearsome fashion, embarked in great dug- outs, and surrounded the canoes. They even came swimming to board the Frenchmen, and one warrior hurled his club with deadly force, but when they saw
22
COPY OF THE MAP PUBLISHED WITH MARQTETTE'S JOURNAL 1681.
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Mississippi Valley.
the calumet their passions passed away instantly, and they conducted the explorers to the shore where a dinner of boiled corn and fish was prepared.
A most interesting tribe was that. They worshipped the sun because it was a beneficent mystery. They were ruled by a clan supposed to be descended from the sun. They had a temple in which a sacred fire was kept burning. They lived in adobe houses. They cul- tivated the earth successfully. They were valiant war- riors, but they were, at this particular time, in no little trouble because the Illinois Indians from the north, and the tribes east of the Great River, were well sup- plied with guns and often came to the Arkansas region searching for slaves.
In after years they, too, obtained guns, and then they promptly recovered the standing as warriors, which they had held before their enemies procured guns. Of the Indians of the Mississippi Valley there were no more generous or capable warriors than these.
Their descendants are now known as the Quapaws, who live on the reservation at the extreme northeast corner of the Indian Territory-a most pitiful rem- nant, that in 1900 numbered 251, chiefly of mixed bloods, of whom twenty-five were "engaged in civil- ized pursuits."
At a village "8 or 10 leagues lower down," Joliet turned back. He learned that the Gulf of Mexico "could not be more than 2 or 3 days journey" away to the south, but he did not go to it because he feared he would be captured by Spaniards, and thus be unable to make a report of his discoveries.
He started home on July 17. On the way the
23
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A History of the
party passed up the Illinois River, "which greatly shortens our route," as Marquette writes. How they knew that it would shorten their road is not explained. The soil and the beauty of the country, and the wild animals found there aroused the enthusiasm of the travellers. "Even beaver" were found here, and what was better, the portage into the lakes watershed was, in spring and part of the summer, but half a league long. The Indians along the route received them with pleasure and helped them on their way; and at the end of September they were back in Green Bay.
It had been a most pleasing and successful voyage thus far, but it was marred by one serious accident ere Joliet reached Quebec. In passing down the St. Law- rence his canoe was upset, and for four hours he fought for his life in the tumbling waters. He finally escaped, but his papers were lost forever. It is chiefly because historians have had to take the story of the exploration from Marquette's account, that the in- trepid leader of the expedition has been usually treated as a mere assistant to the chaplain.
BLOCK HOUSE 1779 --
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ROBERT CAVELIER, SIEUR DE LA SALLE.
III
LA SALLE AND LOUISIANA.
The Splendid Record of the Greatest of French Ex- plorers-The Fort Above Niagara Falls-A Gale that Showed the Metal of One Good Salt-Sea Sailor- Mutinies Under La Salle and Their Origin-At the Mouth of the Mississippi at Last-The Sixth Fort in the Chain-La Salle Received at Court-Assassinated in the Texas Wilderness-The Highest Tributes of Honor Paid to La Salle Found in the Deeds of His Enemies.
When in the fall of 1672, Joliet started on his ex- pedition to the Mississippi, the unfortunate La Salle was trading on borrowed capital to make a living. He had done nothing better, in the eyes of his country- men, than to throw away an excellent estate and give the derisive name of La Chine to the rapids over which
25
A History of the
that estate looked. He had done worse, in fact, ac- cording to their thinking, for while a Government ex- pedition was on its way to explore the great river, this bankrupt was meditating schemes for colonizing the vast region drained by the stream! He-La Salle -was to do this! The cackle of his countrymen, as they talked of his audacity in proposing such a work, never reached the stage of the horse laugh-their throats were not built that way-but it was becoming incessant, when it was suddenly cut short and turned into snarls of rage.
Though a bankrupt, and the laughing stock of the traders sitting beside the forts of Montreal and Que- bec, La Salle had attracted the attention of the new Governor, Count de Frontenac. Frontenac, as a sol- dier, had won by good fighting, the rank of brigadier general when only twenty-six years old. Now, at the age of fifty-two, he had come to Canada bearing laurels but recently earned in Candia. "He was a man of excellent parts," by whatever standard tried-one of the few who raised the French in New France above utter contempt. (Parkman).
When Frontenac looked over the land he had come to cultivate, he saw, as Intendant Talon had seen, that it was worth while to add the unoccupied land lying to the west and south-west. He saw, too, as Talon had seen less clearly, that among the cackling mass of citizens, La Salle towered high, and "he often took council" of him. To Count Frontenac, the schemes of La Salle were not visionary. They showed the way to add glory to the crown of Louis XIV, and at the same time gain great wealth for the promoters of the
26
Mississippi Valley.
scheme-a matter of no small consequence to both Frontenac and La Salle, for both were bankrupts.
La Salle, backed by Frontenac, purposed building a line of forts from Lake Ontario to the mouth of the Mississippi. It was a magnificent conception for ter- ritorial aggrandizement. He also purposed controlling the trading stations at each fort-to make of them a source of wealth "beyond the dreams of avarice," and to carry on this trade by the way of the Gulf of Mexico.
When on May 17, 1673, Joliet left Mackinac, bound on the exploring expedition down the Mississippi, La Salle was among the Iroquois inviting them to come to the bay at the northeast corner of Lake On- tario, where Kingston now stands, to meet Count Frontenac, Governor of Canada. They called that bay Cataraqui, then.
On June 28, about the time that Joliet was leaving the Illinois village at the mouth of the Desmoines, Frontenac left Montreal with "400 men and 120 ca- noes, besides two large flat boats, which he caused to be painted red and blue, with strange devices intended to dazzle the Iroquois by a display of unwonted splen- dor."
No idle commander was Frontenac. "Without a cloak and drenched to the skin" he directed his men as they toiled, neck deep, up the rapids, or "tracked" along the banks in the midst of pouring rains.
And then on July 13, while Joliet was among the Arkansas Indians, Frontenac first met the Iroquois. Lines of soldiers-some of them veterans-were sta- tioned from Frontenac's tent to the Indian camp.
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A History of the
Between these lines the sixty chiefs were conducted to the tent, and when they arrived, stolid and self- possessed at they naturally were on such grave occa- sions, they "ejaculated their astonishment" at the gor- geous array of uniforms on the Governor's guards. And they found in the Governor a man with a dignity and a command of language equal to their own, and a graciousness withal that was as winning as his bear- ing was in other ways commanding.
It has been often said that the the gunshots of Champlain, near Ticonderoga, gained for the French people the everlasting hatred of the Iroquois. It is not true. No white man ever won the hearts of the Iroquois as Frontenac did at Cataraqui, until Sir William Johnson came among them.
For while he talked to the chiefs in flowing lan- guage, and gave overcoats, and caressed their babies, he built a fort under their eyes without ever exciting a word or a thought of protest. It was the first of the chain of forts that La Salle had planned. At a single stroke Frontenac made peace with these most formidable enemies, and placed French guns where they would command the Indian trade of the great lakes. The further truth is that in the years imme- diately preceding the advent of Frontenac the Iroquois had held no special hatred against the French, but had despised them as easy victims of plundering raids. And it may be added here that the power of the Iroquois nation waned steadily, if slowly, from the day that Frontenac met them.
Having secured a post on Lake Ontario, Fron- tenac sent La Salle to France. La Salle asked the
28
Mississippi Valley.
king for "a grant in seigniory of Fort Frontenac, for so he called the new post in honor of his patron," and for "a patent of nobility, in consideration of his ser- vices as an explorer."
Both petitions were granted, and La Salle returned to his new wilderness post a feudal lord, and the head of the best fur trading station in the world. The price he had agreed to pay for these great acquisitions was moderate. He was to return to the king the cost of the fort-10,000 francs,-maintain a garrison equal to that of Montreal, employ at least fifteen laborers, build a church, support a Recollet friar, form a settlement of friendly Indians, and replace the wooden walls of the fort with stone-all of which he did in good faith.
But there was an additional cost, not down in the contract, and this he was compelled to pay, even with his heart's blood-the losses and costs due to the envy and malice of those who had sneered and cackled when he was down, and who now writhed and screamed when they found him planted in the current of beaver skins coming from the upper lakes. In establishing this trading station Frontenac and La Salle had taken in as partners a half dozen of rich traders of the St. Lawrence. All Canada besides these and their friends, turned, like Indians in the bush, upon this monopoliz- ing aggregation.
Nor was that all. Frontenac hated the Jesuits. His quarrels with them over matters of precedence in public functions were most virulent, for that was the day when Louis XIV ruled "the politest" nation. Frontenac also quarrelled with the seminary priests of Montreal. In all these matters La Salle openly
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A History of the
"declared himself an adherent of the Governor." Time had been when La Salle would avoid trouble by what the French called "address," but now he stood by his patron, man-fashion. And for a time his manliness and ability prevailed.
A settlement came into existence at Cataraqui. Four sailing vessels of from twenty-five to forty tons each, were built to gather furs around the lake. The vast commerce of the great lakes began at Kingston. For the trade on the rivers, canoes were used, and in managing these La Salle's men "were reputed the best in America." His soldiers were well disciplined. His farm hands raised good crops. And the trade of the fort soon amounted to a profit of 25,000 livres a year.
This success exasperated the opponents of La Salle to the last degree. Nothing but his death would satisfy them, and their efforts to accomplish this were characteristic. One merchant, says Parkman, while pretending friendship, compelled his wife to attempt the act of Potiphar's wife, while he (the merchant), well armed, waited in an adjoining room for a sig- nal. He thought he should have excuse for killing an unarmed man, but La Salle put the woman out of the room at the first advance, and then discovered the scoundrel in waiting outside the door. And an- other pretended friend mixed verdigris and water hem- lock in a salad, of which La Salle ate a portion; but he recovered from the effects of the poison.
In the meantime the Jesuit missionaries among the Iroquois told them that La Salle was building stone walls at Fort Frontenac in order to make it a base for an aggressive war against the Five Nations.
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