Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/75

 H1ST0EY OF GOODHUE COUNTY 45 Radisson 's authorship, in the volume published by the Prince Society, declaring that part to be "without value" and appar- ently "the work of a writer of fiction." He says: "It is difficult to find authority for the statement put forth of the original discovery of Hudson's Bay by des Gro- seilliers and Radisson, on which so much stress has been laid" (page 5); and again: "The names of two commonplace adven- turers have obtained mention in the chronicles of those days, to which they are in no way entitled, from the circumstances that they were brought forward by the French, for want of a better ^ argument to sustain their pretensions to early discovery" (page 12). Legler, Henry E. 'Leading Events of Wisconsin History." (Milwaukee, 1898; pages 322.) The travels of Groseilliers and Radisson are noticed in pages 21, 47-51 and 137. Although chap- ter II details somewhat fully "The Strange Adventures of Radis- son," the routes and dates of the expeditions are not exactly stated. Concerning their supposed journeying to the Mississippi river, the author thinks that "evidence is lacking to prove the surmise." Ogg, Frederic Austin. "The Opening of the Mississippi; a Struggle for Supremacy in the American Interior. ' ' (New York, 1904; pages 670.) The far western travels of Groseilliers and Radisson are considered in pages 53-56. Their first expedition is conjectured to have been in 1654-56, they being the unnamed French traders who are mentioned in the Jusuit relation. A sec- ond expedition is thought to have been made by Groseilliers in 1658-59, "trading and exploring on the shores of Lake Superior," with return to the St. Lawrence "in the spring of 1659." Next, "within a few weeks," Groseilliers and Radisson traveled again to Lake Superior, this time exploring the south shore to La Pointe and Chequamegon bay, spending the winter in "many excursions among the surrounding tribes," and returning to lower Canada in the summer of 1660. Groseilliers and other traders are said to have made a later expedition to Lake Superior, going in August, 1660, and returning in 1663. It is thought that they did not reach the Mississippi river in any of these expeditions, though coming to some of its eastern tributaries. This author makes no refer- ence to Radisson 's assertions that they went to the Gulf of Mexico and to Hudson bay. Neill, Edward D. "Groseilliers and Radisson, the First Ex- plorers of Lake Superior and the State of Minnesota." (Maga- zine of Western History, volume VII, pages 412-421, February, 1888.) The following footnote, on page 413, explains why so little care was taken to follow the narratives of Radisson in this con- fused and unwarrantable account of the expeditions to the region