Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/70



his company to the Wisconsin River. Upon reaching this river, the guides returned to their tribe, leaving the fearless leaders of the expedition to find their way as best they could through the unknown region they had now entered.

Floating down the Wisconsin, they finally saw before them the broad waters of the Mississippi. It was on the 17th day of June, 1673, that Marquette and Joliet looked out on the bold bluffs of the western shore a few miles below where McGregor now stands. They were the first white men who ever saw Iowa. Pushing out into the current they beheld a wild, beautiful landscape. On the Wisconsin side was a level prairie shore stretching northward for many miles, covered with tall grass waving in the June breeze. Deer and elk were grazing on the meadow, Eastward were the bluffs which in prehistoric times had been washed by a torrent to which the Mississippi of modern days is but a little remnant. Westward, coming down to the water's edge were lofty, wooded, rocky hills and deep gorges fringed with rich foliage and flowers. Once out upon the waters of the largest river of the continent, they felt the inspiration of a great discovery. All about them was an unknown region. Not a human being was seen. The solitude of an uninhabited country surrounded them. They landed from time to time, made camps, killed game, and caught fish. They ascended the bluffs and saw in the distance boundless prairies upon which herds of buffalo and elk could be seen. Fringes of trees and bushes in the distance marked the course of creeks winding through the meadows. Here and there were beautiful groves, rising up like islands in the sea. The atmosphere was laden with the perfume of flowers. The air was soft and balmy as the breezes were wafted over the luxuriant vegetation. The woods were vocal with the music of birds. Squirrels, quail, prairie chickens, wild turkeys, and other game, were found in great abundance. The explorers passed between shores of unsurpassed beauty, where Dubuque, Clinton, Davenport, Rock Island, Muscatine,