Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/78



or Redstone River, from inyan, stone; sha-sha, reduplication of sha, red; and watpa, river. They call the upper east fork Inyan-sha-sha-watpa sunkaku, the brother of Redstone River.”

This discovery of the valley and river of the upper Mississippi, and the beautiful prairie country, which has since been named Iowa, attracted but little attention in European countries at that time. Another great river had been added to the list of discoveries in the far west, hundreds of miles beyond the farthest frontier posts, and that was all. It is greatly to be regretted that the elaborate report made by Joliet of this discovery of the upper Mississippi and the exploration of its valley was lost. Father Marquette's chief interest, in all of his daring expeditions into unknown regions, was the conversion of the Indians to Christianity. He has not given especial attention in his writings to many facts relating to the country through which he traveled. We gather enough from the imperfect records, however, to draw a picture of the “beautiful land” as it was when he first looked upon it.

Tribes of red men who roamed over its boundless prairies, camped in its valleys and paddled their canoes along rivers and lakes, made no substantial improvements. Their houses were of the most temporary character; their villages could be moved at a day's notice. They had no roads, farms, or orchards. A few years effaced every mark of their occupancy. In a country abounding in game, fish and wild fruit, they found enough to satisfy their wants with very little labor.

Generations of Indians had grown up and passed away, leaving no monument or record of their existence. Their predecessors, the Mound Builders, when they possessed Iowa, had constructed enduring works which gave a key to their history; but the buffalo has left as many and enduring marks of its occupancy as the Indian.

Fierce feuds and savage warfare had prevailed among various tribes of the natives, but the first white men who came among them met with a warm welcome and