Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/79



tokens of friendship. The French had, in America, treated the Indians with kindness, and respected their rights. The people of nearly all other nations had regarded them as savages, “having no rights that a white man was bound to respect.” The French lived in peace and security with them, while the English, Spaniards, and Portuguese made war upon them that brought retaliation in massacres of men, women and children.

Father Marquette won their confidence, esteem and veneration. When he and his party bade farewell to the Illinois chief, the latter presented to him the pipe of peace-the sacred calumet-ornamented with brilliant feathers. This, suspended from his neck, was to be a safeguard among all the strange tribes that he might encounter in his voyage.

He and his party continued their journey down the river, floating with the current by day and landing at night. They often made excursions into the country, exploring woods and prairie, and paddling up many rivers flowing into the Mississippi. They passed the mouth of a large river, the waters of which were of a muddy hue, discoloring the water for miles below the junction. They learned that the Indian name of this river was Pe-ki-ta-no-ni, afterward called by the French Missouri. Passing between heavily timbered banks, the explorers occasionally saw immense prairies to the eastward covered with a growth of grass as high as a man's shoulders. In the distance rose hills almost mountain high. Next they came to a broad stream of clearer water which the Indians had named the “Beautiful River.” This was the Ohio.

The journey was continued along low swampy shores shut in by forests and canebrakes until the heat became intolerable. Swarms of insects tormented the travelers. Herds of buffalo were frequently seen in the open country, and game was found in great abundance and variety.

In latitude 33° they encountered a fierce tribe of Indians of the Michigamie nation. These natives had