Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/86

 26 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI they passed iu their boats or lying ou the shore by the river, beneath the stars, listen- ing to the sounds of the mighty current sweep- ing its way to an unknown sea. The scenes changed as they made their way farther and farther south. The high and rocky blutifs which had lined one or both sides of the river, from the top of which the coun- try stretched in rolling verdure for miles on either side, gave way to the low and marshy land of the Mississippi bottoms. Cane brakes were seen and mosquitos appeared in great clouds and made life miserable for them. They came at last to the mouth of the Arkan- sas. Here they met with Indians who dis- played the greatest hostility for a long time, but were finally induced to receive them with something like civility. One member of the tribe spoke the language of the Illinois and through him Marquette preached the Chris- tian faith to the assembled savages. They told him, in return for presents given them, what they knew concerning the lower reaches of the river. According to their account, the lower Mississippi was infested by tribes of fierce Indians, so formidable that they them- selves dared not hunt the buft'alo but con- tented themselves with fish and corn. Joliet and Marquette determined to turn back from this place. They had performed a part of their tasks. They had seen the great river, had voyaged for hundreds of miles upon its bosom, and had approached near its mouth as they believed, though in reality they were seven hundred miles from the Oulf. They had gone at least far enough to make sure that it did not empty into the sea of Vir- ginia, the Vermillion or California sea, but into the Gulf of Mexico. Further progress was doubtful. Their supplies were limited. the hot weather was coming on, the Indians farther down were reported as hostile, — all these considerations induced them to relin- quish their hope of continuing to the mouth of the river. They began the return trip on the seventeenth of July. The return voyage was far from pleasant. It was midsummer and the heat was great. They might no longer drift, but must urge their canoes against all the force of the river. Father Marquette fell ill and was like to die before the voyage could be completed. At last they reached the Illi- nois, entered its mouth, and made their way up its beautiful course. They were enter- tained by a tribe of the Illinois Indians, called Kaskaskias, perhaps the Casquins of De Soto's time. One of the members of the tribe guided them to Lake Michigan which they reached in September, having voyaged more than two thousand miles in the four months since their departure. Joliet and Marquette separated at Green Bay, Marquette remaining to recruit his health while Joliet hastened homeward. The good fortune which had been his for so many months deserted him at the last and he was almost drowned near Montreal by the upset- ting of his canoe. All his papers were lost by this accident, and he made only an oral report to Governor Frontenac concerning his trip. It is partly due to this circumstance that he has received so little of the credit justly due him for his exploit, since ]Iar- quette afterward published an account of the voyage and it is bis name that is most closely a.s.sociated with the enterprise. In reality he had no official connection with it, but was present as a volunteer under the direction of Joliet. Frontenac was much gratified at the suc- cess of the voyage and reported to the gov-