both our persons and the success of our
voyage. Then, after having encouraged one
another, we got into our canoes." They
descended a broad river beset with shallows,
flowing between fertile banks and around
vine-clad islets, and so, after forty leagues on
that same route, they entered the Mississippi
on the seventeenth of June, at forty-two and
a half degrees north, "with a joy that I cannot
express."

Although Marquette increased the name of
the river from Missipi (the complete word
simply means "the Great River,") its full
alphabetical honours were not yet attained. It
was a four i'd monster then as now; but it only
went upon three s's, and had but a single p.
It was spelt then Missisipi. As it now stands
it is not so complete as it is made when
scientific men get hold of it and tie it to the
tail of some unhappy animal with two more
s's in it and another i, as in the case of the
cat fish of the Mississippi, Silurus Mississippiensis.
That is the fish thus mentioned by
Marquette, among the wonders of his voyage:
"From time to time we met monstrous fish,
one of which struck so violently against our
canoe, that I took it for a large tree about to
knock us to pieces. Another time we
perceived on the water a monster with the head
of a tiger, a pointed snout like a wild cat's, a
beard and ears erect, a greyish head, and
neck all black." That was an American
tiger cat. After a little time the voyagers
sailed down through the land of game into
the country of the turkeys and pisikious,
which are the bisons.

On the twenty-fifth of June, in a region
altogether ignorant of quarter-day, they for
the first time perceived foot-prints of men by
the waterside, and a beaten path entering a
beautiful prairie. They stopped to examine
it, and concluding that it was a path leading
to some Indian village, as the purpose of
their journey was to discover men rather
than things, they resolved to reconnoitre,
leaving the canoe with their men, whom they
charged strictly to be cautious. Father
Marquette and the Sieur Jolliet followed from
the river, trusting themselves to the discretion
of unknown barbarians. It was
in no frivolous mood that the two
Europeans could set out on such a walk across
the beautiful prairie. "We followed the
little path," Father Marquette wrote, "in
silence. Then having advanced about two
leagues, we discovered a village on the banks
of the river, and two others on a hill, half a
league from the former. Then, indeed, we
recommended ourselves to God, with all our
hearts; and having implored his help, we
passed on undiscovered, and came so near
that we even heard the Indians talking. We
then deemed it time to announce ourselves,
as we did by a cry, which we raised with all
our strength, and then halted without
advancing any farther. At this cry the Indians
rushed out of their cabins, and having
probably recognised us as French, especially
seeing a Blackgown" (the Indian term for
Jesuit), "or at least having no reason to
distrust us, seeing we were but two, and
had made known our coming, they deputed
four old men to come and speak with us.
Two carried tobacco-pipes well adorned, and
trimmed with many kinds of feathers. They
marched slowly, lifting their pipes towards
the sun, as if offering them to him to smoke,
but yet without uttering a single word.
They were a long time coming the little
way from the village to us. Having reached
us at last, they stopped to consider us
attentively. I now took courage, seeing
these ceremonies, which are used by them
only with friends, and still more on seeing
them covered with stuffs, which made me
judge them to be allies. I, therefore, spoke
to them first, and asked them who they
were; they answered that they were Illinois,
and in token of peace, they presented their
pipes to smoke. They then invited us to
their village, where all the tribe awaited
us with impatience." Upon the Illinois,
the missionaries, reaching the tribe from
another corner, had already made some
impression; the calumet, now a familiar
idea, appears to have been first made known
under that name by Father Marquette, who
gives also a full description of the pipe itself,
and of its social uses.

The Illinois received the two Frenchmen
in their village with extreme courtesy. At
the door of the cabin in which they were
to be received stood an old man perfectly
naked, with his hands stretched out and
raised towards the sun, "as if he wished to
screen himself from its rays, which nevertheless
passed between his fingers to his face."
When they came near him he said, "How
beautiful is the sun, O Frenchman, when
thou comest to visit us! All our town awaits
thee, and thou shalt enter all our cabins in
peace." They were attended by a crowd of
curious, but at the same time respectful,
gazers to the town of the great Sachem, who
with two others stood like the first old
man at his cabin door, with calumets pointing
to the sun. Within the cabin Father Marquette
explained himself, marking, in Indian form,
each weighty fact with a present; after which
the great Sachem rose, and laying his hand
on the head of a little slave, whom he was
about to give to them, spoke thus: "I thank
thee, Blackgown, and thee, Frenchman,"
addressing Jolliet, "for taking so much pains
to come and visit us; never has the earth
been so beautiful, nor the sun so bright, as
to-day; never has our river been so calm,
nor so free from rocks, which your canoes
have removed as they passed; never has
our tobacco had so fine a flavour, nor our
corn appeared so beautiful as we behold it
to-day. Here is my son, that I give thee,
that thou mayest know my heart. I pray
thee to take pity on me and all my nation