New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-10-05

DiIGnIlght from his mother. Rose de
n Sale, kinswoman of John Baptiste de
Sale, founder OF the educational order
J. the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Fl
@ was twenty nine years of age when his fe,
8 first touched American soil. After bein
l. properly drilled for active service by il
i struction in the Indian tongues, he wa
q sent by his sagacious superiors, in 1868, t
|. the very front of the church militant i
t that quarter, the mission of Lake Supe
4 rior. About a year afterward he wa
s transferred to the mission establishe
n to convert the Kickapoos "a trib
S which, from the accounts of tn
5 missionaries. would seem to have bee
5 among the most obstinate adherents O
I | Satan, and ut ancestors of those of the sam
name who now infest the borders of Texas
But despite all their wickedness they cause,
his heart to rejoice by giving him expljci
! accounts of the mysterious river. almost ;
league wide, running north and south, an,
so tar that even the Illinois Indians, soutl
of the kickapoos, had never vet heard o
its mouth; they only knew that there wer,
very great nations below them. some O
Wnom raised two crops u; maize a year
This grea. river can hardly e1notv in Vir
ginia." says Marquette ia his report on hi.
mission. land we rather believe that it.
mouth IS in California lie continued tc
gather all the Information that ne could
concerning II, and as Father DablOn, the
superior of all the Canada missions at thai
time, assures us. ''this induced him 20 make
several efforts to undertake the enterprise
OF exploring that river. but ALWAYS in vain,
lie had even given up all hope. Of succeed
ing. when the Almighty presented him the
opportunity
The passage 20 the Pacific was the
phantom which all colonial Governors in
America followed in the seventeenth cen.
tury. In l672 it beckoned to the Count de
Frontenac, Governor of Canada, and M.
| Talon. the intendant Of the cOionv They
had heard of the great river. and they
sagelv resolved that it was important to
explore it. in order to ''seek passage to
! the China sea by the river which empties
into the California sea- 1t is more than
| probable that but fov that ignis fatuus of
| the South sea the exploration of the river
! would not have been undertaken at all
| The ministry of Louis XIV, instructed
Talon that latter the increase of the colony
there was nothing moro important. for it
| than the discovery OF a passage to the South
! sea, and his majesty wished him to give it
his attention. Frontenac writes of Joliet's
| expedition as designed ITO discover The
South sea by the Maskoutens country, and
the great river. Mississippi. which is be.
lieved TO empty into the California sea-
FROM al! the contemporary accounts of
the expedition it is evident that Father
Marquette was its real leader. its very soul.
But, az an ecclesiastic. he could not take
command OF an armed force, however small:
as an ambassador of Christ to FOREIGN
heather nations he could not act as tho
agent OF King of France. II was accord.
ingly arranged that the Sieur Joliet. ma
tive OF Canada, should command the expe-
dition and that Marquette should accom-.
pany 1t as missionary. The choice of Jol.
let was wise and happy one. He had been
lay assistant IN 3 Jesuit mission in his
youth and was always favorite of the
order. lie subsequently became an Indian
trader. FrOntenac wrote OF him: HE is q
man of experience in this kind OF discovery
and has already been near the great river.
OF winch he promises to see the mouth"
lie joined Marquette on December 8, l6,2.
presenting HIM the letters of his superiors.
appointing him TO carry out his LONG cher.
lshed wish. 1t was the festival of the con.
ception OF the Virgin Mary, for which Mar. !
quette had always had special devotion. |
and even those who do not share his faith |
must sympathlze with the exaltation the
good Father expresses at The propltious
coincidence. He and Joliet passed the win
ter IN preparations for their Journey, and in
these, as III almost every other successful |
work, the 'patient industry OF genius was
conspicuous. "As we were going 10 seek
unknown countries writes the brave mis-
slonarv. 1--WE took all possible precautions.
\
should not be toolhardy.
''t0" thls reason We gathered all possible !
from Indians who had fire.
quentea those parts. and even from; their
accounts traced q map OF all the new conn
Try. marking down the rivers on which we !
were 10 san! the names OF the nations and
places through which we We're to pass. tie
curse OF the great river. and what .iirec-
ION we should take when we got 20 it.
fl.lV- oil ~.
'oyage Under the protection o.: the Blessed
' .rgln Immaculate" On the seventeenth
i May. 1868, they lett Nackinaw: in his |
nipple language he say-: I'VE were ON .
PARKING on voyage the duration OF which
We could not ioresee. Indian corn, with ,
One dried meat. was our whole stock OF |
PROVISIONS. With .his we Set cut in two {
ark canoes. NJ. Joliet. nysei: aud five I
zen. firmly resolved TO do all and suffer all Z
Dr. SO glorious an enterprise"
Joyously they sped along over the waters l
the head OF Green Bay. There the In. g
lans endeaVoret to dissuade them from ! S
ON pursuing their peIil0us journey: told n
tribes still! more savage than them. h
lives, OF frIghttul monsters that infested h
'e great r'Ver, and OF a demon WHO stopped O
ne passage and engUlphed all who dared p
pproach Blu, these '.ahimeras Gi,a" we're :
a.ie light OF by Marquette. because, he "
Ids. ''thc salvation y. souls was con G.
4riled. CarryIn. their bark canoes over ! o.
nj 10 the Wisconsin river, they launched | b
lem upon it. and sailing slowly down i.s
lrrent. entered on June Il. 1913, the waters e!
,he upper MisslssippI-the ;i-s; Europeans p
no had ever seen it, II
10 describe 70 you the further cvor-es. | 10
TINS daring party would not only OCCUPY hi
much OF your time At present, but also III
possibly construed into an attempt to Ill
restall your enjoyment OF a peruSa! Of the ri
lSina! narrative OF Marquette himself, or liz
the scarcely less interesting full accounts hi
his discoveries by writers o: our own
ton. Suffice il TO say tina: thi. band of ! N
ven Frenchme:, in two frail canoes of | *
TX. explored the Mississippi, river from er
g mouth OF the Wisconsin to TIE neigh -,
rhood of the Arkansas. aud returned | OK
fely to the Northern lakes by the Ilinoi. hu
-er. without the loss of man and with | he
I any serious danger. One canno. but .r.
lie occasionally az the good Ea.Aes re. ca
lnts hi. peIils. =.
he junction ~ the turbulent Missouri din
tn the clear and tranquil upper Nissis. th,
p' Is rapid than which," he savs. IL at
sc seen nothing more frighttu: !. mass | ria
large trees entire, 10Th branches. real tea
atins islands. caM8 hshing from the bo
nth OF the river FEtanoni ithe Mis- P.;
lrI'. so impetuously thut we could not. br,
hout great danger. expose ourselves to COZ
~ "S'"90' siiC was 80 great tndt | Ina
water was all muddy and could not ye, {.
ar But he was nosAoaalarmed tina. he ,,n
10 not speculate oAthe possibility that in in
noble stream whicAs gives its name to Nv.
State might prove te be las it has since tina
lel. the nearest route by water to the Nh 1,
'iHc: Some Indian spun him a pretty 10
~ Irb;cf hr "0s s|ul 'toii i" rake wa
Oh orn.La- .;, oi.dse. He couio too
'oA e'n.'''9" 'A'o 1he knt
boz
Ike every other explorer Of So,ti, Amer ant
at tina, day. the good father had ,be GOV