The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1873-04-17

z.
See the habitants of the valley And
gliding down the mighty stream. the ex-
plorers at length passed Rock. Island
ana ADMIRED the beauty and grandHer of
tue surrounding country. Pursuing
their course, the adventures upon land
Ing some days after. espied human foot
prints on the Western shp-e, and followed
them to q trai. which passed through a
pleasant prairie towari u grove in the
distance Thereup n Marquette and Jol-
let LETT Itheir 0oyagetTs in charge of the
canoes, aud followed the path, IN search
= an Indian village, which thy soon
discovered Praying for favorable re-
ception, aud hat their lives mapht be
spared among the savages, they an
preached within calling distance, and
theh llallooing made their presence
known. Soon, four elderly men pres Mt
ed themselves with friendly salu,ations,
In language understood by the .explOr-
ers, who inquired the name of the La
diaDs, hFsl announcing themsel yes as
Ffenchmen. The former replied tn t
they We're Illinat--the men, the manly
people--and with.the utmost cordially
offered the pipe of peace. One of the
ililinah or Illinois, as the French
(aiodltyIng tue name with affix ois)
called them, exclaimed,inr his welcome
to the white strangers How beaut,
full is the sun, o Frenchmen, when you
come to visit Us! Our whole village
awaits you. Ys shall enter in peace all
our dwellings!"a Tue Indians then escort
ed their guests TO the village where they
were received with joyful greetings by
the Chief AMI all bis peuE le, who look ed
with delight on the first W hlle men they
had cvers seen. ThefIliinnis Confederacy
To which these belonged, ranged throug ID
the country, though not to the exclusion
of theirs, from the Ohin to Lake SUPERB
or, and from the Wabash to the Mississ
ppi, and even far beyoni, especially
occupying Northern and Central Illinois
Their Capital city-the largest In the
West, was on the present site of the vii
lage OF Utica, in the County of La Sale
extending mile or more through vale
of surpassing brauty, and filling it from
the Illinois river to the bordering
bluffs. Tie Illinois were the FIRST human
beings seen en- this exploration. .ss1..rE
After being conducted around the cir
cult Of the vi lage, the guests were IN
t, rtained with bountiful feast at the
h,dge of the ChIef, in which he and his
principal men participated. This grad
feast, in houor IF the Frenchmen, con-
sisted offour courses. The irst was OF
hnu.lny, the second of fish. the third of
dog, concluding with the fourth Of
roasted buff 40 The French bestowed
g. Al y
many eudearing compliments were
exchanged between the hosts and their
guests in the course of their speeches,
and the Indians were charmed by the
fuency aud eloquence with which Mar
qnette addressed them in their own Al
g0nquIn tongue. Tue Illinois, beSOught
the explorers to remain with them, but
they gave their reasons for proceeding
promptly on their. journey, and Mar
qnette, after explaining the principles
and ceremonies of bis religion briefly,
promised the llIinoies to return to them
and preach the G aristian gospel fully,
The missionary represents the Illinois as
"remarkably handsome, well-mannered,
and kindly" Unco .tamirated by the
vices of civilized life, they were full of
native dignity; the lords of the coun-
try, knowing no superiors; brave, gen
erous, and Of noble presence, and Well
sustaining their honOred tribal designa.
ton OF Illinah-the men.
Finally, when the morning hour for
renewing their journey arrived the ex
pl2rers were escorted back to the river
by the Illinois Chief and six hundred of
his best men, and taking an affectiouate
leave of the hospitable Indians, they eos
tered their canoes and fl ,ated down the
Great River, which they called the ,'Rio
Grande," giving the same idea as the
indian name of the Mississippi, Drift
ing quietly along,t hey passed the mouth
OF the Illinois and beheld the rocks named
on the old French maps The Ruined
Castles" At length the canoes passed
the bluffs where now stands the city of
Alton, and where were seen the monsters
painted on the rocks Of which the trav-
oilers had heard. Soon after, they passed
the mouth of the meaning
muddy,rushing, and noisy the Missouri
and further down there lGomed up in the
distance, the stately forest GROWING the
mirepce on which the qveenly city Of
LOuiS INV SIlo CA1iAlOnCu. OClON ~
dangerous rock was passed-probably
what Is now known as the Grand Tower
and then the mouth of the Ohio, the "La
Belle Riviere" Of the French, was seen at
the point occupiet by the present city of
Cairo. From the mouth of the Ohio the
adventures were cordially and richly en-
tertained by the friendly Indians on the
East bank, and afterwards passed down
to some Indians called by them the
"Akamascas," near the mouth of the Ar
kansas. Before reaching the Arkansas
Indians, the explorers were assailed from
the Western shore by hostile Indians, but
the fearless persistency of Marquette, in
presenting the pipe of peace, and his be-