The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-03-12
FATHER MARQUETTE.

Missionary zeal has ever been mo-
tive which prompted courageous and
earnest men to brave the perils OF
stormy seas or unknown lands. Co.
lumbus, seeking new lands to convert
to Christianity, crossed the great
ocean. Champlain carried the cross
with the f1eur-de-lis of France. Father
Jacques Marquette, eager to bring the
word of God to the Indian tribes. of
Illinois, discovered the father of wa
tiers, the mighty Mississippi.
jacques Marquette was born in Laon,
France, in 1886. He died in Mich
igan in 1875. But in those few years
intervening he accomplished more
than many men who have lived long
lives. At the age of seventeen he en-
tered the Society of Jesus and after
his ordination he was sent, in 1866,
to labor in the Indian missions of
Canada. His first work, after being
assigned to the Three Rivers Mission
on the st. Lawrence, was to study dill
igently the Indian languages, and of
these he succeeded in mastering six
In 1868 he undertook his first mission
airy work in the west, toiling for
eighteen months with Father Dablon
at Sault Ste. Marie and later instruct
| ing the Indians of the Holy Ghost
Mission at La Pointe, on Lake Supe-
| rior
1t was at La Pointe that he first
heard, from the Illinois Indians, of the
mighty river that flowed through their
territory and of the populous tribes
that inhabitated it's banks.
Burning with missionary zeal, Mar
quette made preparations to invade
this territory, explore the course of
the great river, and bring the word of
God to the pagan tribes. Before he
could prepare for his expedition, how
ever, the Hurons were forced to
| change their camp to avert attacks
by the hostile Dakotas. The mission
airy was forced to follow the tribesmen
to their ancient abode on the straits
of Mackinac and it was not until 1873.
when accounts of the great river had
| reached Quebec and Joliet had come
to join him, that the expedition finally
| got under way.
With five other Frenchmen the mis-
sionaries set forth, in two canoes, on
May II. They skirted the north shore
of Lake Michigan, entered Green Bay,
pushed up the Fox River and, cross
| ing a short portage, gained the Wis
| consin. A month after the party set
out, on June II, it reached the Mis-
| sissippi. Down this stream they pro-
ceeded, each day coming upon new
ed the point where the Arkansas pours
into the Father of Waters. Here they
learned from the Indians that the
Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of
| Mexico, and fearing danger from the
| Spaniards if they went farther, they
turned the prows of their canoes
northward again.
Father Marquette drew a map of
the country through which the expe-
ditiOn passed. describing the villages
and customs of the different tribes,
the topography, the tides of the lakes,
the future commercial value of the
navigable streams, the flowers and
the animals. This diary gave to the
world historical, geographical and
chronological knowledge hitherto I'M
known and in a large measure deter
mined the French policy of fortifying
the Mississippi and placing a barrier
against the incursions of English col
onists.
! From a missionary poilIt of view
the voyage had fruitful results and