preach Christianity to tribes along its banks. The two explorers, with five Frenchmen to help them paddle their canoes, left Mackinac in May, "fully resolved," writes the gentle Marquette in his journal," to do and suffer everything for so glorious an undertaking."

Their course lay across Lake Michigan, up Green Bay and Fox River, and down the Wisconsin River, until, near the present town of Prairie du Chien, the broad current of the Mississippi was discovered,1 flowing between high and heavily wooded bluffs — forming one of the most charming scenes in America. Amid many perils from swirling eddies and from fierce tribes who had never before seen Europeans, the explorers now voyaged down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Arkansas. Here they turned back; for they had heard that Spaniards were exploring the north shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and they wished to avoid meeting them. Late in the autumn, the two venturesome Frenchmen reached Lake Michigan by way of the Illinois River and the portage route now occupied by the great city of Chicago.

38. La Salle's explorations. The greatest explorer in New France was La Salle, 2 who traveled chiefly in canoes

hurry home toward Mackinac, because his illness broke out again. He died on the journey (May 18, 1675), and was buried at the mouth of Père Marquette River, where is now Ludington, Michigan.

Jolliet was born at Quebec. As a youth he was trained to be an explorer, and no man in New France knew better the Indians and the life of the forest. When the exploration of the Mississippi was completed, he started by canoe for Quebec, with his maps and reports of the expedition. But in descending the fierce rapids at Lachine, just above Montreal, his canoe was upset, he was nearly drowned, and all his papers were lost. In after years he explored Labrador. 1 Over a hundred years before, Spaniards had discovered the lower part of the river; but Marquette and Jolliet did not know of this. The Spanish discovery did not lead to any results, so that the river was soon forgotten by white men. The French discoverers, however, were at once followed by other Frenchmen; and soon the Mississippi became widely known.

2 He was born in France, but came to Canada when twenty-five years old, and next year began his Western explorations. Although he was a shy, stern, proud man, he was much liked by the Indians and a few followers; but he made few friends among white people.

La Salle's most constant friend and companion was Henry de Tonty, a young Italian soldier. Tonty had great talent and, though kind and gentle, was a bold, adventurous man. Having lost his right hand in a European battle, he wore in its place one of metal, which much astonished the Indians, who obeyed him as though he were their own chief.

but sometimes for long distances on foot - through a large part of the Mississippi Basin,' fighting Indians, building fur-trade posts, and collecting furs. His object was to complete the explorations made by Marquette and Jolliet, and to add to New France the broad and fertile region lying at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Such expeditions through the then untrodden wilderness of North America were enormously costly and difficult, and La Salle was obliged to carry on the fur trade to meet his expenses.

After many trials he succeeded, in 1682, in descending the Mississippi to its mouth. There he erected a cross and displayed the French

flag and coat of arms; 2 and in the presence of the wondering savages, in the name of his sovereign he took possession of the entire Mississippi Basin and the northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico. To this country he gave the name "Louisiana," in honor of his king, Louis XIV. But the difficulties were so great and his plans so ambitious and costly that La Salle lost his own fortune and all the money he could borrow. A colony that he planted on the Gulf of Mexico failed miserably, and on his retreat northward through Texas he himself was killed, in 1687, by some of his mutinous followers.3

Painting by J. N. Marchand

1 The "basin" of a river is the entire region drained by that river, also by its tributaries and all their branches, large and small.

2 The French coat of arms was at that time a representation of the heads of lilies (fleur-de-lis). These, La Salle had had engraved on a metal plate, which he nailed to a post.

3 Father Hennepin, a Franciscan monk, was with La Salle in 1680; and the latter sent him with two other Frenchmen to visit the upper waters of the

39. Founding of Louisiana. It was not until 1699 that La Salle's plans for founding a colony in Louisiana could be carried out by the French. In that year a daring French Canadian, Iberville, succeeded in planting a permanent settlement at Biloxi. Nineteen years later New Orleans was founded by his brother, Bienville. For many years Bienville wisely governed the province, which then com. prised all the southern part of the Mississippi Valley, as well as the country lying to the west of the river itself.1

By this time the French had established three important cities in North America - New Orleans in the south, and Montreal and Quebec in Canada.

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

1. What were the two chief motives of French explorations in America? 2. Compare French motives of exploration with Spanish motives. 3. Trace on a map the journey of Marquette.

4. Thus far, in the text, four nations have made discoveries or explorations in the New World. Indicate on the globe or map the regions claimed by each, because of these explorations.

5. Sketch a map of North America, and write the following names in the places associated with them in history: Balboa, Cabot, Champlain, Coronado, De Soto, Hudson, Jolliet and Marquette, La Salle, Ponce de Leon.

6. Show on the map the claims of the Spanish, the French, and the English. Point out the places or regions where these claims conflict.

7. Draw a map of the Great Lakes and their outlet; write on each lake the date of its discovery.

8. What use did the explorers make of rivers?

9. Of what other persons, previously mentioned, do the French missionaries remind you?

10. Why did fur trading not lead to fixed settlements?

II. Make a table showing the French discoveries, explorations, and settlements. It should indicate: (a) the name of the place or region; (b) the date or dates; (c) the name of the discoverer or explorer; (d) the results.

Mississippi. First of all Europeans, these three reached the Falls of St. Anthony, where Minneapolis now is. After being captured by Indians, they were rescued by Duluth, another famous French explorer (for whom the city of Duluth was named), who had a large fur trade in the great region around the head of Lake Superior and was respected and obeyed by thousands of fierce savages. 1 Throughout half a century Louisiana and much of the Canadian Northwest was explored by French soldiers and fur traders.

COMPOSITION SUBJECTS

1. Think of yourself as Tonty, the friend of La Salle. Write a letter to the French King briefly telling of the services of La Salle to France, emphasizing his wonderful courage and untiring zeal.

2. Father Hennepin looks into the future and believes that some day there will be a city at St. Anthony's Falls. He talks over the advantages of a city here with his companions. What city came to be planted there?

3. Champlain's nephew in France gives an interesting account to his classmates of the wonderful exploits of his uncle in America. Write what he said, remembering the beautiful lake, the skirmish with the Iroquois, the abundance of furs, and the hairbreadth escapes in the wild forests.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

1. Early French settlements.

2. Champlain extends the boundaries of New France. 3. Relations with the Indians.

4. French fur trade in North America.

5. Jesuit missionaries.

6. Marquette and Jolliet on the upper Mississippi.

7. La Salle's explorations.

3. Louisiana founded.

CHAPTER V

THE INDIANS

40. Three great groups. It is probable that when Europeans first came to our country, not over two hundred thousand Indians dwelt within its borders.1 There were three groups of tribes living east of the Mississippi River:

(a) Most numerous were the Algonquian, 2 who occupied the greater part of the country north of Kentucky and between the Mississippi River and the Atlantic, as well as most of Canada.

(b) The Iroquois lived principally south and east of Lakes Erie and Ontario, within the present States of New York and Pennsylvania.

(c) The Southern group, or Muskogee, dwelt south of the Tennessee River.

The Dakota, or Sioux, roamed over the treeless plains lying west of the Mississippi. The Pueblo group, whom Coronado visited, is still to be found in the region now divided into New Mexico and Arizona. Besides, there were a number of small groups living in the Rocky Mountains and along the Pacific Coast.

1 Most people suppose that the Indians have decreased in numbers, since Columbus's day; yet there are to-day probably quite as many Indians, all told, within the present United States, as there ever were. Some of the tribes have nearly if not wholly died out; but now that their methods of living are improved and they are no longer allowed by our Government to go to war with each other, the total Indian population seems to be somewhat on the increase. 2 Among the most celebrated of the Algonquian tribes were the Chippewa, Delaware, Fox, Massachusetts, Miami, Narragansett, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, Shawnee, and Wampanoag.

The principal Iroquois tribes were the Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca; these were often called "The Five Nations of New York." The Huron, Erie, Tuscarora, and Cherokee were also related to the Iroquois. By the time of our Revolutionary War, the Tuscarora had joined the Iroquois Confederacy, which after this was called "The Six Nations."

The Muskogee included the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes.