e dim, undiscovered country into
which they were venturing, who could say? It seems amazing that one
hundred and thirty years after Soto had crossed the great river,
intelligent Frenchmen were ignorant even of its outlet. It shows how
successfully Spain had suppressed knowledge of the territory which she
claimed.

Down the quiet waters of the Wisconsin the voyagers glided, passing the
thrifty villages of the Sacs and Foxes, then a powerful people, now
almost extinct. On June 17, exactly one month from the day of their
starting, their canoes {176} shot out into a rapid current, here a mile
wide, and with joy beyond expression, as Marquette writes, they knew that
they had achieved the first part of their undertaking. They had reached
the "Great Water."

What would have been the feelings of these unassuming voyagers, if they
could have looked down the dim vista of time, and have seen the people of
a great and prosperous commonwealth (Wisconsin), on June 17, 1873,
celebrating the two hundredth anniversary of their achievement!

Strange sights unfolded themselves, as they made their way down the
mighty stream and looked on shores that no eyes of a white man had ever
beheld. What magnificent solitudes! Only think of it--more than a
fortnight without seeing a human being!

They used always extreme caution, as well they might, in view of the
tales that had been told them of ferocious savages roaming that region.
They went ashore in the evening, cooked and ate their supper, and then
pushed out and anchored in the stream, keeping a man on watch till
morning.

After more than two weeks of this solitary voyaging, one day they saw a
well-trodden path {177} that led to the adjacent prairie. Joliet and
Marquette determined to follow it, leaving the canoes in charge of their
men. After a walk of some miles inland, they came to an Indian village,
with two others in sight. They advanced with beating hearts. What was
their reception to be? When they were near enough to hear voices in the
wigwams, they stood out in the open and shouted to attract attention. A
great commotion ensued, and the inmates swarmed out. Then, to their
intense relief, four chiefs advanced deliberately, holding aloft two
calumets, or peace-pipes. They wore French cloth, from which it was
evident that they traded with the French. These people proved to belong
to the great Illinois tribe, the very people some of whom had met
Marquette at his missio