Here
we are, then, on this so renowned river, all of whose peculiar
features 1 have endeavored to note carefully. The Missisipi River
takes its rise in various lakes in the country of the northern nations.
It is narrow at the place where Miskous empties; its current, which
flows southward, is slow and gentle. To the right is a large chain
of very high mountains, and to the left are beautiful lands; in various
places, the stream is divided by islands. On sounding, we found ten
brasses of water. Its width is very unequal; sometimes it is three
quarters of a league, and sometimes it narrows to three arpents.
We gently followed its course, which runs toward the south and southeast,
as far as the 42nd degree of latitude. Here we plainly saw that its
aspect was completely changed. There are hardly any woods or mountains;
the islands are more beautiful, and are covered with finer trees.
We saw only deer and cattle, bustards and swans without wings, because
they drop their plumage in this country. From time to time, we came
upon monstrous fish, one of which struck our canoe with such violence
that 1 thought that it was a great tree, about to break the canoe
to pieces. On another occasion, we saw on the water a monster with
the head of a tiger, a sharp nose like that of a wildcat, with whiskers
and straight, erect ears; the head was gray and the neck quite black;
but we saw no more creatures of this sort. When we cast our nets
into the water we caught a sturgeon, and a very extraordinary kind
of fish. It resembles the trout, with this difference, that its mouth
is larger. Near its nose which is smaller, as are also the eyes is
a large bone shaped like a woman's busk, three fingers wide and cubit
long, at the end of which is a disk as wide as one's hand. This frequently
causes it to fall backward when it leaps out of the water. When we
reached the parallel of 41 degrees 28 minutes, following the same
direction, we found that turkeys had taken the place of game; and
the pisikious, or wild cattle, that of the other animals.
We call them "wild cattle," because they are very similar
to our domestic cattle. They are not longer, but are nearly as large
again, and more corpulent. When our people killed one, three persons
had much difficulty in moving it. The head is very large; the forehead
is flat, .and a foot and a half wide between the horns, which are
exactly like those of our oxen, but black and much larger. Linder
the neck they have a sort of large dewlap, which hangs down; and
on the back is a rather high hump. The whole of the head, the neck,
and a portion of the shoulders are covered with a thick mane like
that of horses; it forms a crest a foot long, which makes them hideous,
and, failing over their eyes, prevents them from seeing what is before
them. The remainder of the body is covered with a heavy coat of curly
hair, almost like that of our sheep, but much stronger and thicker.
It falls off in the summer, and the skin becomes as soft as velvet.
At that season, the savages use the hides for making fine robes,
which they paint in various colors. The flesh and the fat of the
pisikious are excellent, and constitute the best dish at feasts.
Moreover, they are very fierce; and not a year passes without their
killing some savages. When attacked, they catch a man on their horns,
if they can, toss him in the air, and then throw him on the ground,
after which they trample him under foot, and kill him. If a person
fire at them from a distance, with either bow or a gun, he must,
immediately after the shot, throw himself down and hide in the grass;
for if they perceive him who has fired, they run at him, and attack
him. As their legs are thick and rather short, they do not run very
fast, as a rule, except when angry. They are scattered about the
prairie in herds; I have seen one of 400.
We continued to advance, but, as we knew not whither we were
going, for we had proceeded over one hundred leagues without
discovering
anything except animals and birds, we kept well on our guard. On
this account, we make only a small fire on land, toward evening,
to cook our meals; and, after supper, we remove ourselves as far
from it as possible, and pass the night in our canoes, which we
anchor in the river at some distance from the shore. This does
not prevent
its from always posting one of the party as a sentinel, for fear
of surprise. Proceeding still in a southerly and south southwesterly
direction, we find ourselves at the parallel of 41 degrees, and
as low as 40 degrees and some minutes, partly southeast anti
partly
southwest, after having advanced over 60 leagues since we entered
the river, without discovering anything.
Finally on the 25th of June, we perceived on the water's edge
some tracks of men, and a narrow and somewhat beaten path leading
to
a fine prairie. We stopped to examine it; and, thinking that
it was
a road which led to some village of savages, we resolved to go
and reconnoiter it. We therefore left our two canoes under the
guard
of our people, strictly charging them not to allow themselves
to be surprised, after which Monsieur Jollyet and I undertook
this
investigation a rather hazardous one for two men who exposed
themselves, alone,
to the mercy of a barbarous and unknown people. We silently followed
the narrow path, and, after walking about 2 leagues, we discovered
a village on the bank of a river, and two others on a hill distant
about half a league from the first. Then We heartily commended
ourselves to God, ,and, after imploring His aid, we went farther
without being
perceived,
and approached so near that we could even hear the savages talking.
We therefore decided that it was time to reveal ourselves. This
we did by shouting with all our energy, and stopped, without
advancing any further. On hearing the shout, the savages quickly
issued from
their cabins. And having probably recognized us as Frenchmen,
especially when they saw a black gown, or, at least, having no
cause for distrust,
as we were only two men, and had given them notice of our arrival,they
deputed four old men to come anti speak to us. Two of these bore
tobacco pipes, finely ornamented and adorned with various feathers.
They walked slowly, and raised their pipes toward the sun, seemingly
offering them to it to smoke, without, however, saying a word.
They
spent a rather long time in covering the short distance between
their village and its. Finally, when they had drawn near, they
stopped
to consider us attentively. 1 was reassured when I observed these
ceremonies, which with them are performed only among friends;
and much more so when I saw them clad in cloth, for 1 judged
thereby
that they were our allies. l therefore spoke with them first,
and asked them who they were. They replied that they were llinois;
and, as a token of peace, they offered us their pipes to smoke.
They afterward
invited us to enter their village, where all the people impatiently
awaited us. These pipes for smoking tobacco are called in this
country calumets. This word has come so much into use that, in
order to be
understood, I shall be obliged to use it, as I shall often have
to mention these pipes.
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