| The sixth child of aristocrat Sieur Nicholas Marquette,
Jacques Marquette was born in Laon, France, on June 1, 1637. Marquette
was called to the priesthood at an early age, and on
October 7, 1654, he was admitted to the Jesuit novitiate at Nancy.
The social upheaval of the sixteenth century the Protestant Reformation
had challenged major tenets of the Roman Catholic Church. To counter
the Protestant movement, Ignatius Loyola founded the Society of
Jesus (known as Jesuits) in 1534 to establish missions throughout
the world. The thought of missionary work excited the young Marquette's
imagination.
France participated in Europe's competition to explore, conquer
and settle new lands for the glory of God and the profit of the
monarchy.
Marquette wanted to be a part of this.
In May 1666, an eager 29 year old Marquette arrived in Quebec for
assignment to his first mission. He was assigned to the settlement
of Three Rivers, about 80 miles west of Quebec. Here, Marquette
received practical training in living among the Indians and in
day to day
survival in New France. He became acclimated to the rugged North
American forests, the native foods and canoe travel. He also mastered
several dialects of the Algonquin language under the tutelage of
Father Gabriel Druillettes.
In 1668, Marquette was sent to Sault Ste. Marie with Brother Louis
Boeme. Together they founded a mission there and built a chapel
for the Chippewa and Ottawa. The area's abundant fishing attracted
many
Indian tribes and gave Marquette the opportunity to improve his
language skills.
Marquette's first two years in New France were spent under the
guidance of experienced Jesuits. The formal training period ended
in 1669,
when Marquette was assigned to the mission of St. Esprit, near
another Indian fishing haven Chequarnegon Bay (an area near present
day Ashland,
Wisconsin). Marquette was sent to relieve Father Claude Allouez,
who had requested a transfer from the mission, feeling he was unsuccessful
in bringing Christianity to the Indians. After living among them
for two winters, Allouez confessed that "he found it necessary
constantly to entreat God to grant him patience for the cheerful
endurance of contempt, mockery, importunity and insolence
from these barbarians." After Allouez transferred, Marquette
managed the mission independently. This was his first real test
as a Jesuit missionary.
Although Marquette achieved limited success in converting the
Indians of St. Esprit to Christianity, events in 1671 at Chequamegon
Bay
changed his life forever. In return for aiding a sick Indian,
Marquette was given a slave from the Illinois tribe. The slave
taught Marquette
the Illinois language and told him of the Mississippi River and
its potential as a route to a southern or western sea. Influenced
by
the stories of the river and the slave's interest in Christianity,
Marquette committed himself to establishing a mission in the
Illinois Country.
His plans to travel to the Mississippi River and to the Illinois
Indians were delayed by the interplay between the Huron, Ottawa
and Ojibwa Indians of Chequamegon Bay and the Sioux. After
several Indians
from Chequamegon Bay killed a Sioux, they decided to abandon
the area to avoid a war. 'The Huron and Ottawa migrated toward
the
Sault, and Marquette accompanied them. In the spring of 1671
the Ottawa
settled at Manitoulin Island; Marquette followed the Huron
to the Straits of Mackinac.
They first settled on Mackinac island, but soon moved to the
mainland. There, in late 1671, Marquette established his
second mission and
named it St. Ignace, after St. Ignatius Loyola. With its
unique location, St. Ignace which included a chapel and a Huron
village
prospered
as a stopping place for fur traders to restock their canoes
with supplies before proceeding to Sault Ste. Marie or Green
Bay.
Within five years, Marquette founded two missions and served
in three others. But his greatest experience came in 1672,
when he
was chosen
to accompany Louis Jolliet on a journey to explore the
Mississippi River. His knowledge of Indian dialects and his
friendship
with Superior General Father Dablon probably led to the
appointment. This three
month journey in a birch bark canoe with Jolliet would
dominate Marquette's life and define his legacy.
Who was Louis Jolliet? Born on September 21, 1645, in Quebec,
Jolliet began his education at the Jesuit college there.
When he was nine
years old, he was accepted into the seminary, but withdrew
in 1667. In that same year, Jolliet visited France. But
he soon
returned
to Quebec and undertook a career as a trader and explorer.
Jolliet's reputation as a skilled voyageur, as well as
his religious background, made him an ideal leader for
the Mississippi
expedition.
The governor of New France, Count Louis de Fromenac,
noted, "I
have deemed it expedient for the service to send the Sieur Jolliet
to discover the south sea... and the great river Mississippi, which
is believed to empty into the California Sea. He is a man of experience
in this kind of discovery."
Jolliet spent the winter of 1672 73 at St. Ignace preparing for
the expedition. Using Indians and French traders as their sources
of information, Marquette and Jolliet made a map showing the
approximate route from St. Ignace to the upper Mississippi
River. They gathered
food, supplies, gifts for the Indians and paper and ink to record
their observations and discoveries. Ninety pound packs of supplies
the minimum weight a voyageur carried during a portage were placed
in two canoes large enough to carry the seven man crew.
In France, Marquette's range of travel was limited to walking
and riding distances. On the American continent, men could easily
travel
thousands of miles in one summer season. The birch bark canoe
and the network of rivers offered great mobility, unequaled until
the
advent of the automobile and paved highways. Marquette's frame
of reference for daily travel changed from steps to leagues.
However, his journal shows that he still counted steps during
long canoe
portages.
Marquette was the spiritual leader of the Mississippi expedition.
Although he served as a translator for Jolliet, his primary
purpose was to convert Indian tribes to Christianity. Jolliet
was the
leader of the five other voyageurs and represented the commercial
interests
of France. Both Marquette and Jolliet looked for areas of potential
economic development, future settlement, mining and fur trading.
Both men also were eager to learn where the Mississippi River
led, especially since France was still seeking a river that
flowed west
to California and beyond to the Orient.
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