Before them, a wide and rapid current coursed athwart
their way, by the foot of lofty heights wrapped thick in forests. They
had found what they sought, and "with a joy," writes Marquette, "which
I cannot express," they steered forth their canoes on the eddies of the
Mississippi.
Turning southward, they paddled down the stream, through a solitude
unrelieved by the faintest trace of man. A large fish, apparently one
of the huge cat-fish of the Mississippi, blundered against Marquette's
canoe with a force which seems to have startled him; and once, as
they drew in their net, they caught a "spade-fish," whose eccentric
appearance greatly astonished them. At length, the buffalo began to
appear, grazing in herds on the great prairies which then bordered the
river; and Marquette describes the fierce and stupid look of the old
bulls, as they stared at the intruders through the tangled mane which
nearly blinded them.
* * * * *
=_John Gilmary Shea,[44] 1824-. _=
From "The History of Catholic Missions among the Indians."
=_147._= DIFFICULTIES OF THE ENTERPRISE.
The discovery of America, like every other event in the history of the
world, had, in the designs of God, the great object of the salvation of
mankind.
Pages:
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307