The nineteenth century failed, as the seventeenth failed,
in raising up priests from among the Iroquois or the Algonquins; and at
this day a pupil of the Propaganda, who disputed in Latin on theses of
Peter Lombard, roams at the head of a half-naked band in the billowy
plains of Nebraska.
[Footnote 44: This writer is much distinguished for his numerous works,
most of which relate to the early missions of the Roman Catholic church
in America. He is a native of New York.]
* * * * *
From "Introduction to Early Voyages," etc.
=_148._= EXPLORATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
Many a river lives embalmed in history and in historic verse. The
Euphrates, the Nile, the Jordan, the Tiber, and the Rhine typify the
course of empires and dynasties. Countries have been described _per
flumina_, but these streams possess renown rather from some city that
frowned on their currents, or some battle fought and won on their banks.
The great River of our West, from its immense length and the still
increasing importance of its valley, possesses a history of its own. Its
discovery by the Spanish adventurers, a Cabeza de Vaca, a De Soto, a
Tristan, who reached, crossed, or followed it, is its period of early
romance, brilliant, brief, and tragic.
Pages:
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310