Produced by Juliet Sutherland, David Garcia and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net [Illustration: Front Cover.] [Illustration: COUNT FRONTENAC. From a Statue at Quebec.] HEROES OF THE MIDDLE WEST The French BY MARY HARTWELL CATHERWOOD GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON . NEW YORK . CHICAGO . LONDON ATLANTA . DALLAS . COLUMBUS . SAN FRANCISCO Copyright, 1898 By MARY HARTWELL CATHERWOOD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 317.8 The Athenaeum Press GINN AND COMPANY . PROPRIETORS . BOSTON . U. S. A. PREFACE. Let any one who thinks it an easy task attempt to cover the French discovery and occupation of the middle west, from Marquette and Jolliet to the pulling down of the French flag on Fort Chartres, vivifying men, and while condensing events, putting a moving picture before the eye. Let him prepare this picture for young minds accustomed only to the modern aspect of things and demanding a light, sure touch. Let him gather his material--as I have done--from Parkman, Shea, Joutel, Hennepin, St. Cosme, Monette, Winsor, Roosevelt--from state records, and local traditions richer and oftener more reliable than history; and let him hang over his theme with brooding affection, moulding and remoulding its forms. He will find the task he so lightly set himself a terribly hard and exhausting one, and will appreciate as he never before appreciated the labors of those who work in historic fields. CONTENTS. PAGE I. The Discoverers of the Upper Mississippi 1 II. Bearers of the Calumet 19 III. The Man with the Copper Hand 44 IV. The Undespairing Norman 71 V. French Settlements 102 VI. The Last Great Indian 117 HEROES OF THE MIDDLE WEST. I. THE DISCOVERERS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. The 17th of May, 1673, Father Jacques Marquette, the missionary priest of St. Ignace, on what is now called the north shore of Michigan, and Louis Jolliet, a trader from Montreal, set out on a journey together.