Roosevelt High School - Bwana Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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El ER MISSISSIPPI RIV E. TI-I OF OVERY DISC g.

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EUGENE EXPLORERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER O-DAY many people seek enjoyment and pleasure aboard the excursion Steamers on the Mississippi River, but l wonder how many of them, as they gaze at the huge industrial plants which one sees along the river's shores, think of the first white men who navigated that broad stream, those courageous men who braved every hardship to know this region. Let us first consider the great work of De Soto, who died in the attempt to find fabulous Wealth in what is now Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and Whose body was committed to the keeping of Ole Man River. De Soto, a Spaniard, commissioned by King Charles V, with a company of about seven hundred men, started from Cuba, and in May, 1539, landed in Tampa Bay, which he called Bay of the Holy Spirit. Led by untrustworthy Indian guides, the party marched through swamp lands and were confronted by all sorts of hardships, including the attacks of the hostile Indians. Finally De Sotois expedition reached the present site of Memphis, Tennessee, but still they had not found the expected cities of gold and silver. The lure of wealth drew the doomed explorers on, and the party crossed the river only to find conditions here as bad as in the land they had just quitted. De Soto, ill, at last gave up the quest and died in I542. His body was placed in a cofhn made of a hollowed tree trunk and in the dark of night was gently lowered into the depths of the great river which he had discovered. No more expeditions of this sort were undertaken until one hundred and thirty years later, when Joliet and Marquette, two names which since have been inseparable, started on a perilous voyage down the Missiissippi River in several frail canoes. These men, however, were not making their voyage for the sake of worldly riches, but their chief motive was to spread Christianity among the heathen Indians. We find that, as a whole, the voyage was a suc- cess, for most of the lndians welcomed npale face Black Robe flVlarquetteJ and his companion and listened with interest to the priest's teachings. This voyage proved fatal to the frail Jesuit priest, who, although he completed the greater part of the adventure, became seriously ill and died in a little hut in the region now known as the state of Michigan. This bold venture enlight- ened white men considerably, for they no longer supposed that the Mississippi River flowed into the Pacific Ocean. Therefore, let us not forget the work of these two intrepid explorers-the frail Jesuit priest and his friend. And now, last but not least, let us turn our attention toward probably the most ambitious, but most unfortunate explorer of all-LaSalle. He left France at the age of twenty-four and came to America, where, hearing Wild tales told by the Indians, he resolved to occupy, in the name of France, the land explored by Marquette and Joliet. ln I679 LaSalle, after much trouble and difficulty, was successful in launching a small vessel which was to bear him to Ten

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BWENH the Chicago portage. Fate seemed to be against the adventurer, however: his ship was lost, his base was taken by Indians, and he had to spend many days looking for his men. It was not until l682 that l..aSalle's canoe floated from the Illinois River onto the broad bosom of Ole Man River, but here again he met with disaster. Ice Hoes- stopped his progressg he had to search the wild region for a lost comrade, and the Indians along the river's shore were usually hostile. Early in April he reached the Gulf of Mexico, and with great ceremony claimed the great region which he had explored in the name of the King of France. Every student of American history is familiar with the next phase of LaSalle career: how he secured the help of France and intended to establish a great French empire in this country. Again fate was cruel, for his expedition, while sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, missed the mouth of the Mississippi River and was wrecked upon the shore of Texas. While trying to make his way back to Canada overland, this brave Frenchman was murdered by one of his own men, and with him died the French hope of a vast empire in America. There were, of course, in addition to those explorers already mentioned, many other men who endured great hardships and even died in the attempt to penetrate the unknown wilds of the Mississippi region, but these are the earliest known explorers. OLIVER OLDENDORPH MISSISSIPPI Mississippi Inclomirable river, Shall you forever Sing? Interminable from your Source, you roll Seaward. Immortal, Perpetually Peerless, and Invincible. -William Kerchanske Term 7 . Twelve