Father Marquette

“Father Marquette” is a biography of the French priest, devout missionary and courageous explorer who led an expedition, along with Louis Joliet, to find a route from the Great Lakes to the “Great River”, the Mississippi, and thence to its mouth. Their expedition traveled by 2 frail canoes from northern Michigan, along Lake Michigan, entering Green Bay, up the Fox River, portaging to the Wisconsin River, and then, oh joy!, to the Mississippi. They followed the Mississippi down to Arkansas, where deeming it too risky to go farther on account of hostile tribes and Spanish soldiers, they turned back north. The book extensively explains the geography of the regions, the history and anthropology of the tribes of the Great Lakes and along the rivers, and the lifestyle of a 17th century French missionary. Information was mainly derived from the yearly reports the missionaries submitted to the Jesuit headquarters in Quebec and Paris. The book provides lots of informative facts and also inspires by narrating the strenuous and generous life of an American hero. (Summary by Carol Pelster)