Marquette and Meskousing

On this day in 1673 European explorers reached the Mississippi River for the first time. Father Jacques Marquette and his partner Louis Jolliet traveled the superhighways of the era, the rivers, in their birchbark canoes. The Wisconsin River they called the Meskousing. The name was changed to Ouisconsin by later French explorers and reached the present English spelling in the early 19th century.

The Marquette/Jolliet journey is a familiar story for those of us who grew up in or near Prairie du Chien. We've stood on the bluff at Wyalusing State Park to view the confluence of the two rivers numerous times. I recently attended the wedding of a former colleague at the park, along with my son Sam. Sam & I noticed a buzzard floating in the updrafts as we gazed out over the two rivers. First wedding I've been to with buzzards flying overhead.

We've walked its trails and explored its caves during our school outings. It is one of the most beautiful parks in the upper Midwest as is its twin on the opposite side of the Mississippi, Iowa's Pikes Peak State Park. I attended another wedding at Pikes Peak about 20 years ago, the wedding of my youngest brother Ben.

Now the State Historical Society has posted Marquette's diary online. The account is fascinating. One of the things that strikes you immediately is the religious nature of Marquette's mission, to bring the Gospel to the native indians. He writes about it frequently.

Another must-visit-daily site on my list is Jim Peterson's great weblog on Lewis & Clark's daily diaries and what else happened in America on that day. I've been reading along with Lewis and Clark for over a year now, I think. It's a great adventure, especially as it's seasoned with the memories of the 2002 trip I took with Sam and his older brother Brian out to the west coast. Our last stop before we headed back was Fort Clatsop at Astoria, Oregon. That night we camped at Farewell Bend on the Snake River, an Oregon Trail campsite. And the next day we stop at Promontory Summit, Utah. We covered the three main features of the westward migration in just over 24 hours. We also visited Mount St. Helens. I told Sam he would be studying all of this stuff in school and he was very fortunate to be able to see it in person. I think he believed me.