days before continuing their journey down the Mississippi. Marquette and Joliet made their journey under French auspices.
Du Luth. — This man, after whom the flourishing Minnesota city on Lake Superior has been named, was the leader of a band of Frenchmen who carried on trade with the Indians, contrary to the king's orders, between 1678 and 1681. But these wood rangers or Coureurs de bois, as they were called, did much to extend the French trade and influence in the Northwest.
La Salle. — Ambitious to extend French power in the West, La Salle conducted several expeditions through the Mississippi Valley between the years 1669 and 1687. Though disappointments and misfortunes accompanied most of his undertakings, La Salle clung steadfastly to his purpose; and the French based their claims to the Louisiana Territory largely upon the results of his discoveries and explorations. He lost his life in 1687 at the treacherous hands of a member of his own party.
Hennepin. — Father Louis Hennepin, as a member of one of La Salle's expeditions, explored the Mississippi to its sources in 1680. He gave the name of Saint Anthony to the beautiful falls on the upper Mississippi; and his published accounts of the "New Discovery" were widely read throughout the civilized world.
The French Title Confirmed. — These and other discoveries and explorations confirmed the title of France to the Mississippi Valley; while the reports of the explorers
