Marquette, the self-sacrificing missionary, was brought vividly before the mind's eye of the hearer as the Captain described in glowing terms the zeal with which he preached the Gospel to the poor benighted Indians, and drew a picture with all its poetical surroundings of his death and burial in the wilderness.
La Salle came next, pushing onward down the river until he planted his triumphant banner on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and took possession of the surrounding country in the name of the King of France. Hennepin and Joliet then claimed the attention of the eloquent speaker, and their exploits were clearly and forcibly recounted in graphic language. Other explorers were mentioned, but these formed the ground-work of the lecture—a lecture replete with historical interest, and crowded with such a vivid portrayal of incidents that from beginning to end one can see as in a panorama the Great River and all the mighty men whose fame is indissolubly connected with the history of its waters.
At the conclusion of the lecture the following letter to the President of the Historical Society was read:
1310 Olive Street,
St. Louis, January 14, 1882.
Edwin Harrison, Esq.,
President Missouri Historical Society:
Dear Sir:—In my recent canoe voyage down the Mississippi, it was my good fortune to receive many courtesies at the hands of the press, boat clubs, and other citizens of St. Louis. This, coupled with the fact that you have expressed considerable interest in the result of my explorations, inclines me to present to you the "Itasca," one of the canoes used in the expedition, for the Museum of your Society, as a memento of my voyage and discoveries.
During this tour of observation and exploration, extending from the headwaters of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, I had the satisfaction of locating the true source of the mighty stream down which we paddled our canoes to the sea.
I am not now in a position to give you a detailed account of my explorations on the Great River, but shall avail myself of the earliest opportunity to transmit to your Secretary a complete history of the voyage, which will be issued in book form as soon as the matter can be put in proper shape for publication.