PIONEER HUNTERS OF THE KANKAKEE 

 Land River, from the fact that many years ago 

 a band of Indians of the /Aohican Tribe who cal- 

 led themselves "wolves" when driven from their 

 homes by the Iroquois, took refuge on its 

 banks near the headwaters of the The-A-Ki-Ki. 

 Charlevoix, the French missionary, on his voy- 

 age down the Kankakee river in 1721, speaks 

 of the wolves. It was from some of these of 

 Indians, whose village was a few miles from the 

 south bend on the St. Joe river, and where now 

 stands the city of South Bend, that the mission- 

 ary recFuited his force for his expedition down 

 the Kankakee, the Illinois, and the /Aississippi 

 rivers. The Kankakee is the most historical 

 River in the state. Yet there is very little known 

 of its early history, only that the numerous wild 

 animals which made this region their home 

 made the Kankakee an important fur-trading 

 country. Occasionally a hunter's story of see- 

 ing or shooting a deer or wild-cat in the Kanka- 

 kee swamps is read in the newspapers. The 

 river itself, though not a long one, is beautiful, 



16 



