BUSHNELL] NATIVE VILLAGES AND VILLAGE SITES 39 
the gathering of Indians, many of whom had never before seen a 
Kuropean. 
On May 17, 1673, Marquette and Joliet, with five men, embarked 
in two canoes and started from the Mission of St. Ignace at Michili- 
mackinac to penetrate the unknown region. They passed through 
Green Bay and entered Fox River, having stopped at the Menominee 
village, and on June 7 reached the great town of the Mascoutens near 
the portage leading from the Fox to the Wisconsin. Here were 
found, in addition to the Mascoutens, some Miami and Kickapoo 
forming one settlement. 
“This Village Consists of three Nations who have gathered there ,— 
Miamis, Maskoutens, and Kikabous. The former are the most civil, 
the most liberal, and the most shapely. They wear two long locks 
over their ears, which give them a pleasing appearance. They are 
regarded as warriors, and rarely undertake expeditions without 
being successful . . . The Maskoutens and Kikabous are ruder, 
and seem peasants in Comparison with the others. As Bark for 
making Cabins is scarce in this country, They use Rushes; these 
serve Them for making walls and Roofs, but do not afford them much 
protection against the winds, and still less against rains when they 
fall abundantly. The Advantage of Cabins of this kind is, that 
they make packages of Them, and easily transport them wherever 
they wish, while they are hunting.’”’ (Marquette, (1), p. 102.) 
Three days later, having secured two Miami men to accompany 
them as guides, they made the portage to the Wisconsin River 
and “‘thus we left the Waters flowing to Quebeq, 4 or 500 Leagues 
from here, to float on Those that would thenceforward Take us 
through strange . . . lands and, at 42 and a half degrees Of latitude, 
We safely entered Missisipi on the 17th of June, with a Joy that I 
cannot Express.”’ Floating down the Mississippi, they soon arrived 
at the village of the Peoria, an Illinois tribe, then living on the right 
bank of the Mississippi probably not far from the mouth of Des 
Moines. The town consisted of about 300 large wigwams, “roofed 
and floored with mats of Rushes,” and there is reason to suppose 
there was one structure larger than the others where ceremonies 
were held, as Marquette, in referring to the dance of the Calumet 
(p. 133), wrote: 
“In Winter, the ceremony takes place in a Cabin; in Summer, 
in the open fields. When the spot is selected, it is completely sur- 
rounded by trees, so that all may sit in the shade afforded by their 
leaves, in order to be protected from the heat of the Sun.” 
Such a gathering could not have taken place in an ordinary, 
small dwelling, and there was undoubtedly at this great settlement 
a “temple” similar to that discovered among the same people some 
years later. ; 
