Justice
Prudhomme, of St. Boniface, Manitoba; Dr. George Bryce, of Winnepeg,
Mr. Benjamin Sulte, of Ottawa; and Judge J. V. Brower, of St. Paul. It
ever a monument be erected to Radisson--as one certainly ought in every
province and state west of the Great Lakes--the names of these four
champions should be engraved upon it.
[15] This claim will, I know, stagger preconceived ideas. In the light
of only Radisson's narrative, the third voyage has usually been
identified with Wisconsin and Minnesota; but in the light of the
_Jesuit Relations_, written the year that Radisson returned, to what
tribes could the descriptions apply? Even Parkman's footnote
acknowledged that Radisson was among the people of the Missouri. Grant
that, and the question arises, What people on the Missouri answer the
description? The Indians of the far west use not only coal for fire,
but raw galena to make bullets for their guns. In fact, it was that
practice of the tribes of Idaho that led prospectors to find the Blue
Bell Mine of Kootenay. Granting that the Jesuit account--which was of
course, from hearsay--mistook the use of turf, dry grass, or buffalo
refuse for a kind of coal, the fact remains that only the very far
western tribes had this custom.
[16] _Letters of Marie de l'Incarnation_.
[17] _Jesuit Relations_, 1658.
[18] See Marie de l'Incarnation, Dollier de Casson, and Abbe Belmont.
[19] _Jesuit Relations_, 1660.
[20] It may be well to state as nearly as possible exactly _what_
tribes Radisson had met in this trip.
Pages:
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111