Louis Jolliet

Louis Jolliet was born in New France in 1645. He studied hydrography (charting bodies of water). Near Quebec, he decided to enter the fur trade, the main business in New France.

In 1672, Jolliet was chosen by the two highest officials in New France to lead an expedition to find the Mississippi River. The French knew about the river from their Native American trading partners, but they weren't sure if it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean.

Jolliet found that Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit Priest, was to come with him to spread Christianity among the Indians they met on the way. In May of 1673 a 7-man expedition set off in birch bark canoes. They traveled west along the north shore of Lake Michigan to Green Bay, then up the Fox River. They reached the Mississippi in mid-June. Jolliet and the others continued down the Mississippi, but by now they realized that it did not lead to the Pacific Ocean. Since the river continued south, they believed it led into the Gulf of Mexico.

On their way south, they saw the Missouri River, which they thought would lead west to the Pacific Ocean. They continued traveling as far south on the Mississippi to the border between Arkansas and Louisiana. There, friendly Native Americans warned the explorers that hostile Indians with guns were waiting further south along the river. Not wanting to risk their lives any further, they turned back.

On July 17, 1673 they headed upstream. Paddling against the strong current made it difficult to travel. The Indians told them an easier route so they traveled up the Illinois River that led them to Lake Michigan. When he returned he had a great fur and fish trade career on the St. Lawrence River. He died in the summer of 1700.