Here we are, then, on this so renowned river, all of whose peculiar features I have endeavored to note carefully. The Missisipi
River takes its rise in various lakes in the country of the northern nations. It is narrow at the place where Miskous empties; its current, which flows southward, is slow and gentle. To the right is a large chain of very high mountains, and to the left are beautiful lands; in various places, the stream is divided by islands. On sounding, we found ten brasses of water. Its width is very unequal; sometimes it is three-quarters of a league, and sometimes it narrows to three arpents. We gently followed its course, which runs toward the south and southeast, as far as the 42nd degree of latitude. –Jacques Marquette, 1673
Why did the author write this passage of the journal?
0 to explain how the region’s waterways could be used for trade
0 to record the geography on and along the Mississippi River
0 to show how the mouth of the Mississippi River had been discovered
0 to describe the area where the French planned to establish a settlement
