The Sioux, in particular, made
life perilous for the French at their posts near the mouth of the
Missouri.
It thus happened that the white man first reached the remoter
West by way of regions farther north. It became easy enough to
coast along the north and the south shore of Lake Superior, easy
enough to find rivers which fed the great system of the St.
Lawrence or of the Mississippi. These, however, would not solve
the mystery. A river flowing westward was still to be sought.
Thus, both in pursuit of the fur trade and in quest of the
Western Sea, the French advanced westward from Lake Superior.
Where now stands the city of Fort William there flows into Lake
Superior the little stream called still by its Indian name of
Kaministiquia. There the French had long maintained a
trading-post from which they made adventurous journeys northward
and westward.
The rugged regions still farther north had already been explored,
at least in outline. There lay the great inland sea known as
Hudson Bay. French and English had long disputed for its mastery.
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