The French explore the Mississippi

http://titan.iwu.edu/~matthews/intro.html

This is an account by a Frenchman, Father Marquette tells us of his first trip up the Mississippi, and the Natives that he meets along the way. His account tells us very little about the actual journey, or conditions aboard the ship - but he seems keen to make an accurate report on the Natives he meets. I found this article particularly interesting, because in contrast to Percy's account of the Natives as savages, he remarks that they are "civil", "liberal", and above all, "very docile". From reading this article, I learned that he believed he could convert the Natives to Christianity. Indeed, in Part 2 of his account on the website, he tells us that there are already "several good christians" among another nation they travel past on their way to the Mississippi.