possession of the American Philosophical Society. When the journal of Sergeant Pryor is found, if one is in existence, the record kept by the principal officers on this expedition will be complete.

Mr. Charles R. Green of Olathe, Kansas, deserves much credit for his series of books relating to the early days in Kansas. For several years he has been publishing these books at a loss to himself, since the sales have not as a rule been sufficient to pay the cost of publication.

Professor Edward C. Page has built up an excellent historical museum at the Northern Illinois State Normal School at DeKalb, Illinois, an enterprise which is worthy of imitation, especially in the public schools where the visualization of history is an important end to be gained.

THE GENERAL N. B. BAKER LIBRARY

The General N. B. Baker Library of Sutherland, O'Brien County, Iowa, has an interesting history. It is the pioneer library of northwestern Iowa, having been established by William Huston Woods in 1874 in a cabin out on the prairie far from any town. During the early years the library was maintained by subscriptions, and the settlers of the region responded to such an extent that for the first year there were thirty-nine subscribers. A number of the leading magazines were secured and books were acquired as funds permitted. On one occasion General Duane Wilson donated to the library eighty books and nearly six hundred magazines. The library was named in honor of Nathaniel B. Baker, Adjutant General of Iowa during the Civil War.

William Huston Woods was a pioneer of Iowa City, where he lived from 1839 to 1862; and later he moved to northwestern Iowa when that region was still a sparsely settled frontier.

Mrs. Roma Wheeler-Woods, wife of the founder of the library, has been the corresponding secretary since its establishment. The library, which is in constant use by the people of Sutherland, is still kept in the Woods home, but plans are being made for the erection of a building in which the library may be suitably housed in the future.

CONTRIBUTORS

JACOB VAN DER ZEE, Research Associate in The State Historical Society of Iowa, and Instructor in Political Science in the State University of Iowa. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS for January, 1913, p. 142.)

THOMAS TEAKLE, Instructor in History in the North Des Moines High School. Member of The State Historical Society of Iowa. Author of The Rendition of Barclay Coppoc. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS for October, 1912, p. 593.)

LOUIS THOMAS JONES, Member of The State Historical Society of Iowa. Born in 1884 in Buffalo, New York. Graduated in 1906 from Wilmington College. Received the degree of M. A. in 1911 from the University of Kansas, and the degree of Ph. D. in 1914 from the State University of Iowa. Instructor in History at Penn College, Oskaloosa, Iowa, 1909-1912. Research Assistant in The State Historical Society of Iowa, 1912– 1913. Removed in 1913 to Orlando, Florida. Author of The Quakers of Iowa.

THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS

JULY NINETEEN HUNDRED FOURTEEN

VOLUME TWELVE NUMBER THREE

VOL. XII-21

FRENCH DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION OF THE

EASTERN IOWA COUNTRY BEFORE 1763

Some eighty years have elapsed since permanent settlers first came to the beautiful streams and valleys, and to the stretches of dense forest and fertile prairie in eastern Iowa. Why had the beginning of the pioneer's conquest with axe and plough been so long postponed, and what had happened in this part of the Great Valley before "the magic wand of civilization" appeared in the form of crude log cabins? The story may be gathered from many scattered and fragmentary records.

JEAN NICOLET

For almost one hundred years after its discovery by the Spaniard, Hernando de Soto, the valley of the "Great River" lay unmolested by white men and well-nigh unknown to the civilized world of Europe.1 Then came an Indian interpreter, Jean Nicolet, despatched in 1634 by the Governor of Canada to the region west of Lake Michigan to arrange a peace between the inhabitants there and the Hurons, allies of the French. The ambassador had heard of a people without hair or beard and set out fully prepared to meet the Chinese. A Jesuit Father afterwards related the story of Nicolet's arrival in the Wisconsin country among the Winnebago Indians. He "wore a grand robe of China damask, all strewn with flowers and birds of many colors. No sooner did they perceive him than the women and children fled, at the sight of a man who carried thunder

1 An account of de Soto's expedition and death was furnished by a comrade to the King of Spain in 1544.- French's Historical Collections of Louisiana, Part II, p. 97.