La Salle and the discovery of the great West - North Central ...

;1680.] THE ILLINOIS TOWN. 289THE ILLINOIS TOWN.SThe Site of the Great Illinois Town. — This has nottill now been determined, though there have been various conjecturesconcerning it. From a study of the contemporarydocuments and maps, I became satisfied, first, that the branchof the river Illinois, called the " Big Veririilion," was theAramoni of the French explorers ;and, secondly, that the cliffcalled " Starved Rock " was that known to the French as LeRocher, or the Rock of St. Louis. If I was right in this conclusion,then the position of the Great Village was establishedfor there is abundant proof that it was on the north side of theriver, above the Aramoni, and below Le Rocher. I accordinglywent to the village of Utica, which, as 1 judged by the map,was very near the point in question, and mounted to the top ofone of the hills immediately behind it, whence I could see thevalley of the Illinois for miles, bounded on the farther side bya range of hills, in some partsrocky and precipitous, and inothers covered with forests. Far on the right was a gap inthese hills, through which the Big Vermilion flowed to join theIllinois ; and somewhat towards the left, at the distance of amile and a half, was a huge cliff, rising perpendicularly fromthe opposite margin of the river. This I assumed to be LeRocher of the French, though from where I stood I was unableto discern the distinctive features which I was prepared toin it.findIn every other respect, the scene before me was preciselywhat I had expected to see.There was a meadow on the hitherside of the river, on which stood a farmhouse ; and this, as itseemed to me, by its relations with surrounding objects, mightbe supposed to stand in the midst of the space once occupiedby the Illinois town.On the way down from the hill I met Mr. James Clark, theprincipal inhabitant ofthis region.Utica, and one of the earliest settlers ofI accosted him, told him my objects, and requested