On the 17th of June, 1673, the canoes of Joliet and Marquette and their five subordinates reached the junction of the Wisconsin with the Mississippi...Turning southward, they paddled down the stream, through a solitude unrelieved by the faintest trace of man. A big cat-fish collided with Marquette's canoe, and startled him...for he had been warned by the Indians that he was on a foolhardy journey, and even a fatal one, for the river contained a demon "whose roar could be heard at a great distance, and who would engulf them in the abyss where he dwelt."Life on the Mississippi - Mark Twain
I was curious if Twain's river demons really existed. Apparently, in his day 6 foot catfish were regularly pulled out of the river with teams of horses. Happy fishing...
