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MAEQUETTE important aid. His desire was not gratified till 1673, when Frontenac and Talon, the governor and intendant of Canada, having resolved to send Louis Joliet to explore the whole course of the Mississippi, Marquette was instructed to accompany him. With five other Frenchmen they left Mackinaw in two canoes on May 17, and reaching Wisconsin river by way of Green bay, Fox river, and a portage, floated down to the Mississippi, on whose waters they found themselves by the 17th of June. Somewhere near the mouth of the Ohio (which they called the Ouaboukigou, from which was formed the subsequent name of the Wabash) they met savages who assured them that it was not more than ten days' journey to the sea, and that they bought stuffs and other articles of Europeans on the E. side. Continuing their voyage, they arrived at a village called Akamsea, probably about the mouth of the Arkansas. Having satisfied themselves that they were not more than two or three days' journey from the mouth of the river, which undoubtedly emp- tied into the gulf of Mexico or off the Florida coast, and not, as had been conjectured, in California or Virginia, they resolved to re- turn, especially as their further progress would expose them to the danger of a captivity among the Spaniards. They began their home- ward voyage on July 17, and, passing up the Illinois instead of the Wisconsin, arrived in September at Green bay. They had accom- plished the object of their mission, and trav- elled in their open canoes a distance of over 2,500 miles. On the banks of the Illinois Mar- quette had promised the Kaskaskia Indians to return and preach to them. He was detained by sickness at the mission of St. Francis Xa- vier on Green bay a full year ; but in October, 1674, having previously sent to his superiors an account of his journey down the Mississippi, he set out with two white men and a number of savages for the village of Kaskaskia. On Dec. 14 he was stopped at the portage on the Chicago by infirmities and severe cold, and dismissing the Indians resolved to winter there with his two companions. Resuming his jour- ney, March 30, 1675, he reached Kaskaskia April 8, and at once began a mission by erect- ing an altar and celebrating the festival of Easter; but conscious that his end was ap- proaching, he soon attempted to return to Mackinaw. He reached no further than a small river whose mouth is on the E. shore of Lake Michigan, and which still bears his name, and there he died in the presence of the two Frenchmen who had attended him from Green bay. He was buried on the spot, but in 1677 his remains were carried to Mackinaw. The narrative of his voyage on the Mississippi was not published till 1681, when it appeared in an incorrect form at Paris in Thevenot's Recueil de voyages, accompanied by a map. This nar- rative, as well as a journal of the missionary's last expedition, and his autograph map, may be found in Shea's "Discovery and Explora- MARQUIS 187 tion of the Mississippi Valley" (New York, 1852). His narrative, for some years after its first publication, was regarded as a fable ; but, although Margry and others have set up the- ories as to an earlier exploration of the Missis- sippi by Lasalle, they rest on insufficient data and conjectures, and the claim of Marquette and Joliet as the first explorers of the great river of the west, and the first Europeans who saw it after De Soto, remains unshaken. MARQUEZ, Leonardo, a Mexican general, born in the city of Mexico about 1818. Entering the army at an early age, he was engaged in several battles in the valley of Mexico against the American army in 1847. He headed a pronunciamiento in the state of Guanajuato, Feb. 10, 1849, declaring the election of Presi- dent Herrera illegal, and recalling Santa Anna to the government. The movement was sup- pressed, and Marquez was made prisoner, but he was soon set at liberty. After the accession of Santa Anna in 1853, Marquez was intrusted with important commands in the war against Alvarez and Comonfort; and after the flight of Santa Anna, in August, 1855, he continued for two years to maintain a guerilla warfare in his behalf. During the war of reform he be- came one of the chief military leaders under Presidents Zuloaga and Comonfort. He de- feated at Tacubaya, April 11, 1859, the liberal forces, which laid siege to the capital under Degollado, thus saving Miramon from immi- nent danger, but stained his victory by the execution of his prisoners, including several medical students and other non-combatants. This deed, of which he divides the responsibil- ity with Miramon, is known as the massacre of Tacubaya, and brought upon Marquez an odium from which he has never recovered. After the triumph of Juarez, Marquez con- tinued an irregular warfare in 1861, during which he again stained his reputation by the execution of his prisoners, Generals Degolla- do and Valle, and of the prime minister Ocam- po. For these deeds he was declared an out- law by congress, and a price was set on his head. He united his forces with the French invaders in 1862, and favored the elevation of Maximilian to the throne ; but that prince was unwilling to accept his military services, and gave him an honorable exile as minister to Turkey. In October, 1866, he returned to Mexico without permission, and was appointed to the command of a division. When Maxi- milian set out for Queretaro in 1867, Marquez was left in command of the city of Mexico, which he defended for three months against Gen. Porfirio Diaz, not capitulating till June 21, two days after the execution of Maximilian. He secreted himself for several weeks, and at last escaped to Havana. He is one of three persons expressly excluded from the amnesty of 1870. He has published two pamphlets in defence of his military record. MARQUIS, or Marquess, a title of dignity in England, France, and Italy, ranking next be-