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| | Prairie Fire: The Indian Experience: French Arrival, 1673 |
 | | During the next decade, other Frenchmen traveled down the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, mapping territory, seeking trading partners, or spreading the gospel. |
 | | In the early 1680s, the French began establishing forts in the western Great Lakes region, including Fort Chicago and Fort de Crèvecoeur (near modern-day Peoria) in 1680 and Fort St. Louis (near modern-day Utica) in 1682. |
 | | These forts did not usually have large French garrisons; more generally, they held just a few troops, a mission, and a trading post. |
| dig.lib.niu.edu /prairiefire/inarrival.html (474 words) |
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