They are as large as a calf; they have horns on their heads like those of deer, a horrible look, red eyes, a beard like a tiger's, a face somewhat like a man's, a body covered with scales, and so long a tail that it winds all round the body and ends like that of a fish.

Green, red, and black are the three colours composing the picture.

Moreover, these two monsters are so well painted that we cannot believe that any savage is their author, for good painters in France would find it difficult to paint so well, and, besides, they are so high up on the rock that it is difficult to reach that place conveniently to paint them."[10] [Footnote 10: These remarkable rock pictures were situated immediately above the present city of Alton, Illinois.

In 1812 they still remained in a good state of preservation, but the thoughtless Americans had gradually destroyed them by 1867 in quarrying the rock for building stone.] As the Jolliet expedition paddled down the Mississippi--ever so easily and swiftly--a marvellous panorama unfolded itself before the Frenchmen's fascinated gaze.

Immense herds of bison occasionally appeared on the river banks, flocks of turkeys flew up from the glades and roosted in the trees and on the river bank.