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ArtistRealistic oil painting. About the 1st of February they reached Crevecoeur, the fort a Salle had built some years earlier. Below this point the stream was free from ice, and after a week's rest the canoes were launched on the liquid surface. They were not long in reaching the point where the Illinois buries its waters in the mighty main river, the grave of so many broad and splendid streams.
An oil painting depicts a bustling 17th-century settlement scene by a wide river under a dramatic cloudy sky. In the foreground, several canoes, made from birch bark with wooden interiors, are partially submerged in the icy water, with some chunks of ice floating nearby. One canoe closer to the viewer has a man in period clothing, including a dark brown hat and jacket, seated inside, holding a paddle. To the right of him, two other men in similar attire are standing near a crackling campfire, one holding a basket and appearing to tend to a pot hanging over the fire.
The settlement features several rustic wooden buildings with thatched roofs, built close to the riverbank. A wooden fence with a gate surrounds part of the settlement. A tall wooden mast with an orange-red sail and a flagpole with a blue, white, and red flag (possibly French) are prominent near the buildings.
Further down the river, more canoes are visible, one with a small, light-colored sail. In the distance, a tree-lined bank stretches along the river, with patches of golden reeds and glimpses of what appears to be a cold, misty landscape. The water shows ripples and reflections, and the sky is dominated by dark,
