La Salle and the discovery of the great West - North Central ...

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LA SALLEAND THEDISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WESTFRANCE AND ENGLAND INNORTH AMERICA.Part Third.BYFRANCIS PARKMAN.BOSTON:LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY.1910.

VEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, byFrancis Parkman,In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of MassachusettsEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, byFrancis Parkman,In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.Copyright, 1897,By Little, Brown, and Company.Copyright, 1897,By Grace P. Coffin and Katharine S. Coolidge.": ••• . ViJ#HW***» 1907 >• • .... ......By Grace* Pt Coffin.• . .• . . • • •• :: :•• • • . • ••• .; • .....*• •••

226292TOTHE CLASS OF 1844,^attoartfCollege,THIS BOOK IS CORDIALLY DEDICATEDBY ONE OP THEIR NUMBER,

PBEFACE OF THE ELEVENTH EDITION.When the earlier editions of this book werepublished, I was aware of the existence ofa collectionof documents relating to La Salle, andcontaining important material to which I hadnot succeeded in gaining access. This collectionwas in possession of M. Pierre Margry, directorof the Archives of the Marine and Colonies atParis, and was the result of more than thirtyyears of research.With rare assiduity and zeal,M. Margry had explored not only the vast depositorywith which he has been officially connectedfrom youth, and of which he is now thechief, but also the other public archives ofFrance, and many private collections in Parisand the provinces. The object of his searchwas to throw light on the career and achievementsof French explorers, and, above all, of LaSalle. A collection of extraordinary richnessgrew gradually upon his hands. In the course

viiiPREFACE OF THE ELEVENTH EDITION.of my own inquiries, I owed much to his friendlyaid ; but his collections, as a whole, remainedinaccessible, since he naturally wished to be thefirst to make known the results of his labors.An attempt to induce Congress to furnish himwith the means of printing documents so interestingto American history was made in 1870and 1871, by Henry Harrisse, Esq., aided by theAmerican minister at Paris ; but it unfortunatelyfailed.In the summer and autumn of 1872, I hadnumerous interviews with M. Margry, and at hisdesire undertook to try to induce some Americanbookseller to publish the collection. On returningto the United States, I accordingly madean arrangement with Messrs. Little, Brown &Co., of Boston, by which they agreed to printthe papers if a certain number of subscriptionsshould first be obtained. The condition provedvery difficult ; and it became clear that the besthope of success lay in another appeal to Congress.This was made in the following winter,in conjunction with Hon. E. B. Washburne;Colonel Charles Whittlesey, of Cleveland ; 0. H.Marshall, Esq., of Buffalo ;and other gentlemeninterested in early American history. The attemptsucceeded. Congress made an appropria-

PREFACE OF THE ELEVENTH EDITION.ixtion for the purchase of five hundred copies ofthe work, to be printed at Paris,under directionof M. Margry ; and the three volumes devotedto La Salle are at length before the public.Of the papers contained in them which I hadnot before examined, the most interesting arethe letters .of .La Salle, found in the original byM. Margry, among the immense accumulationsof the Archives of the Marine and Coloniesandthe Bibliotheque Nationale. The narrative ofLa Salle's companion, Joutel, far more copiousthan the abstract printed in 1713, under thetitle of " Journal Historique,' , also deservesspecial mention. These, with other fresh materialin these three volumes, while they add newfacts and throw new light on the character ofLa Salle, confirm nearly every statement madein the first edition of the Discovery of the GreatWest. The only exception of consequence relatesto the causes of La Salle's failure to findthe mouth of the Mississippi in 1684, and to theconduct, on that occasion, of the naval commander,Beaujeu.This edition is revised throughout, and in partrewritten with large additions. A map of thecountry traversed by the explorers is also added.The name of La Salle is placed on thetitlepage,/

xPREFACE OF THE ELEVENTH EDITION.as seems to be demanded by his increased prominencein the narrative of which he is the centralfigure.Boston, 10 December, 1878.Note. — The title of M. Margry's printed collection is"Decouverteset Etablissements des Francais dans l'Ouest et dans le Sudde l'Amerique Septentrionale (1614-1754), Memoires et Documentsoriginaux." I., H., III. Besides the three volumes relating to LaSalle, there will be two others, relating to other explorers. In accordancewith the agreement with Congress, an independent editionwill appear in France, with an introduction setting forth the circumstancesof the publication.

PREFACE OF THE FIRSTEDITION.The discovery of the " Great West," or thevalleys of the Mississippi and the Lakes, is aportion of our history hitherto very obscure.Those magnificent regions were revealed to theworld through a series of daring enterprises,of which the motives and even the incidentshave been but partially and superficially known.The chief actor in them wrote much, but printednothing ; and the published writings of his associatesstand wofully in need of interpretationfrom the unpublished documents which exist,but which have not heretofore been used asmaterial for history.This volume attempts to supply the defect.Of the large amount of wholly new materialemployed in it, by far the greater part is drawnfrom the various public archives of France, andThe discovery ofthe rest from private sources.many of these documents is due to the indefatigableresearch of M. Pierre Margry, assistant

xiiPREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION.director of the Archives of the Marine and Coloniesat Paris, whose labors as an investigator ofthe maritime and colonial history of France canbe appreciated only by those who have seen theirresults. In the department of American colonialhistory, these results have been invaluable ;for, besides several private collections made byhim, he rendered important service in the collectionof the French portion ofthe Brodhead documents,selected and arranged the two greatseries of colonial papers ordered by the Canadiangovernment, and prepared with vastlabor analyticalindexes of these and of supplementarydocuments in the French archives, as well as acopious index of the mass of papers relating toLouisiana. It is to be hoped that the valuablepublications on the maritime history of Francewhich have appeared from hispen are an earnestof more extended contributions in future.The late President Sparks, some time after thepublication of his Life of La Salle, caused acollection to be made of documents relating tothat explorer, with the intention of incorporatingthem in a future edition. This intentionwas never carried into effect, and the documentswere never used. With the liberality whichalways distinguished him, he placed them at my

PREFACE OF THE FIRST EDITION.xiiidisposal, and this privilege has beenkindly continuedby Mrs. Sparks.Abbe Faillon, the learned author of " La ColonieFranchise en Canada," has sent me copiesof various documents found by him, includingfamily papers of La Salle. Among others whoin various ways haVe aided my inquiriesare Dr.John Paul, of Ottawa, 111. ; Count Adolphe deCircourt, and M. Jules Marcou, of Paris ; M. A.Gerin Lajoie, Assistant Librarian of the CanadianParliament ; M. J. M. Le Moine, of Quebec; General Dix, Minister of the United Statesat the Court of France ; 0. H. Marshall, of Buffalo; J. G. Shea, of New York ;BuckinghamSmith, of St. Augustine; and Colonel ThomasAspinwall, ofBoston.The smaller map contained in the book is aportion of the manuscript map ofFranquelin, ofwhich an 'account will be found in the Appendix.The next volume of the series willbe devotedto the efforts of Monarchy and Feudalism underLouis XIV. toestablish a permanent power onthis continent, and to the stormy career of Louisde Buade, Count of Frontenac.Boston, 16 September, 1869.

CONTENTS.PagbIntroduction . 3CHAPTER I.1643-1669.CAVELIER DE LA SALLE.The Youth of La Salle : his Connection with the Jesuits ; hegoes to Canada ; his Character ; his Schemes ; his Seignioryat La Chine ; his Expedition in Search of a Western Passageto India 7CHAPTER H.1669-1671.LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS.The French in Western New York. — Louis Joliet. — The Sulpitianson Lake Erie ; at Detroit ; at Saut Ste. Marie. — TheMystery of La Salle: he discovers the Ohio; he descendsthe Illinois ; did he reach the Mississippi 1 . < 19CHAPTER 1TL1670-1672.THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES.The Old Missions and the New. — A Change of Spirit. — Labs/ Superior and the Copper-mines. — Ste. Marie. — La Pointe. —Michilimackinac. — Jesuits on Lake Michigan. — Allouezand Dablon- — The Jesuit Pur-trade 36

—:xviCONTENTS.CHAPTER IV.1667-1672.france takes possession op the west.PageSaut Ste.Talon. — Saint-Lusson. — Perrot. — The Ceremony atMarie. — The Speech of Allouez. — Count Frontenac ... 48CHAPTER V.1672-1675.THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.Jofiet sent to find the Mississippi. — Jacques Marquette. — Departure.— Green Bay. — The Wisconsin. — The Mississippi.— Indians. — Manitous. — The Arkansas. — The Illinois. —Joliet's Misfortune. — Marquette at Chicago : his Illness ;his Death 57CHAPTER VI.1673-1678.LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC.Objects of La Salle. — Frontenac favors him. — Projects of Frontenac.- Cataraqui. — Frontenac on Lake Ontario. — FortFrontenac. — La Salle and Fe'nelon.— Success of La Sallehis Enemies 83CHAPTER VII.1678.PARTY STRIFE.La Salle and his Reporter. — Jesuit Ascendency. — The Missionsaud the Fur-trade. — Female Inquisitors. — Plots against LaSalle: his Brother the Priest. — Intrigues of the Jesuits.La Salle poisoned : he exculpates the Jesuits. — RenewedIntrigues 106

CONTENTS.xviiCHAPTER VIII.1677, 1678.the grand enterprise.PaobLa Salle at Fort Frontenac. — La Salle at Court : his Memorial.— Approval of the King. — Money and Means. — Henride Tonty. — Return to Canada 120Father Louis Hennepin :CHAPTER IX.1678-1679.LA SALLE AT NIAGARA.his Past Life ; his Character. — Embarkation.— Niagara Falls. — Indian Jealousy. — La Motteand the Senecas. — A Disaster. — La Salle and his Followers 131CHAPTER X.1679.THE LAUNCH OF THE " GRIFFIN."The Niagara Portage. — A Vessel on the Stocks. — Sufferingand Discontent. — La Salle's Winter Journey. — The Vessellaunched. — Fresh Disasters 144CHAPTER XI.1679.LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES.The Voyage of the " Griffin." — Detroit. — A Storm. — St. Ignaceof Michilimackinac. — Rivals and Enemies. — Lake Michigan.— Hardships. — A Threatened Fight. — Fort Miami. —Tonty's Misfortunes. — Forebodings 151CHAPTER XII.1679, 1680.LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS.The St. Joseph. — Adventure of La Salle. — The Prairies. —Famine. — The Great Town of the Illinois. — Indians. — Intrigues.— Difficulties. — Policy of La Salle. — Desertion. —Another Attempt to poison La Salle 164

xviiiCONTENTS.CHAPTER XHX1680.port crevecosur.Pag*Building of the Fort. — Loss of the " Griffin." — A Bold Resolution.— Another Vessel. — Hennepin sent tothe Mississippi.— Departure of La Salle 18(1CHAPTER XIV.1680.HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE.The Winter Journey. — The Deserted Town. — Starved Rock. —Lake Michigan. — The Wilderness. — War Parties. — LaSalle's Men give out. — 111 Tidings. — Mutiny. — Chastisementof the Mutineers 189CHAPTER XV.1680.INDIAN CONQUERORS.The Enterprise renewed. — Attempt to rescue Tonty. — Buffalo.— A Frightful Discovery. — Iroquois Fury. — The RuinedTown. — A Night of Horror. — Traces of the Invaders. —No News of Tonty 202CHAPTER XVI.168TONTT AND THE IROQUOIS.The Deserters. — The Iroquois War. — The Great Town of theIllinois. — The Alarm. — Onset of the Iroquois. — Peril ofTonty. — A Treacherous Truce. — Intrepidity of Tonty. —Murder of Ribourde. — War upon the Dead 216CHAPTER XVII.1680.THE ADTENTURE8 OF HENNEPIN.Hennepin an Impostor: his Pretended Discovery; his ActualDiscovery ; captured by the Sioux. — The Upper Mississippi 243

CONTENTS.xixCHAPTER XVin.1680, 1681.hennepin among the sioux.PackSigns of Danger. — Adoption. — Hennepin and his Indian Relatives.— The Hunting Party. — The Sioux Camp. — Falls ofSt. Anthony. — A Vagabond Friar :his Adventures on theMississippi. — Greysolon Du Lhut. — Return to Civilization . 259CHAPTER XIX.1681.LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW.His Constancy ; his Plans ; his Savage Allies ; he becomes Snowblind.— Negotiations. — Grand Council. — La Salle's Oratory.—Meeting with Tonty. — Preparation. —Departure . . 283CHAPTER XX.1681-1682.SUCCE8S OF LA SALLE.— The Natchez. — Hostility. — The Mouth of the Mississippi.— Louis XIV. proclaimed Sovereign of the Great West . . 295His Followers. — The Chicago Portage. — Descent of the Mississippi.— The Lost Hunter. — The Arkansas. — The Taensas.ST.CHAPTER XXI.1682, 1683.LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS.Louisiana. — Illness of La Salle : his Colony on the Illinois. —Fort St. Louis. — Recall of Frontenac. — Le Febvre de laBarre.— Critical Position of La Salle. — Hostility of the NewGovernor. — Triumph of the Adverse Faction. — La Sallesails for France 309

IXCONTENTS.CHAPTER XXIL1680-1683.la salle painted bt himself.PageDifficulty of knowing him ; his Detractors ; his Letters ; vexationsof his Position ; his Unfitness for Trade ; risks of Correspondence; his Reported Marriage ; alleged Ostentation ; motivesof Action; charges of Harshness; intrigues againsthim ; unpopular Manners ; a Strange Confession ; his Strengthand his Weakness ; contrasts of his Character 328CHAPTER XXIIL1684.A NEW ENTERPRISE.La Salle at Court : his Proposals. — Occupation of Louisiana.— Invasion of Mexico. — Royal Favor. — Preparation. — ADivided Command. — Beaujeu and La Salle. — Mental Conditionof La Salle : his Farewell to his Mother 343CHAPTER XXIV.1684, 1685.THE VOYAGE.Disputes with Beaujeu. — St. Domingo. — La Salle attackedwith Fever :— A Vain Search and a Fatal Error ........ 366his Desperate Condition. — The Gulf of Mexico.CHAPTER XXV. *1685.LA SALLE IN TEXAS.A Party of Exploration. — Wreck of the " Aimable." — Landingof the Colonists. — A Forlorn Position. — Indian Neighbors.— Friendly Advances of Beaujeu : his Departure. — A FatalDkcovery 373

CONTENTS.xxiCHAPTER XXVLst.1685-1687.loui8 op texas.The Fort. — Misery and Dejection. — Energy of La Salle: hisJourney of Exploration. — Adventures and Accidents. — TheBuffalo. — Dubaut. — Indian Massacre. — Return of La Salle.— A New Calamity. — A Desperate Resolution. — Departurefor Canada. — Wreck of the "Belle." Marriage. — Sedition.— Adventures of La Salle's Party. — The Cenis. — ThePageCamanches. — The Only Hope. — The Last Farewell . . . 391CHAPTER XXVII.1687.A8SASSINATION OF LA SALLE.His Followers. — Prairie Travelling. — A Hunters' Quarrel. —The Murder of Moranget. — The Conspiracy. — Death of LaSalle : his Character 420CHAPTER XXVHL1687, 1688.THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY.Triumph of the Murderers. — Danger of Joutel. — Joutel amongthe Cenis. — White Savages. — Insolence of Duhaut and hisAccomplices. — Murder of Duhaut and Liotot. — Hiens, theBuccaneer. — Joutel and his Party : their Escape ; theyreach the Arkansas. — Bravery and Devotion of Tonty. —The Fugitives reach the Illinois. — Unworthy Conduct ofCavelier. — He and his Companions return to France . . . 435CHAPTER XXLX.1688-1689.FATE OF THE TEXAN COLONY.Tonty attempts to rescue the Colonists : his Difficulties andHardships. — Spanish Hostility. —Expedition of Alonzo deLeon : he reaches Fort St. Louis. — A Scene of Havoc. —Destruction of the French. —The End 464

xxuCONTENTS.APPENDIX.PageL Early Unpublished Maps of th« Mississippi and the GreatLakes 475IL The Eldorado of Mathieu Sage«*n 485INDEX .•....««. 491

LA SALLEDISCOVERY OF THE GREAT WEST

LA SALLEDISCOVERY OF THE GEEAT WEST,INTRODUCTION.The Spaniards discovered the Mississippi. DeSoto was buried beneath its waters ; and it was downits muddy current that his followers fled from theEldorado of their dreams, transformed to a wildernessof misery and death.The discovery was never used,and was well-nigh forgotten. On early Spanishmaps, the Mississippi is often indistinguishable fromother affluents of the Gulf. A century passed afterDe Soto's journeying*s in the South, before a Frenchexplorer reached a northern tributary of the greatriver.This was Jean Nicollet, interpreter at Three Riverson the St. Lawrence. He had been some twentyyears in Canada, had lived among the savageAlgonquins of Allumette Island, and spent eight ornine years among the Nipissings, on the lake whichbears their name. Here he became an Indian in all

: £:.: :*..:: : .;. introduction.•his habits, but remained, nevertheless, a zealousCatholic, and returned to civilization at lastbecausehe could not live without the sacraments. Strangestories were current among the Nipissings of a peoplewithout hair or beard, who came from the West totrade with a tribe beyond the Great Lakes. Whocould doubt that these strangers were Chinese orJapanese? Such tales may well have excitedNicollet's curiosity; and when, in 1635, or possiblyin 1638, he was sent asan ambassador to the tribein question, he would not have been surprised if onarriving he had found a party of mandarins amongthem. Perhaps it was with a view to such a contingencythat he provided himself, as a dress of ceremony,with a robe of Chinese damask embroideredwith birds and flowers. The tribe to which he wassent was that of the Winnebagoes, living near thehead of the Green Bay of Lake Michigan. Theyhad come to blows with the Hurons, allies of theFrench; and Nicollet was charged to negotiate apeace. When he approached the Winnebago town,he sent one of his Indian attendants to announce hiscoming, put on his robe ofdamask, and advanced tomeet the expectant crowd with a pistol in each hand.The squaws and children fled, screaming that it wasa manito, or spirit, armed with thunder and lightning; but the chiefs and warriors regaled him with30 bountiful a hospitality that a hundred and twentybeavers were devoured at a single feast. From theWinnebagoes, he passed westward, ascended Fox

INTRODUCTION. 5River, crossed to the Wisconsin, and descended itso far that, as he reported on his return, in threedays more he would have reached the sea. The truthseems to be that he mistook the meaning of his Indianguides, and that the "great water" to which he wasso near was not the sea,but the Mississippi.It has been affirmed that one Colonel Wood, ofVirginia, reached a branch of the Mississippi as earlyas the year 1654, and that about 1670 a certainCaptain Bolton penetrated to the river itself.Neitherstatement is sustained by sufficient evidence. It isfurther affirmed that, in 1678, a party from NewEngland crossed the Mississippi, reached NewMexico, and, returning, reported theirdiscoveries tothe authorities ofBoston, — a story without proof orprobability. Meanwhile, French Jesuits and furtraderspushed deeper and deeper into the wildernessof the northern lakes. In 1641, Jogues andRaymbault preached the Faith to a concourse ofIndians at the outlet of Lake Superior. Then camethe havoc and desolation of the Iroquois war, and foryears farther exploration was arrested. In 1658-59Pierre Esprit Radisson, a Frenchman of St. Malo,and his brother-in-law, Me'dard Chouart des Groseilliers,penetrated the regions beyond Lake Superior,and roamed westward till, as Radisson declares, theyreached what was called the Forked River, " becauseit has two branches, the one towards the west, theother towards the south, which, we believe, runstowards Mexico," — which seems to point to the

6 INTRODUCTION.Mississippi and its great confluent the Missouri.Two years later, the aged Jesuit Mdnard attemptedto plant a mission on the southern shore of LakeSuperior, but perished in the forest by famine or thetomahawk.Allouez succeeded him, explored a partof Lake Superior, and heard, in his turn, of theSioux and their great river the "Messipi." Moreand more, the thoughts of theJesuits — and not ofthe Jesuits alone — dwelt on this mysterious stream.Through what regions did it flow; and whitherwould it lead them, — to the South Sea or the"Sea of Virginia;" to Mexico, Japan, or China?The problem was soon to be solved, and the mysteryrevealed.

CHAPTER 1.1643-1669.CAVELIER DE LA SALLE.The Youth of La Salle : his Connection with the Jesuits ;he goes to Canada ; his Character ; his Schemes ; his Seignioryat La Chine ; his Expedition in Search of a WesternPassage to India.Among the burghers of Rouen was the old and richfamily of the Caveliers. Though citizens and notnobles, some of their connections held high diplomaticposts and honorable employments at Court.They were destined to find a better claim to distinction.In 1643 was born at Rouen Robert Cavelier,better known by the designation of La Salle. 1 Hisfather Jean and his uncle Henri were wealthy mer-1The following is the acte de naissance, discovered by Margry inthe registres de I'etat civil, Paroisse St. Herbland, Rouen ": Le vingtdeuxiemejour de novembre, 1643, a ete' baptise Robert Cavelier, filsde honorable homme Jean Cavelier et de Catherine Geest ; ses parrainet marraine honorables personnes Nicolas Geest et MargueriteMorice."La Salle's name in full was ReneVRobert Cavelier, Sieur de laSalle. La Salle was the name of an estate near Rouen, belongingto the Caveliers. The wealthy French burghers often distinguishedthe various members of their families by designations borrowedfrom landed estates. Thus, Francois Marie Arouet, son of anex-notary, received the name of Voltaire, which he made famous.

8 CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. [1666.chants, living more like nobles than like burghers;and the boy received an education answering to themarked traits of intellect and character which he soonbegan to display. He showed an inclination for theexact sciences, and especially for the mathematics, inwhich he made great proficiency. At an early age,it is said, he became connected with the Jesuits;and, though doubt has been expressed of the statement,it is probably true. 1La Salle was always an earnest Catholic ; and yet,judging by the qualities which his after-life evinced,he was not very liable to religious enthusiasm. It isnevertheless clear that the Society of Jesus may havehad a powerful attraction for his youthful imagination.This great organization, so complicated yet soharmonious, a mighty machine moved from the centrey a single hand, was an image of regulated power,full of fascination for a mind like his. But if it waslikely that he would be drawn into it, it was no lesslikely that he would soon wish to escape. To find1Margry, after investigations at Rouen, is satisfied of its truth(Journal General de VInstruction Publique, xxxi. 571.) Family paper*of the Caveliers, examined by the Abbe' Faillon, and copies of somaof which he has sent to me, lead to the same conclusion. We shallfind several allusions hereafter to La Salle's having in his youthtaught in a school, which, in his position, could only have been inconnection with some religious community. The doubts alluded tohave proceeded from the failure of Father Felix Martin, S. J., tofind the name of La Salle on the list of novices.If he had lookedfor the name of Robert Cavelier, he would probably have found it.The companion of La Salle, Hennepin, is very explicit with regardto this connection with the Jesuits, a point on which he had nomotive for falsehood.

1666.] LA SALLE AND THE JESUITS.himself not at the centre of power, but at the circumference;not the mover, but the moved; the passiveinstrument of another's will, taught to walk in prescribedpaths, to renounce his individuality andbecome a component atom of a vast whole, — wouldhave been intolerable to him. Nature had shapedhim for other uses than to teach a class of boys onthe benches of a Jesuit school. Nor, on his part,was he likely to please his directors; for, self-controlledand self-contained as he was, he was far toointractable a subject to serve their turn. A youthwhose calm exterior hid an inexhaustible fund ofpride; whose inflexible purposes, nursed in secret,the confessional and the " manifestation of conscience "could hardly drag to the light ;whose strong personalitywould not yield to the^ shaping hand ;and who,by a necessity of his nature, could obey no initiativebut his own, — was not after the model that Loyolahad commended to his followers.La Salle left the Jesuits, parting with them, it issaid,on good terms, and with a reputation of excellentacquirements and unimpeachable morals.Thislast is very credible. The cravings of a deep ambition,the hunger of an insatiable intellect, the intenselonging for action and achievement, subdued in himall other passions ;and in his faults the love of pleasurehad no part. He had an elder brother in Canada,the Abbe* Jean Cavelier, a priest of St. Sulpice.Apparently, it was this that shaped his destinies.His connection with the Jesuits had deprived him,

*10 CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. [1666.under the French law, of the inheritance of hisfather, who had died not long before. An allowancewas made to him of three or (as is elsewhere stated)four hundred livres a year, the capital of which waspaid over to him ;and with this pittance he sailed forCanada, to seek his fortune, in the spring of 1666.Next, we find him at Montreal. In anothervolume, we have seen how an association of enthusiasticdevotees had made a settlement at this place. 2Having in some measure accomplished its work, itwas now dissolved; and the corporation of priests,styled the Seminary of St. Sulpice, which had takena prominent part in the enterprise, and, indeed, hadbeen created with a view to it, was now the proprietorand the feudal lord of Montreal. It was destined toretain its seignorial rights until the abolition of thefeudal tenures ofCanada in our own day, and it stillholds vast possessions in the city and island. Theseworthy ecclesiastics, models of a discreet and soberconservatism, were holding a post with which aband of veteran soldiers or warlike frontiersmenwould have been better matched. Montreal was perhapsthe most dangerous place in Canada. In timei It does not appear what vows La Salle had taken. By a recentordinance (1666), persons entering religious orders could not takethe final vows before the age of twenty-five. By the family papersabove mentioned, it appears, however, that he had brought himselfunder the operation of the law, which debarred those who, havingentered religious orders, afterwards withdrew, from claiming theInheritance of relatives who had died after their entrance.* The Jesuits in North America, chap. xv.

1666.] LA SALLE AT MONTREAL. 11of war, which might have been called the normalcondition of the colony, it was exposed by its positionto incessant inroads of the Iroquois, or FiveNations, of New York; and no man could ventureintothe forests or the fields without bearing his lifein his hand. The savage confederates had justreceived a sharp chastisement at the hands ofCourcelle, the governor; and the result was a treatyof peace which might at any moment be broken, butwhich was an inexpressible relief while itlasted.The priests of St. Sulpice were granting out theirlands, on very easy terms, to settlers. They wishedto extend a thin line of settlements along the front oftheir island,to form a sort of outpost, from which analarm could be given on any descent ofthe Iroquois.La Salle was the man for such a purpose. Had thepriestsunderstood him, — which they evidently didnot, for some of them suspected him of levity, thelast foible with which he could be charged, — hadthey understood him, they would have seen in him ayoung man in whom the fireof youth glowed not theless ardently for the veil of reserve that covered it;who would shrink from no danger, but would notcourt it in bravado; and who would cling with aninvincible tenacity of gripe to any purpose which hemight espouse. There is good reason to think thathe had come toCanada with purposes already conceived,and that he was ready to avail himself ofany stepping-stone which might help to realize them.Queylus, Superior of the Seminary, made him a

12 CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. [1666.generous offer; and he accepted it. This was thegratuitous grant of a large tract of land at the placenow called La Chine, above the great rapids of thesame name, and eight or nine miles from Montreal.On one hand, the place was greatly exposed toattack; and, on the other, it was favorably situatedfor the fur-trade. La Salle and his successors becameits feudal proprietors, on the sole condition of deliveringto the Seminary, on every change of ownership,a medal of fine silver, weighing one mark. 1 Heentered on the improvement of his new domain withwhat means he could command, and began to grantout his land to such settlers as would join him.Approaching the shore where the city of Montrealnow stands, one would have seen a row of smallcompact dwellings, extending along a narrow street,parallel to the river, and then, as now, called St.Paul Street. On a hill at the right stood the windmillof the seigniors, built of stone, and pierced withloopholes to serve, in time of need, as a place ofdefence. On the left, in an angle formed by thejunction of a rivulet with the St. Lawrence, was asquare bastioned fort of stone. Here lived themilitary governor, appointed by the Seminary, andcommanding a few soldiers of the regiment ofCarignan. In front, on the line of the street, werethe enclosure and buildings of the Seminary, and,1Transport de la Seigneurie de St. Sulpice, cited by Faillon. LaSalle called his new domain as above. Two or three years later itreceived the name of La Chine, for a reason which will appear.

1667.] LA CHINE. 13nearly adjoining them, those of the Hotel-Dieu, orHospital, both provided for defence in case of anIndian attack. Id the hospital enclosure was a smallchurch, opening on the street, and, in the absence ofany other, serving for the whole settlement. 1Landing, passing the fort, and walking southwardalong the shore, one would soon have left the roughclearings, and entered the primeval forest. Here,mile after mile, he would have journeyed on in solitude,when the hoarse roar of the rapids, foaming infury on his left, would have reached his listeningear ; and at length, after a walk of some three hours,he would have found the rude beginnings of a settlement.It was where the St. Lawrence widens intothe broad expanse called the Lake of St. Louis.Here, La Salle had traced out the circuit of a palisadedvillage, and assigned to each settler half anarpent, or about the third of an acre, within theenclosure, for which he was to render to the youngseignior a yearly acknowledgment of three capons,besides six deniers — that is, half a sou — in money.To each was assigned, moreover, sixty arpents ofland beyond the limits of the village, with the perpetualrent of half a sou for each arpent. He alsoset apart a common, two hundred arpents in extent,for the use of the settlers, on condition of the payiA detailed plan of Montreal at this time is preserved in theArchives de l'Empire, and has been reproduced by Faillon. Thereis another, a few years later, and still more minute, of which a facsimilewill be found in the Library of the Canadian Parliament.

14 CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. [1668.ment by each of five sous a year. He reserved fourhundred and twenty arpents for his own personaldomain, and on this he began to clear the groundand erect buildings. Similar to this were the beginningsof all the Canadian seigniories formed at thistroubled period. 1That La Salle came to Canada with objects distinctlyin view, is probable from the fact that he atonce began to study the Indian languages, — andwith such success that he is said, within two or threeyears, to have mastered the Iroquois and seven oreight other languages and dialects. 2 From the shoreof his seigniory, he could gaze westward over thebroad breast of the Lake of St. Louis, bounded bythe dim forests of Chateauguay and Beauharnois;but his thoughts flew far beyond, across the wild andlonely world that stretched towards the sunset. LikeChamplain, and all the early explorers, he dreamedof a passage to the South Sea, and a new road forcommerce to the riches of China and Japan. Indiansoften came to his secluded settlement; and, on oneoccasion, he was visited by a band of the SenecaIroquois, not long before the scourge of the colony,but now, in virtue of the treaty, wearing the sem-1The above particulars have been unearthed by the indefatigableAbbe" Faillon. Some of La Sailed grants are still preserved in theancient records of Montreal.3 Papier t de Famille. He is said to have made several journeysinto the forests, towards the North, in the years 1667 and 1668, andto have satisfied himself that little could be hoped from explorationsin that direction.

1669.] SCHEMES OF DISCOVERY. 15blance of friendship. The visitors spent the winterwith him, and told him of a river called the Ohio,rising in their country, and flowing into the sea, butat such a distance that its mouth could only l)ereached after a journey of eight or nine months.Evidently, the Ohio and the Mississippi are heremerged into one. 1 In accordance with geographicalviews then prevalent, he conceived that this greatriver must needs flow into the "Vermilion Sea;' 1that is, the Gulf of California. If so, it would givehim what he sought, a western passage to China;while, in any case, the populous Indian tribes saidto inhabit its banks might be made a source of greatcommercial profit.La Salle's imagination took fire. His resolutionwas soon formed; and he descended the St.Lawrenceto Quebec, to gain the countenance of the governorfor his intended exploration. Few men were moreskilled than he in the art of clear and plausible statement.Both the governor Courcelle and the intendantTalon were readily won over to his plan ; for which,however, they seem to have given him no more substantialaid than that of the governor's letters patentauthorizing the enterprise. 2 The cost was to be hisown; and he had no money, having spent it all onhis seigniory. He therefore proposed that the Semi-1According to Dollier de Casson, who had good opportunities ofknowing, the Iroquois always called the Mississippi the Ohio, whilethe Algonquins gave it its present name.2 Patoulet a Colbert, 11 Nov., 1669.

16 CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. [1669.nary,which had given it to him, should buy it backagain, with such improvements as he had made.Queylus, the Superior, being favorably disposedtowards him, consented, and bought of him thegreater part; while La Salle sold the remainder,including the clearings, to one Jean Milot, an ironmonger,for twenty-eight hundred livres. 1 Withthis he bought four canoes, with the necessary supplies,and hired fourteen men.Meanwhile, the Seminary itself was preparing asimilar enterprise.The Jesuits at this time not onlyheld an ascendency over the other ecclesiastics in' Canada, but exercised an inordinate influence on thecivil government.The Seminary priests of Montrealwere jealous of these powerful rivals, and eager toemulate their zeal in the saving ofsouls and the conqueringof new domains for the Faith. Under thisimpulse, they had, three years before, established amission at Quinte*, on the north shore of LakeOntario, in charge of two of their number, one ofwhom was the Abbe* Fdnelon, elder brother of thecelebrated Archbishop of Cambray. Another ofthem, Dollier de Casson, had spent the winter in ahunting-camp of the Nipissings, where an Indianprisoner, captured in the Northwest, told him ofpopulous tribes of that quarter living in heathenishdarkness. On this, the Seminary priests resolved toessay their conversion; and an expedition, to bedirected by Dollier, was fitted out to this end.1Ceuion de la Seigneurie; Contrat de Vente (Margry, i. 103, 104).

;.] DEPARTURE. 17He was not ill suited to the purpose. He hadbeen a soldier in his youth, and had fought valiantlyas an officer of cavalry under Turenne. He was aman of great courage ; of a tall, commanding personand of uncommon bodily strength, which he hadnotably proved in the campaign of Courcelle againstthe Iroquois, three years before. 1 On going toQuebec to procure the necessary outfit,he was urgedby Courcelle to modify his plans so far as to act inconcert with La Salle in exploring the mystery of thegreat unknown river of the West. Dollier and hisbrother priests consented. One of them, Galin^e,was joined with him as a colleague, because he wasskilled in surveying, and could make a map of theirroute. Three canoes were procured, and seven hiredmen completed the party. It was determined thatLa Salle's expedition and that of the Seminaryshould be combined in one, — an arrangement illsuited to the character of the young explorer, whowas unfit for any enterprise of which he was not theundisputed chief.Midsummer was near, and there was no time tolose. Yet the moment was most unpropitious, for aSeneca chief had lately been murdered by threescoundrel soldiers of the fort of Montreal ; and, whilethey were undergoing their trial, it became known1He was the author of the very curious and valuable Ilistoirede Montreal, preserved in the Bibliotheque Mazarine, of which acopy is in my possession. The Historical Society of Montreal hagrecently resolved to print it.2

18 CAVELIER DE LA SALLE. [1669.that three other Frenchmen had treacherously put todeath several Iroquois of the Oneida tribe, in orderto get possession of their furs. The whole colonytrembled in expectation of a new outbreak of thewar. Happily, the event proved otherwise. Theauthors of the last murder escaped; but the threesoldiers were shot at Montreal, in presence of a considerablenumber of the Iroquois, who declaredthemselves satisfied with the atonement; and on thissame day, the sixth of July, the adventurers begantheir voyage.

CHAPTER II.1669-1671.LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS.The French in Western New York. — Louis Joliet. — The Sulpitianson Lake Erie ; at Detroit ; at Sadt Ste. Marie. —The Mystery of La Salle : he discovers the Ohio ; hedescends the illinois j did he reach the mississippi?La Chine was the starting-point; and the combinedparties, in all twenty -four men with sevencanoes, embarked on the Lake of St. Louis. Withthem were two other canoes, bearing the party ofSenecas who had wintered at La Salle's settlement,and who were now to act as guides.Father Galine'erecounts the journey. He was no woodsman: theriver, the forests, the rapids, were all new to him,and he dilates on them with the minuteness of anovice. Above all, he admired the Indian birchcanoes. "If God," he says, "grants me the graceof returning to France, I shall try to carry one withme." Then he describes the bivouac: "Your lodgingis as extraordinary as your vessels; for, afterpaddling or carrying the canoes all day, you findmother earth ready to receive your wearied body.If the weather is fair, you make a fire and lie down

20 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1669.to sleep without further trouble ; but if it rains, youmust peel bark from the trees, and make a shed byAs for your food, itlaying it on a frame of sticks.is enough to make you burn all the cookery booksthat ever were written ; for in the woods of Canadaone finds means to live well without bread, wine,salt, pepper, or spice. The ordinary food is Indiancorn, or Turkey wheat as they call it in France,which is crushed between two stones and boiled,seasoning it with meat or fish, when you can getthem. This sort of life seemed so strange to us thatwe all felt the effects of it; and before we were ahundred leagues from Montreal, not one of us wasfree from some malady or other. At last, after allour misery, on the second of August, we discoveredLake Ontario, like a great sea with no landbeyondit."Thirty-five days after leaving La Chine, theyreached Irondequoit Bay, on the south side of thelake. Here they were met by a number of SenecaIndians, who professed friendship and invited themto their villages, fifteen or twenty miles distant. Asthis was on their way to the upper waters of theOhio, and as they hoped to find guides at the villagesto conduct them, they accepted the invitation.Dollier, with most of the men, remained to guardthe canoes; while La Salle, with Galine'e and eightother Frenchmen, accompanied by a troop of Indians,set out on the morning of the twelfth, and reachedthe principal village before evening. It stood on a

1669] THE SENECA VILLAGES. 21hill,in the midst of a clearing nearly two leagues incompass. A 1 rude stockade surrounded it; and asthe visitors drew near they saw a band of old menseated on the grass, waiting to receive them. One ofthese veterans, so feeble with age that he could hardlystand, made them an harangue, in which he declaredthat the Senecas were their brothers, and invitedthem to enter the village. They did so, surroundedby a crowd of savages, and presently found themselvesin the midst of a disorderly cluster of largebut filthy abodes of bark, about a hundred and fiftyin number, the most capacious of which was assignedto their use.Here they made their quarters,and were soon overwhelmed by Senecahospitality.Children brought them pumpkins and berries fromthe woods; and boy messengers came to summon xthem to endless feasts, where they were regaled )^with the flesh of dogs and with boiled maize seasonedwith oil pressed from nuts and the seed of sunflowers.La Salle had flattered himself that he knew enoughIroquois to hold communication with the Senecas;but he failed completely in the attempt. The priestshad a Dutch interpreter, who spoke Iroquois fluently,but knew so little French, and was withal so obstinate,that he proved useless ; so that it was necessaryto employ a man in the service ofthe Jesuit Fremin,whose mission was at this village. What the partyneeded was a guide to conduct them to the Ohio ;and1 This village seems to have heen that attacked by Denonvillein 1687It stood on Boughton Hill, near the present town of Victor.

22 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1669Jsoon after their arrival a party of warriors appeared,with a young prisoner belonging to one ofthe tribesof that region. Galinde wanted to beg or buy himfrom his captors; but the Senecas had other intentions."I saw," writes the priest, "the most miserablespectacle I ever beheld in my life." It was theprisoner tied to a stake and tortured for six hourswith diabolical ingenuity, while the crowd dancedand yelled with delight, and the chiefs and elders satin a row smoking their pipes and watching the contortionsof the victim with an air of serene enjoyment.The body was at last cut up and eaten, and in theevening the whole populationoccupied themselves inscaring away the angry ghost by beating with sticksagainst the bark sides of the lodges.La Salle and his companions began to fear for theirown safety. Some of their hosts wished to kill themin revenge for the chief murdered near Montreal;and as these and others were at times in a frenzy ofdrunkenness, the position of the French becamecritical. They suspected that means had been usedto prejudice the Senecas against them. Not onlycould they get no guides, but they were toldthat ifthey went to the Ohio the tribes of those parts wouldinfallibly kill them.Their Dutch interpreter becamedisheartened and unmanageable, and, after staying amonth at the village, the hope of getting farther ontheir way seemed less than ever. Their plan, itwas clear, must be changed; and an Indian fromOtinawatawa, a kind of Iroquois colony at the head

1669.] LOUIS JOLIET. 23of Lake Ontario, offered to guide them to his villageand show them a better way to the Ohio. They leftthe Senecas, coasted the south shore of the lake,passed the mouth of the Niagara, where they heardthe distant roar of the cataract, and on the twentyfourthof September reached Otinawatawa, whichwas a few miles north of the present town ofHamilton. The inhabitants proved friendly, and LaSalle received the welcome present of a Shawanoeprisoner, who told them that the Ohio could bereached in six weeks, and that he would guide themto it. Delighted at this good fortune, they wereabout to set out ; when they heard, to their astonishment,of the arrival of two other Frenchmen at aneighboring village.One of the strangers was destined to hold a conspicuousplace in the history of western discovery.This was Louis Joliet, a young man of about the ageof La Salle.Like him, he had studied for the priesthood;but the world and the wilderness had conqueredhis early inclinations,and changed him to anactive and adventurous fur-trader. Talon had senthim to discover and explore the copper-mines ofLake Superior. He had failed in the attempt, andwas now returning. His Indian guide, afraid ofpassing the Niagara portage lest he should meetenemies, had led him from Lake Erie, by way ofGrand River, towards the head of Lake Ontario;and thus it was that he met La Salle and theSulpitians.

24 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1669This meeting caused a change of plan. Jolietshowed the priests a map which he had made of suchparts of the Upper Lakes as he had visited,them a copy of it;and gavetelling them, at the same time, ofthe Pottawattamies and other tribes ofthat region ingrievous need of spiritual succor. The result was adetermination on their part to follow the route whichhe suggested, notwithstanding the remonstrances ofLa Salle, who in vain reminded them that the Jesuitshad preoccupied the field,and would regard them asintruders. They resolved that the Pottawattamiesshould no longer sit in darkness; while, as for theMississippi, it could be reached, as they conceived,with less risk by thisnorthern route than by that ofthe south.La Salle was of a different mind. His goal wasthe Ohio, and not the northern lakes. A few daysbefore, while hunting, he had been attacked by afever, sarcastically ascribed by Galinde to hisseen three large rattlesnakes crawling up a rock.havingHenow told his two colleagues that he was in no conditionto go forward, and should be forced to part withjthem. The staple of La Salle's character, as his lifewill attest, was an invincible determination of purpose,which set at naught all risks and all sufferings.He had cast himself with all his resources into thisenterprise ; and, while his faculties remained, he wasnot a man to recoil from it. On the other hand, themasculine fibre of which he was made did not alwayswithhold him from the practice of the arts of address,

1670.] SEPARATION. 25and the use of what Dollier de Casson styles Idlesparoles. He respected the priesthood, with theexception, it seems, of the Jesuits ;and he was underobligations to the Sulpitians of Montreal. Hencethere can be no doubt that he used his illness as apretext for escaping from their company withoutungraciousness, and following his own path in hisown way.On the last day of September, the priests made analtar, supported by the paddles of the canoes laid onforked sticks. Dollier said mass; La Salle and hisfollowers received the sacrament, as did also thoseof his late colleagues; and thus they parted, theSulpitians and their party descending the GrandRiver towards Lake Erie, while La Salle, as theysupposed, began his return to Montreal, jWhatcourse he actually took we shall soon inquire; andmeanwhile, for a few moments, we will follow thepriests.When they reached Lake Erie, they saw itThey had no mind totossing like an angry ocean.tempt the dangerous and unknown navigation, andencamped for the winter in the forestnear the peninsulacalled the Long Point. Here they gathereda good store of chestnuts, hickory-nuts, plums,and grapes, and built themselves a log cabin, witha recess at the end for an altar. They passed thewinter unmolested, shooting game in abundance, andsaying mass three times a week. Early in spring,they planted a large cross, attached to it the arms ofFrance, and took formal possession of the country in

28 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1670.the name of Louis XIV. This done, they resumedtheir voyage, and, after many troubles, landed oneevening in a state of exhaustion on or near PointPele'

1670.] AT STE. MARIE DU SAUT. 27through the Strait of Detroit; though Joliet had, nodoubt, passed this way on his return from theUpperLakes. 1 The two missionaries took this course, withthe intention of proceeding to the Saut Ste. Marie,and there joining the Ottawas, and other tribes ofthat region, in their yearly descent to Montreal.They issued upon Lake Huron ; followed its easternshores till they reached the Georgian Bay, near thehead of which the Jesuitshad established their greatmission of the Hurons, destroyed, twenty yearsbefore, by the Iroquois; 2 and, ignoring or slightingthe labors of the rival missionaries, held their waynorthward along the rocky archipelago that edgedthose lonely coasts. They passed the Manitoulins,and, ascending the strait by which Lake Superiordischarges its waters, arrived on the twenty-fifth ofMay at Ste. Marie du Saut. Here they found thetwo Jesuits, Dablon and Marquette, in a square fortof cedar pickets, built by their men within the pastyear, and enclosing a chapel and a house.Near by,they had cleared a large tract of land, and sown itwith wheat, Indian corn, peas, and other crops.new-comers were graciously received, and invitedThevespers in the chapel ; but they very soon found LaSalle's prediction made good, and saw that the Jesuitfathers wanted no help from St. Sulpice. Galinde,1The Jesuits and fur-traders, on their way to the Upper Lakes,had followed the route of the Ottawa, or, more recently, that ofToronto and the Georgian Bay. Iroquois hostility had long closedthe Niagara portage and Lake Erie against them.aThe Jesuits in North America.to

28 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1670.on his part, takes occasion to remark, that, thoughthe Jesuits had baptized a few Indians at the Saut,not one of them was a good enough Christian toreceive the Eucharist; and he intimates that thecase, by their own showing, was still worse at theirmission of St. Esprit. The two Sulpitians did notcare to prolong their stay ;and, three days after theirarrival, they left the Saut, — not, as they expected,with the Indians, but with a French guide, furnishedby the Jesuits. Ascending French x River to LakeNipissing, they crossed to the waters of the Ottawa,and descended to Montreal, which they reached onthe eighteenth of June. They had made no discoveriesand no converts ; but Galine'e, after his arrival,made the earliest map of the Upper Lakes known toexist. 1We return now to La Salle, only to find ourselvesinvolved in mist and obscurity. What did he doafter he left the two priests? Unfortunately, adefinite answer is not possible; and the next twoyears of his liferemain in some measure an enigma.That he was busied in active exploration, and that hemade important discoveries, is certain ;but the extentand character of these discoveries remain wrapped indoubt. He is known to have kept journals and mademaps ; and these were in existence, and in possessionof his niece, Madeleine Cavelier, then in advanced1See Appendix. The above narrative is from Recti de ce quis'est passe de plus remarquable dans le Voyage de MM. Dollier et Galinie.(Bibliotheque Rationale.)

1669-70.] LA SALLE'S DISCOVERIES. 29age, as late as the year 1756 ;beyond which time themost diligent inquiry has failed to trace them.Abbe*Faillon affirms that some of La Salle's men, refusingto follow him, returned to La Chine, and that theplace then received its name, in derision of the youngadventurer's dream of a westward passage to China. 1As for himself, the only distinct record of his movementsisthat contained in a paper, entitled " Histoirede Monsieur de la Salle." It is an account of hisexplorations, and of the state of parties in Canadaprevious to the year 1678, — taken from the lips of /La Salle himself, by a person whose name does notappear, but who declaresthat he had ten or twelveconversations with him at Paris, whither he had comewith a petition to the Court. The writer himselfhad never been in America, and was ignorant ofgeography; hence blunders on his part might reasonablybe expected. His statements, however, are insome measure intelligible; and the following is thesubstance of them.After leaving the priests, La Salle went toOnondaga, where we are left to infer that he succeededbetter in getting a guide than he had beforedone among the Senecas. Thence he made his wayto a point six or seven leagues distant from LakeErie, where he reached a branch of the Ohio, and,descending it, followed the river as far as the rapidsat Louisville, — or, as has been maintained, beyond1 Dollier de Casson alludes to this as "cette transmigrationeelebre qui se fit de la Chine dans ces quartiers."its

30 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1669-70.its confluence with the Mississippi. His men nowrefused to go farther, and abandoned him, escapingto the English and the Dutch ; whereupon he retracedhis steps alone. 1 This must have been in the winterof 1669-70, or in the following spring ; unless thereis an error of date in the statement of Nicolas Perrot,the famous voyageur, who says that he met him inthe summer of 1670, hunting on the Ottawa with aparty of Iroquois. 2But how was La Salle employed in the followingyear? The same memoir has its solution to the1 The following is the passage relating to this journey in theremarkable paper above mentioned.After recounting La Salle'svisit with the Sulpitians to the Seneca village, and stating that theintrigues of the Jesuit missionary prevented them from obtaining aguide, it speaks of the separation of the travellers and the journeyof Galinee and his party to the Saut Ste. Marie, where " les Jesuitesles congedierent." It then proceeds as follows :" Cependant Mr.de la Salle continua son chemin par une riviere qui va de Test al'ouest; et passe a Onontaque' [Onondaga], puis a six ou sept lieuesau-dessous du Lac Erie; et estant parvenu jusqu'au 280 me ou 83 medegre* de longitude, et jusqu'au 41 me degre de latitude, trouva unsault qui tombe vers l'ouest dans un pays bas, marescageux, tout'couvert de vielles souches, dont il y en a quelques-unes qui sontencore sur pied. II fut done contraint de prendre terre, et suivantune hauteur qui le pouvoit mener loin, il trouva quelques sauvagesqui luy dirent que fort loin de la le mesme fleuve qui se perdoitdans cette terre basse et vaste se reunnissoit en un lit. II continuadone son chemin, mais comme la fatigue estoit grande, 23 ou 24hommes qu'il avoit menez jusques la le quitterent tous en une nuit,regagnerent le fleuve, et se sauverent, les uns a la Nouvelle Hollandeet les autres a la Nouvelle Angleterre. II se vit done seul a400 lieues de chez luy, ou il ne laisse pas de revenir, remontant lariviere et vivant de chasse, d'herbes, et de ce que luy donnerent les•auvages qu'il rencontra en son chemin."8 Perrot, Me moires, 119, 120.

1669-71.] THE RIVER ILLINOIS. 31problem. By this it appears that the indefatigableexplorer embarked on Lake Erie, ascended theDetroit to Lake Huron, coasted the unknown shoresof Michigan, passed the Straits of Michilimackinac,and, leavingGreen Bay behind him, entered what isdescribed as an incomparably larger bay, but whichwas evidently the southern portion of Lake Michigan.Thence he crossed to a river flowing westward, —evidently the Illinois, — and followed it untilit .wasjoined by another river flowing from the northwestto the southeast. By this, the Mississippi only canbe meant; and he is reported to have said that hedescended it to the thirty-sixth degree of latitude;where he stopped, assured that it discharged itselfnot into the Gulf of California, but into the Gulf ofMexico, and resolved to follow it thither at a futureday, when better provided with men and supplies. 1The first of these statements, — that relating to the1The memoir— after stating, as above, that he entered LakeHuron, doubled the peninsula of Michigan, and passed La Baye deaPuants {Green Bay) — says: "II reconnut une baye incomparablementplus large ; au fond de laquelle vers l'ouest il trouva un tresbeauhavre et au fond de ce havre un fleuve qui va de Test a l'ouest.II suivit ce fleuve, et estant parvenu jusqu'environ le 280 me degrede longitude et le 39 me de latitude, il trouva un autre fleuve qui sejoignant au premier coulait du nordouest au sudest, et il suivit cefleuve jusqu'au 36 me degre de latitude."The " tres-beau havre " may have been the entrance of the riverChicago, whence, by an easy portage, he might have reached theDes Plaines branch of the Illinois. We shall see that he took thiscourse in his famous exploration of 1682.The intendant Talon announces, in his despatches of this yearthat he had sent La Salle southward and westward to explore.

32 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITIANS. [1671.Ohio, — confused, vague, and in great part incorrect,as it certainly is, is nevertheless well sustained asregards one essential point. La Salle himself, in a.y memorial addressed to Count Frontenac in 1677,affirms that he discovered the Ohio, and descended itas far as to a fall which obstructed it. 1 Again, hisrival, Louis Joliet, whose testimony on this pointcannot be suspected, made two maps of the region ofthe Mississippi and the Great Lakes. The Ohio islaid down on both of them, with an inscription to theeffect that it h&d been explored by La Salle. 2That1 The following are his words (he speaks of himself in the thirdperson) :" L'anne'e 1667, et les suivantes, il fit divers voyages avecbeaucoup de depenses, dans lesquels il decouvrit le premier beaucoupde pays au sud des grands lacs, et entre autres la grande riviered'Ohio; il la suivit jusqu'a un endroit ou elle tombe de fort hautdans de vastes marais, a la hauteur de 37 degres, apres avoir etegrossie par une autre riviere fort large qui vient du nord ; et toutesces eaux se dechargent selon toutes les apparences dans le Golfedu Mexique."This " autre riviere/' which, it seems, was above the fall, mayhave been the Miami or the Scioto. There is but one fall on theriver, that of Louisville, which is not so high as to deserve to bedescribed as " fort haut," being only a strong rapid. The latitude,as will be seen, is different in the two accounts, and incorrect inboth.* One of these maps is entitled Carte de la decouverte du SieurJoliet, 1674. Over the lines representing the Ohio are the words,"Route du sieur de la Salle pour aller dans le Mexique." Theother map of Joliet bears, also written over the Ohio, the words," Riviere par ou descendit le sieur de la Salle au sortir du lac Eriepour aller dans le Mexique." I have also another manuscript map,made before the voyage of Joliet and Marquette, and apparently inthe year 1673, on which the Ohio is represented as far as to a pointa little below Louisville, and over it is written, "Riviere Ohio,ainsy appellee par les Iroquois a cause de sa beaute, par oh le sieur

1671.] THE MISSISSIPPI. 33he discovered the Ohio may then he regarded asestablished. That he descended it to the Mississippi,he himself does not pretend ; nor is there reason tobelieve that he did so.With regard to his alleged voyage down theIllinois, the case is different. Here, he is reportedto have made a statement which admits but one interpretation,— that of the discovery by him of theMississippi prior to its discovery by Joliet andMarquette. This statement is attributed to a man) /not prone to vaunt his own exploits, who never pro-lx/claimed them in print, and whose testimony, even in \his own case, must therefore have weight. But itcomesto us through the medium of a person strongly ^.*biassed in favor of La Salle, and against Marquetteand the Jesuits.Seven years had passed since the alleged discovery,and La Salle had not before laid claim to it; althoughit was matter of notoriety that during five years ithad been claimed by Joliet, and that his claim wasgenerally admitted. The correspondence of thegovernor and the intendant is silent as to La Salle'shaving penetrated to the Mississippi, though theattempt was made under the auspices of the latter,as his own letters declare; while both had the discoveryof the great river earnestly at heart. Thegovernor, Frontenac, La Salle's ardent supporter andde la Salle est descendu." The Mississippi is not represented onthis map ; but— and this is very significant, as indicating the extentof La Salle's exploration of the following year — a amall part ofthe upper Illinois is laid down.

34 LA SALLE AND THE SULPITTANS. [1671.ally, believed in 1672, as his letters show, that theMississippi flowed into the Gulf of California ; and,two years later,its discovery by Joliet. 1he announces to the minister ColbertAfter La Salle's death, hisbrother, his nephew, and his niece addressed a memorialto the king, petitioning for certain grants inconsideration of the discoveries of their relative,which they specify at some length ;but they do notpretend that he reached the Mississippi before hisexpeditions of 1679 to 1682. 2 This silence is the^/more significant, as it is this very niece who hadpossession of the papers in which La Salle recountsthe journeys of which the issues are in question. 31 Lettre de Frontenac au Ministre, 14 Nov., 1674. He here speaksof " la grande riviere qu'il [Joliet] a trouvee, qui va du nord au sud,et qui est aussi large que celle du Saint-Laurent vis-a-vis de Quebec."Four years later, Frontenac speaks slightingly of Joliet, butneither denies his discovery of the Mississippi, nor claims it for LaSalle, in whose interest he writes.a Papiers de Famille; Memoire prisente au Roi. The following isan extract: "II parvient . . . jusqu'a la riviere des Illinois. IIyconstruisit un fort situe* a 350 lieues au-dela du fort de Frontenac,et suivant ensuite le cours de cette riviere, il trouva qu'elle se jettoitdans un grand fleuve appelle' par ceux du pays Mississippi, c'est adire grande eau, environ cent lieues au-dessous du fort qu'il venoitde construire." This fort was Fort Crevecoeur, built in 1680, nearthe site of Peoria. The memoir goes on to relate the descent of LaSalle to the Gulf, which concluded this expedition of 1679-82.1The following is an extract, given by Margry, from a letter ofthe aged Madeleine Cavelier, dated 21 FeVrier, 1756, and addressedto her nephew, M. Le Baillif, who had applied for the papers inbehalf of the minister, Silhouette " : J'ay cherche* une occasion sftrepour vous anvoye' les papiers de M. de la Salle. II y a des cartesque j'ay jointe a ces papiers, qui doivent prouver que, en 1676, M.de Lasalle avet dCja fet deux voyages en ces decouverte, puisqu'il7 avet une carte, que je vous envoye, par laquelle il est fait men-

;1671.] LA SALLE'S DISCOVERIES. 36Had they led him to the Mississippi, it is reasonablycertain that she would have made it known in hermemorial. La Salle discovered the Ohio, and in allprobability the Illinois also; but that he discoveredthe Mississippi has not been proved, nor, in the light \oof the evidence we have, is it likely.tion de l'androit auquel M. de Lasalle aborda pres le fleuve de Mississipi;un autre androit qu'il nomme le fleuve Colbert; en unautre il prans possession de ce pais au nom du roy et fait planterune crois."The words of the aged and illiterate writer are obscure, but herexpression " aborda pres " seems to indicate that La Salle had notreached the Mississippi prior to 1675, but only approached it.Finally, a memorial presented to Seignelay, along with the officialnarrative of 1679-81, by a friend of La Salle, whose object was toplace the discoverer and his achievements in the most favorablelight, contains the following :" II [La Salle] a estdrle premier aformer le dessein de ces descouvertes, qu'il communiqua, il y aplus de quinze ans, a M. de Courcelles, gouverneur, et a M. Talon,intendant du Canada, qui l'approuverent.II a fait ensuite plusieursvoyages de ce coste-la, et un entr'autres en 1669 avec MM. Dolier etGalinee, prestres du Seminaire de St. Sulpice. // est vray que lesieur Jolliet, pour le prevenir ,Jit un voyage in 1673, a la riviere Colbertmais ce fut uniquement pour y faire commerce." See Margry, ii.285. This passage is a virtual admission that Joliet reached theMississippi (Colbert) before La Salle.Margry, in a series of papers in the Journal General de V InstructionPublique for 1862, first took the position that La Salle reached theMississippi in 1670 and 1671, and has brought forward in defence ofit all the documents which his unwearied research enabled him todiscover. Father Tailhan, S. J., has replied at length, in the copiousnotes to his edition of Nicolas Perrot, but without having seen theprincipal document cited by Margry, and of which extracts havebeen given in the notes to this chapter.

CHAPTER III. .1670-1672.THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES.The Old Missions and the New. — A Change of Spirit. — LakeSuperior and the Copper-mines. — Ste. Marie. — La Pointe.— -MlCHILIMACKINAC. — JESUITS ON LAKE MICHIGAN. — AlLOCEZand Dablon. — The Jesuit Fur-trade.What were the Jesuits doing ? Since the ruin oftheir great mission of the Hurons, a perceptiblechange had taken place in them. They had put forthexertions almost superhuman, set at naught famine,disease, and death, lived with theself-abnegation ofsaints and died with the devotion of martyrs; andthe result of all had been a disastrous failure.Fromno short-coming on their part, but from the force ofevents beyond the sphere of their influence, a verydemonof havoc had crushed their incipient churches,slaughtered their converts, uprooted the populouscommunities on which their hopes had rested, andscattered them in bands of wretched fugitives far andwide through the wilderness. 1 They had devotedthemselves inthe fulness of faith to the building up1See " The Jesuits in North America/'

1670-72.] REPORTS OF THE JESUITS. 37of a Christian and Jesuit empire on the conversion ofthe great stationary tribes of the lakes ; and of thesenone remained but the Iroquois, the destroyers of therest, — among whom, indeed, was a field which mightstimulate their zeal by an abundant promise of sufferingsand martyrdoms, but which, from its geographi- .cal position, was too much exposed to Dutch and *English influence to promise great and decisiveresults. Their best hopes were now in the Northand the West; and thither, in great part, they hadturned their energies.We find them on Lake Huron, Lake Superior, andLake Michigan, laboring vigorously as of old, but ina spirit not quite the same. Now, as before, twoobjects inspired their zeal, — the " greater glory ofGod," and the influence and credit of the Order ofJesus. If the one motive had somewhat lost inpower, the other had gained. The epoch of thesaints and martyrs was passing away ;and henceforthwe find the Canadian Jesuit less and less an apostle,Jmore and more an explorer, a man of science, and a vpolitician. The yearly reports of the missions arestill, for the edification of the pious reader, filledwith intolerably tedious stories of baptisms, conversions,and the exemplary deportment of neophytes,— for these have become a part of the formula ; butthey are relieved abundantly by more mundanetopics. One finds observations on the winds, currents,and tides of the Great Lakes ; speculations ona subterranean outlet of Lake Superior; accounts of

;38 THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES. [1670-72.its copper-mines, and how we, the Jesuit fathers, arelaboring to explore them for the profit of the colonysurmises touching the North Sea, the South Sea, theSea of China, which we hope ere long to discover;and reports of that great mysterious river of whichtheIndians tell us, — flowing southward, perhaps tothe Gulf of Mexico, perhaps to the Vermilion Sea,— and the secrets whereof, with the help of theVirgin, we will soon reveal to the world.The Jesuit was as often a fanatic for his Order asfor his faith; and oftener yet the two fanaticismsmingled in him inextricably.for the saving of souls,Ardently as he burnedhe would have none saved onthe Upper Lakes except by his brethren and himself.He claimed a monopoly of conversion, with itsattendant monopoly of toil, hardship, and martyrdom.Often disinterested for himself, he was inordinatelyambitious for the great corporate power inwhich he had merged his own personality;and herelies one cause, among many, of the seeming contradictionswhich abound in the annals of the Order.Prefixed to the Relation of 1671 is that monumentof Jesuit hardihood and enterprise, the map of LakeSuperior, — a work of which, however, the exactnesshas been exaggerated, as compared with otherCanadian maps of the day. While making surveys,the priests were diligently looking for copper.Father Dablon reports that they had found it ingreatest abundance on Isle Minong, now Isle Royale." A day's journey from the head of the lake, on the

"1670-72.] STE. MARIE DU SAUT. 39aouth side, there is," he says, "a rock of copperweighing from six hundred to eight hundred pounds,lying on theshore where any who pass may see it;and he further speaks of great copper boulders in thebed of the river Ontonagan. 1There were two principal missions on the UpperLakes, which were, in a certain sense, the parents ofthe rest. One of these was Ste. Marie du Saut, —the same visited by Dollier and Galine'e, — at theoutlet of Lake Superior. This was a noted fishingplace;for the rapids were full of white-fish, andIndians came thither in crowds. The permanentresidents were an Ojibwa band, whom the Frenchcalled Sauteurs, and whose bark lodges were clustered1 He complains that the Indians were very averse to givinginformation on the subject, so that the Jesuits had not as yet discoveredthe metal in situ, though they hoped soon to do so. TheIndians told him that the copper had first been found by fourhunters, who had landed on a certain island, near the north shoreof the lake. Wishing to boil their food in a vessel of bark, theygathered stones on the shore, heated them red hot, and threwthem in, but presently discovered them to be pure copper. Theirrepast over, they hastened to re-embark, being afraid of the lynxesand the hares, which, on this island, were as large as dogs, andwhich would have devoured their provisions, and perhaps theircanoe. They took with them some of the wonderful stones; butscarcely had they left the island, when a deep voice, like thunder,sounded in their ears, " Who are these thieves who steal the toys ofmy children 1 " It was the God of the Waters, or some other powerfulmanito. The four adventurers retreated in great terror ; butthree of them soon died, and the fourth survived only long enoughto reach his village, and tell the story. The island has no foundation,but floats with the movement of the wind; and no Indian daresland on its shores, dreading the wrath of the manito. Dablon,Relation, 1670, 84.

;40 THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES. [1670-72.at the foot of the rapids, near the fort ofthe Jesuits.Besides these, a host of Algonquins, of various tribes,resortedthither in the spring and summer, — livingin abundance on the fishery,and dispersing in winterto wander and starve in scattered hunting-parties farand wide through the forests.The other chief mission was that of St. Esprit, atLa Pointe, near the western extremity of LakeSuperior. Here were the Hurons, fugitives twentyyears before from the slaughter oftheir countrymenand the Ottawas, who, like them, had sought anasylum from the rage of the Iroquois. Many othertribes— Illinois, Pottawattamies, Foxes, Menomonies,Sioux, Assiniboins, Knisteneaux, and a multitudebesides — came hither yearly to trade with the French.Here was a young Jesuit,Jacques Marquette, latelyarrived from the Saut Ste. Marie. His savage flockdisheartened him by its backslidings ; and the bestthat he could report of the Hurons, after allthe toiland all the blood lavished in their conversion, was,that they "still retain a little Christianity;" whilethe Ottawas are " far removed from the kingdom ofGod, and addicted beyond all other tribes to foulness,incantations, and sacrifices to evil spirits." 1Marquette heard from the Illinois— yearly visitors atLa Pointe — of the great river which they had crossedon their way, 2 and which, as he conjectured, flowed1 Lettre du Pere Jacques Marquette au R. P. Superieur des Mictions;in Relation, 1670, 87.aThe Illinois lived at this time beyond the Mississippi, thirty

1670-72.] MARQUETTE AND ANDR& 41into the Gulf of California. He heard marvels of italso from the Sioux, who lived on its banks; and astrong desire possessed him to explore themystery ofits course. A sudden calamity dashed his hopes.The Sioux — the Iroquois of the West, as the Jesuitscall them — had hitherto kept the peace with theexpatriated tribes of La Pointe ; but now, from somecause not worth inquiry, they broke intoopen war,and so terrified the Hurons and Ottawas that theyabandoned their settlements and fled. Marquettefollowed his panic-stricken flock, who, passing theSaut Ste. Marie, and descending to Lake Huron,stopped atlength, — the Hurons at Michilimackinac,and the Ottawas at the Great Manitoulin Island.Two missions were now necessary to minister tothe divided bands. That of Michilimackinac wasassigned to Marquette, and that of the ManitoulinIsland to Louis Andre*. The former took post atPoint St. Ignace, on the north shore of the Straits ofMichilimackinac, while the latter began the missionof St. Simon at the new abode of the Ottawas.When winter came, scattering his flock to theirhunting-grounds, Andre* made a missionary touramong the Nipissings and other neighboring tribes.The shores of Lake Huron had long been an utterdays' journey from La Pointe ; whither they had been driven bythe Iroquois, from their former abode near Lake Michigan. Dablon{Relation, 1671, 24, 25) says that they lived seven days' journeybeyond the Mississippi, in eight villages. A few years later, mostof them returned to the east side, and made their abode on the riverIllinois.

42 THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES. [1670-72.solitude, swept oftheir denizens by the terror of theall-conquering Iroquois; but now that these tigershad felt the power of the French, and learned for atime to leave their Indian allies in peace, the fugitivehordes were returning to their ancient abodes.Andrews experience among them was ofthe roughest.The staple of his diet was acorns and tripe de roche,— a species of lichen, which, being boiled, resolveditself into a black glue, nauseous, but not void ofnourishment. At times, he was reduced to moss, thebark of trees, or moccasins and old moose-skins cutinto strips and boiled. His hosts treated him veryill,and the worst of their fare was always his portion.When spring came to his relief, he returned to hispost of St. Simon, with impaired digestion andunabatedzeal.Besides the Saut Ste.both noted fishing-places,Marie and Michilimackinac,there was another spot, noless famous for game and fish, and therefore a favoriteresort of Indians. This was the head of the GreenBay of Lake Michigan. 1 Here and in adjacentdistricts several distincttribes had made their abode.The Menomonies were on the river which bears theirname; the Pottawattamies and Winnebagoes were1The Baye des Puants of the early writers ; or, more correctly,La Baye des Eaux Puantes. The Winnebago Indians, living nearit, were called Les Puans, apparently for no other reason thanbecause some portion of the bay was said to have an odor likethe sea.Lake Michigan, the "Lac des Illinois" of the French, was,according to a letter of Father Allouez, called " Machihiganing " bythe Indians. Dablon writes the name " Mitchiganon."

;1670-72.] THE GREEN BAY MISSION. 43near the borders of the bay ;the Sacs, on Fox Riverthe Mascoutins, Miamis, and Kickapoos, on the sameriver,above Lake Winnebago; and the Outagamies,or Foxes, on a tributary ofit flowing from the north.Green Bay was manifestly suited for a mission ;and,as early as the autumn of 1669, Father ClaudeAllouez was sent thither to found one.After nearlyperishing by the way, he set out to explore thedestined field of his labors, and went as far as thetown of the Mascoutins. Early in the autumn of1670, having been joined by Dablon, Superior of themissions on the Upper Lakes, he made another journey,but not until the two fathers had held a councilwith the congregated tribes at St. Francois Xavier;for so they named their mission of Green Bay.Here,as they harangued their naked audience, their gravitywas put to the proof; for a band of warriors, anxiousto do them honor, walked incessantly up and down,aping the movements ofthe soldiers on guard beforethe governor's tent at Montreal. " We could hardlykeep from laughing," writes Dablon, "though wewere discoursing on very important subjects ;namely,the mysteries of our religion, and the things necessaryto escaping from eternal fire." 1The fathers were delighted with the country,which Dablon calls an earthly paradise ;but he addsthat the way to it is as hard as the path to heaven.He alludes especially to the rapids of Fox River,which gave the two travellers great trouble.Havingi Relation, 1671, 43.

44 THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES. [1670-72.safely passed them, they saw an Indian idol on thebank, similar to that which Dollier and Galine'e foundat Detroit, — being merely a rock, bearing someresemblance to a man, and hideously painted. Withthe help of their attendants, they threw it into theriver. Dablon expatiates on the buffalo, which hedescribes apparently on the report of others, as hisdescription is not very accurate. Crossing WinnebagoLake, the two priests followed the river leadingto the town of the Mascoutins and Miamis, whichthey reached on the fifteenth of September. 1 Thesetwo tribes lived together within the compass of thesame enclosure of palisades, — to the number, it issaid, of more than three thousand souls. The missionaries,who had brought a highly colored pictureof the Last Judgment, called the Indians to counciland displayed it before them; while Allouez, whospoke Algonquin, harangued them on hell,demons,and eternal flames. They listened with open ears,beset him night and day with questions, and invitedhim and his companion to unceasing feasts. Theywere welcomed in every lodge, and followed everywherewith eyes of curiosity, wonder, and awe.Dablon overflows with praises of the Miami chief,who was honored by his subjects like a king, and1This town was on the Neenah or Fox River, above Lake Winnebago.The Mascoutins, Fire Nation, or Nation of the Prairie, areextinct or merged in other tribes. See "The Jesuits in NorthAmerica." The Miamis soon removed to the banks of the riverSt. Joseph, near Lake Michigan.

;1670-72.] THE CROSS AMONG THE FOXES. 45whose demeanor towards histhe savage.guests had no savor ofTheir hosts told them of the great river Mississippi,rising far in the north and flowing southward, — theyknew not whither, — and of many tribes that dweltalong its banks. When at length they took theirdeparture, they left behind them a reputation asmedicine-men oftranscendent power.In the winter following, Allouez visited the Foxes,whom he found in extreme ill-humor. They wereincensed against the French by the ill-usage whichsome of their tribe had lately met when on a tradingvisit to Montreal ; and they received the Faith withshouts of derision. The priest was horror-strickenat what he saw.Their lodges, each containing fromfive to ten families, seemed in his eyes like seragliosfor some of the chiefs had eight wives. He armedhimself with patience, and atlength gained a hearing.Nay, he succeeded so well, that when heshowed them his crucifix they would throw tobaccoon it as an offering ; and, on another visit which hemade them soon after, he taught the whole village tomake the sign of the cross. A war-party was goingout against theirenemies, and he bethought him oftelling them the story of the Cross and the EmperorConstantine.This so wrought upon them that theyall daubed the figure of a cross on their shields ofbull-hide, setout for the war, and came back victorious,extolling the sacred symbol as a great warmedicine.

46 THE JESUITS ON THE LAKES. [1670-72."Thus it is," writes Dablon, who chronicles theincident, " that our holy faith is established amongthese people ; and we have good hope that we shallsoon carry it to the famous river called the Mississippi,yIandperhaps even to the South Sea." 1 Most thingshuman have their phases of the ludicrous; and theheroism of these untiring priests is no exception tothe rule.>The various missionary stationswere much alike.They consisted of a chapel (commonly of logs) andone or more houses, with perhaps a storehouseand aworkshop; the whole fenced with palisades, andforming, in fact, a stockade fort, surrounded withclearings and cultivated fields. It is evident thatthe priests had need of other hands than their ownand those of the few lay brothers attached to themission. They required men inured to labor, accustomedto the forest life, able to guide canoes andhandle tools and weapons. In the earlier epoch ofthe missions, when enthusiasm was at its height,they were served in great measure by volunteers,who joined them through devotion or penitence, andwho were known as dowries^ or "given men." Oflate, the number of these had much diminished; andthey now relied chiefly on hired men, or engages.These were employed in building, hunting, fishing,clearing, and tilling the ground, guiding canoes, and(if faith is to be placed in reports current throughoutthe colony) in trading with the Indians for the profiti Relation, 1672, 42.

1670-72.] TRADING WITH INDIANS. 47of the missions.This charge of trading — which, iithe results were applied exclusively to the supportof the missions, does not of necessity involve muchcensure — is vehemently reiterated in many quarters,including the official despatches of the governor ofCanada; while, so far as i can discover, the Jesuitsnever distinctly denied it, and on several occasionsthey partially admitted its truth. 11This charge was made from the first establishment of the mis'sions. For remarks on it, see " The Jesuits in North America " an*** The Old Regime in Canada."

CHAPTER IV.1667-1672.FRANCE TAKES POSSESSION OF THE WEST.Talon. — Saint-Lusson. — Perrot. — The Ceremony at Saut SteMarie. — The Speech of Allouez. — Count Frontenac.Jean Talon, intendant of Canada, was full ofprojects for the good of the colony. On the onehand, he set himself to the development of its industries,and, on the other, to the extension of itsdomain. He meant to occupy the interior of thecontinent, control the rivers, which were its onlyhighways, and hold it for France against every othernation. On the east, England was to be hemmedwithin a narrow strip of seaboard; while, on thesouth, Talon aimed at securing a port on the Gulf ofMexico, to keep the Spaniards in check, and disputewith them the possession of the vast regions whichthey claimed as their own. But the interior of thecontinent was still an unknown world.him to explore it;It behoovedand to that end he availed himselfof Jesuits, officers, fur-traders, and enterprisingschemers like La Salle. His efforts at discoveryseem to have been conducted with a singular economy

;1670.] SAINT-LUSSON AND PERROT. 49of the King's purse. La Salle paid all the expensesof his firstexpedition made under Talon's auspicesand apparently of the second also, though the intendantannounces it in his despatches as an expeditionsent out by himself. 1 When, in 1670, he orderedDaumont de Saint-Lusson to search for copper mineson Lake Superior, and at the same time to take formalpossession of the whole interior for the King, it wasarranged that he should pay the costs ofby trading with the Indians. 2the journeySaint-Lusson set out with a small party of men,and Nicolas Perrot as his interpreter. AmongCanadian voyageurs, few names are so conspicuousas that of Perrot ; not because there were not otherswho matched him in achievement, but because hecould write, and left behind him a tolerable accountof what he had seen. 3 He was at this time twentysixyears old,and had formerly been an engage of theJesuits. He was a man of enterprise, courage, and1At least, La Salle was in great need of money, about the timeof his second journey. On the sixth of August, 1671, he hadreceived on credit, "dans son grand besoin et ne'cessite," fromBranssac, fiscal attorney of the Seminary, merchandise to the amountof four hundred and fifty livres ; and on the eighteenth of Decemberof the following year he gave his promise to pay the same sum,in money or furs, in the August following.in the ancient records of Montreal.Faillon found the papers2 In his^despatch of 2d Nov., 1671, Talon writes to the King that" Saint-Lusson's expedition will cost nothing, as he has receivedbeaver enough from the Indians to pay him."8 Moeurs, Coustumes, et Relligion des Sauvages de VAmerique Septentrionale.This work of Perrot, hitherto unpublished, appeared in1864, under the editorship of Father Tailhan, S. J. A great part ofit is incorporated inLa Potherie.4

;50 FRANCE TAKES POSSESSION, ETC. [1670.address, — the last being especially shown in hisdealings with Indians, over whom he had greatinfluence. He spoke Algonquin fluently, and wasfavorably known to many tribes of that family.Saint-Lusson wintered atthe Manitoulin Islands;while Perrot, having first sent messages to the tribesof the north, inviting them to meet the deputy ofthegovernor at the Saut Ste. Marie in the followingspring, proceeded to Green Bay, to urge the sameinvitation upon the tribes of that quarter. Theyknew him well, and greeted him with clamors ofwelcome. The Miamis, it is said, received him witha sham battle,which was designed to do him honor,but by which nerves more susceptible would havebeen severely shaken. 1 They entertained him alsowith a grand game of la crosse, the Indian ball-play.Perrot gives a marvellous account of the authorityand state of the Miami chief, who, he says, wasattended day and night by a guard of warriors, — anassertion which would be incredible, were it notsustained by the account of the same chief given bythe Jesuit Dablon. Of the tribes of the Bay, thegreater part promised to send delegates to the Sautbut the Pottawattamies dissuaded the Miami potentatefrom attempting so long a journey, lest thefatigue incident to it might injure his health ;and he1See La Potherie, ii. 125. Perrot himself does not mention it.Charlevoix erroneously places this interview at Chicago. Perrot'snarrative shows that he did not go farther than the tribes of GreenBay ; and the Miamis were then, as we have seen, on the upper partof Fox River.

;1671.] CEREMONY AT THE SAUT. 51therefore deputed them to represent him and histribesmen at the great meeting. Their principalchiefs, with those of the Sacs, Winnebagoes, andMenomonies, embarked, and paddled for the placeof rendezvous, where they and Perrot arrived on thefifth of May. 1Saint-Lusson was here with his men, fifteen innumber, among whom was -J^ouis Joliet2and Indianswere fast thronging in from their wintering grounds,attracted, as usual, by the fishery of the rapids ormoved by the messages sent by Perrot, — Crees,Monsonis, Amikoue's, Nipissings, and many more.When fourteen tribes, or their representatives, hadarrived, Saint-Lusson prepared to execute the commissionwith which he was charged.At the foot of the rapids was the village of theSaute urs, above the village was a hill, and hard bystood the fort of the Jesuits. On the morning of thefourteenth of June, Saint-Lusson led his followers tothe top of the hill, all fully equipped and underarms. Here, too, in the vestments of their priestlyoffice,were four Jesuits, — Claude Dablon, Superiorof the Missions of the lakes, Gabriel Druilletes,Claude Allouez, and Louis Andre'. 8All around thegreat throng of Indians stood, or crouched, orreclined at length, with eyes and ears intent. A1 Perrot, Memoires, 127.2 Proces Verbal de la Prise de Possession, etc., 14 Juin, 1671. Thenames are attached to this instrument.8Marquette is said to have been present ; but the official act,juit cited, proves the contrary. He was still at St. Esprit.

52 FRANCE TAKES POSSESSION, ETC. [1671.VIlarge cross of wood had been made ready. Dablon,in solemn form, pronounced his blessing on it; andthen it was reared and planted inthe ground, whilethe Frenchmen, uncovered, sang the Vexilla Regis.Then a post of cedar was planted beside it, with ametal plate attached, engraven with the royal arms;while Saint-Lusson's followers sang the Exaudiat,and one of the Jesuits uttered a prayer for the King.Saint-Lusson now advanced, and, holding hisswordin one hand, and raising with the other a sod ofearth, proclaimed in a loud voice, —u In the name of the Most High, Mighty, andRedoubted Monarch, Louis, Fourteenth of that name,Most Christian King of France and of Navarre, I takepossession of this place, Sainte Marie du Saut, asalso of Lakes Huron and Superior, the Island ofManitoulin, and all countries, rivers, lakes, andstreams contiguous and adjacent thereunto, ^— boththose which have been discovered and those whichmay be discovered hereafter, in all their length andbreadth, bounded on the one side by the seas of theNorth and of the West, and on the other by theSouth Sea :declaring to the nations thereof that fromthis time forth they are vassals of his Majesty, boundto obey his laws and follow his customs ;promisingthem on his part all succor and protection against theincursions and invasions of their enemies : declaringto all other potentates, princes, sovereigns, states,and republics, — to them and to their subjects, — thatthey cannot and are not to seize or sattle upon any

1671.] ALLOUEZ'S HARANGUE. 53parts of the aforesaid countries, save only under thegood pleasure of His Most Christian Majesty, and of ^°l(jA^him who will govern in his behalf; and this on painof incurring his resentment and the efforts of hisarms. Vive le Boi." 1The Frenchmen fired their guns and shouted " Vivele Roi," and the yelps of the astonished Indiansmingled with the din.What now remains of the sovereignty thus pom- ^ipously proclaimed? Now and then the accents ofFrance on the lips of some straggling boatman or 2*

'54 FRANCE TAKES POSSESSION, ETC. [1671.beside him. He is like a great tree, and they arebut thelittle herbs that one walks over and tramplesunder foot. You know Onontio, 1 that famous chiefat Quebec ;you know and you have seen that he isthe terror of the Iroquois, and that his very namemakes them tremble, since he has laid their countrywaste and burned their towns with fire. Across thesea there are ten thousand Onontios like him, whoare but the warriors of our great King, of whom Ihave told you. When he says, 4 1 am going to war,everybody obeys his orders; and each of these tenthousand chiefs raisesa troop of a hundred warriors,some on sea and some on land. Some embark ingreat ships, such as you have seen at Quebec.Yourcanoes carry only four or five men, or, at the most,ten or twelve ; but our ships carry four or five hundred,and sometimes a thousand.by land, and in such numbers that ifOthers go to warthey stood in adouble file they would reach from here to Mississaquenk,which is more than twenty leagues off. Whenour King attacks his enemies, he is more terrible thanthe thunder : the earth trembles ; the air and the seaare all on fire with the blaze of his cannon :he is seenin the midst of his warriors, covered over with theblood of his enemies, whom he kills in such numbersthat he does not reckon them by the scalps, but bythe streams of blood which he causes to flow. Hetakes so many prisoners that he holds them in noaccount, but lets them go where they will, to show1The Indian name of the governor of Canada.

1671.] ALLOUEZ'S HARANGUE. 55that he is not afraid of them.But now nobody daresmake war on him. All the nations beyond the seahave submitted to him and begged humbly for peace.Men come from every quarter of the earth to listento him and admire him. All that is done in theworld isdecided by him alone." But what shall I say of his riches ? You thinkyourselves rich when you have ten or twelve sacks ofcorn, a few hatchets, beads, kettles,and other thingsof that sort. He has cities of his own, more thanthere are of men in all this country for five hundredleagues around. In each city there are storehouseswhere there are hatchets enough to cut down all yourforests, kettles enough to cook all your moose, andbeads enough to fill all your lodges. His house islonger than from here to the top of the Saut, — thatis to say,more than half a league, — and higher thanyour tallest trees ; and it holds more families than thelargest of your towns." 1 The father added more ina similar strain ; but the peroration of his harangueis not on record.Whatever impression this curious effort of Jesuitrhetoric may have produced upon the hearers, it didnot prevent them from stripping the royalthearms frompost to which they were nailed, as soon as Saint-Lusson and his men had left the Saut; probably, notbecause they understood the import of the symbol,but because they feared it as a charm.Saint-Lussoni A close translation of Dablon's report of the speech. Se«Relation^ 1671, 27.

;56 FRANCE TAKES POSSESSION, ETC. [1672.proceeded to Lake Superior, where, however, lieaccomplished nothing, except, perhaps, a traffic withthe Indians on his own account; and he soon afterreturned to Quebec.Talon was resolved to find theMississippi, the most interesting object of search,and seemingly the most attainable, in the wild andvague domain which he had just claimed for theKing. The Indians had described it; the Jesuitswere eager to discover it; and La Salle, if he hadnot reached it,had explored two several avenues bywhich it might be approached. Talon looked abouthim for a fit agent of the enterprise, and madechoice of Louis Joliet, who had returned from LakeSuperior. 1 But the intendant was not to see thefulfilment of his design.His busy and useful careerin Canada was drawing to an end. A misunderstandinghad arisen between him and the governor,Courcelle.Both were faithful servants of the Kingbut the relations between the two chiefs of the colonywere of a nature necessarily so critical, that a conflictof authority was scarcely to be avoided. Eachthought his functions encroached upon, and bothasked for recall. Another governor succeeded ; onewho was to stamp his mark, broad, bold, and ineffaceable,on the most memorable page of French-AmericanHistory, — Louis de Buade, Count of Palluau andFrontenac.1 Lettre de Frontenac au Ministre, 2 Nov., 1672. In the BrodheadCollection, by a copyist's error, the name of the Cheralier de Grandfontaineis substituted for that of Talon.

—CHAPTER V.1672-1675.THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPIjoliet sent to find the mississippi. — jacques marquette.Departure. — Green Bat. — The Wisconsin. — The Mississippi.— Indians. — Manitous. — The Arkansas. — The Illinois.— Joliet's Misfortune. — Marquette at Chicago: hisIllness ; his Death.If Talon had remained in the colony, Frontenacwould infallibly have quarrelled with him; but hewas too clear-sighted not to approve his plans for thediscovery and occupation of the interior. Beforesailing fqr France, Talon recommended Joliet as asuitable agent for the discovery of the Mississippi,and the governor accepted his counsel. 1Louis Joliet was the son of a wagon-maker in theservice of the Company of the Hundred Associates, 2then owners of Canada. He was born at Quebec in1645, and was educated by the Jesuits. When stillvery young, he resolved to be a priest.He receivedthe tonsure and the minor orders at the age of seven-1 Lettre de Frontenac au Ministre, 2 Nov., 1672 ; Ibid., 14 Nov., 1674.2See " The Jesuits in North America/'

58 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.teen.Four years after, he is mentioned with especialhonor for the part he bore in the disputes in philosophy,at which the dignitaries of the colony werepresent, and in which the intendant himself tookpart. 1 Not long after, he renounced his clericalvocation, and turned fur-trader. Talon sent him,with one Pe're*, to explore the copper-mines of LakeSuperior; and itwas on his return from this expeditionthat he met La Salle and the Sulpitians near thehead of Lake Ontario. 2In what we know of Joliet, there is nothing thaty reveals any salient or distinctive trait of character,any especial breadth of view or boldness of design.He appears to have been simply a merchant, intelligent,well educated, courageous, hardy, and enterprising.Though he had renounced the priesthood,he retained his partiality for the Jesuits ; and it ismore than probable that their influence had aidednot a little to determine Talon's choice. One of their1 " Le 2 Juillet (1666) les premieres disputes de philosophic sefont dans la congregation avec succes. Toutes les puissances s'ytrouvent ; M. l'Intendant entr'autres y a argumente tres-bien. M.Jolliet et Pierre Francheville y ont tres-bien repondu de toute lalogique." — Journal des Jtsuites.2Nothing was known of Joliet till Shea investigated his history.Ferland, in his Notes sur les Rfyistres de Notre-Dame de Quebec;Faillon, in his Colonie Francaise en Canada ; and Margry, in a seriesof papers in the Journal G€n€ral de l'Instruction Publique, — havethrown much new light on his life. From journals of a voyagemade by him at a later period to the coast of Labrador, given inubstance by Margry, he seems to have been a man of close andintelligent observation. His mathematical acquirements appear tohare been very considerable.

1673.] MARQUETTE. 59number, Jacques Marquette, was chosen to accompanyhim.He passed up the lakes to Michilimackinac, andfound his destined companion at Point St.Ignace, onthe north side of the strait, where, in his palisadedmission-house and chapel, he had labored for twoyears past to instruct the Huron refugees from St.Esprit, and a band of Ottawas who had joined them.Marquette was born in 1637, of an old and honorablefamily at Laon, in the north of France, and wasnow thirty-five years of age. When about seventeen,he had joined the Jesuits, evidently from motivespurely religious ;and in 1666 he was sent to the missionsof Canada. At first, he was destined to thestation of Tadoussac ; and to prepare himself for it,he studied the Montagnais language under GabrielDruilletes. But his destination was changed, and hewas sent to the Upper Lakes in 1668, where he hadsince remained.His talents as a linguist must havebeen great; for within a few years he learned tospeak with ease six Indian languages. The traits /of his character are unmistakable. He was of thebrotherhood of the early Canadian missionaries, andthe true counterpart of Gamier or Jogues. He wasa devout votary ofthe Virgin Mary, who, imaged tohis mind in shapes of the most transcendent lovelinesswith which the pencil of human genius has everinformed the canvas, was to him the object of anadoration not unmingled with a sentiment of chivalrousdevotion. The longings of a serjsitive heart,

60 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.divorced from earth, sought solace in the skies. Asubtile element of romance was blended with thefervor of his worship, and hung like an illuminedcloud over the harsh and hard realities of his dailylot. Kindled by the smile of his celestial mistress,his gentle and noble nature knew no fear. For herhe burned to dare and to suffer,discover new landsand conquer new realms to her sway.He begins the journal of his voyage thus: "Theday of the Immaculate Conception of the HolyVirgin; whom I had continually invoked since Icame to this country of the Ottawas to obtain fromGod the favor of being enabled to visit the nations onthe river Mississippi, — this very day was preciselythat on which M. Joliet arrived with orders fromCount Frontenac, our governor, and from M. Talon,our intendant, to go with me on this discovery. Iwas all the more delighted at this good news, becauseI saw my plans about tobe accomplished, and foundmyself in the happy necessity of exposing my life forthe salvation of all these tribes, — and especially ofthe Illinois, who, when I was at Point St. Esprit,had begged me very earnestly to bring the word ofGod among them."The outfit of the travellers was very simple.They provided themselves with two birch canoes, anda supply of smoked meat and Indian corn ;embarkedwith five men, and began their voyage on the seventeenthof May. They had obtained all possible informationfrom the Indians, and had made, by means

;1673] DEPARTURE. 61of it, a species of map of their intended route."Above all," writes Marquette, "I placed our voyageunder the protection ofthe Holy Virgin Immaculate,promising that if she granted us the favor of discoveringthe great river,the Conception." 1I would give it the name ofTheir course was westward; and,plying their paddles, they passed the Straits ofMichilimackinac, and coasted the northern shoresof Lake Michigan, landing at evening to build theircamp-fire at the edge of the forest,and draw up theircanoes on the strand. They soon reached the riverMenomonie, and ascended it to the village of theMenomonies, or Wild-rice Indians. 2 When theytold them the object of their voyage, they were filledwith astonishment, and used their best ingenuity todissuade them. The banks of the Mississippi, theysaid, were inhabited by ferocious tribes, who put everystranger to death, tomahawking all new-comers withoutcause or provocation. They added that therewas a demon in a certain part of the river, whoseroar could be heard at a great distance, and whowould engulf them in the abyss where he dwelt; thatits waters were full of frightful monsters, who woulddevour them and their canoe; and, finally, that the1The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, sanctioned in ourown time by the Pope, was always a favorite tenet of the Jesuitsand Marquette was especially devoted to it.2The Malhoumines, Malouminek, Oumalouminek, or Nation desFolles-Avoines, of early French writers. The folle-avoine, wild oatsor " wild rice " (Zizania aquatica), wag their ordinary food, as alsoof other tribes of thig region.

"62 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.heat was so great that they would perishinevitably.Marquette set their counsel at naught, gave them afew words of instruction in the mysteries of the Faith,taught them a prayer, and bade them farewell.The travellers next reached the mission at the headof Green Bay; entered Fox River; with difficultyand labor dragged their canoes up the long andtumultuous rapids; crossed Lake Winnebago; andfollowed the quiet windings of the river beyond,where they glided through an endlessgrowth of wildrice, and scared the innumerable birds that fed upon it.On either hand rolled the prairie, dotted with grovesand trees, browsing elk and deer. 1 On the seventhof June, they reached the Mascoutins and Miamis,who, since the visit of Dablon and Allouez, had beenjoined by the Kickapoos. Marquette, who had aneye for natural beauty, was delighted with the situationof the town, which he describes as standing onthe crown of a hill; while, all around, the prairiestretched beyond the sight,interspersed with grovesand belts of tall forest. But he was still moredelighted when he saw a cross planted in the midstof the place. The Indians had decorated it with anumber of dressed deer-skins, red girdles,and bowsand arrows, which they had hung upon it as an offeringto the Great Manitou of the French ; a sight bywhich Marquette says he was "extremely consoled.1Dablon, on his journey with Allouez in 1670, was delightedwith the aspect of the country and the abundance of game alongthis river. Carver, a century later, speaks to the same effect, sayingthat the birds rose up in clouds from the wild-rice marshes.

;1673.] THE WISCONSIN RIVER. 63The travellers had no sooner reached the town thanthey called the chiefs and elders to a council.Joliettold them that the governor of Canada had sent himto discover new countries, and that God had sent hiscompanion to teach the true faithto the inhahitantsand he prayed for guides to show them the way tothe waters of the Wisconsin. The council readilyconsented ; and on the tenth of June the Frenchmenembarked again, with two Indians to conduct them.All the town came down to the shore to see theirdeparture. Here were the Miamis, with long locksof hair dangling over each ear, after a fashion whichMarquette thought very becoming ;and here, too, theMascoutins and the Kickapoos, whom he describesas mere boors in comparison with theirMiami townsmen.All stared alike at the seven adventurers,marvelling that men could be found to risk anenterpriseso hazardous.The river twisted among lakes and marshes chokedwith wild rice ; and, but for their guides, they couldscarcely have followed the perplexed and narrowchannel. It brought them at last to the portage,where, after carrying their canoes a mile and a halfover the prairie and through the marsh, they lauDchedthem on the Wisconsin, bade farewell to the watersthat flowed to the St. Lawrence, and committedthemselves to the current that was to bear them theyknew not whither, — perhaps to the Gulf of Mexico,perhaps to the South Sea or the Gulf of California.They glided calmly down the tranquil stream, by

1673.] THE MISSISSIPPI. 65a "spade-fish," whose eccentric appearance greatlyastonished them. At length the buffalo began toappear, grazing in herds on the great prairies whichthen bordered the river ;and Marquette describes thefierce and stupid look of the old bulls, as they staredat the intruders through the tangled mane whichnearly blinded them.They advanced with extreme caution, landed atnight, and made a fire to cook their evening meal;then extinguished it, embarked again, paddled someway farther, and anchored in the stream, keeping aman on the watch till morning. They had journeyedmore than a fortnight without meeting a humanbeing, when, on the twenty-fifth, they discoveredfootprints of men in the mud of the western bank,and a well-trodden path that led to the adjacentprairie. Joliet and Marquette resolved to follow it;and leaving the canoes in charge of their men, theyset out on their hazardous adventure. The day wasfair, and they walked two leagues in silence, followingthe path through the forest and across the sunnyprairie, till they discovered an Indian village on thebanks of a river, and two others on a hill half aleague distant. 1 Now, with beating hearts, theyinvoked the aid of Heaven, and, again advancing,came so near, without being seen, that they could1The Indian villages, under the names of Peouaria {Peoria) andMoingouena, are represented in Marquette's map upon a river correspondingin position with the Des Moines ; though the distancefrom the Wisconsin, as given by him, would indicate a river farthernorth.

66 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.hear the voices of the Indians among the wigwams.Then they stood forth in full view, and shouted toattract attention. There was great commotion in thevillage. The inmates swarmed out of their huts, andfour of their chief men presently came forward tomeet the strangers,advancing very deliberately, andholding up toward the sun two calumets, or peacepipes,decorated with feathers. They stoppedabruptly before the two Frenchmen, and stood gazingat them without speaking a word. Marquettewas much relieved on seeing that they wore Frenchcloth,whence he judged that they must be friendsand allies. He broke the silence, and asked themwho they were ; whereupon they answered that theywere Illinois, and offered the pipe; which havingbeen duly smoked, they all went together to thevillage. Here the chief received the travellers aftera singular fashion, meant to do them honor. Hestood stark naked at the door of a large wigwam,holding up both hands as if to shield his eyes."Frenchmen, how bright the sun shines when youcome to visit us! All our village awaits you; andyou shall enter our wigwams in peace." So saying,he led them into his own, which was crowded tosuffocation with savages, staring at their guests insilence. Having smoked with the chiefs and oldmen, they were invited to visit the great chief of allthe Illinois, at one of the villages they had seen inthe distance; and thither they proceeded, followedby a throng of warriors, squaws, and children. On

1673.] THE ILLINOIS INDIANS. 67arriving, they were forced to smoke again, and listento a speech of welcome from the great chief, whodelivered it standing between two old men, nakedlike himself.His lodge was crowded with the dignitariesof the tribe, whom Marquette addressed inAlgonquin, announcing himself asa messenger sentby the God who had made them, and whom itbehooves fchem to recognize and obey. He added afew words touching the power and glory of CountFrontenac, and concluded by asking informationconcerning the Mississippi, and the tribes along itsbanks, whom he was on his way to visit. The chiefreplied with a speech of compliment ; assuring hisguests that their presence added flavor to his tobacco,made theriver more calm, the sky more serene, andthe earth more beautiful. In conclusion, he gavethem a young slave and a calumet, begging themat the same time to abandon their purpose of descendingthe Mississippi.A feast of four courses now followed. First, awooden bowl full of a porridge of Indian meal boiledwith grease was set before the guests ;and the masterof ceremonies fed them in turn, like infants, with a . i^Jtlarge spoon. Then appeared a platter of fish; andthe same functionary, carefully removing the boneswith his fingers, and blowing on the morsels to coolthem, placed them in the mouths ofthe two Frenchmen.A large dog, killed and cooked for the occasion,was next placed before them; but, failing totempt their fastidious appetites, was supplanted by a^r

68 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.dish of fat buffalo-meat, which concluded the entertainment.The crowd having dispersed, buffalo-robeswere spread on the ground, and Marquette andJoliet spent the night on the scene of the late festivity.In the morning, the chief, with some sixhundred of his tribesmen, escorted them to theircanoes, and bade them, after their stolid fashion, afriendly farewell.Again they were on their way, slowly driftingdown the great river. They passed the mouth of theIllinois, and glided beneath that line of rocks on theeastern side,cut into fantastic forms by the elements,and marked as " The Ruined Castles " on some of theearly French maps. Presently they beheld a sightwhich reminded them that the Devil was still lordparamount of this wilderness. On the flat face ofa high rock were painted, in red, black, and green, apair of monsters, each " as large as a calf,with hornslike a deer, red eyes, a beard like a tiger, and afrightful expression of countenance. The face issomething likethat of a man, the body covered withscales; and the tail so long that it passes entirelyround the body, over the head and between the legs,ending like that of a fish." Such is the accountwhich the worthy Jesuit gives of these manitous, orIndian gods. 1 He confesses that at first they fright-1The rock where these figures were painted is immediately abovethe city of Alton. The tradition of their existence remains, thoughthey are entirely effaced by time. In 1867, when I passed the place,a part of the rock had been quarried away, and, instead of Marquette'smonsters, it bore a huge advertisement of "Plantation

1673.] A REAL DANGER. 69ened him ;and his imagination and that of his credulouscompanions was so wrought upon by theseunhallowed efforts of Indian art,that they continuedfor a long time to talk of them as they plied theirpaddles. They were thus engaged, when they weresuddenly aroused by a real danger. A torrent ofyellow mud rushed furiously athwart thecalm bluecurrent of the Mississippi, boiling and surging, andsweeping in its course logs, branches, and uprootedtrees. They had reached the mouth of the Missouri,where that savage river, descending from its madcareer through a vast unknown of barbarism, pouredits turbid floods into the bosom of its gentler sister.Their light canoes whirled on the miry vortex likedry leaves on an angry brook. "I never," writesMarquette, "saw anything more terrific;" but theyescaped with their fright, and held their way downthe turbulent and swollen current of the now unitedrivers. 1They passed the lonely forest that coveredBitters." Some years ago, certain persons, with more zeal thanknowledge, proposed to restore the figures, after conceptions oftheir own ; but the idea was abandoned.Marquette made a drawing of the two monsters, but it is lost. Ihave, however, a fac-simile of a map made a few years later, byorder of the Intendant Duchesneau, which is decorated with theportrait of one of them, answering to Marquette's description, andprobably copied from his drawing. St. Cosme, who saw them in1699, says that they were even then almost effaced. Douay andJoutel also speak of them, — the former, bitterly hostile to hisJesuit contemporaries, charging Marquette with exaggeration inhis account of them. Joutel could see nothing terrifying in theirappearance ; but he says that his Indians made sacrifices to themas they passed.1The Missouri is called " Pekitanoui " by Marquette. It also

70 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.the site of the destined city of St. Louis, and, afew days later, saw on their left the mouth of thestream to which the Iroquois had given the wellmeritedname of Ohio, or the "Beautiful River." 1Soon they began to see the marshy shores buried ina dense growth of the cane, with its tall straightstems and feathery light-green foliage. The sunglowed through thehazy air with a languid stiflingheat, and by day and night mosquitoes in myriadsleft them no peace. They floated slowly down thecurrent, crouched in the shade of the sails whichthey had spread as awnings, when suddenly theysaw Indians on the east bank. The surprise wasmutual, and each party was as much frightened asthe other. Marquette hastened to display the calumetwhich the Illinois had given him by way ofpassport; and the Indians, recognizing the pacificsymbol, replied with an invitation to land. Evidently,they were in communication with Europeans,for they were armed with guns, knives, and hatchets,wore garments of cloth, and carried their gunpowderin small bottles of thick glass. They feasted theFrenchmen with buffalo-meat, bear's oil, and whiteplums; and gave them a variety of doubtful inbears,on early French maps, the names of " Riviere des Osages,"and " Riviere des Emissourites," or " Oumessourits." On Marquette'smap, a tribe of this name is placed near its banks, justabove the Osages. Judging by the course of the Mississippi that itdischarged into the Gulf of Mexico, he conceived the hope of oneday reaching the South Sea by way of the Missouri.1 Called, on Marquette's map, " Ouabouskiaou." On some of theearliest maps, it is called "Ouabache " (Wabash).

1673.] THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI. 71formation, including the agreeable but delusive assurancethat they would reach the mouth of th© riverin ten days. It was, in fact, more than a thousandmiles distant.They resumed their course, and again floated downthe interminable monotony of river, marsh, andforest. Day after day passed on in solitude, andthey had paddled some three hundred miles sincetheir meeting with the Indians, when, as they nearedthe mouth of the Arkansas, they saw a cluster ofwigwams on the west bank. Their inmates were allastir, yelling the war-whoop, snatching their weapons,and running to the shore to meet the strangers, who,on their part, called for succor to the Virgin. Intruth, they had need of her aid; for several largewooden canoes, filled with savages, were putting outfrom the shore, above and below them, to cut offtheir retreat, while a swarm of headlong young warriorswaded into the water to attack them. Thecurrent proved too strong ; and, failing to reach thecanoes of the Frenchmen, one of them threw his warclub,which flew over the heads of the startled travellers.Meanwhile, Marquette had not ceased to holdup his calumet, to which the excited crowd gave noheed, but strung their bows and notched their arrowsfor immediate action; when at length the elders ofthe village arrived, saw the peace-pipe, restrainedthe ardor of the youth, and urged the Frenchmen tocome ashore. Marquette and his companions complied,trembling, and found a better reception than

T2 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [167athey had reason to expect. One of the Indiansspoke a little Illinois, and served as interpreter; afriendly conference was followed by a feastof sagamiteand fish; and the travellers, not without soremisgivings, spent the night in the lodges of theirentertainers. 1Early in the morning, they embarked again, andproceeded to a village of the Arkansas tribe, abouteight leagues below. Notice of their coming wassent before them by their late hosts; and as theydrew near they were met by a canoe, inthe prow ofwhich stood a naked personage, holding a calumet,singing, and making gestures of friendship. Onreaching the village, which was on the east side, 2opposite the mouth of the riverArkansas, they wereconducted to a sort of scaffold, before the lodge ofthe war-chief. The space beneath had been preparedfor their reception, theground being neatly coveredwith rush mats. On these they were seated; thewarriors sat around them in a semi-circle; then theelders of the tribe ;and then the promiscuous crowdof villagers, standing, and staring over the heads ofthe more dignified members of the assembly. Allthe men were naked ;but, to compensate for the lackof clothing, they wore strings of beads in their nosesand ears.The women were clothed in shabby skins,and wore their hair clumped in a mass behind each1Thi§ village, called " Mitchigamea," is represented on severalcontemporary maps.2 A few years later, the Arkansas were all on the west side.

;1673.] THE ARKANSAS. 73ear.By good luck, there was a young Indian in thevillage, who had an excellent knowledge of Illinoisand through him Marquette endeavored to explainthe mysteries of Christianity, and to gain informationconcerning the river below. To this end he gave hisauditors the presents indispensable on such occasions,but received very little in return. They told himthat theMississippi was infested by hostile Indians,armed with guns procured from white men ;they, the Arkansas, stood inand thatsuch fear of them thatthey dared not hunt the buffalo, but were forced tolive on Indian corn, of which they raisedftyear.three cropsDuring the speeches on either side, food wasbrought in without ceasing, — sometimes a platter ofsagamite or mush ;sometimes of corn boiled whole jsometimes a roasted dog. The villagers had largeearthen pots and platters, made by themselves withtolerable skill,as well as hatchets, knives, and beads,gained by traffic with the Illinois and other tribes incontact with the French or Spaniards.All day therewas feasting without respite, after the mercilesspractice of Indian hospitality; but at night some oftheir entertainers proposed to kill and plunder them,— a scheme which was defeated by the vigilance ofthe chief, who visited their quarters, and danced thecalumet dance to reassure his guests.The travellers now held counsel as to what coursethey should take. They had gone far enough, asthey thought, to establish one important point, —

74 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1673.that the Mississippi discharged its waters, not intothe Atlantic or sea ofVirginia, nor into the Gulf ofCalifornia or Vermilion Sea, but into the Gulf ofMexico. They thought themselves nearer to itsmouth than they actually were, the distance beingstill about seven hundred miles; and they fearedthat if they went farther they might be killed byIndians or captured by Spaniards, whereby the resultsof their discovery would be lost. Therefore theyresolved to return to Canada, and report what theyhad seen.They left the Arkansas village, and began theirhomeward voyage on the seventeenth of July. Itwas no easy task to urge their way upward, in theheat of midsummer, against the current of the darkand gloomy stream, toiling all day under the parchingsun, and sleeping at night in the exhalations ofthe unwholesome shore, or in the narrow confines oftheir birchen vessels, anchored on the river. Marquettewas attacked with dysentery. Languid andwell-nigh spent, he invoked his celestial mistress, asday after day, and week afterweek, they won theirslow way northward. At length, they reached theIllinois, and, entering its mouth, followed its course,charmed, as they went, with its placid waters, itsshady forests,and its rich plains, grazed by the bisonand the deer. They stopped at a spot soon to bemade famous in the annals of western discovery.This was a village of the Illinois, then called* ,•Kaskaskia " a name afterwards transferred to

;1673.] RETURN TO CANADA. 75another locality. 1A chief, with a band of young warriors,offered to guide them to the Lake of the Illinoisthat is to say, Lake Michigan. Thither they repairedand, coasting its shores, reached Green Bay at the endof September, after an absence of about four months,during which they had paddled their canoes somewhat more than two thousand five hundred miles. 2Marquette remained to recruit his exhaustedstrength; but Joliet descended to Quebec, to bearthe report of his discovery to Count Frontenac.Fortune had wonderfully favored him on his longand perilous journey; but now she abandoned him onthe very threshold of home. At the foot of therapids of La Chine, and immediately above Montreal,1Marquette says that it consisted at this time of seventy-fourlodges.These, like the Huron and Iroquois lodges, contained eachseveral fires and several families. This village was about sevenmiles below the site of the present town of Ottawa.2The journal of Marquette, first published in an imperfect formby Thevenot, in 1681, has been reprinted by Mr. Lenox, under thedirection of Mr. Shea, from the manuscript preserved in the archivesof the Canadian Jesuits. It will also be found in Shea's Discoveryand Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, and the RelationsJnedites of Martin. The true map of Marquette accompanies allthese publications. The map published by Thevenot and repro>duced by Bancroft is not Marquette's. The original of this, ofwhich I have a fac-simile, bears the title Carte de la NouvelleDecouverte que les Peres Jesuites ont faite en Vannee 1672, et continuepar le Plre Jacques Marquette, etc. The return route of theexpedition is incorrectly laid down on it. A manuscript map ofthe Jesuit Raffeix, preserved in the Bibliotheque Imperiale, is moreaccurate in this particular. I have also another contemporary manuscriptmap, indicating the various Jesuit stations in the West atthis time, and representing the Mississippi, as^uette. For these and other maps, see Appendix.discovered by Mar

70 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1674.hiscanoe was overset, two of his men and an Indianboy were drowned, all his papers were lost, and hehimself narrowly escaped. lhe speaks of the accident as follows:every peril from the Indians ;In a letter to Frontenac,"I had escapedI had passed forty-tworapids; and was on the point of disembarking, fullof joy at the success of so long and difficult an enterprise,when my canoe capsized, after all the dangerseemed over.I lost two men and my box of papers,within sight of the first French settlements, which Ihad left almost two years before. Nothing remainsto me but my life,and the ardent desire to employ iton any service which you may please to direct." 21 Lettre de Frontenac au Minislre, Quebec, 14 Nov., 1674.* This letter is appended to Joliet's smaller map of his discoveries.See Appendix. Compare Details sur le Voyage de Louis Jolietand Relation de la Descouverte de plusieurs Pays situez au midi de laNouvelle France, faite en 1673 (Margry, i. 259). These are oralaccounts given by Joliet after the loss of his papers. Also, Lettrede Joliet, Oct. 10, 1674 (Harrisse). On the seventh of October, 1675,Joliet married Claire Bissot, daughter of a wealthy Canadian merchant,engaged in trade with the northern Indians. This drewJoliet's attention to Hudson's Bay ; and he made a journey thitherin 1679, by way of the Saguenay. He found three English forts onthe bay, occupied by about sixty men, who had also an armed vesselof twelve guns and several small trading-craft. The English heldout great inducements to Joliet to join them ; but he declined, andreturned to Quebec, where he reported that unless these formidablerivals were dispossessed, the trade of Canada would be ruined.consequence of this report, some of the principal merchants of thecolony formed a company to compete with the English in the tradeof Hudson's Bay. In the year of this journey, Joliet received agrant of the islands of Mignan ; and in the following year, 1680, hereceived another grant, of the great island of Anticosti in the lowerSt. Lawrence. In 1681 he was established here, with his wife andsix servants. He was engaged in fisheries; and, being a skilfulIn

;1674.] MARQUETTE'S MISSION. 77Marquette spent the winter and the followingsummer at the mission of Green Bay, still sufferingfrom his malady.and he was permitted by hisIn the autumn, however, it abated;Superior to attempt theexecution of a plan to which he was devotedlyattached, — the founding, at the principal town ofthe Illinois, of a mission to be called the " ImmaculateConception," a name which he had already given tothe river Mississippi. He set out on this errand onthe twenty-fifth of October, accompanied by twomen, named Pierre and Jacques, one of whom hadbeen with him on his great journey of discovery. Aband of Pottawattamies and another band of Illinoisalso joined him. The united parties — ten canoes inall — followed the east shore of Green Bay as far asthe inlet then called "Sturgeon Cove," from the headof which they crossed by a difficult portage throughthe forest to the shore of Lake Michigan.Novemberhad come. The bright hues of the autumn foliagewere changed to rusty brown.The shore was desolate,and the lake was stormy. They were morenavigator and surveyor, he made about this time a chart of the St.Lawrence. In 1690, Sir William Phips, on his way with an Englishfleet to attack Quebec, made a descent on Joliet's establishment,burnt his buildings, and took prisoners his wife and his mother-inlaw.In 1694 Joliet explored the coasts of Labrador, under theauspices of a company formed for the whale and seal fishery. Onhis return, Frontenac made him royal pilot for the St. Lawrenceand at about the same time he received the appointment of hydrographerat Quebec. He died, apparently poor, in 1699 or 1700, andwas buried on one of the islands of Mignan. The discovery of theabove facts is due in great part to the researches of Margry.

;78 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1674.than a month in coasting its western border, when atlength they reached the river Chicago, entered it, andascended about two leagues. Marquette's diseasehad lately returned, and hemorrhage now ensued.He told his two companions that this journey wouldbe his last.In the condition in which he was, it wasimpossible to go farther. The two men built a loghut by the river,and here they prepared to spend thewinter; while Marquette, feeble as he was, beganthe spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius, and confessedhistwo companions twice a week.Meadow, marsh, and forest were sheeted withsnow, but game was abundant.Pierre and Jacqueskilled buffalo and deer, and shot wild turkeys closeto their hut. There was an encampment of Illinoiswithin two days' journey;and other Indians, passingby this well-known thoroughfare, occasionally visitedthem, treating the exiles kindly, and sometimesbringing them game and Indian corn. Eighteenleagues distant was the camp of two adventurousFrench traders, — one of them, a noted coureur debois,nicknamed La Taupine2and the other&& selfstyledsurgeon. They also visited Marquette, andbefriended him to the best ofUrged by a burning desiretheir power.to lay, before he died,the foundation of his new mission of the ImmaculateConception, Marquette begged his two followers to1 Pierre Moreau, alias La Taupine, was afterwards bitterly complainedof by the Intendant Duchesneau, for acting as the governor'sagent in illicit trade with the Indians.

1675.] THE MISSIOK AT KASKASKIA. 79join him in a novena, or nine days' devotion to theVirgin. In consequence of this, as he believed, hisdisease relented;he began to regain strength, and inMarch was able to resume the journey. On thethirtieth of the month, they left their hut, which hadbeen inundated by a sudden rise of the river, andcarried their canoe through mud and water over theportage which led to the Des Plaines. Marquetteknew the way, for he had passed by this route on hisreturn from the Mississippi. Amid the rains ofopening spring, they floated down the swollen currentof the Des Plaines, by naked woods and spongy,saturated prairies, till they reached its junction withthe main stream of the Illinois, which they descendedto their destination, the Indian town which Marquettecalls "Kaskaskia." Here, as we are told, he wasreceived "like an angel from Heaven." He passedfrom wigwam to wigwam, telling the listening crowdsof God and the Virgin, Paradise and Hell, angelsand demons; and, when he thought their mindsprepared, he summoned them all to a grand council.It took place near the town, on the great meadowwhich lies between the river and the modern villageof Utica. Here five hundred chiefs and old menwere seated in a ring ; behind stood fifteen hundredyouths and warriors, and behind these again all thewomen and children of the village. Marquette,standing in the midst, displayed four large picturesof the Virgin ;harangued the assembly on the mysteriesof the Faith, and exhorted them to adopt it.

80 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1675.The temper of his auditory met his utmost wishes.They begged him to stay among them and continuehis instructions ; but his life was fast ebbing away,and it behooved him to depart.A few days after Easter he left the village, escortedby a crowd of Indians, who followed him as far asLake Michigan. Here he embarked with his twocompanions.Their destination was Michilimackinac,and their course lay along the eastern borders of thelake. As, in the freshness of advancing spring,Pierre and Jacques urged their canoe along thatlonely and savage shore, the priest lay with dimmedsight and prostrated strength, communing with theVirgin and the angels. On the nineteenth of May,he felt that his hour was near; and, as they passedthe mouth of a small river, he requested his companionsto land. They complied, built a shed ofbark on a rising ground near the bank, and carriedthither the dying Jesuit.With perfect cheerfulnessand composure, he gave directions for his burial,asked their forgiveness for the trouble he had causedthem, administered to them the sacrament of penitence,and thanked God that he was permitted to diein the wilderness, a missionary of the Faith and amember of the Jesuit brotherhood. At night, seeingthat they were fatigued, he toldthem to take rest,saying that he would call them when he felt his timeapproaching. Two or three hours after, they hearda feeble voice, and, hastening to his side, found himat the point of death. He expired calmly, murmur-

1676-77.] BURIAL OF MARQUETTE. 81ing the names of Jesus and Mary, with his eyes fixedon the crucifix which one of his followers held beforehim. They dug a grave beside the hut, and herethey buried him according to the directions which hehad given them ; then, re-embarking, they made theirway to Michilimackinac, to bear the tidings to thepriests at the mission of St. Ignace. 1In the winter of 1676, a party of Kiskakon Ottawaswere hunting on Lake Michigan; and when, in thefollowing spring, they prepared to return home, theybethought them, in accordance with an Indian custom,of taking with them the bones of Marquette,who had been their instructor at the mission of St.Esprit. They repaired to the spot, found the grave,opened it, washed and dried the bones and placedthem carefully in a box of birch-bark. Then, in aprocession of thirty canoes, they bore it, singing theirfuneral songs, to St. Ignace of Michilimackinac. Asthey approached, priests, Indians, and traders allthronged to the shore. The relics of Marquette werereceived with solemn ceremony, and buried beneaththe floor of the little chapel of the mission. 21The contemporary Relation tells us that a miracle took placeat the burial of Marquette. One of the two Frenchmen, overcomewith grief and colic, bethought him of applying a little earth fromthe grave to the seat of pain. This at once restored him to healthand cheerfulness.* For Marquette's death, see the contemporary Relation, published by Shea, Lenox, and Martin, with the accompanying Lettreet Journal. The river where he died is a small stream in the westof Michigan, some distance south of the promontory called the" Sleeping Bear." It long bore his name, which is now borne by a6

82 THE DISCOVERY OF THE MISSISSIPPI. [1677.larger neighboring stream. Charlevoix's account of Marquette'*death is derived from tradition, and is not supported by the contemporarynarrative. In 1877, human bones, with fragments ofbirch-bark, were found buried on the supposed site ofthe Jesuitchapel at Point St. Ignace.In 1847, the missionary of Xhe Algonquins at the Lake of TwoMountains, above Montreal, wrote down a tradition of the death ofMarquette, from the lips of an old Indian woman, born in 1777, atMichilimackinac. Her ance/tress had been baptized by the subjectof the story. The tradition has a resemblance to that relatedas fact by Charlevoix. The old squaw said that the Jesuit wasreturning, very ill, to Michilimackinac, when a storm forced himand his two men to land near a little river. Here he told them thathe should die, and directed them to ring a bell over his grave andplant a cross. They all remained four days at the spot ; and, thoughwithout food, the men felt no hunger. On the night of the fourthday he died, and the men buried him as he had directed. On wakingin the morning, they saw a sack of Indian corn, a quantity ofbacon, and some biscuit, miraculously sent to them, in accordancewith the promise of Marquette, who had told them that they shouldhave food enough for their journey to Michilimackinac. At thesame instant, the stream began to rise, and in a few moments encircledthe grave of the Jesuit, which formed, thenceforth, an islet inthe waters. The tradition adds, that an Indian battle afterwardstook place on the banks of this stream, between Christians andinfidels ; and that the former gained the victory, in consequence ofinvoking the name of Marquette.This story bears the attestationof the priest of the Two Mountains that it is a literal translation ofthe tradition, as recounted by the old woman.It has been asserted that the Illinois country was visited by twopriests, some time before the visit of Marquette. This assertionwas first made by M. Noiseux, late Grand Vicar of Quebec, whogives no authority for it. Not the slightest indication of any suchvisit appears in any contemporary document or map, thus far discovered.The contemporary writers, down to the time of Marquetteand La Salle, all speak of the Illinois as an unknown country.Theentire groundlessness of Noiseux's assertion is shown by Shea, in apaper in the " Weekly Herald," of New York, April 21, 1866.

;CHAPTER VI.1673-1678.LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC.Objects of La Salle. — Frontenac favors him. — Projects o»Frontenac. — Cataraqui. — Frontenac on Lake Ontario. —Fort Frontenac. — La Salle and Fenelon. — Success of LaSalle : his Enemies.We turn from the humble Marquette, thanking/God with his last breath that he died for his Orderand his Faith; and by our side stands the masculineform of Cavelier de la Salle. Prodigious was thecontrast between the two discoverers: the one, withclasped hands and upturned eyes, seems a figureevoked from some dim legend ofmediaeval saintshipthe other, with feet firm planted on the hard earth,breathes the self-relying energies ofmodern practicalenterprise. Nevertheless, La Salle's enemies calledhim a visionary.His projects perplexed and startledthem. At first, they ridiculed him; and then, asstep by step he advanced towards his purpose, theydenounced and maligned him.What was this purpose?It was not of sudden growth, but developedas years went on. La Salle at La Chine dreamedof a western passage to China, and nursed vague

84 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1673-78.schemes of western discovery. Then, when hisearlier journeyings revealed to him the valley of theOliio and the fertile plains of Illinois, his imaginationtook wing over the boundless prairies and forestsdrained by the great river of the West. His ambitionhad found its field. He would leave barren andfrozen Canada behind, and lead France and civilizationinto the valley of the Mississippi. Neither theEnglish nor the Jesuits should conquer that richdomain : the one must rest content with the countryeast of the Alleghanies, and the other with theforests, savages, and beaver-skins of the northernlakes. It was for him to call into light the latentriches of the great West. But the way to his landof promise was rough and long: it lay throughCanada, filled with hostile traders and hostile priests,and barred by ice for half the year. The difficultywas soon solved. La Salle became convinced thatthe Mississippi flowed, not into the Pacific or theGulf of California, but into the Gulf of Mexico.Bya fortified post at its mouth, he could guard it againstboth English and Spaniards, and secure for the tradeof the interior an access and an outlet under his owncontrol, and open at every season. Of this trade,the hides of the buffalo would at first form the staple,and along with furs would reward the enterprise tillother resources should be developed.Such were the vast projects that unfolded themselvesin the mind of La Salle. Canada must needsbe, at the outset, his base of action, and without the

i673.] PROJECTS OF FRONTEtfAC. 85support of its authorities he could do nothing. Thissupport he found. From the moment when CountFrontenac assumed the government ofthe colony, heseems to have looked with favor on the youngdiscoverer. There were points of likeness betweenthe two men. Both were ardent, bold, and enterprising.The irascible and fiery pride of the noble foundits match in the reserved and seemingly cold pride ofthe ambitious burgher.Each could comprehend theother; and they had, moreover, strong prejudicesand dislikes in common. An understanding, not tosay an alliance,soon grew up between them.Frontenac had come to Canada a ruined man.Hewas ostentatious, lavish, and in no way disposed tolet slip an opportunity of mending his fortune. Hepresently thought that he had found a plan by whichhe could serve both the colony and himself. Hispredecessor, Courcelle, had urged upon the Kingthe expediency of building a fort on Lake Ontario, inorder to hold the Iroquois in check and intercept thetrade which the tribes of the Upper Lakes had beguuto carry on with the Dutch and English of NewYork. Thus a stream of wealth would be turnedinto Canada, which would otherwise enrich her enemies.Here, to all appearance, was a great publicgood, and from the military point ofin fact ;view it was sobut it was clear that the trade thus securedmight be made to profit,not the colony at large, butthose alone who had control of the fort,which wouldthen become the instrument of a monopoly. This

86 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1673.the governor understood; and, without doubt, hemeant that the projected establishment should payhim tribute.How far he and La Salle were actingin concurrence at this time, it is not easy to say ;butFrontenac often took counsel of the explorer, who, onhis part, saw in the design a possible first step towardsthe accomplishment ofhis own far-reaching schemes.Such of the Canadian merchants as were not in thegovernor's confidence looked on his plan with extremedistrust. Frontenac, therefore, thought it expedient"to make use," as he expresses it, "of address." Hegave out merely that he intended to make a tourthrough the upper parts ofthe colony with an armedforce, in order to inspire the Indians with respect,and secure a solid peace. He had neither troops,money, munitions, nor means of transportation; yetthere was no time to lose, for, should he delay theexecution of his plan, it might be countermanded bythe King. His only resource, therefore, was in aprompt and hardy exertion of the royal authority;and he issued an order requiring the inhabitants ofQuebec, Montreal, Three Rivers, and other settlementsto furnish him, at their own cost, as soon asthe spring sowing should be over, with a certainnumber of armed men, besides the requisite canoes.At the same time, he invited the officers settled inthe country to join the expedition, — an invitationwhich, anxious as they were to gain his good graces,few of them cared to decline. Regardless of murmursand discontent, he pushed his preparation

1673.] EXPEDITION OF FRONTENAC. 87vigorously, and on the third of June left Quebecwith his guard, his staff, a part of the garrison ofthe Castle of St. Louis, and a number of volunteers.He had already sent to La Salle, who was then atMontreal, directing him to repair to Onondaga, thepolitical centre of the Iroquois, and invite theirsachems to meet the governor in council at the Bayof Quinte* on the north of Lake Ontario. La Sallehad set out on his mission,but first sent Frontenac amap, which convinced him that the best siteproposed fort was the mouth offor histhe Cataraqui, whereKingston now stands. Another messenger was accordinglydespatched, to change the rendezvous tothis point.Meanwhile, the governor proceeded at his leisuretowards Montreal, stopping by the way to visit theofficers settled along the bank, who, eager to paytheir homage to the newly risen sun, received himwith a hospitality which under the roof of a log hutwas sometimes graced by the polished courtesies ofthe salon and the boudoir. Reaching Montreal,which he had never before seen, he gazed, we maysuppose, with some interest at the long row ofhumble dwellings which lined the bank, themassivebuildings of the Seminary, and the spire ot thechurch predominant over all.It was a rude scene,but the greeting that awaited him savored nothing ofthe rough simplicity of the wilderness. Perrot, thelocal governor, was on the shore with his soldiersand the inhabitants, drawn up under arms and firing

88 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [16T3.a salute to welcome the representative of the King,Frontenac was compelled to listen to a long haranguefrom the judge of the place, followed by another fromthe syndic. Then there was a solemn procession tothe church, where he was forced to undergo a thirdeffort of oratory from one of the priests. Te Dcumfollowed, in thanks for his arrival ;and then he tookrefuge in the fort. Here he remained thirteen days,busied with his preparations, organizing the militia,soothing their mutual jealousies,questions of rank and precedence.and settling knottyDuring this time,every means, as 'he declares, was used to prevent himfrom proceeding; and among other devices a rumorwas set on foot that a Dutch fleet, having just capturedBoston, was on its way to attack Quebec. 1Having sent men, canoes, and baggage, by land,to La Salle's old settlement of La Chine, Frontenachimself followed on the twenty-eighth of June.Including Indians from the missions, he now hadwith him about four hundred men and a hundredand twenty canoes, besides two large flat-boats, whichhe caused to be painted in red and blue, with strangedevices, intended to dazzle the Iroquois by a displayof unwonted splendor. Now their hard task began.Shouldering canoes through the forest, dragging theflat-boats along the shore, working like beavers, —1 Lettre de Frontenac a Colbert, 13 Nov., 1673. This rumor, itappears, originated with the Jesuit Dablon. Journal du Voyage duComte de Frontenac au lac Ontario. The Jesuits were greatly opposedto the establishment of forts and trading-posts in the upper country,for reasons that will appear hereafter.

1673.] FRONTENAC'S JOURNEY. 89sometimes in water to the knees, sometimes to thearmpits, theirfeet cut by the sharp stones, and theythemselves well-nigh swept down by the furiouscurrent, — they fought their way upward against thechain of mighty rapids that break the navigation ofthe St. Lawrence. The Indians were of the greatestservice. Frontenac, like La Salle, showed from thefirst a special faculty of managing them; for hiskeen, incisive spirit was exactly to their liking, andthey worked for him as they would have worked forno man else. As they approached the Long Saut,rain fell in torrents; and the governor, without hiscloak, and drenched to the skin, directed in personthe amphibious toil of his followers. Once, it issaid, he lay awake all night, in his anxiety lest thebiscuit should be wet, which would have ruined theexpedition. No such mischance took place, and atlength the last rapid was passed, and smooth waterawaited them to their journey's end. Soon theyreached the Thousand Islands, and their light flotillaglided in long file among those watery labyrinths, byrocky islets, where some lonely pine towered like amast against the sky; by sun-scorched crags, wherethe brown lichens crisped in the parching glare; bydeep dells, shady and cool, rich in rank ferns, andspongy, dark-green mosses ; by still coves, where thewater-lilies lay like snow-flakes on their broad, fiatleaves, — till at length they neared their goal, andthe glistening bosom of Lake Ontario opened on theirsight.

90 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1673.Frontenac, toimpose respect on the Iroquois, nowset his canoes in order of battle. Four divisionsformed the first line, then came the two flat-boats;he himself, with his guards, his staff, and the gentlemenvolunteers, followed, with the canoes of ThreeRivers on his right, and those of the Indians on hisleft, while two remaining divisions formed a rearline. Thus, with measured paddles, they advancedover the still lake, till they saw a canoe approachingto meet them. It bore several Iroquois chiefs, whotold them that the dignitaries of their nation awaitedthem atCataraqui, and offered to guide them to thespot. They entered the wide mouth of the river,and passed along the shore, now covered by the quietlittle city of Kingston, till they reached the pointat present occupied by the barracks, at the westernend of Cataraqui bridge. Here they stranded theircanoes and disembarked.Baggage was landed, fireslighted, tents pitched, and guards set. Close athand, under the lee of the forest, were the campingsheds of the Iroquois, who had come to the rendezvousin considerable numbers.At daybreak of the next morning, the thirteenth ofJuly, the drums beat, and the whole party weredrawn up under arms.A double line of men extendedfrom the front of Frontenac 's tent to the Indiancamp ; and, through the lane thus formed, the savagedeputies, sixty in number, advanced to the place ofcouncil.martial array ofThey could not hide their admiration at thethe French, many of whom were old

;1673.] FRONTENAC AT CATARAQUI. 91soldiers of the regiment of Carignan ;and when theyreached the tent they ejaculated their astonishmentat the uniforms of the governor's guard who surroundedit. Here the ground had been carpetedwith the sails of the flat-boats,on which the deputiessquatted themselves in a ring and smoked their pipesfor a time with their usual air of deliberate gravitywhile Frontenac, who sat surrounded by his officers,had fullleisure to contemplate the formidable adversarieswhose mettle was hereafter to put his own toso severe a test. A chief named Garakonti^, a notedfriend of the French, at length opened the council,in behalf of all the five Iroquois nations, withexpressions of great respect and deference towards"Onontio;" that is to say, the governor of Canada.Whereupon Frontenac, whose native arrogance whereIndians were concerned always took a form whichimposed respect without exciting anger, replied inthe following strain :—"Children!Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas,and Senecas.I am glad to see you here, whereI have had a fire lighted for you to smoke by, andfor me to talk to you. You have done well, mychildren, to obey the command of your Father. Takecourage: you will hear his word, which is full ofpeace and tenderness.For do not think that I havecome for war. My mind is full of peace, and shewalks by my side. Courage, then, children, andtakerest."With that, he gave them six fathoms of tobacco,

92 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1673.reiterated his assurances of friendship, promised thathe would be a kind father so long asthey should beobedient children, regretted that he was forced tospeak through an interpreter, and ended with a gift ofguns to the men, and prunes and raisins to their wivesand children.Here closed this preliminary meeting,the great council being postponed to another day.During the meeting, Raudin, Frontenac 's engineer,was tracing out the lines of a fort, after a predeterminedplan; and the whole party, under the directionof their officers, now set themselves to constructit. Some cut down trees, some dug the trenches,some hewed the palisades ; and with such order andalacrity was the work urged on, that the Indianswere lost in astonishment. Meanwhile, Frontenacspared no pains to make friends ofof whom he had constantly at his table.the chiefs, someHe fondledthe Iroquois children, and gave them bread andsweetmeats, and in the evening feasted the squawsto make them dance. The Indians were delightedwith these attentions, and conceived a high opinionof the new Onontio.On the seventeenth, when the construction of thefort was well advanced, Frontenac called the chiefsto a grand council, which was held with all possiblestate and ceremony. His dealing with the Indianson this and other occasions was truly admirable.Unacquainted as he was with them, he seems to havehad an instinctiveperception of the treatment theyrequired. His predecessors had never ventured to

1673.] FRONTENAC AND THE INDIANS. 93address the Iroquois as "Children," but had alwaysstyled them "Brothers;" and yet thepaternal authority on the part ofassumption ofFrontenac was notonly taken in good part, but was received with apparentgratitude. The martial nature of the man, hisclear, decisive speech, and his frank and downrightmanner, backed as they were by a display of forcewhich in their eyes was formidable, struck them withadmiration, and gave tenfold effect to his words ofkindness. They thanked him for that which fromanother they would not have endured.Frontenac began by again expressing hissatisfactionthat they had obeyed the commands of theirFather, and come toCataraqui to hear what he hadto say. Then he exhorted them to embrace Christianity;and on this theme he dwelt at length, inwords excellently adapted to produce the desiredeffect, — words which it would be most superfluousto tax as insincere, though doubtless they lost nothingin emphasis because in this instance conscienceand policy aimed alike. Then, changing his tone,he pointed to his officers,his guard, the long files ofthe militia, and the two flat-boats, mounted withcannon, which lay in the river near by. "If," hesaid, " your Father can come so far, with so great aforce, through such dangerous rapids, merely tomake you a visit of pleasure and friendship, whatwould he do, if you should awaken his anger, andmake it necessary for him to punish his disobedientchildren? He is the arbiter of peace and war.

;94 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1673.Beware how you offend him "! And he warned themnot to molest the Indian allies of the French, tellingthem, sharply, that he would chastise them for theleast infraction of the peace.From threats he passed to blandishments, andurged them to confide in his paternal kindness, sayingthat, in proof of his affection, he was building astorehouse at Cataraqui, where they could be suppliedwith all the goods they needed, without the necessityof a long and dangerous journey. He warned themagainst listening to bad men, who might seek todelude them by misrepresentations and falsehoods;and he urged them to give heed to none but " men ofcharacter, like the Sieur de la Salle.' ' He expresseda hope that they would suffer theirchildren to learnFrench from the missionaries, in order that they andhis nephews — meaning the French colonists — mightbecome one people ;and he concluded by requestingchem to give him a number of their children to beeducated in the French manner, at Quebec.This speech, every clauseof which was reinforcedby abundant presents, was extremely well receivedthough one speaker reminded him that he had forgottenone important point, inasmuch as he had nottold them at what pricesthey could obtain goods atCataraqui. Frontenac evaded a precise answer, butpromised them that the goods should be as cheap aspossible, in view of the great difficulty of transportation.As to the request concerning their children,they said that they could not accede to it till they

1673.] TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. 95had talked the matter over in their villages ;but it isa striking proof of the influence which Frontenac hadgained over them, that, in the following year, theyactually sent several of their children to Quebec tobe educated, — the girls among the Ursulines, andthe boys in the household of the governor.Three days after the council, the Iroquois set outon their return ; and as the palisades of the fort werenow finished, and the barracks nearly so, Frontenacbegan to send his party homeward by detachments.He himself was detained for a time by the arrival ofanother band of Iroquois, from the villages on thenorth side of Lake Ontario. He repeated to themthe speech he had made to the others ; and, this finalmeeting over, he embarked with his guard, leaving asufficient number to hold the fort, which was to beprovisioned for a year by means of a convoy then onits way up the river. Passing the rapids safely, hereached Montreal on the first of August.His enterprise had been a complete success. Hehad gained every point, and, in spite of the dangerousnavigation, had not lost a single canoe. Thanks tothe enforced and gratuitous assistance ofthe inhabitants,the whole had cost the King only about tenthousand francs, which Frontenac had advanced onhis own credit. Though in a commercial point ofview thenew establishment was of very questionablebenefit to the colony at large, the governor had,nevertheless, conferred an inestimable blessing on allCanada by the assurance he had gained of a long

96 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1673.respite from the fearful scourge of Iroquois hostility." Assuredly," he writes, "I may boast of havingimpressed them at once with respect, fear,and goodwill."l He adds that the fort at Cataraqui, withthe aid of a vessel now building, will command LakeOntario, keep the peace with the Iroquois, and cutoff the trade with the English ; and he proceeds tosay that by another fort at the mouth of the Niagara,and another vessel on Lake Erie, we, the French,can command all the Upper Lakes. This plan wasan essential link in the schemes of La Salle ; and weshall soon und him employed in executing it.A curious incident occurred soon after the buildingof the fort on Lake Ontario. Frontenac, on hisway back, quarrelled with Perrot, the governor ofMontreal, whom, in view of his speculations in thefur-trade, he seems to have regarded as a rival inbusiness ;but who, by his folly and arrogance, wouldhave justified any reasonable measure of severity.Frontenac, however, was not reasonable. He arrestedPerrot, threw him into prison, and set up a man ofhis own as governor in his place ;and as the judge ofMontreal was not in his interest, he removed him,and substituted another on whom he could rely.Thus for a time he had Montreal well in hand.The priests of the Seminary, seigniors of the island,regarded these arbitrary proceedings with extremeuneasiness. They claimed the right of nominatingtheir own governor; and Perrot, though he held ax Lettre de Frontenac au Ministre, 13 Nov., 1673.

1674.] I ABBEF^NELON. 97commission from the King, owed his place to theirappointment.proved a veritable King Stork ;True, he had set them at nought, andyet nevertheless theyregarded his removal as an infringement of theirrights.During thequarrel with Perrot, La Salle chancedto be at Montreal, lodged in the house ofJacques LeBer, who, though one of the principal merchants andmost influential inhabitants of the settlement, wasaccustomed to sellgoods across his counter in personto white men and Indians, his wife taking his placewhen he was absent. Such were the primitivemanners of the secluded little colony. Le Ber, atthis time, was in the interest of Frontenac and LaSalle ;though he afterwards became one of their mostdetermined opponents. Amid the excitement anddiscussion occasioned by Perrot's arrest, La Salledeclared himself an adherent of the governor, andwarned all persons against speaking ill of him in hishearing.The Abbe* Fe*nelon, already mentioned as halfbrotherto the famous Archbishop, had attempted tomediate between Frontenac and Perrot, and tothisend had made a journey to Quebec on the ice, inmidwinter. Being of an ardent temperament, andmore courageous than prudent, he had spoken somewhatindiscreetly, and had been very roughly treatedby the stormy and imperious Count. He returnedto Montreal greatly excited, and not without cause.It fell to his lot to preach the Easter sermon. The7

98 LA SALLE AND FRONT^NAC. [1674.service was held in the little churdh of the H6tel-Dieu, which was crowded to the poJch, all the chiefpersons of the settlement being present. The cureof the parish,whose name also was Perrot, said HighMass, assisted by La Salle's brother, Cavelier, andtwo other priests. Then Fe'nellon mounted thepulpit. Certain passages of his /sermon were obviouslylevelled against Frontenac> Speaking of theduties of those clothed with temporal authority, hesaid that the magistrate, inspired with the spirit ofChrist, was as ready topardon offences against himselfas to punish those against his prince; that hewas full of respect for the ministers of the altar, andnever maltreated them when they attempted to reconcileenemies and restore peace ; that he never madefavorites of those who flattered him, nor underspecious pretextsoppressed other persons in authoritywho opposed his enterprises; that he used hispower to serve his king, and not to his own advantage;that he remained content with his salary, withoutdisturbing the commerce of the country, orabusing those who refused him a share in theirprofits; and that he never troubled the people byinordinate and unjust levies of men and material,using the name of his prince as a cover to his owndesigns. 11 Faillon, Colonic Frangaise, iii. 497, and manuscript authoritiesthere cited. I have examined the principal of these. Faillon himselfis a priest of St. Sulpice. Compare H. Verreau, Les Deux Abbisde Fenelon, chap. vii.

1674.] LA SALLE AND F^NELON. 99La Salle sat near the door; but as the preacherproceeded he suddenly rose to his feet in such amanner as to attract the notice of the congregation.As they turned their heads, he signed to the principalpersons among them, and by his angry looks andgesticulation called their attention to the words ofFe'nelon. Then meeting the eye of the cure', who satbeside the altar, he made the same signs to him, towhich the cure* replied by a deprecating shrug of theshoulders.sermon.Fdnelon changed color, but continued hisThis indecent proceeding of La Salle,and the zealwith which throughout the quarrel he took the partof the governor, did not go unrewarded. Henceforth,Frontenac was more than ever his friend ; andthis plainly appeared in the disposition made, throughhis influence, of the new fort on Lake Ontario.Attempts had been made to induce the king to haveit demolished; but it was resolved at last that, beingbuilt, it should be allowed to stand ; and, after longdelay, a final arrangement was made for its maintenance,in the manner following: In the autumn of1674, La Salle went to France, with letters of strongrecommendation from Frontenac. 2 He was well1Informationfaide par nous, Charles le Tardieu, Sieur de Tilly, etde Fenelon. Tilly andNicolas Dupont, etc., etc., contre le S r -AbbSDupont were sent by Frontenac to inquire into the affair. Amongthe deponents is La Salle himself.2 In his despatch to the minister Colbert, of the fourteenth ofNovember, 1674, Frontenac speaks of La Salle as follows r " I cannot help, Monseigneur, recommending to you the Sieur de la Salle^

100 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1674.received at Court; and he made two petitions to theKing,— the one for a patent of nobility, in considerationof hisservices as an explorer; and the other fora grant in seigniory of Fort Frontenac, for so hecalled the new post, in honor of his patron. On hispart, he offered to pay back the ten thousand francswhich the fort had cost the King; to maintain it athis own charge, with a garrison equal to that ofMontreal, besides fifteen or twenty laborers ; to forma French colony around it ; to build a church, wheneverthe number of inhabitants should reach onehundred; and, meanwhile, to support one or moreRexollet friars; and, finally, to form a settlementof domesticated Indians in the neighborhood. Hisoffers were accepted. He was raised to the rank ofthe untitled nobles ; received a grant of the fort andlands adjacent, to the extent offour leagues in frontand half a league in depth, besides the neighboringislands; and was invested with the government ofthe fort and settlement, subject to the orders of thegovernor-general. 1who is about to go to France, and who is a man of intelligence andability, more capable than anybody else I know here to accomplishevery kind of enterprise and discovery which may be intrusted tohim, as he has the most perfect knowledge of the state of the country,as you will see, if you are disposed to give him a few momentsof audience."1 Memoire pour Ventretien du Fort Frontenac, par le S r -de la Salle,1674. Petition du S r -dela Salle au Roi. Lettres patentes de concession,du Fort de Frontenac et terres adjacentes au profit du S r -de laSalh ; donnees a Compiegne le 13 Mai, 1675. Arret qui accepte les«ffres faites par Robert Cavelier S r -de la Salle ; a Compiegne le 13

1675.] ENEMIES OF LA SALLE. 101La Salle returned to Canada, proprietor of aseigniory which, all things considered, was one ofthe most valuable in the colony.family, rejoicingHis friends and hisin his good fortune and not unwilling to share it, made him large advances of money,enabling him to pay the stipulated sum to the King,to rebuild the fort in stone, maintain soldiers andlaborers, and procure in part, at least, the necessaryoutfit. Had La Salle been a mere merchant, he wasin a fair way to make a fortune, for he was ina positionto control the better part of the Canadian furtrade.But he was not a mere merchant; and nocommercial profit could content his ambition.Those may believe, who will, that Frontenac didnot expect a share in the profits of the new post.That he did expect it, there is positive evidence ; fora deposition is extant, taken at the instance of hisenemy the Intendant Duchesneau, in which threewitnesses attest that the governor, La Salle, hislieutenant La Forest, and one Boisseau, had formeda partnership to carry on the trade of Fort Frontenac.No sooner was La Salle installed in his new postthan the merchants of Canada joined hands to opposehim. Le Ber, once his friend, became his bitterenemy; for he himself had hoped to share themonopoly of Fort Frontenac, of which he and oneBazire had at first been placed provisionally in COn-Mai, 1675. Lettre$ de noblesse pour le S r -Cavelier de la Salle ; donniesa Compiigne le 13 Mai, 1675. Papiers de Famille. MSmoire au

;i02 ;LA SALLE AND FRONTED C. [1675.trol, and from which he now saw himself ejected.La Chesnaye, Le Moyne, and others ofmore or lessinfluence took part in the league, which, in fact,embraced all the traders in the colony except the fewjoined with Frontenac and La Salle. Duchesneau,intendant of the colony, aided the malcontents. Astime went on, their bitterness grew more bitter;when at last it was seen that,andnot satisfied with themonopoly of Fort Frontenac, La Salle aimed at theV control of the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi,and the usufruct of half a continent, the ire of hisopponents redoubled,nest of hornets, buzzing inmoment to sting.and Canada became for him awrath and watching theBut there was another element ofopposition, less noisy, but not less formidable; andthis arose from the Jesuits. Frontenac hated themand they, under befitting forms of duty and courtesy,paid him back in the same coin.Having no love forthe governor, they would naturally have little forhis partisan and protege; but their opposition hadanother and a deeper root,for the plans of the daringyoung schemer jarred with their own.We have seen the Canadian Jesuits in the earlyapostolic days of their mission, when the flame oftheir zeal,fed by an ardent hope, burned bright andhigh. This hope was doomed to disappointment.Their avowed purpose of building another Paraguayon the borders of the Great Lakes 1 was never accom-1This purpose is several times indicated in the Relations. Foran instance, see " The Jesuits in North America," 245.

;1675.] PURPOSES OF THE JESUITS. 103plished,and their missions and their converts wereswept away in an avalanche of ruin. Still, theywould not despair. From the lakes they turnedtheir eyes to the Valley of the Mississippi, in thehope to see it one day the seat of their new empire ofthe Faith. But what did this new Paraguay mean ?It meant a little nation of converted and domesticatedsavages, docile as children, under the paternal and v/absolute rule of Jesuit fathers, and trained by themin industrial pursuits, the results of which were toinure, not to the profit of the producers, but to thebuilding of churches, the founding of colleges, the establishmentof warehouses and magazines, and theconstruction of works of defence, — all controlled byJesuits, and forming a part ofthe Order. Such was the old Paraguaythe vast possessions of1and such,we may suppose, would have been the new, had theplans of those who designed it been realized.I have said that since the middle of the centurythe religious exaltation of the early missions hadsensibly declined. In the nature of things, thatgrand enthusiasm was too intenselong sustained.and fervent to beBut the vital force of Jesuitism hadsuffered no diminution. That marvellous esprit decorps, that extinction of self and absorption of theindividual in the Order which has marked the Jesuitsfrom their first existence as a body, was no whitchanged or lessened, — a principle, which, though1Compare Charlevoix, Histoire de Paraguay, with Robertion,Letters on Paraguay.

;104 LA SALLE AND FRONTENAC. [1675.jdifferent, was no less strong than the self-devotedpatriotism of Sparta or the early Roman Republic.The Jesuits were no longer supreme in Canada;or, in other words, Canada was no longer simply amission. It had become a colony. Temporal interestsand the civilpower were constantly gaining groundand the disciples of Loyola felt that relatively, if notabsolutely, they were losing it. They struggledvigorously to maintain the ascendency of their Order,or, as they would have expressed it, the ascendencyof religion; but in the older and more settled partsof the colony it was clear that the day oftheir undividedrule was past. Therefore, they looked withredoubled solicitude to their missions in the West.They had been among its first explorers; and theyhoped that here the Catholic Faith, as representedby Jesuits, might reign with undisputed sway. InParaguay, it was their constant aim to exclude whitemen from their missions. It was the same in NorthAmerica. They dreaded fur-traders, partly becausethey interfered with their teachings and pervertedtheir converts, and partly for other reasons. But LaSalle was a fur-trader, and far worse than a furtrader:he aimed at occupation, fortification, andsettlement. The scope and vigor of his enterprises,and the powerful influence that aided them, madehim a stumbling-block in their path. He was theirmost dangerous rival for the control of the West,and from first to last they set themselves againsthim.

1374-78.] SPIRIT OF LA SALLE. 105What manner of man was he who could conceivedesigns so vast and defy enmities so manyand so powerful? And in what spirit did he embracethese designs ? We will look hereafter for ananswer.

CHAPTER VII.1678.PARTY STRIFE.La Salle and his Reporter. — Jesuit Ascendency. — The Mis-8ions and the fur-trade. — female inquisitors. — plotsagainst La Salle : his Brother the Priest. — Intrigues opthe Jesuits. — La Salle poisoned : he exculpates the Jesuits.— Renewed Intrigues.One of the most curious monuments of La Salle'stime is a long memoir, written by a person who madehis acquaintance at Paris in the summer of 1678,when, as we shall soon see, he had returned to Francein prosecution of his plans. The writer knew theSulpitian Galinde, 1 who, as he says, had a very highopinion of La Salle ;and he was also in close relationswith the discoverer's patron, the Prince de Conti. 2He says that he had ten or twelve interviews with LaSalle; and, becoming interested in him and in thatwhich he communicated, he wrote down the substanceof his conversation. The paper is divided into two1 Ante, p. 17.a Louis-Armand de Bourbon, second Prince de Conti. Theauthor of the memoir seems to have been Abb6 Renaudot, a learnedchurchman.

:;1678.] LA SALLE'S MEMOIR. 107parts: the first, called "Mdmoire sur Mr. de laSalle," is devoted to the state of affairs in Canada,and chiefly to the Jesuits; the second, entitled"Histoire de Mr. de la Salle," is an account of thediscoverer's life, or as much of it as the writer hadlearned from him. 1Both parts bear throughout theinternal evidence of being what they profess to bebut they embody the statements of a man of intense?partisan feeling, transmitted through the mind ofanother person in sympathy with him, and evidentlysharinghis prepossessions.In one respect, however,the paper is of unquestionable historical value ; for itgives us a vivid and not an exaggerated picture ofthe bitter strife of parties which then raged inCanada, and which was destined to tax to the utmostthe vast energy and fortitude of La Salle. At times,the memoir is fully sustained by contemporary evidence;but often, again, it rests on its own unsupportedauthority.as I find them.I give an abstract of its statementsThe following is the writer's account of La Salle" All those among my friends who have seen him findhim a man of great intelligence and sense.He rarelyspeaks of any subject except when questioned aboutit, and his words are very few and very precise. Hedistinguishes perfectly between that which he knowswith certainty and that which he knows with somemingling of doubt. When he does not know, he does1Extracts from this have already been given in connection withLa Salle's supposed discovery of the Mississippi. Ante, p. 29.

;108 PARTY STRIFE. [1678.not hesitate to avow it; and though I have heardhim say the same thing more than five or six times,when persons were present who had not heard itbefore, he always said it in the same manner. Inshort, I never heard anybody speak whose wordscarried with them more marks of truth." 1After mentioning that he is thirty-three or thirtyfouryears old,and that he has been twelve years inAmerica, the memoir declares that he made the followingstatements: that the Jesuits are masters atQuebec; that the bishop is their creature, and doesnothing but in concert with them2 that he is notwell inclined towards the Re'collets, 3 who have little1 " Tous ceux de mes amis qui l'ont vu luy trouve beaucoupd'esprit et un tres-grand sens ; il ne parle gueres que des choses surlesquelles on l'interroge ; il les dit en tres-peu de mots et tres-biencirconstanciees ; il distingue parfaitement ce qu'il scait arec certitude,de ce qu'il scait avec quelque melange de doute. II avouesans aucune fa9on ne pas savoir ce qu'il ne scait pas, et quoyque jeluy aye ouy dire plus de cinq ou six fois les mesme choses a l'occa-8ion de quelques personnes qui ne les avaient point encore entendues,je les luy ay toujours ouy dire de la mesme maniere. En un motje n'ay jamais ouy parler personne dont les paroles portassent plusde marques de veriteV'2 " II y a une autre chose qui me deplait, qui est l'entiere dependencedans laquelle les Pretres du Seminaire de Quebec et le GrandVicaire de l'Eveque sont pour les Peres J€suites, car il ne fait pasla moindre chose sans leur ordre ; ce qui fait qu'indirectement ilssont les maitres de ce qui regarde le spirituel, qui, comme voussavez, est une grande machine pour remuer toutde Frontenac d Colbert, 2 Nov., 1672.le reste." — Lettre8 " Ces religieux [les Recollets] sont fort proteges partout par lecomte de Frontenac, gouverneur du pays, et a cause de cela assezmaltraite^s par 1'eVesque, parceque la doctrine de 1'eVesque et desJe'suites est que les affaires de la Religion chrestienne n'iront pointbien dans ce pays-la que quand le gouverneur sera creature des

—1678.] JESUIT ASCENDENCY. 109credit, but who are protected by Frontenac ; that inCanada the Jesuits think everybody an enemy toreligion who is an enemy to them ; that, though theyrefused absolution to all who sold brandy to theIndians, they sold it themselves, and that he, LaSalle, had himself detected them in it; 1 that thebishop laughs at the orders of the King when theydo not agree with the wishes of the Jesuits ; that theJesuits dismissed one of their servants named Robert,because he told of their trade in brandy; thatAlbanel, 2 in particular, carried on a great fur-trade,and that the Jesuits have built their college in partfrom the profits of this kind of traific; that theyJe'suites, ou que l'evesque sera gouverneur."la Salle.Memoire sur M r 'de1 " lis [les Jesuites] refusent l'absolution a ceux qui ne veulentpas promettre de n'en plus vendre [de Veau-de-vie], et s'ils meurenten cet 6tat, ils les privent de la sepulture ecclesiastique ; au contraireils se permettent a eux-memes sans aucune difficulte ce mesmetrafic quoique toute sorte de trafic soit interdite a tous les ecclesiastiquespar les ordonnances du Roy, et par une bulle expresse duPape. La Bulle et les ordonnances sont notoires, et quoyqu'ilscachent le trafic qu'ils font d'eau-de-vie, M. de la Salle pre'tend qu'ilne Test pas moins ;qu'outre la notoriete' il en a des preuves certaines,et qu'il les a surpris dans ce trafic, et qu'ils luy ont tendu des piegespour l'y surprendre. ... Ils ont chasse' leur valet Robert a 'causequ'il revela qu'ils en traitaient jour et nuit." — Ibid. The writersays that he makes this last statement, not on the authority of LaSalle, but on that of a memoir made at the time when the intendant,Talon, with whom he elsewhere says that he was well acquainted,returned to France. A great number of particulars are addedrespecting the Jesuit trade in furs.2Albanel was prominent among the Jesuit explorers at thistime. He is best known by his journey up the Saguenay to Hudson'sBay in 1672.

110 PARTY STRIFE. [1678admitted that they carried on a trade, but deniedthat they gained so much by it as was commonlysupposed. 1The memoir proceeds to affirm that they tradelargely with the Sioux at Ste. Marie, and with othertribes at Michilimackinac, and thatthey are mastersof the trade of that region, where the forts are intheir possession. 2 An Indian said, in full council,at Quebec, that he had prayed and been a Christianas long as the Jesuits would stay and teach him, butsince no more beaver were left in his country, themissionaries were gone also. The Jesuits, pursuesthe memoir, will have no priests but themselves intheir missions, and call them all Jansenists, notexcepting the priests of St. Sulpice.The bishop is next accused of harshness andintolerance, as well as of growing rich by tithes, andeven by trade, in which it is affirmed he has a covertinterest. 3 It is added that there exists in Quebec,under the auspices of the Jesuits, an association1 " Pour vou8 parler franchement, ils [les Jesuites] songent autanta la conversion du Castor qu'a celle des ames." — Lettre de Frontenaca Colbert, 2 Nov., 1672.In his despatch of the next year, he says that the Jesuits oughtto content themselves with instructing the Indians in their old missions,instead of neglecting them to make new ones in countrieswhere there are " more beaver-skins to gain than souls to save."2These forts were built by them, and were necessary to the securityof their missions.8 Francois Xavier de Laval-Montmorency, first bishop of Quebec,was a prelate of austere character. His memory is cherishedin Canada by adherents of the Jesuits and all ultramontaneCatholicg.

1678.] FEMALE INQUISITORS. Illcalled the Sainte Famille, of which Madame Bourdon ]is superior. They meet in the cathedral everyThursday, with closed doors, where they relate toeach other — as they are bound by a vow to do — allthey have learned, whether good or evil, concerningother people, during the week. It is a sort of femaleinquisition, for the benefit of the Jesuits, the secretsof whose friends, it is said, are kept, while no suchdiscretion is observed with regard to persons not oftheir party. 21This Madame Bourdon was the widow of Bourdon, the engineer(see "The Jesuits in North America," 297). If we may creditthe lettersof Marie de lTncarnation, she had married him from areligious motive, in order to charge herself with the care of hismotherless children ; stipulating in advance that he should livewith her, not as a husband, but as a brother. As may be imagined,she was regarded as a most devout and saint-like person.a " II y a dans Quebec une congregation de femmes et de fillesqu'ils [les Jesuites] appellent la sainte famille, dans laquelle on faitvceu sur les Saints Evangiles de dire tout ce qu'on sait de bien et demal des personnes qu'on connoist. La Superieure de cette compagnie s'appelle Madame Bourdon ; une M de -d'Ailleboustest, jecrois, l'assistante et une M de -Charron, la Tresoriere. La Compagnies'assemble tous lesJeudis dans la Cathedrale, a porte fermee, et Ikelles se disent les unes aux autres tout ce qu'elles ont appris. C'estune espece dTnquisition contre toutes les personnes qui ne sont pasunies avec les Jesuites.Ces personnes sont accusees de tenir secretce qu'elles apprennent de mal des personnes de leur party et den'avoir pas la mesme discretion pour les autres." — Memoire surM r -de la Salle.The Madame d'Ailleboust mentioned above was a devotee likeMadame Bourdon, and, in one respect, her history was similar. See" The Jesuits in North America," 360.The association of the Sainte Famille was founded by the JesuitChaumonot at Montreal in 1663. Laval, Bishop of Quebec, afterwardsencouraged its establishment at that place ; and, as Chaumonothimself writes, caused it to be attached to the cathedral.Vie

112 PARTY STRIFE. [1678.Here follow a series of statements which it is needlessto repeat, as they do not concern La Salle.They relate to abuse of the confessional, hostility toother priests, hostility to civil authorities, and overhastybaptisms, in regard to which La Salle isreported to have made a comparison, unfavorable tothe Jesuits, between them and the Re'collets andSulpitians.We now come to the second part of the memoir,entitled "History of Monsieur de la Salle." Afterstating that he left France at the age of twenty-oneor twenty-two, with the purpose ofnew discovery, it makes the statementsattempting somerepeated in aformer chapter, concerning his discovery of the Ohio,the Illinois, and possibly the Mississippi. It thenmentions the building of Fort Frontenac, and saysthatone object of it was to prevent the Jesuits frombecoming undisputed masters of the fur-trade. 1Three years ago, it pursues, La Salle came to France,md obtained a grant of the fort ; and it proceeds togive examples of the means used by the party opposedto him to injure his good name and bring him withinreach of the law. Once, when he was at Quebec,the farmer of the King's revenue, one of the richestde Chaumonot, 83. For its establishment at Montreal, see Faillon,1Vie de M *- Mance, i. 233." Us [les Jesuites] ont tous une si grande envie de savoir tout cequi se fait dans les families qu'ils ont des Inspecteurs a gages dansla Ville, qui leur rapportent tout ce qui se fait dans les maisons,"etc., etc.—Lettre de Frontenac au Ministre, 13 Nov., 1673.1Mention has been made (p. 88, note) of the report set on footby the Jesuit Dablon, to prevent the building of the fort.

1678.] PLOTS AGAINST LA SALLE. 113men in the place, was extremely urgent in his proffersof hospitality, and at length, though he knew LaSalle but slightly, persuaded him to lodge in hishouse. He had been here but a few days when hishost's wife began to enact the part of the wife ofPotiphar, and this with so much vivacity that on oneoccasion La Salle was forced to take an abrupt leave,in order to avoid an infringement of the laws of hospitality.As he opened the door, he found the husbandon the watch, and saw that it was a plot toentrap him. 1Another attack, of a different character, thoughin the same direction, was soon after made. Theremittances which La Salle received from the variousmembers and connections of his family were sentthrough the hands of his brother, Abbe* Cavelier,from whom his enemies were, therefore, very eagerto alienate him. To this end, a report was made toreach the priest's ears that La Salle had seduced ayoung woman, with whom he was living in an openand scandalous manner at Fort Frontenac. Theeffect of this device exceeded the wishes of its contrivers; for the priest, aghast at what he had heard,set out for the fort, to administer his fraternal rebuke,but on arriving, in place of the expected abomination,found his brother, assisted by two Rdcollet friars,ruling with edifying propriety over a most exemplaryhousehold.1This story is told at considerable length, and the advance* ofthe lady particularly described.8

'114 PARTY STRIFE. [1678.*.JThus far the memoir. From passages in some ofLa Salle's letters, it may be gathered that Abbe*Cavelier gave him at times no little annoyance. Inhis double character of priest and elder brother, heseems to have constituted himself the counsellor,monitor, and guide of a man who, though many yearshis junior, was in all respects incomparably superiorto him, as the sequel will show. This must havebeen almost insufferable to a nature like that of LaSalle, who, nevertheless, was forced to arm himselfwith patience, since his brother held the pursestrings.On one occasion his forbearance was putto a severe proof, when, wishing to marry a damselof good connections in the colony, Abbe* Cavelier sawfit for some reason to interfere, and prevented thealliance. 1To resume the memoir. It declares that theJesuits procured an ordinance from the SupremeCouncil prohibiting traders from going into theIndian country, in order that they, the Jesuits,being already established there in their missions,might carry on trade without competition.But LaSalle induced a good number of the Iroquois to settlearound his fort; thus bringing the trade to hisown door, without breaking the ordinance. TheseIroquois, he is further reported to have said, werevery fond of him, and aided him in rebuilding thefort with cut stone. The Jesuits told the Iroquoison the south side ofthe lake, where they were estab-1Letter of La Salle, in possession of M. Margry.

1678.] INTRIGUES OF THE JESUITS. 115lished as missionaries, that La Salle was strengtheninghis defences with the view of making war onthem. They and the intendant, who was their creature,endeavored to embroil the Iroquois with theFrench in order to ruin La Salle ; writing to him atthe same time that he was the bulwark of the country,and that he ought to be always on his guard. Theyalso tried to persuade Frontenac that it was necessaryto raise men and prepare for war. La Salle suspectedthem; and seeing that the Iroquois, in consequenceof their intrigues, were in an excited state, heinduced the governor to come to Fort Frontenac topacify them. He accordingly did so ; and a councilwas held, which ended in a complete restoration ofconfidence on the part of the Iroquois. 1 At thiscouncil they accused the two Jesuits, Bruyas andPierron, 2 of spreading reports that the French werepreparing to attack them. La Salle thought that the1Louis XIV. alludes to this visit, in a letter to Frontenac, dated28 April, 1677. " I cannot but approve/' he writes, " of what youhave done, in your voyage to Fort Frontenac, to reconcile theminds of the Five Iroquois Nations, and to clear yourself from thesuspicions they had entertained, and from the motives that mightinduce them to make war." Frontenac's despatches of this year,as well as of the preceding and following years, are missing fromthe archives.In a memoir written in November, 1680, La Salle alludes to " ledesir que Ton avoit que Monseigneur le Comte de Frontenac fist laguerre aux Iroquois."See Thomassy, Geologic Pratique de la Louisiane,203.2Bruyas was about this time stationed among the Onondagas.Pierron was among the Senecas. He had lately removed to themfrom the Mohawk country. Relation des Jesuites, 1673-79, 140(Shea). Bruyas was also for a long time among the Mohawk*.

116 PARTY STRIFE. [1678.object of the intrigue was to make the Iroquoisjealous of him, and engage Frontenac in expenseswhich would offend the King. After La Salle andthe governor had lost credit by the rupture, theJesuits would come forward as pacificators, in thefull assurance that they could restore quiet, andappear in the attitude of saviors of the colony.La Salle, pursues his reporter, went on to say thatabout this time a quantity of hemlock and verdigriswas given him in a salad ; and that the guilty personwas a man in his employ named Nicolas Perrot,otherwise called Jolycoeur, who confessed the crime. 1The memoir adds that La Salle, who recovered fromthe effects of the poison, wholly exculpates theJesuits.This attempt, which was not, as we shall see, theonly one of the kind made against La Salle, isalluded to by him in a letter to a friend at Paris,1This puts the character of Perrot in a new light ; for it is notlikely that any other can be meant than the famous voyageur, Ihave found no mention elsewhere of the synonyme of JolycoeurPoisoning was the current crime of the day, and persons of thehighest rank had repeatedly been charged with it. The followingis the passage :—" Quoiqu'il en soit, M r -dela Salle se sentit quelque temps aprfcsempoissonne' d'une salade dans laquelle on avoit mesle' du cigue,qui est poison en ce pays la, et du verd de gris.II en fut malade aTextr^raite', vomissant presque continuellement 40 ou 50 jours apres,et il ne re'chappa que par la force extreme de sa constitution. Celuyqui luy donna le poison fut un nomme' Nicolas Perrot, autrementJolycoeur, Tun de ses domestiques., , II pouvait faire mourir cethomme, qui a confesse' son crime, mais il g'est contente de Ten-*fermer les fers aux pieds."— Histoire de M r -de la Salle,

1678.] LA SALLE EXCULPATES THE JESUITS. 117written in Canada when he was on the point ofdeparture on his great expedition to descend theMississippi. The following is an extract from it:" I hope to give myself the honor of sending you amore particular account of this enterprise when itshall have had the success which I hope for it ; but Ihave need of a strong protection for its support. Ittraverses the commercial operations of certain persons,who will find it hard to endure it. They intended tomake a new Paraguay in these parts, and the routewhich I close against them gave them facilities foran advantageous correspondence with Mexico. Thischeck will infallibly be a mortification to them ; andyou. know how they deal with whatever opposes them.Nevertheless, I am bound to render them the justice tosay that the poison which was given me was not at allof their instigation. The person who was consciousof the guilt, believing that I was their enemy becausehe saw that our sentiments were opposed, thought toexculpate himself by accusing them, and I confessthat at the time I was not sorry to have this indicationof their ill-will ; but having afterwards carefullyaxamined the affair, I clearly discovered the falsityof the accusation which this rascalhad made againstthem. I nevertheless pardoned him, in order not togive notoriety to the affair; as the mere suspicionmight sully their reputation, to which I shouldscrupulously avoid doing the slightest injury unless Ithought it necessary to the good of the public, andunless the fact were fully proved. Therefore,

";118 PARTY STRIFE. [1678.Monsieur, if anybody shared the suspicion which Ifelt,oblige me by undeceiving him.This letter, so honorable to La Salle, explains thestatement made in the memoir, that, notwithstandinghis grounds of complaint against the Jesuits, he continuedto live on terms of1courtesy with them, entertainedthem at his fort, and occasionally correspondedwith them. The writer asserts, however, that theyintrigued with his men to induce them to desert, —employing for this purpose a young man namedDeslauriers, whom they sent to him with letters ofrecommendation. La Salle took him into his servicebut he soon after escaped, with several other men,and took refuge in the Jesuit missions. 2 The objectof the intrigue is said to have been the reduction ofLa Salle'sgarrison to a number less than that whichhe was bound to maintain, thus exposing him to aforfeiture of his title of possession.He is also stated to have declared that Louis Jolietwas an impostor, 3 and a donne of the Jesuits, — that1 The following words are underlined in the original :" Je suispourtant oblige de leur rendre une justice, que le poison qu'on m'avoitdonne n'estoit point de leur instigation." — Lettre de La Salle au Princede Conti, 31 Oct., 1678.2 In a letter to the King, Frontenac mentions that several menwho had been induced to desert from La Salle had gone to Albany,where the English had received them well. Lettre de Frontenac auRoy, 6 Nov., 1679. The Jesuits had a mission in the neighboringtribe of the Mohawks and elsewhere in New York.8 This agrees with expressions used by La Salle in a memoiraddressed by him to Frontenac in November, 1680. In this, heintimates his belief that Joliet went but little below the mouth ofthe Illinois, thus doing flagrant injustice to that brave explorer.

j1678.RENEWED INTRIGUES. 119is, a man who worked for them without pay; and,further, that when he, La Salle, came to court to askfor privileges enabling him to pursue his discoveries,the Jesuits represented in advance to the ministerColbert that his head was turned, and that he was fitfor nothing but a mad-house. It was only by the aidof influential friends that he was at length enabled togain an audience.Here ends this remarkable memoir, which, criticiseit as we may, does not exaggerate the jealousies andenmities that beset the path of the discoverer.«4HY

CHAPTER Vni.1677, 1678.THE GRAND ENTERPRISE.Salle at Fort Frontenao. — La Salle at Court : his Memorial.— Approval of the King.—Monet and Means. — Henri©e Tontt. — Return to Canada."If," writes a friend of La Salle, "he had preferredgain to glory, he had only to stay at his fort, wherehe was making more than twenty-five thousand livresa year." 1 He loved solitude and he loved power;and at Fort Frontenac he had both, so far as eachconsisted with the other. The nearest settlementwas a week's journey distant, and he was master ofall around him. He had spared no pains to fulfil theconditions on which his wilderness seigniory had beengranted, and within two years he had demolished theoriginal wooden fort, replacing it by another muchlarger, enclosed on the land side by ramparts andbastions of stone, and on the water sideby palisades.It contained a range of barracks of squared timber, aguard-house, a lodging for officers, a forge, a well,1Mimoire pour Monseigneur le Marquis de Seignelay sur Us De*couvertes du Sieur de la Salle, 1682.

1675-78.] LA SALLE AT FORT FRONTENAC. 121a mill, and a bakery. Nine small cannon weremounted on the walls. Two officers and a surgeon,with ten or twelve soldiers, made up the garrison;and three or four times that number of masons,laborers, and canoe-men were at one time maintainedat the place.Along the shore south of the fort was a smallvillage of French families, to whom La Salle hadgranted farms, and, farther on, a village of Iroquois,whom he had persuaded to settle here. Near thesevillages were the house and chapel of two Re'colletfriars, Luc Buisset and Louis Hennepin. More thana hundred French acres ofland had been cleared ofwood, and planted in part with crops ; while cattle,fowls, and swine had been brought up from Montreal.Four vessels, of from twenty-five to forty tons, hadbeen built for the lake and the river; but canoesserved best for ordinary uses, and La Salle's followersbecame so skilled in managing them that they werereputed the best canoe-men in America.of the forestsFeudal lordaround him, commander of a garrisonraised and paid by himself, founder of the mission,and patron of the church, he reigned the autocrat ofhis lonely little empire. 1/1 Ultat de la depense faite par M r -de la Salle, Gouverneur du FortFrontenac. Recit de Nicolas de la Salle. Reveue faite au Fort deFrontenac, 1677 ; Memoire sur le Projet du Sieur de la Salle (Margry,i. 329). Plan of Fort Frontenac, published by Faillon, from theoriginal sent to France by Denonville in 1685. Relation des Dicouvertesdu Sieur de la Salle.When Frontenac was at the fort in September,1677, he found only four habitants. It appears, by the Rela-

122 THE GRAND ENTERPRISE. [1677.It was not solely or chiefly for commercial gainthat La Salle had established Fort Frontenac. Heregarded it as a first step towards greater things ;now, atandlength, his plans were ripe and his time wascome. In the autumn of 1677 he left the fort incharge of his lieutenant, descended the St.Lawrenceto Quebec, and sailed for France. He had thepatronage of Frontenac and the help of strong friendsin Paris. It is said, as we have seen already, thathis enemies denounced him, in advance, as a madman;but a memorial of his, which his friends laidbefore the minister Colbert, found a favorable hearing.In it he set forth his plans, or a portion ofthem. He first recounted briefly the discoveries hehad made, and then described the country he hadseen south and west of the great lakes." It is nearlyall so beautiful and so fertile ; so free from forests,and so full of meadows, brooks, and rivers; soabounding in fish, game, and venison, that one canfind there in plenty, and with little trouble, all thatis needful for the support of flourishing colonies.The soil will produce everything that is raisedin France. Flocks and herds can be left out atpasture all winter; and there are even native wildcattle, which, instead of hair, have a fine woolthat may answer for making cloth and hats. Theirhides are better than those of France, as appearstion des Decouvertes du Sieur de la Salle, that, three or four yearslater, there were thirteen or fourteen families. La Salle spent34,426 franci on the fort. Memoire au Roy, Papier$ de Famille

1678.] LA SALLE'S MEMORIAL. 123by the sample which the Sieur de la Salle hasbrought with him. Hemp and cotton grow herenaturally, and may be manufactured with good results;so there can be no doubt that colonies plantedhere would become very prosperous. They wouldbe increased by a great number of western Indians,who are in the main of a tractable and social disposition;and as they have the use neither of ourweapons nor of our goods, and are not in intercoursewith other Europeans, they willreadily adapt themselvesto us and imitate our way of life as soon asthey taste the advantages of our friendship and ofthe commodities we bring them, insomuch that thesecountries will infallibly furnish, within a few years,a great many new subjects to the Church and theKing." It was the knowledge of these things, joined tothe poverty of Canada, its dense forests, its barrensoil, its harsh climate, and the snow that covers theground for half the year, that led the Sieur de laSalle to undertake the planting of colonies in thesebeautiful countries of the West."Then he recounts the difficulties of the attempt, —the vast distances, the rapids and cataracts thatobstruct the way; the cost of men, provisions, andmunitions; the danger from the Iroquois, and therivalry of the English, who covet the westerncountry, and would gladly seize it for themselves."But this last reason," says the memorial, "onlyanimates the Sieur de la Salle the more, and impels

124 THE GRAND ENTERPRISE. [1678.him to anticipate them by the promptness of hisaction."He declares that it was for thisthat he had askedfor the grant of Fort Frontenac; and he describeswhat he had done at that post, inorder to make it asecure basis for his enterprise. He says that he hasnow overcome the chief difficulties in his way, andthat he is ready to plant a new colony at the outletof Lake Erie,of which the English, if not prevented,might easily take possession. Towards the accomplishmentof his plans, he asks the confirmation ofhis title to Fort Frontenac, and the permission to/establish at his own cost two other posts, with seigniorialrights over all lands which he may discoverand colonize within twenty years, and the governmentof all the country in question. On his part,he proposes to renounce allshare in the trade carriedon between the tribes of the Upper Lakes and thepeople of Canada.La Salleseems to have had an interview with theminister, in which the proposals of his memorial weresomewhat modified. He soon received in reply thefollowing patent from the King :—" Louis, by the grace of God King of France andNavarre, to our dear and well-beloved RobertCavelier, Sieur de la Salle, greeting. We havereceived with favor the very humble petition madeus in your name, to permit you to labor at the discoveryof the western parts of New France ; and wehave the more willingly entertained this proposal,

1678.] THE KING'S APPROVAL. 125since we have nothing more at heart than the explorationof this country, through which, to all appearance,a way may be found to Mexico. . . . For thisand other causes thereunto moving us, we permityou by these presents, signed with our hand, to laborat the discovery of the western parts ofour aforesaidcountry of New France; and, for the execution ofthis enterprise, to build forts at such places as youmay think necessary, and enjoy possession thereofunder the same clauses and conditions as of FortFrontenac, conformably to our letters patent of Maythirteenth, 1675, which, so far as needful, we confirmby these presents. And it is our will that theybe executed according to their form and tenor: oncondition, nevertheless, that you finish this enterprisewithin five years, failing which, these presents shallbe void, and of no effect ;that you carry on no tradewith the savages called Ottawas, or with other tribeswho bring their peltries to Montreal ; and that you dothewhole at your own cost and that of your associates,to whom we have granted the sole right oftrade in buffalo-hides. And we direct the SieurCount Frontenac, our governor and lieutenantgeneral,and also Duchesneau, intendant of justice,police, and finance, and the officers of the supremecouncil of the aforesaid country, to see to the executionof these presents ; for such is our pleasure." Given at St. Germain en Laye, this 12th day ofMay, 1678, and of our reign the 35th year."This patent grants both more and less than the

126 THE GRAND ENTERPRISE [1678.memorial had asked.It authorizes La Salle to buildand own, not two forts only, but as many as he maysee fit, provided that he do so within five years ; andit gives him, besides, the monopoly of buffalo-hides,for which at first he had not petitioned. Nothing issaid of colonies. To discover the country, secure itby forts, and find, if possible, a way to Mexico, are"the only object set forth ; for Louis XIV. always discountenancedsettlement in the West, partly as tendingto deplete Canada, and partly as removing hissubjects too far from his paternal control. It wasbut the year before that he refused to Louis Jolietthe permission to plant a trading station in the Valleyof the Mississippi. 1 La Salle, however, still held tohis plan of a commercial and industrial colony, andin connection with it to another purpose, of whichhis memorial had made no mention. This was thebuilding of a vessel on some branch of the Mississippi,in order to sail down that river to its mouth,and open a route tocommerce through the Gulf ofMexico. It is evident that this design was alreadyformed; for he had no sooner received his patent,than he engaged ship-carpenters, and procured iron,cordage, and anchors, not for one vessel, but fortwo.What he now most needed was money; and havingnone of his own, he set himself to raising it fromothers. A notary named Simonnet lent him fourthousand livres; an advocate named Raoul, twentyiColbert a Duchesneau, 28 Avril, 1677.

1678.] MONEY AND MEANS. 127four thousand ; and one Duinont, six thousand. Hiscousin Frangois Plet, a merchant of Rue St. Martin,lent him about eleven thousand, at the interest offorty per cent; and when he returned to Canada,Frontenac found means to procure him another loanof about fourteen thousand, secured by the mortgageof Fort Frontenac. But his chief helpers were hisfamily, who became sharers in his undertaking."His brothers and relations," says a memorial afterwardsaddressed by them to the King, "spared nothingto enable him to respond worthily to the royalgoodness;" and the document adds, that, before hisallotted five years were ended, his discoveries hadcost them more than five hundred thousand livres(francs). 1 La Salle himself believed, and madeothers believe, that there was more profit than riskin his schemes.Lodged rather obscurely in Rue de la Truanderie,and of a nature reserved and shy, he neverthelessfound countenance and support from personages noless exalted than Colbert, Seignelay, and the Princede Conti. Others, too, in stations less conspicuous,warmly espoused his cause, and none more so thanthe learned Abbe* Renaudot, who helped him withtongue and pen, and seems to have been instrumentalin introducing to him a man who afterwards provedinvaluable. This was Henri de Tonty, an Italian \Y1Memoire au Roy, prisente sous la Regence ; Obligation du Sieur dela Salle envers le Sieur Plet ; Autres Emprunts de Cavelier de la Salle(Margiy, i. 423-482).

128 THE GRAND ENTERPRISE. [1678.officer, a protSgS of the Prince de Conti, who senthim to La Salle as a person suited to his purposes.Tonty had but one hand, the other having beenblown off by a grenade in the Sicilian wars. 1 Hisfather, who had been governor of Gaeta, but whohad come to France in consequence of political disturbances inNaples, had earned no small reputationas a financier, and had invented the form of lifeinsurance still called the Tontine. La Salle learnedto know his new lieutenant on the voyage across theAtlantic ;and, soon after reaching Canada, he wroteof him to his patron in the following terms: "Hishonorable character and his amiable disposition werewe 'I known to you; but perhaps you would not havethe aght him capable of doing things for which astrong constitution, an acquaintance with the country,and the use ofboth hands seemed absolutely necessary.Nevertheless, his energy and address makehim equal to anything; and now, at a season wheneverybody is in fear of the ice, he is setting out tobegin a new fort, two hundred leagues from thisplace, and to which I have taken the liberty to givethe name of Fort Conti. It is situated near thatgreat cataract,more than a hundred and twenty toisesin height, by which the lakes of higher elevationprecipitate themselves into Lake Frontenac [Ontario].From there one goes by water, five hundred leagues,to the place where Fort Dauphin is to be begun;from which it only remains to descend the great1Tonty, MSmoire, in Margry, Relations et Mimoires inedits, 6.

1678.] RETURN TO CANADA. 129river of the Bay of St. Esprit, to reach the Gulf ofMexico." 1Besides Tonty, La Salle found in France anotherally, La Motte de LussiSre, to whom he offered ashare in the enterprise, and who joined him atRochelle, the place of embarkation. Here vexatiousdelays occurred. Bellinzani, director of trade, whohad formerly taken lessons in rascality inthe serviceof Cardinal Mazarin, abused his official position tothrow obstacles in the way of La Salle, in order toextort money from him; and he extorted, in fact,a considerable- sum, which his victim afterwardsreclaimed. It was not till the fourteenth of Julythat La Salle, with Tonty, La Motte, and thirtymen, set sail for Canada, and two months moreelapsed before he reached Quebec.Here, to increasehis resources and strengthen his position, he seemsto have made a league with several Canadian meriLettre de La Salle, 31 Oct., 1678. Fort Conti was to have beenbuilt on the site of the present Fort Niagara. The name of Lac deConti was given by La Salle to Lake Erie. The fort mentioned asFort Dauphin was built, as we shall see, on the Illinois, thoughunder another name. La Salle, deceived by Spanish maps, thoughtthat the Mississippi discharged itself into the Bay of St. Esprit(Mobile Bay).Henri de Tonty signed his name in the Gallicized, and not in theoriginal Italian form Tonti. He wore a hand of iron or some othermetal, which was usually covered with a glo , e. La Potherie saysthat he once or twice used it to good purpose when the Indiansbecame disorderly, in breaking the heads of the most contumaciousor knocking out their teeth. Not knowing at the time the secret ofthe unusual efficacy of his blows, they regarded him as a " medicine" of the first order. La Potherie erroneously ascribes *be lossof his hand to a sabre-cut received in a sortie at Messina.9

130 THE GRAND ENTERPRISE. [1678.chants, some of whom had beforebeen his enemies,and were to be so again. Here, too, he found FatherLouis Hennepin, who had come down from FortFrontenac to meet him. 11 La Motte de Lussihre a—, saws date ; Memoire de la S He sur leeExtorsions commises par Bellinzani ; Societe form€e par J*a Salle;Relation de Henri de Tonty, 1684 (Margry, i. 338, 673; ii. ? 25).

CHAPTER IX.1678-1679.LA SALLE AT NIAGARA.Father Louis Hennepin: his Past Life; his Character.—Embarkation. — Niagara Falls. — Indian Jealousy. — LaMOTTE AND THE SENECAS. — A DISASTER. — La SALLE AND HISFollowers.Hennepin was all eagerness to join in the adventure;and, to his great satisfaction, La Salle gave hima letter from his Provincial, Father Le Fevre, containingthe coveted permission. Whereupon, toprepare himself, he went into retreat at the Re'colletconvent ofQuebec, where he remained for a time insuch prayer and meditation as his nature, the reverseof spiritual, would permit.Frontenac, always partialto his Order, then invited him to dine at the chateau;and having visited the bishop and asked his blessing,he went down to the Lower Town and embarked.His vessel was a small birch canoe, paddled by twomen. With sandalled feet, a coarse gray capote, andpeaked hood, the cord of St.Francis about his waist,and a rosary and crucifix hanging at his side, thefather set forth on his memorable journey. He

132 LA SALLE AT NIAGARA. [1678.carried with him the furniture of a portable altar,which in time of need he could strap on his back likea knapsack.He slowly made his way up the St. Lawrence,stopping here and there, where a clearing and a fewlog houses marked the feeble beginning of a parishand a seigniory. The settlers, though good Catholics,were too few and too poor to support a priest, andhailed the arrival of the friar with delight. He saidmass, exhorted a little, as was his custom, and onone occasion baptized a child. At length he reachedMontreal, where the enemies of the enterprise enticedaway his two canoe-men. He succeeded in findingtwo others, with whom he continued his voyage,passed the rapids of the upper St. Lawrence, andreached Fort Frontenac at eleven o'clock at night ofthe second of November, where his brethren of themission, Ribourde and Buisset, received him withopen arms. 1 La Motte, with most of the men,appeared on the eighth;but La Salle and Tonty didnot arrive till more than a month later.Meanwhile,in pursuance of his orders, fifteen men set out incanoes for Lake Michigan and the Illinois, to tradewith the Indians and collect provisions, while LaMotte embarked in a small vessel for Niagara, accompaniedby Hennepin. 21Hennepin, Description de la Louisiane (1683), 19 ; Ibid., VoyageCurieux (1704), 66. Ribourde had lately arrived.* Lettre de La Motte de la Lussiire, sans date ; Relation de Henride Tonty e'crite de Quebec, le 14 Novembre, 1684 (Margry, i. 573).

1678.] HENNEPIN 133This bold, hardy, and adventurous friar,the historianofthe expedition, and a conspicuous actor in it,has unwittingly painted his own portrait with tolerabledistinctness. "I always," he says, "felt astrong inclination to fly from the world and liveaccording to the rules of a pure and severe virtue;and it was with this view that I entered the Order ofSt. Francis." 1 He then speaks of his zeal for thesaving of souls, but admits that a passion for traveland a burning desire to visit strange lands had nosmall part in his inclination for the missions. 2Beingin a convent in Artois, his Superior sent him toCalais, at the season of the herring-fishery, to begalms, after the practice of the Franciscans. Hereand at Dunkirk he made friends of the sailors, andwas never tired of their stories.So insatiable, indeed,was his appetite for them, that "often," he says, "Ihid myself behind tavern doors while the sailors weretelling of their voyages. The tobacco smoke mademe very sick at the stomach ; but, notwithstanding,I listened attentively to all they said about theiradventures at sea and their travels in distant countries.I could have passed whole days and nights in thisway without eating." 8He presently set out on a roving mission throughThis paper, apparently addressed to Abbs' Renaudot, is entirely distinctfrom Tont/s memoir of 1693, addressed to the ministerPonchartrain.1Hennepin, Nouvelle Decouverte (1697), 8.2 Ibid., Avant Propos, 5.8 Ibid., Voyage Curieux (1704), 12.

134 LA SALLE AT NIAGARA. [1678,Holland; and he recounts various mishaps whichbefell him, "in consequence of my zeal in laboringfor the saving of souls."of"I was at the bloody fightSeneff," he pursues, "where so many perished byfire and sword, and where I had abundance of workin comforting and consoling the poor woundedsoldiers.After undergoing great fatigues, and runningextreme danger in the sieges of towns, in thetrenches, and in battles, where I exposed myselffreely for the salvation of others while the soldierswere breathing nothing but blood and carnage, Ifound myself at last in a way of satisfying my oldinclination for travel." 1He got leave from his superiors to go to Canada,the most adventurous of all the missions, and accordinglysailed in 1675, in the ship which carried LaSalle, who had just obtained the grant of FortFrontenac. In the course of the voyage, he took itupon him to reprove a party ofgirls who were amusingthemselves and a circle of officers and otherpassengers by dancing on deck. La Salle, who wasamong the spectators, was annoyed at Hennepin'sinterference, and told him that he was behaving likea pedagogue. The friar retorted, by alluding —unconsciously, as he says — to the circumstance thatLa Salle was once a pedagogue himself, having,according toHennepin, been for ten or twelve yearsteacher of a class in a Jesuit school. La Salle, headds, turned pale with rage, and never forgave him1Hennepin, Voyage Curieux (1704), 18.

1677-78.] HENNEPIN. 135to his dying day, but always maligned and persecutedhim. 1On arriving in Canada, he was sent up to FortFrontenac, as a missionary. That wild and remotepost was greatly to his liking. He planted a giganticcross, superintended the building of a chapel for himselfand his colleague Buisset, and instructed theIroquois colonists of the place. He visited, too, theneighboring Indian settlements, — paddling his canoein summer, when the lake was open, and journeyingin winter on snow-shoes, with a blanket slung at hisback.His most noteworthy journey was one whichhe made in the winter, — apparently of1677, — witha soldier of the fort. They crossed the easternextremity of Lake Ontario on snow-shoes, andpushed southward through the forests, towardsOnondaga, — stopping at evening to dig away thesnow, which was severalfeet deep, and collect woodfor their fire, which they were forced to replenishrepeatedly during the night, to keep themselves fromfreezing. At length, they reached the great Onondagatown, where the Indians were much amazed at theirhardihood. Thence they proceeded eastward to theOneidas, and afterwards to the Mohawks, whoregaled them with small frogs, pounded up with aporridge of Indian corn. Here Hennepin found theJesuit Bruyas, who permitted him to copy a diction-1 Ibid., Avts au Lecteur. He elsewhere represents himself as onexcellent terms with La Salle ; with whom, he says, he used to readhistories of travels at Fort Frontenac, after which they discussedtogether their plans of discovery.

;136 LA SALLE AT NIAGARA. [1678.Jary of the Mohawk language * which he had compiledand here he presently met three Dutchmen, whourged him to visit the neighboring settlement ofOrange, or Albany, — an invitation which he seemsto have declined. 2They were pleased with him, he says, becausespoke Dutch.heBidding them farewell, he tied on hissnow-shoes again, and returned with his companionto Fort Frontenac. Thus he inured himself to thehardships of the woods, and prepared for the executionof the grand plan of discovery which he calls hisown, — "an enterprise," to borrow his own words," capable of terrifying anybody but me. " 3 When thelater editions of his book appeared, doubts had beenexpressed of his veracity. "I here protest to you,before God, " he writes, addressing the reader," thatmy narrative is faithful and sincere, and that youmay believe everything related in it." 4 And yet, aswe shall see, this reverend father was the mostimpudent of liars; and the narrative of which hespeaks is a rare monument of brazen mendacity.Hennepin, however, had seen and dared much; for1This was the Ratines Agnihres of Bruyas. It was published by-Mr. Shea in 1862. Hennepin seems to have studied it carefully ;for on several occasions he makes use of words evidently borrowedfrom it, putting them into the mouths of Indians speaking a dialectdifferent from that of the Agniers, or Mohawks.3Compare Brodhead in Hist. Mag., x. 268." Une enterprise capable d'e*pouvanter tout autre que moi." —Hennepin, Voyage Curieux, Avant Propos (1704).4 " Je vous proteste ici devant Dieu, que ma Relation est fldele etsincere," etc. — Ibid., Avis au Lecteur.

1678.] HENNEPIff 187among his many failings fearhad no part, and wherehis vanity or his spite was not involved, he oftentold the truth,their enormous fabrications. 1His books have their value, with allLa Motte and Hennepin, with sixteenmen, wenton board the little vessel of ten tons, which lay atFort Frontenac. The friar's two brethren, Buissetand Ribourde,, threw their arms about his neck asthey bade him farewell ;while his Indian proselytes,learning whither he was bouna, stood with theirhands pressed upon their mouths,in amazement atthe perils which awaited their ghostly instructor.La Salle, with the rest of the party, was to follow assoon as he could finish his preparations. It was aboisterous and gusty day, the eighteenth of November,The sails were spread ; the shore receded, — the stonewalls of the fort, the huge cross that the friar hadreared, the wigwams, the settlers' cabins, the groupof staring Indians on the strand. The lake was yrough; and the men, crowded in so small a craft,grew nervous and uneasy. They hugged the northernshore, to escape the fury of the wind, which blewsavagely from the northeast; while the long graysweep ofnaked forests on their right betokened thatwinter was fast closing in. On the twenty-sixth,they reached the neighborhood of the Indian town of1The nature of these fabrications will be shown hereafterThey occur, not in the early editions of Hennepin's narrative, whichare comparatively truthful, but in the edition of 1697 and thosewhich followed. La Salle was dead at the time of their publication.

138 LA SALLE AT NIAGARA. [1678.Taiaiagon, 1 not far from Toronto, and ran theirvessel, for safety, into the mouth of a river, — probablythe Humber, — where the ice closed about her,and they were forced to cut her out with axes.the fifth ofmouth ofOnDecember, they attempted to cross to thethe Niagara; but darkness overtook them,and they spent a comfortless night, tossing on thetroubled lake, five or six miles from shore. In themorning, they entered the mouth of the Niagara, andlanded on the point at its eastern side, where nowstand the historic ramparts of Fort Niagara. Herethey found a small village of Senecas, attractedhither by the fisheries, who gazed with curious eyesat the vessel, and listened in wonder as the voyagerssang Te Deum in gratitude for their safe arrival.Hennepin, with several others, now ascended theriver in a canoe to the foot ofthe mountain ridge ofLewiston, which, stretching on the right hand andon the left,forms the acclivity of a vast plateau, rentwith the mighty chasm, along which, from this pointto the cataract, seven miles above, rush, with thefury of an Alpine torrent, the gathered waters offour inland oceans. To urge the canoe farther wasimpossible. He landed, with his companions, on thewest bank, near the foot of that part of the ridgenow called Queenstown Heights, climbed the steepascent, and pushed through the wintry forest on a1This place is laid down on a manuscript map sent to France bythe Intendant Duchesneau, and now preserved in the Archives dela Marine, and also on several other contemporary maps.

1678.] NIAGARA FALLS., 139tour of exploration. On his left sank the cliffs, thefurious river raging below ;till at length, in primevalsolitudes unprofaned as yet by the pettiness of man,the imperial cataract burst upon his sight. 1The explorers passed three miles beyond it, andencamped for the night on the banks of ChippewaCreek, scraping away the snow, which was a footdeep, in order to kindle a fire. In the morning theyretraced their steps, startling a number of deer andwild turkeys on their way, and rejoined their companionsat the mouth of the river.1Hennepin's account of the falls and river of Niagara— especiallyhis second account, on his return from the West— is veryminute, and on the whole very accurate. He indulges in grossexaggeration as to the height of the cataract, which, in the editionof 1683, he states at five hundred feet, and raises to six hundred inthat of 1697. He also says that there was room for four carriagesto pass abreast under the American Fall without being wet.Thisis, of course, an exaggeration at the best; but it is extremelyprobable that a great change has taken place since his time. Hespeaks of a small lateral fall at the west side of the Horse ShoeFall which does not now exist. Table Rock, now destroyed, is distinctlyfigured in his picture. He says that he descended the cliffson the west side to the foot of the cataract, but that no humanbeing can get down on the east side.The name of Niagara, written Onguiaahra by Lalemant in 1641,and Ongiara by Sanson, on his map of 1657, is used by Hennepin inits present form. His description of the falls is the earliest knownto exist. They are clearly indicated on the map of Champlain,1632. For early references to them, see "The Jesuits in NorthAmerica," 235, note. A brief but curious notice of them is givenby Gendron, Quelques Particularitez du Pays des Hurons, 1659. Theindefatigable Dr. O'Callaghan has discovered thirty-nine distinctforms of the name Niagara. Index to Colonial Documents of NewYork, 465. It is of Iroquois origin, and in the Mohawk dialect ispronounced Nyagarah.

140 LA SALLE AT NIAGARA. [1678,La Motte now began the building of a fortifiedhouse, some two leagues above the mouth of theNiagara. 1 Hot water was used to soften the frozenground; but frost was not the only obstacle. TheSenecas of the neighboring village betrayed a sullenjealousy at a design which, indeed, boded them nogood. Niagara was the key to the four great lakesabove; and whoever held possession of it could, inno small measure, control the fur-trade of the interior.Occupied by the French, it would in time of peaceintercept the trade which the Iroquois carried onbetween the western Indians and the Dutch andEnglish at Albany, and in time of war threaten themwith serious danger. La Motte saw the necessity ofconciliating these formidable neighbors, and, if possible,cajoling them to give their consent to the plan.La Salle, indeed, had instructed him to that effectHe resolved on a journey to the great village of thsSenecas, and called on Hennepin, who was busied inbuilding a bark chapel for himself, to accompanyhim. They accordingly set out with several menwell armed and equipped, and bearing at their backspresents of very considerable value. The villagewas beyond the Genesee, southeast of the site ofRochester. 2After a march of five days, they reachedit on the last day of December. They were con-1Tonty, Relation, 1684 (Margry, i. 573).* Near the town of Victor. It is laid down on the map of Gallne'e,and other unpublished maps. Compare Marshall, HistoricalSketches of*he Niagara Frontier, 14.

1678] LA MOTTE AND THE SENEGAS. 141ducted to the lodge of the great chief, where theywere beset by a staring crowd of women and children.Two Jesuits, Raffeix and Julien Gamier, were inthe village; and their presence boded no good forthe embassy. La Motte, who seems to have had littlelove for priests of any kind, was greatly annoyed atseeing them ; and when the chiefs assembled to hearwhat he had to say, he insisted that the two fathersshould leave the council-house. At this, Hennepin,out of respect for his cloth, thought it befitting thathe should retire also. The chiefs, forty-two innumber, squatted on the ground, arrayed in ceremonialrobes of beaver, wolf, or black-squirrelskin."The senators of Venice," writes Hennepin, "donot look more grave or speak more deliberately thanthe counsellors of the Iroquois." La Motte's interpreterharangued the attentive conclave, placed giftafter gift at their feet, — coats, scarlet cloth, hatchets,knives, and beads, — and used all his eloquence topersuade them that the building of a fort on thebanks of the Niagara, and a vessel on Lake Erie,were measures vital to their interest. They gladlytook the gifts, but answered the interpreter's speechwith evasive generalities; and having been entertainedwith the burning of an Indian prisoner, thediscomfited embassy returned, half-famished, toNiagara.Meanwhile, La Salle and Tonty were on their wayfrom Fort Frontenac, with men and supplies, tojoin La Motte and his advance party. They were

142 LA SALLE AT NIAGARA. [1679.in a small vessel, with a pilot either unskilful ortreacherous. On Christmas eve, he was near wreckingthem off the Bay of Quinte*. On the next daythey crossed to the mouth of the Genesee; and LaSalle,after some delay, proceeded to the neighboringtown of the Senecas, where he appears to have arrivedjust after the departure of La Motte and Hennepin.He, too,called them to a council, and tried to soothethe extreme jealousy with which they regarded hisproceedings. "I told them my plan," he says, "andgave the best pretexts I could, and I succeeded inmy attempt." 1 More fortunate than La Motte, hepersuaded them to consent to his carrying arms andammunition by the Niagara portage, building a vesselabove the cataract, and establishing a fortified warehouseat the mouth of the river.This success was followed by a calamity.La Sallehad gone up the Niagara to find a suitable place for aship-yard, when he learned that the pilot in chargeof the vessel he had left had disobeyed his orders,and ended by wrecking it on the coast. Little wassaved except the anchors and cables destined for thenew vessel to be built above the cataract. This lossthrew him into extreme perplexity, and, as Hennepinsays, "would have made anybody but him give upthe enterprise." 2 The whole party were now gath-1 Lettre de La Salle a un de ses associes (Margry, ii. 32).4 Description de la Louisiane (1683), 41. It is characteristic ofHennepin that, in the editions of his book published after La Salle'sdeath, he substitutes, for " anybody but him," " anybody but thosewho had formed *o generous a design," — meaning to include him-

1679.] JEALOUSIES. 143ered at the palisaded house which La Motte hadbuilt, a little below the mountain ridge of Lewiston.They were a motley crew of French, Flemings, andItalians, all mutually jealous. La Salle's enemieshad tampered with some of the men; and none ofthem seemed to have had much heart for the enterprise.The fidelity even of La Motte was doubtful."He served me very ill," says La Salle; "andMessieurs de Tonty and de laForest knew that hedid his best to debauch all my men." 1 His healthsoon failed under the hardships ofthese winter journeyings,and he returned to Fort Frontenac, halfblindedby an inflammation of the eyes. 2 La Salle,seldom happy in the choice of subordinates, had,perhaps, in all his company but one man whom hecould fully trust; and this was Tonty. He andHennepin were on indifferent terms. Men throwntogether in a rugged enterprise like this quickly learnto know each other;and the vain and assuming friarwas not likely to commend himself to La Salle's braveand loyal lieutenant.Hennepin says that it was LaSalle's policy to govern through the dissensions of hisfollowers ; and, from whatever cause, it is certain thatthose beneath him were rarely in perfect harmony.eelf, though he lost nothing by the disaster, and had not formedthe design.On these incidents, compare the two narratives of Tonty, of 1084and 1693. The book bearing Tonty's name is a compilation full oferrors. He disowned its authorship.i Lettre de La Salle, 22 Aout, 1682 (Margry, ii. 212).2 Lettre de La Motte, sans date.

CHAPTER X.1679.THE LAUNCH OF THE "GRIFFIN."rHE Niagara Portage. — A Vessel on the Stocks. — Sufferingand Discontent. — La Salle's Winter Journey. — The VesselLAUNCHED. — FRESH DISASTERS.A more important work than that of the warehouseat the mouth of the river was now to be begun.This was the building of a vesselabove the cataract.The small craft which had brought La Motte andHennepin with theiradvance party had been hauledto the foot of the rapids at Lewiston, and drawnashore with a capstan, to save her from the driftingice. Her lading was taken out, and must now becarried beyond thecataract to the .calm water above.The distance to the destined point was at leasttwelve miles, and the steep heightsabove Lewistonmust first be climbed. This heavy task was accomplishedon the twenty-second of January. The levelof the plateau was reached, and the file of burdenedmen, some thirty in number, toiled slowly on its wayover the snowy plains and through the gloomy forestsof spruce and naked oak-trees; while Hennepinplodded through the drifts with his portable altar

.1679.] THE NIAGARA PORTAGE. 145lashed fast to his back. They came at last to themouth of a stream which entered the Niagara twoleagues above the cataract, and which was undoubtedlythat now called Cayuga Creek. 1i It has been a matter of debate on which side of the Niagarathe first vessel on the Upper Lakes was built. A close study ofHennepin, and a careful examination of the localities, have convincedme that the spot was that indicated above. Hennepinrepeatedly alludes to a large detached rock, rising out of the waterat the foot of the rapids above Lewiston, on the west side of theriver. This rock may still be seen immediately under the westernend of the Lewiston suspension-bridge. Persons living in the neighborhoodremember that a ferry-boat used to pass between it andthe cliffs of the western shore ; but it has since been undermined bythe current and has inclined in that direction, so that a considerablepart of it is submerged, while the gravel and earth thrown downfrom the cliff during the building of the bridge has filled the interveningchannel. Opposite to this rock, and on the east side of theriver, says Hennepin, are three mountains, about two leagues belowthe cataract. (Nouveau Voyage (1704), 462, 466.) To these " threemountains," as well as to the rock, he frequently alludes. Theyare also spoken of by La Hontan, who clearly indicatestheir position.They consist in the three successive grades of the acclivityfirst, that which rises from the level of the water, forming the steepand lofty river-bank ; next, an intermediate ascent, crowned by asort of terrace, where the tired men could find a second resting-placeand lay down their burdens, whence a third effort carried them withdifficulty to the level top of the plateau. That this was the actual" portage," or carrying place of the travellers, is shown by Hennepin(1704), 114, who describes the carrying of anchors and other heavyarticles up these heights in August, 1679. La Hontan also passedthe Falls by way of the " three mountains " eight years later. LaHontan (1703), 106. It is clear, then, that the portage was on theeast side, whence it would be safe to conclude that the vessel wasbuilt on the same side. Hennepin says that she was built at themouth of a stream (riviere) entering the Niagara two leagues abovethe Falls. Excepting one or two small brooks, there is no streamon the west side but Chippewa Creek, which Hennepin had visitedand correctly placed at about a league from the cataract. His di*10

146 THE LAUNCH OF THE "GRIFFIN." [1679.Trees were felled, the place cleared, and themaster-carpenter set his ship-builders at work.Meanwhile,two Mohegan hunters, attached tothe party,made bark wigwams to lodge the men. Hennepinhad his chapel, apparently of the same material,where he placed his altar, and on Sundays and saints'days said mass, preached, and exhorted ; while someof the men, who knew the Gregorian chant, lenttheir aid at the service. When the carpenters wereready to lay the keel of the vessel, La Salle askedthe friar to drive the first bolt ;" but the modesty ofmy religious profession," he says, "compelled me todecline this honor."Fortunately, it was the hunting-season of theIroquois, and most of the Seneca warriors were inthe forests south of Lake Erie ;yet enough remainedto cause serious uneasiness. They loitered sullenlyabout the place, expressing their displeasure at theproceedings of the French. One of them, pretendingtances on the Niagara are usually correct. On the east side thereis a stream which perfectly answers the conditions. This is CayugaCreek, two leagues above the Falls. Immediately in front of it isan island about a mile long, separated from the shore by a narrowand deep arm of the Niagara, into which Cayuga Creek dischargesitself. The place is so obviously suited to building and launchinga vessel, that, in the early part of this century, the government ofthe United States chose it for the construction of a schooner tocarry supplies to the garrisons of the Upper Lakes. The neighboringvillage now bears the name of La Salle.In examining this and other localities on the Niagara, I havebeen greatly aided by my friend O. H. Marshall, Esq., of Buffalo,who is unrivalled in his knowledge of the history and traditions ofthe Niagara frontier.

1679.] SUFFERING AND DISCONTENT. 147to be drunk, attacked the blacksmith and tried tokill him ; but the Frenchman, brandishing a red-hotbar of iron, held him at bay till Hennepin ran to therescue, when, as he declares, the severity of hisrebuke caused the savage to desist. 1 The work ofthe ship-builders advanced rapidly; and when theIndian visitors beheld the vast ribs of the woodenmonster, their jealousy was redoubled. A squawtold the French that they meant to burn the vessel onthe stocks. All now stood anxiously on the watch.Cold, hunger, and discontent found imperfect antidotesin Tonty's energy and Hennepin's sermons.La Salle was absent, and his lieutenant commandedin his place.Hennepin says that Tonty was jealousbecause he, the friar, kept a journal, and that hewas forced to use all manner of just precautions toprevent the Italian from seizing it. The men, beinghalf-starved, in consequence of the loss of their provisionson Lake Ontario, were restless and moody;and their discontent was fomented by one of theirnumber, who had very probably been tampered withby La Salle's enemies. 2 The Senecas refused to1Hennepin (1704), 97. On a paper drawn up at the instance ofthe Intendant Duchesneau, the names of the greater number of LaSalle's men are preserved. These agree with those given by Hennepin: thus, the master-carpenter, whom he calls Mattre Moyse,appears as Moise Hillaret ; and the blacksmith, whom he calls LaForge, is mentioned as — (illegible) dit la Forge.2 " This bad man," says Hennepin, " would infallibly have debauchedour workmen, if I had not reassured them by the exhortationswhich I made them on ffite-days and Sundays, after divineservice " (1704), 98.

;148 THE LAUNCH OF THE "GRIFFIN." [1679supply them with corn, and the frequent exhortationsof the R^collet father proved an insufficient substitute.In this extremity, the two Mohegans didexcellent service, — bringing deer and other game,which relieved the most pressing wants of the party,and went far to restore their cheerfulness.La Salle, meanwhile, had gone down to the mouthof the river, with a sergeant and a number of menand here, on the high point of land where FortNiagara now stands, he marked out theof two blockhouses. 1foundationsThen, leaving his men to buildthem, he set out on foot for Fort Frontenac, wherethe condition of his affairs demanded his presence,and where he hoped to procure supplies to replacethose lost in the wreck of his vessel. It wasFebruary, and the distance was some two hundredand fifty miles, through the snow-encumbered forestsof the Iroquois and over the ice of Lake Ontario.Two men attended him, and a dog dragged his baggageon a sledge.For food, they had only a bag ofparched corn, which failed them two days beforethey reached the fort; and they made the rest of thejourney fasting.During his absence, Tonty finished the vessel,which was of about forty-five tons' burden. 2 As1 Lettre de La Salle, 22 Aobt, 1682 (Margry, ii. 229) ; Relation deTonty, 1684 (Ibid., i. 677). He called this new post Fort Conti. Itwas burned some months after, by the carelessness of the sergeantin command, and was the firstof a succession of forts on this historicspot.aHennepin (1683), 46. In the edition of 1697, he says that it

1679.] THE SHIP FINISHED. 149spring opened, she was ready for launching. Thefriar pronounced his blessing on her; the assembledcompany sang Te Deum ; cannon were fired ; andFrench and Indians, warmed alike by a generousgift of brandy, shouted and yelped inchorus as sheglided into the Niagara. Her builders towed herout and anchored her in the stream, safe at last fromincendiary hands; and then, swinging their hammocksunder her deck, slept in peace, beyond reachof the tomahawk. The Indians gazed on her withamazement.portholes ;Five small cannon looked out from herand on her prow was carved a portentousmonster, the Griffin, whose name she bore, in honorof the armorial bearings of Frontenac. La Salle hadoften been heard to say that he would make thegriffin fly above the crows, or, in other words, makeFrontenac triumph over the Jesuits.They now took her up the river,and made her fastbelow the swift current at Black Rock. Here theyfinished her equipment, and waited for La Salle'sreturn; but the absent commander did not appear.The spring and more than half of the summer hadpassed before they saw him again. At length, earlyin August, he arrived at the mouth of the Niagara,bringing three more friars; for, though no friend ofthe Jesuits, he was zealous for the Faith, and wasrarely without a missionary in his journeyings. LikeHennepin, the three friars were all Flemings. Onewas of sixty tons. I prefer to follow the earlier and more txuafrworthy narrative.

;150 THE LAUNCH OF THE « GRIFFIN." [1679.of them, Melithon Watteau, was to remain at Niagara ;the others, Zenobe Membre" and Gabriel Ribourde,were to preach the Faith among the tribes of theWest. Ribourde was a hale and cheerful old manof sixty-four. He went four times up and downthe Lewiston heights, while the men were climbingthe steep pathway with their loads.It required fourof them, well stimulated with brandy, to carry upthe principal anchor destined for the "Griffin."La Salle brought a tale of disaster. His enemies,bent on ruining the enterprise, had given out that hewas embarked on a harebrained venture, from whichhe would never return. His creditors, excited byrumors set afloat to that end, had seized on all hisproperty in the settled parts of Canada, though hisseigniory of Fort Frontenac alone would have morethan sufficed to pay all his debts. There was noremedy. To defer the enterprise would have beento give his adversaries the triumph that they soughtand he hardened himself against theusual stoicism. 1blow with his1 La Salle's embarrassment at this time was so great that he purposedto send Tonty up the lakes in the " Griffin," while he wentback to the colony to look after his affairs ; but suspecting that thepilot, who had already wrecked one of his vessels, was in the payof his enemies, he resolved at last to take charge of the expeditionhimself, to prevent a second disaster. (Lettre de La Salle, 22 Aout,1682 ;Margry, ii. 214.) Among the creditors who bore hard uponhim were Migeon, Charon, Giton, and Peloquin, of Montreal, inwhose name his furs at Fort Frontenac had been seized. The intendantalso placed under seal all his furs at Quebec, among which isset down the not very precious item of two hundred and eighty-fourskins of en/ants du diable, or skunks.

CHAPTER XI.1679.LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES.The Voyage of the "Griffin." — Detroit. — A Storm. St.IGNACE OF MlCHILIMACKINAC. — RlVALS AND ENEMIES. — LAKEMichigan. — Hardships. — A Threatened Fight. — FortMiami. — Tonty's Misfortunes. — Forebodings.The " Griffin " had lain moored by the shore, sonear that Hennepin conld preach on Sundays fromthe deck to the men encamped along the bank.Shewas now forced up against the current with towropesand sails, till she reached the calm entrance ofLake Erie. On the seventh of August, La Salle andhis followers embarked, sang Te Deum, and firedtheir cannon. A fresh breeze sprang up; and withswelling canvas the "Griffin" ploughed the virginwaves of Lake Erie, where sail was never seenbefore. For three days they held their course overthese unknown waters, and on the fourth turnednorthward into the Strait of Detroit. Here, on theright hand and on the left, lay verdant prairies,dotted with groves and bordered with lofty forests.They saw walnut, chestnut, and wild plum trees,and oaks festooned with grape-vines ; herds of deer,

152 LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES. [1679.and flocks of swans and wild turkeys. The bulwarksof the "Griffin'* were plentifully hung with gamewhich the men killed on shore, and among the restwith a number of bears, much commended byHennepin for their want of ferocity and the excellenceof their flesh. "Those," he says, "who willone day have the happiness to possess this fertile andpleasant strait, will be very much obliged to thosewho have shown them the way." They crossedLake St. Clair, 1 and still sailed northward againstthe current, till now, sparkling in the sun, LakeHuron spread before them like a sea.For a time they bore on prosperously. Then thewind died to a calm, then freshened to a gale, thenrose to a furious tempest; and the vessel tossedwildly among the short, steep, perilous waves of theraging lake. Even La Salle called on his followersto commend themselves to Heaven.All fell to theirprayers but the godless pilot, who was loud in complaintagainst his commander for having broughthim, after the honor he had won on the ocean, todrown at last ignominiously in fresh water. Therest clamored to the saints. St. Anthony of Paduawas promised a chapel to be built inhis honor, if hewould but save them from their jeopardy ; while inthe same breath La Salle and the friarsdeclared himpatron of their great enterprise. 2 The saint heard1They named it Sainte Claire, of which the present name is aperversion.* Hennepin (1683), 68.

1679.] ST. IGNACE. 158their prayers. The obedient winds were tamed ; andthe " Griffin " plunged on her way through foamingsurges that still grew calmer as she advanced. Nowthe sun shone forth on woody islands, Bois Blancand Mackinaw and the distantManitoulins, — on theforest wastes of Michigan and the vast blue bosom ofthe angry lake ;and now her port was won, and shefound her rest behind the point of St. Ignace ofMichilimackinac, floating in that tranquil cove wherecrystal waters cover but cannot hide the pebblydepths beneath. Before her rose the house andchapel of the Jesuits, enclosed with palisades ; on theright, the Huron village, with its bark cabins andits fence of tall pickets; on the left, the squarecompact houses of the French traders; and, not faroff, the clustered wigwams of an Ottawa village. 1Here was a centre of the Jesuit missions, and acentre of the Indian trade; and here, under theyshadow ofthe cross, was much sharp practice in theservice of Mammon. Keen traders, with or withouta license, and lawless coureurs de bois, whom a fewyears of forest life had weaned from civilization,made St. Ignace their resort; and here there weremany of them when the " Griffin " came. They andtheir employers hated and feared La Salle, who,sustained as he was by the governor, might set atnought the prohibition of the King, debarring himfrom traffic with these tribes. Yet, while plotting1There is a rude plan of the establishment in La Hontan, thoughin several editions its value is destroyed by the reversal of the plate

154 LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES. [1679.against him, they took pains to allay hisdistrust bya show of welcome.The " Griffin " fired her cannon, and the Indiansyelped in wonder and amazement. The adventurerslanded in state,and marched under arms to the barkchapel of the Ottawa village, where they heardmass. La Salle knelt before the altar, in a mantleof scarlet bordered with gold. Soldiers, sailors, andartisans knelt around him, — black Jesuits, grayRe*collets, swarthy voyageurs, and painted savages ; adevout but motley concourse.As they left the chapel, theOttawa chiefs came tobid them welcome, and the Hurons saluted themwith a volley of musketry. They saw the " Griffin "at her anchorage, surrounded by more than a hundredbark canoes, like a Triton among minnows.Yet itwas with more wonder than good-will that theIndians of the mission gazed on the "floating fort,"for so they called the vessel.A deep jealousy of LaSalle's designs had been infused into them. Hisown followers, too, had been tampered with. In theautumn before, it may be remembered, he had sentfifteen men up the lakes to trade for him, with ordersto go thence to the Illinois and make preparationagainst his coming. Early in the summer, Tontyhad been despatched in a canoe from Niagara to lookafter them. 1 It was high time. Most of the menhad been seduced from their duty, and had disobeyed1 Relation de Tonty, 1684 ; Ibid., 1693. He was orertaken at theDetroit by the " Griffin."

1679.] RIVALS AND ENEMIES. 155their orders, squandered the goods intrusted to them,or used them in trading on their own account.Salle found four of them at Michilimackinac.LaThesehe arrested, and sent Tonty to the Falls of Ste.Marie, where two others were captured, with theirplunder. The rest were in the woods, and it wasuseless to pursue them.Anxious and troubled as to the condition of hisaffairs in Canada, La Salle had meant, after seeinghis party safe at Michilimackinac, to leave Tonty toconduct it to the Illinois, while he himself returnedto the colony. But Tonty was still at Ste. Marie,and he had none to trust but himself. Therefore,he resolved at all risks to remain with his men;"for," he says, "I judged my presence absolutelynecessary to retain such ofthem as were left me, andprevent them from being enticed away during thewinter."Moreover, he thought that he had detectedan intrigue of his enemies to hound on the Iroquoisagainst the Illinois, in order to defeat his plan byinvolving him in the war.Early in September he set sail again, and passingwestward into Lake Michigan, 1 cast anchor near oneof the islands at the entrance of Green Bay. Here,for once, he found a friend in the person of aPottawattamie chief,who had been so wrought upon1Then usually known as Lac des Illinois, because it gave accessto the country of the tribes so called. Three years before, Allouezgave it the name of Lac St. Joseph, by which it is often designatedby the early writers* Membre, Douay, and others, call it LacDauphin.

156 LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES. [1679.by the politic kindness of Frontenac that he declaredhimself ready to die for the children of Onontio. 1Here, too, he found several of his advance party,who had remained faithful and collected a largestore of furs. It would have been better had theyproved false, like the rest. La Salle, who askedcounsel of no man, resolved, in spite of his followers,to send back the " Griffin " laden with these furs, andothers collected on the way, to satisfy his creditors. 2It was a rash resolution, for it involved trusting herto the pilot, who had already proved either incompetentor treacherous. She 'fired a parting shot, andon the eighteenth of September set sail for Niagara,with orders to return to the head of Lake Michiganas soon as she had discharged her cargo. La Salle,with the fourteen men who remained, in four canoesdeeply laden with a forge, tools, merchandise, andarms, put out from the island and resumed hisvoyage.The parting was not auspicious.The lake, glassyand calm in the afternoon, was convulsed at nightwith a sudden storm, when the canoes were midwaybetween the island and the main shore. It was withdifficulty that they could keep together, the men1 " The Great Mountain," the Iroquois name for the governor ofCanada.It was borrowed by other tribes also.2 In the license of discovery granted to La Salle, he is expresslyprohibited from trading with the Ottawas and otherts who broughtfurs to Montreal. This traffic on the lakes was, therefore, illicit.His enemy, the Intendant Duchesneau, afterwards used this againsthim. Lettre de Duchesneau au Ministre, 10 Nov., 1680.

I679.J POTTAWATTAMIES. 157shouting to each other through the darkness.Hennepin, who was in the smallest canoe with aheavy load, and a carpenter for a companion whowas awkward at the paddle, found himself in jeopardywhich demanded all his nerve. The voyagersthought themselves happy when they gained at lastthe shelter of a little sandy cove, where they draggedup their canoes, and made their cheerless bivouac inthe drenched and dripping forest. Here they spentfive days, living on pumpkins and Indian corn, thegift oftheir Pottawattamie friends, and on a Canadaporcupine brought in by La Salle's Mohegan hunter.The gale raged meanwhile with relentless fury.They trembled when they thought of the "Griffin."When at length the tempest lulled, they re-embarked,and steered southward along the shore ofWisconsin;but again the storm fell upon them, and drove themfor safety to a bare, rocky islet.Here they made afire of drift-wood, crouched around it, drew theirblankets over their heads, and in this miserableplight, pelted with sleet and rain, remained for twodays.At length they were afloatagain; but their prosperitywas brief. On the twenty-eighth, a fiercesquall drove them to a point of rocks covered withbushes, where they consumed the little that remainedof their provisions. On the first of October theypaddled about thirty miles, without food, when theycame to a village of P Ottawattamies, who ran downto the shore to help them to land ; but La Salle, fear-

158 LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES. [167ft,ing that some of his men would steal the merchandiseand desert to the Indians, insisted on going threeleagues farther, to the great indignation of his followers.The lake, swept by an easterly gale, wasrolling its waves against the beach, likethe ocean ina storm. In the attempt to land, La Salle's canoewas nearly swamped. He and his three canoemenleaped into the water, and in spite of the surf, whichnearly drowned them, dragged their vessel ashorewith all its load. He then went to the rescue ofHennepin, who with his awkward companion wasin woful need of succor. Father Gabriel, with hissixty-four years, was no match for the surf and theviolent undertow. Hennepin, finding himself safe,waded to his relief, and carried him ashore on hissturdy shoulders; while the old friar, thoughdrenched tothe skin, laughed gayly under his cowlas his brother missionary staggered with him up thebeach. 1When all were safe ashore, La Salle, who distrustedthe Indians they had passed, took post on a hill,andordered his followers to prepare their guns for action.Nevertheless, as they were starving, an effort mustbe risked to gain a supply of food ; and he sent threemen back to the village to purchase it. Well armed,but faint with toil and famine, they made their waythrough the stormy forest bearing a pipe of peace,but on arriving saw that the scared inhabitantshadfled. They found, however, a stock of corn, of1Hennepin (1683), 79.

1679.J HARDSHIPS, • 159which they took a portion, leaving goods in exchange,and then set out on their return.Meanwhile, about twenty of the warriors, armedwith bows and arrows, approached the camp of theFrench to reconnoitre. La Salle went to meet themwith some of his men, opened a parley with them,and kept them seated at the foot of the hill till histhree messengers returned, when on seeing the peacepipethe warriors set up a cry of joy.In the morningthey brought more corn to the camp, with a supplyof fresh venison, not a little cheering to the exhaustedFrenchmen, who, in dread of treachery, had stoodunder arms allnight.This was no journey of pleasure. The lake wasruffled with almost ceaseless storms ;clouds big withrain above, a turmoil of gray and gloomy wavebbeneath.Every night the canoes must be shoulderedthrough the breakers and dragged up the steep banks,which, asthey neared the site of Milwaukee, becamealmost insurmountable. The men paddled all day,with no other food than a handful of Indian corn.They were spent with toil, sick with the haws andwild berries which they ravenously devoured, anddejected at the prospect before them.Father Gabriel'sgood spirits began to fail. He fainted several timesfrom famine and fatigue, but was revived by a certain" confection of Hyacinth " administered by Hennepin,who had a small box of this precious specific.At length they descried at a distance, on thestormy shore, two or three eagles among a busy

160 LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES. [1679.congregation of crows or turkey buzzards. Theypaddled in all haste to the spot. The feasters tookflight; and the starved travellers found the mangledbody of a deer, lately killed by the wolves. Thisgood luck proved the inauguration of plenty. Asthey approached the head of the lake, game grewabundant; and, with the aid of the Mohegan, therewas no lack of bear's meat and venison. They foundwild grapes, too,in the woods, and gathered them bycutting down the trees to which the vines clung.JWhile thus employed, they were startled by asight often so fearful in the waste and the wilderness,— the print of a human foot.It was clear thatIndians were not far off. A strict watch was kept,not, as it proved, without cause; for that night,while the sentry thought oflittle but screening himselfand his gun from the floods of rain, a party ofOdtagamies crept under the bank, where they lurkedfor some time before he discovered them. Beingchallenged, they came forward, professing greatfriendship, and pretending to have mistaken theFrench for Iroquois. In the morning, however,there was an outcry from La Salle's servant, whodeclared that the visitors had stolen his coat fromunder the inverted canoe where he had placed it;while some of the carpenters also complained of beingrobbed. La Salle well knew that if the theft wereleft unpunished, worse would come of it. First, heposted his men at the woody point of a peninsula,whose sandy neck was interposed between them and

1679] ENCOUNTER WITH INDIANS. 161the main forest.Then he went forth, pistol in hand,met a young Outagami, seized him, and led himprisoner to his camp. This done, he again set out,and soon found an Outagami chief, — for the wigwamswere not far distant, — to whom he told whathe had done, adding that unless the stolen goodswere restored, the prisoner should be killed. TheIndians were in perplexity, for they had cut the coatto pieces and divided it. In this dilemma theyresolved, being strong in numbers, to rescue theiromrade by force.Accordingly, they came down tothe edge of the forest, or posted themselves behindfallon trees on the banks, while La Salle's men intheir stronghold braced their nerves for the fight.Here three Flemish friars with their rosaries, andeleven Frenchmen with their guns, confronted ahundred and twenty screeching Outagamies. Hennepin,who had seen service,and who had always anexhortation at his tongue's end, busied himself toinspire the rest with a courage equal to his own.Neither party, however, had an appetite for the fray.A parley ensued: full compensation was made forthe stolen goods, and the aggrieved Frenchmen werefarther propitiated with a gift of beaver-skins.Their lateenemies, now become friends, spent thenext day in dances, feasts, and speeches. Theyentreated La Salle not toIllinois,advance farther, since thethrough whose country he must pass, wouldbe sure to kill him; for, added these friendly counsellors,they hated the French because they had beenu

162 LA SALLE ON THE UPPER LAKES. [1679instigating the Iroquois to invade their countryHere was another subject of anxiety. La Salle wasconfirmed in his belief that his busy and unscrupulousenemies were intriguing for his destruction.He pushed on, however, circling around thesouthern shore of Lake Michigan, tillhe reached themouth of the St. Joseph, called by him the Miamis.Here Tonty was tohave rejoined him with twentymen, making his way from Michilimackinac alongthe eastern shore of the lake ;but the rendezvous wasa solitude, — Tonty was nowhere to be seen.It wasthe first of November; winter was at hand, and thestreams would soon be frozen. The men clamored togo forward, urging that they should starve if theycould not reach the villages ofthe Illinois before thetribe scattered for the winter hunt. La Salle wasinexorable. If they should all desert, he said, he,with his Mohegan hunter and the three friars, wouldstill remain and wait for Tonty.The men grumbled,but obeyed; and, to divert their thoughts, he setthem at building a fort of timber on a rising groundat the mouth of the river.They had spent twenty days at this task, and theirwork was well advanced, when at length Tontyappeared. He brought with him only half of hismen. Provisions had failed; and the rest of hisparty had been left thirty leagues behind, to sustainthemselves by hunting. La Salle told him to returnand hasten them forward. He set out with twomen. A violent north wind arose. He tried to run

1679.] FOREBODINGS fc$8his canoe ashore through the breakers.The two mencould not manage their vessel, and he with his onehand could not help them. She swamped, rollingover in the surf. Guns, baggage, and provisionswere lost; and the three voyagers returned to theMiamis, subsisting on acorns by the way. Happily,the men left behind, excepting two deserters, succeeded,a few days after, in rejoining the party. 1Thus was one heavy load lifted from the heart of LaSalle. But where was the " Griffin" ? Time enough,and more than enough, had passed for her voyage toNiagara and back again. He scanned the drearyhorizon with an anxious eye. No returning sailgladdened the watery solitude,gathered on his heart.Yet further delay was impossible.and a dark forebodingHe sent back two men to Michilimackinac tomeet her, if she still existed, and pilot her to his newfort of theMiamis, and then prepared to ascend theriver, whose weedy edges were already glassed withthin flakes of ice. 21Hennepin (1683), 112; Relation de Tonty, 1693.2The official account of this journey is given at length in theRelation des Decouvertes et des Voyages du Sieur de la Salle, 1679-1681.This valuable document, compiled from letters and diaries of LaSalle, early in the year 1682, was known to Hennepin, who evidentlyhad a copy of it before him when he wrote his book, in which heincorporated many passages from it.

CHAPTER XII.1679, 1680.LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS.The St. Joseph. — Adventure of La Salle. — The Prairies. Famine. — The Great Town of the Illinois. — Indians. —Intrigues. — Difficulties. — Policy of La Salle. — Desertion.— Another Attempt to poison La Salle.On the third of December the party re-embarked,thirty -three in all, in eight canoes, 1 and ascended thechill current of the St. Joseph, bordered with drearymeadows and bare gray forests. When they approachedthe site of the present village of South Bend, theylooked anxiously along the shore on their right tofind the portage or path leading to the headquartersof the Illinois.The Mohegan was absent, hunting;and, unaided by his practised eye, they passed thepath without seeing it. La Salle landed to searchthe woods. Hours passed, and he did not return.Hennepin and Tonty grew uneasy, disembarked,bivouacked, ordered guns to be fired, and sent outmen to scour the country. Night came, but nottheir lost leader. Muffled in their blankets and1 Lettre de Duchesneau d , 10 Nov., 1680.

1679.] LA SALLE'S ADVENTURE. 165powdered by the thick-falling snowflakes, they satruefully speculating as to what had befallen him ;norwas it till four o'clock of the next afternoon that theysaw him approaching along the margin of the river.His face and hands were besmirched with charcoal;and he was further decorated with two opossumswhich hung from his belt, and which he had killedwith a stick as they were swinging head downwardsfrom the bough of a tree, after the fashion of thatsingular beast. He had missed his way in the forest,and had been forced to make a wide circuit aroundthe edge of a swamp ; while the snow, of which theair was full, added to his perplexities. Thus hepushed on through the rest of the day and the greaterpart of the night, till,about two o'clock in the morning,he reached the river again, and fired his gun asa signal to his party. Hearing no answering shot,he pursued his way along the bank, when he presentlysaw the gleam of a fire among the dense thicketsclose at hand. Not doubting that he had found thebivouac of his party, he hastened to the spot. Tohis surprise, no human being was to be seen. Undera tree beside the fire was a heap of dry grass impressedwith the form of a man who must have fled but amoment before, for his couch was still warm. It wasno doubt an Indian, ambushed on the bank, watchingto kill some passing enemy. La Salle called out inseveral Indian languages ;but there was dead silenceall around. He then, with admirable coolness, tookpossession of the quarters he had found, shouting to

;166 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS [lawtheir invisible proprietor that he was about to sleepin his bed; piled a barricade of bushes around thespot, rekindled the dying fire, warmed his benumbedhands, stretched himself on the dried grass,and sleptundisturbed till morning.The Mohegan had rejoined the party before LaSalle's return, and with his aid the portage was soonfound. Here the party encamped. La Salle, whowas excessively fatigued, occupied, together withHennepin, a wigwam covered in the Indian mannerwith mats of reeds.The cold forced them to kindlea fire,which before daybreak set the mats in a blazeand the two sleepersalong with their hut.narrowly escaped being burnedIn the morning, the party shouldered their canoesand baggage and began their march for the sourcesof the river Illinois, some five miles distant. Aroundthem stretched a desolate plain, half-covered withsnow and strewn with the skulls and bones of buffalo;while, on its farthest verge, they could see the lodgesof the Miami Indians, who had made this placetheirabode. As they filed on their way, a man namedDuplessis, bearing a grudge against La Salle, whowalked just before him, raised his gun to shoot himthrough the back,comrades.but was prevented by one of hisThey soon reached a spot where the oozy,saturated soil quaked beneath their tread. Allaround were clumps of alder-bushes, tufts of rankgrass, and pools of glistening water. In the midsta dark and lazy current, which a tall man might

1679 )THE KANKAKEE. 167bestride, crept twisting like a snake among the weedsand rushes . Here were the sources of the Kankakee,one of the heads of the Illinois. 1 They set theircanoes on this thread of water, embarked their baggageand themselves, and pushed down the sluggishstreamlet, looking, at a little distance, like men whosailed on land. Fed by an unceasing tribute of thespongy soil, it quickly widened to a river; and theyfloated on their way through a voiceless, lifelesssolitude of dreary oak barrens, or boundless marshesovergrown with reeds. At night, they built theirfire on ground made firm by frost, and bivouackedamong the rushes. A few days brought them to amore favored region. On the right hand and on the1The Kankakee was called at this time the Theakiki, or Haukiki(Marest) ; a name which, a Charlevoix says, was afterwards corruptedby the French to Kiakiki whenc, probably, its presentform. In La Salle's time, the name " Theakiki * was iven to thtriver Illinois through all its course. It was also called the RiviereSeignelay, the Riviere des Macopins, u,nd the Rivier' Divine, orRiviere de la Divine. The latter name, when Charlevoix visitedthe country in 1721, was confined to the northern branch. He give*,an interesting and somewhat graphic account f the portage anathe sources of the Kankakee, in his letter dated De la Source duTheakiki, ce dix-sept Septembre, 1721.Why the Illinois should ever have been called the " Divine," itis not easy to see. The Memoirs of St. Simon suggest an explanation.Madame de Frontenac and her friend Mademoiselle d'Outrelaise,he tells us, lived together in apartments at the Arsenal, wherethey held their salon and exercised a great power in society. Theywere called at court les Divines. (St. Simon, v. 335 :Cheruel.) Incompliment to Frontenac, the river may have been named after hiswife or her friend. The suggestion is due to M. Margry. I haveseen a map by Raudin, Frontenac's engineer, on which the river iicalled " Riviere de la Divine ou TOutrelaise."

168 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS. [1679.left stretched the boundless prairie, dotted withleaflessgroves and bordered by gray wintry forests,scorched by the fires kindled in the dried grass byIndian hunters, and strewn with the carcasses andthe bleached skulls of innumerable buffalo. Theplains were scored with their pathways, and themuddy edges of the river were full of their hoofprints.Yet not one was to be seen. At night, thehorizon glowed with distant fires; and by day thesavage hunters could be descried at times roamingon the verge of the prairie. The men, discontentedand half-starved, would have deserted to them hadthey dared. La Salle's Mohegan could kill no gameexcept two lean deer, with a few wild geese andswans. At length, in their straits, they made ahappy discovery. It was a buffalo bull, fast miredin a slough. They killed him, lashed a cable abouthim,and then twelve men dragged out the shaggymonster, whose ponderous carcass demanded theirutmost efforts.The scene changed again as they descended. Oneither hand ran ranges of woody hills,following thecourse of the river; and when they mounted to theirtops, they saw beyond them a rolling sea of dull greenprairie, a boundless pasture of the buffalo and thedeer, in our own day strangely transformed, — yellowin harvest-time with ripened wheat, and dotted withthe roofs of a hardy and valiant yeomanry.1The change is very recent. Within the memory of men notyet old, wolves and deer, besides wild swans, wild turkeys, cranes,

1679] THE ILLINOIS TOWN. 169They passed the site of the future town of Ottawa,and saw on their right the high plateau of BuffaloRock, long a favorite dwelling-place of Indians. Aleague below, the river glided among islands borderedwith stately woods. Close on their left towered alofty cliff, 1 crested with trees that overhung therippling current;while before them spread the valleyof the Illinois, in broad low meadows, bordered on theright by the graceful hills at whose foot now lies thevillage of Utica. A population far more numerousthen tenanted the valley. Along the right bank ofthe river were clustered the lodgestown.of a great IndianHennepin counted four hundred and sixty ofthem. 2 In shape, they were somewhat like theand pelicans, abounded in this regioD. In 1840, a friend of mineshot a deer from the window of a farmhouse, near the present townof La Salle. Running wolves on horseback was his favorite amusementin this part of the country. The buffalo long ago disappeared ;but the early settlers found frequent remains of them. Mr. JamesClark, of Utica, 111., told me that he once found a large quantity oftheir bones and skulls in one place, as if a herd had perished in thesnowdrifts.1 " Starved Rock." It will hold, hereafter, a conspicuous placein the narrative.2La Louisiane, 137. Allouez (Relation, 1673-79) found threehundred and fifty-one lodges. This was in 1677. The populationof this town, which embraced five or six distinct tribes of the Illinois,was continually changing.In 1675, Marquette addressed herean auditory composed of five hundred chiefs and old men, and fifteenhundred young men, besides women and children. He estimatesthe number of fires at five or six hundred. ( Voyages du Pere Marquette,98: Lenox.) Membre', who was here in 1680, says that itthen contained seven or eight thousand souls. (Membre' in LeClerc, Premier lUtablissement de la Foy, ii. 173.) On the remarkablemanuscript map of Franquelin, 1684, it is set down at twelve hun«

170 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS. [1679.arched top of a baggage-wagon. They were built ofa frame-work of poles, covered with mats of rushesclosely interwoven ; and each contained three or fourfires, of which the greater part served for twofamilies.Here, then, was the town; but where were theinhabitants? All was silent as the desert. Thelodges were empty, the fires dead, and the ashescold. La Salle had expected this ; for he knew thatin the autumn the Illinois always left their towns fortheir winter hunting, and that the time of theirreturn had not yet come. Yet he was not the lessdred warriors, or about six thousand souls. This was after thedestructive inroad of the Iroquois. Some years later, Rasle reportedupwards of twenty-four hundred families. (Lettre a son Frere, inLettres Edijiantes.)At times, nearly the whole Illinois population was gatheredhere. At other times, the several tribes that composed it separated,some dwelling apart from the rest ; so that at one period the Illinoisformed eleven villages, while at others they were gathered into two,of which this was much the larger. The meadows around it wereextensively cultivated, yielding large crops, chiefly of Indian corn.The lodges were built along the river-bank for a distance of a mile,and sometimes far more. In their shape, though not in their material,they resembled those of the Hurons. There were no palisadesor embankments.This neighborhood abounds in Indian relics. The village graveyardappears to have been on a rising ground, near the river immediatelyin front of the town of Utica. This is the only part of theriver bottom, from this point to the Mississippi, not liable to inundationin the spring floods. It now forms part of a farm occupiedby a tenant of Mr. James Clark. Both Mr. Clark and his tenantinformed me that every year great quantities of human bones andteeth were turned up here by the plough. Many implements ofstone are also found, together with beads and other ornaments ofIndian and European fabric.

—1680.] HUNGER RELIEVED 171embarrassed, for he would fain have bought a supplyof food to relieve his famished followers. Some ofthem, searching the deserted town, presently foundthe caches, or covered pits, in which the Indians hidtheir stock of corn. This was precious beyondmeasure in their eyes, and to touch it wouid be adeep offence. La Salle shrank from provoking theiranger, which might prove the ruin of his plans ; butIris necessity overcame his prudence, and he tookthirty minots of corn, hoping to appease the owners bypresents. Thus provided, the party embarked again,and resumed their downward voyage.On New Year's Day, 1680, they landed and heardmass. Then Hennepin wished a happy new year toLa Salle first,and afterwards to all the men, makingthem a speech, which, as he tells us, was "mosttouching." 1 He and his two brethren next embracedthe whole company in turn, "in a manner," writesthe father, " most tender and affectionate, " exhortingthem, at the same time, to patience, faith, and constancy.Four days after these solemnities, theyreached the long expansion of the river then calledPimitoui, and now known as Peoria Lake, andleisurely made their way downward to the site of thecity of Peoria. 2 Here, as evening drew near, they1"Les paroles les plus touchantes." Hennepin (1683), 139.The later editions add the modest qualification, " que je pus."2 Peoria was the name of one of the tribes of the Illinois. Hennepin'sdates here do not exactly agree with those of La Salle(Lettre du 29 Sept., 1680), who says that they were at the Illinoisvillage on the first of January, and at Peoria Lake on the fifth.

;172 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS. [1680.saw a faint spire of smoke curling above the grayforest, betokening that Indians were at hand. LaSalle,as we have seen, had been warned that thesetribes had been taught to regard him as their enemyand when, in the morning, he resumed his course, hewas prepared alike for peace or war.The shores now approached each other; and theIllinois was once more a river, bordered on eitherhand with overhanging woods. 1At nine o'clock, doubling a point, he saw abouteighty Illinois wigwams, on both sides of the river.He instantly ordered the eight canoes to be rangedin line, abreast, across the stream, — Tonty on theright, and he himself on the left. The men laiddown their paddles and seized their weapons ; while,in this warlike guise, the current bore them swiftlyinto the midst of the surprised and astounded savages.The camps were in a panic.Warriors whooped andhowled; squaws and children screeched in chorus.Some snatched their bows and war-clubs; some ranin terror; and, in the midst of the hubbub, La Salleleaped ashore, followed by his men. None knewbetter how to deal with Indians; and he made nosign of friendship, knowing that it might be jjfonstruedas a token of fear. His little knot of Frenchmenstood, gun inhand, passive, yet prepared for battle.1At least, it is so now at this place. PerhapB, in La Salle's time,it was not wholly so ; for there is evidence, in various parts of theWest, that the forest has made considerable encroachments on theopen country.

;1680.] ILLINOIS HOSPITALITY. 173The Indians, on their part, rallying a little from thenfright, made all haste to proffer peace. Two of theirchiefs came forward, holding out the calumet; whileanother began a loud harangue, to check the youngwarriors who were aiming their arrows from thefarther bank. La Salle, responding to these friendlyovertures, displayed another calumet ;while Hennepincaught several scared children and soothed them withwinning blandishments. 1 The uproar was quelled;and thestrangers were presently seated in the midstof the camp, beset by a throng of wild and swarthyfigures.Food was placed before them; and, asthe Illinoiscode of courtesy enjoined, their entertainers conveyedthe morsels with their own hands to the lips oftheseunenviable victims of their hospitality, while othersrubbed their feet with bear's grease. La Salle, onhis part, made them a gift of tobacco and hatchetsand when he had escaped from their caresses, roseand harangued them. He told them that he hadbeen forced to take corn from their granaries, lest hismen should die of hunger; but he prayed them notto be offended, promising full restitution or amplepayment. He had come, he said, to protect themagainst their enemies, and teach them to pray to thetrue God. As for the Iroquois, they were subjectsof the Great King, and therefore brethren of theFrench; yet,nevertheless, should they begin a warand invade the country of the Illinois, he wouldi Hennepin (1683), 142.

174 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS. [1680.stand by them, give them guns, and fight in theirdefence, if they would permit him to build a fortamong them for the security of his men. It wasalso, he added, his purpose to build a great woodencanoe, in which to descend the Mississippi to the sea,and then return, bringing them the goods ofthey stood in need; but ifwhichthey would not consent tohis plans and sell provisions to his men, he wouldpass on to the Osages, who would then reap all thebenefits of intercourse with the French, while they^^were left destitute, at the mercy of the Iroquois. 1This threat had its effect, for it touched theirdeep-rooted jealousy of the Osages. They werelavish of promises, and feasts and dances consumedthe day. Yet La Salle soon learned that theintrigues of his enemies were still pursuing him.That evening, unknown to him, a stranger appearedin the: Illinois camp. He was a Mascoutin chief,named Monso, attended by five or six Miamis, andbringing a gift of knives, hatchets, and kettles to theIllinois. 2The chiefs assembled in a secret nocturnalsession, where, smoking their pipes, they listenedwith open ears to the harangue of the envoys.Monsotold them that he had come in behalf of certainFrenchmen, whom he named, to warn his hearersagainst the designs of La Salle, whom he denounced1Hennepin (1683), 144-149. The later editions omit a part ofthe above.2 " Un sauvage, nomme' Monso, qui veut dire Chevreuil." — LaSalle. Probably Monso is a misprint for Mouso, as mousoa is Illinoilfor chevreuil. or deer.

V1680.3 FRESH INTRIGUES. 175as a partisan and spy of theIroquois, affirming thathe was now on his way to stir up the tribes beyondthe Mississippi to join in a war against the Illinois,who, thus assailed from the east and from the west,would be utterly destroyed.There was no hope forthem, he added, but in checking the farther progressof La Salle, or, at least, retarding it, thus causinghis men to desert him.Having thrown his firebrand,Monso and his party left the camp in haste, dreadingto be confronted with the object of their aspersions. 1In the morning, La Salle saw a change in thebehavior of his hosts. They looked on him askance,cold, sullen, and suspicious. There was one Omawha,a chief, whose favor he had won the day before bythe politic gift of two hatchets and three knives, andwho now came to him in secret to tell him what hadtaken place at the nocturnal council. La Salle atonce saw in it a device of his enemies; and thisbelief was confirmed, when, in the afternoon,Nicanope*, brother of the head chief, sent to invitethe Frenchmen to a feast. They repaired to hislodge ; but before dinner was served, — that is tosay,while the guests, white and red, were seated oni Hennepin (1683), 151,(1704), 205; Le Clerc, ii. 157; Memoiredu Voyage de M. de la Salle. This is a paper appended to Frontenac'sLetter to the Minister, 9 Nov., 1680. Hennepin prints a translationof it in the English edition of his later work. It charges theJesuit Allouez with being at the bottom of the intrigue. CompareLettre de La Salle, 29 Sept., 1680 (Margry, ii. 41), and Memoire deLa Salle, in Thomassy, Geologie Pratique de la Louisiane, 203.The account of the affair of Monso, in the spurious work bearingTonty's name, is mere romance-

176 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS. [1680.mats, each with his hunting-knife in his hand, andthe wooden bowl before him which was to receive hisshare of the bear's or buffalo's meat, or the cornboiled in fat, with which he was to be regaled, —while such was the posture of the company, theirhost arose and began a long speech. He told theFrenchmen that he had invited them to his lodgeless to refresh their bodies with good cheer than tocure their minds of the dangerous purpose whichpossessed them, of descending the Mississippi. Itsshores, he said, were beset by savage tribes, againstwhose numbers and ferocity theirvalor would availnothing; its waters were infested by serpents, alligators,and unnatural monsters; while the riveritself, after raging among rocks and whirlpools,plunged headlong at last into a fathomless gulf,which would swallow them and their vessel forever.La Salle's men were for the most part raw hands,knowing nothing of the wilderness, and easilyalarmed at its dangers; but there were two amongthem, old coureurs de bois, who unfortunately knewtoo much; for they understood the Indian orator,and explained his speech to the rest. As La Sallelooked around on the circle of his followers, he readan augury of fresh trouble in their disturbed andrueful visages. He waited patiently, however, tillthe speaker had ended, and then answered him,through his interpreter, with great composure.First,he thanked him for the friendly warning whichhis affection had impelled him to utter; but, he con-

1680.] LA SALLE AND THE INDIANS. 177tiniied, the greater the danger, the greater the honor;and even if the danger were real, Frenchmen wouldnever flinch from it. But were not the Illinoisjealous ? Had they not been deluded by lies ? " Wewere not asleep, my brother, when Monso came totell you, under cover of night, that we were spies ofthe Iroquois, The presents he gave you, that youmight believe his falsehoods, are at this momentburied in the earth under this lodge. If he told thetruth, why did he skulk away in the dark? Whydid he not show himself by day? Do you not seethat when we first came among you, and your campwas all in confusion, we could have killed you withoutneeding help from the Iroquois? And now,while I am speaking, could we not put your old mento death, while your young warriors are all goneaway to hunt? If we meant to make war on you, weshould need no help from the Iroquois, who have sooften felt the force of our arms. Look at what wehave brought you.It is not weapons to destroy you,but merchandise and tools for your good. If youstill harbor evil thoughts of us, be frank as we are,and speak them boldly. Go after this impostorMonso, and bring him back, that we may answerhim face to face ; for he never saw either us or theIroquois, and what can he know of the plots that hepretends to reveal?" 1 Nicanope* had nothing to1The above is a paraphrase, with some condensation, fromHennepin, whose account is substantially identical with that of LaSalle.12

178 LA SALLE ON THE ILLINOIS. [1680.reply, and, grunting assent in the depths of histhroat, made a sign that the feast should proceed.The French were lodged in huts, near the Indiancamp; and, fearing treachery, La Salle placed aguard at night. On the morning after the feast, hecame out into the frosty air and looked about him forthe sentinels. Not one of them was to be seen.Vexed and alarmed, he entered hut after hut androused his drowsy followers. Six of the number,including two of the best carpenters, were nowhereto be found. Discontented and mutinous from thefirst, and now terrified by the fictions of Nicanope*,they had deserted, preferring the hardships of themidwinter forest to the mysterious terrors of theMississippi. La Salle mustered the rest before him,and inveighed sternly against the cowardice andbaseness of those who had thus abandoned him,regardless of his many favors. If any here, he added,are afraid, let them but wait till the spring, and theyshall have free leave to return to Canada, safely andwithout dishonor. 1This desertion cut him to the heart. It showedhim that he was leaning on a broken reed; and hefelt that, on an enterprise full of doubt and peril,there were scarcely four men in hiscould trust.party whom heNor was desertion the worst he had tofear; for here, as at Fort Frontenac, an attempt wasmade to kill him. Tonty tells us that poison was1Hennepin (1083), 162. Declaration faite par Moyse Hillaret,charpentier de barque, cy devant au service du S r -de la Salle.

1680.] LA SALLE AGAIN POISONED. 179placed in the pot in which their food was cooked,and that La Salle was saved by an antidote whichsome of his friends had given him before he leftFrance. This, it will be remembered, was an epochof poisoners.It was in the following month that thenotorious La Voisin was burned alive, at Paris, forpractices to which many ofthe highest nobility werecharged with being privy, not excepting some inwhose veins ran the blood of the gorgeous spendthriftwho ruled the destinies of France. 1In these early French enterprises in the West, itwas to the last degree difficult to hold men to theirduty. Once fairly in the wilderness, completelyfreed from the sharp restraints of authority in whichthey had passed their lives, a spirit of lawlessnessbroke out among them with a violenceproportionedto the pressure which had hitherto controlled it.Discipline had no resources and no guarantee ; whilethose outlaws of the forest, the coureurs de bois, werealways before their eyes, a standing example ofunbridled license. La Salle, eminently skilful in hisdealings with Indians, was rarely so happy with hisown countrymen ; and yet the desertions from whichhe was continually suffering were due far more tothe inevitable difficulty of his position than to anywant of conduct on his part.1The equally noted Brinvilliers was burned four years before.An account of both will be found in the Letters of Madame deSeVigne. The memoirs of the time abound in evidence of thefrightful prevalence of these practices, and the commotion whichthey excited in all ranks of society.

CHAPTER XIII.1680.FORT CRfeVECCEUR.Building of the Fort. — Loss or the "Griffin." — A BoldResolution. — Another Vessel. — Hennepin sent to theMississippi. — Departure of La Salle.La Salle now resolved to leave the Indian camp,and fortify himself for the winter in a strong position,where his men would be less exposed to dangerousinfluence, and where he could hold his groundagainst an outbreak of the Illinois or an Iroquoisinvasion. At the middle of January, a thaw brokeup the ice which had closed the river;and he set outin a canoe, with Hennepin, to visit the site he hadchosen for his projected fort. It was half a leaguebelow the camp, on a low hill or knoll, two hundredyards from the southern bank. On either side was adeep ravine, and in front a marshy tract, overflowedat high water.Thither, then, the party was removed.They dug a ditch behind the hill,connecting the tworavines, and thus completely isolating it. The hillwas nearly square in form. An embankment ofearth was thrown up on every side: its declivities

1680.] BUILDING OF THE FORT. 181were sloped steeply down to the bottom of the ravinesand the ditch, and further guarded by chevaux-dcfrise;while a palisade, twenty-five feet high, wasplanted around the whole. The lodgings of themen, built of musket-proof timber, were at two ofthe angles ; the house of the friars at the third ; theforge and magazine at the fourth; and the tents ofLa Salle and Tonty in the area within.Hennepin laments the failure of wine, whichprevented him from saying mass ; but every morningand evening he summoned the men to his cabin tolisten to prayers and preaching, and on Sundays andfgte-days they chanted vespers. Father Zenobeusually spent the day in the Indian camp, striving,with very indifferent success, to win them to theFaith, and to overcome the disgust with which theirmanners and habits inspired him.Such was the first civilized occupation of the regionwhich now forms the State of Illinois. La Sallechristened his new fort Fort CrSvecoeur. The nametells of disaster and suffering, but does no justice tothe iron-hearted constancy of the sufferer. Up tothis time he had clung to the hope that his vessel,the " Griffin, " might still be safe. Her safety wasvital to his enterprise. She had on board articles ofthe last necessity to him, including the rigging andanchors of another vessel which he was to 'build atFort Crevecoeur, in order to descend the Mississippiand sail thence to the West Indies. But now hislast hope had well-nigh vanished. Past all reasonable

;182 FORT CR^VECCEUR. [1680.doubt, the " Griffin " was lost;all his plans seemed ruined alike.and in her loss he andNothing, indeed, was ever heard of her.Indians,fur-traders, and even Jesuits, have been chargedwith contriving her destruction. Some say that theOttawas boarded and burned her, after murderingthose on board; others accuse the Pottawattamiesothers affirm that her own crew scuttled and sunkher; others, again, that she foundered in a storm. 1As for La Salle, the belief grew in him to a settledconviction that she had been treacherously sunk bythe pilot and the sailors to whom he had intrustedher; and he thought he had found evidence that theauthors of the crime, laden with the merchandisethey had taken from her, had reached the Mississippiand ascended it, hoping to join Du Lhut, a famouschief of coureurs de bois, and enrich themselves bytraffic with the northern tribes. 21 Charlevoix, i. 459 ; La Potherie, ii. 140 ; La Hontan, Memoir onthe Fur-Trade of Canada. I am indebted for a copy of this paperto Winthrop Sargent, Esq., who purchased the original at the sale ofthe library of the poet Southey. Like Hennepin, La Hontan wentover to the English ; and this memoir is written in their interest.2 Lettre de La Salle a La Barre, Chicagou, 4 Juin, 1683. This is along letter, addressed to the successor of Frontenac in the governmentof Canada. La Salle says that a young Indian belonging tohim told him that three years before he saw a white man, answeringthe description of the pilot, a prisoner among a tribe beyond theMississippi. He had been captured with four others on that river,while making his way with canoes, laden with goods, towards theSioux. His companions had been killed. Other circumstances,which La Salle details at great length, convinced him that the whiteprisoner was no other than the pilot of the " Griffin." The evidence,however, is not conclusive.

1680.] LA SALLE'S ANXIETIES. 183But whether her lading was swallowed in thedepths of the lake, or lost in the clutches of traitors,the evil was alike past remedy. She was gone, itmattered little how. The main-stay of the enterprisewas broken ;yet its inflexible chief lost neither heartnor hope. One path, beset with hardships andterrors, still lay open to him. He might return onfoot to Fort Frontenac, and bring thence the needfulsuccors.La Salle felt deeply the dangers of such a step.His men were uneasy, discontented, and terrifiedthe stories with which the jealous Illinois still constantlyfilled their ears, of the whirlpools and themonsters of the Mississippi. He dreaded lest, in hisabsence, they should follow the example of theircomrades, and desert.byIn the midst of his anxieties,a lucky accident gave him the means ofdisabusingthem. He was hunting, one day, near the fort,when he met a young Illinois on his way home, halfstarved,from a distant war excursion. He had beenabsent so long that he knew nothing of what hadLapassed between his countrymen and the French.Salle gave him a turkey he had shot, invited him tothe fort, fed him, and made him presents. Havingthus warmed his heart, he questioned him, withapparent carelessness, as to the countries he hadvisited, and especially as to the Mississippi, — onwhich the young warrior, seeing no reason to disguisethe truth, gave him all the information he required.La Salle now made him the present of a hatchet, to

184 FORT CR&VECCEUR. [1680.engage him to say nothing of what had passed, and,leaving him in excellent humor, repaired, with someof his followers, to the Illinois camp.Here he foundthe chiefs seated at a feast of bear's meat, and hetook his place among them on a mat of rushes.Aftera pause, he charged them with having deceived himin regard to the Mississippi; adding that he knewthe river perfectly, having been instructedconcerningit by the Master of Life. He then described itto them with so much accuracy that his astonishedhearers, conceiving that he owed his knowledge to"medicine," or sorcery, clapped theirhands to theirmouths in sign of wonder, and confessed that allthey had said was but an artifice, inspired by theirearnest desire that he should remain among them. 1On this, La Salle's men took heart again; and theircourage rose still more when, soon after, a band ofChickasa, Arkansas, and Osage warriors, from theMississippi, came to the camp on a friendly visit,and assured theFrench not only that the river wasnavigable to the sea, but that the tribes along itsbanks would give them a warm welcome.La Salle had now good reason to hope that hisfollowers would neither mutiny nor desert in hisabsence. One chief purpose of his intended journeywas to procure the anchors, cables, and rigging of1 Relation des Decouvertes et des Voyages du S r -de la Salle, Seigneuret Gouverneur du Fort de Frontenac, au dela des granas Lacs dela Nouvelle France, faits par ordre de Monseigneur Colbert, 1679, 80et 81. Hennepin gives a story which is not essentially different,except that he makes himself a conspicuous actor in it.

1680.] ANOTHER VESSEL. 185the vessel which he meant to build at Fort Crevecoeur,and he resolved to see her on the stocks before he setout. This was no easy matter, for the pit-sawyershad deserted. "Seeing," he writes, "that I shouldlose a year if I waited to get others from Montreal,I said one day, before my people, that I was sovexed to find that the absence of two sawyers woulddefeat my plans and make all my trouble useless,that I was resolved to try to saw the planks myself,if I could find a single man who would help me witha will." Hereupon, two men stepped forward andpromised to do their best. They were tolerablysuccessful, and, the rest being roused to emulation,the work went on with such vigor that within sixweeks the hull of the vessel was half finished. Shewas of forty tons' burden, and was built with highbulwarks, to protect those on board from Indianarrows.La Salle now bethought him that, in his absence,he might get from Hennepin service of more valuethan his sermons ; and he requested him to descendthe Illinois, and explore it to its mouth. The friar,though hardy and daring, would fain have excusedhimself, alleging a troublesome bodily infirmity ; buthis venerable colleague Ribourde, himself too old forthe journey, urged him to go, telling him that if hedied by the way, his apostolic labors would redoundto the glory of God. Membre* had been living forsome time in the Indian camp, and was thoroughlyout of humor with the objects of his missionary

186 FORT CRfcVECOEUR. [1680.efforts,of whose obduracy and filth he bitterly complained.Hennepin proposed to take his place, whilehe should assume the Mississippi adventure ;but thisMembre* declined, preferring to remain where he was.Hennepin now reluctantly accepted the proposedtask. "Anybody but me," he says, with his usualmodesty, " would have been very much frightened atthe dangers of such a journey; and, in fact, if I hadnot placed all my trust in God, I should not havebeen the dupe of the Sieur de la Salle, who exposedmy life rashly.'' 1On the last day of February, Hennepin's canoelay at the water's edge ; and the party gathered onthe bank to bid him farewell. He had two companions,— Michel Accau, and a man known as thePicard du Gay, 2 though his real name was AntoineAuguel. The canoe was well laden with gifts forthe Indians, — tobacco, knives, beads, awls, andother goods, to a very considerable value, suppliedat La Salle's cost;"and, in fact," observes Hennepin,"he is liberal enough towards his friends." 31All the above is from Hennepin ; and it seems to be marked byhis characteristic egotism. It appears, from La Salle's letters, thatAccau was the real chief of the party ; that their orders were toexplore not only the Illinois, but also a part of the Mississippi ; andthat Hennepin volunteered to go with the others. Accau waschosen because he spoke several Indian languages.2 An eminent writer has mistaken "Picard" for a personalname. Du Gay was called " Le Picard," because he came from theprovince of Picardy.8 (1683), 188. This commendation is suppressed in the latereditions.

1680.] DEPARTURE OF HENNEPIN. 187The friar bade farewell to La Salle, and embracedall the rest in turn. Father Ribourde gave him hisbenediction. "Be of good courage and let yourheart be comforted," said the excellent old missionary,as he spread his hands in benediction over the shavencrown of the reverend traveller. Du Gay and Accauplied their paddles ; the canoe receded, and vanishedat length behind the forest. We will follow Hennepinhereafter on his adventures, imaginary and real.Meanwhile, we will trace the footsteps of his chief,urging his way, in the storms of winter, throughthose vast and gloomy wilds, — those realms offamine, treachery,and death, — that lay betwixt himand his far-distant goal of Fort Frontenac.On the first of March, 1 before the frost was yet outof the ground, when the forest was still leafless, andthe oozy prairies still patched with snow, a band ofdiscontented men were again gathered on the shorefor another leave-taking. Hard by, the unfinishedship lay on the stocks, white and fresh from the sawand axe, ceaselessly reminding them ofthe hardshipand peril that was in store. Here you would haveseen the calm, impenetrable face of La Salle, and/with him the Mohegan hunter, who seems to havevfelt towards him that admiring attachment which hecould always inspire in his Indian retainers.Besidesthe Mohegan, four Frenchmen were to accompanyhim, — Hunaut, La Violette, Collin, and Dautray. 21Tonty erroneously places their departure on the twenty-second2 Declaration faite par Moyse Hillaret, charpentier de barque.

188 FORT CREVECCEUR. [1680.His parting with Tonty was an anxious one,for eachwell knew the risks that environed both. Embarkingwith his followers in two canoes, he made hisway upward amid the drifting ice ; while the faithfulItalian, with two or three honest men and twelve orthirteen knaves, remained to hold Fort Cr&vecoeurin his absence.

CHAPTER XIV.1680.HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE.The Winter Journey. — The Deserted Town. — StarvedRock. — Lake Michigan. — The Wilderness. — War Parties— La Salle's Men give out. — III Tidings. — Mutiny.—Chastisement of the Mutineers.La Salle well knew what was before him, andnothing but necessity spurred him to this desperatejourney. He says that he could trust nobody else togo in his stead, and that unless the articles lost inthe " Griffin " were replaced without delay, the expeditionwould beretarded a full year, and he and hisassociates consumed by its expenses. "Therefore,"he writes to one of them, "though the thaws ofapproaching spring greatly increased the difficulty ofthe way, interrupted as it was everywhere by marshesand rivers, to say nothing of the length of the journey,which is about five hundred leagues in a directline, and the danger of meeting Indians of four orfive different nations through whose country we wereto pass, as well as an Iroquois army which we knewwas coming that way; though we must suffer all the

190 HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE. [1680.time from hunger; sleep on the open ground, andoften without food; watch by night and march byday,loaded with baggage, such as blanket, clothing,kettle, hatchet, gun, powder, lead, and skins to makemoccasins; sometimes pushing through thickets,sometimes climbing rocks covered with ice and snow,sometimes wading whole days through marshes wherethe water was waist-deep or even more, at a seasonwhen the snow was not entirely melted, — though Iknew all this, it did not prevent me from resolvingto go on foot to Fort Frontenac, to learn for myselfwhat had become of my vessel, and bring back thethings we needed." 1The winter had been a severe one ; and when, anhour after leaving the fort, he and his companionsreached the still water of Peoria Lake, they found itsheeted with ice from shore to shore. They carriedtheir canoes up the bank, made two rude sledges,placed the light vessels upon them, and dragged themto the upper end of the lake, where they encamped.In the morning they found the river still coveredwith ice, too weak to bear them and too strong topermit them to break a way for the canoes. Theyspent the whole day in carrying them through thewoods, toiling knee-deep in saturated snow. Rainfell in floods, and they took shelter at night in adeserted Indian hut.In the morning, the third of March, they dragged1 Lettre de La Salle a un de ses associes (Thouret 7 ), 29 Sept.,1680 (Margry, ii. 50).

;1680.] THE DESERTED TOWN. 191their canoes half a league farther; then launchedthem, and, breaking the ice with clubs and hatchets,forced their way slowly up the stream.Again theirprogress was barred, and again they took to thewoods, toiling onward till a tempest of moist, halfliquidsnow forced them to bivouac for the night.sharp frost followed, and in the morning the whitewaste around them was glazed with a dazzling crust.Now, for the first time, they could use their snowshoes.Bending to their work, dragging their canoes,which glided smoothly over the polished surface,they journeyed on hour afterleague, tillAhour and league afterthey reached at length the great town ofthe Illinois, still void of its inhabitants. 1It was a desolate and lonely scene, — the rivergliding dark and cold between its banks of rushesthe empty lodges, covered with crusted snow; thevast white meadows ; the distant cliffs, bearded withshining icicles; and the hills wrapped in forests,which glittered from afar with the icy incrustationsthat cased each frozen twig. Yet there was life inthe savage landscape.The men saw buffalo wadingin the snow, and they killed one of them. Morethan this: they discovered the tracks of moccasins,They cut rushes by the edge of the river, piled themon the bank, and set them on fire, that the smokemight attract the eyes of savages roaming near.1Membre says that he was in the town at the time ;but thiscould hardly have been the case. He was, in all probability, amongthe Illinois, in their camp near Fort Crevecoeur.

192 HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE. [1680On the following day, while the hunters weresmoking the meat of the buffalo, La Salle went outto reconnoitre, and presently met three Indians, oneof whom proved to be Chassagoac, the principal chiefof the Illinois. 1 La Salle brought them to hisbivouac, feasted them, gave them a red blanket, akettle, and some knives and hatchets, made friendswith them, promised to restrain the Iroquois fromattacking them, toldthem that he was on his way tothe settlements to bring arms and ammunition todefend them against their enemies, and, as the resultof these advances, gained from the chief a promisethat he would send provisions to Tonty's party atFort Crevecoeur.After severaldays spent at the deserted town, LaSalle prepared to resume his journey. Before hisdeparture, hisattention was attracted to the remarkablecliff of yellow sandstone, now called StarvedRock, a mile or more above the village, — a naturalfortress, which a score of resolute white men mightmake good against a host of savages; and hesoonafterwards sent Tonty an order to examine it, andmake it his stronghold in case of need. 2On the fifteenth the party set out again, carried1The same whom Hennepin calls Chassagouasse. He wasbrother of the chief, Nicanope", who, in his absence, had feastedthe French on the day after the nocturnal council with Monso.Chassagoac was afterwards baptized by MembrC or Ribourde, butsoon relapsed into the superstitions of his people, and died, as theformer tells us, " doubly a child of perdition." See Le Clerc, ii. 181.2 Tonty, Memoire. The order was sent by two Frenchmen, whomLa Salle met on Lake Michigan.

1680.] LA SALLE'S JOURNEY. 198their canoes along the bank of theriver as far as therapids above Ottawa, then launched them and pushedtheir way upward, battling with the floating ice,which, loosened by a warm rain, drove down theswollen current in sheets. On the eighteenth theyreached a point some miles below the site of Joliet,and here found the river once more completelyclosed. Despairing of farther progress by water,they hid their canoes on an island,the country for Lake Michigan.and struck acrossIt was the worst of all seasons for such a journey.The nights were cold, but the sun was warm at noon,and the half-thawed prairie was one vast tract ofmud, water, and discolored, half-liquid snow. Onthe twenty-second they crossed marshes and inundatedmeadows, wading to the knee, till at noonthey were stopped by a river, perhaps the Calumet.They made a raft of hard-wood timber, for there wasno other, and shoved themselves across. On the nextday they could see Lake Michigan dimly glimmeringbeyond the waste of woods ; and, after crossing threeswollen streams, they reached it at evening. Onthe twenty-fourth they followed its shore, till, atnightfall, they arrived at the fort which they hadbuilt in the autumn at the mouth of the St. Joseph.Here La Salle found Chapelle and Leblanc, the twomen whom he had sent from hence to Michilimackinac,in search of the " Griffin." 1They reported that theyhad made the circuit of the lake, and had neitheri Declaration de Moyse Hillaret ; Relation des Decouvertes.13

192 HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE. [1680On the following day, while the hunters weresmoking the meat of the buffalo, La Salle went outto reconnoitre, and presently met three Indians, oneof whom proved to be Chassagoac, the principal chiefof the Illinois. 1 La Salle brought them to hisbivouac, feasted them, gave them a red blanket, akettle, and some knives and hatchets, made friendswith them, promised to restrain the Iroquois fromattacking them, toldthem that he was on his way tothe settlements to bring arms and ammunition todefend them against their enemies, and, as the resultof these advances, gained from the chief a promisethat he would send provisions to Tonty's party atFort Crevecoeur.After severaldays spent at the deserted town, LaSalle prepared to resume his journey. Before hisdeparture, hisattention was attracted to the remarkablecliff of yellow sandstone, now called StarvedRock, a mile or more above the village, — a naturalfortress, which a score of resolute white men mightmake good against a host of savages; and hesoonafterwards sent Tonty an order to examine it, andmake it his stronghold in case of need. 2On the fifteenth the party set out again, carried1The same whom Hennepin calls Chassagouasse. He wasbrother of the chief, Nicanope', who, in his absence, had feastedthe French on the day after the nocturnal council with Monso.Chassagoac was afterwards baptized by Membre' or Ribourde, butsoon relapsed into the superstitions of his people, and died, as theformer tells us, " doubly a child of perdition." See Le Clerc, ii. 181.2 Tonty, Memoire. The order was sent by two Frenchmen, whomLa Salle met on Lake Michigan.

"1680.] LA SALLE'S JOURNEY. 198theircanoes along the bank of the river as far as therapids above Ottawa, then launched them and pushedtheir way upward, battling with the floating ice,which, loosened by a warm rain, drove down theswollen current in sheets. On the eighteenth theyreached a point some miles below the site of Joliet,and here found the river once more completelyclosed. Despairing of farther progress by water,they hid their canoes on an island,the country for Lake Michigan.and struck acrossIt was the worst of all seasons for such a journey.The nights were cold, but the sun was warm at noon,and the half-thawed prairie was one vast tract ofmud, water, and discolored, half-liquid snow. Onthe twenty-second they crossed marshes and inundatedmeadows, wading to the knee, till at noonthey were stopped by a river, perhaps the Calumet.They made a raft of hard-wood timber, for there wasno other, and shoved themselves across. On the nextday they could see Lake Michigan dimly glimmeringbeyond the waste of woods ; and, after crossing threeswollen streams, they reached it at evening. Onthe twenty-fourth they followed its shore, till, atnightfall, they arrived at the fort which they hadbuilt in the autumn at the mouth of the St. Joseph.Here La Salle found Chapelle and Leblanc, the twomen whom he had sent from hence to Michilimackinac,in search of the " Griffin.1They reported that theyhad made the circuit of the lake, and had neitheri Declaration de Moyse Eillaret ; Relation des Decouvertes.13

194 HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE. [1680.seen her nor heard tidings of her. Assured of herfate, he ordered them to rejoin Tonty at FortCrSvecoeur; while he pushed onward with his partythrough the unknown wild of Southern Michigan.'The rain," says La Salle, "which lasted all day,and the raft we were obliged to make to cross theriver, stopped us till noon of the twenty-fifth, whenwe continued our march through thewoods, whichwas so interlaced with thorns and brambles that intwo days and a half our clothes were all torn, andour faces so covered with blood that we hardly kneweach other. On the twenty-eighth we found thewoods more open, and began to fare better, meetinga good deal of game, which after this rarely failedus ; so that we no longer carried provisions with us,but made a meal of roast meat wherever we happenedto kill a deer, bear, or turkey.These are the choicestfeasts on a journey like this; and till now we hadgenerally gone without them, sothat we had oftenwalked allday without breakfast." The Indians do not hunt in this region, which isdebatable ground between five or six nations who areat war, and, being afraid of each other, do notventure into these parts except to surprise each other,and always with the greatest precaution and allpossible secrecy. The reports of our guns and thecarcasses of the animals we killed soon led some ofthem to find our trail. In fact, on the evening of thetwenty-eighth, having made our fire by the edge of aprairie, we were surrounded by them; but as the

1680.] INDIAN ALARMS."195man on guard waked us, and we posted ourselvesbehind trees with our guns, these savages, who arecalled Wapoos, took us for Iroquois, and thinkingthat there must be a great many of us because wedid not travel secretly, as they do when in smallbands, they ran off without shooting their arrows,and gave the alarm to their comrades, so that wewere two days without meeting anybody."La Salle guessed the cause of their fright; and, inorder to confirm their delusion, he drew with charcoal,on the trunks of trees from which he hadstripped the bark, the usual marks of an Iroquoiswar-party, with signs for prisoners and for scalps,after the custom of those dreaded warriors. Thisingenious artifice,as will soon appear, was near provingthe destruction of the whole party. He also setfire to the dry grass of the prairies over which he andhis men had just passed, thus destroying the tracesof their passage. "We practised this device everynight, and it answered very well so long as we werepassing over an open country; but on the thirtiethwe got into great marshes, flooded by the thaws, andwere obliged to cross them in mud or water up tothe waist; so that our tracks betrayed us to a bandof Mascoutins who were out after Iroquois. Theyfollowed us through these marshes during the threedays we were crossing them; but we made no fire atnight, contenting ourselves with taking off our wetclothes and wrapping ourselves in our blankets onsome dry knoll, where we slept till morning. At

X96 HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE. [1680.last, on the night of the second of April, there camea hard frost, and our clothes, which were drenchedwhen we took them off, froze stiff as sticks, so thatwe could not put them on in the morning withoutmaking a fire to thaw them. The fire betrayed us tothe Indians, who were encamped across the marsh;and they ran towards us with loud cries, till theywere stopped halfway by a stream sodeep that theycould not get over, the ice which had formed in thenight not being strong enough to bear them. Wewent to meet them, within gun-shot; and whetherour fire-arms frightened them, or whether they thoughtus more numerous than we were, or whether theyreally meant us no harm, they called out, in theIllinois language, that they had taken us for Iroquois,but now saw that we were friends and brothers;whereupon, they went off as they came, and we kepton our way till the fourth, when two of my men fellill and could not walk."In this emergency, La Salle went in search of somewatercourse by which they might reach Lake Erie,and soon came upon a small river,which was probablythe Huron. Here, while the sick men rested,their companions made a canoe. There were nobirch-trees ; and they were forced to use elm-bark,which at that early season would not slipfreely fromthe wood until they loosened it with hot water.Their canoe being made, they embarked in it, andfor a time floated prosperously down the stream,when at length the way was barred by a matted

:1580.] THE JOURNEY'S END. 197barricade of trees fallen across the water. The sickmen could now walk again, and, pushing eastwardthrough the forest, the party soon reached the banksof the Detroit.La Salle directed two of the men to make a canoe,and go to Michilimackinac, the nearest harborage.With the remaining two, he crossed the Detroit on araft, and, striking a direct line across the country,reached Lake Erie not far from Point Pele'e.Snow,sleet, and rain pelted them with little intermissionand when, after a walk of about thirty miles, theygained the lake, the Mohegan and one of the Frenchmenwere attacked with fever and spitting of blood.Only one man now remained in health. With hisaid, La Salle made another canoe, and, embarkingthe invalids, pushed for Niagara. It was EasterMonday when they landed at a cabin of logs abovethe cataract, probably on the spot where the " Griffin "was built. Here several of La Salle's men had beenleft the year before, and here they still remained.They told him woful news.Not only had he lostthe " Griffin, " and her lading of ten thousand crownsin value, but a ship from France, freighted with hisgoods, valued at more than twenty-two thousandlivres, had been totally wrecked at the mouth of theSt. Lawrence ; and of twenty hired men on their wayfrom Europe to join him, some had been detained byhis enemy, the Intendant Duchesneau, while all butfour of the remainder, being told that he was dead,had found means to return home.

200 HARDIHOOD OF LA SALLE. [1G80,St.Joseph, seized a quantity of furs belonging to LaSalle at Michilimackinac, and plundered the magazineat Niagara. Here they had separated, eight ofthem coasting the south side ofLake Ontario to findharborage at Albany, a common refuge at that timeof this class of scoundrels; while the remainingtwelve, in three canoes, made for Fort Frontenacalong the north shore, intending to kill La Salle asthe surest means of escaping punishment.He lost no time in lamentation. Of the few menat his command he chose nine of the trustiest,embarked with them in canoes, and went to meet themarauders. After passing the Bay of Quints, hetook his station with five of his party at a point ofland suited to his purpose, and detached the remainingfour to keep watch.In the morning, two canoeswere discovered approaching without suspicion,oneof them far in advance of the other. As the foremostdrew near, La Salle's canoe darted out fromunder the leafy shore, — two of the men handling thepaddles, while he, with the remaining two, levelledtheir guns at the deserters, and called on them tosurrender. Astonished and dismayed, they yieldedat once; while two more, who were in the secondcanoe, hastened to follow their example. La Sallenow returned to the fort with his prisoners, placedtray himself seems to have remained true ; at least, he was in LaSalle's service immediately after, and was one of his most trustedfollowers. He was of good birth, being the son of Jean Bourdon, aconspicuous personage in the early period of the colony ; and hisname appears on official records as Jean Bourdon, Sieur d'Autray.

1680.] CHASTISEMENT. 201them in custody, and again set forth. He met thethird canoe upon the lake at about six o'clock in theevening. His men vainly plied their paddles in pursuit.The mutineers reached the shore, took postamong rocks and trees, levelled their guns, andshowed fight.Four of La Salle's men made a circuitto gain their rear and dislodge them, on which theystole back to their canoe and tried to escape in thedarkness. They were pursued, and summoned toyield; but they replied by aiming their guns at theirpursuers, who instantly gave them a volley, killedtwo of them, and captured the remaining three.Like their companions, they were placed in custodyat the fort, to await the arrival of Count Frontenac. 11La Salle's long letter, written apparently to his associateThouret, and dated 29 Sept., 1680, is the chief authority for theabove. The greater part of this letter is incorporated, almost verbatim,in the official narrative called Relation des D€couverie8Hennepin, Membre', and Tonty also speak of the journey from FortCrevecoeur. The death of the two mutineers was used by La Salle'senemies as the basis of a charge of murder.

CHAPTER XV.1680.INDIAN CONQUERORS.Thb Enterprise renewed. — Attempt to rescue Tonty.— Buf*palo. — A Frightful Discovert. — Iroquois Fury. — TheRuined Town.—A Night of Horror. — Traces of theInvaders.— No News of Tonty.JAnd now La Salle's work must be begun afresh.He had staked all, and all had seemingly been lost.In stern, relentless effort he had touched the limitsof human endurance; und the harvest of his toil wasdisappointment, disaster, and impending ruin. Theshattered fabric of his enterprise was prostrate in thedust. His friends desponded; his foes were blatantand exultant. Did he bend before the storm? Nohuman eye could pierce the depths of his reservedand haughty nature; but the surface was calm, andno sign betrayed a shaken resolve or an alteredpurpose.Where weaker men would have abandonedall in despairing apathy, he turned anew to his workwith the same vigor and the same apparent confidenceas if borne on the full tide of success.His best hope was in Tonty.Could that brave andtrue-hearted officer and the three or four faithful

1680.] ANOTHER EFFOBT. 208men who had remained with him make goodtheirfoothold on the Illinois, and save from destructionthe vessel on the stocks and the forge and tools solaboriously carried thither,then a basis was left onwhich the ruined enterprise might be built up oncemore. There was no time to lose. Tonty must besuccored soon, or succor would come too late. LaSalle had already provided the necessary material,and a few days sufficed to complete his preparations.On the tenth of August he embarked again for theIllinois. With him went his lieutenant La Forest,who held of him in fief an island, then called BelleIsle, opposite Fort Frontenac. 1 A surgeon, shipcarpenters,joiners, masons, soldiers, voyageurs, andlaborers completed his company, twenty-five men inall, with everything needful for the outfit of thevessel.His route, though difficult, was not so long as thatwhich he had followed the year before. He ascendedthe river Humber; crossed to Lake Simcoe, andthence descended the Severn to the Georgian Bay ofLake Huron; followed its eastern shore, coasted theManitoulin Islands, and at length reached Michilimackinac.Here, as usual, all was hostile; and hehad great difficulty in inducing the Indians, who hadbeen excited against him, to sell him provisions.Anxious to reach hisdestination, he pushed forwardwith twelve men, leaving La Forest to bring on the1Robert Cavelier, S r -de la Salle, a Frangois Daupin, S r - dt laForest, 10 Juin, 1679.

204 INDIAN CONQUERORS. [1680.rest. On the fourth of November 1 he reached theruined fort at the mouth of the St. Joseph, and leftfive of his party, with the heavy stores, to wait tillLa Forest should come up, while he himself hastenedforward with six Frenchmen and an Indian. A deepanxiety possessed him. The rumor, current formonths past, that the Iroquois, bent on destroyingthe Illinois, were on the point of invading theircountry had constantly gained strength.Here wasa new disaster, which, if realized, might involve himand his enterprise in irretrievable wreck.He ascended the St. Joseph, crossed the portageto the Kankakee, and followed its course downwardtill it joined the northern branch of the Illinois. Hehad heard nothing ofTonty on the way, and neitherhere nor elsewhere could he discover the smallestsign of the passage of white men. His friend, therefore,if alive, was probably still at his post ; and hepursued his course with a mind lightened, in somesmall measure, of its load of anxiety.When last he had passed here, all was solitude;but now the scene was changed. The boundlesswaste was thronged with life. He beheld thatwondrous spectacle, still to be seen at times on theplains of the remotest West, and the memory ofwhich can quicken the pulse and stir the blood after1This date is from the Relation. Memore* says the twentyeighth; but he is wrong, by his own showing, as he says that theparty reached the Illinois village on the first of December, whichwould be an impossibility.

1680.] BUFFALO. 205the lapse of years :far and near, the prairie was alivewith buffalo ; now like black specks dotting the distantswells ;now trampling by in ponderous columns,or filing in long lines, morning, noon, and night, todrink at the river, — wading, plunging, and snortingin the water;climbing the muddy shores, and staringwith wild eyes at the passing canoes. It was anopportunity not to be lost. The party landed, andencamped for a hunt. Sometimes they hid underthe shelving bank, and shot them as they came todrink; sometimes, flat on their faces, they draggedthemselves through the long dead grass, till thesavage bulls, guardians of the herd, ceased theirgrazing, raisedtheir huge heads, and glared throughtangled hair at the dangerous intruders. The huntwas successful. In three days the hunters killedtwelve buffalo, besides deer, geese, and swans.They cut the meat into thin flakes, and dried it inthe sun or in the smoke of their fires. The menwere in high spirits, — delighting in the sport, andrejoicing in the prospect of relieving Tonty and hishungry followers with a plentiful supply.They embarked again, and soon approached thegreat town of the Illinois. The buffalo were farbehind; and once more the canoes glided on theirway through a voiceless solitude. No hunters wereseen; no saluting whoop greeted their ears. Theypassed the cliff afterwards called the Rock of St.Louis, where La Salle had ordered Tonty to buildhis stronghold; but as he scanned its lofty top he

206 INDIAN CONQUERORS. [1680.saw no palisades, no cabins, no sign of human hand,and still its primeval crest of forests overhung thegliding river. Now the meadow opened before themwhere the great town had stood. They gazed, astonishedand confounded: all was desolation. Thetown had vanished, and the meadow was black withfire. ^They plied their paddles, hastened to the spot,landed ; and as they looked around their cheeks grewwhite, and the blood was frozen in their veins.Before them lay a plain once swarming with wildhuman life and covered with Indian dwellings, nowa waste of devastation and death, strewn with heapsof ashes, and bristling with the charred poles andstakes which had formed the framework of thelodges. At the points of most of them were stuckhuman skulls, half picked by birds of prey. 1 Nearat hand was the burial-ground of the village. Thetravellers sickened with horror as they entered itsrevolting precincts. Wolves in multitudes fled attheir approach; while clouds of crows or buzzards,rising from the hideous repast, wheeled above theirheads, or settled on the naked branches of the neighboringforest. Every grave had been rifled, andthe bodies flung down from the scaffolds where, afterthe Illinois custom, many of them had been placed.The field was strewn with broken bones and torn and1" II ne restoit que quelques bouts de perches brule'es qui montroientquelle avoit ete l'e'tendue du village, et sur la plupart desquellesil y avoit des tStes de morts plantees et mangees des copbeaux-" — Relation des Decouverte$ du Sr -d« la Sail*.

1680.] A NIGHT OF HORROR. 207mangled corpses.A hyena warfare had been wagedagainst the dead. La Salle knew the handiwork ofthe Iroquois. The threatened blow had fallen, andthe wolfish hordes of the five cantons had fleshedtheir rabid fangs in a new victim. 1Not far distant, the conquerors had made a rudefort of trunks, boughs, and roots of trees laid togetherto form a circular enclosure ; and this, too, was garnishedwith skulls, stuck on the broken branches andprotruding sticks. The caches, or subterranean storehousesof the villagers, had been broken open andthe contents scattered. The cornfields were laidwaste, and much of the corn thrown into heaps andhalf burned. As La Salle surveyed this scene ofhavoc, one thought engrossed him: where wereTonty and his men? He searched the Iroquois fort:there were abundant traces of its savage occupants,and, among them, a few fragments of French cloth-1"Beaueoup de carcasses a demi rongees par les loups, lessepulchres demolis, les os tire's de leurs fosses et epars par la eampagne; . . . enfin les loups et les corbeaux augmentoient encorepar leurs hurlemens et par leurs cris rhorreur de ce spectacle." —Relation des Decouvertes du S r -de la Salle. ^The above may seem exaggerated ; but it accords perfectly with vwhat is well established concerning the ferocious character of theIroquois and the nature of their warfare. Many other tribes havefrequently made war upon the dead. I have myself known aninstance in which five corpses of Sioux Indians placed in trees,after the practice of the Western bands of that people, were throwndown and kicked into fragments by a war party of the Crows, whothen held the muzzles of their guns against the skulls, and blewthem to pieces. This happened near the head of the Hatte, in thelummer of 1846. Yet the Crows are much less ferocious than wenthe Iroquois in La Salle's time.

"208 INDIAN CONQUERORS. [1(580.ing. He examined the skulls ; but the hair, portionsof which clung to nearly all of them, was in everycase that of an Indian. Evening came on before hehad finished the search. The sun set, and the wildernesssank to its savage rest. Night and silencebrooded over the waste, where, far as the raven couldwing his flight,and horror.stretched the dark domain of solitudeYet there was no silence at the spot where LaSalle and his companions made their bivouac. Thehowling of the wolves filled the air with fierce anddreary dissonance. More dangerous foes were notfar off,for before nightfall they had seen fresh Indiantracks; "but, as it was very cold," says La Salle,"this did not prevent us from making a fire andlying down by it, each of us keeping watch in turn.I spent the night in a distress which you can imaginebetter than I can write it; and I did not sleep amoment with trying to make up my mind as to whatI ought to do. My ignorance as to the position ofthose I was looking after, and my uncertainty as towhat would become of the men who were to followme with La Forest if they arrived at the ruined villageand did not find me there, made me apprehendevery sort of trouble and disaster.At last, I decidedto keep on my way down the river, leaving some ofmy men behind in charge of the goods, which it wasnot only useless but dangerous to carry with me,because we should be forced to abandon them whenthe winter fairly set in,which would be very soon.

1680.] FEARS FOR TONTY. 209This resolution was due to a discovery he hadmade the evening before, which offered, as hethought, a possible clew to the fate of Tonty andthe men with him. He thus describes it : " Near thegarden of the Indians, which was on the meadows, aleague from the village and not far from the river,found six pointed stakes set in the ground andpainted red. On each of them was the figure of aman with bandaged eyes, drawn in black. As thesavages often set stakes of this sort where they havekilled people, I thought, by their number and position,that when the Iroquois came, the Illinois, findingour men alone in the hut near their garden, hadeither killed them or made them prisoners. And Iwas confirmed in this, because, seeing no signs of abattle, I supposed that on hearing of the approach ofthe Iroquois, the old men and other non-combatantshad fled, and that the young warriors had remainedbehind to cover their flight,and afterwards followed,taking the French with them; while the Iroquois,finding nobody to kill, had vented their fury on thecorpses in the graveyard."Uncertain as was the basis of this conjecture, andfeeble as was the hope it afforded, it determined himto push forward, in order to learn more. Whendaylight returned, he told his purpose to his followers,and directed three of them to await his returnnear the ruined village. They were to hide themselveson an island, conceal their fire at night, makeno smoke by day, fire no guns, and keep a close14I

210 INDIAN CONQUERORS. [1680.watch. Should the rest of the party arrive, they,too, were to wait with similar precautions. Thebaggage was placed in a hollow of the rocks, at aplace difficult of access; and, these arrangementsmade, La Salle set out on hisperilous journey withthe four remaining men, Dautray, Hunaut, You, andthe Indian. Each was armed with two guns, apistol, and a sword; and a number of hatchets andother goods were placed in the canoe, asIndians whom they might meet.presents forSeveral leagues below the village they found, ontheir right hand close to the river, a sort of island,made inaccessibleby the marshes and water whichsurrounded it. Here the flying Illinois had soughtrefuge with their women and children, and the placewas full of their deserted huts. On the left bank,exactly opposite, was an abandoned camp of theIroquois. On the level meadow stood a hundred andthirteen huts, and on the forest trees which coveredthe hillsbehind were carved the totems, or insignia,of the chiefs, together with marks to show thenumber of followers which each had led to the war.La Salle counted five hundred and eighty-two warriors.He found marks, too, for the Illinois killedor captured, but none to indicate that any of theFrenchmen had shared their fate.As they descended the river, they passed, on thesame day, six abandoned camps of the Illinois ; andopposite to each was a camp of the invaders. Theformer, it was clear, had retreated in a body; while

:1680.] SEARCH FOR TONTY. 211the Iroquois had followed their march, day by day,along the other bank. La Salle and his men pushedrapidly onward, passed Peoria Lake, and soonreached Fort Crevecceur, which they found, as theyexpected, demolished by the deserters. The vesselon the stocks was still left entire, though the Iroquoishad found means to draw out the iron nails andspikes. On one of the planks were written the words"Nous sommes tons sauvages: ce 15, 1680," — thework, no doubt, ofthe knaves who had pillaged anddestroyed the fort.La Salle and his companions hastened on,and duringthe following day passed four opposing camps ofthe savage armies. The silence of death now reignedalong the deserted river, whose lonely borders,wrapped deep in forests, seemed lifeless as the grave.As they drew near the mouth of the stream theysaw a meadow on their right, and on its farthestverge several human figures, erect, yet motionless.They landed, and cautiously examined the place.The long grass was trampled down, and all aroundwere strewn the relics of the hideous orgies whichformed the ordinary sequel of an Iroquois victory.The figures they had seen were the half-consumedbodies of women, still bound to the stakes wherethey had been tortured. Other sights there were,too revolting for record. 1All the remains were those1"Onnescauroitexprimer la rage de ees furieux ni les tourmensqu'ils avoient fait souffrir aux mise'rables Tamaroa [a tribe of theIllinois]. II y en avoit encore dans des chaudieres qu'ils avoientlaiss^es pleines sur les feux, qui depuis s'e'toient e'teints," etc., etc— Relation des Decouvertes.

212 INDIAN CONQUERORS. [1680.of women and children. The men, it seemed, hadfled,and left them to their fate.Here, again, La Salle sought long and anxiously,without finding the smallest sign that could indicatethe presence of Frenchmen. Once more descendingthe river, they soon reached its mouth. Beforethem, a broadeddying current rolled swiftly on itsway ; and La Salle beheld the Mississippi, — theobject of his day-dreams, the destined avenue of hisambition and his hopes. It was no time for reflections.The moment was too engrossing, too heavilycharged with anxieties and cares. From a rock onthe shore, he saw a treestretched forward above thestream; and stripping off its bark to make it moreconspicuous, he hung upon ita board on which hehad drawn the figures of himself and his men, seatedin their canoe, and bearing a pipe of peace. To thishe tied a letter for Tonty, informing him that he hadreturned up the river to the ruined village.His four men had behaved admirably throughout,and they now offered to continue the journey if hesaw fit, and follow him to the sea ; but he thought ituseless to go farther, and was unwilling to abandonthe three men whom he had ordered to await hisreturn. Accordingly, they retraced their course,and, paddling at times both day and night, urgedtheir canoe so swiftly that they reached the villagein the incredibly short space of four days. 11The distance is about two hundred and fifty miles. Theletters of La Salle, as well as the official narrative compiled from

1681.] THE COMET. 213The sky was clear, and as night came on thetravellers saw a prodigious comet blazing above thisscene of desolation. On that night, it was chillingwith a superstitious awe the hamlets of New Englandand the gilded chambers of Versailles ;but it is characteristicof La Salle, that, beset as he was with perilsand surrounded with ghastly images of death, hecoolly notes down the phenomenon, not as a portentousmessenger of war and woe, but rather as anobject of scientific curiosity. 1He found his three men safely ensconced upontheir island, where they were anxiously looking forhis return. After collecting a store of half-burntcorn from the ravaged granaries of the Illinois, thewhole party began to ascend the river, and on thesixth of January reached the junction of the Kankakeewith the northern branch. On their way downwardthey had descended the former stream; they nowchose the latter, and soon discovered, by the marginthem, say that they left the village on the second of December,and returned to it on the eleventh, having left the mouth of theriver on the seventh.1This was the " Great Comet of 1680." Dr. B. A. Gould writesme: "It appeared in December, 1680, and was visible until thelatter part of February, 1681, being especially brilliant in January."It was said to be the largest ever seen. By observations upon it,Newton demonstrated the regular revolutions of comets around thesun. " No comet," it is said, " has threatened the earth with anearer approach than that of 1680." ( Winthrop on Comets, LectureII. p. 44.) Increase Mather, in his Discourse concerning Comets,printed at Boston in 1683, says of this one :" Its appearance waivery terrible ; the Blaze ascended above 60 Degrees almost to iUZenith." Mather thought it fraught with terrific portent to thenations of the earth.

214 INDIAN CONQUERORS. [1QS1.of the water, a rude cabin of bark.La Salle landedand examined the spot, when an object met his eyewhich cheered him with a bright gleam of hope.was but a piece of wood ;Itbut the wood had been cutwith a saw. Tonty and his party, then, had passedthis way, escaping from the carnage behind them.Unhappily, they had left no token of their passageat the fork of the two streams ;• and thus La Salle,on his voyage downward, had believed them to bestill on the river below.With rekindled hope, the travellers pursued theirjourney, leaving their canoes, and making their wayoverland towards the fort on the St. Joseph."Snow fell in extraordinary quantities all day,"writes La Salle, "and it kept on falling for nineteendays in succession, with cold so severe thatI never knew so hard a winter, even in Canada.We were obliged to cross forty leagues of opencountry, where we could hardly find wood to warmourselves at evening, and could get no bark whateverto make a hut, so that we had to spend thenight exposed to the furious winds which blowover these plains. I never suffered so much fromcold, or had more trouble in getting forward; forthe snow was so light, resting suspended as it wereamong the tall grass, that we could not use snowshoes.Sometimes it was waist deep; and as Iwalked before my men, as usual, to encouragethem by breaking the path, I often had much ado,though I am rather tall, to lift my legs above the

1681.] FORT MIAMI. 215drifts, through which I pushed by the weight ofmy body."At length they reached their goal, and foundshelter and safety within the walls of Fort Miami.Here was the party left in charge of La Forest; but,to his surprise and grief, La Salle heard no tidingsof Tonty. He found some amends for the disappointmentin the fidelity and zeal of La Forest's men,who had restored the fort, cleared ground for planting,and even sawed the planks and timber for a newvessel on the lake.And now, while La Salle rests at Fort Miami, letas trace the adventures which befell Tonty and hisfollowers, after their chief's departure from FortCrevecceur.

CHAPTER XVI.1680.TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS.The Deserters.—The IroquoisWar. — The Great Town ofthe Illinois. — The Alarm. — Onset of the Iroquois —Peril op Tonty. — A Treacherous Truce. — Intrepidity opTonty. — Murder of Ribourde. — War upon the Dead.When La Salle set out on his rugged journey toas we have seen, fifteen menFort Frontenac, he left,at Fort Cr^vecoeur, — smiths,ship-carpenters, housewrights,and soldiers, besides his servant L'Espdranceand the two friars Membre* and Ribourde. Most ofthe men were ripe for mutiny. They had no interestin the enterprise, and no love for its chief. Theywere disgusted with the present, and terrified at thefuture. La Salle, too, was for the most part a sterncommander, impenetrable and cold; and when hetried to soothe, conciliate, and encourage, his successrarely answered to the excellence of his rhetoric.He could always, however, inspire respect, if notlove; but now the restraint of his presence wasremoved. He had not been long absent, when a firebrandwas thrown into the midst of the discontentedand restless crew.

1680.] THE DESERTERS. 217It may be remembered that La Salle had »met twoof his men, La Chapelle and Leblanc, at his fort onthe St. Joseph, and ordered them to rejoin Tonty.Unfortunately, they obeyed. On arriving, they toldtheir comrades that the " Griffin " was lost,that FortFrontenac was seized by the creditors of La Salle,that he was rained past recovery, and that they, themen, would never receive their pay. Their wageswere in arrears for more than two years ;and, indeed,it would have been folly to pay them before theirreturn to the settlements, as to do so would havebeen a temptation to desert. Now, however, theeffect on their minds was still worse, believing, asmany of them did,that they would never be paid atall.La Chapelle and his companion had brought aletter from La Salle to Tonty, directing him toexamine and fortify the cliff so often mentioned,which overhung the river above the great Illinoisvillage. Tonty, accordingly, set out on his errandwith some of the men. In his absence, the malcontentsdestroyed the fort, stole powder, lead, furs,and provisions, and deserted, after writing on theside of the unfinished vessel the words seen by LaSalle, "Nous sommes tons sauvages." 1 The brave1For the particulars of this desertion, Membre* in Le Clerc, ii.171, Relation des Decouvertes ; Tonty, MSmoire, 1684, 1693 ;Declarationfaite par devant le &' Duchesneau, Intendant en Canada, parMoyse Hillaret, charpentier de barque cy-devant au service du 8* de laSalle, Aoust, 1680.Moyse Hillaret, the " Maitre Moyse " of Hennepin, was a ring

218 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.young Sieur de Boisrondet and the servant L'Esp^rancehastened to carry the news to Tonty, who at oncedespatched four ofthose with him, by two differentroutes, to inform La Salle of the disaster. 1 Besidesthe two just named, there now remained with himonly one hired man and the Re'collet friars. Withthis feeble band, he was left among a horde of treacheroussavages, who had been taught to regard himas a secret enemy. Resolved, apparently, to disarmtheir jealousy by a show of confidence, he took uphis abode in the midst of them, making his quartersin the great village, whither, as spring opened, itsinhabitants returned, to the number, according toMembre\ of seven or eight thousand. Hither heconveyed the forge and such tools as he couldrecover, and here he hoped to maintain himself tillLa Salle should reappear. The spring and thesummer were past, and he looked anxiously for hiscoming,unconscious that a storm was gathering inleader of the deserters, and seems to have been one of those capturedby La Salle near Fort Frontenac. Twelve days after, Hillaretwas examined by La Salle's enemy, the intendant ; and this paper isthe formal statement made by him. It gives the names of most ofthe men, and furnishes incidental confirmation of many statementsof Hennepin, Tonty, MembrC, and the Relation des DScouvertes.Hillaret, Leblanc, and Le Meilleur, the blacksmith nicknamed LaForge, went off together, and the rest seem to have followed afterwards.Hillaret does not admit that any goods were wantonlydestroyed.There is before me a schedule of the debts of La Salle, madeafter his death. It includes a claim of this man for wages to theamount of 2,600 livres.1 Two of the messengers, Laurent and Messier, arrived safely.The otherb seem to have deserted.

1680.] THE IROQUOIS WAR. 219the east, soon to burst with devastation over thefertile wilderness of the Illinois.I have recounted the ferocious triumphs of theIroquois in another volume. 1 Throughout a widesemicircle around their cantons, they had made theforest a solitude ;destroyed the Hurons, exterminatedthe Neutrals and the Eries, reduced the formidableAndastes to helpless insignificance, swept the bordersof the St. Lawrence with fire, spread terror anddesolation among the Algonquins of Canada; andnow, tired of peace, they were seeking, to borrowtheir own savage metaphor, new nations to devour.Yet it was not alone their homicidal fury that nowimpelled them to another war. Strange as it may •seem, this war was in no small measure one of com- ^mercial advantage. They had long traded with theDutch and English of New York, who gave them,in exchange for their furs, the guns, ammunition,knives, hatchets, kettles, beads, and brandy whichhad become indispensable to them. Game was scarcein their country. They must seek their beaver andother skins in the vacant territories of the tribes theyhad destroyed ; but this did not content them. TheFrench of Canada were seeking to secure a monopolyof the furs of the north and west; and, of late, theenterprises of La Salle on the tributaries of theMississippi had especially roused the jealousy ofthe Iroquois, fomented, moreover, by Dutch andEnglish traders. 2 These crafty savages would fain1 The Jesuits in North America.Duchesneau, in Porta Doc*., ix. 168.

220 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.reduce all these regions to subjection, and drawthence an exhaustless supply of furs, to be barteredfor English goods with the traders of Albany. Theyturned their eyes first towards the Illinois, the mostimportant, as well as one of the most accessible, ofthe western Algonquin tribes;and among La Salle'senemies were some in whom jealousy of a hatedrival could so far override all the best interests of thecolony that they did not scruple to urge on the Iroquoisto an invasion which they hoped would provehis ruin. The chiefs convened, war was decreed, thewar-dance was danced, the war-song sung, and fivehundred warriors began their march. In their pathlay the town of the Miamis, neighbors and kindredof the Illinois. It was always their policy to divideand conquer; and these forest Machiavels hadintrigued so well among the Miamis, working craftilyon theirjealousy, that they induced them to join inthe invasion, though there is every reason to believethat they had marked theseinfatuated allies as theirnext victims. 1J Go to the banks of the Illinois where it flows bythe village of Utica, and stand on the meadow thatborders it on the north.In front glides the river, amusket-shot in width; and from the farther bankrises, with gradual slope, a range of wooded hills1There had long been a rankling jealousy between the Miamisand the Illinois. According to Membre*, La Salle's enemies hadintrigued successfully among the former, as well as among theIroquois, to induce them to take arms against the Illinois.

:1680.] THE ILLINOIS TOWN. 221that hide from sight the vast prairie behind them.A mile or more on your left these gentle acclivitiesend abruptly in the lofty front of the great cliff,called by the French the Rock of St. Louis, lookingboldly out from the forests that environ it; and,three miles distant on your right, you discern a gapin the steep bluffs that here bound the valley,markingthe mouth of the river Vermilion, called Aramoniby the French. 1 Now stand in fancy on this samespot in the early autumn of the year 1680. You arein the midst of the great town of the Illinois, —hundreds of mat-covered lodges, and thousands ofcongregated savages. Enter one of their dwellingsthey will not think you an intruder. Some friendlysquaw will lay a mat for you by the fire ;you mayseat yourself upon it, smoke your pipe, and studythe lodge and its inmates by the light that streamsthrough the holes at the top. Three or four firessmoke and smoulder on the ground down the middle1The above is from notes made on the spot. The following isLa Salle's description of the locality in the Relation des Decouvertes,written in 1681 :" La rive gauche de la riviere, du cote' du sud, estoccupe'e par un long rocher, fort e'troit et escarpe' presque partout,a la reserve d'un endroit de plus d'une lieue de longueur, situe' visa-visdu village, ou le terrain, tout couvert de beaux chGnes, sVtendpar une pente douce jusqu'au bord de la riviere. Au dela de cettehauteur est une vaste plaine, qui s'etend bien loin du cote' du sud,et qui est traversee par la riviere Aramoni, dont les bords sontcouverts d'une lisiere de bois peu large."The Aramoni is laid down on the great manuscript map ofFranquelin, 1684, and on the map of Coronelli, 1688.It is, withoutdoubt, the Big Vermilion. Aramoni is the Illinois word for " red,"or "vermilion." Starved Rock, or the Rock of St. Louis, is th«highest and steepest escarmnent of the long rocher above mentioned

222 TONJY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1880.of the long arched structure; and, as to each firethere are two families, the place is somewhat crowdedwhen all are present. But now there is breathingroom, for many are in the fields. A squaw sitsweaving a mat of rushes; a warrior, naked excepthis moccasins, and tattooed with fantastic devices,binds a stone arrow-head to its shaft, with the freshsinews of a buffalo. Some lie asleep, some sit staringin vacancy, some are eating, some are squatted inlazy chat around a fire. The smoke brings water toyour eyes; the fleas annoy you; small unkemptchildren, naked asyoung puppies, crawl about yourknees and will not be repelled. You have seenenough ;you rise and go out again into the sunlight.It is, if not a peaceful, at least a languid scene. Afew voices break the stillness, mingled with thejoyous chirping of crickets from the grass. Youngmen lie flat on their faces, basking in the sun; agroup of their elders are smoking around a buffaloskinon which they have just been playing a game ofchance with cherry-stones. A lover and his mistress,perhaps, sit together under a shed of bark,without uttering a wcarcL Not far off is the graveyard,where lie the dead of the village, some buriedin the earth, some wrapped in skins and laid aloft onscaffolds, above the reach of wolves. In the cornfieldsaround, you see squaws at their labor, andchildren driving off intruding birds; and your eyeranges over themeadows beyond, spangled with theyellow blossoms of the resin-weed and the Rudbeckia,

1680.] THE ILLINOIS TOWN. 228or over the bordering hills still green with the foliageof summer. 1This, or something like it, one may safely affirm,was the aspect of the Illinois village at noon of thetenth of September. 2 In a hut apart from the rest,you would probably have found the Frenchmen.Among them was a man, not strong in person, anddisabled, moreover, by theloss of a hand, yet in thisden of barbarism betraying the language and bearingof one formed in the most polished civilization ofEurope. This was Henri de Tonty. The otherswere young Boisrondet, the seivant L'Espdrance,and a Parisian youth named fitienne Renault. The1The Illinois were an aggregation of distinct though kindredtribes, — the Kaskaskias, the Peorias, the Kahokias, the Tamaroas,the Moingona, and others. Their general character and habitswere those of other Indian tribes ; but they were reputed somewhatcowardly and slothful. In their manners, they were more licentiousthan many of their neighbors, and addicted to practices which aresometimes supposed to be the result of a perverted civilization.Young men enacting the part of women were frequently to be seenamong them. These were held in great contempt. Some of theearly travellers, both among the Illinois and among other tribes,where the same practice prevailed, mistook them for hermaphrodites.According to Charlevoix {Journal Historique, 303), this abusewas due in part to a superstition. The Miamis and Piankishawswere in close affinities of language and habits with the Illinois.The firstAll these tribes belonged to the great Algonquin family.impressions which the French received of them, as recorded in theRelation of 1671, were singularly favorable ; but a closer acquaintancedid not confirm them. The Illinois traded with the laketribes, to whom they carried slaves taken in war, receiving inexchange guns, hatchets, and other French goods. Marquette inRelation, 1670, 91.2This is Membre's date. The narratives differ ai to the daythough all agree as to the month.

.224 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.friars, Membre' and Ribourde, were not in the village,but at a hut a league distant, whither theyhad gone to make a " retreat " for prayer and meditation.Their missionary labors had not been fruitful;they had made no converts, and were in despairat the intractable character of the objects of theirzeal. As for the other Frenchmen, time, doubtless,hung heavy on their hands ; for nothing can surpassthe vacant monotony of an Indian town when thereis neither hunting, nor war, nor feasts, nor dances,nor gambling, to beguile the lagging hours.Suddenly the village was wakened from its lethargyas by the crash of a thunderbolt. A Shawanoe,lately here on a visit, had left his Illinois friends toreturn home. He now reappeared, crossing theriver in hot haste, with the announcement that hehad met, on his way, an army ofIroquois approachingto attack them. All was panic and confusionThe lodges disgorged their frightened inmates;women and children screamed, startled warriorssnatched their weapons. There were less than fivehundred of them, for the greater part of the youngmen had gone to war. A crowd of excited savagesthronged about Tonty and his Frenchmen, alreadyobjects of their suspicion, charging them, withfurious gesticulation, with having stirred up theirenemies to invade them.Tonty defended himself inbroken Illinois, but the naked mob were but halfconvinced. They seized the forge and tools andflung them into the river, with all the goods that had

1680.] THE ALARM. 226been saved from the deserters; then, uistrustingtheir power to defend themselves, they manned thewooden canoes which lay inmultitudes by the bank,embarked their women and children, and paddleddown the stream to that island of dry land in themidst of marshes which La Salle afterwards foundfilled with their deserted huts. Sixty warriorsremained here to guard them, and therest returnedto the village. All night long fires blazed along theshore. The excited warriors greased their bodies,painted their faces, befeathered their heads, sangtheir war-songs, danced, stamped, yelled, and brandishedtheir hatchets, to work up their courage toface the crisis. The morning came, and with it camethe Iroquois.Young warriors had gone out as scouts, and nowthey returned. They had seen the enemy in theline of forest that bordered the river Aramoni, orVermilion, and had stealthily reconnoitred them.They were very numerous, 1 and armed for the mostpart with guns, pistols, and swords. Some hadbucklersof wood or raw-hide, and some wore thosecorselets of tough twigs interwoven with cordagewhich their fathers had used when fire-arms wereunknown.The scouts added more, for they declaredthat they had seen a Jesuit among the Iroquois ;nay,1The Relation des Decouvertes says, five hundred Iroquois and onehundred Shawanoes. Membre' says that the allies were Miamis.He is no doubt right, as the Miamis had promised their aid, andthe Shawanoes were at peace with the Illinois. Tonty i* silent onthe point.15

;226 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.that La Salle himself was there, whence it mustfollow that Tonty and his men were enemies andtraitors. The supposed Jesuit was but an Iroquoischief arrayed in a black hat,doublet, and stockingswhile another, equipped after a somewhat similarfashion, passed in the distance for La Salle. Butthe Illinois were furious. Tonty 's life hung by ahair. A crowd of savages surrounded him, madwith rage and terror. He had come lately fromEurope, and knew little of Indians, but, as the friarMembre* says of him, "he was full of intelligenceand courage," and when they heard him declare thathe and his Frenchmen would go with them to fightthe Iroquois, their threats grew less clamorous andtheir eyes glittered with a less deadly lustre.Whooping and screeching, they ran to their canoes,crossed the river, climbed the woody hill, andswarmed down upon the plain beyond. About ahundred of them had guns ;bows and arrows.the rest were armed withThey were now face to face withthe enemy, who had emerged from the woods oftheVermilion, and were advancing on the open prairie.With unwonted spirit, for their repute as warriorswas by no means high, the Illinoisbegan, after theirfashion, to charge; that is, they leaped, yelled, andshot off bullets and arrows, advancing as they didso; while the Iroquois replied with gymnastics noless agile and howlings no less terrific, mingled withthe rapid clatter of their guns. Tonty saw that itwould go hard with his allies. It was of the last

:;1680.] TONTY'S MEDIATION. 227moment to stop the fight, if possible. The Iroquoiswere, or professed to be, at peace with the Frenchand, taking counsel of his courage, he resolved onan attempt to mediate, which may well be called adesperate one. He laid aside his gun, took in hishand a wampum belt as a flag of truce, and walkedforward to meet the savage multitude, attended byBoisrondet, another Frenchman, and a young Illinoiswho had the hardihood to accompany him. Theguns of the Iroquois still flashed thick and fast.Some of them were aimed at him, on which he sentback the two Frenchmen and the Illinois, andadvanced alone, holding out the wampum belt. 1moment more, and he was among the infuriatedwarriors. It was a frightful spectacle, — the contortedforms, bounding, crouching, twisting, to dealor dodge the shot; the small keen eyes that shonelike an angry snake's; the parted lips pealing their1 Membre says that he went with Tonty :" J'etois aussi a cote duSieur de Tonty." This is an invention of the friar's vanity. " Lesdeux peres Recollets e'toient alors dans une cabane a une lieue duvillage, oil ils s'etoient retires pour faire une espece de retraite, etils ne furent avertis de l'arrivee des Iroquois que dans le temps ducombat."— Relation des Decouvertes. " Je rencontrai en chemin lesperes Gabriel et Zenobe Membre, qui cherchoient de mes nouvelles."— Tonty, Memoire, 1693. This was on his return from the Iroquois.The Relation confirms the statement, as far as concerns Membre'" II rencontra le Pere Zenobe [Membre], qui venoit pour le secourir,aiant ete averti du combat et de sa blessure."The perverted Dernieres Decouvertes, published without authority,under Tonty's name, says that he was attended by a slave, whomthe Illinois sent with him as interpreter. In his narrative of 1(584.Tonty speaks of a Sokokis (Saco) Indian who was with the Iroquoisand who spoke French enough to serve as interpreter.A

228 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680fiendish yells; the painted features writhing withfear and fury, and every passion of an Indian fight,— man, wolf, and devil, all in one. 1 With hisswarthy complexion and his half-savage dress, theythought he was an Indian, and thronged about him,glaring murder. A young warrior stabbed at hisheart with a knife, but the point glanced asideagainst a rib, inflicting only a deep gash. A chiefcalled out that,as his ears were not pierced, he mustbe a Frenchman. On this, some of them tried tostop the bleeding, and led him to the rear, where anangry parley ensued, while the yellsand firing stillresounded in the front. Tonty, breathless, andbleeding at the mouth with the force of the blow hehad received, found words to declare that the Illinoiswere under the protection of the King and the governorof Canada, and to demand that they shouldbe left in peace. 2A young Iroquois snatched Tonty's hat, placedit on the end of his gun, and displayed it to theIllinois, who, thereupon thinking he was killed,1Being once in an encampment of Sioux when a quarrel brokeout, and the adverse factions raised the war-whoop and began tofire at each other, I had a good, though for the moment a ratherdangerous, opportunity of seeing the demeanor of Indians at thebeginning of a fight. The fray was quelled before much mischiefwas done, by the vigorous intervention of the elder warriors, whoran between the combatants.2 " Je leur fis connoistre que les Islinois etoient sous la protectiondu roy de France et du gouverneur du pays, que j'estois surprisqu'ils vou lussent rompre avec les Francois et qu'ilsuttendre [sic] a une paix." — Tonty, Memoire, 1693.voulussent

;168O.] PERIL OF TONTY. 229renewed the fight; and the firing in front clatteredmore angrily than before. A warrior ran in, cryingout that the Iroquois were giving ground, and thatthere were Frenchmen among the Illinois, who firedat them. On this, the clamor around Tonty wasredoubled. Some wished to kill him at once ; othersresisted. "I was never," he writes, "in such perplexity;for at that moment there was an Iroquoisbehind me, with a knife in his hand, lifting my hairas if he were going to scalp me. I thought it wasall over with me, and that my best hope was thatthey would knock me in the head instead of burningme, as I believed they would do." In fact, aSeneca chief demanded that he should be burnedwhile an Onondaga chief, a friend of La Salle, wasfor setting him free. The dispute grew fierce andhot. Tonty told them that the Illinois were twelvehundred strong, and that sixty Frenchmen were atthe village, ready to back them. This invention,though not fully believed, had no little effect. Thefriendly Onondaga carried his point; and the Iroquois,having failed to surprise their enemies, as they hadhoped, now saw an opportunity to delude them by atruce. They sent back Tonty with a belt of peace :he held it aloft in sight of the Illinois ; chiefs and oldwarriors ran to stop the fight ; the yells and the firingceased; and Tonty, like one waked from a hideousnightmare, dizzy, almost fainting with loss of blood,staggered across the intervening prairie, to rejoin hisfriends. He was met by the two friars, Ribourde

;230 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680,and Membrd, who in their secluded hut, a leaguefrom the village, had but lately heard of what waspassing, and who now, with benedictions and thanksgiving,ran to embrace him as a man escaped fromthe jaws of death.The Illinois now withdrew, re-embarking in theiicanoes, and crossing again to their lodges; butscarcely had they reached them, when theirenemiesappeared at the edge of the forest on the oppositebank. Many found means to cross, and, under thepretext of seeking for provisions, began to hover inbands about the skirts of the town, constantly increasingin numbers. Had the Illinois dared to remain, amassacre would doubtless have ensued; but theyknew their foe too well, set fire to their lodges, embarkedin haste, and paddled down the stream to rejointheir women and children at the sanctuary amongthe morasses. The whole body of the Iroquois nowcrossed the river, took possession of the abandonedtown, building for themselves a rude redoubt or fortof the trunks of trees and of the posts and polesforming the framework ofthe lodges which escapedthe fire. Here they ensconced themselves, andfinished the work of havoc at their leisure.Tonty and his companions still occupied their hutbut the Iroquois, becoming suspicious of them, forcedthem to remove to the fort, crowded as it was withthe savage crew. On the second day, there was analarm.The Illinois appeared in numbers on the lowhills,half a mile behind the town; and the Iroquois,

;1680.] IROQUOIS TREACHERY. 281who had felt their courage, and who had been toldby Tonty that they were twice as numerous as themselves,showed symptoms of no little uneasiness.They proposed that he should act as mediator, towhich he gladly assented, and crossed the meadowtowards the Illinois, accompanied by Membre', andby an Iroquois who was sent as a hostage. TheIllinois hailed the overtures with delight, gave theambassadors some refreshment, which they sorelyneeded, and sent back with them a young man oftheir nation as a hostage on their part. This indiscreetyouth nearly proved the ruin of the negotiationfor he was no sooner among the Iroquois than heshowed such an eagerness to closethe treaty, madesuch promises, professed such gratitude, and betrayedso rashly the numerical weakness of the Illinois,thathe revived all the insolence of the invaders. Theyturned furiously upon Tonty, and charged him withhaving robbed them of the glory and the spoils of44victory. Where are all your Illinois warriors, andwhere are the sixty Frenchmen that you said wereamong them ? " It needed all Tonty's tact and coolnessto extricate himself from this new danger.The treaty was at length concluded ;was it made, when the Iroquoisbut scarcelyprepared to break it,and set about constructing canoes of elm-bark, inwhich to attack the Illinois women and children intheir island sanctuary.Tonty warned his allies thatthe pretended peace was but a snare for their destruction.The Iroquois, on their part, grew hourly more

232 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.jealous of him, and would certainly have killedhim,had it not been their policy to keep the peace withFrontenac and the French.Several days after, they summoned him andMembr^ to a council. Six packs of beaver-skinswere brought in; and the savage orator presentedthem to Tonty in turn, explaining their meaning ashe did so. The first two were to declare that thechildren of Count Frontenac — that is, the Illinois— should not be eaten; the next was a plaster toheal Tonty's wound ; the next was oil wherewith toanoint him and Membre*, that they might not befatigued in travelling ; the next proclaimed that thesun was bright ;and the sixth and last required themto decamp and go home. 1 Tonty thanked them fortheir gifts, but demanded when they themselvesmeant to go and leave the Illinois in peace.At this,the conclave grew angry; and, despite their latepledge, some of them said that before they went theywould eat Illinois flesh. Tonty instantly kickedaway the packs of beaver-skins, the Indian symbolof the scornful rejection of a proposal, telling themthat since they meant to eat the governor's childrenhe would have none of their presents. The chiefs,1An Indian speech, it will be remembered, is without validity ifnot confirmed by presents, each of which has its special interpretation.The meaning of the fifth pack of beaver, informing Tontythat the sun was bright, — " que le soleil £toit beau," that is, thatthe weather was favorable for travelling, — is curiously misconceivedby the editor of the Dernreres Decouvertes, who improves uponbis original by substituting the words " par le cinquieme paquet ihnous exhortoient a adorer le Soleil."

1680.J MURDER OF RIBOURDE.In a rage, rose and drove him from the lodge. TheFrench withdrew totheir hut, where they stood allnight on the watch, expecting an attack, and resolvedto sell their lives dearly. At daybreak, the chiefsordered them tobegone.Tonty, with admirable fidelity and courage, haddone all in the power of man to protect the allies ofCanada against their ferocious assailants; and hethought it unwise to persist further in a course whichcould lead to no good, and which would probablyend in the destruction of the whole party. Heembarked in a leaky canoe with Membre\ Ribourde,Boisrondet, and the remaining two men, and beganto ascend the river. After paddling about fiveleagues, they landed to dry their baggage and repairtheir crazy vessel; when Father Ribourde, breviaryin hand, strolled across the sunny meadows for anhour of meditation among the neighboring groves.Evening approached, and he did not return.Tonty,with one of the men, went to look for him, and,following his tracks, presently discovered those of aband ofIndians, who had apparently seized or murderedhim. Still, they did not despair. They firedtheir guns to guide him, should he still be alive;built a huge fire by the bank, and then, crossing theriver, lay watching it from the other side. At midnight,they saw the figure of a man hovering aroundthe blaze; then many more appeared, but Ribourdewas not among them.In truth, a band of Kickapoos,enemies of the Iroquois, about whose camp they had

234 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.been prowling in quest of scalps,had met and wantonlymurdered the inoffensive old man. Theycarried his scalp to their village, and danced roundit in triumph, pretending to have taken it from anenemy. Thus, in his sixty-fifth year, the only heirof a wealthy Burgundian house perished under thewar-clubs of the savages for whose salvation he hadrenounced station, ease, and affluence. 1Meanwhile, a hideous scene was enacted at theruined village of the Illinois. Their savage foes,balked of a living prey, wreaked their fury on thedead. They dug up the graves; they threw downthe scaffolds. Some of the bodies they burned;some they threw to the dogs; some, it is affirmed,they ate. 2 Placing the skulls on stakes as trophies,they turned to pursue the Illinois, who, when theFrench withdrew, had abandoned their asylum andretreated down the river. The Iroquois, still, itseems, in awe of them, followed them along theopposite bank, each night encamping face to face1Tonty, Memoire ; Membre in Le Clerc, ii. 191. Hennepin, whohated Tonty, unjustly charges him with having abandoned thesearch too soon, admitting, however, that it would have been useless^to continue it. This part of his narrative is a perversion ofMembre's account.2 " Cependant les Iroquois, aussitot apres le depart du S r -deTonty, exercerent leur rage sur les corps morts des Ilinois, qu'ilsdeterrerent ou abbatterent de dessus les e'chafauds oil les Ilinois leslaissent longtemps exposes avant que de les mettre en terre. lisen brfilerent la plus grande partie. ils en mangerent meme quelquesuns, et jetterent le reste aux chiens. Ils planterent les tdtes de cescadavres a demi de'charne's sur des pieux," etc.— Relation desDfcouvertes.

1680.] ATTACK OF THE IROQUOIS. J3£with them ; and thus the adverse bands moved slowlysouthward, till they were near the mouth of theriver. Hitherto, the compact array of the Illinoishad held their enemies in check ; but now, sufferingfrom hunger, and lulled into security by the assurancesof the Iroquois that their object was not todestroy them, but only to drive them from thecountry, they rashly separated into their severaltribes. Some descended the Mississippi; some, moreprudent, crossed to the western side. One of theirprincipal tribes, the Tamaroas, more credulous thanthe rest,had the fatuity to remain near the mouth ofthe Illinois, where they were speedily assailed byall the force of the Iroquois. The men fled, andvery few of them were killed; but the women andchildren were captured to the number, it is said, ofseven hundred. 1 Then followed that scene of tortureof which, some two weeks later, La Salle saw therevolting traces. 2 Sated, at length, with horrors,the conquerors withdrew, leading with them a hostof captives, and exulting in their triumphs overwomen, children, and the dead.After the death of Father Ribourde, Tonty andhis companions remained searching for him till noon1 Relation des Decouvertes ; Frontenac to the King, N. Y. Col.Docs., ix. 147.hundred.A memoir of Duchesneau makes the number twelve* " lis [les Illinois] trouverent dans leur campement des carcassetde leurs enfans que ces anthropophages avoient mangez,ne voulantnieme d'autre nourriture que la chair de ces infortunez." — La Potherie, ii. 145, 146. Compare note, ante, p. 211.

234 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.been prowling in quest of scalps, had met and wantonlymurdered the inoffensive old man. Theycarried his scalp to their village, and danced roundit in triumph, pretending to have taken it from anenemy. Thus, in his sixty-fifth year, the only heirof a wealthy Burgundian house perished under thewar-clubs of the savages for whose salvation he hadrenounced station, ease, and affluence. 1Meanwhile, a hideous scene was enacted at theruined village of the Illinois. Their savage foes,balked of a living prey, wreaked their fury on thedead. They dug up the graves; they threw downthe scaffolds. Some of the bodies they burned;some they threw to the dogs; some, it is affirmed,they ate. 2 Placing the skulls on stakes as trophies,they turned to pursue the Illinois, who, when theFrench withdrew, had abandoned their asylum andretreated down the river. The Iroquois, still, itseems, in awe of them, followed them along theopposite bank, each night encamping face to face1Tonty, Memoire ; Membre* in Le Clerc, ii. 191. Hennepin, whohated Tonty, unjustly charges him with having abandoned thesearch too soon, admitting, however, that it would have been useless^to continue it. This part of his narrative is a perversion ofMembre's account.2 " Cependant les Iroquois, aussitot apres le depart du S r -deTonty, exercerent leur rage sur les corps morts des Ilinois, qu'ilsdeterrerent ou abbatterent de dessus les eehafauds oil les Ilinois leslaisseut longtemps exposes avant que de les mettre en terre. lisen brulerent la plus grande partie. ils en mangerent meme quelquesuns, et jetterent le reste aux chiens. Ils planterent les tetes de cescadavres a demi decharnes sur des pieux," etc.— Relation desD&ouvertes,

1680.] ATTACK OF THE IROQUOIS. 235with them ; and thus the adverse bands moved slowlysouthward, till they were near the mouth of theriver. Hitherto, the compact array of the Illinoishad held their enemies in check ; but now, sufferingfrom hunger, and lulled into security by the assurancesof the Iroquois that their object was not todestroy them, but only to drive them from thecountry, they rashly separated into their severaltribes. Some descended the Mississippi; some, moreprudent, crossed to the western side. One of theirprincipal tribes, the Tamaroas, more credulous thanthe rest,had the fatuity to remain near the mouth ofthe Illinois, where they were speedily assailed byall the force of the Iroquois. The men fled, andvery few of them were killed; but the women andchildren were captured to the number, it is said, ofseven hundred. 1 Then followed that scene of tortureof which, some two weeks later, La Salle saw therevolting traces. 2 Sated, at length, with horrors,the conquerors withdrew, leading with them a hostof captives, and exulting in their triumphs overwomen, children, and the dead.After the death of Father Ribourde, Tonty andhis companions remained searching for him till nooni Relation des Decouvertes ; Frontenac to the King, N. Y. Col.Docs., ix. 147.hundred.A memoir of Duchesneau makes the number twelve* " lis [les Illinois] trouverent dans leur campement des carcasseide leurs enfans que ces anthropophages avoient mangez, ne voulantmeme d'autre nourriture que la chair de ces infortunez."—La Potherie, ii. 145, 146. Compare note, ante, p. 211.

236 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.of the next day, and then in despair ofagain seeinghim, resumed their journey. They ascended theriver, leaving no token of their passage at the junctionof its northern and southern branches. Forfood, they gathered acorns and dug roots in themeadows. Their canoe proved utterly worthless;and, feeble as they were, they set out on foot forLake Michigan. Boisrondet wandered off, and waslost. He had dropped the flint of his gun, and hehad no bullets;but he cut a pewter porringer intoslugs, with which he shot wild turkeys by discharginghis piece with a firebrand, and after several dayshe had the good fortune to rejoin the party. Theirobject was to reach the Pottawattamies of GreenBay. Had they aimed at Michilimackinac, theywould have found an asylum with La Forest at thefort on the St. Joseph; but unhappily they passedwestward of that post, and, by way of Chicago, followedthe borders of Lake Michigan northward. Thecold was intense ; and it was no easy task to grub upwild onions from the frozen ground to save themselvesfrom starving. Tonty fell ill of a fever and aswelling of the limbs, which disabled him from travelling,and hence ensued a long delay. At length theyneared Green Bay, where they would have starved,had they not gleaned a few ears ofcorn and frozensquashes in the fields of an empty Indian town.This enabled them to reach the bay, and havingpatched an old canoe which they had the good luckto find, they embarked in it; whereupon, says Tonty,

1680.] FRIENDS IN NEED. 23"

238 TONTY AND THE IROQUOIS. [1680.This hospitable village belonged to the Pottawattamies,and was under the sway of the chief who hadbefriended La Salle the year before, and who waswont to say that he knew but three great captains inthe world, — Frontenac, La Salle, and himself. 11 Membre in Le Clerc, ii. 199. The other authorities for the foregoingchapter are the letters of La Salle, the Relation des Decouvertes,in which portions of them are embodied, and the two narratives of Tonty, of 1684 and 1693. They all agree in essential points.In his letters of this period, La Salle dwells at great length onthe devices by which, as he believed, his enemies tried to ruin himand his enterprise. .He is particularly severe against the JesuitAliouez, whom he charges with intriguing " pour commencer laguerre entre les Iroquois et les Illinois par le moyen des Miamisqu'on engageoit dans cette ne'gociation afin ou de me faire massacreravec mes gens par quelqu'une de ces nations ou de mebrouiller avec les Iroquois ." — Lettre (a Thouret?), 22 Aout, 1682.He gives in detail the circumstances on which this suspicion rests,but which are not convincing. He says, further, that the Jesuitsgave out that Tonty was dead in order to discourage the men goingto his relief, and that Aliouez encouraged thedeserters, " leur servoitde conseil, benit mesme leurs balles, et les asseura plusieursfois que M. de Tonty auroit la teste casse'e." He also affirms thatgreat pains were taken to spread the report that he was himselfdead. A Kiskakon Indian, he says, was sent to Tonty with a storyto this effect; while a Huron named Scortas was sent to him (LaSalle) with false news of the death of Tonty. The latter confirmsthis statement, and adds that the Illinois had been told " que M. dela Salle estoit venu en leur pays pour les donner a manger auxIroquois."

;1680.] THE ILLINOIS TOWN. 289THE ILLINOIS TOWN.SThe Site of the Great Illinois Town. — This has nottill now been determined, though there have been various conjecturesconcerning it. From a study of the contemporarydocuments and maps, I became satisfied, first, that the branchof the river Illinois, called the " Big Veririilion," was theAramoni of the French explorers ;and, secondly, that the cliffcalled " Starved Rock " was that known to the French as LeRocher, or the Rock of St. Louis. If I was right in this conclusion,then the position of the Great Village was establishedfor there is abundant proof that it was on the north side of theriver, above the Aramoni, and below Le Rocher. I accordinglywent to the village of Utica, which, as 1 judged by the map,was very near the point in question, and mounted to the top ofone of the hills immediately behind it, whence I could see thevalley of the Illinois for miles, bounded on the farther side bya range of hills, in some partsrocky and precipitous, and inothers covered with forests. Far on the right was a gap inthese hills, through which the Big Vermilion flowed to join theIllinois ; and somewhat towards the left, at the distance of amile and a half, was a huge cliff, rising perpendicularly fromthe opposite margin of the river. This I assumed to be LeRocher of the French, though from where I stood I was unableto discern the distinctive features which I was prepared toin it.findIn every other respect, the scene before me was preciselywhat I had expected to see.There was a meadow on the hitherside of the river, on which stood a farmhouse ; and this, as itseemed to me, by its relations with surrounding objects, mightbe supposed to stand in the midst of the space once occupiedby the Illinois town.On the way down from the hill I met Mr. James Clark, theprincipal inhabitant ofthis region.Utica, and one of the earliest settlers ofI accosted him, told him my objects, and requested

240 THE ILLINOIS TOWN. [1680.a half hour's conversation with him, at his leisure.He seemedinterested in the inquiry, and said he would visit me early inthe evening at the inn, where, accordingly, he soon appeared.The conversation took place in the porch, where a number offarmers and others were gathered. I asked Mr. Clark if anyIndian remains were found in the neighborhood. " Yes," hereplied, " plenty of them." I then inquired if there was any onespot where they were more numerous than elsewhere."Yes,"he answered again, pointing towards the farmhouse on themeadow ;ploughs up teeth" on my farm down yonder by the river, my tenantand bones by the peck every spring, besidesarrow-heads, beads, stone hatchets, and other things of thatsort."I replied that this was precisely what I had expected, asthe IllinoisI had been led to believe that the principal town ofIndians once covered that very spot. " If," I added, " I amright in this belief, the great rock beyond the river is the onewhich the first explorers occupied as a fort ; and I can describeit to you from their accounts of it, though I have never seen it,except from the top of the hill where the trees on and aroundit prevented me from seeing any part but the front.' fThe menpresent now gathered around to listen. " The rock," I continued,"is nearly a hundred and fifty feet high, and risesdirectly from the water. The front and two sides are perpendicularand inaccessible; but there is one place where it ispossible for a man to climb up, though with difficulty. Thetop is large enough and level enough forhouses and fortifications."Here several of the men exclaimed :" That 's just it."" You 've hit it exactly." I then asked if there was any otherrock on that side of the river which could answer to the description.They all agreed that there was no such rock on eitherside, along the whole length of the river. I then said :" If theIndian town was in the place where I suppose it to have been, Ican tell you the nature of the country which lies behind thehills on the farther side of the river, though I know nothingabout it except what I have learned from writings nearly twocenturies old. From the top of the hills, you look out upon agreat prairie reaching as far as you can see, except that it iscrossed by a belt of woods, following the course of a stream

1680.] THE ILLINOIS TOWN. 241which enters the main river a few miles below." (See ante, p.221, note.) "You are exactly right again," replied Mr. Clark;" we call that belt of timber the Vermilion Woods/ and thestream is the Big Vermilion." " Then," I said, " the Big Vermilionis the river which the French called the Aramoni;1Starved Rock • is the same on which they built a fort called St.Louis, in the year 1682 ; and your farm is on the site of thegreat town of the Illinois."I spent the next day in examining these localities, and wasfully confirmed in my conclusions. Mr. Clark's tenant showedme the spot where the human bones were ploughed up. It wasno doubt the graveyard violated by the Iroquois.The Illinoisreturned to the village after their defeat, and long continuedto occupy it. The scattered bones were probably collected andrestored to their place of burial.

CHAPTER XVII.1680.THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN.Hennepin an Impostor : his Pretended Discovert ; his AotuaiDiscovery ; Captured by the Sioux. — The Upper Mississippi,It was on the last day of the winter that precededthe invasion of the Iroquois that Father Hennepin,with his two companions, Accau and Du Gay, hadset out from Fort CrSvecceur to explore the Illinois toits mouth.It appears from his own later statements,as well as from those of Tonty, that more than thiswas expected of him, and that La Salle had instructedhim to explore, not alone the Illinois, but also theUpper Mississippi. That he actually did so, thereis no reasonable doubt ;and could he have contentedhimself with telling the truth, his name would havestood high as a bold and vigorous discoverer. Buthis vicious attempts to malign his commander andplunder him of his laurels have wrapped his genuinemerit in a cloud.Hennepin's first book was published soon after hisreturn from his travels, and while La Salle was stillalive. In it he relates the accomplishment of the

1680] HENNEPIN'S RESOLUTION. 243instructionsgiven him, without the smallest intimationthat he did more. 1 Fourteen years after, whenLa Salle was dead, he published another edition ofhis travels, 2 in which he advanced a new and surprisingpretension.Reasons connected with his personalsafety, he declares, before compelled him toremain silent ;but a time at length had come whenthe truth must be revealed. And he proceeds toaffirm, that, before ascending the Mississippi, he,with his two men, explored its whole course from theIllinois to the sea, — thusanticipating the discoverywhich forms the crowning laurel of La Salle."I am resolved," he says, "to make known hereto the whole world the mystery of this discovery,which I have hitherto concealed, that I might notoffend the Sieur de la Salle, who wished to keep allthe glory and all the knowledge of it to himself. Itis for this that he sacrificed many persons whose liveshe exposed, to prevent them from making knownwhat they had seen, and thereby crossing hissecretplans. ... I was certain that if I went down theMississippi, he would not fail to traduce me to mysuperiors for not taking the northern route, which Iwas to have followed in accordance with his desireand the plan we had made together. But I sawmyself on the point of dying of hunger, and knewnot what to do; because the two men who were with1 Description de la Louisiane, nouvellement dScouverte, Paris, 1683.2 Nouvelle Decouverte d'un tres grand Pays situe dans VAmirique,Utrecht, 1697.

;246 THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN. [1680.his voyage to the mouth of the river and back.Looking further, we findon thethat having left the Illinoistwenty-fourth he paddled his canoe two hundredleagues northward, and was then captured bythe Sioux on the twelfth of the same month. Inshort, he ensnares himself in a hopeless confusion ofdates. 1Here, one would think, is sufficient reason forrejecting his story ; and yet the general truth of thedescriptions, and a certain verisimilitude which marksit,might easily deceive a careless reader and perplexa critical one.These, however, are easily explained.Six years before Hennepin published his pretendeddiscovery, his brother friar, Father Chretien LeClerc, published an account of the Rdcollet missionsamong the Indians, under the title of " Etablissementde la Foi." This book, offensive to the Jesuits, issaid to have been suppressed by order of governmentbut a few copies fortunately survive. 2 One of theseis now before me. It contains the journal of FatherZenobe Membre*, on his descent of the Mississippi in1 Hennepin here falls into gratuitous inconsistencies. In theedition of 1697, in order to gain a little time, he says that he leftthe Illinois on his voyage southward on the eighth of March, 1680and yet in the preceding chapter he repeats the statement of thefirst edition, that he was detained at the Illinois by floating ice tillthe twelfth. Again, he says in the first edition that he was capturedby the Sioux on the eleventh of April ; and in the edition of1697 he changes this date to the twelfth, without gaining anyadvantage by doing so.1Le Clerc's book had been made the text of an attack on theJesuits.la Foi.See Reflexions sur un Livre intitule* Premier Etablissement deThis piece is printed in the Morale Pratique des Jesuites.

;1680. JHENNEPIN AN IMPOSTOR. 2471681, in company with La Salle. The slightest comparisonof his narrative with that of Hennepin issufficient to show that the latter framed his ownstory out of incidents and descriptions furnished byhis brother missionary, often using his very words,and sometimes copying entire pages, with no otheralterations than such as were necessary to makehimself, instead of La Salle and his companions, thehero of the exploit. The records of literary piracymay be searched in vain for an act of depredationmore recklessly impudent. 1Such being the case, what faith can we put in therest of Hennepin's story? Fortunately, there aretests by which the earlier parts of his book can be1Hennepin may have copied from the unpublished journal ofMembre', which the latter had placed in the hands of his Superioror he may have compiled from Le Clerc's book, relying on the suppressionof the edition to prevent detection. He certainly saw andused it ; for he elsewhere borrows the exact words of the editor.He is so careless that he steals from Membre passages which hemight easily have written for himself ; as, for example, a descriptionof the opossum and another of the cougar, — animals withwhich he was acquainted. Compare the following pages of theNouvelle Decouverte with the corresponding pages of Le Clerc : Hennepin,252, Le Clerc, ii. 217 ; H. 253, Le C. ii. 218 ; H. 257, Le C.ii. 221 ; H. 259, Le C. ii. 224; H. 262, Le C. ii. 226; H. 265, Le C. ii.229; H. 267, Le C. ii. 233; H. 270, Le C. ii. 235; H. 280, Le C.ii. 240; H. 295, Le C. ii. 249; H. 296, Le C. ii. 250; H. 297, Le C. ii.253 ; H. 299, Le C. ii. 254 ; H. 301, Le C. ii. 257. Some of theseparallel passages will be found in Sparks's Life of La Salle, wherethis remarkable fraud was first fully exposed. In Shea's Discoveryof the Mississippi, there is an excellent critical examination of Hennepin'sworks. His plagiarisms from Le Clerc are not confined tothe passages cited above ; for in his later editions he stole largelyfrom other parts of the suppressed Etablissement de la Foi.

248 THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN. [1680.tried; and, on the whole, they square exceedinglywell with contemporary records of undoubted authenticity.Bating his exaggerations respecting the Fallsof Niagara, his local descriptions, and even his estimatesof distance, are generally accurate. He constantly,it is true, magnifies his own acts, and thrustshimself forward as one of the chiefs of an enterpriseto the costs of which he had contributed nothing,and to which he was merely an appendage ;and yet,till he reaches the Mississippi, there can be no doubtthat in the main he tells the truth. As for his ascentof that river to the country of the Sioux, the generalstatement is fully confirmed by La Salle,Tonty, andother contemporary writers. 1 For the details of thejourney we must rest on Hennepin alone, whoseaccount of the country and of the peculiar traits ofits Indian occupants afford, as far as they go, goodevidence of truth.Indeed, this part of his narrativecould only have been written by one well versed in thesavage life of this northwestern region. 2 Trusting,1 It is certain that persons having the best means of informationbelieved at the time in Hennepin's story of his journeys on theUpper Mississippi. The compiler of the Relation des Decouvertes,who was in close relations with La Salle and those who acted withhim, does not intimate a doubt of the truth of the report whichHennepin on his return gave to the Provincial Commissary of hisOrder, and which is in substance the same which he published twoyears later. The Relation, it is to be observed, was written only afew months after the return of Hennepin, and embodies the pith ofhis narrative of the Upper Mississippi, no part of which had thenbeen published.2 In this connection, it is well to examine the various Siouxwords which Hennepin uses incidentally, and which he must have

1680.] HIS VOYAGE NORTHWARD. 249then, to his own guidance in the absence of better,let us follow in the wake of his adventurous canoe.It was laden deeply with goods belonging to LaSalle, and meant by him as presents to Indians onthe way, though the travellers, it appears, proposedto use them in trading on their own account. Thefriar was still wrapped in his gray capote and hood,shod with sandals, and decorated with the cord of St.Francis. As for his two companions, Accau 1 andacquired by personal intercourse with the tribe, as no Frenchmanthen understood the language. These words, as far as my informationreaches, are in every instance correct. Thus, he says that theSioux called his breviary a "bad spirit,"— Ouackanche. Wakanshe, \Sor Wakanshecha, would express the same meaning in modern Englishspelling. He says elsewhere that they called the guns of hiscompanions Manzaouackanchtf, which he translates, " iron possessedwith a bad 8pirit. ,, The western Sioux to this day call a gun Manzawakan,"metal possessed with a spirit." Chonga (shonka), "adog," Ouasi (wahsee), " a pine-tree," Chinnen (shinnan), " a robe," or" garment," and other words, are given correctly, with their interpretations.The word Louis, affirmed by Hennepin to mean " thesun," seems at first sight a wilful inaccuracy, as this is not the wordused in general by the Sioux. The Yankton band of this people,however, call the sun oouee, which, it is evident, represents theFrench pronunciation of Louis, omitting the initial letter. ThisHennepin would be apt enough to supply, thereby conferringcompliment alike on himself, Louis Hennepin, and on the King,Louis XIV., who, to the indignation of his brother monarchs, hadchosen the sun as his emblem.Various trivial incidents touched upon by Hennepin, while recountinghis life among the Sioux, seem to me to afford a strongpresumption of an actual experience. I speak on this point withthe more confidence, as the Indians in whose lodges I was oncedomesticated for several weeks belonged to a western band of thegame people.1Called Ako by Hennepin. In contemporary document*, it iswritten Accau, Acau, D'Accau, Dacau, Dacan, and D'Accault.

250 THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN". [1680.Du Gay, it is tolerably clear that the former was thereal leader of the party, though Hennepin, after hiscustom, thrusts himself into the foremost place.Both were somewhat above the station of ordinaryhired hands ;and Du Gay had an uncle who was anecclesiastic of good credit at Amiens, his nativeplace.In the forests that overhung the river the budswere feebly swelling with advancing spring.Therewas game enough. They killed buffalo, deer,beavers, wild turkeys, and now and then a bearswimming in the river. With these, and the fishwhich they caught in abundance, they fared sumptuously,though it was the season of Lent. They wereexemplary, however, at their devotions. Hennepinsaid prayers at morning and night, and the angelusat noon, adding a petition to Saint Anthony of Paduathat he would save them from the peril that besettheir way. In truth, there was a lion in the path.The ferocious character of the Sioux, or Dacotah,who occupied the region of the Upper Mississippi,was already known to the French; and Hennepin,with excellent reason, prayed that it might be hisfortune to meet them, not by night, but by day.On the eleventh or twelfth of April, they stoppedin the afternoon to repair their canoe ;and Hennepinbusied himself in daubing it with pitch, while theothers cooked a turkey. Suddenly, a fleet of Siouxcanoes swept into sight, bearing a war-party of ahundred and twenty naked savages, who on seeing

1680.] CAPTURED BY THE SIOUX. 251the travellers raised a hideous clamor; and, someleaping ashore and others into the water, they surroundedthe astonished Frenchmen in an instant. 1Hennepin held out the peace-pipe ; but one of themsnatched it from him. Next, he hastened to proffera gift of Martinique tobacco, which was betterreceived. Some of the old warriors repeated thename Miamiha, giving him to understand that theywere a war-party, on the way to attack the Miamison which, Hennepin, with the help of signs and ofmarks which he drew on the sand with a stick,explained that the Miamis had gone across theMississippi, beyond their reach. Hereupon, he saysthat three or four oldhead, and began a dismal wailing;men placed their hands on hiswhile he with hishandkerchief wiped away their tears, in order toevince sympathy with their affliction,from whatevercause arising. Notwithstanding this demonstrationoftenderness, they refused to smoke with him in hispeace-pipe, and forced him and his companions toembark and paddle across the river; while they allfollowed behind, uttering yellsand howlings whichfroze the missionary's blood.On reaching the farther side, they made theircamp-fires, and allowed their prisoners to do thesame. Accau and Du Gay slung their kettle ; whilei The edition of 1683 says that there were thirty-three canoes:that of 1697 raises the number to fifty. The number of Indians isthe same in both. The later narrative is more in detail than theformer.;

252 THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN. [1680.Hennepin, to propitiate the Sioux, carried to themtwo turkeys, of which there were several in thecanoe. The warriors had seated themselves in aring, to dehate on the fate of the Frenchmen; andtwo chiefs presently explained to the friar, by significantsigns, that it had been resolved that his headshould be split with a war-club. This produced theeffect which was no doubt intended. Hennepin ranto the canoe, and quickly returned with one of themen, both loaded with presents, which he threw intothe midst of the assembly; and then, bowing hishead, offered them at the same time a hatchet withwhich to kill him, if they wished to do so. Hisgifts and his submission seemed to appease them.They gave him and his companions a dish of beaver'sflesh; but, to his great concern, they returned hispeace-pipe, — an act which he interpreted as a signof danger. That night the Frenchmen slept little,expecting to be murdered before morning. Therewas, in fact, a great division of opinion among theSioux. Some were for killing them and taking theirgoods; while others, eager above all things thatFrench traders should come among them with theknives, hatchets, and guns of which they had heardthe value, contended that it would be impolitic todiscourage the trade by putting to death its pioneers.Scarcely had morning dawned on the anxious captives,when a young chief, naked, and painted fromhead to foot, appeared before them and asked for thepipe, which the friar gladly gave him.He filled it,

;1680] SUSPECTED OF SORCERY. 253smoked it,made the warriors do the same, and, havinggiven this hopeful pledge of amity, told theFrenchmen that, since the Miamis were out ofreach,the war-party would return home, and that they mustaccompany them. To this Hennepin gladly agreed,having, as he declares, his great work of explorationso much at heart that he rejoiced inachieving it even in their company.He soon, however, had a foretaste of thethe prospect ofafflictionin store for him; for when he opened his breviaryand began to mutter his morning devotion, his newcompanions gathered about him with faces thatbetrayed their superstitious terror, and gave him tounderstand that his book was a bad spirit with whichhe must hold no more converse. They thought,indeed, that he was muttering a charm for theirdestruction. Accau and Du Gay, conscious of thedanger, begged the friar to dispense with his devotions,lest he and they alike should be tomahawkedbut Hennepin says that his sense of duty rose superiorto his fears, and that he was resolved to repeat hisoffice at all hazards, though not until he had askedpardon of his two friends for thus imperilling theirlives.Fortunately, he presently discovered a deviceby which his devotion and his prudence were completelyreconciled. He ceased the muttering whichhad alarmed the Indians, and, with the breviary openon his knees, sang the service in loud and cheerfultones. As this had no savor of sorcery, and as theynow imagined that the book was teaching its owner

254 THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN. [1680.to sing for theiramusement, they conceived a favorableopinion of both alike.These Sioux, it may be observed, were the ancestorsof those who committed the horrible but notunprovoked massacres of 1862, in the valley of theSt. Peter. Hennepin complains bitterly of theirtreatment of him, which, however, seems to havebeen tolerably good. Afraid that he would lagbehind, as his canoe was heavy and slow, 1 theyplaced several warriors in it to aid him and his menin paddling. They kept on their way from morningtill night, building huts for their bivouac when itrained, and sleeping on the open ground when theweather was fair, — which, says Hennepin, " gave usa good opportunity to contemplate the moon andstars." The three Frenchmen took the precautionof sleeping at the side of the young chief who hadbeen the first to smoke the peace-pipe, and whoseemed inclined to befriend them; but there wasanother chief, one Aquipaguetin, a crafty old savage,who having lost a son in war with the Miamis, wasangry that the party had abandoned their expedition,and thus deprived him of his revenge. He thereforekept up a dismal lament through half the night;while other old men, crouching over Hennepin as helay trying to sleep,uttered wailings sostroked him with their hands, andlugubrious that he was forced to1And yet it had, by his account, made a distance of thirteenhundred and eighty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi upwardin twenty-four days 1

1680.] THE CAPTIVE FRIAR. 255the belief that he had been doomed to death, andthat they were charitably bemoaning his fate. 1One night, the captives were, for some reason,unable to bivouac near their protector, and wereforced to make their fire at the end of the camp.Here they were soon beset by a crowd of Indians,who told them that Aquipaguetin had at lengthresolved to tomahawk them. The malcontents weregathered in a knot at a littledistance, and Hennepinhastened to appease them by another gift of knivesand tobacco. This was but one of the devices of theold chief to deprive them of their goods withoutrobbing them outright. He had with him the bonesof a deceased relative, which he was carrying homewrapped in skins prepared with smoke after theIndian fashion, and gayly decorated with bands ofdyed porcupine quills. He would summon his warriors,and placing these relics in the midst of theassembly, call on all present to smoke in their honor;after which, Hennepin was required to offer a moresubstantial tribute in the shape of cloth, beads,hatchets, tobacco, and the like, to be laid upon thebundle of bones.The gifts thus acquired were then,in the name of the deceased, distributed among thepersons present.1This weeping and wailing over Hennepin once seemed to mean anomaly in his account of Sioux manners, as I am not awarethat such practices are to be found among them at present. Theyare mentioned, however, by other early writers. Le Sueur, whowas among them in 1699-1700, was wept over no less than Hennepin.See the abstract of his journal in La Harpe.

;1680.] A HARD JOURNEY. 257of the howlings and lamentations here uttered overhim by Aquipaguetin, and nineteen days after hiscapture landed near the site of St. Paul. Thefather's sorrows now began in earnest. The Indiansbruke his canoe to pieces, having first hidden theirown among the alder-bushes. As they belonged todifferent bands and different villages, their mutualjeblousy now overcame all their prudence ; and eachprcceeded to claim his share of the captives and thebooty.Happily, they made an amicable distribution,or it would have fared ill with the three Frenchmenand each taking his share, not forgetting the priestlyvestments of Hennepin, the splendor of which theycould not sufficiently admire, they setout across thecountry for their villages, which lay towards thenorth in the neighborhood of Lake Buade, now calledMille Lac.Being, says Hennepin, exceedingly tall and active,they walked at a prodigious speed, insomuch that noEuropean could long keep pace with them. Thoughthe month of May had begun, there were frosts atnight; and the marshes and ponds were glazed withice, which cut the missionary's legs as he wadedthrough. They swam the larger streams, and Hennepinnearly perished with cold ashe emerged fromthe icy current. His two companions, who weresmaller than he, and who could not swim, werecarried over on the backs of the Indians. Theyshowed, however, no little endurance ;and he declaresthat he should have dropped by the way, but for their17

258 THE ADVENTURES OF HENNEPIN. [1680.support. Seeing him disposed to lag, the Indians,to spur him on, set fire to the dry grassand then,behind him,taking him by the hands, ran forward withhim to escape the flames. To add to his misery, hewas nearly famished, asthey gave him only a smallpiece of smoked meat once a day, though it does notappear that they themselves fared better. On thefifth day, being by this time in extremity, he saw acrowd of squaws and children approaching over theprairie, and presently descried the bark lodges ofan Indian town. The goal was reached. He wasamong the homes of the Sioux.

CHAPTER XVIII.1680, 1681.HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX.Signs of Danger. — Adoption. — Hennepin and his Indian Relatives. — The Hunting Party. — The Sioux Camp. — Fallsof St. Anthony. — A Vagabond Friar :his Adventures onthe Mississippi. — Greysolon du Lhut. — Return to Civilization.As Hennepin entered the village, he beheld asight which caused him to invoke Saint Anthonyof Padua. In front of the lodges were certainstakes, to which were attached bundles of straw,intended, as he supposed, for burning him andhis friends alive. His concern was redoubledwhen he saw the condition of the Picard Du Gay,whose hair and face had been painted with diverscolors, and whose head was decorated with a tuftof white feathers. In this guise he was enteringthe village, followed by a crowd of Sioux, who compelledhim to sing and keep time to his own musicby rattling a dried gourd containing a numberof pebbles. The omens, indeed, were exceedingly

260 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.threatening; for treatment like this was usuallyfollowed by the speedy immolation of the captive.Hennepin ascribes it to the effect of his invocations,that, being led into one of the lodges, among athrong of staring squaws and children, he and hiscompanions were seated on the ground, and presentedwith large dishes of birch-bark, containing amess of wild rice boiled with dried whortleberries,— a repast which he declares to have been the bestthat had fallen to his lot since the day of hiscaptivity. 11The Sioux, or Dacotah, as they call themselves, were a numerouspeople, separated into three great divisions, which wereagain subdivided into bands.Those among whom Hennepin wasa prisoner belonged to the division known as the Issanti, Issanyati,or, as he writes it, Issati, of which the principal band wasthe Meddewakantonwan. The other great divisions, the Yanktonsand the Tintonwans, or Tetons, lived west of the Mississippi,extending beyond the Missouri, and ranging as far as the RockyMountains. The Issanti cultivated the soil; but the extremewestern bands subsisted on the buffalo alone. The former hadtwo kinds of dwelling, — the teepee, or skin-lodge, and the barklodge.The teepee, which was used by all the Sioux, consistsof a covering of dressed buffalo-hide, stretched on a conicalstack of poles. The bark-lodge was peculiar to the EasternSioux; and examples of it might be seen, until within a fewyears, among the bands on the St. Peter's. In its general character,it was like the Huron and Iroquois houses, but was inferiorin construction. It had a ridge roof, framed of poles,extending from the posts which formed the sides ; and thewhole was covered with elm-bark. The lodges in the villagesto which Hennepin was conducted were probably of thiskind.The name Sioux is an abbreviation of Nadouessioux, an Ojibwaword, meaning " enemies." The Ojibwas used it to designate thw

1680.] THE SIOUX. 261This soothed his fears ;but, as he allayed his famishedappetite, he listened with anxious interest tothe vehement jargon of the chiefs and warriors, whowere disputing among themselves to whom the threecaptives should respectively belong; for it seemsthat, as far as related to them, the question of distributionhad not yet been definitely settled. Thedebate ended in the assigning ofHennepin to his oldenemy Aquipaguetin, who, however, far from persistingin his evil designs, adopted him on the spot ashis son. The three companions must now part company.Du Gay, not yet quite reassured of his safety,hastened to confess himself to Hennepin ; but Accauproved refractory, and refused the offices of religion,which did not prevent the friarfrom embracing themboth, as he says, with an extreme tenderness. Tiredas he was, he was forced to set out with his selfstyledfather to his village, which was fortunatelypeople, and occasionally also the Iroquois, being at deadly warwith both.Rev. Stephen R. Riggs, for many years a missionary among theIssanti Sioux, says that this division consists of four distinct bands.They ceded all their lands east of the Mississippi to the UnitedStates in 1837, and lived on the St. Peter's till driven thence in consequenceof the massacres of 1862, 1863. The Yankton Sioux consistof two bands, which are again subdivided. The Assiniboins, orHohays, are an offshoot from the Yanktons, with whom they arenow at war. The Tintonwan, or Teton Sioux, forming the mostwestern division and the largest, comprise seven bands, and areamong the bravest and fiercest tenants of the prairie.The earliest French writers estimate the total number of theSioux at forty thousand ; but this is little better than conjecture,Mr. Riggs, in 1852, placed it at about twenty-five thousand.

;262 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.not far off. An unpleasant walk of a few milesthrough woods and marshes brought them to theborders of a sheet of water, apparently Lake Buade,where five of Aquipaguetin's wives received theparty in three canoes, and ferried them to an islandon which the village stood.At the entrance of the chief's lodge, Hennepin wasmet by a decrepit old Indian, withered with age, whooffered him the peace-pipe, and placed him on a bearskinwhich was spread by the fire. Here, to relievehisfatigue, — for he was well-nigh spent, — a smallboy anointed his limbs with the fat of a wild-cat,supposed to be sovereign in these cases by reason ofthe great agility of that animal. His new fathergave him a bark-platter of fish, covered him with abuffalo-robe, and showed him six or seven of hiswives, who were thenceforth, he was told, to regardhim as a son. The chief's household was numerousand his allies and relatives formed a considerableclan,of which the missionary found himself an involuntarymember.He was scandalized when he sawone of his adopted brothers carrying on his back thebones of a deceased friend, wrapped in the chasubleof brocade which they had taken with other vestmentsfrom hisbox.Seeing their new relative so enfeebled that hecould scarcely stand, the Indians made for him oneof their sweating baths, 1where they immersed him/' These baths consist of a small hut, covered closely with buffaloskins,into which the patient and his friends enter, carefully closing

1680.] HENNEPIN AS A MISSIONARY. 263in steam three times a week, — a processfrom whichhe thinks he derived great benefit. His strengthgradually returned, in spite of his meagre fare; forthere was a dearth offood, and the squaws were lessattentive to his wants than to those of their children.They respected him, however, as a person endowedwith occult powers, and stood in no little awe of apocket compass which he had with him, as well as ofa small metal pot with feet moulded after the face ofa lion. This last seemed in their eyes a " medicine "of the most formidable nature, and they would nottouch it without first wrapping it in a beaver-skin.For the rest, Hennepin made himself useful invarious ways. He shaved the heads of the children,as was the custom of the tribe ;bled certain asthmaticpersons, and dosed others with orvietan, the famouspanacea of his time, of which he had brought withhim a good supply. With respect to his missionaryfunctions, he seems to have given himself littletrouble, unless hisattempt to make a Sioux vocabularyis to be regarded as preparatory to a futureapostleship."I could gain nothing over them," hesays, "in the way of their salvation, by reason oftheir natural stupidity."Nevertheless, on one occasion,he baptized a sick child, naming itAntoinettein honor of Saint Anthony of Padua. It seemed torevive after the rite,but soon relapsed and presentlyevery aperture. A pile of heated stones is placed in the middle,and water is poured upon them, raising a dense vapor. They arestill (1868) in use among the Sioux and some other tribes.

264 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.died, "which," he writes, "gave me great joy andsatisfaction." In this he was like the Jesuits, whocould find nothing but consolation in the death of anewly baptized infant, since it was thus assured of aparadise which, had itlived, it would probably haveforfeited by sharing in the superstitions of itsparents.With respect to Hennepin and his Indian father,there seems to have been little love on either side;but Ouasicoud6, the principal chief of the Sioux ofthis region, was the fast friend of the three whitemen. He was angry that they had been robbed,which he had been unable to prevent, as the Siouxhad no laws, and their chiefs little power; but hespoke his mind freely, and told Aquipaguetin andthe rest, in full council, that they were like a dogwho steals a piece of meat from a dish and runs awaywith it.When Hennepin complained of hunger, theIndians had always promised him that early insummer he should go with them on a buffalothehunt,and have food in abundance. The time at lengthcame, and the inhabitants of all the neighboringvillages prepared for departure. To each band wasassigned its special hunting-ground, and he wasexpected to accompany his Indian father. To thishe demurred ;for he feared lest Aquipaguetin, angryat the words of the great chief, might take thisopportunity to revenge the insult put upon him. Hetherefore gave out that he expected a party of" Spirits " — that is to say, Frenchmen — to meet him

1680.] CAMP OF SAVAGES. 265at the mouth of the Wisconsin, bringing a supply ofgoods for the Indians ; and he declares that La Sallehad in fact promised to send traders to that place.Be this as it may, the Indians believed him; and,true or false, the assertion, as will be seen, answeredthe purpose for which it was made.The Indians set out in a body to the number oftwo hundred and fifty warriors, with their womenand children. The three Frenchmen, who though indifferent villages had occasionally met during the twomonths of their captivity, were all of the party.They descended Rum River, which forms the outletof Mille Lac, and which is called the St. Francis byHennepin. None of the Indians had offered to givehim passage ; and, fearing lest he should be abandoned,he stood on the bank, hailingbegging to be taken in.the passing canoes andAccau and Du Gay presentlyappeared, paddling a small canoe which theIndianshad given them; but they would not listen to themissionary's call, and Accau, who had no love forhim, criedout that he had paddled him long enoughalready. Two Indians, however, took pity on him,and brought him to the place of encampment, whereDu Gay tried to excuse himself for his conduct; butAccau was sullen, and kept aloof.After reaching the Mississippi, the whole partyencamped together opposite to the mouth of RumRiver, pitching their tents of skin, or building theirbark-huts, on the slope of a hill by the side of thewater. It was a wild scene, this camp of savages

;266 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1G80.among whom as yet no traders had come and nohandiwork of civilization had found its way, — thetall warriors, some nearly naked, some wrapped inbuffalo-robes, and some in shirts of dressed deer-skinfringed with hair and embroidered with dyed porcupinequills, war-clubs of stone in their hands, andquivers at their backs filled with stone-headed arrowsthe squaws, cutting smoke-dried meat with knivesof flint, and boiling it in rude earthen pots of theirown making, driving away, meanwhile, with shrillcries, the troops of lean dogs, which disputed themeal with a crew of hungry children. The wholecamp, indeed, was threatened with starvation. Thethree white men could get no food but unripe berries,— from the effects of which Hennepin thinks theymight all have died, but for timely doses of hisorvietan.Being tired of theIndians, he became anxious toset out for the Wisconsin to find the party of Frenchmen,real or imaginary, who were to meet him at thatplace. That he was permitted to do so was due tothe influence of the great chief Ouasicoude\ whoalways befriended him, and who had soundly beratedhis two companions for refusing him a seat in theircanoe. Du Gay wished to go with him ; but Accau,who liked the Indian life as much as he dislikedHennepin, preferred to remain with the hunters.small birch-canoe was given to the two adventurers,together with an earthen pot; and they had alsobetween them a gun, a knife, and a robe of beaver-A

;1680.] FALLS OF ST. ANTHONY. 267skin. Thus equipped, they began their journey, andsoon approached the Falls of St. Anthony, so namedby Hennepin in honor of the inevitable Saint Anthonyof Padua. 1 As they were carrying their canoe bythe cataract, they saw five or six Indians, who hadgone before, and one of whom had climbed into anoak-tree beside the principal fall, whence in a loudand lamentable voice he was haranguing the spirit ofthe waters, as a sacrifice to whom he had just hung arobe of beaver-skin among the branches. 2 Theirattention was soon engrossed by another object.Looking over the edge of the cliff which overhungthe river below the falls, Hennepin saw a snake,1 Hennepin's notice of the Falls of St. Anthony, though brief, issufficiently accurate. He says, in his first edition, that they areforty or fifty feet high, but adds ten feet more in the edition of1697. In 1821, according to Schoolcraft, the perpendicular fallmeasured forty feet. Great changes, however, have taken placehere, and are still in progress. The rock is a very soft, friablesandstone, overlaid by a stratum of limestone ; and it is crumblingwith such rapidity under the action of the water that the cataractwill soon be little more than a rapid. Other changes equally disastrous,in an artistic point of view, are going on even more quickly.Beside the falls stands a city, which, by an ingenious combinationof the Greek and Sioux languages, has received the name of Minneapolis,or City of the Waters, and which in 1867 contained tenthousand inhabitants, two national banks, and an opera-housewhile its rival city of St. Anthony, immediately opposite, boasted agigantic water-cure and a State university. In short, the greatnatural beauty of the place is utterly spoiled.2Oanktayhee, the principal deity of the Sioux, was supposed tolive under these falls, though he manifested himself in the form ofa buffalo. It was he who created the earth, like the AlgonquinManabozho, from mud brought to him in the paws of a musk-rat.Carver, in 1766, saw an Indian throw everything he had about himinto the cataract as an offering to this deity.//

;268 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.which, as he avers, was six feet long, 1 writhingupward towards the holes of the swallows in the faceof the precipice, in order to devour their young. Hepointed him out to Du Gay, and they pelted himwith stones till he fell into the river, but not beforehis contortions and the darting of his forked tonguehad so affected the Picard's imagination that hewas haunted that night with a terrific incubus.They paddled sixty leagues down the river in theheats of July, and killed no large game but a singledeer, the meat of which soon spoiled. Their mainresource was the turtles, whose shyness and watchfulnesscaused them frequent disappointments andmany involuntary fasts. They once captured one ofmore than common size; and, as they were endeavoringto cut offhis head, he was near avenging himselfby snapping off Hennepin's finger. There wasa herd of buffalo in sight on the neighboring prairieand Du Gay went with his gun in pursuit of them,leaving the turtle in Hennepin's custody. Scarcelywas he gone when the friar, raising his eyes, sawthat their canoe, which they had left at the edge ofthe water, had floated out into the current.turning theHastilyturtle on his back, he covered him withhis habit of St. Francis, on which, for greatersecurity, he laid a number of stones, and then, beinga good swimmer, struck out in pursuit of the canoe,1 In the edition of 1683. In that of 1697 he had grown to sevenor eight feet. The bank-swallows still make their nests in thesecliffs, boring easily into the soft sandstone.

1680.] ADVENTURES. 269which he at length overtook.Finding that it wouldoverset if he tried to climb into it, he pushed itbefore him to the shore, and then paddled towardsthe place, at some distance above, where he had leftthe turtle. He had no sooner reached it than heheard a strange sound, and beheld a long file ofbuffalo — bulls, cows, and calves — entering thewater not far off, to cross to the western bank. Havingno gun, as became his apostolic vocation, heshouted to Du Gay, who presently appeared, runningin all haste, and they both paddled in pursuit of thegame. Du Gay aimed at a young cow, and shot herin the head. She fell in shallow water near anisland, where some of the herd had landed ; and beingunable to drag her out, they waded into the waterand butchered her where she lay. It was forty-eighthours since they had tasted food. Hennepin made afire, while Du Gay cut up the meat. They feastedso bountifully that they both fell ill, and were forcedto remain two days on the island, taking doses oforvietan, before they were able to resume theirjourney.Apparently they were not sufficiently versed inwoodcraft to smoke the meat of the cow ; and the hotsun soon robbed them of it. They had a few fishhooks,but were not always successful in the use ofthem. On one occasion, being nearly famished, theyset their line, and lay watching it, uttering prayersin turn. Suddenly, there was a great turmoil in thewater. Du Gay ran to the line, and, with the help

270 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.yof Hennepin, drew in two large cat-fish. 1The eagles,or fish-hawks, now and then dropped a newly caughtfish, of which they gladly took possession ; and oncethey found a purveyor in an otter which they saw bythe bank, devouring some object of an appearance sowonderful that Du Gay cried out that he had a devilbetween his paws. They scared him from his prey,which proved to be a spade-fish, or, as Hennepincorrectly describes it, a species of sturgeon, with abony projection from his snout in the shape of apaddle. They broke their fast upon him, undeterredby this eccentric appendage.If Hennepin had had an eye for scenery, he wouldhave found in these his vagabond rovings wherewithto console himself in some measure for his frequentfasts. The young Mississippi, fresh from its northernsprings, unstained as yet by unhallowed union withthe riotous Missouri, flowed calmly on its way amidstrange and unique beauties, — a wilderness, clothedwith velvet grass; forest-shadowed valleys; loftyheights, whose smooth slopes seemed levelled withthe scythe ; domes and pinnacles, ramparts and ruinedtowers, the work of no human hand. The canoe ofthe voyagers, borne on the tranquil current, glidedin the shade of gray crags festooned with honeysuckles;by trees mantled with wild grape-vines;1Hennepin speaks of their size with astonishment, and says thatthe two together would weigh twenty-five pounds. Cat-fish havebeen taken in the Mississippi, weighing more than a hundred andfifty pounds.

1680.] THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. 271dells bright with the flowers ofthe white euphorbia,the bluegentian, and the purple balm; and mattedforests, where the red squirrels leaped and chattered.They passed the great cliff whence the Indian maidenthrew herself in her despair; 1 and Lake Pepin laybefore them, slumbering in the July sun, — thefar-reaching sheets of sparkling water, the woodyslopes, the tower-like crags, the grassy heightsbasking in sunlight or shadowed by the passingcloud; all the fair outline of its graceful scenery,the finished and polished master-work of Nature.And when at evening they made their bivouac fireand drew up their canoe, while dim, sultry cloudsveiled the west, and the flashes of the silent heatlightninggleamed on the leaden water, they couldlisten, as they smoked their pipes, to the mournfulcry of the whippoorwills and the quavering screamof the owls.Other thoughts than the study of the picturesqueoccupied the mind of Hennepin when one day he sawhis Indian father,Aquipaguetin, whom he had supposedfive hundred miles distant, descending theriver with ten warriors in canoes. He was eager tobe the first to meet the traders, who, as Hennepinhad given out, were to come with their goods to themouth of the Wisconsin. The two travellers trembled1The " Lover's Leap," or " Maiden's Rock," from which a Siouxgirl, Winona, or the " Eldest Born," is said to have thrown herself,in the despair of disappointed affection. The story, which seemsfounded in truth, will be found, not without embellishments, in Mr».Eastman's Legends of the Sioux.

272 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX, [1680.for the consequences of this encounter ; but the chief,after a short colloquy, passed on his way. In threedays he returned in ill-humor, having found notraders at the appointed spot. The Picard wasabsent at the time, looking for game ; and Hennepinwas sitting under the shade of his blanket, which hehad stretched on forked sticks to protect him fromthe sun, when he saw his adopted father approachingwith a threatening look, and a war-club in his hand.He attempted no violence, however, but sufferedhis wrath to exhale in a severe scolding, afterwhich he resumed his course up the river with hiswarriors.If Hennepin, as he avers, really expected a partyof traders at the Wisconsin, the course he now tookis sufficiently explicable. If he did not expect them,his obvious course was to rejoin Tonty on the Illinois,for which he seems to have had no inclination ; or toreturn to Canada by way of the Wisconsin, — anattempt which involved the risk of starvation, as thetwo travellers had but ten charges of powder left.Assuming, then, his hope of the traders to have beenreal, he and Du Gay resolved, in the mean time,to join a large body of Sioux hunters, who, asAquipaguetin had told them, were on a stream whichhe calls Bull River, now the Chippeway, enteringthe Mississippi near Lake Pepin. By so doing, theywould gain a supply of food, and save themselvesfrom the danger of encountering parties of rovingwarriors.

1680.] HE REJOINS THE INDIANS. 273They found this band, among whom was theircompanion Accau, and followed them on a grandhunt along the borders of the Mississippi. Du Gaywas separated for a time from Hennepin, who wasplaced in a canoe with a withered squaw more thaneighty years old. In spite of her age, she handledher paddle with great address, and used it vigorously,as occasion required, to repress the gambols of threechildren, who, to Hennepin's annoyance, occupiedthe middle of the canoe. The hunt was successful.The Sioux warriors, active as deer, chased thebuffalo on foot with their stone-headed arrows, onthe plains behind the heights that bordered the river;while the old men stood sentinels at the top, watchingfor the approach of enemies. One day an alarmwas given. The warriors rushed towards the supposedpoint of danger, but found nothing moreformidable than two squaws of their own nation, whobrought strange news. A war-party of Sioux, theysaid, had gone towards Lake Superior, and had metby the way five "Spirits; " that is to say, five Europeans.Hennepin was full of curiosity to learn whothe strangers might be; and they, on their part,were said to have shown great anxiety to know thenationality of the three white men who, as theywere told, were on the river. The hunt was over;and the hunters, with Hennepin and his companion,were on their way northward to their towns,when they met the five "Spirits" at some distancebelow the Falls of St. Anthony. They proved to18

274 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.be Daniel Greysolon du Lhut, with four well-armedFrenchmen.This bold and enterprising man, stigmatized by theIntendant Duchesneau as a leader of coureurs de bois,was a cousin of Tonty, born at Lyons. He belongedto that caste of the lesser nobles whose name waslegion, and whose admirable military qualities shoneforth so conspicuously in the wars of Louis XIV.Though his enterprises were independent of those ofLa Salle, they were at this time carried on in connectionwith Count Frontenac and certain merchants inhis interest, of whom Du Lhut's uncle, Patron, wasone; while Louvigny, his brother-in-law, was inalliance with the governor, and was an officer of hisguard. Here, then, was a kind of family league,countenanced by Frontenac, and acting conjointlywith him, in order, if the angry letters of the intendantare to be believed, to reap a clandestine profitunder the shadow of the governor's authority, and inviolation of the royal ordinances. The rudest partof the work fell to the share of Du Lhut, who with apersistent hardihood, not surpassed perhaps even byLa Salle, was continually in the forest, in the Indiantowns, or in remote wilderness outposts planted byhimself, exploring, trading, fighting, ruling lawlesssavages and whites scarcely less ungovernable, andon one or more occasions var}dng his life by crossingthe ocean to gain interviews with the colonial ministerSeignelay, amid the splendid vanities of Versailles.Strange to say, this man of hardy enterprise was a

1680.] DU LHUT'S EXPLORATIONS. 275martyr to the gout, which for more than a quarter ofa century grievously tormented him; though for atime he thought himself cured by the intercession ofthe Iroquois saint, Catharine Tegahkouita, to whomhe had made a vow to that end. He was, withoutdoubt, an habitual breaker of the royal ordinancesregulating the fur-trade ;yet his services were greatto the colony and to the crown, and his name deservesa place of honor among the pioneers of Americancivilization. 11The facts concerning Du Lhut have been gleaned from a varietyof contemporary documents, chiefly the letters of his enemyDuchesneau, who always puts him in the worst light, especially inhis despatch to Seignelay of 10 Nov., 1679, where he charges bothhim and the governor with carrying on an illicit trade with theEnglish of New York. Du Lhut himself, in a memoir dated 1685(see Harrisse, Bibliographie, 176), strongly denies these charges. DuLhut built a trading fort on Lake Superior, called Cananistigoyan(La Hontan), or Kamalastigouia (Perrot). It was on the north side,at the mouth of a river entering Thunder Bay, where Fort Williamnow stands. In 1684 he caused two Indians, who had murderedseveral Frenchmen on Lake Superior, to be shot.He displayed inthis affair great courage and coolness, undaunted by the crowd ofexcited savages who surrounded him and his little band of Frenchmen.The long letter, in which he recounts the capture and executionof the murderers, is before me. Duchesneau makes his conducton this occasion the ground of a charge of rashness. In 1686Denonville, then governor of the colony, ordered him to fortify theDetroit; that is, the strait between Lakes Erie and Huron. Hewent thither with fifty men and built a palisade fort, which heoccupied for some time. In 1687 he, together with Tonty andDurantaye, joined Denonville against the Senecas, with a body ofIndians from the Upper Lakes. In 1689, during the panic thatfollowed the Iroquois invasionof Montreal, Du Lhut, with twentyeightCanadians, attacked twenty-two Iroquois in canoes, receivedtheir fire without returning it, bore down upon them, killed eighteenof them, and captured three, only one escaping.In 1695 he was in

276 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.When Hennepin met him, he had been about twoyears in the wilderness.In September, 1678, he leftQuebec for the purpose of exploring the region of theUpper Mississippi, and establishing relations offriendship with the Sioux and their kindred theAssiniboins.In the summer of 1679 he visited threelarge towns of the eastern division of the Sioux,including those visitedby Hennepin in the followingyear, and planted the King's arms in all of them.Early in the autumn he was at the head of LakeSuperior, holding a council with the Assiniboins andthe lake tribes, and inducing them to live at peacewith the Sioux. In all this, he acted in a publiccommand at Fort Frontenac. In 1697 he succeeded to the commandof a company of infantry, but was suffering wretchedly from thegout at Fort Frontenac. In 1710 Vaudreuil, in a despatch to theminister Ponchartrain, announced his death as occurring in the previouswinter, and added the brief comment, " c'etait un tres-honnetehomme." Other contemporaries speak to the same effect. "M r -Dulhut, Gentilhomme Lionnois, qui a beaucoup de merite et decapaciteV'— La Hontan, i. 103 (1703). " Le Sieur du Lut, hommed'esprit et d'experience." — Le Clerc, ii. 137. Charlevoix calls him" one of the bravest officers the King has ever had in this colony."His name is variously spelled Du Luc, Du Lud, Du Lude, Du Lut>Du Luth, Du Lhut. For an account of the Iroquois virgin, Tegahkouita,whose intercession is said to have cured him of the gout,see Charlevoix, i. 572.On a contemporary manuscript map by the Jesuit Kaffeix, representingthe routes of Marquette, La Salle, and Du Lhut, are thefollowing words, referring to the last-named discoverer, and interestingin connection with Hennepin's statements :" Mr -du Lude lepremier a este chez les Sioux en 1678, et a este proche la source duMississippi, et ensuite vint retirer le P- Louis [Hennepin] qui avoiteste* fait prisonnier chez les Sioux." Du Lhut here appears as thedeliverer of Hennepin. One of his men wa*i Uamed Pepin ; hence,no doubt, the name of Lake Pepin.

1680.] DU LHUT'S EXPLORATIONS. 277capacity, under the authority of the governor; butit is not to be supposed that he forgot his owninterests or those of his associates. The intendantangrily complains that he aided and abetted thecoureurs de bois in their lawless courses, and sentdown in their canoes great quantities of beaver-skinsconsigned to the merchants in league with him,under cover of whose names the governor reaped hisshare of the profits.In June, 1680, while Hennepin was in the Siouxvillages, Du Lhut set out from the head of LakeSuperior, with two Canoes, four Frenchmen, and anIndian, to continue his explorations. 1 He ascendeda river, apparently the Burnt Wood, and reachedfrom thence a branch of the Mississippi, which seemsto have been the St. Croix. It was now that, to hissurprise, he learned that there were three Europeanson the main river below ;and fearing that they mightbe Englishmen or Spaniards encroaching on theterritories of the King, he eagerly pressed forward tosolve his doubts. When he saw Hennepin, his mindwas set at rest ; and the travellers met with mutualcordiality. They followed the Indians to their villagesof Mille Lac, where Hennepin had now noreason to complain of their treatment of him. TheSioux gave him and Du Lhut a grand feast of honor,at which were seated a hundred and twenty nakedguests; and the great chief Ouasicoude*, with his781.1Memoir on the French Dominion in Canada, N. Y. Col. Docm., ix

278 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1680.own hands, placed before Hennepin a bark dish containinga mess of smoked meat and wild rice.Autumn had come, and the travellers bethoughtthem of going home. The Sioux, consoled by theirpromises to return with goods for trade, did notoppose their departure; and they set out together,eight white men in all. As they passed St. Anthony'sFalls, two of the men stole two buffalo-robes whichwere hung on trees as offerings to the spirit of thecataract. When Du Lhut heard of it he was veryangry, telling the men that they had endangered thelives of the whole party.Hennepin admitted that inthe view of human prudence he was right, but urgedthat the act was good and praiseworthy, inasmuch asthe offerings were made to a false god; while themen, on their part, proved mutinous, declaring thatthey wanted the robes and meant to keep them.The travellers continued their journey in great illhumor,but were presently soothed by theexcellenthunting which they found on the way. As theyapproached the Wisconsin, they stopped to dry themeat of the buffalo they had killed, when to theiramazement they saw a war-party ofSioux approachingin a fleet of canoes. Hennepin represents himselfas showing on this occasion an extraordinarycourage, going to meet the Indians with a peacepipe,and instructing Du Lhut, who knew more ofthese matters than he, how he ought to behave.Sioux proved not unfriendly, and said nothing ofThethetheft of the buffalo-robes. They soon went on theii

1681.] THE RETURN. 279way to attack the Illinois and Missouris, leaving theFrenchmen to ascend the Wisconsin unmolested.After various adventures, they reached the stationof the Jesuits at Green Bay; but its existence iswholly ignored by Hennepin, whose zeal for his ownOrder will not permit him to allude to this establishmentof the rival missionaries. 1 He is equallyreticent with regard to the Jesuit mission atMichilimackinac, where the party soon after arrived,and where they spent the winter. The only intimationwhich he gives of its existence consists in themention of the Jesuit Pierson, who was a Fleminglikehimself, and who often skated with him on thefrozen lake, or kept him company in fishing througha hole in the ice. 2 When the spring opened,Hennepin descended Lake Huron, followed theDetroit to Lake Erie, and proceeded thence toNiagara. Here he spent some time in making afresh examination of the cataract, and then resumedhis voyage on Lake Ontario. He stopped, however,at the great town of the Senecas, near the Genesee,where, with his usual spirit of meddling, he tookupon him the functions of the civil and military1 On the other hand, he sets down on his map of 1683 a missionof the Recollets at a point north of the farthest sources of the Mississippi,to which no white man had ever penetrated.2He says that Pierson had come among the Indians to learntheir language ; that he " retained the frankness and rectitude ofour country," and "a disposition always on the side of candor andsincerity. In a word, he seemed to me to be all that a Christianought to be " (1697), 433.

280 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1681.authorities, convoked the chiefs to a council, andurged them to set at liberty certain Ottawa prisonerswhom they had captured in violation of treaties.Having settled this affair to his satisfaction, he wentto Fort Frontenac, where his brother missionary,Buisset,received him with a welcome rendered thewarmer by a story which had reachedIndianshim that thehad hanged Hennepin with his own cord ofSt. Francis.From Fort Frontenac he went to Montreal; andleaving his two men on a neighboring island, thatthey might escape the payment of duties on a quantityof furs which they had with them, he paddled alonetowards the town. Count Frontenac chanced to behere, and, looking from the window of a house nearthe river, he saw approaching in a canoe a Re*colletfather, whose appearance indicated theextremity ofhard service; for his face was worn and sunburnt,and his tattered habit of St. Francis was abundantlypatched with scraps of buffalo-skin. When at lengthhe recognized the long-lost Hennepin, he receivedhim, as the father writes, "with all the tendernesswhich a missionary could expect from a person of hisrank and quality."He kept him for twelve days inhis own house, and listened with interestto such ofhis adventures as the friar saw fit to divulge.And here we bid farewell to Father Hennepin."Providence," he writes, "preserved my life that Imight make known my great discoveries to theworld." He soon after went to Europe, where the

;1681.] LA SALLE'S LETTERS. 281story of his travels found a host of readers, but wherehe died at last in a deserved obscurity. 11Since the two preceding chapters were written, the letters ofLa Salle have been brought to light by the researches of M. Margry.They confirm, in nearly all points, the conclusions given abovethough, as before observed (note, 186), they show misstatementson the part of Hennepin concerning his position at the outset ofthe expedition. La Salle writes :" J'ay fait remonter le fleuve Colbert,nomme par les Iroquois Gastacha, par les Outaouais Mississipypar un canot conduit par deux de mes gens, Tun nomme' MichelAccault et l'autre Picard, auxquels le R. P. Hennepin se joignitpour ne perdre pas l'occasion de prescher 1' Kvangile aux peuplesqui habitent dessus et qui n'en avoient jamais oui parler." In thesame letter he recounts their voyage on the Upper Mississippi, andtheir capture by the Sioux in accordance with the story of Hennepinhimself. Hennepin's assertion, that La Salle had promisedto send a number of men to meet him at the mouth of the Wisconsin,turns out to be true. " Estans tous revenus en chasse avec lesNadouessioux [Sioux] vers Ouisconsing [Wisconsin], le R. P. LouisHempin [Hennepin] et Picard prirent resolution de venir jusqu'al'emboucheure de la riviere oil j'avois promis d'envoyer de mesnouvelles, comme j'avois fait par six hommes que les Je'suistesdesbaucherent en leur disant que le R. P. Louis et ses compagnonsde voyage avoient este" tuez."It is clear that La Salle understood Hennepin ; for, after speakingof his journey, he adds :" J'ai cru qu'il estoit a propos de vousfaire le narre des aventures de ce canot parce que je ne doute pasqu'on en parle ; et si vous souhaitez en confe'rer avec le P. LouisHempin, Recollect, qui est repasse en France, il faut un peu le connoistre,car il ne manquera pas d'exagerer toutes choses, c'est soncaractere, et a moy mesme il m'a escrit comme s'il eust este' toutpres d'estre brush?, quoiqu'il n'en ait pas este' seulement en dangermais il croit qu'il luy est honorable de le faire de la sorte, et i7 parleplus conformement a ce qu'il veut qu'a ce qu'il scait." — Lettre de laSaUe, 22 Aout, 1682 (1681 ?), Margry, ii. 259.On his return to France, Hennepin got hold of the manuscript,Relation des Decouvertes, compiled for the government from LaSalle's letters, and, as already observed, made very free use of it inthe first edition of his book, printed in 1683. In 1699 he wished toreturn to Canada ; but, in a letter of that year, Louis XIV. orders

282 HENNEPIN AMONG THE SIOUX. [1681.the governor to seize him, should he appear, and send him prisonerto Rochefort. This seems to have been in consequence of hisrenouncing the service of the French crown, and dedicating hisedition of 1697 to William III. of England.More than twenty editions of Hennepin's travels appeared, inFrench, English, Dutch, German, Italian, and Spanish. Most ofthem include the mendacious narrative of the pretended descent ofthe Mississippi. For a list of them, see Hist. Mag., i. 346 ; ii. 24.

CHAPTER XIX.1681.LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW.His Constancy; his Plans; his Savage Allies; he becomesSnow-blind. — Negotiations. — Grand Council. — La Salle'sOratory. — Meeting with Tonty. — Preparation. — Departure.In tracing the adventures of Tonty and the rovingsof Hennepin, we have lost sight of La Salle, thepivot of the enterprise. Returning from the desolationand horror in the valley of the Illinois, he hadspent the winter at Foil; Miami, on the St. Joseph,by the borders of Lake Michigan. Here he mighthave brooded on the redoubled ruin that had befallenhim, — the desponding friends, the exulting foes ;thewasted energies, the crushing load of debt, the stormypast, the black and lowering future. But his mindwas of a different temper. He had no thought butto grapple with adversity, and out of the fragments ,/of his ruin to build up the fabric of success.He would not recoil; but he modified his plans tomeet the new contingency.His white enemies hadfound, or rather perhaps had made, a savage ally inthe Iroquois. Their incursions must be stopped, or

284 LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. [1681,his enterprise would come to nought ; and he thoughthe saw the means by which this new danger could beconverted into a source of strength. The tribes ofthe West, threatened by the common enemy, mightbe taught to forget their mutual animosities and joinin a defensive league, with La Salle at its head.They might be colonized around his fort in the valleyof the Illinois, where in the shadow of the Frenchflag, and with the aid of French allies, they couldhold the Iroquois in check, and acquire in somemeasure the arts of a settled life. The Franciscanfriars could teach them the Faith ; and La Salle andhis associates could supply them with goods, inexchange for the vast harvest of 'furs which theirhunters could gather in these boundless wilds.Meanwhile, he would seek out the mouth of theMississippi; and the furs gathered at his colony inthe Illinois would then find a ready passage to themarkets of the world. Thus might this ancientslaughter-field of warring savages be redeemed tocivilization and Christianity ; and a stable settlement,half-feudal, half-commercial, grow up in the heart ofthe western wilderness. This plan was but a part ofthe original scheme of his enterprise, adapted to newand unexpected circumstances ; and he now set himselfto its execution with his usual vigor, joined toan address which, when dealing with Indians, neverfailed him.There were allies close at hand. Near Fort Miamiwere the huts of twenty-five or thirty savages, exiles

1681.] INDIAN FRIENDS. 285from their homes, and strangers in this westernworld. Several of the English colonies, from Virginiato Maine, had of late years been harassed byIndian wars; and the Puritans of New England,above all, had been scourged by the deadly outbreakof King Philip's war.Those engaged in it had paida bitter price for their brief triumphs. A band ofrefugees, chiefly Abenakis and Mohegans, drivenfrom their native seats,had roamed into these distantwilds, and were wintering in the friendly neighborhoodof the French. La Salle soon won them overto his interests. One of their number was theMohegan hunter, who for two years had faithfullyfollowed his fortunes, and who had been four years inthe West. He is described as a prudent and discreetyoung man, in whom La Salle had great confidence,and who could make himself understood inseveralwestern languages, belonging, like his own, to thegreat Algonquin tongue. This devoted henchmanproved an efficient mediator with his countrymen.The New-England Indians, with one voice, promisedto follow La Salle,asking no recompense but to callhim their chief, and yield to him the love andadmiration which he rarely failed to command fromthis hero-worshipping race.New allies soon appeared.A Shawanoe chief fromthe valley of the Ohio, whose following embraced ahundred and fifty warriors, came to ask the protectionof the French against the all-destroying Iroquois.*The Shawanoes are too distant," was La Salle's

286 LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. [1681.reply " but let them come to me at the Illinois, and;they shall be safe." The chief promised to join himin the autumn, at Fort Miami, with all his band.But, more important than all, the consent andco-operation of the Illinois must be gained ; and theMiamis, their neighbors and of late their enemies,must be taught the folly of their league with theIroquois, and the necessity of joining in the newconfederation. Of late, they had been made to seethe perfidy of their dangerous allies. A band of theIroquois, returning from the slaughter of the TamaroaIllinois, had met and murdered a band of Miamis onthe Ohio, and had not only refused satisfaction,buthad intrenched themselves in three rude forts oftrees and brushwood in the heart of the Miamicountry. The moment was favorable for negotiating;but, first, La Salle wished to open a communicationwith the Illinois, some of whom had begun toreturn to the country they had abandoned. Withthis view, and also, it seems, to procure provisions,he set out on the first ofMarch, with his lieutenantLa Forest, and fifteen men.The country was sheeted in snow, and the partyjourneyed on snow-shoes ;but when they reached theopen prairies, the white expanse glared in the sunwith so dazzling a brightness that La Salle andseveral of the men became snow-blind. They stoppedand encamped under the edge of a forest ; and hereLa Salle remained in darkness for three days, sufferingextreme pain. Meanwhile, he sent forward La

1681.] ILLINOIS ALLIES. 287Forest and most of the men, keeping with him hisold attendant Hunaut.Going out in quest of pineleaves,— a decoction of which was supposed to beuseful in cases of snow-blindness, — this man discoveredthe fresh tracks of Indians, followed them,and found a camp of Outagamies, or Foxes, from theneighborhood of Green Bay. From them he heardwelcome news. They told him that Tonty was safeamong the Pottawattamies, and that Hennepin hadpassed through their country on his return fromamong the Sioux. 1A thaw took place ; the snow melted rapidly ; therivers were opened; the blind men began to recover;and launching the canoes which they had draggedafter them, the party pursued their way by water.They soon met a band of Illinois. La Salle gavethem presents, condoled with them on their losses,and urged them to make peace and alliance with theMiamis. Thus, he said, they could set the Iroquoisat defiance ; for he himself, with his Frenchmen andhis Indian friends, would make his abode amongthem, supply them with goods, and aid them todefend themselves. They listened, well pleased,promised to carry his message to their countrymen,and furnished him with a large supply of corn. 2Meanwhile he had rejoined La Forest, whom he now1 Relation des Decouvertes. Compare Lettre de La Salle (Margry,ii. 144).2 This seems to have been taken from the secret repositories, orcaches, of the ruined town of the Illinois.

288 LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. [1681.sent to Michilimackinac to await Tonty, and tell^m to remain there till he, La Salle, should arrive.Having thus accomplished the objects of hisjourney, he returned to FortMiami, whence he soonafter ascended the St. Joseph to the village of theMiami Indians, on the portage, at the head of theKankakee. Here he found unwelcome guests.These were three Iroquois warriors, who had beenfor some time in the place, and who, as he was told,had demeaned themselves with the insolence of conquerors,and spoken of the French with the utmostcontempt. He hastened to confront them, rebukedand menaced them, and told them that now, when hewas present, they dared not repeat the calumnieswhich they had uttered in his absence. They stoodabashed and confounded, and during the followingnight secretly left the town and fled. The effectwas prodigious on the minds of the Miamis, whenthey saw that La Salle, backed by ten Frenchmen,could command from their arrogant visitors a respectwhich they, with their hundreds of warriors, hadwholly failed to inspire. Here, at the outset, wasan augury full of promise for the approachingnegotiations.There were other strangers in the town, — a bandof eastern Indians, more numerous than those whohad wintered at the fort. The greater number werefrom Rhode Island, including, probably, some ofKing Philip's warriors;others were from New York,and others again from Virginia. La Salle called

1681.] GRAND COUNCIL. 289them to a council, promised them a new home in theWest under the protection of the Great King, withrich lands, an abundance of game, and French tradersto supply them with the goods which they had oncereceived from the English. Let them but help himto make peace between the Miamis and the Illinois,and he would insure for them a future of prosperityand safety. They listened with open ears, andpromised their aid in the work of peace.On the next morning, the Miamis were called to agrand council. It was held in the lodge of theirchief, from which the mats were removed, that thecrowd without might hear what was said. La Sallerose and harangued the concourse.Few men were soskilled in the arts of forest rhetoric and diplomacy.After the Indian mode, he was, to follow his chroniclers,"the greatest orator in North America." 1 Hebegan with a gift of tobacco, to clear the brains ofhis auditory ; next, for he had brought a canoe-loadof presents to support his eloquence, he gave themcloth to cover their dead, coats to dress them,hatchets to build a grand scaffold in their honor, andbeads, bells, and trinkets of all sorts, to decoratetheir relatives at a grand funeral feast.All this wasmere metaphor. The living, while appropriatingthe gifts to their own use, were pleased at the complimentoffered to their dead; and their delightredoubled as the orator proceeded. One of their1 "En ce genre, il €toit le plus grand orateur de l'AmenqueSeptentrionale." — Relation des Decouvertes.10

290 LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. [1681.great chiefs had lately been killed; and La Salle,after a eulogy of the departed, declared that he wouldnow raise him to life again; that is, that he wouldassume his name and give support to his squaws andchildren. This flattering announcement drew forthan outburst of applause; and when, to confirm hiswords, his attendants placed before them a huge pileof coats, shirts, and hunting-knives, the wholeassembly exploded in yelps of admiration.Now came the climax of the harangue, introducedby a further present of six guns :—" He who is my master, and the master of all thiscountry, is a mighty chief, feared by the wholeworld; but he loves peace, and the words of his lipsare for good alone. He is called the King of France,and he is the mightiest among the chiefs beyond thegreat water. His goodness reaches even to yourdead, and his subjects come among you to raise themup to life. But it is his will to preserve the life hehas given; it is his will that you should obey hislaws, and make no war without the leave of Onontio,who commands in his name at Quebec, and wholoves all the nations alike, because such is the will ofthe Great King. You ought, then, to live at peacewith your neighbors, and above all with the Illinois.You have had causes of quarrel with them ; but theirdefeat has avenged you. Though they are stillstrong, they wish to make peace with you.Be contentwith the glory of having obliged them to ask forit. You have an interest in preserving them ; since,

1681.] THE CHIEFS REPLY. 291if the Iroquois destroy them, they will next destroyyou. Let us all obey the Great King, and livetogether in peace, under his protection. Be of mymind, and use these guns that I have given you, notto make war, but only to hunt and to defendyourselves." 1So saying, he gave two belts of wampum to confirmhis words ; and the assembly dissolved. On thefollowing day, the chiefs again convoked it, andmade their reply in form. It was all that La Sallecould have wished. "The Illinois is our brother,because he is the son of our Father, the Great King."" We make you the master of our beaver and ourlands, of our minds and our bodies." "We cannotwonder that our brothers from the East wish to livewith you. We should have wished so too, if we hadknown what a blessing it is to be the children of theGreat King." The rest of this auspicious day waspassed in feasts and dances, in which La Salle andhis Frenchmen all bore part. His new scheme washopefully begun. It remained to achieve the enterprise,twice defeated, of the discovery of the mouthof the Mississippi, — that vital condition of histriumph, without which allother success was meaninglessand vain.To this end he must return to Canada, appeasehis creditors, and collect his scattered resources.Towards the end of May he set out in canoes from1Translated from the Relation, where these councils are reportedat great length.

292 LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. [1681.Fort Miami, and reached Michilimackinac after aprosperous voyage. Here, to his great joy, he foundTonty and Zenobe Membre*, who had lately arrivedfrom Green Bay. The meeting was one at whicheven his stoic nature must have melted. Each hadfor the other a tale of disaster; but when La Sallerecounted the long succession of his reverses, it waswith the tranquil tone and cheerful look of one whorelates the incidents of an ordinary journey. Membre'looked on him with admiration."Any one else," hesays, u would have thrown up his hand and abandonedthe enterprise; but, far from this, with a firmnessand constancy that never had its equal, I saw himmore resolved than ever to continue his work andpush forward his discovery." 1Without loss of time they embarked together forFort Frontenac, paddled their canoes a thousandmiles, and safely reached their destination. Here,in this third beginning of his enterprise, La Sallefound himself beset with embarrassments. Not onlywas he burdened with the fruitless costs of his twoformer efforts, but the heavy debts which he hadincurred in building and maintaining Fort Frontenachad not been wholly paid. The fort and the seigniorywere already deeply mortgaged; yet through theinfluence of Count Frontenac, the assistance of his1 Membra in Le Clerc, ii. 208. Tonty, in his memoir of 1693,speafcg of the joy of La Salle at the meeting. The Relation, usuallyvery accurate, says, erroneously, that Tonty had gone to Fort Frontenac.La Forest had gone thither, not long before La Salle'sarrival.

1681.] THE TORONTO PORTAGE. 293secretary Barrois, a consummate man of business, andthe support of a wealthy relative, he found means toappease his creditors and even to gain fresh advances.To this end, however, he was forced to part with aportion of his monopolies. Having first made hiswill at Montreal, in favor of a cousin who hadbefriended him, 1 he mustered his men, and once moreset forth,resolved to trust no more to agents, but tolead on his followers, in a united body, under hisown personal command. 2At the beginning of autumn he was at Toronto,where the long and difficultportage to Lake Simcoedetained him a fortnight. He spent a part of it inwriting an account of what had lately occurred to acorrespondent in France, and he closes his letterthus :" This is all I can tell you this year. I havea hundred things to write, but you could not believehow hard it is to do it among Indians. The canoesand their lading must be got over theportage, and Imust speak to them continually and bear all theirimportunity, or else they will do nothing I want. Ihope to write more at leisure next year, and tell you1 Copie du Testament du deffunt S r -de la Salle, 11 Aout, 1681.The relative was Francis Plet, to whom he was deeply in debt.2 " On apprendra a la fin de cette annCe, 1682, le succes de ladecouverte qu'il e"toit resolu d'achever, au plus tard le printempadernier ou de perir en y travaillant. Tant de traverses et de malheurstoujours arrives en son absence l'ont fait resoudre a ne sefier plus a personne et a eonduire lui-merae tout son monde, toutson equipage, et toute son entreprise, de laquelle il esperoit uneheureuse conclusion."The above is a part of the closing paragraph of the Relation detDecouvertes, so often cited.

294 LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. [1681.the end of this business, which I hope will turn outwell: for I have M. de Tonty, who is full of zeal;thirty Frenchmen, all good men, without reckoningsuch as I cannot trust; and more than a hundredIndians, some of them Shawanoes, and others fromNew England, all of whom know how to use guns."It was October before he reached Lake Huron.Day after day and week after week the heavy-ladencanoes crept on along the lonely wilderness shores,by the monotonous ranks of bristling moss-beardedfirs ; lake and forest, forest and lake ; a dreary scenehaunted with yet more dreary memories, — disasters,sorrows, and deferred hopes; time, strength, andwealth spent in vain ; a ruinous past and a doubtfulfuture; slander, obloquy, and hate. With unmovedheart, the patient voyager held his course, anddrew up his canoes at last on the beach at FortMiami.

CHAPTER XX.1681-1682.SUCCESS OF LA SALLE.His Followers. — The Chicago Portage. — Descent of the Mississippi.— The Lost Hunter. — The Arkansas. — The Taensas.— The Natchez. — Hostility. — The Mouth of the Mississippi.— Louis XIV. proclaimed Sovereign of the GreatWest.The season was far advanced. On the bare limbsof the forest hung a few withered remnants of itsgay autumnal livery; and the smoke crept upwardthrough the sullen November air from the squalidwigwams of La Salle's Abenaki and Mohegan allies.These, his new friends, were savages whose midnightyells had startled the border hamlets of New England;who had danced around Puritan scalps, andwhom Puritan imaginations painted as incarnatefiends. La Salle chose eighteen of them, whom headded tothe twenty-three Frenchmen who remainedwith him, some of the rest having deserted and otherslagged behind.The Indians insisted on taking theirsquaws with them. These were ten in number,besides three children; and thus the expeditionincluded fifty-fourpersons, of whom some were useless,and others a burden.

296 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682.On the21st of December, Tonty and Memore* setout from Fort Miami with some of the party in sixcanoes, and crossed to the little river Chicago. 1 LaSalle, with the rest of the men, joined them a fewdays later. It was the dead of winter, and thestreams were frozen.They made sledges, placed onthem the canoes, the baggage, and a disabled Frenchman;crossed from the Chicago to the northernbranch of the Illinois, and filed in a long processiondown its frozen course. They reached the site ofthe great Illinois village, found it tenantless, andcontinued their journey, still dragging their canoes,till at length they reached open water below LakePeoria.La Salle had abandoned for a time his originalplan of building a vessel for the navigation of theMississippi. Bitter experience had taught him thedifficulty ofthe attempt, and he resolved to trust to1La Salle, Relation de la Decouverte, 1682, in Thomassy, GeologiePratique de la Louisiane, 9 ; Lettre du Pere Zenobe Membre, 3 Juin,1682; Ibid., 14 Aout, 1682; Membre in Le Clerc, ii. 214; Tonty,1684, 1693 ; Proces Verbal de la Prise de Possession de la Louisiane ,-Feuilles de'tachees d'une Lettre de La Salle (Margry, ii. 164) ; Recit deNicolas de la Salle (Ibid., i. 547).The narrative ascribed to Membre and published by Le Clerc isbased on the document preserved in the Archives Scientifiques dela Marine, entitled Relation de la Decouverte de V'Embouchure de laRiviere Mississippi faite par le Sieur de la Salle, I'annee passee, 1682.The writer of the narrative has used it very freely, copying thegreater part verbatim, with occasional additions of a kind whichseem to indicate that he had taken part in the expedition. TheRelation de la Decouverte, though written in the third person, is theofficial report of the discovery made by La Salle, or perhaps forhim by Membre.

1682.] PRUDHOMME. 297his canoes alone. They embarked again, floatingprosperously down between the leafless forests thatflanked the tranquil river; till, on the sixth ofFebruary, they issued upon the majestic bosom ofthe Mississippi. Here, for the time, their progresswas stopped ; for the river was full of floating ice.La Salle's Indians, too, had lagged behind; butwithin a week all had arrived, the navigation wasonce more free, and they resumed their course.Towards evening they saw on their right the mouthof a great river ; and the clear current was invadedby the headlong torrent of the Missouri, opaque withmud. They built their camp-fires in the neighboringforest;and at daylight, embarking anew on the darkand mighty stream, drifted swiftly down towardsunknown destinies. They passed a deserted town ofthe Tamaroas; saw, three days after, the mouth ofthe Ohio ; * and, gliding by the wastes of borderingswamp, landed on the twenty-fourth of February nearthe Third Chickasaw Bluffs. 2 They encamped, andthe hunters went out for game.All returned, exceptingPierre Prudhomme ; and as the others had seenfresh tracks of Indians, La Salle feared that he waskilled. While some of his followers built a smallstockade fort on a high bluff 3 by the river, othersI1Called by Membre the Ouabache (Wabash).2La Salle, Relation de la Decouverte de VEmbouchure, etc. ; Thomassy,10. Membre gives the same date ; but the Proces Verbalmakes it the twenty-sixth.8 Gravier, in his letter of 16 Feb., 1701, says that he encampednear a " great bluff of stone, called Fort Prudhomme, because M. de

298 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682.ranged the woods in pursuit of the missing hunter.After six days of ceaseless and fruitlessmet two Chickasaw Indians in the forest ;search, theyand throughthem La Salle sent presents and peace-messages tothat warlike people, whose villages were a few days'journey distant. Several days later Prudhomme wasfound, and brought into the camp, half-dead. Hehad lost his way while hunting ; and to console himfor his woes La Salle christened the newly built fortwith his name, and left him, with a few others, incharge of it.Again they embarked; and with every stage oftheir adventurous progress the mystery of this vastNew World was more and more unveiled. More andmore they entered the realms of spring. The hazysunlight, the warm and drowsy air,the tender foliage,the opening flowers, betokened the reviving life ofNature. For several days more they followed thewrithings of the great river on its tortuous coursethrough wastes of swamp and canebrake, till on thethirteenth of March 2 they found themselves wrappedin a thick fog. Neither shore was visible ; but theyheard on the right the booming of an Indian drumand the shrill outcries of the war-dance. La Salle atonce crossed to the oppositeside, where, in less thanan hour, his men threw up a rude fort of felled trees.la Salle, going on his discovery, intrenched himself here with hisparty, fearing that Prudhomme, who had lost himself in the woods,had been killed by the Indians, and that he himself would beattacked."1La Salle, Relation ; Thomasay, 11.

1682.] THE ARKANSAS. 299Meanwhile the fog cleared; and from the fartherbank the astonished Indians saw the strange visitorsat their work. Some of the French advanced to theedge ofthe water, and beckoned them to come over.Several of them approached, in a wooden canoe, towithin the distance of a gun-shot. La Salle displayedthe calumet, and sent a Frenchman to meetthem. He was well received ; and the friendly moodof the Indians being now apparent, the whole partycrossed the river.On landing, they found themselves at a town ofthe Kappa band of the Arkansas, a people dwellingnear the mouth of the river which bears their name."The whole village," writes Membre* to his superior,"came down to the shore to meet us, except thewomen, who had run off.I cannot tell you the civilityand kindness we received from these barbarians,who brought us poles to make huts, supplied us withfirewood during the three days we were among them,and took turns in feasting us. But, my ReverendFather, this gives no idea of the good qualities ofthese savages, who are gay, civil, and free-hearted.The young men, though the most alert and spiritedwe had seen, are nevertheless so modest that not oneof them would take the liberty to enter our hut, butall stood quietly at the door. They are so wellformed that we were in admiration at their beauty.We did not lose the value of a pin while we wereamong them."Various were the dances and ceremonies with which

300 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682.they entertained the strangers, who, on their part,responded with a solemnity which their hosts wouldhave liked less if they had understood it better. LaSalle and Tonty, at the head of their followers,marched to the open area in the midst ofthe village.Here, to the admiration of the gazing crowd of warriors,women, and children, a cross was raised bearingthe arms of France. Membre', in canonicals,sang a hymn ; the men shouted Vive le Roi ; and LaSalle, in the King's name, took formal possession ofthe country. 1 The friar, not, he flatters himself,without success, labored to expound by signs themysteries of the Faith; while La Salle, by methodsequally satisfactory,drew from the chief an acknowledgmentof fealty to Louis XIV. 2After touching at several other towns of thispeople, the voyagers resumed their course, guided bytwo of the Arkansas ;passed the sites, since becomehistoric, of Vicksburg and Grand Gulf; and, aboutthree hundred miles below the Arkansas, stopped bythe edge of a swamp on the western side of the1Prods Verbal de la Prise de Possession du Pays des Arkansas, 14Mars, 1682.2The nation of the Akanseas, Alkansas, or Arkansas, dwelt onthe west bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Arkansas.They were divided into four tribes, living for the most part in separatevillages. Those first visited by La Salle were the Kappas, orQuapaws, a remnant of whom still subsists. The others were theTopingas, or Tongengas ; the Torimans ; and the Osotouoy, orSauthouis. According to Charlevoix, who saw them in 1721, theywere regarded as the tallest and best-formed Indians in America,and were known as les Beaux Hommes. Gravier says that they oncelived on the Ohio.

1682.] THE TAENSAS. 301river. 1 Here, as their two guides told them, wasthe path to the great town of the Taensas. Tontyand Memore* were sent to visit it. They and theirmen shouldered their birch canoe through the swamp,and launched it on a lake which had once formed aportion of the channel of the river. In two hours,they reached the town; and Tonty gazed at it withastonishment. He had seen nothing like it inAmerica, — large square dwellings, built of sunbakedmud mixed with straw, arched over with adome-shaped roof of canes, and placed in regularorder around an open area. Two of them werelarger and better than the rest. One was the lodgeof the chief; the other was the temple, or house ofthe Sun. They entered the former, and found asingle room, forty feet square, where, in the dimlight, — for there was no opening but the door, — thechief sat awaiting them on a sort of bedstead, threeof his wives at his side ;while sixty old men, wrappedin white cloaks woven of mulberry-bark, formed hisdivan. When he spoke, his wives howled to dohim honor; and the assembled councillors listenedwith the reverence due to a potentate for whom, athis death, a hundred victims were to be sacrificed.He received the visitors graciously, and joyfully1 In Tensas County, Louisiana. Tonty's estimates of distanceare here much too low. They seem to be founded on observationsof latitude, without reckoning the windings of the river. It mayinterest sportsmen to know that the party killed several large aliigators, on their way. Membre is much astonished that such monstersshould be born of eggs like chickens.

302 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682.accepted the gifts which Tonty laid before him. 1This interview over, the Frenchmen repaired to thetemple, wherein were kept the bones ofthe departedchiefs. In construction, it was much like the royaldwelling. Over it were rude wooden figures, representingthree eagles turned towards the east. Astrong mud wall surrounded it,on which were stuck the skulls ofplanted with stakes,enemies sacrificedto the Sun; while before the door was a block ofwood, on which lay a large shell surrounded with thebraided hair of the victims. The interior was rudeas a barn, dimly lighted from thedoorway, and fullof smoke. There was a structure in the middlewhich Membre* thinks was a kind of altar;and beforeit burned a perpetual fire, fed with three logs laidend to end, and watched by two old men devoted tothis sacred office. There was a mysterious recess,too, which the strangers were forbidden to explore,but which, as Tonty was told, contained the richesof the nation, consisting of pearls from the Gulf, andtrinkets obtained, probably through other tribes, fromthe Spaniards and other Europeans.The chief condescended to visit La Salle at hiscamp, — a favor which he would by no means havegranted, had the visitors been Indians. A master ofceremonies and six attendantspreceded him, to clear1Tonty, 1684, 1693. In the spurious narrative, published inTonty's name, the account is embellished and exaggerated. CompareMembre' in Le Clerc, ii. 227. La Salle's statements in theRelation of 1682 (Thomassy, 12) sustain those of Tonty.

1682.] THE NATCHEZ. 303the path and prepare the place of meeting. Whenall was ready, he was seen advancing, clothed in awhite robeand preceded by two men bearing whitefans, while a third displayed a disk of burnishedcopper, — doubtless to represent the Sun, his ancestor,or, as others will have it, his elder brother. Hisaspect was marvellously grave, and he and La Sallemet with gestures of ceremonious courtesy. Theinterview was very friendly; and the chief returnedwell pleased with the gifts which his entertainerbestowed on him, and which, indeed, had been theprincipal motive of his visit.On the next morning, as they descended the river,they saw a wooden canoe full of Indians ; and Tontygave chase. He had nearly overtaken it, when morethan a hundred men appeared suddenly on the shore,with bows bent to defend their countrymen. LaSalle called out to Tonty to withdraw. He obeyed;and the whole party encamped on the oppositebank.Tonty offered to cross the river with a peace-pipe,and set out accordingly with a small party of men.When he landed, the Indians made signs of friendshipby joining their hands, — a proceeding by whichTonty, having but one hand, was somewhat embarrassed;but he directed his men to respond in hisstead. La Salle and Memore* now joined him, andwent with the Indians to their village, three leaguesdistant. Here they spent the night. "The Sieurde la Salle," writes Memore", "whose very air, engagingmanners, tact, and address attract love and

304 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682.respect alike, produced such an effect on the heartsof these people that they did not know how to treatus well enough." 1The Indians of this village were the Natchez ; andtheir chief was brother of the great chief, or Sun, ofthe whole nation. His town was several leaguesdistant, near the site of the city of Natchez; andthither the French repaired to visit him. They sawwhat they had already seen among theTaensas, — areligious and political despotism, a privileged castedescended from the sun, a temple, and a sacred fire. 21Membre' in Le Clerc, ii. 232.2The Natchez and the Taensas, whose habits and customs weresimilar, did not, in their social organization, differ radically fromother Indians. The same principle of clanship, or totemskip, sowidely spread, existed in full force among them, combined withtheir religious ideas, and developed into forms of which no otherexample, equally distinct, is to be found. (For Indian clanship,see "The Jesuits in North America," Introduction.) Among theNatchez and Taensas, the principal clan formed a ruling caste ; andits chiefs had the attributes of demi-gods. As descent was throughthe female, the chief's son never succeeded him, but the son ofone of his sisters ; and as she, by the usual totemic law, was forcedto marry in another clan,— that is, to marry a common mortal, —her husband, though the destined father of a demi-god, was treatedby her as little better than a slave. She might kill him, if heproved unfaithful ; but he was forced to submit to her infidelitiesin silence.The customs of the Natchez have been described by Du Pratz,Le Petit, Penecaut, and others. Charlevoix visited their temple in1721, and found it in a somewhat shabby condition. At this time,the Taensas were extinct. In 1729 the Natchez, enraged by thearbitrary conduct of a French commandant, massacred the neighboringsettlers, and were in consequence expelled from their countryand nearly destroyed. A few still survive, incorporated with theCreeks ; but they have lost their peculiar customs.

1682,] HOSTILITY. 305La Salle planted a large cross, with the arms ofFrance attached, in the midst of the town ; while theinhabitantslooked on with a satisfaction which theywould hardly have displayed had they understood themeaning of the act.The French next visited the Coroas, at their villagetwo leaguesbelow; and here they found a receptionno less auspicious. On the thirty-first of March, asthey approached Red River, they passed in the foga town of the Oumas, and three days later discovereda party of fishermen, in wooden canoes, among thecanes along the margin of the water. They fled atsight of the Frenchmen. La Salle sent men to reconnoitre,who, as they struggled through the marsh,were greeted with a shower of arrows; while fromthe neighboring village of the Quinipissas, l invisiblebehind the canebrake, they heard the sound of anIndian drum and the whoops of the musteringwarriors. La Salle, anxious to keep the peace withall the tribes along the river, recalled his men, andpursued his voyage. A few leagues below they sawa cluster of Indian lodges on the left bank, apparentlyvoid of inhabitants. They landed, and found threeof them filled with corpses. It was a village of theTangibao, sacked by their enemies only a few daysbefore. 21In St. Charles County, on the left bank, not far above NewOrleans.2Hennepin uses this incident, as well as most of those whichhave preceded it, in making up the story of his pretended voyage tothe Gulf.SO

306 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682And now they neared their journey's end. Onthe sixth of April the river divided itself into threebroad channels. La Salle followed that of the west,and Dautray that of the east; while Tonty took themiddle passage. As he drifted down the turbidcurrent, between the low and marshy shores, thebrackish water changed to brine, and the breeze grewfresh with the salt breath of the sea. Then the broadbosom of the great Gulf opened on his sight, tossingits restless billows, limitless, voiceless, lonely as whenborn of chaos, without a sail, without a sign of life.La Salle, in a canoe, coasted the marshy bordersof the sea; and then the reunited parties assembledon a spot of dry ground, a short distance above themouth of the river.Here a column was made ready,bearing the arms of France, and inscribed with thewords, "Louis Le Grand, Roy de France et deNavarre, regne; le Neuvieme Avril, 1682."The Frenchmen were mustered under arms? andwhile the New England Indians and their squawslooked on in wondering silence,they chanted the TeDeum, the Exaudiat, and the Domine salvumfac Begem.Then, amid volleys of musketry and shouts of Vive leRo% La Salle planted the column in its place, and,standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice, —" In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible,and victorious Prince, Louis theGreat, by the graceof God King of France and of Navarre, Fourteenthof that name, I, this ninth day of April, one thousandsixhundred and eighty-two, in virtue of the commis-

1682.] POSSESSION TAKEN. 307sion of his Majesty, which I hold in my hand, andwhich may be seen by all whom it may concern, havetaken, and do now take, in the name of his Majestyand of his successors to the crown, possession of thiscountry of Louisiana, the seas, harbors, ports, bays,adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces,cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries,streams, and rivers, within the extent of the saidLouisiana, from the mouth of the great river St.Louis, otherwise called the Ohio, ... as also alongthe river Colbert, or Mississippi, and the rivers whichdischarge themselves thereinto, from its source beyondthe country of the Nadouessioux ... as far as itsmouth at the sea, or Gulf of Mexico, and also to themouth of the River of Palms, upon the assurance wehave had from the natives of these countries thatwe are the first Europeans who have descended orascended the said river Colbert; hereby protestingagainst all who may hereafter undertake to invadeany or all of these aforesaid countries, peoples, orlands, to the prejudice of the rights of his Majesty,acquired by the consent of the nations dwelling herein.Of which, and of all else that is needful, I herebytake to witness those who hear me, and demandan act of the notary here present." 11 In the passages omitted above, for the sake of brevity, the Ohiois mentioned as being called also the Olighin- (Alleghany) Sipou,and Chukagoua ; and La Salle declares that he takes possession ofof whomthe country with the consent of the nations dwelling in it,he names the Chaouanons (Shawanoes), Kious, or Nadouessioui(Sioux), Chikachas (Chickasaws), Motantees (?), Illinois, Mitch*

308 SUCCESS OF LA SALLE. [1682.Shouts of Vive le Boi and volleys of musketryresponded to his words. Then a cross was plantedbeside the column, and a leaden plate buried near it,bearing the arms of France, with a Latin inscription,Ludovicus Magnus regnat. The weather-beaten voyagersjoined their voices in the grand hymn of theVexilla Regis :—" The banners of Heaven's King advance,*The mystery of the Cross shines forth ;and renewed shouts of Vive le Boi closed the ceremony.On that day, the realm of France received onparchment a stupendous accession. The fertileplains of Texas; the vast basin of the Mississippi,from its frozen northern springs toof the Gulf ;the sultry bordersfrom the woody ridges of the Alleghaniesto the bare peaks of the Rocky Mountains, — a regionof savannas and forests, sun-cracked deserts, andgrassy prairies, watered by a thousand rivers, rangedby a thousand warlike tribes, passed beneath thesceptre of the Sultan of Versailles ; and all by virtueof a feeble human voice, inaudible at half a mile.gamias, Arkansas, Natchez, and Koroas.This alleged consent is,of course, mere farce. If there could be any doubt as to the meaningof the words of La Salle, as recorded in the Proces Verbal de laPrise de Possession de la Louisiane, it would be set at rest by LeClerc, who says : "Le Sieur de la Salle prit au nom de sa Majeste'possession de ce fleuve, de toutes les rivieres qui y entrent, et de touslet pays qu'elles arrosent" These words are borrowed from the reportof La Salle (see Thomassy, 14). A copy of the original ProcesVerbal is before me. It bears the name of Jacques de la Metairie,Notary of Fort Frontenac, who was one of the party.

FortCHAPTER XXI.1682, 1683.ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS.Louisiana — Illness of La Salle : his Colony on the Illinois.—i St. Louis. — Recall of Frontenac. — LbFebvre de la Barre. — Critical Position of La Salle. —Hostility of the New Governor. — Triumph of the AdverseFaction. — La Salle sails for France.Louisiana was thename bestowed by La Salle onthe new domain of the French crown. The rule ofthe Bourbons in the West is a memory of the past,but the name of the Great King still survives in anarrow corner of their lost empire. The Louisianaof to-day is but a single State of the Americanrepublic. The Louisiana of La Salle stretched fromthe Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains; from theRio Grande and the Gulf to the farthest springs ofthe Missouri. 11The boundaries are laid down on the great map of Franquelin,made in 1684, and preserved in the Depot des Cartes of the Marine.The line runs along the south shore of Lake Erie, and thence followsthe heads of the streams flowing into Lake Michigan. It thenturns northwest, and is lost in the vast unknown of the now BritishTerritories. On the south, it is drawn by the heads of the streamsflowing into the Gulf, as far west as Mobile, after which it follows

-310 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1682.La Salle had written his name in historytbut hishard-earned success was but the prelude of a hardertask. Herculean labors lay before him, if he wouldrealize the schemes with which his brain was pregnant.Bent on accomplishing them, he retraced hiscourse, and urged his canoes upward against themuddy current. The party were famished. Theyhad little to subsist on but the flesh of alligators.When they reached the Quinipissas, who had provedhostile on their way down, they resolved to risk aninterview with them, in the hope of obtaining food.The treacherous savages dissembled, brought themcorn, and on the following night made an attack uponthem, but met with a bloody repulse.The party nextrevisited the Coroas, and found an unfavorable changein their disposition towards them. They feastedthem, indeed, but during the repast surrounded themwith an overwhelming force of warriors. TheFrench, however, kept so well on their guard, thattheir entertainers dared not make an attack, andsuffered them to depart unmolested. 1And now, in a career of unwonted success andanticipated triumph, La Salle was arrested by a foeagainst which the boldest heart avails nothing. Ashe ascended the Mississippi, he was seized by adangerous illness. Unable to proceed, he sent fortheshore of the Gulf to a little south of the Rio Grande ; then runswest, northwest, and finally north, along the range of the RockyMountains.1 Tonty, 1684, 1693.

1682.] ILLNESS OF LA SALLE. 311ward Tonty to Michilimackinac, whence, afterdespatching news of their discovery to Canada, hewas to return to the Illinois. La Salle himself layhelpless at Fort Prudhomme, the palisade workwhich his men had built at the Chickasaw Bluffson their way down. Father Zenobe Membre' attendedhim; and at the end of July he was oncemore in a condition to advance by slow movementstowards Fort Miami, which he reached in about amonth.In September he rejoined Tonty at Michilimackinac,and in the following month wrote to a friend inFrance :" Though my discovery is made, and I havedescended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, Icannot send you this year either an account of myjourney or a map. On the way back I was attackedby a deadly disease, which kept me in danger oflifemyfor forty days, and left me so weak that I couldthink of nothing for four months after. I havehardly strength enough now to write my letters, andthe season is so far advanced that I cannot detain asingle day this canoe which I send expressly to carrythem. If I had not feared being forced to winter onthe way, I should have tried to get to Quebec tomeet the new governor, if it is true that we are tohave one; but in my present condition this would bean act of suicide, on account of the bad nourishmentI should have all winter in case the snow and icestopped me on the way. Besides, my presence isabsolutely necessary in the place to which I am

312 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1682/going. I pray you, my dear sir, to give me oncemore all the help you can. I have great enemies,who have succeeded in all they have undertaken. Ido not pretend to resist them, but only to justifymyself, sobegun here by land."that I can pursue by sea the plans I haveThis was what he had proposed to himself fromthe first; that is, to abandon the difficult accessthrough Canada, beset withenemies, and open a wayto his western domain through the Gulf and theMississippi. This was the aim of all his toilsomeexplorations. Could he have accomplished his firstintention of building a vessel on the Illinois anddescending in her to the Gulf, he would have beenable to defray in good measure the costs of the enterpriseby means of the furs and buffalo-hides collectedon the way and carried in her to France. With afleet of canoes, this was impossible; and there wasnothing to offset the enormous outlay which he andhis associates had made. He meant, as we have seen,to found on the banks of the Illinois a colony ofFrench and Indians to answer the double purpose ofa bulwark against the Iroquois and a place of storagefor the furs of all the western tribes; and he hopedin the following year to secure an outlet for thiscolony and for all the trade of the valley of theMississippi, by occupying the mouth of that river/ with a fort and another colony. This, too, was anessential part of his original design.But for his illness, he would have gone to France

1682.] "STARVED HOCK." 313to provide for its execution.Tonty toMeanwhile, he orderedcollect as many men as possible, and beginthe projected colony on the banks of the Illinois.A report soon after reached him that those pestsof the wilderness the Iroquois were about to renewtheir attacks on the western tribes. This wouldbe fatal to his plans; and, following Tonty to theIllinois, he rejoined him near the site of the greattown.The cliff called " Starved Rock, " now pointed out totravellers as the chief natural curiosity ofthe region,rises, steep on three sides as a castle wall, to theheight of a hundred and twenty-five feet above theriver. In front, it overhangs the water that washesits base ; its western brow looks down on the tops ofthe forest trees below; and on the east lies a widegorge or ravine, choked with themingled foliage ofoaks, walnuts, and elms; while in its rocky depthsa little brook creeps down to mingle with the river.From the trunk of the stunted cedar that leans forwardfrom the brink, you may drop a plummet intothe river below, where the cat-fish and the turtlesmay plainly be seen gliding over the wrinkled sandsof the clear and shallow current. The cliff is accessibleonly from behind, where a man may climb up,not without difficulty, by a steep and narrow passage.The top is about an acre in extent. Here, in themonth of December, La Salle and Tonty began tointrench themselves.They cut away the forest thatcrowned the rock, built storehouses and dwellings of

314 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1682.itsremains, dragged timber up the rugged pathway,and encircled the summit with a palisade. 1Thus the winter passed, and meanwhile the work1 " Starved Rock " perfectly answers, in every respect, to theindications of the contemporary maps and documents concerning"Le Rocher," the site of La Salle's fort of St. Louis. It is laiddown on several contemporary maps, besides the great map of LaSalle's discoveries, made in 1684. They all place it on the southside of the river ; whereas Buffalo Rock, three miles above, whichhas been supposed to be the site of the fort, is on the north. Thelatter is crowned by a plateau of great extent, is but sixty feet high,is accessible at many points, and would require a large force todefend it ; whereas La Salle chose " Le Rocher," because a few mencould hold it against a multitude. Charlevoix, in 1721, describesboth rocks, and says that the top of Buffalo Rock had been occupiedby the Miami village, so that it was known as Le Fort desMiamis.This is confirmed by Joutel, who found the Miamis hereCharlevoix then speaks of " Le Rocher," calling it by thatin 1687.name ; says that it is about a league below, on the left or southside, forming a sheer cliff, very high, and looking like a fortress onthe border of the river. He saw remains of palisades at the top,which, he thinks, were made by the Illinois (Journal Historique, Let.xxvii.), though his countrymen had occupied it only three yearsbefore. " The French reside on the rock (Le Rocher), which isvery lofty and impregnable." (MemAr on Western Indians, 1718, inN. Y. Col. Docs., ix. 890.) St. Cosme, passing this way in 1699,mentions it as " Le Vieux Fort," and says that it is " a rock abouta hundred feet high at the edge of the river, where M. de la Sallebuilt a fort, since abandoned." (Journal de St. Cosme.) Joutel,who was here in 1687, says, " Fort St. Louis is on a steep rock,about two hundred feet high, with the river running at its base."He adds that its only defences were palisades. The true height, asstated above, is about a hundred and twenty-five feet.A traditional interest also attaches to this rock. It is said that,in the Indian wars that followed the assassination of Pontiac, a fewyears after the cession of Canada, a party of Illinois, assailed bythe Pottawattamies, here took refuge, defying attack. At lengththey were all destroyed by starvation, and hence the name of'Starved Rock."For other proofi concerning this locality, see ante, 239.

jj^ Tacaogane

1682.] LA SALLE'S COLONY. 315of negotiation went prosperously on. The minds ofthe Indians had been already prepared. In La Sallethey saw their champion against the Iroquois, thestanding terror of all this region. They gatheredround his stronghold like the timorous peasantry ofthe middle ages around the rock-built castle of theirfeudal lord. From the wooden ramparts of St.Louis, — for so he named his fort, — high and inaccessibleas an eagle's nest, a strange scene lay before hiseye.The broad, flat valley of the Illinois was spreadbeneath him like a map, bounded in the distance byits low wall of woody hills. The river wound at hisfeet in devious channels among islands bordered withlofty trees ; then, far on the left, flowed calmly westwardthrough the vast meadows, till its glimmeringblue ribbon was lost in hazy distance.There had been a time, and that not remote, whenthese fair meadows were a waste of death and desolation,scathed with fire, and strewn with the ghastlyrelics of an Iroquois victory. Now all was changed.La Salle looked down from his rock on a concourseof wild human life. Lodges of bark and rushes, orcabins of logs, were clustered on the open plain oralong the edges of the bordering forests. Squawslabored, warriors lounged in the sun, naked childrenwhooped and gambolled on the grass.Beyond theriver, a mile and a half on the left, the banks werestudded once more with the lodges of the Illinois,who, to the number of six thousand, had returned,since their defeat, to this their favorite dwelling-

316 ST LOUTS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1682.place. Scattered along the valley, among the adjacenthills, or over the neighboring prairie, were thecantonments of a half-score of other tribes and fragmentsof tribes, gathered under the protecting aegis ofthe French, — Shawanoes from the Ohio, Abenakisfrom Maine, Miamis from the sources of the Kankakee,with others whose barbarous names are hardly worththe record. 1 Nor were these La Salle's only dependiThis singular extemporized colony of La Salle, on the banks ofthe Illinois, is laid down in detail on the great map of La Salle'sdiscoveries, by Jean Baptiste Franquelin, finished in 1684. Therecan be no doubt that this part of the work is composed fromauthentic data. La Salle himself, besides others of his party, camedown from the Illinois in the autumn of 1683, and undoubtedlysupplied the young engineer with materials. The various Indianvillages, or cantonments, are all indicated, with the numberof warriors belonging to each, the aggregate corresponding verynearly with that of La Salle's report to the minister. The Illinois,properly so called, are set down at 1,200 warriors ; the Miamis, at1,300; the Shawanoes, at 200; the Ouiatnoens (Weas), at 500; thePeanqhiehia (Piankishaw) band, at 150 ; the Pepikokia, at 160 ; theKilatica, at 300; and the Ouabona, at 70, — in all, 3,880 warriors.A few others, probably Abenakis, lived in the fort.The Fort St. Louis is placed, on the map, at the exact site ofStarved Rock, and the Illinois village at the place where, as alreadymentioned (see 239), Indian remains in great quantities are yearlyploughed up. The Shawanoe camp, or village, is placed on thesouth side of the river, behind the fort. The country is here hilly,broken, and now, as in La Salle's time, covered with wood, which,however, soon ends in the open prairie. A short time since, theremains of a low, irregular earthwork of considerable extent werediscovered at the intersection of two ravines, about twenty-fourhundred feet behind, or south of, Starved Rock. The earthworkfollows the line of the ravines on two sides. On the east, there isan opening, or gateway, leading to the adjacent prairie. The workis very irregular in form, and shows no trace of the civilized engineerIn the stump of an oak-tree upon it, Dr. Paul counted a

1682.] LA SALLE'S COLONY. 317ante.By the terms of his patent, he held seigniorialrights over this wild domain; and he now began togrant it out in parcels to his followers.These, however,were as yet but a score, — a lawless band,trained in forest license, and marrying, as theirdetractors affirm, a new squaw every day in theweek.This was after their lord's departure, for hispresence imposed a check on these eccentricities.La Salle, in a memoir addressed to the Minister ofthe Marine, reports the total number of the Indiansaround Fort St.Louis at about four thousand warriors,or twenty thousand souls. His diplomacy hadhundred and sixty rings of annual growth. The village of theShawanoes (Chaouenons), on Franquelin's map, corresponds withthe position of this earthwork. I am indebted to the kindness ofDr. John Paul and Col. D. F. Hitt, the proprietor of StarvedRock, for a plan of these curious remains and a survey of theneighboring district. I must also express my obligations to Mr. W.E. Bowman, photographer at Ottawa, for views of Starved Rockand other features of the neighboring scenery.An interesting relic of the early explorers of this region wasfound a few years ago at Ottawa, six miles above Starved Rock, inthe shape of a small iron gun, buried several feet deep in the driftof the river. It consists of a welded tube of iron, about an inchand a half in calibre, strengthened by a series of thick iron rings,cooled on, after the most ancient as well as the most recent methodof making cannon. It is about fourteen inches long, the part nearthe muzzle having been burst off. The construction is very rude.Small field-pieces, on a similar principle, were used in the fourteenthcentury. Several of them may be seen at the Musee d'Artillerie atParis. In the time of Louis XIV., the art of casting cannon wascarried to a high degree of perfection. The gun in question mayhave been made by a French blacksmith on the spot. A far lessprobable supposition is, that it is a relic of some unrecorded visitof the Spaniards ; but the pattern of the piece would have beenantiquated, even in the time of De Soto.

318 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1682.been crowned with a marvellous success, — for whichhis thanks were due, first to the Iroquois, and theuniversal terror they inspired; next, to his ownaddress and unwearied energy. His colony hadsprung up, as it were, in a night; but might not anight suffice to disperse it?The conditions of maintaining it were twofold:first,he must give efficient aid to his savage colonistsagainst the Iroquois ; secondly, he must supply them•with French goods in exchange for their furs. Themen, arms, and ammunition for their defence, andthe goods for trading with them, must be broughtfrom Canada, until a better and surer avenue ofsupply could be provided through theentrepot whichhe meant to establish at the mouth of the Mississippi.Canada was full of his enemies ;but as long as CountFrontenac was in power, he was sure of support.Count Frontenac was in power no longer. He hadbeen recalled to France through the intrigues of theparty adverse to La Salle ;and Le Febvre de la Barrereigned in his stead.La Barre was an old naval officer of rank, advancedto a post for which he proved himself notably unfit.If he was without the arbitrary passions which hadbeen the chief occasion of the recall of his predecessor,he was no less without his energies and histalents. He showed a weakness and an avarice forwhich his age may have been in some measure answerable.He was no whit less unscrupulous than hispredecessor in his secret violation of the royal ordi*

1683.] LA SALLE AND LA BARRE. 319nances regulating the fur-trade, which it was hisduty to enforce.Like Frontenac, he took advantageof his position to carry on an illicit traffic with theIndians; but it was with different associates. Thelate governor's friends were the new governor's enemies; and La Salle, armed with his monopolies, wasthe object of his especial jealousy. 1Meanwhile, La Salle,buried in the western wilderness,remained for the time ignorant of La Barre'sdisposition towards him, and made an effort to securehis good-will and countenance. He wrote to himfrom his rock of St. Louis, early in the spring of1683, expressing the hope that he should have fromhim the same support as from Count Frontenac;" although, " he says, "my enemies will try to influenceyou against me."His attachment to Frontenac,he pursues, has been the cause of all the late governor'senemies turning against him. He thenrecounts his voyage down the Mississippi ;with twenty-two Frenchmen, he caused allsays that,the tribesalong the river to ask for peace ; and speaks of hisright under the royal patent to build forts anywherealong his route, and grant out lands around them,as at Fort Frontenac.1The royal instructions to La Barre, on his assuming the government,dated at Versailles, 10 May, 1682, require him to give nofurther permission to make journeys of discovery towards the Siouxand the Mississippi, as his Majesty thinks his subjects better employedin cultivating the land. The letter adds, however, that LaSalle is to be allowed to continue his discoveries, if they appear tobe useful. The same instructions are repeated in a letter of theMinister of the Marine to the new intendant of Canada, De Meules.

"320 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1683."My losses in my enterprises," he continues, "haveexceeded forty thousand crowns. I am now goingfour hundred leagues south-southwest of this place,to induce the Chickasaws to follow the Shawanoesand other tribes, and settle, like them, at St. Louis.It remained only to settle French colonists here,and this I have already done. I hope you will notdetain them as coureurs de hois, when they comedown to Montreal to make necessary purchases. Iam aware that I have no right to trade with thetribes who descend to Montreal, and I shall notpermit such trade to my men ;nor have I ever issuedlicenses to that effect, as my enemies say that I havedone." 1Again, on the fourth ofJune following, he writesto La Barre, from the Chicago portage, complainingthat some of his colonists, going to Montreal fornecessary supplies, have been detained by his enemies,and begging that they may be allowed to return, thathis enterprise may not be ruined. " The Iroquois,he pursues, "are again invading the country. Lastyear, theMiamis were so alarmed by them that theyabandoned their town and fled; but at my returnthey came back, and have been induced to settle withthe Illinois at my fort of St. Louis. The Iroquoishave lately murdered some familiesof their nation,and they are all in terror again. I am afraid theywill take flight, and so prevent the Missouris and1 Lettre de La Salle a La Barre, Fort St. Louis, 2 Avril, 1683.The above is condensed from passages in the original.

1683.] LA SALLE AND LA BARRE. 321neighboring tribes from coming to settle at St.as they are about to do.Louis," Some of the Hurons and French tell the Miamisthat I am keeping them here for the Iroquois todestroy. I pray that you will let me hear from you,that I may givethese people some assurances of protectionbefore they are destroyed in my sight. Donot suffer my men who have come down to the settlementsto be longer prevented from returning.Thereis great need here of reinforcements. The Iroquois,as I have said,have lately entered the country; anda great terror prevails. I have postponed going toMichilimackinac, because, if the Iroquois strike anyblow in my absence, the Miamis willthink that I amin league with them; whereas, if I and the Frenchstay among them, they will regard us as protectors.But, Monsieur, it is in vain that we risk our liveshere, and that I exhaust my means inorder to fulfilthe intentions of his Majesty, if all my measures arecrossed in the settlements below, and if those whogo down to bring munitions, without which wecannot defend ourselves, are detained under pretextstrumped up for the occasion. If I am preventedfrom bringing up men and supplies, as I am allowedto do by the permit of Count Frontenac, then mypatent from the King is useless. It would be veryhard for us, after having done what was required,even before the time prescribed, and after sufferingsevere losses, to have our efforts frustrated byobstacles got up designedly.21

322 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [168a" I trust that, as it lies with you alone to preventor to permit the return ofthe men whom I have sentdown, you will not so act as to thwart my plans.A part of the goods which I have sent by thembelong not to me, but to the Sieur de Tonty, andare a part of his pay. Others are to buy munitionsindispensable for our defence. Do not let my creditorsseize them. It is for their advantage that myfort,full as it is of goods, should be held against theenemy. I have only twenty men, with scarcely ahundred pounds of powder; and I cannot long holdthe country without more. The Illinois are verycapricious and uncertain.... If I had men enoughto send out to reconnoitre the enemy, I would havedone so before this ; but I have not enough. I trustyou will put it in my power to obtain more, thatthis important colony may be saved." 1While La Salle was thus writing to La Barre, LaBarre was writing to Seignelay, the Marine andColonial Minister, decrying his correspondent's discoveries,and pretending to doubt their reality."The Iroquois," he adds, "have sworn his [LaSalle's] death. The imprudence of this man is aboutto involve the colony in war." 2 And again he1 Lettre de La Salle a La Barre, Portage de Chicagou, 4 Juin, 1683.The substance of the letter is given above, in a condensed form.passage is omitted, in which La Salle expresses his belief that hisvessel, the " Griffin," had been destroyed, not by Indians, but bythe pilot, who, as he thinks, had been induced to sink her, and then,with some of the crew, attempted to join Du Lhut with theirplunder, but were captured by Indians on the Mississippi.2 Lettre de La Barre au Ministre, 14 Nov., 1682.A

1683] LA SALLE AND LA BARRE. 323writes, in the following spring, to say that La Sallewas with a score of vagabonds at Green Bay, wherehe set himself up as a king, pillaged his countrymen,and put them to ransom, exposed the tribes of theWest to the incursions of the Iroquois, and all underpretence of a patent from his Majesty, theprovisionsof which he grossly abused; but, as his privilegeswould expire on the twelfth of May ensuing, hewould then be forced tocome to Quebec, where hiscreditors, to whom he owed more than thirty thousandcrowns, were anxiously awaiting him. 1Finally, when La Barre received the two lettersfrom La Salle, of which the substance is given above,he sent copies of them to the Minister Seignelay,with the following comment :" By the copies of theSieur de la Salle's letters, you will perceive that hishead is turned, and that he has been bold enough togive you intelligence of a false discovery, and that,instead of returning to the colony to learn what theKing wishes him todo, he does not come near me,but keeps in the backwoods, five hundred leaguesoff, with the idea of attracting the inhabitants tohim, and building up an imaginary kingdom for himself,by debauching all the bankrupts and idlers ofthis country. If you will look at the two letters Ihad from him, you can judge the character of thispersonage better than I can. Affairs with the1 Lettre de La Barre au Ministre, 30 Avril, 1688. La Salle hadspent the winter, not at Green Bay, as this slanderous letter declares, but in the Illinois country.

:324 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1683lIroquois are in such a state that I cannot allow himto muster alltheir enemies together and put himselfat their head. All the men who brought me newsfrom him have abandoned him, and say not a wordabout returning, but sellthe furs they have brought asif they were their own; so that he cannot hold hisground much longer." 1 Such calumnies had theireffect. The enemies of La Salle had already gainedthe ear of the King ; and he had written in August,from Fontainebleau, tohis new governor of Canada"I am convinced, like you, that the discovery of theSieur de la Salle is very useless, and that such enterprisesought to be prevented in future, as they tendonly to debauch the inhabitants by the hope of gain,and to diminish the revenue from beaver-skins." 2In order to understand the posture of affairs at thistime, it must be remembered that Dutch and Englishtraders ofNew York were urging on the Iroquois toattack the western tribes,through their conquest, thewith the object of gaining,control of the fur-tradeof the interior, and diverting it from Montreal toAlbany. The scheme was full of danger to Canada,which the loss of the trade would have ruined. LaBarre and his associates were greatly alarmed at it.Its complete success would have been fatal to theirhopes of profit ; but they nevertheless wished it sucha measure of success as would ruin their rival, LaSalle. Hence, no little satisfaction mingled with1 Lettre de La Barre au Ministre, 4 Nov., 1683.* Lettre du Roy a La Barre, 5 Aout, 1683.

1683.] A NEW ALARM. 325their anxiety when they heard that the Iroquois wereagain threatening to invade the Miamis and theIllinois; and thus La Barre, whose duty it wasstrenuously to oppose the intrigue of the English,and use every effort to quiet the ferocious bandswhom they were hounding against the Indian alliesof the French, was, in fact, but half-hearted in thework. He cut off La Salle from all supplies;detained the men whom he sent for succor;and, at aconference with the Iroquois, told them that theywere welcome to plunder and kill him. 1The old governor, and the unscrupulous ring withwhich he was associated, now took a step towhichhe was doubtless emboldened by the tone of theKing's letter, in condemnation of La Salle's enterprise.He resolved to seize Fort Frontenac, the propertyof La Salle, under the pretext that the latterhad not fulfilled the conditions of the grant, andhad not maintained a sufficient garrison. 2 Two of1Memoire pour rendre compte a Monseigneur le Marquis de Seignelayde l']£tat ou le Sieur de Lasalle a laisse le Fort Frontenac pendantle temps de sa decouverte. On La Barre's conduct, see " Count Frontenacand New France under Louis XIV." chap. v.2La Salle, when at Mackinaw, on his way to Quebec, in 1682,had been recalled to the Illinois, as we have seen, by a threatenedIroquois invasion. There is before me a copy of a letter which hethen wrote to Count Frontenac, begging him to send up moresoldiers to the fort, at his (La Salle's) expense. Frontenac, beingabout to sail for France, gave this letter to his newly arrived successor,La Barre, who, far from complying with the request, withdrewLa Salle's soldiers already at the fort, and then made itsdefenceless state a pretext for seizing it. This statement is madein the memoir addressed to Seignelay, before cited.

;326 ST. LOUIS OF THE ILLINOIS. [1683.his associates, La Chesnaye and Le Ber, armed withan order from him, went up and took possession,despite the remonstrances of La Salle's creditors andmortgagees; lived on La Salle's stores, sold for theirown profit, and (it is said) that of La Barre, theprovisions sent by the King, and turned in the cattleto pasture on the growing crops. La Forest, LaSalle's lieutenant, was told that he might retain thecommand of the fort if he would join the associatesbut he refused, and sailed in the autumn for France. 1Meanwhile La Salle remained at the Illinois inextreme embarrassment, cut off from supplies, robbedof his men who had gone to seek them, and disabledfrom fulfillingthe pledges he had given to the surroundingIndians. Such was his position, whenreports came to Fort St.at hand.Louis that the Iroquois wereThe Indian hamlets were wild with terror,beseeching him for succor which he had no power togive. Happily, the report proved false. No Iroquoisappeared; thethreatened attack was postponed, andthe summer passed away in peace. But La Salle'sposition, with the governor hisintolerable and untenable ;declared enemy, wasand there was no resourcebut in the protection of the court. Early in theautumn, he left Tonty in command of the rock, badefarewell to his savage retainers, and descended toQuebec, intending to sail for France.On his way, he met the Chevalier de Baugis, an1These are the statements of the memorial addressed in LaSalle's behalf to the minister, Seignelay.

1683.] LA SALLE SAILS FOR FRANCE. 327officer of the King's dragoons, commissioned by LaBarre to take possession of Fort St. Louis, and bearingletters from the governor ordering La Salle tocome to Quebec, — a superfluous command, as hewas then on his way thither. He smothered hiswrath, and wrote to Tonty to receive De Baugiswell. The chevalier and his party proceeded to theIllinois,and took possession of the fort, — De Baugiscommanding for the governor, while Tonty remainedas representative of La Salle. The two officers couldnot live in harmony ;but, with the return of spring,each found himself in sore need of aid from theother. Towards the end of March the Iroquoisattacked their citadel, and besieged it for six days,but at length withdrew discomfited, carrying withthem a number of Indian prisoners, most of whomescaped from their clutches. 1Meanwhile, La Salle had sailed for France.1Tonty, 1684, 1693 ; Lettre de La Barre au Minittre, 6 Juin, 1684 ;Ibid., 9 Juillet, 1684.

CHAPTER XXII.1680-1683.LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF.Difficulty of knowing him ; his Detractors ; his Letters ;vexations of his position ; hi8 unfitness for trade ; risksof Correspondence ; his Reported Marriage ; alleged Ostentation; motives of Action ; charges of Harshness ;intrigues against him j unpopular manners j a strangeConfession; his Strength and his Weakness; contrastsof his Character.We have seen La Salle in his acts. While hecrosses the sea, let us look at him in himself. Fewmen knew him, even of those who saw him most.Reserved and self-contained as he was, with littlevivacity or gayety or love of pleasure, he was asealed book to those about him. His daring energyand endurance were patent to all; but the motiveforces that urged him, and the influences thatwrought beneath the surface of his character, werehidden where few eyes could pierce. His enemieswere free to make their own interpretations, and theydid not fail to use the opportunity.The interests arrayed against him were incessantlyat work. His men were persuaded to desert androb him; the Iroquois were told that he was arming

;1680-83.] CHARGES AGAINST LA SALLE. 329the western tribes against them; the western tribeswere told that he was betraying them to the Iroquoishis proceedings were denounced to the court; andcontinual efforts were made to alienate his associates.They, on their part, sore as they were from disappointmentand loss, were in a mood to listen to theaspersions cast upon him; and they pestered himwith letters, asking questions, demanding explanations,and dunning him for money. It is through hisanswers that we are best able to judge him ; and attimes, by those touches of nature which make thewhole world kin, they teach us to know him and tofeel for him.The main chargesagainst him were that he was acrack-brained schemer, that he was harsh to his men,that he traded where he had no right to trade, andthat his discoveries were nothing but a pretence formaking money. No accusations appear that touchhis integrity or his honor.It was hard to convince those who were alwayslosing by him. A remittance of good dividendswould have been his best answer, and would havemade any other answer needless; but, instead ofbills of exchange, he had nothing to give but excusesand explanations. In the autumn of 1680, he wroteto an associate who had demanded thelong-deferredprofits: "I have had many misfortunes in the lasttwo years. In the autumn of '78, I lost a vessel bythe fault of the pilot; in the next summer, thedeserters I told you about robbed me of eight or ten

830 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-83.thousand livres' worth of goods.In the autumn of'79, I lost a vessel worth more than ten thousandcrowns; in the next spring, five or six rascals stolethe value of five or six thousand livres in goods andbeaver-skins, at the Illinois, when I was absent.Two other men of mine, carrying furs worth four orfive thousand livres, were killed or drowned in theSt. Lawrence, and the furs were lost. Anotherrobbed me of three thousand livres in beaver- skinsstored at Michilimackinac. This last spring, I lostabout seventeen hundred livres' worth of goods bythe upsetting of a canoe. Last winter, the fort andbuildings at Niagara were burned by the fault of thecommander; and in the spring the deserters, whopassed that way, seized a part of the property thatremained, and escaped to New York. All this doesnot discourage me in the least, and will only deferfor a year or two the returns ofprofit which you askfor this year. These losses are no more my faultthan the loss of the ship 4 St. Joseph ' was yours. Icannot be everywhere, and cannot help making useof the people of the country."He begs his correspondent to send out an agent ofhis own." He need not be very savant, but he mustbe faithful, patient of labor, and fond neither ofgambling, women, nor good cheer; for he will findnone of these with me. Trusting in what he willwrite you, you may close your ears to what priestsand Jesuits tell you."After having put matters in good trim for trade I

1680-83.] VEXATION'S OF HIS POSITION. 331mean to withdraw, though I think it will be veryprofitable; for I am disgusted to find that I mustalways be making excuses, which is a part I cannotplay successfully. I am utterly tired of this business; for I see that it is not enough to put propertyand life in constant peril, but that it requires morepains to answer envy and detraction than to overcomethe difficulties inseparable from my undertaking."And he makes a variety of proposals, by which hehopes to get rid of a part of his responsibility to hiscorrespondent. He begs him again to send out aconfidential agent, saying that for his part he doesnot want to have any account to render, except thatwhich he owes to the court, of his discoveries. Headds, strangely enough for a man burdened withsuch liabilities, "I have neither the habit nor theinclination to keep books, nor have I anybody withme who knows how." He says to another correspondent,"I think, like you, that partnerships inbusiness are dangerous, on account of the little practiceI have in these matters." It is not surprisingthat he wanted to leave his associates to managebusiness for themselves :" You know that this tradeis good; and with a trusty agent to conduct it foryou, you run no risk. As for me, I will keep thecharge of the forts, the command of posts and ofmen, the management of Indians and Frenchmen,and the establishment of the colony, which willremain my property, leaving your agent and mine to

"332 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-83.look after our interests,and drawing my half withouthaving any hand in what belongs to you/'La Salle was a very indifferent trader; and his heartwas not in the commercial part of his enterprise./He aimed at achievement, and thirsted after greatness.His ambition was to found another France in). the West ; and if he meant to govern it also, — as/ without doubt he did, — it is not a matter of wonderor of blame. His misfortune was, that, in the pursuitof a great design, he was drawn intocomplicationsof business with which he was ill fitted to grapple.He had not the instinct of the successful merchant.He dared too much, and often dared unwisely;attempted more than he could grasp, and forgot, inhis sanguine anticipations, to reckon with enormousand incalculable risks.Except in the narrative parts, his letters are ramblingand unconnected, — which isnatural enough,written, as they were, at odd moments, by camp-firesand among Indians. The style is crude ; and beingwell aware of this, he disliked writing, especially asthe risk was extreme that his letters would miss theirdestination. " There is too little good faith in thiscountry, and too many people on the watch, for meto trust anybody with what I wish to send you.Even sealed letters are not too safe. Not only arethey liable to be lost or stopped by the way, but evensuch asescape the curiosity of spies lie at Montreal,waiting a long time to be forwarded.Again, he writes ": I cannot pardon myself for the

1680-83.] HIS LETTERS INTERCEPTED. 333stoppage of my letters, though I made every effortto make them reach you. I wrote to you in '79 (inAugust), and sent my letters to M. de la Forest,who gave them in good faith to my brother. I don'tknow what he has done with them. I wrote youanother, by the vessel that was lost last year.I senttwo canoes, by two different routes; but the windand the rain were so furious that they wintered onthe way, and I found my letters at the fort on myreturn. I now send you one of them, which I wrotelast year to M. Thouret, in which you will find afull account of what passed, from the time whenwe left the outlet of Lake Erie down to the sixteenthof August, 1680. What preceded was told at fulllength in the letters my brother has seen fit tointercept."This brother was the Sulpitian priest, JeanCavelier, who had been persuaded that La Salle'senterprise would be ruinous, and therefore set himselfsometimes to stop it altogether, and sometimesto manage it in his own way." His conduct towardsme," says La Salle, "has always been so strange,through the small love he bears me, that it was cleargain for me when he went away; since while hestayed he did nothing but cross all my plans, whichI was forced to change every moment to suit hiscaprice."There was one point on which the interference ofhis brother and of his correspondents was peculiarlyannoying. They thought it for their interest that he

"334 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-83should remain a single man ; whereas, it seems thathis devotion to his purpose was not so engrossing asto exclude more tender subjects. He writes —:" I am told that you have been uneasy about mypretended marriage. I had not thought about it atthat time ; and I shall not make any engagement ofthe sort till I have given you reason to be satisfiedwith me. It is a little extraordinary that I mustrender account of a matter which is free to all theworld." In fine, Monsieur, it is only as an earnest of somethingmore substantial that I write to you so muchat length. I do not doubt that you will hereafterchange the ideas about me which some persons wishto give you, and that you will be relieved of theanxiety which all that has happened reasonablycauses you. I have written this letter at more thantwenty different times ; and I am more than a hundredand fifty leagues from where I began it. Ihave still two hundred more to get over, beforereaching the Illinois. I am taking with me twentyfivemen tothe relief of the six or seven who remainwith the Sieur de Tonty.This was the journey which ended in that scene ofhorror at the ruined town of the Illinois.To the same correspondent, pressing him for dividends,he says: "You repeat continually that youwill not be satisfied unless I make you largereturnsof profit. Though I have reason to thank you forwhat you have done for this enterprise, it seems to

1680-83.] CHARGED WITH OSTENTATION. 335me that I have done still more, since I have puteverything at stake ; and it would be hard to reproachme either with foolish outlays or with the ostentationwhich is falsely imputed to me. Let my accusersexplain what they mean. Since I have been in thiscountry, I have had neither servants nor clothesfare which did not savor more ofnormeanness than ofostentation; and the moment I see that there is anythingwith which either you or the court find fault, Iassure you that I will give it up, — for the life I amleading has no other attraction for me than that ofhonor; and the more danger and difficulty there isin undertakings of this sort, the more worthy ofhonor Ithink they are."His career attests the sincerity of these words.They are a momentary betrayal of the deep enthu- /siasm of character which may be read in his life, butto which he rarely allowed the faintest expression."Above all," he continues, "if you want me tokeep on, do not compel me to reply to all the questionsand fancies of priests and Jesuits. They havemore leisure than I ; and I am not subtle enough toanticipate all their empty stories. I could easilygive you the information you ask ;but I have a rightto expect that you will not believe all you hear, norrequire me to prove to you that I am not a madman.That is the first point to which you should have attended,before having business with me ; and in ourlong acquaintance, either you must have found meout, or else I must have had long intervals of sanity."

;836 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-85To another correspondent he defends himselfagainst the charge of harshness to his men: "Thefacility I am said to want is out of place with thissort of people, who are libertines for the most partand to indulge them means to tolerate blasphemy,drunkenness, lewdness, and a license incompatiblewith any kind of order. It will not be found that Ihave inany case whatever treated any man harshly,except for blasphemies and other such crimes openlycommitted. These I cannot tolerate: first, becausesuch compliance would give grounds for anotheraccusation, much more just; secondly, because, if Iallowed such disorders to become habitual, it wouldbe hard to keep the men in subordination and obedience,as regards executing the work I am commissionedto do; thirdly, because the debaucheries,too common with this rabble, are the source of endlessdelays and frequent thieving; and, finally,because I am a Christian, and do not want to bearthe burden of their crimes." What is said about my servants has not even ashow of truth ; for I use no servants here, and all mymen are on the same footing. I grant that as thosewho have lived with me are steadier and give me noreason to complain oftheir behavior, I treat them asgently as I should treat the others if they resembledthem , and as those who were formerly my servantsare the only ones I can trust, I speak more openly tothem than to the rest, who are generally spies of myenemies. The twenty-two men who deserted and

1680-83.] INTRIGUES AGAINST HIM. 33?robbed me are not to be believed on their word,deserters and thieves as they are. They are readyenough to find some pretext for their crime ; and itneeds as unjust a judge as the intendant to promptsuch rascals to enter complaints against a person towhom he had given a warrant to arrest them. But,to show the falsity ofthese charges, Martin Chartier,who was one of those who excited the rest to do asthey did, was never with me at all ; and the rest hadmade their plot before seeing me." And he proceedsto relate, in great detail, a variety of circumstancesto prove that his men had been instigated first todesert, and then to slander him; adding, "Thosewho remain with me are the first I had, and theyhave not left me for six years."" I have a hundred other proofs of the bad counselgiven to these deserters, and will produce them whenwanted; but as they themselves are the only witnessesof the severity they complain of, while thewitnesses of theircrimes are unimpeachable, why amI refused the justice I demand, and why is theirsecret escape connived at?" I do not know what you mean by having popularimanners. There is nothing special in my food,clothing, or lodging, which are all the same for meas for my men. How can it be that I do not talkwith them? I have no other company. M. deTonty has often found fault with me because Istopped too often to talk with them. You do notknow the men one must employ here, when you22

338 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-83.exhort me to make merry with them. They areincapable of that ; for they are never pleased, unlessone gives free rein to their drunkenness and othervices. If that is what you call having popularmanners, neither honor nor inclination would let mestoop to gain their favor in a way so disreputable ?and, besides,the consequences would be dangerous,and they would have the same contempt for me thatthey have for all who treat them in this fashion." You write me that even my friends say that I amnot a man of popular manners.I do not know whatfriends they are. I know of none in this country.To all appearance they are enemies, more subtle andsecret than the rest. I make no exceptions; for Iknow that those who seem to give me support donot do it out of love for me, but because they are insome sort bound in honor, and that in their heartsthey think I have dealt ill with them. M. Plet willtell you what he has heard about it himself, and thereasons they have to give. 1I have seen it for a longtime; and these secret stabs they give me show itvery plainly. After that, it is not surprising that Iopen my mind to nobody, and distrust everybody.have reasons that I cannot write." For the rest, Monsieur, pray be well assured thatthe information you are so good as to give me isI1His cousin, Francois Plet, was in Canada in 1680, where, withLa Salle's approval, he carried on the trade of Fort Frontenac, inorder to indemnify himself for money advanced. La Salle alwaysspeaks of him with esteem and gratitude.

1680-88.] HIS MANNERS. 339received with a gratitude equal to the genuine friendshipfrom which it proceeds; and, however unjustare the charges made against me, I should be muchmore unjust myself if I did not feel that I have asmuch reason to thank you for telling me of them aaI have to complain of others for inventing them." As for what you say about my look and manner,I myself confess that you are not far from right.But naturam expellas ;and if I am wanting in expansivenessand show of feeling towards those withwhom I associate, it is only through a timidity whichis natural to me, and which has made me leave variousemployments, vjhere 'without it I could have succeeded^But as I judged myself ill-fittedfor them on accountof this defect, I have chosen a life more suited tomy solitary disposition; which, nevertheless, doesnot make me harsh to my people, though, joined toa life among savages, it makes me, perhaps, lesspolished and complaisant than the atmosphere ofParis requires. I well believe that there is self-lovein this; and that, knowing how little I am accustomedto a more polite life, the fear of making mistakesmakes me more reserved than I like to be. SoI rarely expose myself towhose company I am afraid ofconversation with those inmaking blunders, andcan hardly help making them. Abbe' Renaudotknows with what repugnance I had the honor toappear before Monseigneur de Conti ;and sometimesit took me a week to make up my mind to go to theaudience, — that is, when I had time to think about

;v/340 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-83.myself, and was not driven by pressing business. Itis much the same with letters, which I never writeexcept when pushed to it, and for the same reason.It is a defect of which I shall never rid myself aslong as I live, often as it spites me against myself,and often as I quarrel with myself about it."Here is a strange confession for a man like LaSalle. Without doubt, the timidity of which heaccuses himself had some of its roots in pride ; butnot the less was his pride vexed and humbled by it.It is surprising that, being what he was, he couldhave brought himself to such an avowal under anycircumstances or any pressure of distress. Shynessa morbid fear of committing himself; and incapacityto express, and much more to simulate, feeling, — atrait sometimes seen in those with whom feeling ismost deep, — are strange ingredients in the characterof a man who had grappled sodauntlessly with lifeon its harshest and rudest side. They were deplorabledefects for one in his position. He lacked thatsympathetic power, the inestimable gift of the trueleader of men, in which lies the difference between awilling and a constrained obedience. This solitarybeing, hiding his shyness under a cold reserve, couldrouse no enthusiasm in his followers. He lived inthe purpose which he had made a part of himself,nursed his plans in secret, and seldom asked oraccepted advice. He trusted himself, and learnedmore and more to trust no others. One may fairlyinfer that distrust was natural to him? but the

1680-83.] HIS STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS. 341inference may possibly be wrong. Bitter experiencehad schooled him to it ; for he lived among snares,pitfalls, and intriguing enemies. He began to doubteven the associates who, under representations hehad made them in perfect good faith, had stakedtheir money on his enterprise, and lost it, or werelikely to lose it. They pursued him with advice andcomplaint, and half believed that he was what hismaligners called him, — a visionary or a madman.It galled him that they had suffered for their trustin him, and that they had repented their trust. His /lonely and shadowed nature needed the mellowing vsunshine of success, and his whole life was a fightwith adversity.All that appears to the eye is his intrepid conflictwith obstacles without; but this, perhaps, was nomore arduous than the invisible and silent strife ofa nature at war with itself, — the pride, aspiration,and bold energy that lay at the base of his character ybattling against the superficial weakness that mortifiedand angered him. In such a man, the effect ofsuch an infirmity is to concentrate and intensify theforce within. In one form or another, discordantnatures are common enough; but very rarely is theAndantagonism so irreconcilable as it was in him.the greater the antagonism, the greater the pain.There are those in whom the sort of timidity fromwhich he suffered is matched with no quality thatstrongly revolts against it. These gentle natures mayat least have peace, but for him there was no peace.

;/342 LA SALLE PAINTED BY HIMSELF. [1680-83.Cavelier de La Salle stands in history like a statuecast in iron ; but his own unwilling pen betrays theman, and reveals in the stern, sad figure an object ofhuman interest and pity. 11 The following is the character of La Salle, as drawn by hi*friend, Abbe Bernou, in a memorial to the minister Seignelay :" IIest irreprochable dans ses moeurs, regie dans sa conduite, et quiyeut de l'ordre parmy ses gens.II est savant, judicieux, politique,vigilant, infatigable, sobre, et intrepide. II entend suffisamentl'architecture civile, militaire, et navale ainsy que l'agricultureil parle ou entend quatre ou cinq langues desSauvages, et a beaucoupde facilite pour apprendre les autres. II scait toutes leursmanieres et obtient d'eux tout ce qu'il veut par son adresse, par soneloquence, et parce qu'il est beaucoup estime' d'eux. Dans sesvoyages il ne fait pas meilleure chere que le moindre de ses genset se donne plus de peine que pas un pour les encourager, et il y alieu de croire qu'avec la protection de Monseigneur il fondera descolonies plus considerables que toutes celles que les Francois ontetablies jusqu'a present." — Memoire pour Monseigneur le Marquis deSeignelay, 1682 (Margry, ii. 277).The extracts given in the foregoing chapter are from La Salle'slong letters of 29 Sept., 1680, and 22 Aug., 1682 (1681?). Both areprinted in the second volume of the Margry collection, and theoriginals of both are in the Bibliotheque Nationale. The latterseems to have been written to La Salle's friend, Abbe Bernou ; andthe former, to a certain M. Thouret.

CHAPTER XXIII.1684.A NEW ENTERPRISE.La Salle at Court : his Proposals. — Occupation of Louisiana— Invasion of Mexico. — Royal Favor. — Preparation. — ADivided Command. — Beaujeu and La Salle. — MentalCondition of La Salle : his Farewell to his Mother.When La Salle reached Paris, he went to his oldlodgings in Rue de la Truanderie, and, it is likelyenough, thought for an instant of the adventures andvicissitudes he had passed since he occupied thembefore. Another ordeal awaited him. He mustconfront, not painted savages with tomahawk andknife, but — what he shrank from more — the courtlythrongs that still live and move in the pages ofSe>igne* and Saint-Simon.The news of his discovery and the rumor of hisschemes were the talk of a moment among thecourtiers, and then were forgotten. It was not sowith their master. La Salle's friends and patronsdid not fail him. A student and a recluse in hisyouth, and a backwoodsman inwhat was tohis manhood, he hadhim the formidable honor of an interviewwith royalty itself, and stood with such phi*

;344 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684losophy as he could command before the gildedarm-chair, where, majestic and awful, the power ofFrance sat embodied. The King listened to all hesaid; but the results of the interview were kept sosecret that it was rumored in the ante-chambers thathis proposals had been rejected. 1On the contrary, they had met with more thanfavor. The moment was opportune for La Salle.The King had long been irritated against theSpaniards, because they not only excluded hissubjectsfrom their American ports, but forbade themto enter the Gulf of Mexico. Certain Frenchmenwho had sailed on this forbidden sea had been seizedand imprisoned; and more recently a small vessel ofthe royal navy had been captured for the sameoffence. This had drawn from the King a declarationthat every sea should be, free to allhis subjectsand Count d'Estrees was sent with a squadron tothe Gulf, to exact satisfaction of the Spaniards, orfight them if they refused it. 2 This was in time ofpeace. War had since arisen between the twocrowns, and brought with it the opportunity of settlingthe question forever. In order to do so, theminister Seignelay, like his father Colbert, proposedto establish a French port on the Gulf, as a permanentmenace to the Spaniards and a basis of future1LeUres de VAbU Tronson, 8 Avril, 10 Avril, 1684 (Margry, ii.354).2 Lettres du Roy et du Ministre sur la Navigation du Golfe duMexique, 1669-1682 (Margry, iii. 3-14).

J 684.] LA SALLE'S PROPOSALS. 345conquest.It was in view of this plan that La Salle'spast enterprises had been favored ;he now made were in perfect accord with it.and the proposalsThese proposals were set forth in two memorials.The first of them states that the late MonseigneurColbert deemed it important for the service of hisMajesty to discover a port in the Gulf of Mexico;that to this end the memorialist, La Salle,made fivejourneys of upwards of five thousand leagues, ingreat part on foot; and traversed more than sixhundred leagues of unknown country, among savagesand cannibals, at the cost of a hundred and fiftythousand francs. He now proposes to return byway ot the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of theMississippi to the countries he has discovered,whence great benefits may be expected: first, thecause of God may be advanced by the preaching ofthe gospel to many Indian tribes; and, secondly,great conquests may be effected for the glory of theKing, by the seizure of provinces rich in silvermines, and defended only by a few indolent andeffeminate Spaniards. The Sieur de la Salle, pursuesthe memorial, binds himself to be ready for theaccomplishment of this enterprise within one yearafter his arrival on the spot; and he asks for thispurpose only one vessel and two hundred men,with their arms, munitions, pay, and maintenance.When Monseigneur shall direct him, he will givethe details of what he proposes. The memorial thendescribes the boundless extent, the fertility and

346 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.resources of the country watered by the river Colbert,or Mississippi; the necessity of guarding it againstforeigners, who will be eager to seize it now that LaSalle's discovery has made it known; and the easewith which it may be defended by one or two forts ata proper distance above its mouth, which would formthe key to an interior region eight hundred leagues inextent."Should foreigners anticipate us," he adds," they will complete the ruin of New France, whichthey already hem in by their establishments of Virginia,Pennsylvania, New England, and Hudson's Bay." 1The second memorial is more explicit.The place,it says, which the Sieur de la Salle proposes tofortify, is on the river Colbert, or Mississippi, sixtyleagues above its mouth, where the soil isvery fertile,the climate very mild, and whence we, the French,may control the continent, — since, the river beingnarrow, we could defend ourselves by means offireshipsagainst a hostile fleet, while the position isexcellent both forattacking an enemy or retreatingin case of need. The neighboring Indians detestthe Spaniards, but love the French, having been wonover by the kindness of the Sieur de la Salle. Wecould form of them an army of more than fifteenthousand savages, who, supported by the French andAbenakis, followers of the Sieur de la Salle, couldeasily subdue the province of New Biscay (the mostnorthern province of Mexico), where there are but1Memoir e du S r -de la Salle, pour rendre compte a Monseigneur deSeignelay de la dScouverte qu'il afaite par I'ordre de sa Majeste,

1684.J LA SALLE'S PROPOSALS. 347four hundred Spaniards, more fit to work the minesthan to fight. On the north of New Biscay lie vastforests, extending to the river Seignelay 1 (RedRiver), which isbut forty or fifty leagues from theSpanish province. This river affords the means ofattacking it to great advantage.In view of these facts, pursues the memorial, theSieur de la Salle offers, if the war with Spain continues,to undertake this conquest with two hundredmen from France. He will take on his way fiftybuccaneers at St. Domingo, and direct the fourthousand Indian warriors at Fort St. Louis of theIllinois to descend the river and join him. He willseparate his force into three divisions, and attack atthesame time the centre and the two extremities ofthe province. To accomplish this great design, heasks only for a vessel of thirty guns, a few cannonfor the forts, and power to raise in France two hundredsuch men as he shall think fit, to be armed,paid, and maintained six months at the King'scharge. And the Sieur de la Salle binds himself, ifthe execution ofthis plan is prevented for more thanthree years, by peace with Spain, to refund to hisMajesty all the costs of the enterprise, on pain offorfeiting the government of the ports he will haveestablished. 21This name, also given to the Illinois, is used to designate RedRiver on the map of Franquelin, where the forests above mentionedare represented.2Memoire du S r -de la Salle sur VEntreprise qu'il a propose dMonseigneur le Marquis de Seignelay sur une des provinces de Mexigue,

;848 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.Such, in brief, was the substance of this singularproposition. And, first, it is to be observed that it isbased on a geographical blunder, the nature of whichis explained by the map of La Salle's discoveriesmade in this very year. Here the river Seignelay,or Red River, is represented as running parallel tothe northern border of Mexico, and at no great distancefrom it, — the region now called Texas beingalmost entirely suppressed. According to the map,New Biscay might be reached from this river in afew days ;and, after crossing the intervening forests,/the coveted mines of Ste. Barbe, or Santa Barbara,would be within striking distance. 1 That La Sallebelieved in the possibility of invading the Spanishprovince of New Biscay from Red River there can beno doubt ; neither can it reasonably be doubted thathe hoped at some future day to make the attemptand yet it is incredible that a man in his sober sensescould have proposed this scheme with the intentionof attempting to execute it at the time and in themanner which he indicates. 2 This memorial bearsi Both the memorial and the map represent the banks of RedRiver as inhabited by Indians, called Terliquiquimechi, and knownto the Spaniards as Indios bravos, or Indios de guerra. The Spaniards,it is added, were in great fear of them, as they made frequentinroads into Mexico. La Salle's Mexican geography was in allrespects confused and erroneous ;nor was Seignelay better informed.Indeed, Spanish jealousy placed correct information beyond theirreach.2While the plan, as proposed in the memorial, was clearly impracticable,the subsequent experience of the French in Texastended to prove that the tribes of that region could be used with

1684.] LA SALLE'S PLANS. 349some indications of being drawn up inorder to produce a certain effect on the minds of the King andhis minister. La Salle's immediate necessity was toobtain from them the means for establishing a fortand a colony within the mouth of the Mississippi.This was essential to his own plans; nor did he inthe least exaggerate the value of such an establishmentto the French nation, and the importance ofanticipating other powers in the possession of it.But he thought that he needed a more glittering lureto attract the eyes of Louis and Seignelay ;and thus,it may be, he held before them, in a definite andtangible form, the project ofSpanish conquest whichhad haunted his imagination from youth, — trustingthat the speedy conclusion of peace, which actuallytook place, would absolve him from the immediateexecution of the scheme, and give him time, with themeans placed at his disposal, to mature his plans andprepare for eventual action. Such a procedure maybe charged with indirectness ;but there is a differentexplanation, which we shall suggest hereafter, andwhich implies no such reproach. 1advantage in attacking the Spaniards of Mexico, and that an inroadon a comparatively small scale might have been successfullymade with their help. In 1689, Tonty actually made the attempt,as we shall see, but failed, from the desertion of his men. In 1697,the Sieur de Louvigny wrote to the Minister of the Marine, askingto complete La Salle's discoveries, and invade Mexico from Texas.(Lettre de M. de Louvigny, 14 Oct., 1697.) In an unpublished memoirof the year 1700, the seizure of the Mexican mines is given as oneof the motives of the colonization of Louisiana.*Another scheme, with similar aims, but much more practicable.

;350 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.Even with thia madcap enterprise lopped off, LaSalle's scheme of Mississippitrade and colonization,perfectly sound in itself, was too vast for an individual,— above all, for one crippled and crushedwith debt. While he grasped one link of the greatchain, another, no less essential, escaped from hishand ;while he built up a colony on the Mississippi,it was reasonably certain that evil would befall hisdistant colony of the Illinois.The glittering project which he now unfoldedfound favor in the eyes of the King and his ministerfor both were in the flush of an unparalleled success,and looked in the future, as in the past, for nothingbut triumphs. They granted more than the petitionerasked, as indeed they well might, if theyexpected the accomplishment of all that he proposedwas at this very time before the court. Count Penalossa, a SpanishCreole, born in Peru, had been governor of New Mexico, where hefell into a dispute with the Inquisition, which involved him in theloss of property, and for a time of liberty. Failing to obtain redressin Spain, he renounced his allegiance in disgust, and soughtrefuge in France, where, in 1682, he first proposed to the King theestablishment of a colony of French buccaneers at the mouth ofRio Bravo, on the Gulf of Mexico. In January, 1684, 'after thewar had broken out, he proposed to attack the Spanish town ofPanuco, with twelve hundred buccaneers from St. Domingo ; thenmarch into the interior, seize the mines, conquer Durango, andoccupy New Mexico. It was proposed to combine his plan withthat of La Salle ; but the latter, who had an interview with him,expressed distrust, and showed characteristic reluctance to accepta colleague. It is extremely probable, however, that his knowledgeofPenalossa's original proposal had some influence in stimulatinghim to lay before the court proposals of his own, equallyattractive.Peace was concluded before the plans of the Spanishadventurer could be carried into effect.

1684.] LA BARRE REBUKED. 351to attempt.La Forest, La Salle's lieutenant, ejectedfrom Fort Frontenac by La Barre, was now at Paris;and he was despatched to Canada, empowered toreoccupy, in La Salle's name, both Fort Frontenacand Fort St. Louis of the Illinois. The King himselfwrote to La Barre in a strain that must havesent a cold thrill through the veins of that official."I hear," he says, "that you have taken possessionof Fort Frontenac, the property of the Sieur de laSalle, driven away his men, suffered his land to runto waste, and even told the Iroquois that they mightseize him as an enemy of the colony." He adds,that, if this is true, La Barre must make reparationfor the wrong, and place all La Salle's property, aswell as his men, in the hands of the Sieur de laForest, "as I am satisfied that Fort Frontenac wasnot abandoned, as you wrote to me that it hadbeen." 1 Four days later, he wrote to the intendantof Canada, Meules, to the effect that the bearer, LaForest, is to suffer no impediment, and that La Barreis to surrender to him without reserve all thatbelongs to La Salle. 2 Armed with this letter, LaForest sailed for Canada. 8i Lettre du Roy d La Barre, Versailles, 10 Avril, 1684.2 Lettre du Roy d De Meules, Versailles, 14 Avril, 1684. Seignelaywrote to De Meules to the same effect.* On La Forest's mission, — Memoire pour representer a Afonseigneurle Marquis de Seignelay la necessite d'envoyer le S r - de la Foresten diligence h la Nouvelle France ; Lettre du Roy a La Barre, 14 Avril,1684; Ibid., 31 Oct., 1684.There is before me a promissory note of La Salle to La Forest,of 5,200 livres, dated at Rochelle, 17 July, 1684 This seems to be

352 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.A chief object of his mission, as it was representedto Seignelay, was, not only to save the colony attheIllinois from being broken up by La Barre, but alsoto collect La Salle's scattered followers, muster thesavage warriors around the rock of St. Louis, andlead the whole down the Mississippi, to co-operatein the attack on New Biscay. If La Salle meantthat La Forest should seriously attempt to executesuch a scheme, then the charges of hisenemies thathis brain was turned were better founded than hewould have us think. 1He had asked for two vessels, 2 and four were givento him. Agents were sent to Rochelle and Rochefortto gather recruits. A hundred soldiers were enrolled,besides mechanics and laborers ;and thirty volunteers,pay due to La Forest, who had served as La Salle's officer for nineyears. A memorandum is attached, signed by La Salle, to theeffect that it is his wish that La Forest reimburse himself, "parpreference," out of any property of his (La Salle's) in France orCanada.1The attitude of La Salle, in this matter, is incomprehensible.In July, La Forest was at Rochefort, complaining because LaSalle had ordered him to stay in garrison at Fort Frontenac.Beaujeu a Viltermont, 10 July, 1684. This means an abandonmentof the scheme of leading the warriors at the rock of St. Louis downthe Mississippi ; but, in the next month, La Salle writes to Seignelaythat he is afraid La Barre will use the Iroquois war as a pretextto prevent La Forest from making his journey (to the Illinois),and that in this case he will himself try to go up the Mississippi,and meet the Illinois warriors ; so that, in five or six months fromthe date of the letter, the minister will hear of his departure toattack the Spaniards. (La Salle h Seignelay, Aout, 1684.) Eitherthis is sheer folly, or else it is meant to delude the minister.9 Mkmoire de ce qui aura este accorde au Sieur de la Salle.

1

354 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.impenetrable, he would have tried the patience of aless excitable colleague. Beaujeu, on his part,though set to a task which he disliked, seems to havemeant to do his duty, and to have been willing at theoutset to make the relations between himself andhis unwelcome associate as agreeable as possible.Unluckily, La Salle discovered that the wife ofBeaujeu was devoted to the Jesuits. We have seenthe extreme distrust with which he regarded theseguides of his youth, and he seems now to havefancied that Beaujeu was their secret ally.Possibly,he suspected that information of his movementswould be given to the Spaniards ; more probably, hehad undefined fears of adverse machinations.Grantingthat such existed, it was not his interest tostimulatethem by needlessly exasperating the navalcommander. His deportment, however, was notconciliating; and Beaujeu, prepared to dislike him,presently lost temper. While the vessels still layat Rochelle; while all was bustle and preparation;while stores, arms, and munitions were embarking;while boys and vagabonds were enlisting as soldiersfor the expedition, — Beaujeu was venting his disgustin long letters to the minister."You have ordered me, Monseigneur, to give allpossible aid to this undertaking, and I shall do so tothe best of my power; but permit me to take greatcredit to myself, for I find it very hard to submit tothe orders of the Sieur de la Salle, whom I believeto be a man of merit, but who has no experience of

;1684.] BEAUJEU AND LA SALLE. 855war except with savages, and who has no rank, whileI have been captain of a ship thirteen years, and haveserved thirty by sea and land.Besides, Monseigneur,he has told me that in case of his death you havedirected that the Sieur de Tonty shall succeed him.This, indeed, is very hard; for, though I am notacquainted with that country,I should be very dull,if, being on the spot, I did not know at the end of amonth as much of it as they do.I beg, Monseigneur,that I may at least share the command with themand that, as regards war, nothing may be done withoutmy knowledge and concurrence, — for, as totheir commerce, I neither intend nor desire to knowanything about it."Seignelay answered by a rebuff, and told him tomake no trouble about the command. This increasedhis irritation, and he wrote: "In my last letter,Monseigneur, I represented to you the hardship ofcompelling me to obey M. de la Salle, who has norank, and never commanded anybody but school-boysand I begged you at least to divide the commandbetween us. I now, Monseigneur, take the libertyto say that I will obey without repugnance, if youorder me to do so, having reflected that there can beno competition between the said Sieur de la Salleand me."Thus far, he has not told me his plan; and hechanges his mind every moment. He is a man sosuspicious, and so afraid that one will penetrate hissecrets, that I dare not ask him anything. He sayb

856 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.that M. deParassy, commissary's clerk, with whomhe has often quarrelled, is paid by his enemies todefeat his undertaking ;and many other things withwhich I will not trouble you. . . ."He pretends that I am only to command thesailors, and have no authority over the volunteerofficers and the hundred soldiers who are to takepassage in the ' Joly; ' and that they are not torecognize or obey me in any way during thevoyage. . . ." He has covered the decks with boxes and chestsof such prodigious size that neither the cannon northe capstan can be worked."La Salle drew up a long list of articles, denningthe respective rights and functions of himself andBeaujeu, to whom he presented it for signature.Beaujeu demurred at certain military honorsdemanded by La Salle, saying that if a marshal ofFrance should come on board his ship, he wouldhave none left to offer him. The point was referredto the naval intendant; and the articles of the treatyhaving been slightly modified, Beaujeu set his nameto it. "By this," he says, "you can judge better ofthe character of M. de la Salle than by all I can say.He is a man who wants smoke [form and ceremony].I will give him his fill of it, and, perhaps, more thanhe likes."I am bound to an unknown country, to seekwhat is about as hard to find as the philosopher'sstone. It vexes me, Monseigneur, that you should

"1684.] BEAUJEU AND LA SALLE. 357have been involved in a business the success of whichis very uncertain. M. de la Salle begins to doubt ithimself.While Beaujeu wrote thus to theminister, he wasalso writing to Cabart de Villermont, one of hisfriends at Paris, with whom La Salle was also onfriendly terms. These letters are lively and entertaining,and by no means suggestive of any secretconspiracy. He might, it is true, have been morereserved in his communications; but he betrays noconfidence, for none was placed in him. It is thefamiliar correspondence of an irritable but not illnaturedveteran, who is placed in an annoying position,and thinks he is making the best of it.La Salle thought that the minister had been toofree in communicating the secrets of the expeditionto the naval intendant at Rochefort, and throughhim to Beaujeu. It is hard to see how Beaujeu wasto blame for this ; but La Salle nevertheless fell intoa dispute with him. "He could hardly keep histemper, and used expressions which obliged me totell him that I cared very little about his affairs, andthat the King himself would not speak as he did.He retracted, made excuses, and we parted goodfriends. . . ." I do not like his suspiciousness. I think him agood, honest Norman; but Normans are out offashion. It is one thing to-day, another to-morrow.It seems to me that he is not so sure about hisundertaking as he was at Paris. This morning he

358 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.came to see me, and told me he had changed hismind, and meant to give a new turn to the business,and go to another coast. He gave very poor reasons,to which I assented, to avoid a quarrel. I thought,by what he said, that he wanted to find a scapegoatto bear the blame, in case his plan does not succeedas he hopes. For the rest, I think him a brave manand a true ; and I am persuaded that if this businessfails, it will be because he does not know enough,and will not trust us of the profession. As for me,I shall do my best to help him, as I have told youbefore; and I am delighted to have him keep hissecret, so that I shall not have to answer for theresult. Pray do not show my letters, for fear ofcommitting me with him. He is too suspiciousalready; and never was Norman so Norman as he,which is a great hinderance to business."Beaujeu came from the same province and callshimself jocularly un bon gros Normand. His goodnature,however, rapidly gave way as time went on."Yesterday," he writes, "this Monsieur told methat he meant to go to the Gulf of Mexico. A littlewhile ago, as I said before, he talked about going toCanada. I see nothing certain in it. It is not thatI do not believe that all he says is true; but notbeing of the profession, and not liking to betray hisignorance, he is puzzled what to do." I shall go straight forward, without regarding athousand whims and bagatelles. His continual suspicionwould drive anybody mad except a Norman

'1684.] AN OPEN QUARREL. 859like me; but I shall humor him, as I have alwaysdone, even to sailing my ship on dry land, if helikes."A few days later, there was an open quarrel. " M.de la Salle came to me, and said, rather haughtilyand in a tone of command, that I must put provisionsfor three months more on board my vessel. I toldhim it was impossible, as she had more lading alreadythan anybody ever dared to put in her before. Hewould not hear reason, but got angry and abused mein good French, and found fault with me becausethe vessel would not hold his three months' provisions.He said I ought to have told him of itbefore.said I,do ? ' We4And how would you have me tell you,'when you never tell me what you mean tohad still another quarrel. He asked mewhere his officers should take their meals. I toldhim that they might take them where he pleased ;I gave myself no trouble in the matter, having noorders. He answered that they should not mess onbacon, while the rest ate fowls and mutton. I saidthat if he would send fowls and mutton on board,his people should eat them ; but, as for bacon, I hadoften ate it myself. At this, he went off and complainedto M. Dugue* that I refused to embark hisprovisions, and told him that he must livefoion bacon.I excused him as not knowing how to behave himself,having spent his life among school-boy bratsand savages. Nevertheless, I offered to him, hisbrother, and two of his friends, seats at my table and

360 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684,the same fare as myself. He answered rny civilityby an impertinence, saying that he distrusted peoplewho offered so much and seemed so obliging. Icould not help telling him that I saw he was broughtup in the provinces."This was touching La Salle on a sensitive point.Beaujeu continues: "In fact, you knew him betterthan I; for I always took him for a gentleman(honnete homme). I see now that he is anything butthat. Pray set Abbe* Renaudot and M. Morel rightabout this man, and tell them he is not what theytake him for. Adieu. It has struck twelve: thepostman is just going."Bad as was the state of things, it soon grew worse.Renaudot wrote to La Salle that Beaujeu was writingto Villermont everything that happened, and thatVillermont showed the letters to all his acquaintance.Villermont was a relative of the JesuitBeschefer; and this was sufficient to suggest somesecret machination to the mind of La Salle. Villermont's fault, however, seems to have been simpleindiscretion, for which Beaujeu took him sharply totask. " I asked you to burn my letters ; and I cannothelp saying that I am angry with you, notbecause you make known my secrets, but becauseyou show letters scrawled in haste, and sent offwithout being even read over. M. de la Salle nothaving told me his secret, though M. de Seignelayordered him to tell me, I am not obliged to keep it,and have as good a right as anybody to make my

1684.] LA SALLE'S INDISCRETION. 861conjectureson what I read about it in the Gazette deHollande. Let Abbe* Renaudot glorify M. de laSalle as much as he likes, and make him a Cortez, aPizarro, or an Almagro, — that is nothing to me ;butdo not let him speak of me as an obstacle in hishero's way. Let him understand that I know howto execute the orders of the court as well as he. . . ."You ask how I get on with M. de la Salle.Don't you know that this man is impenetrable, andthat there is no knowing what he thinks of one?He told a person of note whom I will not name thathe had suspicionsabout our correspondence, as wellas about Madame de Beaujeu's devotion to theJesuits. His distrust is incredible. If he sees oneof his people speak to the rest, he suspects something,and is gruff with them. He told me himselfthat he wanted toget rid of M. de Tonty, who is inAmerica."La Salle's claim to exclusive command of thesoldiers on board the " Joly " was a source of endlesstrouble.Beaujeu declared that he would not set sailtill officers, soldiers, and volunteers had all sworn toobey him when at sea; at which La Salle had theindiscretion to say, " If I am not master of my soldiers,how can I make him [Beaujeu] do his duty incase he does not want to do it?"Beaujeu says that this affair made a great noiseamong the officers at Rochefort, and adds :" Thereare very few people who do not think that his brain istouched. I have spoken to some who have known

'362 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1684.him twenty years. They all say that he was alwaysrather visionary.'It is difficult not to suspect that the current beliefat Rochefort had some foundation; and that thedeadly strain of extreme hardship, prolonged anxiety,and alternation of disaster and success, joined to thefever which nearly killed him, had unsettled hisjudgment and given a morbid development to hisnatural defects. His universal suspicion, whichincluded even the stanch and faithful Henri deTonty; his needless provocation of persons whosegood-will was necessary to him; his doubts whetherhe should sail for the Gulf or for Canada, when tosail to Canada would have been to renounce, orexpose to almost certain defeat, an enterprise longcherished and definitely planned, — all point to oneconclusion. It may be thought that his doubts werefeigned, in order to hide his destination to the lastmoment; but if so, he attempted to blind not onlyhis ill wishers, but his mother, whom he also left inuncertainty as to his route.Unless we assume that his scheme of invadingMexico was thrown out as a bait to the King, it ishard to reconcile it with the supposition of mentalsoundness. To base so critical an attempt on ageographical conjecture, which rested on the slightestpossible information, and was in fact a total error;topostpone the perfectly sound plan cf securing themouth of the Mississippi, to a wild project of leadingfifteen thousand savages for an unknown distance

1684.] AN OVERWROUGHT BRAIN. 363through an unknown country to attack an unknownenemy, — was something more than Quixotic daring.The King and the minister saw nothing impracticablein it, for they did not know the country or its inhabitants.They saw no insuperable difficulty in musteringand keeping together fifteen thousand of themost wayward and unstable savages on earth, splitinto a score and more of tribes, some hostile to eachother and some to the French; nor in the problemof feeding such a mob, on a march of hundreds ofmiles; nor in the plan of drawing four thousand ofthem from the Illinois, nearly two thousand milesdistant, though some ofcanoes or other means ofthese intended allies had notransportation, and though,travelling in such numbers, they would infalliblystarve on the way to the rendezvous. It is difficultnot to see in all this the chimera of an overwrought .brain, no longer able to distinguish between the vpossibleand the impossible.Preparation dragged slowly on; the season wasgrowing late; the King grew impatient, and foundfault with the naval intendant. Meanwhile, thevarious members of the expedition had all gatheredat Rochelle. Joutel, a fellow-townsman of La Salle,returning to his native Rouen, after sixteen years inthe army, found all astir with the new project. Hisfather had been gardener to Henri Cavelier, LaSalle's uncle ; and being of an adventurous spirit hevolunteered for the enterprise, of which he was tobecome the historian. With La Salle's brother the

364 A NEW ENTERPRISE. [1«84.priest, and two of his nephews, one of whom was aboy of fourteen, Joutel set out for Rochelle, whereall were to embark together for their promisedland. 1La Salle wrote a parting letter to his mother atRouen: —Rochelle, 18 July, 1684.Madame my Most Honored Mother, —At last, afterhaving waited a long time for a favourablewind, and having had a great many difficulties to overcome,we are setting sail with four vessels, and nearlyfour hundred men on hoard. Everybody is well, includinglittle Colin and my nephew. We all have good hopeof a happy success. We are not going by way of Canada,but by the Gulf of Mexico. I passionately wish, and sodo we all, that the success of this voyage may contributeto your repose and comfort. Assuredly, I shall spare noeffort that it may; and I beg you, on your part, to preserveyourself for the love of us.You need not be troubled by the news from Canada,which are nothing but the continuation of the artificesof my enemies. I hope to be as successful against themas I have been thus far, and to embrace you a year hencewith all the pleasure that the most grateful of childrencan feel with so good a mother as you have always been.Pray let this hope, which shall not disappoint you, supportyou through whatever trials may happen, and besure that you will always find me with a heart full of thefeelings which are due to you.1Joutel, Journal Historigue, 12.

1684.] A PARTING LETTER. 366Madame ray Most Honored Mother, from your mosthumble and most obedientservant and son,Db la Salle.My brother, my nephews, and all the others greet you,and take their leave of you.This memorable last farewell has lain for twohundred years among the family papers of theCaveliers. 11The letters of Beaujeu to Seignelay and to Cabart de Villermont,with most of the other papers on which this chapter rests,will be found in Margry, ii. 354-471. This indefatigable investigatorhas also brought to light a number of letters from a brotherofficer of Beaujeu, Machaut-Kougemont, written at Rochefort,just after the departure of the expedition from Rochelle, andgiving some idea of the views there entertained concerning it. Hesays ": L'on ne peut pas faire plus d'extravagances que le Sieur dela Salle n'en a fait sur toutes ses pretentions de commandement.Je plains beaucoup le pauvre Beaujeu d'avoir affaire a une humeursi saturnienne. . . Je le croy beaucoup visionnairc . . ..Beaujeu a une sotte commission."

CHAPTER XXIV.1684, 1685.THE VOYAGE.Disputes with Bbaujeu.— St. Domingo. — La Salle Attackedwith Fever: his Desperate Condition. — The Gulf ofMexico. — A Vain Search and a Fatal Error.The four ships sailed from Rochelle on the twentyfourthof July. Four days after, the " Joly " brokeher bowsprit, by design as La Salle fancied. Theyall put back to Rochefort, where the mischief wasquickly repaired; and they put to sea again. LaSalle, and the chief persons of the expedition, witha crowd of soldiers, artisans, and women, the destinedmothers ofLouisiana, were all on board the "Joly."Beaujeu wished to touch at Madeira, to replenishhis water-casks. La Salle refused, lest by doing sothe secret of the enterprise might reach the Spaniards.One Paget, a Huguenot, took up the word in supportof Beaujeu. La Salle told him that the affairwas none of his; and as Paget persisted withincreased warmth and freedom, he demanded ofBeaujeu if it was with his consent that a man of norank spoke to him in that manner. Beaujeu sus-

1684.] ST. DOMINGO. 867tained the Huguenot. "That is enough," returnedLa Salle, and withdrew into his cabin. 1This was not the first misunderstanding ; nor wasit the last.two commanders ;There was incessant chafing between theand the sailors of the " Joly " weresoon of one mind with their captain. When theship crossed the tropic, they made ready a tub ondeck to baptize the passengers, after the villanouspractice of the time ; but La Salle refused to permitit, at which they were highly exasperated, havingpromised themselves a bountiful ransom, in money orliquor, from their victims." Assuredly," says Joutel,"they would gladly have killed us all.**When, after a wretched voyage of two months theships reached St. Domingo, a fresh dispute occurred.It had been resolved at a council of officers to stopat Port de Paix; but Beaujeu, on pretext of a fairwind, ran by that place in the night, and cast anchorat Petit Goave, on the other side of the island. LaSallewas extremely vexed; for he expected to meetat Port de Paix the Marquis de Saint-Laurent,lieutenant-general of the islands, Be*gon the intendant,and De Cussy, governor ofLa Tortue, who hadorders to supply him with provisions and give himall possible aid.The "Joly" was alone: the other vessels hadlagged behind.She had more than fifty sick men on1 Lettre {sans nom d'auteur) ecrite de St. Domingue, 14 Nov., 1684(Margry, ii. 492) ; Memoire autographe de I'Abbe Jean Cavelier sur UVoyage de 1684. Compare Joutel.

;368 THE VOYAGE. [1684.board, and La Salle was of the number. He sent amessenger to Saint-Laurent, Be*gon, and Cussy,begging them to come to him ;ordered Joutel to getthe sick ashore, suffocating as they were in the hotand crowded ship; and caused the soldiers to belanded on a small island in the harbor.Scarcely hadthe voyagers sung Te Deum for their safe arrival,when two of the lagging vessels appeared, bringingtilings that the third, the ketch "St. Francois," hadbeen taken by Spanish buccaneers. She was ladenwith provisions, tools, and other necessaries for thecolony; and the loss was irreparable. Beaujeu wasanswerable for it; for had he anchored at Port dePaix, it would not have occurred. The lieutenantgeneral,with Be*gon and Cussy, who presentlyarrived, plainly spoke their minds to him. 1La Salle's illness increased. "I was walking withhim one day," writes Joutel, "when he was seized ofa sudden with such a weakness that he could notstand, and was obliged to lie down on the ground.When he was a little better, I led him to a chamberof a house that the brothers Duhaut had hired.Here we put him to bed, and in themorning he wasattacked by a violent fever." 2 "It was so violentthat," says another of his shipmates, "his imaginationpictured to him things equally terrible andamazing." 3 He lay delirious in the wretched garret,11 MSmoire de MM. de Saint-Laurens . et Begon (Margry, ii. 499)Joutel, Journal Historique, 28.a Relation de Henri Joutel (Margry, iii. 98).• Lettre (tans nom d'auteur), 14 Nov., 1684 (Margry, ii. 496).

1684.] ILLNESS OF LA SALLE. 369attended by his brother, and one or two others whostood faithful to him. A goldsmith of the neighborhood,moved at his deplorable condition, offered theuse of his house ;and Abbe* Cavelier had him removedthither. But there was a tavern hard by, and thepatient was tormented with daily and nightly riot.At the height of the fever, a party of Beaujeu'ssailors spent a night in singing and dancing beforethe house ; and, says Cavelier, " The more we beggedthem to be quiet, the more noise they made." LaSalle lost reason and well-nigh life ;but at length hismind resumed its balance, and the violence of thedisease abated. A friendly Capucin friar offeredhim the shelter of his roof; and two of his men supportedhim thither on foot, giddy with exhaustionand hot with fever.Here he found repose, and wasslowly recovering, when some of his attendants rashlytold him the loss of the ketch "St. Francois ;" andthe consequence was a critical return of thedisease. 1There was no one to fill his place. Beaujeu wouldnot; Cavelier could not. Joutel, the gardener's son,was apparently the most trusty man of the company;but the expedition was virtually without a head.The men roamed on shore,and plunged into everyexcess of debauchery, contracting diseases whicheventually killedthem.Beaujeu, in the extremity of ill-humor, resumed1The above particulars are from the memoir of La ^olle'fbrother, Abbe' Cavelier, already cited24

370 THE VOYAGE. [1684.his correspondence with Seignelay. "But for theillness of the Sieur de la Salle," he writes, "I couldnot venture to report to you the progress of ourvoyage, as I am charged only with the navigation,and he with the secrets; but as his malady hasdeprived him of the use of his faculties, both of bodyand mind, I have thought myself obliged to acquaintyou with what is passing, and of the condition inwhich we are."He then declares that the ships freighted by LaSalle were so slow that the " Joly " had continuallybeen forced to wait for them, thus doubling thelength of the voyage; that he had not had waterenough for the passengers, as La Salle had not toldhim that there were to be any such till the day theycame on board; that great numbers were sick, andthat he had told La Salle there would be trouble ifhe filled alland forced thethat he had toldthe space between decks with his goods,soldiers and sailors to sleep on deck;him he would get no provisions atSt. Domingo, but that he insisted on stopping ; thatit had always been so, — that whatever he proposedLa Salle would refuse, alleging orders from theKing; "and now," pursues the ruffled commander," everybody is ill ; and he himself has a violent fever,as dangerous, the surgeon tells me, to the mind as tothe body."The rest of the letter is in the same strain. Hesays that a day or two after La Salle's illnessbegan,his brother Cavelier came to ask him to take charge

;1684.] COMPLAINTS OF BEAUJEU. 371of his affairs; but that he did not wish to meddlewith them, especially as nobody knows anythingabout them, and as La Salle has sold some of theammunition and provisions; that Cavelier tells himthat he thinks hisbrother keeps no accounts, wishingto hide his affairs from everybody; that he learnsfrom buccaneers that the entrance ofthe Mississippiis very shallow and difficult, and that this is theworst season for navigating the Gulf; that theSpaniards have in these seas six vessels of fromthirty to sixty guns each, besides row-galleys; butthat he is not afraid, and will perish, or bring backan account of the Mississippi. "Nevertheless," headds, " if the Sieur de la Salle dies, I shall pursue acoursedifferent from that which he has marked outfor I do not approve his plans.""If," he continues, "you permit me to speak mymind, M. de la Salle ought to have been satisfiedwith discovering his river, without undertaking toconduct three vessels with troops two thousandleagues through so many different climates, andacross seas entirely unknown to him. I grant thathe is a man ofknowledge, that he has reading, andeven some tincture of navigation; but there is somuch difference between theory and practice, that aman who has only the former will always be at fault.There is also a great difference between conductingcanoes on lakes and along a river, and navigatingships with troops on distant oceans." 11 Lettre de Beaujeu au Ministre, 20 Oct., 1684.

372 THE VOYAGE. [1684.While Beaujeu was complaining of La Salle, hisfollowers were deserting him. It was necessary tosend them on board ship, and keep them there ; forthere were French buccaneers at Petit Goave, whopainted the promised land in such dismal colors thatmany of the adventurers completely lost heartSome, too, were dying. "The air of this place isbad," says Joutel; "so are the fruits; and there areplenty of women worse than either." 1It was near the end of November before La Sallecould resume the voyage. He was told that Beaujeuhad said that he would not wait longer for the storeship"Aimable, r and that she might follow as shecould. 2 Moreover, La Salle was on ill terms withAigron, her captain, who had declared that he wouldhave nothing more to do with him. 3Fearing, therefore,that some mishap might befall her, he resolvedto embark inher himself, with his brother Cavelier,Mernbre*, Douay, and others, the trustiest of hisfollowers. On the twenty-fifth they set sail; the"Joly" and the little frigate "Belle" following.They coasted the shore of Cuba, and landed at theIsle of Pines, where La Salle shot an alligator,whichthe soldiers ate; and the hunter brought in a wildpig, half of which he sent to Beaujeu. Then theyadvanced to Cape St. Antoine, where bad weatherand contrary winds long detained them. A load of1 Relation de Henri Joutel (Margry, iii. 105).9Memoire autographe de I'Abbe Jean Cavelier.8 Lettre de Beaujeu au Ministre, 20 Oct., 1684.

;1685.] A VAIN SEARCH. 373cares oppressed the mind of La Salle, pale andhaggard with recent illness, wrapped within his ownthoughts, and seeking sympathy from none.At length they entered the Gulf of Mexico, thatforbidden sea whence by a Spanish decree, datingfrom the reign of Philip II., all foreigners wereexcluded on pain of extermination. 1 Not a man onboard knew the secrets of its perilous navigation.Cautiously feeling their way, they held a northwesterlycourse, till on the twenty-eighth of Decembera sailor at the mast-head of the " Aimable " saw land.La Salle and all the pilots had been led to form anexaggerated idea of the force of the easterly currentsand they therefore supposed themselves near the Bayof Appalache, when, in fact,they were much fartherwestward.On New Year's Day they anchored threeleaguesfrom the shore. La Salle, with the engineer Minet,went to explore it, and found nothing but a vastmarshy plain, studded with clumps of rushes. Twodays after there was a thick fog, and when at lengthit cleared, the " Joly " was nowhere to be seen. LaSalle in the "Aimable," followed closely by thelittle frigate "Belle," stood westward along thecoast. When at the mouth of the Mississippi in1682, he had taken its latitude, but unhappily couldnot determine its longitude; and now every eye onboard was strained to detect in the monotonous lines1 Letter of Don Luis de Onis to the Secretary of State (AmericanState Papers, xii. 27-31).

;374 THE VOYAGE. [1685.of the low shore some tokens of the great river. Infact, they had already passed it. On the sixth ofJanuary, awide opening was descried between twolow points of land; and the adjacent sea was discoloredwith mud. "La Salle," writes his brotherCavelier, "has always thought that this was theMississippi. " To all appearance, it was the entranceof Galveston Bay. 1 But why did he not examine it?Joutel says that his attempts to do so were frustratedby the objections of the pilot of the "Aimable," towhich, with a facility very unusual with him, hesuffered himself to yield. Cavelier declares, on theother hand, that he would not enter the openingbecause he was afraid of missing the " Joly." Buthe might have entered with one of histwo vessels,while the other watched outside for the absent ship.From whatever cause, he lay here five or six days,waiting in vain for Beaujeuthat he must have passed westward,2 till, at last, thinkinghe resolved tofollow. The "Aimable" and the "Belle" againspread their sails, and coasted the shores of Texas.Joutel, with a boat's crew, tried to land; but thesand-bars and breakers repelled him. A party ofIndians swam out through the surf,and were takenon board; but La Salle could learn nothing fromthem, as their language was unknown to him.1"La hauteur nous a fait remarquer . . . que ce que nousavions vu le sixieme Janvier estoit en effet la principale entree dela riviere que nous cherchions." — Lettre de La Salle au Ministry4 Mars, 1687.2 Memoire autographe de I'AbbS Cavelier.

;1685.] THE SHORES OF TEXAS. 375Again Joutel tried to land, and again the breakersrepelled him. He approached as near as he dared,and saw vast plains and a dim expanse of forest,buffalo running with their heavy gallop along theshore, and deer grazing on the marshy meadows.Soon after, he succeeded in landing at a pointsomewhere between Matagorda Island and CorpusChristi Bay. The aspect of the country was notcheering, with its barren plains, its reedy marshes,its interminable oyster-beds, and broad flats of mudbare at low tide. Joutel and his men sought invain for fresh water, and after shooting some geeseand ducks returned to the "Aimable." Nothinghad been seen of Beaujeu and the u Joly ; " the coastwas trending southward; and La Salle, convincedthat he must have passed the missing ship,turned toretrace his course. He had sailed but a few mileswhen the wind failed, a fog covered the sea, and hewas forced to anchor opposite one of the openingsinto the lagoons north of Mustang Island. Atlength, on the nineteenth, there came a faintbreezethe mists rolled away before it, and to his great joyhe saw the " Joly " approaching."His joy," says Joutel, "was short." Beaujeu'slieutenant, Aire, came on board tohaving caused thecharge him withseparation, and La Salle retortedby throwing the blame on Beaujeu. Then came adebate as to their position. The priest Esmanvillewas present, and reports that La Salle seemed greatlyperplexed. He had more cause for perplexity than

376 THE VOYAGE. [1685.he knew ;for in his ignorance of the longitude of theMississippi, he had sailed more than four hundredmiles beyond it.Of this he had not the faintest suspicion. In fullsight from his ship lay a reach of those vast lagoonswhich, separated from the sea by narrow strips ofland, line this coast with little interruption fromGalveston Bay to the Rio Grande. The idea tookpossession of him that the Mississippi dischargeditself into these lagoons, and thence made its way tothe sea through the various openings he had seenalong the coast, chief among which was that he haddiscovered on the sixth, about fifty leagues from theplace where he now was. 1Yet he was full of doubt as to what he should do.Four days after rejoining Beaujeu, he wrote him the1 " Depuis que nous avions quitte cette riviere qu'il croyoit infailliblementestre le fleuve Colbert [Mississippi] nous avions fait environ45 lieues ou 50 au plus." (Cavelier, Memoire.) This, taken inconnection with the statement of La Salle that this " principaleentree de la riviere que nous cherchions " was twenty-five or thirtyleagues northeast from the entrance of the Bay of St. Louis (MatagordaBay), shows that it can have been no other than the entrance ofGalveston Bay, mistaken by him for the chief outlet of the Mississippi.It is evident that he imagined Galveston Bay to form a partof the chain of lagoons from which it is in fact separated. Hespeaks of these lagoons as " une espece de baye fort longue et fortlarge, dans laquelle le fieuve Colbert se decharge." He adds thaton his descent to the mouth of the river in 1682 he had been deceivedin supposing that this expanse of salt water, where no shorewas in sight, was the open sea. Lettre de La Salle au Ministre, 4Mars, 1685. Galveston Bay and the mouth of the Mississippidiffer little in latitude, though separated by about five and a halfdegrees of longitude.

1685.] PERPLEXITY OF LA SALLE. 377strange request to land the troops, that he "mightfulfil his commission; " that is, that he might set outagainst the Spaniards. 1 More than a week passed, agale had set in, and nothing was done. Then LaSalle wrote again, intimating some doubt as towhether he was really at one of the mouths of theMississippi, and saying that, being sure that he hadpassed the principalmouth, he was determined to goback to look for it. 2 Meanwhile, Beaujeu was in astate of great irritation. The weather was stormy,and the coast was dangerous.Supplies were scanty;and La Salle's soldiers, still crowded in the " Joly,"were consuming the provisions of the ship.gave vent to his annoyance, and La Sallethe same strain.Beaujeuretorted inAccording to Joutel, he urged the naval commanderto sail back in search of the river; andBeaujeu refused, unless La Salle should give thesoldiers provisions. La Salle, he adds, offered tosupply them with rations for fifteen days; andBeaujeu declared this insufficient. There is reason,however, to believe that the request was neithermade by the one nor refused by the other so positivelyas here appears.1 Lettre de La Salle a Beaujeu, 23 Jan., 1685 (Margry, ii. 536).2 This letter is dated, " De l'eraboucheure d'une riviere que ;'

;CHAPTER XXV.1685.LA SALLE IN TEXAS.A Party op Exploration — Wreck op the " Aimable." — Landingop the Colonists. — A Forlorn Position. — IndianNeighbors. — Friendly Advances of Beaujeu: his Departure.— A Fatal Discovery.Impatience to rid himself of his colleague and tocommand alone no doubt had its influence on thejudgment of La Salle. He presently declared thathe would land the soldiers, and send them alongshore till they came to the principal outlet of theriver. On this, the engineer Minet took up theword, — expressed his doubts as to whether theMississippi discharged itself into the lagoons at allrepresented that even if it did, theexposed to great risks ;all should reimbark and continue thesearch in company.soldiers would beand gave as his opinion thatThe advice was good, but La Salle resentedit as coming from one in whom he recognized noright to give it. "He treated me," complains theengineer, "as if I were the meanest of mankind." 11 Relation de Minet; Lettre de Minet h Seignelay, 6 July, 1685(Margry, ii. 591, 602).

1685.] LANDING OF LA SALLE. 379He persisted in his purpose, and sent Joutel andMoranget with a party of soldiers to explore thecoast. They made their way northeastward alongthe shore of Matagorda Island, till they were stoppedon the third day by what Joutel calls a river, butwhich was in fact the entrance of Matagorda Bay.Here they encamped, and tried to make a raft ofdriftwood. "The difficulty was," says Joutel, "ourgreat number of men, and the few of them who werefit for anything except eating. As I said before,they had all been caught by force or surprise, so thatour company was like Noah's ark, which containedanimals of all sorts." Before their raft was finished,they descried to their great joy the ships which hadfollowed them along the coast. 1La Salle landed, and announced that here was thewestern mouth of the Mississippi, and the place towhich the King had sent him. He said further thathe would land all his men, and bring the " Aimable "and the " Belle " to the safe harborage within.Beaujeu remonstrated, alleging the shallowness ofthe water and the force of the currents; but hisremonstrance was vain. 2The Bay of St. Louis, now Matagorda Bay, formsa broad and sheltered harbor, accessible from the seaby a narrow passage, obstructed by sand-bars and bythe small island now called Pelican Island. Boats1 Joutel, Journal Historique, 68 ; Relation (Margry, iii. 143-146)Compare Journal d'Esmanville (Margry, ii. 610).2 Relation de Minet (Margry. ii 691).

380 LA SALLE IN TEXAS. [1685.were sent to sound and buoy out the channel, andthis was successfully accomplished on the sixteenthof February. The " Aimable " was ordered to enter;and, on the twentieth, she weighed anchor. LaSalle was on shore watching her. A party of men,at a little distance, were cutting down a tree tomake a canoe. Suddenly some of them ran towardshim with terrified faces, crying out that they hadbeen set upon by a troop ofIndians, who had seizedtheir companions and carried them off. La Salleordered those about him to take their arms, and atonce set out in pursuit. He overtook the Indians,and opened a parley with them ;but when he wishedto reclaim his men, he discovered that they had beenled away during thea league and a half distant.conference to the Indian camp,Among them was one ofhis lieutenants, the young Marquis de la Sablonnie"re.He was deeply vexed, for the moment was critical;but the men must be recovered, and he led his followersin haste towards the camp. Yet he couldnot refrain from turning a moment to watch the" Aimable, " as she neared the shoals; and he remarkedwith deep anxiety toJoutel, who was withhim, that if she held that course she would soonbe aground.They hurried on till they saw the Indian huts.About fifty of them, oven-shaped, and covered withmats and hides, were clustered on a risingground,with their inmates gathered among and around them.As the French entered the camp, there was the report

1885. JWRECK OF THE "AIMABLE." 381of a cannon from the seaward. The startled savagesdropped flat with terror. A different fear seized LaSalle, for he knew that the shot was a signal ofdisaster. Looking back, he saw the "Aimable"furling her sails, and his heart sank with the convictionthat she had struck upon the reef.Smotheringhis distress, — she was laden with all the storesofthe colony, — he pressed forward among the filthywigwams, whose astonished inmates swarmed aboutthe band of armed strangers, staring between curiosityand fear. La Salle knew those with whom hewas dealing, and, without ceremony, entered thechief's lodge with his followers. The crowd closedaround them, naked men and half-naked women,described by Joutel as of singular ugliness. Theygave buffalo meat and dried porpoise to the unexpectedguests, but La Salle, racked with anxiety,hastened to close the interview; and having withoutdifficulty recovered thekidnapped men, he returnedto the beach, leaving with the Indians, as usual, animpression of good-will and respect.When he reached the shore, he saw his worst fearsrealized. The " Aimable " lay careened over on thereef, hopelessly aground. Little remained but toendure the calamity with firmness, and to save, asfar as might be, the vessel's cargo. This was noeasy task. The boat which hung at her stern hadbeen stove in, — it is said, by design.Beaujeu senta boat from the "Joly," and one or more Indianpirogues were procured.La Salle urged on his men

382 LA SALLE IN TEXAS. [1685.with stern and patient energy, and a quantity ofgunpowder and flour was safely landed. But nowthe wind blew fresh from the sea ; the waves beganto rise ; a storm came on ; the vessel, rocking to andfro on the sand-bar, opened along her side,and theravenous waves were strewn with her treasures.When the confusion was at its height, a troop ofIndians came down to the shore, greedy for plunder.The drum was beat; the men were called to arms;La Salle set his trustiest followers to guard the gunpowder,in fear, not of the Indians alone, but of hisown countrymen. On that lamentable night, thesentinels walked their rounds through the drearybivouac among the casks, bales, and boxes whichthe sea had yielded up; and here, too, their fatehuntedchief held his drearier vigil, encompassedwith treachery, darkness, and the storm.Not only La Salle, but Joutel and others of hisparty, believed that the wreck of the " Aimable " wasintentional.Aigron, who commanded her, had disobeyedorders and disregarded signals. Though hehad been directed to tow the vessel through thechannel, he went in under sail; and though littleelse was saved from the wreck, his personal property,including even some preserved fruits, was all landedsafely. He had long been on ill terms with LaSalle. 11 Procks Verbal du Sieur de la Salle sur le Naufrage de la Flutel''Aimable,' Lettre de La Salle a Seignelajj, 4 Mars, 1685; Lettre d«Beaujeu a Seignelay, sans date. Beaujeu did his best to save th«

1685.] WRECK OF THE "AIMABLE." 383All La Salle's company were now encamped on thesands at the left side of the inlet where the " Aimable "was wrecked. 1 "They were all," says the engineerMinet, "sick with nausea and dysentery. Five orsix died every day, in consequence of brackish waterand bad food. There was no grass, but plenty ofrushes and plenty of oysters. There was nothing tomake ovens, so that they had to eat flour savedfrom the wreck, boiled into messes of porridge withthis brackish water. Along the shore were quantitiesof uprooted trees and rotten logs, thrown up bythe sea and the lagoon." Of these, and fragmentsof the wreck, they made a sort of rampart to protecttheir camp; and here, among tents and hovels, bales,boxes, casks, spars, dismounted cannon, and pens forfowls and swine, were gathered the dejected men andhomesick women who were to seize New Biscay, andhold for France a region large as half Europe. TheSpaniards, whom they were to conquer, were theycargo. The loss included nearly all the provisions, 60 barrels ofwine, 4 cannon, 1,620 balls, 400 grenades, 4,000 pounds of iron, 6,000pounds of lead, most of the tools, a forge, a mill, cordage, boxes ofarms, nearly all the medicines, and most of the baggage of thesoldiers and colonists. Aigron returned to France in the " Joly,"and was thrown into prison, " comme il paroist clairement que cetaccident est arrive' par sa faute." — Seignelay uu Sieur Arnoul, 22Juillet, 1685 (Margry, ii. 604).1 A map, entitled Entree du Lac oil on a laisse le S r - de la Salle,made by the engineer Minet, and preserved in the Archives de laMarine, represents the entrance of Matagorda Bay, the camp of L»Salle on the left, Indian camps on the borders of the bay, the* Belle " at anchor within, the " Aimable " stranded at the entrance,and the " Joly " anchored in the open sea.

384 LA SALLE IN TEXAS. [1685.knew not where.They knew not where they werethemselves; and for the fifteen thousand Indian allieswho were to have joined them, they found two hundredsqualid savages, more like enemies than friends.In fact, it was soon made plain that these theirneighbors wished them no good. A few days afterthe wreck, the prairie was seen on fire. As thesmoke and flame rolled towards them before thewind, La Salle caused all the grass about the campto be cut and carried away, and especially around thespot where the powder was placed. The danger wasaverted ; but it soon became known that the Indianshad stolen a number of blanketsand other articles,and carried them to their wigwams. Unwilling toleave his camp, La Salle sent his nephew Morangetand several other volunteers, with a party ofmen, toreclaim them. They went up the bay in a boat,landed at the Indian camp, and, with more mettlethan discretion, marched into it, sword in hand.The Indians ran off, and the rash adventurers seizedupon several canoes as an equivalent for the stolengoods. Not knowing how to manage them, theymade slow progress on their way back, and wereovertaken by night before reaching the French camp.They landed, made a fire, placed a sentinel, and laydown on the dry grass to sleep. The sentinel followedtheir example, when suddenly they wereawakened by the war-whoop and a shower of arrows.Two volunteers, Oris and Desloges. were killedon the spot; a third, named Gayen, was severely

"1685.] BEAUJEU AND LA SALLE. 885wounded; and young Moranget received an arrowthrough the arm. He leaped up and fired his gun atthe vociferous but invisible foe. Others of the partydid the same, and the Indians fled.It was about this time that Beaujeu prepared toreturn to France. He had accomplished his mission,and landed his passengers at what La Salle assuredhim to be one of the mouths of the Mississippi. Hisship was in danger on this exposed and perilous coast,and he was anxious to find shelter. For some timepast, his relations with La Salle had been amicable,and it was agreed between them that Beaujeu shouldstop at Galveston Bay, the supposed chief mouth ofthe Mississippi; or, failing to find harborage here,that he should proceed to Mobile Bay, and wait theretill April, to hear from his colleague. Two daysbefore the wreck of the "Aimable," he wrote to LaSalle: "I wish with all my heart that you wouldhave more confidence in me. For my part, I willalways make the first advances; and I will followyour counsel whenever Imy ship.can do so without riskingI will come back to this place, if you wantto know the results of the voyage I am going tomake. If you wish, I will go to Martinique for provisionsand reinforcements. In fine, there is nothingI am not ready to do: you have only to speak.La Salle had begged him to send ashore a numberof cannon and a quantity of iron, stowed in the"Joly," for the use of the colony; and Beaujeureplies: "I wish very much that I could give you25

886 LA SALLE IN TEXAS. [1685your iron, but it is impossible except in a harbor;for it is on my ballast, and under your cannon, myspare anchors, and all my stowage. It would takethree days to get it out,which cannot be done in thisplace, where the sea runs like mountains when theslightest wind blows outside. I would rather comeback to give it to you, in case you do not send the*Belle ' to Baye du St. Esprit [Mobile Bay] to getit. ... I beg you once more to consider the offerI make you to go to Martinique to get provisionsfor your people. I will ask the intendant for themin your name; and if they are refused, I will takethem on my own account." 1To this La Salle immediately replied :" I receivedwith singular pleasure the letter you took the troubleto write me ;for I found in it extraordinary proofs ofkindness in the interest you take in the success ofaffair which I have the more at heart, as it involvesthe glory of the King and the honor of Monseigneurde Seignelay.I have done my part towards a perfectunderstanding between us,anand have never beenwanting in confidence ; but even if I could be so, theoffers you make are so obliging that they wouldinspire complete trust." He nevertheless declinesthem, — assuring Beaujeu at the same time that hehas reached the place he sought, and is in a fair wayof success if he can but have the cannon, cannonballs,and iron stowed on board the " Joly."*» Lettre de Beaujeu a La Salle, 18 Fiv., 1685 (Margry, ii. 642).8 Lettre de La Salle a Beaujeu, 18 Feo., 1685 (Margry, ii. 546).

1685.J DEPARTURE OF BEAUJEU. 887Directly after he writes again, " I cannot help conjuringyou once more to try to give us the iron."Beaujeu replies :" To show you how ardently I wishto contribute to the success of your undertaking, Ihave ordered your iron to be got out, in spite of myofficers and sailors, who tell me that I endanger myship by moving everything in the depth of the holdon a coast like this, where the seas are like mountains.I hesitated to disturb my stowage, not somuch to save trouble as because no ballast is to begot hereabout; and I have therefore had sixcannon,from my lower deck battery, let down into the holdto take the place of the iron." And he again urgesLa Salle to accept his offer to bring provisions to thecolonists from Martinique.On the next day, the "Amiable'' was wrecked.Beaujeu remained a fortnight longer on the coast,and then told La Salle that being out of wood,water, and other necessaries, he must go to MobileBay to get them.Nevertheless, he lingered a weekmore, repeated his offer to bring supplies fromMartinique, which La Salle again refused, and atlast set sail on the twelfth of March, after a leavetakingwhich was courteous on both sides. 1ofLa Salle and his colonists were left alone.Severalthem had lost heart, and embarked for home withBeaujeu. Among these was Minet the engineer,who had fallen out with La Salle, and who when hei The whole of this correspondence between Beaujeu and L«Salle will be found in Margry, ii.

388 LA SALLE IN TEXAS. [1685reached France was imprisoned for deserting him.Even his brother, the priest Jean Cavelier, had amind to abandon the enterprise, but was persuadedat last to remain, along with his nephew the hotheadedMoranget, and the younger Cavelier, a mereschool-boy. The two Re*collet friars, Zenobe Membre*and Anastase Douay, the trusty Joutel, a man ofsense and observation, and the Marquis de laSablonniere, a debauched noble whose patrimony washis sword, were now the chief persons of the forlorncompany. The rest were soldiers, raw and undisciplined,and artisans,most of whom knew nothingof their vocation. Add to these the miserablefamilies and the infatuated young women who hadcome to tempt fortune in the swamps and cane-brakesof the Mississippi.La Salle set out to explore the neighborhood.Joutel remained in command of the so-called fort.He was beset with wily enemies, and often at nightthe Indians would crawl in the grass around hisfeeble stockade, howling like wolves; but a fewshots would put them to flight. A strict guard waskept ; and a wooden horse was set in the enclosure,to punish the sentinel who should sleep at hisThey stood in daily fear of apost.more formidable foe,and once they saw a sail, which they doubted notwas Spanish; but she happily passed without discovering them. They hunted on the prairies, andspeared fish in the neighboring pools. On EasteiDay, the Sieur le Gros, one of the chief men of the

1685.1 CONDUCT OF BEAUJEU. 389company, went out after the service to shoot snipes;but as he walked barefoot through the marsh, asnake bit him, and he soon after died. Two mendeserted, to starve on the prairie, or to become savagesamong savages. Others tried to escape, butwere caught; and one of them was hung. A knotof desperadoes conspired to kill Joutel; but one ofthem betrayed the secret, and the plot was crushed.La Salle returned from his exploration, but hisreturn brought no cheer. He had been forced torenounce the illusion to which he had clung so long,and was convinced at last that he was not atthe mouth of the Mississippi. The wreck of the" Aimable " itself was not pregnant with consequencesso disastrous.Note. — The conduct of Beaujeu, hitherto judged chiefly by theprinted narrative of Joutel, is set in a new and more favorable lightby his correspondence with La Salle. Whatever may have beentheir mutual irritation, it is clear that the naval commander wa»anxious to discharge his duty in a manner to satisfy Seignelay, andthat he may be wholly acquitted of any sinister design. When heleft La Salle on the twelfth of March, he meant to sail in search ofthe Bay of Mobile (Baye du St. Esprit),—partly because he hopedto find it a safe harbor, where he could get La Salle's cannon out ofthe hold and find ballast to take their place ; and partly to get asupply of wood and water, of which he was in extreme need. Hetold La Salle that he would wait there till the middle of April, inorder that he (La Salle) might send the "Belle" to receive thecannon ; but on this point there was no definite agreement betweenthem. Beaujeu was ignorant of the position of the bay, which hethought much nearer than it actually was. After trying two daysto reach it, the strong head-winds and the discontent of his crew inducedhim to bear away for Cuba; and after an encounter withpirates and various adventures, he reached France about the firstof July. He was coldly received by Seignelay, who wrote to th*

890 LA SALLE IN TEXAS. [1685.intendant at Rochelle: "His Majesty has seen what you wroteabout the idea of the Sieur de Beaujeu, that the Sieur de la Salle isnot at the mouth of the Mississippi. He seems to found this beliefon such weak conjectures that no great attention need be given tchit account, especially as this man has been prejudiced from thefirst against La Salle's enterprise." (Lettre de Seignelay a Arnoul, 22Juillet, 1686. Margry, ii. 604.) The minister at the same timewarns Beaujeu to say nothing in disparagement of the enterprise,under pain of the King's displeasure.The narrative of the engineer, Minet, sufficiently explains acurious map, made by him, as he says, not on the spot, but on thevoyage homeward, and still preserved in the Archives Scientifiquesde la Marine. This map includes two distinct sketches of themouth of the Mississippi. The first, which corresponds to thatmade by Franquelin in 1684, is entitled " Embouchure de la Rivierecomme M. de la Salle la marque dans sa Carte." The second bearsthe words, " Costes et Lacs par la Hauteur de sa Riviere, commenous les avons trouves." These "Costes et Lacs" are a ruderepresentation of the lagoons of Matagorda Bay and its neighborhood,into which the Mississippi is made to discharge, in accordancewith the belief of La Salle. A portion of the coast-line is drawnfrom actual, though superficial observation. The rest is merelyconjectural.

"CHAPTER XXVI.1685-1687.ST.LOUIS OF TEXAS.The Fort. — Misery and Dejection. — Energt of La SallehisJourney op Exploration. — Adventures and Accidents.— The Buffalo. — Duhaut. — Indian Massacre. — Returnof La Salle. — A New Calamity. — A Desperate Resolution.— Departure for Canada. — Wreck of the " Belle."—Marriage. — Sedition. — Adventures of La Salle's Party.— The Cenis. — The Camanches. — The Only Hope. — TheLast Farewell.Of what avail to plant a colony by themouth of apetty Texan river? The Mississippi was the life ofthe enterprise, the condition of its growth and of itsexistence. Without it, all was futile and meaningless,— a folly and a ruin. Cost what it might, theMississippi must be found.But the demands of the hour were imperative.The hapless colony, cast ashore like a wreck on thesands of Matagorda Bay, must gather up its shatteredresources and recruit its exhausted strength, beforeit essayed anew its pilgrimage to the " fatal river.La Salle during his explorations had found a spotwhich he thought well fitted for a temporary establishment.It was on the river which he named the

892 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1685.La Vache, 1 now the Lavaca, which enters the headof Matagorda Bay; and thither he ordered all thewomen and children, and most of the men, toremove; while the rest, thirty in number, remainedwith Joutel at the fort near the mouth of the bay.Here they spent their time in hunting, fishing, andsquaring the logs of drift-wood which the sea washedup in abundance, and which La Salle proposed to usein building his new station on the Lavaca. Thusthe time passed till midsummer, when Joutelreceived orders to abandon his post, and rejoin themain body of the colonists. To this end, the littlefrigate " Belle " was sent down the bay. She was agift from the King to La Salle, who had brought hersafely over the bar,and regarded her as a mainstayof his hopes. She now took on board the stores andsome of the men, while Joutel with the restfollowedalong shore to the post on the Lavaca. Here hefound a state of things that was far from cheering.Crops had been sown, but the drought and the cattlehad nearly destroyed them. The colonists werelodged under tents and hovels; and the only solidstructure was a small square enclosure of pickets,in which the gunpowder and the brandy were stored.The site was good, a rising ground by the river ; butthere was no wood within the distance of a league,and no horses or oxen to drag it.Their work mustbe done by men. Some felled and squared thetimber; and others dragged it by main force over the1Called by Joutel, Riviere aux Boeufs.

;1685.] MISERY AND DEJECTION. 398matted grass of the prairie, under the scorchingTexan sun. The gun-carriages served to make thetask somewhat easier; yet the strongest men soongave out under it. Joutel went down to the firstfort,made a raft and brought up the timber collectedthere, which proved a most seasonable and usefulsupply. Palisades and buildings began to rise.The men labored without spirit, yet strenuously;for they labored under the eye of La Salle. Thecarpenters brought from Rochelle proved worthlessand he himself made the plans of the work, markedout the tenons and mortises, and directed the whole. 1Death, meanwhile, made withering havoc amonghis followers; and under the sheds and hovels thatshielded them from the sun lay a score of wretchesslowly wasting away with the diseases contracted atSt. Domingo. Of the soldiers enlisted for the expeditionby La Salle's agents, many are affirmed tohave spent their lives in begging at the church doorsof Rochefort, and were consequently incapable ofdiscipline.or the sailorsIt was impossible to prevent either themfrom devouring persimmons and otherwild fruits to a destructive excess. Nearly all fellill;and before the summer had passed, the graveyardhad more than thirty tenants. 2 The bearing of LaSalle did not aid to raise the drooping spirits of his1 Joutel, Journal Historique, 108; Relation (Mar*ry, iii. 174);Proces Verbal fait au poste de St. Louis, le 18 Avril, 1686.2 Joutel, Journal Historique, 109. Le Clerc, who wat not prewmt,says a hundred.

394 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1685.followers. The results of the enterprise had beenfar different from his hopes ; and, after a season offlattering promise, he had entered again on thosedark and obstructed paths which seemed his destinedway of life. The present was beset with trouble;the future, thick with storms. The consciousnessquickened his energies ;and often unjust to those beneath him.but it made him stern, harsh,Joutel was returning to camp one afternoon withthe master-carpenter, when they saw game; and thecarpenter went after it. He was never seen again.Perhaps he was lost on the prairie,perhaps killed byIndians. He knew little of his trade, but theynevertheless had need of him. Le Gros, a man ofcharacter and intelligence, suffered more and morefrom the bite of the snake received in the marsh onEaster Day. The injured limb was amputated, andhe died. La Salle's brother, the priest, lay ill; andseveral others among the chief persons of the colonywere in the same condition.Meanwhile, the work was urged on. A largebuilding was finished,constructed of timber, roofedwith boards and raw hides, and divided into apartmentsfor lodging and other uses.La Salle gave thenew establishment his favorite name of Fort St.Louis, and the neighboring bay was also christenedafter the royal saint. 1 The scene was not without1The Bay of St. Louis, St. Bernard's Bay, or Matagorda Bay, —for it has borne all these names, — was also called Espiritu SantoBay by the Spaniards, in common with several other bays in theGulf of Mexico. An adjoining bay still retains the name.

1685.] LA SALLE'S EXPLORATIONS. 395its charms.Towards the southeast stretched the baywith its bordering meadows; and on the northeastthe Lavaca ran along the base of green declivities.Around, far and near, rolled a sea of prairie, withdistant forests, dim in the summer haze. At times,it was dotted with the browsing buffalo, not yetscared from their wonted pastures; and the grassyswells were spangled with the flowers for whichTexas is renowned, and which now form the gayornaments of our gardens.And now, the needful work accomplished, and thecolony in some measure housed and fortified, itsindefatigable chief prepared to renew his quest of the"fatal river," as Joutel repeatedly calls it. Beforehis departure he made some preliminary explorations,in the course of which, according to the report ofhis brother the priest, he found evidence that theSpaniards had long beforehad a transient establishmentat a spot about fifteen leagues from Fort St.Louis. 1i Cavelier, in his report to the minister, says :" We reached alarge village, enclosed with a kind of wall made of clay and sand,and fortified with little towers at intervals, where we found thearms of Spain engraved on a plate of copper, with the date of 1588,attached to a stake. The inhabitants gave us a kind welcome, andshowed us some hammers and an anvil, two small pieces of ironcannon, a small brass culverin, some pike-heads, some old swordblades,and some books of Spanish comedy; and thence theyguided us to a little hamlet of fishermen, about two leagues distant,where they showed us a second stake, also with the arms of Spain,and a few old chimneys. All this convinced us that the Spaniardshad formerly been here." (Cavelier, Relation du Voyage que monfrere entreprit pour decouvrir I'embouchure du fieuve de Mmitipy.)

896 ST. LOUIS OP TEXAS. [1685.It was the last day of October when La Salle setout on his great journey of exploration.His brotherCavelier, who had now recovered, accompanied himwith fifty men; and five cannon-shot from the fortsaluted them as they departed. They were lightlyequipped; but some of them wore corselets made ofstaves, to ward off arrows. Descending the Lavaca,they pursued their course eastward on footalong themargin of the bay, while Joutel remained in commandof the fort. It was two leagues above themouth of the river; and in it were thirty-fourpersons, including three Re*collet friars, a number ofwomen and girls from Paris, and two young orphandaughters ofone Talon, a Canadian, who had latelydied. Their live-stock consisted of some hogs and alitter of eight pigs, which, as Joutel does not forgetto inform us, passed their time in wallowing in theditch of the palisade ;a cock and hen, with a youngfamily; and a pair of goats, which, in a temporarydearth of fresh meat, were sacrificed to the needs ofthe invalid Abbe" Cavelier.Joutel suffered no manto lie idle. The blacksmith, having no anvil, wassupplied with a cannon as a substitute. Lodgingswere built for the women and girls, and separatelodgings for the men. A small chapel was afterwardsadded, and the whole was fenced with aThe above is translated from the original draft of Cavelier, whichis in my possession. It was addressed to the colonial minister, afterthe death of La Salle. The statement concerning the Spaniardsneeds confirmation.

—1685.] LIFE AT THE FORT. 897palisade. At the four corners of the house weremounted eight pieces of cannon, which, in theabsence of balls, were loaded with bags of bullets. 1Between the palisades and the stream lay a narrowstrip of marsh, the haunt of countless birds ; and ata little distance it deepened into pools full of fish.All the surrounding prairies swarmed with game,buffalo, deer, hares, turkeys, ducks, geese, swans,plover, snipe, and grouse. The river supplied thecolonists with turtles, and the bay with oysters. Ofthese last, they often found more than they wanted;for when in their excursions they shoved their logcanoes into the water, wading shoeless through thedeep, tenacious mud, the sharp shells would cuttheir feet like knives; "and what was worse," saysJoutel, "the salt water came into the gashes, andmade them smart atrociously."He sometimes amused himself with shooting alligators." I never spared them when I met them nearthe house. One day I killed an extremely large one,which was nearly four feet and a half in girth, andabout twenty feet long." He describes with accuracythat curious native of the southwestern plains, the"horned frog," which, deceived by its uninvitingappearance, he erroneously supposed to be venomous."We had some of our animals bitten by snakes;among the others, a bitch that had belonged to the1Compare Joutel with the Spanish account in Carta en que $e danoticia de un viaje hecho d la Bahia de Espiritu Santo y de la poblacionque tenian ahi los Franceses; Coleccion de Varios Documentos, 26,

398 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1685.deceased Sieur le Gros. She was bitten in the jawwhen she was with me, as I was fishing by the shoreof the bay. I gave her a little theriac [an antidotethen in vogue], which cured her,as it did one of oursows, which came home one day with her head soswelled that she could hardly hold it up. Thinkingit must be some snake that had bitten her, I gaveher a dose of the theriac mixed with meal andwater." The patient began to mend at once. "Ikilled a good many rattle-snakes by means of theaforesaid bitch, for when she saw one she would barkaround him, sometimes for a half hour together,tillI took my gun and shot him. I often found them inthe bushes, making a noise with their tails. WhenI had killed them, our hogs ate them." He devotesmany pages to the plants and animals of the neighborhood,most of which may easily be recognizedfrom his description.With the buffalo, which he calls " our daily bread,his experiences were many and strange.Being, likethe rest of the party, a novice in the art of shootingthem, he met with many disappointments. Once,having mounted to the roof of the large house in thefort, he saw a dark moving object on a swell of theprairie three miles off; and rightly thinking that itwas a herd of buffalo, he set out with six or sevenmen to try to kill some of them. After a while, hediscovered two bullslying in a hollow; and signingto the rest of his party to keep quiet, he made hisapproach, gun in hand. The bulls presently jumped

1685.] THE BUFFALO. 899up, and stared through their manes at the intruder.Joutel fired. It was a close shot; but the bullsmerely shook their shaggy heads, wheeled about,and galloped heavily away. The same luck attendedhim the next day. " We saw plenty of buffalo. Iapproached several bands of them, and fired againand again, but could not make one of them fall."He had not yet learned that a buffalo rarely falls atonce, unless hit in the spine. He continues :" I wasnot discouraged ;and after approaching several morebands, — which was hard work, because I had tocrawl on the ground, so as not to be seen, — I foundmyself in a herd of five or six thousand, but, to mygreat vexation, I could not bring one ofthem down.They all ran off to the right and left. It was nearnight, and I had killed nothing. Though I wasvery tired, I tried again, approached another band,and fired a number of shots ;but not a buffalo wouldfall. The skin was off my knees with crawling.At last,as I was going back to rejoin our men, I sawa buffalo lying on the ground. I went towards it,and saw that it was dead. I examined it, and foundthat the bullet had gone in near the shoulder. ThenI found others dead like the first. I beckoned themen to come on, and we set to work to cut up themeat, — a task which was new to us all."be impossible to write a more trueIt wouldand characteristicsketch of the experience of a novice in shootingbuffalo on foot. A few days after, he went outagain, with Father Anastase Douay; approached a

400 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1686.bull, fired, and broke his shoulder. The bull hobbledoff on three legs. Douay ran in his cassock tohead him back, while Joutel reloaded his gun ; uponwhich the enraged beast butted at the missionary,and knocked him down. He very narrowly escapedwith his life. "There was another missionary,"pursues Joutel, "named Father Maxime Le Clerc,who was very well fitted for such an undertaking asours, because he was equal to anything, even tobutchering a buffalo ; and as I said before that everyone of us must lend a hand, because we were too fewfor anybody to be waited upon, I made the women,girls, and children do their part, as well as him; foras they all wanted to eat, it was fair that they allshould work." He had a scaffolding built near thefort, and set them to smoking buffalo meat, againsta day of scarcity. 1Thus the time passed till the middle of January;when late one evening, as all were gathered in theprincipal building, conversing perhaps, or smoking,or playing at cards, or dozing by the fire in homesickdreams ofFrance, a man on guard came in to reportthat he had heard a voice from the river. They allwent down to the bank, and descried a man in acanoe, who called out, " Dominic ! " This was thename of the younger of the two brothers Duhaut,who was one of Joutel's followers. As the canoe1For the above incidents of life at Fort St. Louis, see Joutel,Relation (Margry, iii. 185-218, passim). The printed condensationof the narrative omits most of these particulars.

1686.] RETURN OF DUHAUT. 401approached, they recognized the elder, who had gonewith La Salle on his journey of discovery, and whowas perhaps the greatest villain of the company.Joutel was much perplexed. La Salle had orderedhim to admit nobody into the fort without a passand a watchword. Duhaut, when questioned, saidthat he had none, but told at the same time so plausiblea story that Joutel no longer hesitated to receivehim. As La Salle and his men were pursuing theirmarch along the prairie, Duhaut, who was in therear, had stopped to mend his moccasins, and whenhe tried to overtake the party, had lost his way, mistakinga buffalo-path for the trail of his companions.At night he fired his gun as a signal, but there wasno answering shot. Seeing no hope of rejoiningthem, he turned back for the fort, found one of thecanoes which La Salle had hidden at the shore,paddled by night and lay close by day, shot turkeys,deer, and buffalo for food, and, having no knife,cut the meat with a sharp flint, till after a month ofexcessive hardship he reached his destination. Asthe inmates of Fort St. Louis gathered about theweather-beaten wanderer, he told them dreary tidings.The pilot of the "Belle," such was his story,had gone with five men to sound along the shore, byorder of La Salle, who was then encamped in theneighborhood with his party of explorers. Theboat's crew, being overtaken by the night, had rashlybivouacked on the beach without setting a guard;and as they slept, a band of Indians had rushed in26

402 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1686.upon them, and butchered them all. La Salle,alarmed by their long absence, had searched alongthe shore, and at length found their bodiesabout the sands and half-devoured by wolves. 1scatteredWellwould it have been, if Duhaut had shared their fate.Weeks and months dragged on, when, at the endof March, Joutel, chancing to mount on the roof ofone of the buildings, saw seven or eight men approachingover the prairie. He went out to meet themwith an equal number, well armed; and as he drewnear recognized, with mixed joy and anxiety, LaSalle and some of those who had gone with him.His brother Cavelier was at his side,with his cassockso tattered that, says Joutel, "there was hardly apiece left large enough to wrap a farthing's worth ofsalt. He had an old cap on his head, having lost hishat by the way. The rest were in no better plight,for their shirts were all in rags. Some of themcarried loads of meat, because M. de la Salle wasafraid that we might not have killed any buffalo,We met with great joy and many embraces. Afterour greetings were over, M. de la Salle, seeingDuhaut, asked me in an angry tone how it was thati Joutel, Relation (Margry, iii. 206). Compare Le Clerc, ii. 296.Cavelier, always disposed to exaggerate, says that ten men werekilled. La Salle had previously had encounters with the Indians,and punished them severely for the trouble they had given his men-Le Clerc says of the principal fight " : Several Indians werewounded, a few were killed, and others made prisoners, — one ofwhom, a girl of three or four years, was baptized, and died a fewdays after, as the first-fruit of this mission, and a sure conquest sentto heaven."

1686.] LA SALLE'S ADVENTURES. 403I had received this man who had abandoned him.I told him how it had happened, and repeatedDuhaut's story. Duhaut defended himself, and M.de la Salle's anger was soon over. We went intothe house, and refreshed ourselves with some breadand brandy, as there was no Avine left." 1La Salle and his companions told their story.They had wandered on through various savagetribes, with whom they had more than one encounter,scattering them like chaff by the terror of their firearms.At length they found a more friendly band,and learned much touching the Spaniards, who,they were told, were universally hated by the tribesof that country.It would be easy, said their informants,to gather a host of warriors and lead themover the Rio Grande ; but La Salle was in no conditionfor attempting conquests, and the tribes inwhose alliance he had trusted had, a few days before,been at blows with him. The invasion of NewBiscay must be postponed to a more propitiousday.Still advancing, he came to a large river, which heat first mistook for the Mississippi; and building afort of palisades, he left here several of his men. 2The fate of these unfortunates does not appear. He1 Joutel, Relation (Margry, iii. 219).2 Cavelier says that he actually reached the Mississippi ;but, onthe one hand, the abbs' did not know whether the river in questionwas the Mississippi or not; and, on the other, he is somewhatinclined to mendacity. Le Clerc says that La Salle thought he hadfound the river. According to the Proces Verbal of 18 April, 1686," il y arriva le 13 Fevrier." Joutel says that La Salle told him" qu'il n'avoit point trouve' sa riviere."

404 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1686.now retraced his steps towards Fort St. Louis, and,as he approached it, detached some of his men tolook for his vessel, the "Belle," for whose safety,since the loss of her pilot, he had become veryanxious.On the next day these men appeared at the fort,with downcast looks. They had not found the44Belle " at the place where she had been ordered toremain, nor were any tidings to be heard of her.From that hour, the conviction that she was lostpossessed the mind of La Salle. Surrounded as hewas, and had always been, with traitors, the beliefnow possessed him that her crew had abandoned thecolony, and made sail for the West Indies or forFrance. The loss was incalculable. He had reliedon this vessel to transport the colonists to theMississippi, as soon as its exact position could beascertained ;and thinking her a safer place of depositthan the fort, he had put on board of her all hispapers and personal baggage, besides a great quantityof stores, ammunition, and tools. 1In truth, she wasof the last necessity to the unhappy exiles, and theironly resource for escape from a position which wasfastbecoming desperate.La Salle, as his brother tells us, now fell dangerouslyill, — the fatigues of his journey, joined to theeffects upon his mind of this last disaster, havingovercome his strength, though not his fortitude."In truth," writes the priest, "after the loss of the1Proces Verbal fait au poste de St. Louis, h 18 Avril, 1686.

;1686.] DEPARTURE FOR CANADA. 405vessel which deprived us of our only means of returningto France, we had no resource but in the firmguidance of my brother, whose death each of uswould have regarded as his own." 1La Salle no sooner recovered than he embraceda resolution which could be the offspring only of adesperate necessity. He determined to make hisway by the Mississippi and the Illinois to Canada,whence he might bring succor to the colonists, andsend a report of their condition to France. Theattempt was beset with uncertainties and dangers.The Mississippi was first to be found, then followedthrough all the perilous monotony ofits interminablewindings to a goal which was to be but the startingpointof a new and not less arduous journey.Cavelier his brother, Moranget hisnephew, the friarAnastase Douay, and others to the number of twenty,were chosen to accompany him.Every corner of themagazine was ransacked for an outfit. Joutel generouslygave up the better part of his wardrobe to LaSalle and his two relatives.Duhaut, who had savedhis baggage from the wreck of the "Aimable," wasrequired to contribute to the necessities ofthe partyand the scantily-furnished chests of those who haddied were used to supply the wants of the living.Each man labored with needle and awl to patch hisfailing garments, or supply their place with buffaloor deer skins. On the twenty-second of April, after1 Cavelier, Relation du Voyage pour decouvrir I'Embouchure duFleuve de Missisipy.

'406 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1688.mass and prayers in the chapel, they issued from thegate, each bearing his pack and his weapons, somewith kettles slung at their backs, some with axes,some with gifts for Indians. In this guise, theyheld their way in silence across the prairie ; whileanxious eyes followed them from the palisades ofLouis, whose inmates, not excepting Joutel himself,seem to have been ignorant of the extent and difficultyof the undertaking. 1"On May Day," he writes, "at about two in theafternoon, asSt.I was walking near the house, I hearda voice from the river below, crying out severaltimes, Qui vive? Knowing that the Sieur Barbierhad gone that way with two canoes to hunt buffalo,I thought that it might be one of these canoes comingback with meat, and did not think much of thematter till I heard the same voice again.I answered,Versailles, which was the password I had given theSieur Barbier, in case he should come back in thenight. But, as I was going towards the bank, Iheard other voices which I had not heard fpr a longtime. I recognized among the rest that of M.Chefdeville, which made me fearhad happened.that some disasterI ran down to the bank, and my firstgreeting was to ask what had become of the 4Belle.1 Joutel, Journal Historigue, 140 ; Anastase Douay in Le Clerc, ii.303; Cavelier, Relation. The date is from Douay. It does notappear, from nig narrative, that they meant to go farther than theIllinois.Cavelier says that after resting here they were to go toCanada. Joutel supposed that they would go only to the IllinoisLa Salle seems to have been even more reticent than usual.

1888.] WRECK OF THE "BELLE." 407They answered that she was wrecked Qn the otherside of thebay, and that all on board were drownedexcept the six who were in the canoe; namely, theSieur Chefdeville, the Marquis de la Sablonniere, theman named Teissier, a soldier, a girl, and a littleboy." 1From the young priest Chefdeville, Joutel learnedthe particulars of the disaster. Water had failed onboard the " Belle ; " a boat's crew of five men hadgone in quest of it; the wind rose, their boat wasswamped, and they were all drowned. Those whoremained had now no means ofgoing ashore; but ifthey had no water, they had wine and brandy inabundance, and Teissier, the master of the vesseKwas drunk every day.moorings, and tried to reach the fort;After a while they left theiibut they werefew, weak, and unskilful. A violent north winddrove them on a sand-bar. Some of them weredrowned in trying to reach land on a raft. Otherswere more successful ; and, after a long delay, theyfound a stranded canoe, in which they made theirway to St. Louis, bringing with them some of LaSalle's papers and baggage saved from the wreck.These multiplied disastersbore hard on the spiritsof the colonists ; and Joutel, like a good commanderas he was, spared no pains to cheer them. " We didwhat we could to amuse ourselves and drive awavcare.I encouraged our people to dance and sing inthe evenings; for when M. de la Salle was among1 Joutel, Relation (Margry, iii. 226)

408 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1686.us, pleasure was often banished. Now, there is nouse in being melancholy on such occasions. It istrue that M. de la Salle had no great cause formerry-making, after all his losses and disappointments;but his troubles made others suffer also.Though he had ordered me to allow to each persononly a certain quantity of meat at every meal, Iobserved this rule only when meat was rare. Theair here is very keen, and one has a great appetite.One must eat and act, if he wants good health andspirits.I speak from experience; for once, when Ihad ague chills, and was obliged to keep the housewith nothing to do, I was dreary and down-hearted.On the contrary, if I was busy with hunting or anythingelse, I was not so dull by half. So I tried tokeep the people as busy as possible. I set them tomaking a small cellar to keep meat fresh in hotweather; but when M. de la Salle came back, hesaid it was too small. As he always wanted to doeverything on a grand scale, he prepared to make alarge one, and marked out the plan." This plan ofthe large cellar, like more important undertakingsof its unhappy projector, proved too extensive forexecution, the colonists being engrossed by the dailycare of keeping themselves alive.A gleam of hilarity shot for an instant out of theclouds. The young Canadian, Barbier, usually conductedthe hunting-parties ; and some of the womenand girls often went out with them, to aid in cuttingup the meat. Barbier became enamoured of one of

1686.] MATRIMONY. 409the girls ; and as his devotion to her was the subjectof comment, he asked Joutel for leave to marry her.The commandant, after due counsel with the priestsand friars, vouchsafed his consent, and the rite wasduly solemnized; whereupon, fired by the example,the Marquis de la Sablonniere begged leave to marryanother of the girls. Joutel, the gardener's son,concerned that a marquis should so abase himself,and anxious at the same time for the morals of thefort,which La Salle had especially commended to hiscare, not only flatly refused, but, in the plenitudeof his authority, forbade the lovers all furtherintercourse.Father Zenobe Membre*, superior of the mission,gave unwilling occasion for further merriment.These worthy friars were singularly unhappy in theirdealings with the buffalo, one of which, it may beremembered, had already knocked down FatherAnastase. Undeterred by his example, Father Zenobeone day went out with the hunters, carrying agun like the rest. Joutel shot a buffalo, which wasmaking off, badly wounded, when a second shotstopped it, and it presently lay down. The fathersuperior thought it was dead; and, without heedingthe warning shout of Joutel, he approached, andpushed it with the butt of his gun. The bull sprangup with an effort of expiring fury, and, in the wordsof Joutel, " trampled on the father, took the skin offhis face in several places, and broke his gun, so thathe could hardly manage to get away, and remained

;410 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1689.in an almost helpless state for more than threemonths. Bad as the accident was, he was laughedat nevertheless for his rashness."The mishaps of the friars did not end here. FatherMaxime Le Clerc was set upon by a boar belongingto the colony."I do not know," says Joutel, "whatspite the beast had against him, whether for a beatingor some other offence; but, however this may be, Isaw thefather running and crying for help, and theboar running after him. I went to the rescue, butcould not come up in time. The father stooped ashe ran, to gather up his cassock from about hislegsand the boar, which ran faster than he, struck himin the arm with his tusks, so that some of the nerveswere torn. Thus, all three of our good Recolletfathers were near being the victims of animals." 1In spite of his efforts to encourage them, the followersof Joutel were fast losing heart. FatherMaxime Le Clerc kept a journal, in which he setdown various charges against La Salle. Joutel gotpossession of the paper, and burned it on the urgententreaty of the friars, who dreaded what might ensue,should the absent commander become aware of theaspersions cast upon him. The elder Duhautfomented the rising discontent of the colonists,played the demagogue, told them that La Sallewould never return, and tried to make himself theirleader. Joutel detected the mischief, and, witha lenity which he afterwards deeply regretted, con-1 Joutel, Relation (Margry, iii. 244, 246).

1686.] ADVENTURES OF THE TRAVELLERS. 411tented himself with a rebuke to the offender, andwords of reproof and encouragement to the dejectedband.He had caused the grass to be cut near the fort,as to form a sort of playground; and here, one evening,he and some of the party were trying to amusethemselves, when they heard shouts from beyond theriver, and Joutel recognized the voice of La Salle.Hastening to meet him in a wooden canoe, hebrought him and his party to the fort. Twentymen had gone out with him, and eight had returned.Of the rest, four had deserted, one had been lost,one had been devoured by an alligator; and theothers, giving out on the march, had probably perishedin attempting to regain the fort. The travellerstold of a rich country, a wild and beautifullandscape, — woods, rivers, groves, and prairies ; butallavailed nothing, and the acquisition of five horseswas but an indifferent return for the loss of twelvemen.After leaving the fort,sothey had journeyed towardsthe northeast, over plains green as an emerald withthe young verdure of April, till at length they saw,far as the eye could reach, the boundless prairie alivewith herds of buffalo. The animals were in one oftheir tame or stupid moods; and they killednine orten of them without the least difficulty, drying thebest parts of the meat. They crossed the Coloradoon a raft, and reached the banks of another river,where one of the party, named Hiens, a German of

412 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1686.Wiirtemberg, and an old buccaneer, was mired andnearly suffocated in a mud-hole. Unfortunately, aswill soon appear, he managed to crawl out; and, toconsole him, the river was christened with his name.The party made a bridge of felled trees, on whichthey crossed in safety. La Salle now changed theircourse, and journeyed eastward, when the travellerssoon found themselves in the midst of a numerousIndian population, where they were feasted andcaressed without measure. At another village theywere less fortunate. The inhabitants were friendlyby day and hostile by night. They came to attackthe French in their camp, but withdrew, daunted bythe menacing voice of La Salle, who had heard themapproaching through the cane-brake.La Salle's favorite Shawanoe hunter, Nika, whohad followed him from Canada toFrance, and fromFrance to Texas, was bitten by a rattlesnake; and,though he recovered, the accident detained the partyfor several days. At length they resumed theirjourney, but were stopped by a river, called byDouay, "La Riviere des Malheurs." La Salle andCavelier, with a few others, tried to cross on a raft,which, as it reached the channel, was caught bya current of marvellous swiftness. Douay andMoranget, watching the transit from the edge ofcane-brake, beheld theirthecommander swept down thestream, and vanishing, as it were, in an instant.Allthat day they remained with their companions on thebank, lamenting in despair for the loss of their guar-

1686.] ADVENTURES OF THE TRAVELLERS. 413dian angel, for so Douay calls La Salle. 1It was fastgrowing dark, when, to their unspeakable relief, theysaw him advancing with his party along the oppositebank, having succeeded, after great exertion, inguiding the raft to land. How to rejoin him wasnow the question. Douay and his companions, whohad tasted no food that day, broke their fast on twoyoung eagles which they knocked out of their nest,and then spent the night in ruefulconsultation as tothe means of crossing the river. In the morningthey waded into the marsh, the friar with his breviaryin his hood to keep it dry, and hacked among thecanes tillthey had gathered enough to make anotherraft; on which, profiting by La Salle's experience,they safely crossed, and rejoined him.Next, they became entangled in a cane-brake,where La Salle, as usual with him in such cases,took the lead, a hatchet in each hand, and hewed outa path for his followers. They soon reached thevillages of the Cenis Indians, on and near the riverTrinity, — a tribe then powerful, but long sinceextinct. Nothing could surpass the friendliness oftheir welcome. The chiefs came to meet them,bearing the calumet, and followed by warriors inshirts of embroidered deerskin. Then the wholevillage swarmed out likebees, gathering around thei" Ce fftt une desolation extreme pour nous tous qui desesperioE*de revoir jamais nostre Ange tutelaire, le Sieur de la Salle. . ..Tout le jour se passa en pleurs et en larmes." — Douay in Le Clerv,ii. 315.

414 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [168(5.visitors with offerings of food and all that wasprecious in their eyes. La Salle was lodged withthe great chief;but he compelled his men to encampat a distance, lest the ardor of their gallantry mightgive occasion of offence. The lodges of the Cenis,forty or fifty feethigh, and covered with a thatch ofmeadow-grass, looked like huge bee-hives. Eachheld several families, whose fire was in the middle,and their beds around the circumference. The spoilof the Spaniards was to be seen on allsides, — silverlamps and spoons, swords, old muskets, money,clothing, and a bull of the Pope dispensing theSpanish colonists of New Mexico from fasting duringsummer. 1These treasures, as well as their numeroushorses, were obtained by the Cenis from theirneighborsand allies the Camanches, that fierce prairiebanditti who then, as now, scourged the Mexicanborder with their bloody forays. A party of thesewild horsemen was in the village.Douay was edifiedat seeing them make the sign of the cross in imitationof the neophytes of one of the Spanish missions.They enacted, too, the ceremony of the mass; andone of them, in his rude way, drew a sketch of apicture he had seen in some church which he hadpillaged, wherein the friar plainly recognized theVirgin weeping at the foot of the cross. Theyinvited the French to join them on a raid into NewMexico; and they spoke with contempt, as theirtribesmen will speak to this day, of the Spanish* Douay in Le Clerc, ii. 321; Cavelier, Relation.

168(5.] DEJECTION. 415Creoles, saying that it would be easy to conquer anation of cowards who make people walk before themwith fans to cool them in hot weather. 1Soon after leaving the Cenis villages, both LaSalle and his nephew Moranget were attacked byfever.This caused a delay of more than two months,during which the party seem to have remainedencamped on the Neches, or possibly the Sabine.When at length the invalids had recovered sufficientstrength to travel, the stock of ammunition wasnearly spent, some ofthe men had deserted, and thecondition of the travellers was such that there seemedno alternative but to return to Fort St. Louis. Thisthey accordingly did, greatly aided in their march bythe horses bought from the Cenis, and suffering novery serious accident by the way, — excepting theloss of La Salle's servant, Dumesnil, who was seizedby an alligator while attempting to cross theColorado.The temporary excitement caused among thecolonists by their return soon gave place to a dejectionbordering on despair. "This pleasant land,"writes Cavelier,and a perpetual prison."" seemed to us an abode of wearinessFlattering themselves withthe delusion, common to exiles of every kind, thatthey were objects of solicitude at home, they watcheddaily, with straining eyes, for an approaching sail.Ships, indeed, had ranged the coast to seek them,but with no friendly intent.l Douay in Le Clerc, ii. 324, 325.Their thoughts dwelt,

416 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1686.with unspeakable yearning, on theFrance they hadleft behind, which, to their longing fancy, waspictured as an unattainable Eden. Well might theydespond; for of a hundred and eighty colonists,besides the crew of the "Belle," less than forty-fiveremained. The weary precincts of Fort St. Louis,with its fence of rigid palisades, its area of trampledearth, its buildings of weather-stained timber, andits well-peopled graveyard without, were hateful totheir sight. La Salle had a heavy task to save themfrom despair. His composure, his unfailing equanimity,his words ofencouragement and cheer, werethe breath of life to this forlorn company ;for thoughhe could not impart to minds of less adamantinetemper the audacity of hope with which he stillclung to the final accomplishment of his purposes,the contagion of his hardihood touched, nevertheless,the drooping spirits of his followers. 1The journey to Canada was clearly their onlyhope; and, after a brief rest, La Salle prepared torenew the attempt. He proposed that Joutel shouldthistime be of the party; and should proceed fromQuebec to France, with his brother Cavelier, tosolicit succors for the colony, while he himself1 " L'egalite d'humeur du Chef rassuroit tout le monde ; et iltrouvoit des resources a tout par son esprit qui relevoit les espe - -rances les plus abatues."— Joutel, Journal Historique, 152." II seroit difficile de trouver dans l'Histoire un courage plusintrepide et plus invincible que celuy du Sieur de la Salle dans lese>enemens contraires ; il ne fut jamais abatu, et il espe'roit toujoursarec le secours du Ciel de venir a bout de son entreprise malgretow les obstacles qui se presentment." — Douay in Le Clerc, ii. 327.

1687.] TWELFTH NIGHT. 417returned to Texas. A new obstacle was presentlyinterposed. La Salle, whose constitution seems tohave suffered from his long course of hardships, wasattacked in November with hernia. Joutel offeredto conduct the party in his stead; but La Sallereplied that his own presence was indispensable atthe Illinois. He had the good fortune to recover,within four or five weeks, sufficiently to undertakethe journey; and all in the fort busied themselves inpreparing an outfit. In such straits were they forclothing,that the sails of the " Belle " were cut up tomake coats for the adventurers. Christmas came,and was solemnly observed.There was a midnightmass in the chapel, where Membre*, Cavelier, Douay,and their priestly brethren stood before the altar, investments strangely contrasting with the rude templeand the ruder garb of the worshippers. And asMemore* elevated the consecrated wafer, and thelamps burned dim through the clouds of incense, thekneeling group drew from the daily miracle suchconsolation as true Catholics alone can know.WhenTwelfth Night came, all gathered in the hall, andcried, after the jovial old custom, "The Kingdrinks," with hearts, perhaps, as cheerless as theircups, which were filled with cold water.On the morrow, the band of adventurers musteredfor the fatal journey. 1 The five horses, bought byi I follow Douay's date, who makes the day of departure theseventh of January, or the day after Twelfth Night.Joutel thinksit was the twelfth of January, but professes uncertainty as to allhis dates at this time, as he lost his notes.27

—418 ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. [1687.La Salle of the Indians, stood in the area of the fort,packed for the march; and here was gathered thewretched remnant of the colony, — those who wereto go, and those who were to stay behind. Theselatter were about twenty in all, — Barbier, who wasto command in the place of Joutel; SablonniSre,who, despite his title of marquis, was held in greatcontempt; 1 the friars, Membre* and Le Clerc, 2 andthe priest Chefdeville, besides a surgeon, soldiers,laborers, seven women and girls, and several children,doomed, in this deadly exile, to wait the issues ofthe journey, and the possible arrival of a tardysuccor. La Salle had made them a last address,delivered, we are told, with that winning air which,though alien from his usual bearing, seems to havebeen at times a natural expression of this unhappyman. 3 It was a bitter parting, one of sighs, tears,and embracings, — the farewell of those on whosesouls had sunk a heavy boding that they would never1 He had to be kept on short allowance, because he was in thehabit of bargaining away everything given to him. He had squanderedthe little that belonged to him at St. Domingo, in amusements" indignes de sa naissance," and in consequence was sufferingfrom diseases which disabled him from walking. (Proces Verbal, 18Avril, 1686.)2 Maxime le Clerc was a relative of the author of UE-tablissementde la Foi.* " II fit une Harangue pleine d'eloquence et de cet air engageantqui luy estoit si naturel : toute la petite Colonie y estoit presente eten fttt touchee jusques aux larmes, persuadee de la necessite de sonvoyage et de la droiture de ses intentions." Douay in Le Clsrc, u-330.

1687.] THE LAST FAREWELL. 419meet again. 1Equipped and weaponed for the journey,the adventurers filedfrom the gate, crossed theriver, and held their slow march over the prairiesbeyond, till intervening woods and hills shut FortSt.Louis forever from their sight.1 " Nous nous separames les uns des autres, d'une maniere sitendre et si triste qu'il sembloit que nous avions tous le secret pressentimentque nous ne nous reverrions jamais." — Joutel, JournalHistorique, 158.

;CHAPTER XXVII.1687.ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE.His Followers. — Prairie Travelling — A Hunters* Quarrel— The Murder of Moranget. — The Conspiracy. — Death ofLa Salle : his Character.The travellers were crossing a marshy prairietowards a distant belt of woods, that followed thecourse of a little river. They led with them theirfive horses, laden with their scanty baggage, and,with what was of no less importance, their stock ofpresents for Indians. Some wore the remains of theclothing they had worn from France, eked out withdeer-skins, dressed inthe Indian manner; and somehad coats of old sail-cloth. Here was La Salle, inwhom one would have known, at a glance, the chiefof the party; and the priest, Cavelier, who seems tohave shared not one of the high traits of his youngeibrother. Here, too, were their nephews, Morangetand the boy Cavelier, now about seventeen years oldthe trusty soldier Joutel; and the friar AnastaseDouay.Duhaut followed, a man of respectable birthand education; and Liotot, the surgeon of the party.

j1687.LA SALLE'S FOLLOWERS. 421At home, they might perhaps have lived and diedwith a fair repute; but the wilderness is a rudetouchstone, which often reveals traits that wouldhave lain buried and unsuspected in civilized life.The German Hiens, the ex-buccaneer, was also ofthe number. He had probably sailed with an Englishcrew; for he was sometimes known as Gemme Anglais,or "English Jem." 1 The Sieur de Marie; Teissier,a pilot; L'Archeveque, a servant of Duhaut; andothers, to the number in all of seventeen, — made upthe party; to which is to be added Nika, La Salle'sShawanoe hunter, who, as well as another Indian,had twice crossed the ocean with him, and stillfollowed his fortunes with an admiring thoughundemonstrative fidelity.They passed the prairie, and neared the forest.Here they saw buffalo ; and the hunters approached,and killed several of them. Then they traversed thewoods; found and forded the shallow and rushystream, and pushed through the forest beyond, tillthey again reached the open prairie. Heavy cloudsgathered over them, and it rained all night;but theysheltered themselves under the fresh hides of thebuffalothey had killed.It is impossible, as it would be needless, to followthe detail of their daily march. 8It was such an one,1Tonty also speaks of him as " un flibustier anglois." Inanother document, he is called " James."> Of the three narratives of this journey, those of Joutel, Car©.lier, and Anastase Douay, the first is by far the best. That ofCavelier seems the work of a man of confused brain and indifferent

";422 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687.though with unwonted hardship, as is familiar to thememory of many a prairie traveller of our own time.They suffered greatly from the want of shoes, andfound for a while no better substitute than a casingof raw buffalo-hide, which they were forced to keepalways wet, as, when dry, it hardened about the footlike iron. At length they bought dressed deer-skinfrom the Indians, of which they made tolerablemoccasins. The rivers, streams, and gullies filledwith water were without number: and to cross themthey made a boat of bull-hide, like the " bull boatstill used on the Upper Missouri. This did goodservice, as, with the help of their horses, they couldcarry it with them. Two or three men could crossin it at once, and the horses swam after them likedogs. Sometimes they traversed the sunny prairiesometimes dived into the dark recesses of the forest,where the buffalo, descending daily from theirpastures in long files to drink at the river, oftenmade a broad and easy path for the travellers.Whenfoul weather arrested them, they built huts of barkand long meadow-grass ;and safely sheltered loungedaway the day, while their horses, picketed near by,stood steaming in the rain. At night, they usuallyset a rude stockade about their camp ; and here, bymemory.Some of his statements are irreconcilable with those ofJoutel and Douay ; and known facts of his history justify the suspicionof a wilful inaccuracy. Joutel's account is of a very differentcharacter, and seems to be the work of an honest and intelligentman. Douay's account is brief ; but it agrees with that of Joutel,in most essential points.

1687.J PRAIRIE TRAVELLING. 423the grassy border of a brook, or at the edge of agrove where a spring bubbled up through the sands,they lay asleep around the embers of their fire, whilethe man on guard listened to the deep breathing ofthe slumbering horses, and the howling of the wolvesthat saluted the rising moon as it flooded the wasteof prairie with pale mystic radiance.They met Indians almost daily, — sometimes aband of hunters, mounted or on foot, chasing buffaloon the plains ; sometimes a party of fishermen ; sometimesa winter camp, on the slope of a hill or underthe sheltering border of a forest. They held intercoursewith them in the distance by signs ; often theydisarmed their distrust, and attracted them into theircamp; and often they visited them in their lodges,where, seated on buffalo-robes, they smoked withtheir entertainers, passing the pipe from hand tohand, after the custom still in use among the prairietribes. Cavelier says that they once saw a bandof a hundred and fifty mounted Indians attacking aherd of buffalo with lances pointed with sharpenedbone. The old priest was delighted with the sport,which he pronounces "the most diverting thing inthe world." On another occasion, when the partywere encamped near the village of a tribe whichCavelier calls Sassory, he saw them catch an alligatorabout twelve feet long, which they proceededto torture as if he were a human enemy, — firstputting out his eyes, and then leading him to theneighboring prairie, where, having confined him bj I

424 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687.number of stakes, they spent the entire day in tormentinghim. 1Holding a northerly coarse, the travellers crossedthe Brazos, and reached the waters of the Trinity.The weather was unfavorable, and on one occasionthey encamped in the rain during four or five daystogether. It was not an harmonious company. LaSalle's cold and haughty reserve had returned, atleast for those of his followers to whom he was notpartial. Duhaut and the surgeon Liotot, both ofwhom were men of some property, had a large pecuniarystake in the enterprise, and were disappointedand incensed at its ruinous result. They had aquarrel with young Moranget, whose hot and hastytemper was as little fitted to conciliate as was theharsh reserve of his uncle. Already at Fort St.Louis, Duhaut had intrigued among the men; andthe mild admonition of Joutel had not, it seems,sufficed to divert him from his sinister purposes.Liotot, it is said, had secretly sworn vengeanceagainst La Salle, whom he charged with havingcaused the death of his brother, or, as some willhave it, his nephew. On one of the former journeysthis young man's strength had failed;and, La Sallehaving ordered him to return to the fort, he hadbeen killedby Indians on the way.The party moved again asthe weather improved,and on the fifteenth of March encamped within a fewmiles of a spot which La Salle had passed on his1 Cavelier, Relation.

1687.] MURDER OF MORANGET. 425preceding journey, and where he had left a quantityof Indian corn and beans in cache; that is to say,hidden in the ground or in a hollow tree. As provisionswere fallingshort, he sent a party from thecamp to find it. These men were Duhaut, Liotot, 1Hiens the buccaneer, Teissier, L'Archev^que, Nikathe hunter, and La Salle's servant Saget. Theyopened the cache, and found the contents spoiled ;butas they returned from their bootless errand they sawbuffalo, and Nika shot two of them. They nowencamped on the spot, and sent the servant to informLa Salle, in order that he might send horses to bringin the meat. Accordingly, on the next day, hedirected Moranget and De Marie, with the necessaryhorses, to go with Saget to the hunters ' camp.When they arrived, they found that Duhaut and hiscompanions had already cut up the meat, and laid itupon scaffoldsfor smoking, though it was not yet sodry as, it seems, this process required. Duhaut andthe others had also put by, for themselves, themarrow-bones and certain portions of the meat, towhich, by woodland custom, they had a perfect rightMoranget, whose rashness and violence had oncebefore caused a fatal catastrophe, fell into a mostunreasonable fit of rage, berated and menaced Duhautand hisparty, and ended by seizing upon the wholeof the meat, including the reserved portions. Thisadded fuel to the fire of Duhaut's old grudge againstMoranget and his uncle. There is reason to think1 Called Lanquetot by Tonty.

426 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687.that he had harbored deadly designs, the executionof which was only hastened by the present outbreak.The surgeon also bore hatred against Moranget,whom he had nursed with constant attention whenwounded by an Indian arrow, and who had sincerepaid him with abuse.apart with Hiens, Teissier,These two now took counseland L'Archeveque; andit was resolved to kill Moranget that night. Nika,La Salle's devoted follower, and Saget, his faithfulservant, must die with him.All of the five were ofone mind except the pilot Teissier, who neitheraided nor opposed the plot.Night came : the woods grew dark ; the eveningmeal was finished, and the evening pipes weresmoked. The order of the guard was arranged ; and,doubtless by design, the first hour of the night wasassigned to Moranget, the second to Saget, and thethird to Nika. Gun in hand, each stood watch inturn over the silent but not sleeping forms aroundhim, till, his time expiring, he called the man whowas to relieve him, wrapped himself in his blanket,and was soon buried in a slumber that was tobe hislast. Now the assassins rose. Duhaut and Hiensstood with their guns cocked, ready to shoot downany one of the destinedvictims who should resist orfly. The surgeon, with an axe, stole towards thethree sleepers, and struck a rapid blow at each inturn. Saget and Nika died with little movement;but Moranget started spasmodically into a sittingposture, gasping and unable to speak ; and the mur-

1687.] SUSPENSE. 427derers compelled De Marie, who was not in theirplot, to compromise himself by despatching him.The floodgates of murder were open, and thetorrent must have its way. Vengeance and safetyalike demanded the death of La Salle. Hiens, or"English Jem," alone seems to have hesitated; forhe was one of those to whom that stern commanderhad always been partial. Meanwhile, the intendedvictim was still at his camp, about six milesdistant.It is easy to picture, with sufficient accuracy, thefeatures of the scene, — the sheds of bark andbranches, beneath which, among blankets and buffalorobes,camp-utensils, pack-saddles, rude harness,guns, powder-horns, and bullet-pouches, the menlounged away the hour, sleeping or smoking, or talkingamong themselves; the blackened kettles thathung from tripods of poles over the fires ;the Indiansstrolling about the place or lying, like dogs in thesun, with eyes half-shut, yet all observant; and, inthe neighboring meadow, the horses grazing undertheeye of a watchman.It was the eighteenth of March. Moranget andhis companions had been expected to return thenight before; but the whole day passed, and theydid not appear. La Salle became very anxious. Heresolved to go and look for them ;but not well knowingthe way, he told the Indians who were about thecamp that he would give them a hatchet if theywould guide him. One of them accepted the offer;and La Salle prepared to set out in the morning, at-L

428 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687.the same time directing Joutel to be ready to gowith him. Joutel says: "That evening, while wewere talking about what could have happened to theabsent men, he seemed to have a presentiment ofwhat was to take place.He asked me if I had heardof any machinations against them, or if I had noticedany bad design on the part of Duhaut and the rest.I answered that I had heard nothing, except thatthey sometimes complained of being found fault withso often; and that this was all I knew; besideswhich, as they were persuaded that I was in hisinterest, they would not have told me of any baddesign they might have. We were very uneasy allthe rest of the evening."In the morning, La Salle set out with his Indianguide. He had changed his mind with regard toJoutel,whom he now directed to remain in chargeof the camp and to keep a careful watch. He toldthe friar Anastase Douay to come with him insteadof Joutel, whose gun, which was the best in theparty, he borrowed for the occasion, as well as hispistol. The three proceeded on their way, — LaSalle, the friar, and the Indian. "All the way,"writes the friar, "he spoke to me of nothing butmatters of piety, grace, and predestination; enlargingon the debt he owed to God, who had saved himfrom so many perilsduring more than twenty yearsof travel in America. Suddenly, I saw him overwhelmedwith a profound sadness, for which hehimself could not account. He was so much moved

1687.] THE FATAL SHOT. 429that I scarcely knew him." He soon recovered hisusual calmness; and they walked on till theyapproached the camp of Duhaut, which was on thefarther side of a small river. Looking about himwith the eye of a woodsman, La Salle saw two eaglescircling in the air nearly over him, as if attracted bycarcasses of beasts or men. He fired his gun and hispistol, as a summons to any of his followers whomight be within hearing. The shots reached theears of the conspirators. Rightly conjecturing bywhom they were fired, several of them, led byDuhaut, crossed the river at a little distance above,where trees or other intervening objects hid themfrom sight. Duhaut and the surgeon crouched likeIndians in the long, dry, reed-like grass of the lastsummer's growth, while L'Archeveque stood in sightnear the bank. La Salle, continuing to advance,soon saw him, and, calling to him, demanded wherewas Moranget. The man, without lifting his hat,or any show of respect, replied in an agitated andbroken voice, but with a toneof studied insolence,that Moranget was strolling about somewhere. LaSalle rebuked and menaced him. He rejoined withincreased insolence, drawing back, as he spoke,towards the ambuscade, while the incensed commanderadvanced to chastise him. At that momenta shot was fired from the grass, instantly followedby another; and, pierced through the brain, La Salledropped dead.The friar at his side stood terror-stricken, unable

430 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687.to advance or to fly; when Duhaut, rising from theambuscade, ealled out to him to take courage, for hehad nothing to fear. The murderers now came forward,and with wild looks gathered about theirvictim. "There thou liest, great Bashaw! Therethouliest!" 1 exclaimed the surgeon Liotot, in baseexultation over the unconscious corpse. Withmockery and insult, they stripped it naked, draggedit into the bushes, and left it there, a prey to thebuzzards and thewolves.Thus in the vigor of his manhood, at the age offorty-three, died Robert Cavelier de la Salle," one ofthe greatest men," writes Tonty, "of this age;"without question one of the most remarkableexplorers whose names live in history.His faithfulofficer Joutel thus sketches his portrait :" His firmness,his courage, his great knowledge of the artsand sciences, which made him equal to every undertaking,and his untiring energy, which enabled himto surmount every obstacle, would have won at last aglorious successhis fine qualitiesfor his grand enterprise, had not allbeen counterbalanced by a haughtinessof manner which often made him insupportable,and by a harshness towards those under his commandwhich drew upon him an implacable hatred, and wasat last the cause of his death." 2The enthusiasm of the disinterested and chivalrous203.1 " Te voila, grand Bacha, te voila ! " — - Joutel, Journal Historique.* Ibid.

1687.] HIS CHARACTER. 431Champlain was not the enthusiasm of La Salle ; norhad he any part in the self-devoted zeal of the earlyJesuit explorers. He belonged not to the age of theknight-errant and the saint, but to the modern worldof practical study and practical action. He was thehero not of a principle nor of a faith, but simply ofa fixed idea and a determined purpose. As oftenhappens with concentred and energetic natures, hispurpose was to him a passion and an inspiration ; andhe clung to it with a certain fanaticism of devotion.It was the offspring of an ambition vast and comprehensive,yet acting in the interest both of France andof civilization.Serious in all things, incapable of the lighterpleasures, incapable of repose, finding no joy but inthe pursuit of great designs, too shy for society and Jtoo reserved for popularity, often unsympathetic andalways seeming so, smothering emotions which hecould not utter, schooled to universal distrust, sternto his followers and pitiless to himself, bearing thebrunt of every hardship and every danger, demandingof others an equal constancy joined to an implicitdeference, heeding no counsel but his own, attemptingthe impossible and grasping at what was too vastto hold, —he contained in his own complex and painfulnature the chief springs of his triumphs, hisfailures, and his death.It is easy to reckon up his defects, but it is noteasy to hide from sight the Roman virtues thatredeemed them. Beset by a throng of enemies, he

, crusader,432 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687stands, like the King of Israel, head and shouldersabove them all. He was a tower of adamant, againstwhose impregnable front hardship and danger, therage of man and of the elements, the southern sun,the northern blast, fatigue, famine, disease, delay,disappointment, and deferred hope emptied theirquivers in vain. That very pride which, Coriolanuslike,declared itself most sternly in the thickest pressof foes, has in it something to challenge admiration.Never, under the impenetrable mail of paladin orbeat a heart of more intrepid mettle than* within the stoic panoply that armed the breast of LaSalle. To estimate aright the marvels of his patientfortitude, one must follow on his track through thevast scene of his interminable journeyings, — thosethousands of weary miles of forest, marsh, and river,where, again and again, in the bitterness of baffledstriving, the untiring pilgrim pushed onward towardsT^tjie goal which he was never to attain. Americaowes him an enduring memory; for in this masculinefigure she sees the pioneer who guided her to thepossession of her richest heritage. 11 On the assassination of La Salle, the evidence is fourfold : 1.The narrative of Douay, who was with him at the time.2. That ofJoutel, who learned the facts, immediately after they took place,from Douay and others, and who parted from La Salle an hour ormore before his death. 3. A document preserved in the Archivesde la Marine, entitled Relation de la Mort du Sr. de la Salle, suivantle rapport d'un nomm€ Couture a qui M. Cavelier Vapprit en passant aupays des Akansa, avec toutes les circonstances que le dit Couture aapprises d'un Francois que M. Cavelier avoit laiss€ aux dits pays desAkansa, crainte qu'il ne gardat pas le secret. 4. The authentic

;1687.] DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE. 433memoir of Tonty, of which a copy from the original is before me,and which has recently been printed by Margry.The narrative of Cavelier unfortunately fails us several weeksbefore the death of his brother, the remainder being lost. On astudy of these various documents, it is impossible to resist theconclusion that neither Cavelier nor Douay always wrote honestly.Joutel, on the contrary, gives the impression of sense, intelligence,and candor throughout. Charlevoix, who knew him long after,says that he was " un fort honnSte homme, et le seul de la troupede M. de la Salle, sur qui ce celebre voyageur put compter."Tonty derived his information from the survivors of La Salle'sparty. Couture, whose statements are embodied in the Relation dela Mori de M. de la Salle, was one of Tonty's men, who, as will beseen hereafter, were left by him at the mouth of the Arkansas, andto whom Cavelier told the story of his brother's death. Couturealso repeats the statements of one of La Salle's followers, undoubtedlya Parisian boy, named Barthelemy, who was violently prejudicedagainst his chief, whom he slanders to the utmost of his 6kill,saying that he was 60 enraged at his failures that he did notapproach the sacraments for two years ; that he nearly starvedhis brother Cavelier, allowing him only a handful of meal a day ;that he killed with his own hand "quantity de personnes," whodid not work to his liking ; and that he killed the sick in theirbeds, without mercy, under the pretence that they were counterfeitingsickness in order to escape work. These assertions certainlyhave no other foundation than the undeniable rigor of La Salle'scommand. Douay says that he confessed and made his devotionson the morning of his death, while Cavelier always speaks of himas the hope and the staff of the colony.( Douay declares that La Salle lived an hour after the fatal shotthat he gave him absolution, buried his body, and planted a crowon his grave. At the time, he told Joutel a different story ;andthe latter, with the best means of learning the facts, explicitlydenies the friar's printed statement. Couture, on the authority ofCavelier himself, also says that neither he nor Douay was permittedto take any step for burying the body. Tonty says that Cavelierbegged leave to do so, but was refused. Douay, unwilling to placeupon record facts from which the inference might easUy be drawnthat he had been terrified from discharging his duty, no doubt inventedthe story of the burial, as well as that of the edifying behariorof Moranget, after he.had been struck in the head with an axe.

434 ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. [1687,The locality of La Salle's assassination is sufficiently clear, froma comparison of the several narratives ; and it is also indicated ona contemporary manuscript map, made on the return ofthe survivorsof the party to France. The scene of the catastrophe ishere placed on a southern branch of the Trinity.La Salle's debts, at the time of his death, according to a schedulepresented in 1701 to Champigny, intendant of Canada, amounted to106,831 livres, without reckoning interest. This cannot be meantto include all, as items are given which raise the amount muchhigher. In 1678 and 1679 alone, he contracted debts to the amountof97,184 livres, of which 46,000 were furnished by Branssac, fiscalattorney of the Seminary of Montreal. This was to be paid inbeaver-skins. Frontenac, at the same time, became his surety for13,623 livres. In 1684, he borrowed 34,825 livres from the SieurPen, at Paris. These sums do not include the losses incurred byhis family, which, in the memorial presented by them to the King,are set down at 500,000 livres for the expeditions between 1678 and1683, and 300,000 livres for the fatal Texan expedition of 1684These last figures are certainly exaggerated.

CHAPTER XXVIII.1687, 1688.THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY.Triumph of the Murderers. — Danger of Joctel.— JoctelAMONG THE CENIS. — WHITE SAVAGES. — INSOLENCE OF DUHAUTand his Accomplices. — Murder of Duhaut and Liotot. —Hiens,the Buccaneer. — Joutel and his Party: their EscapeJTHEY REACH THE ARKANSAS. — BRAVERY AND DEVOTIONof Tonty. — The Fugitives reach the Illinois. — UnworthyConduct of Cavelier. — He and his Companions return toFrance.Father Anastase Douay returned to the camp,and, aghast with grief and terror, rushed into thehut of Cavelier. " My poor brother is dead ! " criedthe priest, instantly divining the catastrophe fromthe horror-stricken face of the messenger. Closebehind came the murderers, Duhaut at their head.Cavelier, his young nephew, and Douay himself,fell on their knees, expecting instant death. Thepriest begged piteously for half an hour to preparefor his end ; but terror and submission sufficed, andno more blood was shed. The camp yielded withoutresistance; and Duhaut was lord of all. In truth,there were none to oppose him ; for, except the assassinsthemselves, the party was now reduced to sixall

436 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1(587.persons, — Joutel, Douay, the elder Cavelier, hisyoung nephew, and two other boys, the orphan Talonand a lad called Barthelemy.Joutel, for the moment, was absent; andL'Archeveque, who had a kindness for him, wentquietly to seek him. He found him on a hillock,making a fire ofdried grass in order that the smokemight guide La Salle on his return, and watchingUthe horses grazing in the meadow below. I wasvery much surprised," writes Joutel, "when I sawhim approaching. When he came up to me heseemed all in confusion, or, rather, out of his wits.He began with saying that there was very bad news.I asked what it was. He answered that the Sieurde la Salle was dead, and also his nephew the Sieurde Moranget, his Indian hunter, and his servant. Iwas petrified, and did not know what to say; for Isaw that they had been murdered.that, at first,The man addedthe murderers had sworn to kill me too.I easily believed it, for I had always been in theinterest of M. de la Salle, and had commanded inhis place; and it is hard to please everybody, orprevent some from being dissatisfied.I was greatlyperplexed as to what I ought to do, and whether Ihad not better escape to the woods, whithersoeverGod should guide me ; but, by bad or good luck, Ihad no gun and only one pistol, without balls orpowder except what was in my powder-horn. Towhatever side I turned, my life was in great peril.It is true that L'Archeveque assured me that they

;1687.] DOUBT AND ANXIETY. 437had changed their minds, and had agreed to murdernobody else, unless they met with resistance. So,being in no condition, as I just said, to go far, havingneither arms nor powder, I abandoned myself toProvidence, and went back to the camp, where Ifound that these wretched murderers had seizedeverything belonging to M.de la Salle, and even mypersonal effects. They had also taken possession ofall the arms. The first words that Duhaut said tome were, that each should command in turn; towhich I made no answer. I saw M. Cavelier prayingin a corner, and Father Anastase in another. Hedid not dare to speak to me, nor did I dare to gotowards him till I had seen the designs of the assassins.They were in furious excitement, but, nevertheless,very uneasy and embarrassed. I was sometime without speaking, and, as it were, without moving,for fear of giving umbrage to our enemies."They had cooked some meat, and when it wassupper-time they distributed it as they saw fit, sayingthat formerly their share had been served out tothem, but that it was they who would serve it out infuture. They, no doubt, wanted me to say somethingthat would give them a chance to make a noisebut I managed always to keep my mouth closed.When night came and it was time to stand guard,they were in perplexity, as they could not do italone; therefore they said to M. Cavelier, FatherAnastase, me, and the others who were not in theplot with them, that all we had to do was to stand

438 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.guard as usual ; that there was no use in thinkingabout what had happened, — that what was done wasdone; that they had been driven to it by despair,and that they were sorry for it,and meant no moreharm to anybody. M. Cavelier took up the word,and told them that when they killed M. de la Sallethey killed themselves, for there was nobody but himwho could get us out of this country. At last, aftera good deal of talk on both sides, they gave usour arms. So we stood guard; during which, M.Gavelier told me how they had come to the camp,entered his hut like so many madmen, and seizedeverything init."Joutel, Douay, and the two Caveliers spent asleepless night, consulting as to what they should do.They mutually pledged themselves tostand by eachother to the last, and to escape as soon as they couldfrom the company of the assassins.In the morning,Duhaut and hisaccomplices, after much discussion,resolved to go to the Cenis villages ;and, accordingly,the whole party broke up their camp, packed theirhorses, and began their march. They went fiveleagues, and encamped at the edge of a grove. Onthe following day they advanced again till noon,when heavy rains began, and they were forced tostop by the banks of a river." We passed the nightand the next day there," says Joutel; "and duringthat time my mind was possessed with dark thoughts.It was hard to prevent ourselvesfrom being in constantfear among such men, and we could not look at

"1687.] JOURNEY TO THE CENIS. 489them without horror. When I thought of the crueldeeds they had committed, and thedanger we werein from them, I longed to revenge the evil they haddone us. This would have been easy while theywere asleep; but M. Cavelier dissuaded us, sayingthat we ought to leave vengeance to God, and thathe himself had more to revenge than we, having losthis brother and his nephew.The comic alternated with the tragic. On thetwenty-third, they reached the bank of a river toodeep to ford.Those who knew how to swim crossedwithout difficulty, but Joutel, Cavelier, and Douaywere not of the number.a log of light,Accordingly, they launcheddry wood, embraced it with one arm,and struck out for the other bank with their legsand the arm that was left free.But the friar becamefrightened. "He only clung fast to the aforesaidlog," says Joutel, "and did nothing to help us forward.White I was trying to swim, my body beingstretched at full length, I hit him in the belly withmy feet; on which he thought it was all over withhim, and, I can answer for it, he invoked Saint Franciswith might and main. I could not help laughing,though I was myself in danger of drowning." SomeIndians who had joined the party swam to therescue, and pushed the log across.The path to the Cenis villages was exceedinglyfaint, and but for the Indians they would have lostthe way. They crossed the main stream of theTrinity in a boat of raw hides, and then, being short

440 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.of provisions, held a council toshould do.determine what theyIt was resolved that Joutel, with Hiens,Liotot, and Teissier, should go in advance to thevillages and buy a supply of corn. Thus, Joutelfound himself doomed to the company of threevillains,who, he strongly suspected, were contrivingan opportunity to kill him ; but, as he had no choice,he dissembled his doubts, and set out with his sinistercompanions, Duhaut having firstsupplied him withgoods for the intended barter.They rode over hills and plains till night,encamped, supped on a wild turkey, 'and continuedtheir journey till the afternoon of the next day,when they saw three men approaching on horseback,one of whom, to Joutel's alarm, was dressed like aSpaniard. He proved, however, to be a CenisIndian, like the others. The three turned theirhorses' heads, and accompanied the Frenchmen ontheir way. At length they neared the Indian town,which, with itslarge thatched lodges, looked like acluster of gigantic haystacks. Their approach hadbeen made known, and they were received in solemnstate. Twelve of the elders came to meet them intheir dress of ceremony, each with his face daubedred or black, and his head adorned with paintedplumes. From their shoulders hung deer-skinswrought with gay colors.some, bows and arrows ;Some carried war-clubs-,some, the blades of Spanishrapiers, attached to wooden handles decorated withhawk's bells and bunches of feathers.They stopped

1687.] JOUTEL AND THE CENIS. 441before the honored guests, and, raising their handsaloft, uttered howls so extraordinary that Joutelcould hardly preservethe gravity which the occasiondemanded. \ Having next embraced the Frenchmen,the elders cjpnducted them into the village, attendedby a crowcft of warriors and young men; usheredthem into their town-hall, a large lodge, devoted tocouncils, feasts, dances, and other public assemblies ;seated them on mats, and squatted in a ring aroundthem. Here they were regaled with sagamite orIndian porridge, corn-cake, beans, bread made of themeal of parched corn, and another kind of breadmade of the kernels of nuts and the seed of sunflowers.Then the pipe was lighted, and all smokedtogether. The four Frenchmen proposed to open atraffic for provisions, and their entertainers gruntedassent.Joutel found a Frenchman in the village.He wasa young man from Provence, who had deserted fromLa Salle on his last journey, and was now, to allappearance, a savage like his adopted countrymen,being naked like them, and affecting to have forgottenhis native language. He was very friendly, however,and invited the visitors to a neighboring village,where he lived, and where, as he told them, theywould find a better supply of corn. They accordinglyset out with him, escorted by a crowd ofIndians. They saw lodges and clusters of lodgesscattered along their path at intervals, each with itefield of corn, beans, and pumpkins, rudely cultivated

442 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.with a wooden hoe. Reaching their destination,which was four or five leagues distant, they weregreeted with the same honors asand, theat the first village,ceremonial of welcome over, were lodged inthe abode of the savage Frenchman. It is not to besupposed, however, that he and his squaws, of whomhe had a considerable number, dwelt here alone;for these lodges of theor ten families.Cenis often contained eightThey were made by firmly plantingin a circle tall, straight young trees, such as grew inthe swamps. The tops were then bent inward andlashed together; great numbers of cross-pieces werebound on; and the frame thus constructed wasthickly covered with thatch, a hole being left at thetop for the escape of the smoke. The inmates wereranged around the circumference of the structure,each family in a kind of stall, open in front, butseparated from those adjoining it by partitions ofmats. Here they placed their beds of cane, theirpainted robes of buffalo and deer-skin, theircookingutensils of pottery, and other household goods; andhere, too, the head of the family hung his bow,quiver, lance, and shield. There was nothing incommon but the fire, which burned in the middle ofthe lodge, and was never suffered to go out.dwellings were of great size,Theseand Joutel declares thathe has seen some of them sixty feet in diameter. 11 The lodges of the Florida Indians were somewhat similar.The winter lodges of the now nearly extinct Mandans, though not§o high in proportion to their width, and built of more solid ma«

;1687.] JOUTEL AND THE CENIS. 443It was in one of the largest that the four travellerswere now lodged.A place was assigned them whereto bestow their baggage; and they took possession oftheir quarters amid the silent stares of the wholecommunity. They asked their renegade countryman,the Provencal, if they were safe. He replied thatthey were; but this did not wholly reassure them,and they spent a somewhat wakeful night. In themorning, they opened their budgets, and began abrisk trade in knives, awls, beads, and other trinkets,which they exchanged for corn and beans. Beforeevening, they had acquired a considerable stock ; andJouteFs three companions declared their intention ofreturning with it to the camp, leaving him to continuethe trade. They went, accordingly, in themorning; and Joutel was left alone. On the onehand, he was glad to be rid of them; on the other,he found his position among the Cenis very irksome,and, as he thought, insecure. Besides the Provencal,who had gone with Liotot and his companions, therewere two other French deserters among this tribe,and Joutel was very desirous to see them, hopingthat they could tell him the way to the Mississippiterials, as the rigor of a northern climate requires, bear a generalresemblance to those of the Cenis.The Cenis tattooed their faces and some parts of their bodies,by prickiDg powdered charcoal into the skin. The women tattooedthe breasts ; and this practice was general among them, notwithstandingthe pain of the operation, as it was thought very ornamental.Their dress consisted of a sort of frock, or wrapper ofskin, from the waist to the knees. The men, in summer, wore nothiner but the waist-cloth.

444 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.for he was resolved to escape, at the first opportunity,from the company of Duhaut and his accomplices.He therefore made the present of a knife to a youngIndian, whom he sent to find the two Frenchmen andinvite them to come to the village. Meanwhile hecontinued his barter, but under many difficulties ;forhe could only explain himself by signs, and his customers,though friendly by day, pilfered his goodsby night. This, joined to the fears and troubleswhich burdened his mind, almost deprived him ofsleep, and, as he confesses, greatly depressed hisspirits. Indeed, he had little cause for cheerfulnessas to the past, present, or future. An old Indian,one of the patriarchs of the tribe, observing his dejectionand anxious to relieve it, one evening broughthim a young wife, saying that he made him a presentof her. She seated herself at his side; "but," saysJoutel, "as my head was full of other cares andanxieties, I said nothing to the poor girl. Shewaited for a little time ; and then, finding that I didnot speak a word, she went away." 1Late one night, he lay between sleeping and wakingon the buffalo-robe that covered his bed of canes.All around the great lodge, itsinmates were buriedin sleep ; and the fire that still burned in the midstcast ghostly gleams on the trophies of savage chivalry— the treasured scalp-locks, the spear and war-club,and shield of whitened bull-hide — that hung byeach warrior's resting-place. Such was the weird1 Journal Historiaue> 237.

W87-] WHITE SAVAGES. 445Bcene that lingered on the dreamy eyes of Joutel, ashe closed them at last in a troubled sleep. Thesound of a footstep soon wakened him ;and, turning,he saw at his side the figure of a naked savage, armedwith a bow and arrows. Joutel spoke, but receivedno answer.Not knowing what to think, he reachedout his hand for his pistols; on which the intruderwithdrew, and seated himself by the fire. ThitherJoutel followed ;and as the light fell on his features,he looked at him closely. His face was tattooed,after the Cenis fashion, in lines drawn from the topof the forehead and converging to the chin ; and hisbody was decorated with similar embellishments.Suddenly, this supposed Indian rose and threw hisarms around Joutel'sneck, making himself known,at the same time, as one of the Frenchmen who haddeserted from La Salle and taken refuge among theCenis. He was a Breton sailor named Ruter. Hiscompanion, named Grollet, also a sailor, had beenafraid to come to the village lest he should meet LaSalle.Ruter expressed surprise and regret when heheard of the death of his late commander. He haddeserted him but a few months before.interval had sufficed to transformand both he and hisThat briefhim into a savage;companion found their presentreckless and ungoverned way of life greatly to theirliking. He could tell nothing of the Mississippi;and on the next day he went home, carrying withhim a present of beads for his wives, of which lasthe had made a largecollection.

446 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.In a few days he reappeared, bringing Grollet withhim. Each wore a bunch of turkey-feathers dang-•ling from his head, and each had wrapped his nakedbody in a blanket. Three men soon after arrivedfrom Duhaut's camp, commissioned to receive thecorn which Joutel had purchased. They told himthat Duhaut and Liotot, the tyrants of the party, hadresolved to return to Fort St. Louis, and build avessel toescape to the West Indies, — "a visionaryscheme," writes Joutel, "for our carpenters were alldead ; and even if they had been alive, they were soignorant that they would not have known how to goabout the work; besides, we had no tools for it.Nevertheless, I was obliged toobey, and set out forthe camp with the provisions."On arriving, he found a wretched state of affairs.Douay and the two Caveliers, who had been treatedby Duhaut with great harshness and contempt, hadbeen told to make their mess apart; and Joutel nowjoined them. This separation restored them theirfreedom of speech, of which they had hitherto beendeprived ;but it subjected them to incessant hunger,as they were allowed only food enough to keep themfrom famishing. Douay says that quarrels were rifeamong the assassins themselves, — the malcontentsbeing headed by Hiens, who was enraged that Duhautand Liotot should have engrossed all the plunder.Joutel was helpless, for he had none to back him buttwo priests and a boy.He and his companions talked of nothing around

1687.] SCHEMES OF ESCAPE. 447their solitary camp-fire but the means of escapingfrom the villanous company into which they werethrown. They saw no resource but to find theMississippi, and thus make their way to Canada, — aprodigious undertaking in their forlorn condition ; norwas there any probability that the assassins wouldpermit them to go. These, on their part, were besetwith difficulties.They could not return to civilizationwithout manifest peril of a halter; and theironly safety was to turn buccaneers or savages.Duhaut, however, still held to his plan of going backto Fort St. Louis; and Joutel and his companions,who with good reason stood in daily fear of him,devised among themselves a simple artificeto escapefrom his company. The elder Cavelier was to tellhim that they were too fatigued for the journey, andwished to stay among the Cenis ; and to beg him toallow them a portion of the goods, for which Cavelierwas to give his note of hand. The old priest, whoma sacrifice of truth even on less important occasionscost no great effort, accordingly opened the negotiation,and to his own astonishment and that of hiscompanions, gained the assent of Duhaut. Theirjoy, however, was short; for Ruter, the Frenchsavage, to whom Joutel had betrayed hisintention,when inquiring the way to the Mississippi, told it toDuhaut, who on this changed front and made theominous declaration that he and his men would alsogo to Canada. Joutel and his companions were nowfilled with alarm; for there was no likelihood that

448 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.the assassins would permit them, the witnesses oftheir crime, to reach the settlements alive. In themidst of theircrash of a thunderbolt.trouble, the sky was cleared as by theHiens and several others had gone, some timebefore, to the Cenis villages to purchase horses ; andhere they had been detained by the charms of theIndian women. During their stay, Hiens heard ofDuhaut's new plan of going to Canada by theMississippi; and he declared to those with him thathe would not consent.On a morning early in Mayhe appeared at Duhaut's camp, with Ruter andGrollet, the French savages, and about twentyIndians.Duhaut and Liotot, it is said, were passingthe time by practising with bows and arrows in frontof their hut. One of them called to Hiens, " Goodmorning; " but the buccaneer returned a sullenanswer. He then accosted Duhaut, telling him thathe had no mind to go up the Mississippi with him,and demanding a share of the goods.Duhaut repliedthat the goods were his own, since La Salle had owedhim money. "So you will not give them to me?"returned Hiens. "No," was the answer. "You area wretch!" exclaimed Hiens; "you killed mymaster." 1 And drawing a pistol from his belt he1 "Tu es un miserable. Tu as tu€ mon maistre." — Tonty,Memoire. Tonty derived his information from some of thosepresent. Douay and Joutel have each left an account Of thismurder. They agree in essential points ; though Douay says thatwhen it took place, Duhaut had moved his camp beyond the Ceniavillages, which is contrary to Joutel's statement.

1687.] THE CRISIS. 449fired at Duhaut, who staggered three or four pacesand fell dead. Almost at the same instant Ruterfired his gun at Liotot, shot three balls into his body,and stretched him on the ground mortally wounded.Douay and the two Caveliers stood in extremeterror, thinking that their turn was to come next.Joutel, no less alarmed, snatched his gun to defendhimself; but Hiens called to him to fear nothing,declaring that what he had done was only to avengethe death of La Salle, — to which, nevertheless, hehad been privy, though not an activecrime.sharer in theLiotot lived long enough to make his confession,after which Ruter killed him by exploding apistol loaded with a blank charge of powder againsthis head. Duhaut's myrmidon, L'Archeveque, wasabsent, hunting, and Hiens was for killing him onhis return ;but the two priests and Joutel succeededin dissuading him.The Indian spectators beheld these murders withundisguised amazement, and almost with horror.What manner of men were these who had piercedthe secret places of the wilderness to riot in mutualslaughter? Their fiercest warriors might learn alesson in ferocity from these heralds of civilization.Joutel and his companions, who could not dispensewith the aid of the Cenis, were obliged to explainaway, as they best might, the atrocity of what theyhad witnessed. 1Hiens, and others of the French, had before1Joutel, Relation (Margry, iii. 371).29

450 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.promised to join the Cenis on an expedition against aneighboring tribe with whom they were at war ;andthe whole party having removed to the Indian village,the warriors and their allies prepared to depart. SixFrenchmen went with Hiens ; and the rest, includingJoutel, Douay, and the Caveliers, remained behind,in the lodge where Joutel had been domesticated,and where none were now leftand old men.but women, children,Here they remained a week or more,watched closely by the Cenis, who would not letthem leave the village ; when news at length arrivedof a great victory, and the warriors soon afterreturned with forty-eight scalps.It was the Frenchguns that won the battle, but not the less did theyglory in their prowess ; and several days were spentin ceremonies and feasts of triumph. 1When all this hubbub of rejoicing had subsided,Joutel and his companions broke to Hiens their planof attempting to reach home by way of the Mississippi.As they had expected, he opposed it vehemently,declaring that for his own part he would not runsuch a risk of losing his head ; but at length he consentedto their departure, on condition that the elderCavelier should give him a certificate of his entireinnocence of the murder of La Salle,which the priestdid not hesitate to do. For the rest, Hiens treatedhis departing fellow-travellers with the generosity ofa successful free-booter; for he gave them a good1These are described by Joutel. Like nearly all the early observersof Indian manners, he speaks of the practice of cannibalism.

1687.] JOUTEL AND HIS PARTY. 451share of the plunder he had won by his late crime,supplying them with hatchets, knives, beads, andother articles of trade, besides several horses.Meanwhile,adds Joutel, "we had the mortification andchagrin of seeing this scoundrel walking about thecamp in a scarlet coat laced with gold which hadbelonged to the late Monsieur de la Salle, and whichhe had seized upon, as also upon all the rest of hisproperty." A well-aimed shot would have avengedthe wrong, but Joutel was clearly a mildand moderateperson; and the elder Cavelier had constantlyopposed all plans of violence. Therefore they stifledtheir emotions, and armed themselves with patience.Joutel's party consisted, besides himself, of theCaveliers (uncle and nephew), Anastase Douay,De Marie, Teissier, and a young Parisian namedBarthelemy. Teissier, an accomplice in the murdersof Moranget and La Salle, had obtained a pardon,in form, from the elder Cavelier. They had sixhorses and three Cenis guides. Hiens embracedthem at parting, as did the ruffians who remainedwith him. Their course was northeast, toward themouth ofthe Arkansas, — a distant goal, the way towhich was beset with so many dangers that theirchance of reaching it seemed small.It was early inJune, and the forests and prairies were green withthe verdure of opening summer.They soon reached the Assonis, a tribe near theSabine, who received them well, and gave themguides to the nations dwelling towards Red River.

452 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.On the twenty-third, they approached a village, theinhabitants of which, regarding them as curiositiesof the first order, came out in a body to see them;and, eager todo them honor, they required them tomount on their backs, and thus make their entrancein procession. Joutel, being large and heavy,weighed down hisbearer, insomuch that two of hiscountrymen were forced to sustain him, one on eachBide. On arriving, an old chief washed their faceswith warm water from an earthen pan, and theninvited them to mount on a scaffold of canes, wherethey sat in the hot sun listening to four successivespeeches of welcome, of which they understood not aword. lAt the village of another tribe, farther on theirway, they met with a welcome still more oppressive.Cavelier, the unworthy successor of his brother,being represented as the chief of the party, becamethe principal victim of their attentions. Theydanced the calumet before him; while an Indian,taking him, with an air of great respect, by theshoulders as he sat, shook him in cadence with thethumping of the drum. They then placed two girlsclose beside him, as his wives; while, at the sametime, an old chief tied a painted feather in his hair.These proceedings so scandalized him that, pretend-1These Indians were a portion of the Cadodaquis, or Caddoes,then living on Red River. The travellers afterwards visited othervillages of the same people. Tonty was here two years afterwardsand mentions the curious custom of washing the faces of guests.

1687.] ARRIVAL AT THE ARKANSAS. 453ing to be ill, he broke off the ceremony; but theycontinued to sing all night, with so much zeal thatseveral of them were reduced to a state of completeexhaustion.At length, after a journey of about two months,during which they lost one of their number, — DeMarie, accidentally drowned while bathing, — thetravellers approached the river Arkansas, at a pointnot far above its junction with the Mississippi. Ledby their Indian guides, they traversed a rich districtof plains and woods, and stood at length on theborders of the stream. Nestled beneath the forestsof the farther shore, they saw the lodges of a largeIndian town; and here, as they gazed across thebroad current, they presently descried an objectwhich nerved their spent limbs, and thrilled theiihomesick hearts with joy. It was a tall, woodencross ; and near it was a small house, built evidentlyby Christian hands. With one accord they fell ontheir knees, and raised their hands to Heaven inthanksgiving. Two men, in European dress, issuedfrom the door of the house and fired their guns tosalute the excited travellers, who on their partreplied with a volley. Canoes put out from thefarther shore and ferried them to the town, wherethey were welcomed by Couture and De Launay,two followers of Henri de Tonty. 1That brave, loyal, and generous man, always vigilantand always active, beloved and feared alike* Joutel ;Journal Historique, 298.by

454 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.white men and by red, 1 had been ejected, as we haveseen, by the agent of the governor, La Barre, fromthe command of Fort St. Louis of the Illinois. Anorder from the King had reinstated him ; and he nosooner heard the news of La Salle's landing on theshores of the Gulf, and of the disastrous beginningsof his colony, 2 than he prepared, on his own responsibilityand at his own cost, to go to his assistance.He collected twenty-five Frenchmen and elevenIndians, and set out from his fortified rock on thethirteenth of February, 1686 ;3descended theMississippi, and reached its mouth in Holy Week.All was solitude, a voiceless desolation of river,marsh, and sea. He despatched canoes to the eastand to the west, searching the coast for some thirtyleagues on either side. Finding no trace of hisfriend, who at that moment was ranging theprairiesof Texas in no less fruitless search of his "fatalriver, " Tonty wrote for him a letter, which he left1Journal de St. Cosme, 1699. This journal has been printed by-Mr. Shea, from the copy in my possession. St. Cosme, who knewTonty well, speaks of him in the warmest terms of praise.2 In the autumn of 1685, Tonty made a journey from the Illinoisto Michilimackinac, to seek news of La Salle. He there learned,by a letter of the new governor, Denonville, just arrived fromFrance, of the landing of La Salle, and the loss of the " Aimable,"as recounted by Beaujeu, on his return. He immediately went backon foot to Fort St. Louis of the Illinois, and prepared to descendthe Mississippi, " dans Tesp^rance de lui donner secours." Lettrede Tonty au Ministre, 24 Aoust, 1686 ; Ibid., a Cabart de Villermont,mime date ; Memoire de Tonty ; Proces Verbal de Tonty, 13 Avril t1686.* The date is from the Proces Verbal. In the MSmoire, hastilywritten long after, he falls into errors of date.

1687.] A HOSPITABLE RECEPTION. 455in the charge of an Indian chief, who preserved itwith reverential care, and gave it, fourteen yearsafter, to Iberville, the founder of Louisiana. 1Deeplydisappointed at his failure, Tonty retraced his course,and ascended the Mississippi to the villages of theArkansas, where some of his men volunteered toremain. He left six of them; and of this numberwere Couture and De Launay. 2Cavelier and his companions, followed by a crowdof Indians, some carrying their baggage, some strugglingfor a view of ths white strangers, entered thelog cabin of their two hosts. Rude as it was, theyfound in it an earnest of peace and safety, and aforetaste of home. Couture and De Launay weremoved even to tears by the story of their disasters,and of the catastrophe that crowned them. LaSalle's death was carefully concealed from theIndians, many of whom had seen him on his descentof the Mississippi, and who regarded him with prodigiousrespect. They lavished all their hospitalityon his followers; feasted them on corn-bread, driedbuffalo meat, and watermelons, and danced thecalumet before them, the most august of all theirceremonies. On this occasion, Cavelier's patience1 Iberville sent it to France, and Charlevoix gives a portion oft. (Histoire de la Nouvelle France, ii. 259.) Singularly enough,the date, as printed by him, is erroneous, being 20 April, 1086,instead of 1686. There ia no doubt whatever, from its relationswith concurrent events, that this journey was in the latter year.2 Tonty, Memoire; Ibid., Lettre a Momeigneur de Ponchartrnin,!69Q Joutel, Journal Hittonque, 301.

456 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687failed him again; and pretending, as before, to beill, he called on his nephew to take his place. Therewere solemn dances, too, in which the warriors —some bedaubed with white clay, some with red, andsome with both; some wearing feathers, and somethe horns of buffalo; some naked, and some inpainted shirts ofinsomuch, saysdeer-skin, fringed with scalp-locks,Joutel, that they looked like a troopof devils — leaped, stamped, and howled from sunsettill dawn. All this was partly to do the travellershonor, and partly to extort presents. They madeobjections, however, when asked to furnish guides;and it was only by dint of great offers that fourwere at length procured.With these, the travellers resumed their journeyin a wooden canoe, about the first of August, 1descended theArkansas, and soon reached the darkand inexorable river, so long the object of theirsearch, rolling, like a destiny, through its realms ofsolitude and shade. They launched their canoe onits turbid bosom, plied their oars against the current,and slowly won their way upward, following thewrithings of this watery monster through cane-brake,swamp, and fen. It was a hard and toilsome jour-1 Joutel says that the Parisian boy, Barthelemy, was left behind.It was this youth who afterwards uttered the ridiculous defamationof La Salle mentioned in a preceding note. The account of thedeath of La Salle, taken from the lips of Couture, was receivedby him from Cavelier and his companions, during their stay at theArkansaa Couture was by trade a carpenter, and was a native ofBouen.

1687.] THE MISSISSIPPI. 457ney, under the sweltering sun of August, — now onthe water, now knee-deep in mud, dragging theircanoe through the unwholesome jungle. On thenineteenth, they passed the mouth of the Oliio ; andtheir Indian guides made it an offering of buffalomeat. On the first of September, they passed theMissouri, and soon after saw Marquette's picturedrock, and the line of craggy heights on the eastshore, marked on old French maps as "the RuinedCastles." Then, with a sense of relief, they turnedfrom the great river into the peaceful current of theIllinois. They were eleven days in ascending it, intheir large and heavy wooden canoe ; when at length,on the afternoon of the fourteenth of September,they saw, towering above the forest and the river,the cliff crowned with the palisades of Fort St. Louisof the Illinois. As they drew near, a troop ofIndians, headed by a Frenchman, descended fromthe rock, and fired their guns to salute them. Theylanded, and followed the forest path that led towardsthe fort, when they were met by Boisrondet, Tonty'scomrade in the Iroquois war, and two other Frenchmen,who no sooner saw them than they calledout,demanding where was La Salle. Cavelier, fearinglest he and his party would lose the advantage theymight derive from his character of representative ofhis brother, was determined to conceal his death;and Joutel, as he himself confesses, took part in thedeceit. Substituting equivocation for falsehood,they replied that La Salle had been with them nearly

458 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687as far as the Cenis villages, and that, when theyparted, he was in good health. This, so far as theywere concerned, was, literally speaking, true; butDouay and Teissier, theone a witness and the othera sharer in his death, could not have said so muchwithout a square falsehood, and thereforeinquiry.evaded theThreading the forest path, and circling to the rearof the rock, they climbed the rugged height, andreached the top. Here they saw an area, encircledby the palisades that fenced the brink of the cliff,and by several dwellings, a store-house, and a chapel.There were Indian lodges too; for some of the redallies of the French made their abode with them. 1Tonty was absent, fighting the Iroquois; but hislieutenant, Beliefontaine, received the travellers,and his little garrison of bush-rangers greeted themwith a salute of musketry, mingled with the whoopingof the Indians. A Te Deum followed at thechapel; "and, with all our hearts," says Joutel, "wegave thanks to God, who had preserved and guidedus." At length, the tired travellers were amongcountrymen and friends.Bellefontaine found a roomfor the two priests; while Joutel, Teissier, andyoung Cavelier were lodged in the store-house.The Jesuit Allouez was lying ill at the fort ; andi The condition of Fort St. Louis, at this time, may be gatheredfrom several passages of Joutel. The houses, he says, werebuilt at the brink of the cliff, forming, with the palisades, the circleof defence. The Indians lived in the area.

1687.] THE JESUIT ALLOUEZ. 459Joutel, Cavelier, and Douay went to visit him. Heshowed great anxiety when told that La Salle wasalive, and on his way to the Illinois; asked manyquestions, and could not hide his agitation. When,some time after, he had partially recovered, he leftSt. Louis, as if to shun a meeting with the object ofhis alarm. 1 Once before, in 1679, Allouez had fledi Joutel adds that this was occasioned by " une espece de conspirationqu'on a voulu faire contre les interests de Monsieur de laSalle." — Journal Historique, 360." Ce Pfere appr^hendoit que le dit sieur ne l'y rencontrast, . .suivant ce que j'en ai pu apprendre, les Pferes avoient avanc£ plusieurschoses pour contrebarrer Tentreprise et avoient voulu detacherplusieurs nations de Sauvages, lesquellesa M. de la Salle.s'estoient donneeslis avoient este mesme jusques a vouloir destruirele fort Saint-Louis, en ayant construit un a Chicago, oil ils avoientattire une partie des Sauvages, ne pouvant en quelque facon s'emparerdu dit fort. Pour conclure, le bon Pere ayant eu peur d'yestre trouve", aima mieux se precautionner en prenant le devant.. . . Quoyque M. Cavelier eust dit au Pere qu'il pouvoit rester, ilpartit quelques sept ou huit jours avant nous." — Relation (Margry,iii. 600).La Salle always saw the influence of the Jesuits in the disastersthat befell him. His repeated assertion, that they wished to establishthemselves in the valley of the Mississippi, receives confirmationfrom a document entitled Mimoire sur la proposition d fairepar les R. Peres Jesuites pour la dtcouverte des environs de la rivihredu Mississipi et pour voir si elle est navigable jusqu'd la mer. It is amemorandum of propositions to be made to the minister Seignelay,and was apparently put forward as a feeler, before making thepropositions in form. It was written after the return of Beaujeuto France, and before La Salle's death became known. It intimatesthat the Jesuits were entitled to precedence in the valley of theMississippi, as having first explored it. It affirms that La Sail*had made a blunder, and landed his colony, not at the mouth of the river,but at another place ; and it asks permission to continue the work inwhich he has failed. To this end, it petitions for means to builda vessel at St. Louis of the Illinois, together with canoes, arm*.

460 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.from the Illinois on hearing of the approach of LaSalle.The season was late,and they were eager to hastenforward that they might reach Quebec in time toreturn to France in the autumn ships. There wasnot a day to lose. They bade farewell to Bellefontaine,from whom, as from all others, they had concealedthe death of La Salle, and made their wayacross the country to Chicago. Here they weredetained a week by a storm; and when at lengththey embarked in a canoe furnished by Bellefontaine,the tempest soon forced them to put back. On this,they abandoned their design, and returned to FortSt. Louis, to the astonishment of its inmates.It was October when they arrived; and, meanwhile,Tonty had returned from the Iroquois war,where he hdd borne a conspicuous part in the famousattack on the Senecas by the Marquis de Denonville. 1He listened with deep interest to the mournful storyof his guests. Cavelier knew him well. He knew,so far as he was capable of knowing, his generousand disinterested character, his long and faithfultents, tools, provisions, and merchandise for the Indians ; and italso asks for La Salle's maps and papers, and for those of Beaujeu.On their part, it pursues, the Jesuits will engage to make a completesurvey of the river, and return an exact account of its inhabitants,its plants, and its other productions.1Tonty, Du Lhut, and Durantaye came to the aid of Denonvillewith a hundred and eighty Frenchmen, chiefly coureurs de bois, andfour hundred Indians from the upper country. Their services werehighly appreciated; and Tonty especially is mentioned in thedespatches of Denonville with great praise.

1687.] CONDUCT OF CAVELIER. 461attachment to La Salle, and the invaluable serviceshe had rendered him. Tonty had every claim on hisconfidence and affection. Yet he did not hesitate topractise on him the same deceit which he had practisedon Bellefontaine. He told him that he had lefthis brother in good health on the Gulf of Mexico,and drew upon him, in La Salle's name, for anamount stated by Joutel at about four thousandlivres, in furs, besides a canoe and a quantity ofother goods, all of which were delivered to him bythe unsuspecting victim. 1This was at the end of the winter, when the oldpriest and his companions had been living for monthson Tonty's hospitality. They set out for Canada on* " Monsieur Tonty, croyant M. de la Salle vivant, ne fit pas dedifficulte' de luy donner pour environ quatre mille liv. de pelleterie,de castors, loutres, un canot, et autres effets." — Joutel, JournalHistorique, 349.Tonty himself does not make the amount so great: "Sur cequ'ils m'assuroient qu'il etoit reste' au Golfe de Mexique en bonnesante', je les recus comme si c'avoit este' lui mesme et luy prestay [aCavelier] plus de 700 francs." — Tonty, Memoire.Cavelier must have known that La Salle was insolvent. Tontyhad long served without pay. Douay says that he made the stay ofthe party at the fort very agreeable, and speaks of him, with someapparent compunction, as " ce brave gentilhomme, toujours inse'parablementattache' aux inte'r&ts du Sieur de la Salle, dont nous luyavons cache la deplorable destinee."Couture, from the Arkansas, brought word to Tonty, severalmonths after, of La Salle's death, adding that Cavelier had concealedit, with no other purpose than that of gaining money orsupplies from him (Tonty), in his brother's name. Cavelier had aletter from La Salle, desiring Tonty to give him supplies, and payhim 2,652 livres in beaver. If Cavelier is to be believed, this beaverbelonged to La Salle.

462 THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. [1687.the twenty-first of March, reached Chicago on thetwenty-ninth, and thence proceeded to Michilimackinac.Here Cavelier sold some of Tonty's fursto a merchant, who gave him in payment a draftMontreal, thus putting him inonfunds for his voyagehome. The party continued their journey in canoesby way of French River and the Ottawa, and safelyreached Montreal on the seventeenth of July. Herethey procured the clothing of which they werewofully in need, and then descended the river toQuebec,where they took lodging, — some with theRe*collet friars, and some with the priests of theSeminary, — in order to escape the questions ofthe curious. At the end of August they embarkedfor France, and early in October arrived safely atRochelle. None of the party were men of especialenergy or force of character; and yet, under thespur of a dire necessity,most adventurous journeys on record.they had achieved one of theNow, at length, they disburdened themselves oftheir gloomy secret; but the sole result seems tohave been an order from the King for the arrest ofthe murderers, should they appear in Canada. 11 Lettre du Roy a Denonville, 1 Mai, 1689. Joutel must havebeen a young man at the time of the Mississippi expedition ; forCharlevoix saw him at Rouen, thirty-five years after. He speaks ofhim with emphatic praise ; but it must be admitted that his connivancein the deception practised by Cavelier on Tonty leaves a shadeon his character, as well as on that of Douay. In other respects,everything that appears concerning him is highly favorable, whichis not the case with Douay, who, on one or two occasions, makeswilful misstatements.Douay says that the elder Cavelier made a report of the expedi-

;1687.] THE COLONISTS ABANDONED. 403Joutel was disappointed. It had been bis hopethroughout that the King would send a ship to therelief of the wretched band at Fort St. Louis ofTexas. But Louis XIV. hardened his heart, andleft them to their fate.tion to the minister Seignelay.This report remained unknown inan English collection of autographs and old manuscripts, whence Iobtained it by purchase, in 1854, both the buyer and seller being atthe time ignorant of its exact character.It proved, on examination,to be a portion of the first draft of Cavelier's report to Seignelay.It consists of twenty-six small folio pages, closely written in a clearhand, though in a few places obscured by the fading of the ink, aswell as by occasional erasures and interlineations of the writer.is, as already stated, confused and unsatisfactory in its statementsand all the latter part has been lost. On reaching France, he hadthe impudence to tell Abbe" Tronson, Superior of St. Sulpice, "qu'ilavait laisse M. de la Salle dans un tres-beau pays avec M. de Chefdevilleen bonne sante." — Lettre de Tronson a Mad. Fauvel- Cavelier,29 Nov., 1688.Cavelier addressed to the King a memorial on the importance ofkeeping possession of the Illinois. It closes with an earnest petitionfor money in compensation for his losses, as, according to his ownstatement, he was completely epuise. It is affirmed in a memorialof the heirs of his cousin, Francois Plet, that he concealed thedeath of La Salle some time after his return to France, in order toget possession of property which would otherwise have been seizedby the creditors of the deceased. The prudent abM died rich andvery old, at the house of a relative, having inherited a large estateafter his return from America. Apparently, this did not satisfyhim ; for there is before me the copy of a petition, written about1717, in which he asks, jointly with one of his nephews, to be givenpossession of the seigniorial property held by La Salle in America.The petition was refused.Young Cavelier, La Salle's nephew, died some years after, anofficer in a regiment. He has been erroneously supposed to be thesame with one De la Salle, whose name is appended to a lettergiving an account of Louisiana, and dated at Toulon, 3 Sept., 1898.This person was the son of a naval official at Toulon, and was notrelated to the Cavelier*.It

CHAPTER XXIX.1688-1689.FATE OF THE TEXAN COLONY.tontt attempts to rescue the colonists i his difficultiesand Hardships.— Spanish Hostility. — Expedition of Alonzode Leon : he reaches Fort St. Louis. — A Scene of Havoc.— Destruction of the French. — The End.Henri de Tonty, on his rock of St. Louis, wasvisited in September by Couture and two Indiansfrom the Arkansas. Then, for the first time, heheard with grief and indignation of the death of LaSalle, and the deceit practised by Cavelier. Thechief whom he had served so well was beyond hishelp; but might not the unhappy colonists left onthe shores of Texas still be rescued from destruction?Couture had confirmed what Cavelier and hispartyhad already told him, that the tribes south of theArkansas were eager to join the French in an invasionof northern Mexico ; and he soon after receivedfrom the governor, Denonville, a letter informinghim that war had again been declared against Spain.As bold and enterprising as La Salle himself, Tontyresolved on an effort to learn the condition of the

1688.] COURAGE OF TONTY. 465few Frenchmen left on the borders of the Gulf,relieve their necessities, and, should it prove practicable,make them the nucleus of a war-party tocross the Rio Grande, and add a new province to thedomain of France. It was the revival, on a smallscale,of La Salle's scheme of Mexican invasion; andthere is no doubt that, with a score of French musketeers,he could have gathered a formidable party ofsavage allies from the tribes of Red River, the Sabine,and the Trinity. This daring adventure and therescue of his suffering countrymen divided histhoughts, and he prepared at once to execute thedouble purpose. 1He left Fort St. Louis of the Illinois early inDecember, ina pirogue, or wooden canoe, with fiveFrenchmen, a Shawanoe warrior, and two Indianslaves; and, after a long and painful journey, hereached the villages ofthe Caddoes on Red River onthe twenty-eighth of March. Here he was told thatHiens and his companions were at a village eightyleagues distant; and thither he was preparing to goin search of them, when all his men, excepting theShawanoe and one Frenchman, declared themselvesdisgusted with the journey, and refused to followhim. Persuasion was useless, and there was nomeans of enforcing obedience. He found himselfabandoned; but he still pushed on, with the twowho remained faithful. A few days after, they lostnearly all their ammunition in crossing a river.1 Tonty, Mimoire.30

466 FATE OF THE TEXAN COLONY. [1689.Undeterred by this accident, Tonty made his wayto the village where Hiens and those who hadremained with him were said to be ; but no trace ofthem appeared, and the demeanor of the Indians,when he inquired for them, convinced him that theyhad been put to death. He charged them withhaving killed the Frenchmen, whereupon the womenof the village raised a wail of lamentation ;" and Isaw," he says, "that what I had said to them wastrue." They refused to give him guides; and this,with the loss of his ammunition, compelled him toforego his purpose of making his way to the colonistson the Bay of St. Louis. With bitter disappointment,he and his two companions retraced theircourse, and at length approached Red River.Herethey found the whole country flooded. Sometimesthey waded to the knees, sometimes to the neck,sometimes pushed their slow way on rafts. Nightand day it rained without ceasing. They slept onlogs placed side by side to raise them above the mudand water, and fought their way with hatchetsthrough the inundated cane-brakes. They found nogame but a bear, which had taken refuge on an islandin the flood ;and they were forced to eat their dogs."I never in my life," writes Tonty, "suffered somuch." In judging these intrepid exertions, it is tobe remembered that he was not, at leastin appearance,of a robust constitution, and that he had butone hand. They reached the Mississippi on theeleventh of July, and the Arkansas villages on the

;1689.] TONTY MISREPRESENTED. 467thirty-first. Here Tonty was detained by an attackof fever. He resumed his journey when it beganto abate, and reached his fort of the Illinois inSeptember. 1i Two causes have contributed to detract, most unjustly, fromTonty's reputation, — the publication, under his name, but withouthis authority, of a perverted account of the enterprises in which hetook part; and the confounding him with his brother, Alphonse deTonty, who long commanded at Detroit, where charges of peculationwere brought against him. There are very few names inFrench-American history mentioned with such unanimity of praiseas that of Henri de Tonty. Hennepin finds some fault with himbut his censure is commendation. The despatches of the governor,Denonville, speak in strong terms of his services in the Iroquoiswar, praise his character, and declare that he is fit for any boldenterprise, adding that he deserves reward from the King. Themissionary, St. Cosme, who travelled under his escort in 1699, saysof him :" He is beloved by all the voyageurs. ... It was with deepregret that we parted from him : ... he is the man who best knowsthe country; ... he is loved and feared everywhere. . . . Yourgrace will, I doubt not, take pleasure in acknowledging the obligationswe owe him."Tonty held the commission of captain ; but, by a memoir whichhe addressed to Ponchartrain in 1690, it appears that he had neverreceived any pay. Count Frontenac certifies the truth of the statement,and adds a recommendation of the writer.In consequence,probably, of this, the proprietorship of Fort St. Louis of the Illinoiswas granted in the same year to Tonty, jointly with La Forest,formerly La Salle's lieutenant. Here they carried on a trade infurs. In 1699, a royal declaration was launched against the coureur*de bois ; but an express provision was added in favor of Tonty andLa Forest, who were empowered to send up the country yearly twocanoes, with twelve men, for the maintenance of this fort. Withsuch a limitation, this fort and the trade carried on at it muat havebeen very small. In 1702, we find a royal order, to the effect thatLa Forest is henceforth to reside in Canada, and Tonty on theMississippi; and that the establishment at the Illinois is to bediscontinued. In the same year, Tonty joined D'lberville in LowerLouisiana, and was sent by that officer from Mobile to tecure the

468 FATE OF THE TEXAN COLONY. [1689.While the King ofFrance abandoned the exiles ofTexas to their fate, a power dark, ruthless, and/terrible was hovering around the feeble colony onthe Bay of St. Louis, searching with pitiless eye todiscover and tear out that dying germ ofcivilizationfrom the bosom of the wilderness in whose savageimmensity it lay hidden.Mexico and allright, and the viceroys ofSpain claimed the Gulf ofits coasts as her own of unanswerableMexico were strenuous toenforce her claim. The capture of one of La Salle'sfour vessels at St. Domingo had made known hisdesigns, and in the course of the three succeedingyears no less than four expeditions were sent outfrom Vera Cruz to find and destroy him. TheyBcoured the whole extent of the coast,and found thewrecks of the " Aimable " and the " Belle ;" but thecolony of St. Louis, 1 inland and secluded, escapedtheir search. For a time, the jealousy of theSpaniards was lulled to sleep. They rested in theassurance that the intruders had perished, when freshadvices from the frontier province of New LeonChickasaws in the French interest. His subsequent career and thetime of his death do not appear. He seems never to have receivedthe reward which his great merit deserved. Those intimate withthe late lamented Dr. Sparks will remember his often-expressedwish that justice should be done to the memory of Tonty.Fort St. Louis of the Illinois was afterwards reoccupied by th«French. In 1718, a number of them, chiefly traders, were livinghere ; but three years later it was again deserted, and Charlevoix,passing the spot, saw only the remains of its palisades.1Fort St. Louis of Texas is not to be confounded with Fort StLouis of the Illinois.

1689.] A SCENE OF HAVOC. 469caused the Viceroy, Galve, to order a strong force,under Alonzo de Leon, to march from Coahuila, andcross the Rio Grande. Guided by a French prisoner,probably one of the deserters from La Salle, theypushed their way across wild and arid plains, rivers,prairies, and forests, till at length they approachedthe Bay of St. Louis, and descried, far off, theharboring-place of the French. 1 As they drew near,no banner was displayed, no sentry challenged ; andthe silence of death reigned over the shattered palisadesand neglected dwellings. The Spaniardsspurred their reluctant horses through the gateway,and a scene of desolation met their sight. No ' livingthing was stirring. Doors were torn from theirhinges; broken boxes, staved barrels, and rustykettles, mingled with a great number of stocks ofarquebuses and muskets, were scattered about inconfusion. Here, too, trampled in mud and soakedwith rain, they saw more than two hundred books,many of which still retained the traces of costlybindings. On the adjacent prairie lay three deadbodies, one of which, from fragments of dress stillclinging to the wasted remains, they saw to be thatof a woman. It was in vain to question the imperiAfter crossing the Del Norte, they crossed in turn the UpperNueces, the Hondo (Rio Frio), the De Leon (San Antonio), and theGuadalupe, and then, turning southward, descended to the Bay ofSt. Bernard. . . . Manuscript map of "Route que flrent !*• Eapagnols,pour venir enlever les Francais rester a la Baye 8tBernard ou St. Louis, apres la perte du vaisseau de M' de la «*lleen 1689."(Margry'a collection.)

V470 FATE OF THE TEXAN COLONY. [1689.turbablesavages, who, wrapped to the throat in theirbuffalo-robes, stood gazing on the scene with looks ofwooden immobility. Two strangers, however, atlength arrived. 1 Their faces were smeared withpaint, and they were wrapped in buffalo-robes like therest; yet these seeming Indians were L'ArchevSque,the tool of La Salle's murderer Duhaut, and Grollet,the companion of the white savage Ruter. TheSpanish commander, learning that these two menwere in the district of the tribe called Texas, 2 hadsent to invite them to his camp under a pledge ofgood treatment; and they had resolved to tru«tSpanish clemency rather than endure longer a lifethat had become intolerable. From them theSpaniards learned nearly all that is known of thefate of Barbier, Zenobe Membre\ and their companions.Three months before, a large band of Indianshad approached the fort, the inmates of which hadsuffered severely from the ravages of the small-pox.From fear of treachery, they refused to admit theirvisitors, but received them at a cabin without thepalisades. Here the French began a trade withthem; when suddenly a band of warriors, yelling1 May 1st. The Spaniards reached the fort April 22.2This is the first instance in which the name occurs. In a letterwritten by a member of De Leon's party, the Texan Indians arementioned several times. (See Coleccion de Varios Documentos, 25.)They are described as an agricultural tribe, and were, to all appearance,identical with the Cenis. The name Tejas, or Texas, was firstapplied as a local designation to a spot on the river Neches, in theCenis territory, whence it extended to the whole country. (SeeYoakum, History of Texas, 52.)

1680.] THE SURVIVORS. 471the war-whoop, rushed from an ambuscade underthe bank of the river, and butchered the greaternumber. The children of one Talon, together withan Italian and a young man from Paris namedBreman, were saved by the Indian women, whocarried them off on their backs.Grollet, who with others ofL'Archeveque andtheir stamp were domesticatedin the Indian villages, came to the scene ofslaughter, and, as they affirmed, buried fourteen deadbodies. 1lDerrotero de la Jornada que kizo el General Alonso de Leon para eldescubrimiento de la Bahia del Esptritu Santo, y poblacion de Franceses.Ano de 1689. — This is the official journal of the expedition, signedby Alonzo de Leon. I am indebted to Colonel Thomas Aspinwallfor the opportunity of examining it. The name of Espiritu Santowas, as before mentioned, given by the Spaniards to St. Louis,or Matagorda Bay, as well as to two other bays of the Gulf ofMexico.Carta en que se da noticia de un viaje hecko a la Bahia de EspirituSanto y de la poblacion que tenian ahi los Franceses. Coleccion deVarios Documentos para la Historia de la Florida, 25. — This is aletter from a person accompanying the expedition of De Leon.is dated May 18, 1689, and agrees closely with the journal citedabove, though evidently by another hand. Compare Barcia, EnsayoCronologico, 294. Barcia's story has been doubted; but these authenticdocuments prove the correctness of his principal statements,though on minor points he seems to have indulged his fancy.The Viceroy of New Spain, in a report to the King, 1690, saysthat, in order to keep the Texas and other Indians of that region inobedience to his Majesty, he has resolved to establish eight missionsamong them. He adds that he has appointed as governor, or commander,in that province, Don Domingo Teran de los Rios, who willmake a thorough exploration of it, carry out what De Leon hasbegun, prevent the further intrusion of foreigners like La Salle.and go in pursuit of the remnant of the French, who are said stillto remain among the tribes of Red River. I owe this document tothe kindness of Mr. Buckingham Smith.It

APPENDIX.LEARLY UNPUBLISHED MAPS OF THE MISSIS-SIPPI AND THE GREAT LAKES.Most of the maps described below are to be found in the Depotdes Cartes de la Marine et des Colonies, at Paris. Taken together,they exhibit the progress of western discovery, and illustrate therecords of the explorers.1. The map of Gralin6e, 1670, has a double title,—Carte du Canada et des Terres decouuertes vers le looDerie, and Carte du Lao Ontario et des habitations quiV enuironnent ensemble le pays que Mess 11 *- Dolier etGalinee, missionnaires du seminaires de St. Sulpice, ontparcouru. It professes to represent only the countryactually visited by the two missionaries. Beginning withMontreal, it gives the course of the Upper St. Lawrence andthe shores of Lake Ontario, the river Niagara, the northshore of Lake Erie, the Strait of Detroit, and the easternand northern shores of Lake Huron. Galine'e did not knowthe existence of the peninsula of Michigan, aud mergesLakes Huron and Michigan into one, under the name of"Michigan^, ou Mer Douce des Hurons." He was alsoentirely ignorant of the south shore of Lake Erie. Herepresents the outlet of Lake Superior as far as the Saut Ste,

476 APPENDIX.Marie, and lays down the river Ottawa in great detail," Sault qui tombe au rapport des sauvages de plusde 200 pieds de haut." Had the Jesuits been disposed toaid him, they could have given him much additionalhaving descended it on his return. The Falls of the Geneseeare indicated, as also the Falls of Niagara, with the inscription,information,and corrected his most serious errors ; as, for example,the omission of the peninsula of Michigan. The first attemptto map out the Great Lakes was that of Champlain,in 1632. This of Galinee may be called the second.2. The map of Lake Superior, published in the JesuitRelation of 1670, 1671, was made at about the same timewith Galinee's map. Lake Superior is here styled " LacTracy, ou Superieur." Though not so exact as it has beenrepresented,this map indicates that the Jesuits had exploredevery part of this fresh-water ocean, and that they had athorough knowledge of the straits connecting the three UpperLakes, and of the adjacent bays, inlets, and shores. Thepeninsula of Michigan, ignored by Galinee, is represented inits proper place.3. Three years or more after Galinee made the mapmentioned above, another, indicating a greatly increasedknowledge of the country, was made by some person whosename does not appear. This map, which is somewhat morethan four feet long and about two feet and a half wide, hasno title. All the Great Lakes, through their entire extent,are laid down on it with considerable accuracy. LakeOntario is called "Lac Ontario, ou de Frontenac." FortFrontenac is indicated, as well as the Iroquois colonies ofthe north shore. Niagara is " Chute haute de 120 toisespar ou le Lac Eri3 tombe dans le Lac Frontenac." LakeErie is " Lac Teiocha-rontiong, dit commun&nent Lac ErieY'Lake St. Clair is " Tsiketo, ou Lac de la Chaudiere."Lake Huron is " Lac Huron, ou Mer Douce des Hurons/'

;APPENDIX. 477Lake Superior is " Lac Sup&ieur." Lake Michigan is " LaoMitchiganong, ou des Illinois." On Lake Michigan, immediatelyopposite the site of Chicago, are written the words, ofwhich the following is the literal translation: "The largestvessels can come to this place from the outlet of Laka Erie,where it discharges into Lake Frontenac [Ontario]; andfrom this marsh into which they can enter there is only adistance of a thousand paces to the River La Divine [DesPlaines], which can lead them to the River Colbert [Mi -sissippi], and thence to the Gulf of Mexico." This mapwas evidently made after that voyage of La Salle in whichhe discovered the Illinois, or at least the Des Plaines branchof it. The Ohio is laid down with the inscription,"River Ohio, so called by the Iroquois on account of iUbeauty, which the Sieur de la Salle descended." (Ante,32, note.)4. We now come to the map of Marquette, which is arude sketch of a portion of Lakes Superior and Michigan,and of the route pursued by him and Joliet up the FoxRiver of Green Bay, down the Wisconsin, and thence downthe Mississippi as far as the Arkansas. The river Illinoisis also laid down, as it was by this course that he returnedto Lake Michigan after his memorable voyage. He givesno name to the Wisconsin. The Mississippi is called" Riviere de la Conception ; " the Missouri, the Pekitanouiand the Ohio, the Ouabouskiaou, though La Salle, itsdiscoverer, had previously given it its present name,borrowed from the Iroquois. The Illinois is nameless, likethe Wisconsin. At the mouth of a river, perhaps the DeaMoines, Marquette places the three villages of the PeoriaIndians visited by him. These, with the Kaskaskias,Maroas, and others, on the map, were merely sub-tribes of theaggregation of savages known as the Illinois. On or nearthe Missouri he places the Ouchage (Osages), the Oumea-

478 APPENDIX.sourit (Missouris), the Kansa (Kanzas), the Paniassa(Pawnees), the Maha (Omahas), and the Pahoutet (Pah-Utahs ?). The names of many other trihes, " esloignees dansles terres, " are also given along the course ofthe Arkansas,a river which is nameless on the map. Most of these tribesare now indistinguishable. This map has recently beenengraved and published.5. Not long after Marquette's return from the Mississippi,another map was made by the Jesuits, with the followingtitle :Carte de la nouvelle decouverte que les peres Tesuitesont fait en Vannee 1672. et continue e par le P. IacquesMarquette de la mesme Compagnie accompagne dequelques francois en Vannee 1673, qu'onpourra nommerenfrancois la Manitoumie. This title is very elaboratelydecorated with figures drawn with a pen, and representingJesuits instructing Indians. The map is the same publishedby Thevenot, not without considerable variations, in 1681.It represents the Mississippi from a little above the Wisconsinto the Gulf of Mexico, the part below the Arkansasbeing drawn from conjecture. The river is named " Mitchisipi,ou grande Riviere." The Wisconsin, the Illinois,the Ohio, the Des Moines ( 1), the Missouri, and the Arkansasare all represented, but in a very rude manner.Marquette'sroute, in going and returning, is marked by lines ; but thereturn route is incorrect. The whole map is so crude andcareless, and based on information so inexact, that it is oflittleinterest.6. The Jesuits made also another map, without title, ofthe four Upper Lakes and the Mississippi to a little belowthe Arkansas. The Mississippi is called " RiuuiereColbert. " The map is remarkable as including the earliestrepresentation of the Upper Mississippi, based, perhaps, onthe reports of Indians. The Falls of St. Anthony areindicated by the word " Saut." It is possible that the map

APPENDIX. 479may be of later date than at first appears, and that it mayhave been drawn in the interval between the return ofHennepin from the Upper Mississippi and that of La Saliefrom his discovery of the mouth of the river. The varioustemporary and permanent stations of the Jesuits are markedby crosses.7. Of far greater interest is the small map of LouisJolietmade and presented to Count Frontenac after the diacoverer's return from the Mississippi.It is entitled Carte dela decouuerte du 3* Jolliet ou Von voit La Communicationdu fleuue St. Laurens auec les lacsfrontenac, Erie, Lac desHurons et Ilinois. Then succeeds the following, writtenin the same antiquated French, as if it were a part of thetitle :" Lake Frontenac [Ontario] is separated by a fall ofhalf a league from Lake Erie, from which one enters that ofthe Hurons, and by the same navigation, into that of theIllinois [Michigan], from the head of which one crosses tothe Divine River [Riviere Divine; i. e., the Des Plainesbranch of the river Illinois], by a portage of a thousandpaces. This river falls into the river Colbert [Mississippi],which discharges itself into the Gulf of Mexico. " A part ofthis map is based on the Jesuit map of Lake Superior, thelegends being here for the most part identical, though theshape of the lake is better given by Joliet. The Mississippi,or " Riuiere Colbert, " is made to flow from three lakes inlatitude 47° ; and it ends in latitude 37°, a little below themouth of the Ohio, the rest being apparently cut off to makeroom for Joliet's letter to Frontenac (ante, 76), which iawritten on the lower part of the map. The valley of theMississippi is called on the map " Colbertie, ou AmeriqueOccidentals " The Missouri is represented without name,and against it is a legend, of which the following is theliteral translation: " By one of these great rivers which comefrom the west and discharge themselves into the river Colbert

480 APPENDIX.one will find a way to enter the Vermilion Sea (Gulf ofCalifornia). I have seen a village which was not morethan twenty days' journey by land from a nation whichhas commerce with those of California. If I had cometwo days sooner, I should have spoken with those whohad come from thence, and had brought four hatchets asa present." The Ohio has no name, but a legend over itstates that La Salle had descended it. (See ante, 32,note).8. Joliet, at about the same time, made another map,larger than that just mentioned, but not essentially different.The letter to Frontenac is written upon both. Thereis a third map, of which the following is the title : Cartegeneralle de la France septentrionale contenant la descouuertedu pays des Illinois, faite par le Sc Jolliet. Thismap, which is inscribed with a dedication by the IntendantDuchesneau to the minister Colbert, was made some timeafter the voyage of Joliet and Marquette. It is an elaboratepiece of work, but very inaccurate. It represents thecontinent from Hudson's Strait to Mexico and California,with the whole of the Atlantic and a part of the Pacificcoast. An open sea is made to extend from Hudson'sStrait westward to the Pacific. The St. Lawrence and allthe Great Lakes are laid down with tolerable correctness,also is the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi, called " Messasipi," flows into the Gulf, from which it extends northwardnearly to the " Mer du Nord." Along its course,above the Wisconsin, which is called " Miskous, " is a longlist of Indian tribes, most of which cannot now be recognized,though several are clearly sub-tribes of the Sioux.The Ohio is called " Ouaboustikou." The whole map is decoratedwith numerous figures of animals, natives of thecountry, or supposed to be so. Among them are camels,ostriches, and a giraffe, which are placed on the plains westas

"APPENDIX. 481of the Mississippi. But the most curious figure is thatwhich represents one of the monsters seen by Joliet andMarquette, painted on a rock by the Indians. It correspondswith Marquette's description (ante, 68). Thismap, which is an early effort of the engineer Franquelin,does more credit to his skill as a designer than to hisgeographical knowledge, which appears in some respectsbehind histime.9. Carte de VAmerique Septentrionale depuis I'embouchurede la Riviere St. Laurens jusques au Sein Mexique.On this curious little map, the Mississippi is called" Riuiere Buade" (the family name of Frontenac) ; and theneighboring country is " La Frontenacie." The Illinois is" Riuiere de la Diuine ou Loutrelaise, " and the Arkansas is" Riuiere Bazire. " The Mississippi is made to head inthree lakes, and to discharge itself into " B. du S. Esprit(Mobile Bay). Some of the legends and the orthographyof various Indian names are clearly borrowed from Marquette.This map appears to be the work of Raudin,Frontenac's engineer.of Henry Harrisse,Esq.I owe a tracing of it to the kindness10. Carte des Parties les plus occidentals du Canada fpar le Pere Pierre Raffeix, S. J. This rude map showsthe course of Du Lhut from the head of Lake Superior to theMississippi, and partly confirms the story of Hennepin, who,Raffeix says in a note, was rescued by Du Lhut. Thecourse of Joliet and Marquette is given, with the legend" Voyage et premiere descouverte du Mississipy faite par lerP. Marquette et M Joliet en 1672." The route of LaSalle in 1679, 1680, is also laid down.11. In the Depot des Cartes de la Marine is another mapof the Upper Mississippi, which seems to have been madeby or for Du Lhut. Lac Buade, the " Issatis, n the Tintons,"the " Houelbatons," the " Poualacs," and other tribes31

482 APPENDIX.of this region appear upon it. This is the map numbered208 in the Cartographie of Harrisse.12. Another map deserving mention is a large and fineone, entitled Carte de VAmerique Septentrionale et partiede la Meridionale . . . avee les nouvelles decouvertes de laRiviere Missisipi, ou Colbert. It appears to have beenmade in 1682 or 1683, before the descent of La Salle to themouth of the Mississippi was known to the maker, whoseems to have been Franquelin. The lower Mississippi isomitted, but its upper portions are elaborately laid down;and the name La Louisiana appears in large gold lettersalong its west side. The Falls of St. Anthony are shown,and above them iswritten " Armes du Roy gravees sur cetarbre Pan 1679." This refers to the acte de prise de possessionof Du Lhut in July of that year, and this part ofthe map seems made from data supplied by him.13. We now come to the great map of Franquelin, themost remarkable of all the early maps of the interior ofNorth America, though hitherto completely ignored byboth American and Canadian writers. It is entitled Cartede la Louisiana ou des Voyages du $. r de la Salle et despays qu'il a deeouverts depuis la Nouvelle France jusqu'auGolfe Mexique les annees 1679, 80, 81, et 82, par JeanBaptiste Louis Franquelin. Van 1684. Paris. Franquelinwas a young engineer, who held the post of hydrographerto the King, at Quebec, in which Joliet succeededhim. Several of his maps are preserved, including onemade in 1681, in which he lays down the course of theMississippi, — the lower part from conjecture, — making itdischarge itself into Mobile Bay. It appears from a letterof the governor, La Barre, that Franquelin was at Quebecin 1683, engaged on a map which was probably that ofwhich the title is given above, though had La Barreknown that it was to be called a map of the journeys of

APPENDIX. 488his victim La Salle, he would have been more sparing ofhis praises. " He " (Franquelin), writes the governor, « isas skilful as any in France, but extremely poor and inneed of a little aid from his Majesty as an Engineeris at work on a very correct map of the country, whicli 1shall send you next year in his name; meanwhile, I shallsupport him with some little assistance." — Colonial 1>ments of New York, IX. 205.The map is very elaborately executed, and is six feet longand four and a half wide.It exhibits the political divisionsof the continent, as the French then understood them ; thatis to say,all the regions drained by streams flowing into theSt. Lawrence and the Mississippi are claimed as belongingto France, and this vast domain is separated into two granddivisions, La Nouvelle France and La Louisiane. Theboundary line of the former, New France, is drawn fromthe Penobscot to the southern extremity of Lake Champlain,and thence to the Mohawk, which it crosses a little aboveSchenectady, in order to make French subjects of theMohawk Indians. Thence it passes by the sources of theSusquehanna and the Alleghany, along the southern shoreof Lake Erie, across Southern Michigan, and by the headof Lake Michigan, whence it sweeps northwestward tosources of the Mississippi. Louisiana includes the entirevalley ofth*»the Mississippi and the Ohio, besides the whole ofTexas. The Spanish province of Florida comprises thepeninsula and the country east of the Bay of Mobile, drainedby streams flowing into the Gulf; while Carolina,Virginia,and the other English provinces, form a narrow stripbetween the Alleghanies and the Atlantic.The Mississippi is called " Missisipi, ou Riviere Colbert;" the Missouri, " Grande Riviere des Emissourittes, ouMissourits; " the Illinois, "Riviere des Ilinois, ou Macopins; " the Ohio, which La Salle had before called by iU

484 APPENDIX.present name, " Fleuve St. Louis, ou Chucagoa, ou Casquinampogamou; " one of its principal branches is " Ohio,ou Olighin " (Alleghany) ; the Arkansas, " Riviere desAcansea ; " the Red River, " Riviere Seignelay, " a namewhich had once been given to the Illinois. Many smallerstreams are designated by names which have been entirelyforgotten.The nomenclature differs materially from that of Coronelli'smap, published four years later. Here the wholeof the French territory is laid down as " Canada, ou LaNouvelle France, " of which " La Louisiane " forms anintegral part. The map of Homannus, like that of Franquelin,makes two distinct provinces, of which one is styled" Canada " and the other " La Louisiane, " the latter includingMichigan and the greater part of New York.Franquelingives the shape of Hudson's Bay, and of all the GreatLakes, with remarkable accuracy. He makes the Mississippibend much too far to the West. The peculiar sinuositiesof its course are indicated ; and some of its bends — as, forexample, that at New Orleans — are easily recognized. Itsmouths are represented with great minuteness j and it maybe inferred from the map that, since La Salle's time, theyhave advanced considerably into the sea.Perhaps the most interesting feature inFranquelin's mapis his sketch of La Salle's evanescent colony on the Illinois,engraved for this volume. He reproduced the map in 1688,for presentation to the King, with the titleCarte de I'AmeriqueSeptentrionale, depuis le 25 jusq'au 65 degre de latitudeet environ 140 et 235 degres de longitude, etc. Inthis map, Franquelin corrects various errors in that whichpreceded. One of these corrections consists in the removal ofa branch of the river Illinois which he had marked on hisfirst map, — as will be seen by referring to the portion of itin this book, — but which does not in fact exist. On this

APPENDIX. 485second map, La Salle's colony appears in much diminishedproportions, his Indian settlements having in good measuredispersed.Two later maps of New France and Louisiana, both bearingFranquelin's name, are preserved in the De*pdt desCartes de la Marine, as well as a number of smaller mapsand sketches, also by him. They all have more or less ofthe features of the great map of 1684, which surpassesthem all in interest and completeness.The remarkable manuscript map of the Upper Mississippiby Le Sueur belongs to a periodnarrative.later than the close of thisThese various maps, joined to contemporary documents,*how that the Valley of the Mississippi received, at an earlydate, the several names of Manitoumie, Frontenacie, Colbertie,and La Louisiane. This last name, which it longretained, is due to La Salle. The first use of it which Ihave observed is in a conveyance of the Island of Belleislemade by him to his lieutenant, La Forest, in 1679.II.THE ELDORADO OF MATHIEU sAGEAN.Father Hennepin had among hiscontemporaries tworivals in the fabrication of new discoveries. The first wasthe noted La Hontan, whose book, like his own, had a widecirculation and proved a great success. La Hontan hadseen much, and portions of his story have a substantialvalue; but his account of his pretended voyage up the* Long River " is a sheer fabrication. His " Long River•

486 APPENDIX.corresponds in position with the St. Peter, but it correspondsin nothing else ; and the populous nations whom hefound on it— the Eokoros, theEsanapes, and the Gnacsitares,no less than their neighbors the Mozeemlek and theTahuglauk — are as real as the nations visited by CaptainGulliver. But La Hontan did not, like Hennepin, addslander and plagiarism to mendacity, or seek to appropriateto himself the credit of genuine discoveries made by others.Mathieu Sagean is a personage less known than Hennepinor La Hontan; for though he surpassed them both infertility of invention, he was illiterate, and never made abook. In 1701, being then a soldier in a company ofmarines at Brest, he revealed a secret which he declaredthat he had locked within his breast for twenty years, havingbeen unwilling to impart it to the Dutch and English,in whose service he had been during the whole period.His story was written down from his dictation, and sent tothe minister Ponchartrain. It is preserved in the BibliothequeNationale, and in 1863 it was printed by Mr. Shea.He was born, he declares, at La Chine in Canada, andengaged in the service of La Salle about twenty years beforethe revelation of his secret; that is, in 1681. Hence,he would have been, at the utmost, only fourteen years old,as La Chine did not exist before 1667. He was with LaSalle at the building of Fort St. Louis of the Illinois, andwas left here as one of a hundred men under command ofTonty. Tonty, it is to be observed, had but a small fractionof this number; and Sagean describes the fort in amanner which shows that he never saw it.Being desirousof making some new discovery, he obtained leave fromTonty, and set out with eleven other Frenchmen and twoMohegan Indians. They ascended the Mississippi a hundredand fifty leagues, carried their canoes by a cataract,went forty leagues farther, and stopped a month to hunt.

APPENDIX. 487While thus employed, they found another river, fourteenleagues distant, flowing south-southwest. They carriedtheir canoes thither, meeting on the way many lions,leopards, and tigers, which did them no harm ; then theyembarked, paddled a hundred and fifty leagues farther, andfound themselves in the midst of the great nation of theAcanibas, dwelling in many fortified towns, and governs!by King Hagaren, who claimed descent from Montezuma.The King, like his subjects, was clothed with the skins ofmen. Nevertheless, he and they were civilized and polishedin their manners. They worshipped certain frightfulidols of gold in the royal palace. One of them representedthe ancestor of their monarch armed with lance, bow, andquiver, and in the act of mounting his horse; while in hismouth he held a jewel as large as a goose's egg, whichshone like fire, and which, in the opinion of Sagean, was acarbuncle. Another of these images was that of a womanmounted on a golden unicorn, with a horn more than afathom long. After passing, pursues the story, betweenthese idols, which stand on platforms of gold, each thirtyfeet square, one enters a magnificent vestibule, conductingto the apartment of the King. At the four corners of thisvestibule are stationed bands of music, which, to the tasteof Sagean, was of very poor quality. The palace is of vastextent, and the private apartment of the King is twen freightor thirty feet square; the walls, to the height ofeighteen feet, being of bricks of solid gold, and the pavementof the same. Here the King dwells alone, served onlyby his wives, of whom he takes a new one every day. TheFrenchmen alone had the privilege of entering, and weregraciously received.These people carry on a great trade in gold with a nation,believed by S&gean to be the Japanese, as the journey tothem lasts six months. He saw the departure of one of thn

;488 APPENDIX.caravans,which consisted of more than three thousand oxen,laden with gold, and an equal number of horsemen, armedwith lances, bows, and daggers. They receive iron andsteel in exchange for their gold. The King has an army ofa hundred thousand men, of whom three fourths are cavalry.They have golden trumpets, with which they make veryindifferent music; and also golden drums, which, as well asthe drummer, are carried on the backs of oxen. The troopsare practised once a week in shooting at a target with arrowsand the King rewards the victor with one of his wives, orwith some honorable employment.These people are of a dark complexion and hideous tolook upon, because their faces are made long and narrow bypressing their heads between two boards in infancy. Thewomen, however, are as fair as in Europe; though, incommon with the men, their ears are enormously large. Allpersons of distinction among the Acanibas wear their fingernailsvery long. They are polygamists, and each mantakes as many wives as he wants. They are of a joyousdisposition, moderate drinkers, but great smokers. Theyentertained Sagean and his followers during five months withthe fat of the land ; and any woman who refused a Frenchmanwas ordered to be killed. Six girls were put to deathwith daggers for this breach of hospitality. The King, beinganxious to retain his visitors in his service, offered S&geanone of his daughters, aged fourteen years, in marriage ; andwhen he saw him resolved to depart, promised to keep herfor him till he should return.The climate is delightful, and summer reigns throughoutthe year. The plains are full of birds and animals of allkinds, among which are many parrotsand monkeys, besidesthe wild cattle, with humps like camels, which thesepeople use as beasts of burden.King Hagaren would not let the Frenchmen go till they

APPENDIX. 489had sworn "by the sky, which is the customary oath of theAcanibas, that they would return in thirty-six moons, andbring him a supply of beads and other trinkets from Canada.As gold was to be had for the asking, each of the elevenFrenchmen took away with him sixty small bars, weighingabout four pounds each. The King ordered two hundredhorsemen to escort them, and carry the gold totheir canoes;which they did, and then bade them farewell with terrifichowlings, meant, doubtless,to do them honor.After many adventures, wherein nearly all his companionscame to a bloody end, Sagean, and the few others who survived,had the ill luck to be captured by English pirates, atthe mouth of the St. Lawrence. He spent many yearsamong them in the East and West Indies, but would notreveal the secret of his Eldorado to these heretical foreigners.Such was the story, which so far imposed on the credulityof the minister Ponchartrain as to persuade him thatthe matter was worth serious examination. Accordingly,Sagean was sent to Louisiana, then in its earliest infancy asa French colony. Here he met various persons who hadknown him in Canada, who denied that he had ever beenon the Mississippi, and contradicted his account of hisparentage. Nevertheless, he held fast to his story, and declaredthat the gold mines of the Acanibas could be reachedwithout difficulty by the river Missouri. But Sauvolle andBienville, chiefs of the colony, were obstinate in their unbelief;and Sagean and his King Hagaren lapsed alike intooblivion.

;488 APPENDIXcaravans, which consisted of more than three thousand oxen,laden with gold, and an equal number of horsemen, armedwith lances, bows, and daggers. They receive iron andsteel in exchange for their gold. The King has an army ofa hundred thousand men, of whom three fourths are cavalry.They have golden trumpets, with which they make veryindifferent music; and also golden drums, which, as well asthe drummer, are carried on the backs of oxen. The troopsare practised once a week in shooting at a target with arrowsand the King rewards the victor with one of his wives, orwith some honorable employment.These people are of a dark complexion and hideous tolook upon, because their faces are made long and narrow bypressing their heads between two boards in infancy. Thewomen, however, are as fair as in Europe; though, incommon with the men, their ears are enormously large. Allpersons of distinction among the Acanibas wear their fingernailsvery long. They are polygamists, and each mantakes as many wives as he wants. They are of a joyousdisposition, moderate drinkers, but great smokers. Theyentertained Sagean and his followers during five months withthe fat of the land; and any woman who refused a Frenchmanwas ordered to be killed. Six girls were put to deathwith daggers for this breach of hospitality. The King, beinganxious to retain his visitors in his service, offered Sageanone of his daughters, aged fourteen years, in marriage ; andwhen he saw him resolved to depart, promised to keep herfor him till he should return.The climate is delightful, and summer reigns throughoutthe year. The plains are full of birds and animals of allkinds, among which are many parrotsand monkeys, besidesthe wild cattle, with humps like camels, which thesepeople use as beasts of burden.King Hagaren would not let the Frenchmen go tillthey

APPENDIX. 489had sworn by the sky, which is the customary oath of theAcanibas, that they would return in thirty-six moons, andbring him a supply of beads and other trinkets from Canada.As gold was to be had for the asking, each of the elevenFrenchmen took away with him sixty small bars, weighingabout four pounds each. The King ordered two hundredhorsemen to escort them, and carry the gold totheir canoes;which they did, and then bade them farewell with terrifichowlings, meant, doubtless,to do them honor.After many adventures, wherein nearly all his companionscame to a bloody end, Sagean, and the few others who survived,had the ill luck to be captured by English pirates, atthe mouth of the St. Lawrence. He spent many yearsamong them in the East and West Indies, but would notreveal the secret of his Eldorado to these heretical foreigners.Such was the story, which so far imposed on the credulityof the minister Ponchartrain as to persuade him thatthe matter was worth serious examination. Accordingly,Sagean was sent to Louisiana,then in its earliest infancy asa French colony. Here he met various persons who hadknown him in Canada, who denied that he had ever beenon the Mississippi, and contradicted his account of hisparentage. Nevertheless, he held fast to his story, and declaredthat the gold mines of the Acanibas could be reachedwithout difficulty by the river Missouri. But Sauvolle andBienville, chiefs of the colony, were obstinate in their unbelief; and Sagean and his King Hagaren lapsed alike intooblivion.

INDEX.

;INDEX.Abenakis, the, 285, 295, 316, 346.Acanibas, the, great nation of,description of, 487-489 ;goldmines of, 489." Acansea" (Arkansas) River, the,484.Accau, Michel, 186, 187, 249, 251,253, 261, 265, 266, 273.African travel, history of, 198.Agniers (Mohawks), the, 136.Aigron, Captain, on ill-terms withLa Salle, 372, 382, 383.Ailleboust, Madame d\ 111." Aimable," La Salle's store-ship,372, 373, 374, 375, 379, 380, 381,405, 454, 468.Aire, Beaujeu's lieutenant, 375.Akanseas, nation of the, 300. Seealso Arkansas Indians, the.Albanel, prominent among theJesuit explorers, 109; his journeyup the Saguenay to Hudson'sBay, 109.Albany, 118, 200, 220.Algonquin Indians, the, JeanAlleghany River, the, 307, 483,484.Allouez,Father Claude, explore*a part of Lake Superior, 6name of Lake Michigan, 42,155 ; sent to Green Bay tofound a mission, 43; joinedby Dablon, 43 ; among the Mas*coutins and the Miamis, 44,among the Foxes, 45 ; at SautSte. Marie, 51 ; addresses theIndians at Saut Ste. Marie, 53population of the Illinois Valley,169 ; intrigues against LaSalle, 175, 238; at Fort St.Louis of the Illinois, 458; hisfear of La Salle, 459.Allumette Island, 3.Alton, city of, 68.America, debt due La Salle from,432."Amerique Occidentale"(Mississippi Valley), 479.Amikoues, the, at Saut Ste. Marie,Nicollet among, 3 ; at Ste. Andastes, reduced to helpless insignificanceby the Iroquois, 219.Marie du Saut, 39; the Iroquoisspread desolation among, Andre*, Louis, mission of the219.Manitoulin Island assigned to.Alkansas, nation of the, 300. See 41 ; makes a missionary touralso Arkansas Indians, the. among the Nipissings, 41 ; hisAlleghany Mountains, the, 84, experiences among them, 42 ; at308, 309, 483.Saut Ste. Marie, 51.51.

;494 IOTEX.Anthony, St., of Padua, the patronof La Salle's great enterprise,152, 250, 259.Anticosti, great island of, grantedto Joliet, 76.Appalache, Bay of, 373.Aquipaguetin, Chief, 254; plotsagainst Hennepin, 255, 261, 262,264,271,272.Aramoni River, the, 221, 225,239.Arctic travel, history of, 198.Arkansas Indians, the, Joliet andMarquette among, 72, 184; LaSalle among, 299 ; various namesof, 300 ; tallest and best-formedIndians in America, 300, 308;villages of, 466.Arkansas River, the, 71 ; Joutel'sarrival at, 453 ; Joutel descends,456 ; 478, 484.Arnoul, Sieur, 383, 390.Arouet, Francois Marie, seeVoltaire.Aspinwall, Col. Thomas, 471.Assiniboins, the, at the Jesuit missionof St. Esprit, 40, 261 ; DuLhut among, 276.Assonis, the, Joutel among, 451 ;Tonty among, 452.Atlantic coast, the, 480.Atlantic Ocean, the, 74.Auguel, Antoine, 186. See alsoDu Gay, P/'card.Autray, Sieur d', 200.Bancroft, 75.Barbier, Sieur, 406 ; marriage of,408,418; fate of, 470.Barcia, 244,471.Barrois, secretary of Count Frontenac,293.Barthelemy, 433, 451, 456.Baugis, Chevalier de, 326, 327Bazire, 101.Beauharnois, forest of, 14,Beaujeu, Madame de, devotion tothe Jesuits, 361.Beaujeu, Sieur de, divides with LaSalle the command of the newenterprise, 353 ; lack of harmonybetween La Salle and, 354-361letters to Seignelay, 354-356letters to Cabart de Villermont,357-360; sails from Rochelle,366; disputes with La Salle,366 ; the voyage, 368 ; complaintsof, 370 ; La Salle waitingfor, 374 ; meeting with LaSalle, 375 ; in Texas, 381 ; makesfriendly advances to La Salle,385 ; departure of, 387 ; conductof, 389 ; coldly received by Seignelay,389, 454."Beautiful River" (Ohio), the,70.Begon, the intendant, 367, 368."Belle," La Salle's frigate, 372,373, 374, 379, 383, 386, 389, 392,401, 404, 406, 407, 416, 417,468.Beliefontaine, Tonty 's lieutenant,458, 460.Belle Isle, 203.Belleisle, Island of, 485.Bellinzani, 129.Bernou, Abbe, on the character olLa Salle, 342.Bibliothcque Mazarine, the, 17.Bienville, 489.Big Vermilion River, the, 221, 239,24LBissot, Claire, her marriage toLouis Joliet, 76.Black Hock, 149.Bceufs, Riviere aux, 392.Boic Blanc, Island of, 1 53.Boisrondet, Sieur de, 218, 223, 227,233, 236, 457.Boisseau, 101.

;;Bolton, Captain, reaches the Mississippi,5.Boston, 5 ; rumored that theDutch fleet had captured, 88.Boughton Hill, 21.Bourbon, Louis Arinaud de, see,Conti, Prince de.Bourdon, the engineer, 111.Bourdon, Jean, 200. See alsoDautray.Bourdon, Madame, superior of theSainte Famille, 111.Bowman, W. E., 317.Branssac, loans merchandise toLa Salle, 49, 434.Brazos River, the, 424.Breman, fate of, 471, 472.Brest, 486.Brinvilliers, burned alive, 179.British territories, the, 309.Brodhead, 136.Bruyas, the Jesuit, 115; amongthe Onondagas and the Mohawks,115, 135; the " RacinesAgnieres " of , 136.Buade, Lake, 257, 262, 481.Buade, Louis de, see Frontenac,Count.Buade, Riviere (Mississippi), 481.Buffalo, the, 205, 398.Buffalo Rock, 169,314; occupiedby the Miami village, 314; describedby Charlevoix, 314.Buisset, Luc, the Rtfcollet, 121at Fort Frontenac, 132, 135,137, 280.Bull River, 272.Burnt Wood River, the, 277.Caddobs, the, 452; villages of,465.Cadodaquis, the, 452.California, Gulf of, 15, 31, 41, 63,74, 84, 480.California, State of, 480.INDEX. 480Camanches, the, 414.Cambray, Archbishop of, 16.Canada, 10; Frontenac s treatywith the Indians confers an inestimableblessing on all. 95no longer merely a mission,104, 484.Canadian Parliament, Library of,the, 13.Cananistigoyan, 275.Carignau, regiment of. 12, 91.Carolina, 483.Carver. 62. 267." Casquinampogamou" (St. Louis)River, the, 484.Cassou, Dollier de, 15 ;among theNipissings, 16; leads an expeditionof conversion, 16; combineshis expedition with thatof La Salle, 17 ;journey of, 19,20; belles paroles of La Salle,25 ; discoveries of La Salle,29, 475.Cataraqui Bridge, the, 90.Cataraqui River, the, 87 ; Frontenacat, 90; fort built on thebanks of, 92.Cavelier, nephew of La Salle, 420,435, 438, 446, 449, 451, 458,463.Cavelier, Henri, uncle of La Salle,7, 363.Cavelier, Jean, father of La Salle,7.Cavelier. Abbe' Jean, brother fLa Salle, 9 ; at Montreal, 98 ; I aSalle defamed to, 113; CannesLa Salle no little annoyance,114, 333, 353, 367, 369, 370. 371,372, 374, 376, 388, 394. 396. 402,405, 406, 412, 415, 416, 417. 420,421, 423 ;unreliable in bis writings,433, 435. 436; doubt andanxiety, 437, 438, 446 ;plan* toescape) 447; the murder of

;;'496 INDEX.Duhaut, 449 ;gets out for home, I450, 451 ; among the Assonis, I452, 453 ; on the Arkansas, 455 ;jat Fort St. Louis of the Illinois,.457 ; visit to Father Allouez,j459 ; conceals La Salle's death,460 ; reaches Montreal, 462 ;jembarks for France, 462 ; hisjreport to Seignelay, 462, 463 ;jhis memorial to the King, 463,464.Cavelier, Madeleine, 28, 34.Cavelier, Bene Robert, see LaSalle, Sieur de.Cayuga Creek, 145, 146.Cayugas, the, Frontenac's addressto, 91.Cenis, the, La Salle among, 413 ; Ivillages of, 415 ; Duhaut 'sjourney to, 438 ; Joutel among,440-445 ; customs of, 443joined by Hiens on a warexpedition,450.Champigny, Intendant of Canada,434.Champlain, Lake, 483.Champlain, Samuel de, dreams ofthe South Sea, 14 ; map of, 139 ;his enthusiasm compared withthat of La Salle, 431 ; first tomap out the Great Lakes, 476.Chaouanons (Shawanoes), the,307,317.Charlevoix, 50; death of Marquette,82 ; 103 ; the names ofthe Illinois River, 167 ; theloss of the "Griffin," 182; theIllinois Indians, 223 ; doubtedveracity of Hennepin, 244 ; theIroquois virgin, Tegahkouita,275 ; the Arkansas nation, 300visits the Natchez Indians, 304describes "Starved Rock" andBuffalo Rock, 314; speaks of"Le Kocher," 314; character ofLa Salle, 433, 454 ; the remainsof Fort St. Louis of the Illinois,468.Charon, creditor of La Salle, 150.Charron, Madame, 111.Chartier, Martin, 337.Chassagoac, chief of the Illinois,meeting with La Salle, 192.Chassagouasse, Chief, 192.Chateauguay, forest of, 14."Chaudiere,*Lac de la" (Lake St.Clair), 476.Chaumonot, the Jesuit, foundsthe association of the SainteFamille, 111.Chefdeville, M. de, 406, 407, 418,463.Cheruel, 167.Chicago, 50, 236, 460, 462, 477.Chicago Portage, the, 320.Chicago River, the, 31 ; Marquetteon, 78, 296.Chickasaw Bluffs, the, 311.Chickasaw Indians, the, 184, 296,307, 320, 468.Chikachas (Chickasaws),the,307.China, 6, 14, 29.China, Sea of, 38, 83.Chippewa Creek, 139, 145.Chippeway River, the, 272."Chucagoa" (St. Louis) River,the, 484.Chukagoua (Ohio) River, the,307.Clark, James, 169, 170; the siteof the Great Illinois Town, 239.Coahuila, 469.Colbert, the minister, Joliet's discoveryof the Mississippi announcedto, 34; Frontenac'sdespatch, recommending LaSalle, 99 ; La Salle defamed to,119; a memorial of La Sallelaid before, 122, 344, 345, 480.Colbert River (Mississippi), the,

;;INDEX. 49735, 244, 307, 346, 376, 477, 479, Dablon, Father Claude the Jesuit,482.at Ste. Marie du Saut, 27, 51" Colbertie " (Mississippi Valley), reports the discovery of copper,479.38 ; the location of the IllinoisCollin, 187.Indians, 41 ; the name of LakeColorado River, the, 411, 415. Michigan, 42; joins FatherComet of 1680, the Great, 213. Allouez at the Green Bay" Conception, Riviere de la " Mission,43 ; among the Mascoutins( MississippiRiver), 477.and the Miamis, 44 ; the CrossConti, Fort, 128; location of, 129, among the Foxes, 45 ; the authorityand state of the Miami148.Conti, Lac de (Lake Erie), 129. chief, 50; Allouez's harangueConti, Prince de (second), patron at Saut Ste. Marie, 55 ; rumorsof La Salle, 106; letter fromLa Salle, 118.Copper mines of Lake Superior,23 ; Joliet attempts to discover,23 ; the Jesuits labor to explore,38 ; Indian legends concerning,39 ; Saint-Lusson setsout to discover, 49.Coroas, the, visited by the French,305, 310.Coronelli, map made by, 221, 484.Corpus Christi Bay, 375.Cosme, St., 69, 314, 454; commendationof Tonty, 467.Courcelle, Governor, 11, 15, 17,35 ;quarrel with Talon, 56schemes to protect French tradein Canada, 85.Couture, the assassination of LaSalle, 433; welcomes Joutel,453,455,456,461, 464.Creeks, the, 304.Crees, the, at Saut Ste. Marie, 51.Crevecoeur, Fort, 34 ; built by LaSalle, 180 ; La Salle at, 180-188 ;destroyed by the mutineers, 1 99La Salle finds the ruins of, 211.Crow Indians, the, make war uponthe dead, 207.Cuba, 372, 389.Cussy, De, governor of La Tortue,367, 368.82of the Dutch fleet. 88, 112.Dacotah (Sioux) Indians, the, 260.Dauphin, Fort, 128 ; location of,129.Dauphin, Lac (Lake Michigan),155.Daupin, Francois, 203.Dautray, 187, 199, 210, 306.De Launay, see Launay, De.De Leon, see Leon, Alonzo de.De Leon (San Antonio), the, 469.Del Norte, the, 469.De Marie, see Marie, De.Denonville, Marquis de, 21, 121,275, 454 ; in the Iroquois War,460 ; announces war againstSpain, 464; commendation ofTonty, 467.Des Groseilliers, Me'dard Chouart,reaches the Mississippi, 5.Deslauriers, 118.Desloges, 384.Des Moines, 65.Des Moines River, the, 477, 478.De Soto, Hernando, buried in theMississippi, 3.Des Plaines River, the, 79, 477,479.Detroit, 26.Detroit River, the, 31, 197, 279.Detroit, the Strait of, first recordedpassage of white men

;498 INDEXthrough, 26 ; the Griffin " in,151 ; Du Lhut ordered to fortify,275, 475.Divine, the Riviere de la, 167,479.Dollier, see Casson, Dollier de.Douay, Anastase, 69, 155; joinsLa Salle's new enterprise, 353,372; in Texas, 388; at FortSt. Louis, 399, 405, 406, 412,413,414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 420,421,422,428; the assassinationof La Salle, 432 ; unreliable inhis writings, 433 ; 435 ; doubtand anxiety, 437, 446 ; the murderof Duhaut, 448, 449; setsout for home, 451, 458 ; visit toFather Allouez, 459 ; characterof, 462.Druilletes, Gabriel, at Saut Ste.Marie, 51 ; teaches Marquettethe Montagnais language, 59.Duche8neau, the intendant, 69,78, 101, 102, 125, 126, 138, 156,164, 197, 217, 218, 219, 235, 274,275, 480.Du Gay, Picard, 186, 187,250, 251,253 ; among the Sioux, 259, 261,265, 266, 268, 269, 270, 272, 273.Duhaut, the brothers, 368, 400.Duhaut, the elder, return of, 401 ;at Fort St. Louis, 405; plotsagainst La Salle, 410, 420, 424,quarrel with Moranget, 425murders Moranget, Saget, andNika, 426 ; assassinates La Salle,429 ; triumph of, 435 ;journeyto the Cenis villages, 438; resolvesto return to Fort St.276 ; route of, 276 ; explorationsof, 276-278; among the Assiniboinsand the Sioux, 276 ;joinedby Hennepin, 278 ; reaches theGreen Bay Mission, 279, 322 ;in the Iroquois War, 460, 481,482.Dumesnil, La Salle's servant, 415.Dumont, La Salle borrows moneyfrom, 127.Duplessis, attempts to murder LaSalle, 166.Dupont, Nicolas, 99.Du Pratz, customs of the Natchez,304.Durango, 350.Durantaye, 275; in the IroquoisWar, 460.Dutch, the, trade with the Indians,219 ; encourage the Iroquois tofight, 324.Dutch fleet, the, rumored to havecaptured Boston, 88.East Indies, the, 489.Eastman, Mrs., legend of Winona,271." Emissourites, Riviere des " (Missouri),70.English, the, hold out great inducementsto Joliet to jointhem, 76 ; French companyformed to compete at Hudson'sBay with, 76 ; trade with theIndians, 219; encourage theIroquois to fight, 324."English Jem," 421.Eokoros, the, 486.Erie, Lake, 23, 25, 26, 29, 31, 96Louis, 446 ;quarrel with Hiens, 124, 141, 146, 151, 196, 197, 275,446 ;plans to go to Canada, 279, 309, 333, 475, 476, 477, 479,448 ; murder of, 448.483.Du Lhut, Daniel Greysolon, 182; Eries, the, exterminated by themeeting with Hennepin, 273 Iroquois, 219.sketch of, 274 ; exploits of, 275, Esanapes, the, 486-

;;INDEX. 499Esmanville, the priest, 375, 379.Espiritu Santo Bay, 394, 471.Estrees, Count d', 344.Faillon, Abbe*, connection of LaSalle with the Jesuits, 8 ; theseigniory of La Salle, 12, 13;detailed plan of Montreal, 13;La Salle's discoveries, 29 ; LaSalle in need of money, 49throws much light on the lifeof, 58; 98; on the establishmentof the association of theSainte Famille, 112; plan ofFort Frontenac, 121.Fauvel-Cavelier, Mme., 463.Fenelon, Abbe', 16; attempts tomediate between Frontenac andPer rot, 97 ;preaches againstFrontenac at Montreal, 98.Ferland, throws much light on thelife of Joliet, 58.Fire Nation, the, 44.Five Nations, the, 11.Florida, 483.Florida Indians, the, lodges of,442.Folles-Avoines, Nation des, 61.Forked River (Mississippi), the, 5.Fox River, the, 4, 43, 50, 62, 477.Foxes, the, at the Jesuit missionof St. Esprit, 40; location of,43 ; Father Alloaez among, 45 ;incensed against the French,45 ; the Cross among, 45, 287.France, takes possession of theWest, 52; receives on parchmenta stupendous accession, 308.Francheville, Pierre, 58.Francis, St., 249.Franciscans, the, 133.Franquelin, Jean Baptiste Louis,manuscript map made by, 169,221, 309,316,317,347,390,481,482, 483, 484, 485.Fremin, the Jesuit, 21.French, the, Hnrons the allies ofc4; in western New York, 19-23 ; the Iroquois felt the powerof, 42; the Foxes incensedagainst, 45; the Jesuits seekto embroil the Iroquois with,115 ; seeking to secure a monopolyof the furs of the north andwest, 219; in Texas. 348; reoccupyFort St. Louis of theIllinois, 468.French River, 28, 462.Frontenac, Count,' La Salle addressesa memorial to, 32announces Joliet's discovery ofthe Mississippi to Colbert, 34speaks slightiugly of Joliet,34 ; succeeds Courcelle as governor,56, 57, 60, 67; letterfrom Joliet to, 76; favorablydisposed to La Salle, 85 ; comesto Canada a ruined man, 85 ;schemes of, 86 ; at Montreal,87 ; his journey to Lake Ontario,88 ; faculty for managingthe Indians, 89 ; reaches LakeOntario, 89 ; at Cataraqui, 90addresses the Indians, 91 ; admirable dealing with the Indians,92, 93 ; his enterprisea complete success, 95 ; confersan inestimable benefit on allCanada, 95 ; his plan to commandthe Upper Lakes, 96;quarrel with Perrot, 96 ; arrestsPerrot, 96; has Montreal wellin hand, 96 ; the Abbe Fenelonattempts to mediate betweenPerrot and, 97 ; the Abb*Fenelon preaches against, 98;championed by La Salle. 99;recommends La Salle to Colbert,99 ; expects to share in profitsof La Salle's new post, 101 ;

;;500 INDEX.hatred of the Jesuits, 102 ;protectsthe Recollets, 109 ; intriguesof the Jesuits, 118; 125,201, 232, 235, 238, 274; entertainsFather Hennepin, 280 ; 292480,481.Frontenac, Fort, 34 ;granted toLa Salle, 100; rebuilt by LaSalle, 101, 112; La Salle at,120; plan of, 121; not establishedfor commercial gain alone,122; 148, 203, 292; La Barretakes possession of, 325 ; restoredto La Salle by the King,351,476.Frontenac (Ontario), Lake, 128,476, 477, 479.Frontenac, Madame de, 167." Frontenacie, La," 481.Fur-trade, the, the Jesuits accusedof taking part in, 109, 110 ; theJesuits seek to establish a monopolyin, 114.Gabriel, Father,l 58, 1 59, 227, 237.Gaeta, 128.Galinee, Father, 17 ; recounts thejourney of La Salle and theSulpitians, 19, 20, 26 ; crueltyof the Senecas, 22 ; the workof the Jesuits, 28 ; makes theearliest map of the UpperLakes, 28, 106, 140, 475.Galve, Viceroy, 469.Galveston Bay, 374, 376, 385.Garakontie, Chief, 91.Garnier, Julien, 59 ; among theSenecas, 141.Gayen, 384.Geest, Catherine, mother of LaSalle, 7 ; La Salle's farewell to,364.Geest, Nicolas, 7.Gendron, 139.Genesee, the Falls of the, 476.Genesee River, the, 140, 142, 279.Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, 27,recalled to France, 318 ; obligationsof La Salle to, 434 ; com-Giton, La Salle borrows money203.mendation of Tonty, 467, 479, from, 150.Gnacsitares, the, 486.Gould, Dr. B. A., on the "GreatComet of 1680," 213.Grandfontaine, Chevalier de, 56.Grand Gulf, 300.Grand River, 23, 25.Gravier, 244, 297 ; the Arkansasnation, 300.Great Lakes, the, 4 ; Joliet makesa map of the region of, 32early unpublished maps of, 475-485 ; Champlain makes the firstattempt to map out, 476.Great Manitoulin Island, the, 41." Great Mountain," the Indianname for the governor of Canada,156.Green Bay of Lake Michigan, the,4,31, 42, 43, 75; La Salle at,155; 236.Green Bay Mission, the, FatherAllouez sent to found, 43 ; Marquetteat, 62 ; Father Hennepinand T)u Lhut reach, 279."Griffin," the, building of, 144-148 ; finished, 149 ; voyage of,151-153; at St. Ignace of Michilimackinac,154; set sail forNiagara laden with furs, 1 56La Salle's forebodings concerning,163; loss of, 181, 322.Grollet, 445, 446, 448, 470, 471 ;sent to Spain, 472.Guadalupe, the, 469.Gulliver, Captain, 486.

; ;;Hagaren, King of the Acanibas,487-489.Hamilton, town of, 23.Harrisse, Henry, 76, 481, 482.Haukiki (Marest) River, the, 167.Hennepin, Louis, connection of LaSalle with the Jesuits, 8 ; atFort Frontenac, 121 ; meets LaSalle on his return to Canada,130; receives permission to joinLa Salle, 131 ; his journey to FortFrontenac, 132 ; sets out withLa Motte for Niagara, 132 ;portraitof, 133 ; his past life, 133 ;sails for Canada, 134 ; relationswith La Salle, 134, 135; workamong the Indians, 135 ; themost impudent of liars, 136daring of, 137 ; embarks on thejourney, 137 ; reaches the Niagara,138 ; account of the fallsand river of Niagara, 139 ;among the Senecas, 140, 141 ;at the Niagara Portage, 145-147 ; the launch of the " Griffin,"148, 149 ; on board the " Griffin,"151 ; St. Anthony of Padua thepatron saint of La Salle's greatenterprise, 152; the departureof the "Griffin" for Niagara,157 ; La Salle's encounter withthe Outagamies, 161 ; La Sallerejoined by Tonty, 163 ; LaSalle's forebodings concerningthe "Griffin," 163; populationof the Illinois Valley, 169;among the Illinois, 173, 174;the story of Monso, 177 ; LaSalle's men desert him, 178at Fort Crevecceur, 181 ; sentto the Mississippi, 185; thejourney from Fort Crevecceur,201 ; the mutineers at FortCrevecceur. 218; 234; sets outto explore the Illinois River,INDEX. 601242 ; his claims to the discoveryof the Mississippi, 243 ; doubtedveracity of, 244; captured bythe Sioux, 245 ;proved an impostor,245 ; steals passagesfrom Membrd and Le Here,247 ; his journey uorthward,249 ; suspected of sorcery, 253 ;plots against, 255 ; a hardjourney, 257 ; among the Sioux,259-282; adopted as a son bythe Sioux, 261 ; sets out for theWisconsin, 266 ; notice of theFalls of St. Anthony, 267; rejoinsthe Indians, 273 ; meetingwith Du Lhut, 273; join* DuLhut, 278 ; reaches the GreenBay Mission, 279 ; reaches FortFrontenac, 280 ;goes to Montreal,280; entertained byFrontenac, 280 ; returns toEurope, 280 ; dies in obscurity,281 ; Louis XIV. orders thearrest of, 282 ; various editionsof the travel" of, 282 ; findsfault with Tontv, 467, 479, 481rivals of, 485, 486.Hiens, the German, 411, 421, 425;murders Moranget, Saget, andNika, 426 ;quarrel with Duhautand Liotot, 446 ; murders Duhaut,448 ;joins the Cents oua war expedition, 450, 465 ; fateof, 472.Hillaret Moise, 147, 178, 187, 193,217,218.Hitt, Col. D. F., 317.Hohays, the, 261.Homannus, map made by, 484.Hondo (Rio Frio), the, 469.Horse Shoe Fall, the, 139.Hdtel-Dieu at Montreal, the, 13, 98.Hudson's Bay, Joliet's voyage to,76 ; Albanel's journey to, 10*346, 484.

;;502 INDEX.Hudson's Strait, 480.Humber River, the, 138, 203.Huiiaut, 187, 210, 287.Hundred Associates, Company ofthe, 57.Huron Indians, the, quarrel withthe Winnebagoes, 4 ; allies ofthe French, 4; at the Jesuitmission of St. Esprit, 40 ; Marquetteamong, 40; terrified bythe Sioux, 41 ;destroyed by theIroquois, 219.Huron, Lake, 26, 27, 31 ; theJesuits on, 37 ; 41 ; Saint-Lussontakes possession for France of,52; La Salle on, 152, 475, 476,479.Huron Mission, the, 27.Huron River, the, 196."Hyacinth, confection of," 159.Iberville, the founder of Louisiana,455 ;joined by Tonty, 467,472, 473.Ignatius, Saint, 78.Illinois, Great Town of the, 170;deserted, 191 ; La Salle at, 205;description of, 221 ; Tonty in,223 ; abandoned to the Iroquois,230 ; site of, 239.Illinois Indians, the, at the Jesuitmission of St. Esprit, 40 ; locationof, 40, 41 ; 60 ; Joliet andMarquette among, 66, 77, 78154, 155, 161 ; La Salle among,171-173; hospitality of, 173;deep-rooted jealousy of theOsages, 1 74 ; 203 ; war with theIroquois, 210, 220; the Miamisjoin the Iroquois against, 220;rankling jealousy between theMiamis and, 220 ; an aggregationof kindred tribes, 223 ;characteristics of, 223; Tontyintercedes for, 228 ; treaty madewith the Iroquois, 231 ; attackedby the Iroquois, 235 ; becomeallies of La Salle, 287 ; 307 ; at"Starved Rock," 314; join LaSalle's colony, 315, 316; verycapricious and uncertain, 322,477.Illinois, Lake of the (Lake Michigan),42, 75, 155, 477, 479.Illinois River, the, 31, 33, 34 ; discoveredby La Salle, 35 ; Jolietand Marquette on, 74; 132 ; LaSalle on, 168; various names of,167; 204; ravaged granaries of,213; 220; Father Hennepin setsout to explore, 242, 245, 296;La Salle's projected colony onthe banks of, 313, 315, 316,' 405.406; Joutel on, 457, 477, 478,481, 484.Illinois, State of, first civilized occupationof, 181.Illinois, Valley of the, populationof, 169.Immaculate Conception, the, doctrineof, a favorite tenet of theJesuits, 61.Immaculate Conception, Missionof the, Marquette sets out tofound, 77.Incarnation, Marie de V, 111.Indians, the, Father Jogues andRaymbault preach among, 5ferocity of, 11 ; manitous of,26, 44, 68; their game of lacrosse, 50; the tribes meet atSaut Ste. Marie to confer withSaint-Lusson, 51-56 ; receptionto Joliet and Marquette, 63lodges of, 75 ; reception to Frontenac,90 ; Frontenac's admirabledealing with, 92, 93; Alphabeticallist of tribes referredto: —

|INDEX. 501Abenakis,Acanibas,Agniers,Akanseas,Algonquins,Alkansas,Amikou£s,indastes,Arkansas,Assiniboins,Assonis,Caddoes,Cadodaquis,Gamanches,Cenis,Chaouanons,Chickasaws,Chikachas,Coroas,Creeks,Crees,Crows,Dacotah,Bries,Fire Nation,Five Nations,Floridas,Foxes,Hohays,Hurons,Illinois,Iroquois,Issanti,Issanyati,Kahokias,Kanzas,Kappas,Kaskaskias,Kickapoos,Kilatica,Kious,Eiskakon Ottawas,Knisteneaux,Koroas,Malhoumines,Malouminek,Mandans,Maroas,Mascoutins,Meddewakantonwan,Menomonies,Miamis,Mitchigamias,Mohawks,Mohegans,Moingona,Monsonis,Motantees,Nadouessioux,Natchez,Nation des Folles-Avoiues,Nation of thePrairie,Neutrals,Nipissings,Ojibwas,Omahas,Oneidas,Onondagas,Osotouoy,Ottawas,Ouabona,Ouiatenons,Oumalouminek,Oumas,Outagamies,Pah-Utahs,Pawnees,Peanqhichia,Peorias,Pepikokia,Piankishaws,Pottawattamies,Quapaws,Quinipissas,Sacs,Sauteurs,Sauthouis,Benecas,Shawanoes,Sioux,Sokokis,Taensas,Tamaroaa,Tangibao,Terliquiquimechl,Tetons,Texas,Tintonwans,Tongengas,Topingas,Torimans,Wapooa,Weaa,Wild-rice,Irondequoit Bay, 20.Winnebaffoet,Yankton Sioux.Iroquois Indians, the, 11; aloneremain, 37; felt the power ofthe French, 42 ; the M BeautifulRiver," 70 ; ( >nondaga thecal centre of, 87; the .1seek to emltmi] them with theFrench, 115; ferocious characterof, 207; war with theIllinois, 210: ferociouR triumphsof, 219; break into war, 219;trade with the Dutch and theEnglish, 219; jealous of LaSalle, 219 ;joined by the Miamisagainst the Illinois, 220; attackon the Illinois village, 225,grant a truce to Tonty, 230;take possession of the Illinoisvillage, 230 ; make a treaty withthe Illinois, 231 ; treachery of,231; Tonty departs from, 233;attack on the dead, 234 ; attackon the Illinois, 235, 320; encouragedto fight by the Dutchand English traders, 324 ; attackFort St. Louis, 327.Iroquois War, the, havoc and desolationof, 5, 219 ; a war of commercialadvantage, 219; theFrench in, 460.Isle of Pines, the, 372.Issanti, the, 260.Issanyati, the, 260.Issati, the, 260."Issatis," the, 481.Jacques, companion of Marquette,78,80.Jansenists, the, 1 1 0.Japan, 6, 14.Japanese, the, 487.

;imap504 INDEX.Jesuitism, no diminution in the Salle, 118; have a missionvital force of, 103.among the Mohawks, 118 ;planJesuits, the, their thoughts dwell against La Salle, 459 ; mapson the Mississippi, 6 ; La Salle's made by, 478.connection with, 8; La Salle Jesus, Order of, 37.parts with, 9 ; influence exercisedby, 16; want no helpfrom the Sulpitians, 27 ; achange of spirit, 36, 37 ; theirbest hopes in the North andWest, 37 ; on the Lakes, 37labor to explore the coppermines of Lake Superior, 38; amixture of fanaticism, 38claimed a monopoly of conversion,38 ; make a map of LakeSuperior, 38 ; the missionarystations, 46 ; trading with theIndians, 47 ; doctrine of theImmaculate Conception a favoritetenet of, 61 ;greatly opposedto the establishment offorts and trading-posts in theupper country, 88 ; oppositionto Frontenac and La Salle,102 ; Frontenac's hatred of, 102turn their eyes towards the Valleyof the Mississippi, 1 03 no;longer supreme in Canada, 104La Salle their most dangerousrival for the control of theWest, 104 ; masters at Quebec,108; accused of selling brandyto the Indians, 109 ; accusedof carrying on a fur-trade, 109,110; comparison between theRe'collets and Sulpitians and,112; seek to establish a monopolyin the fur-trade, 114;intrigues against La Salle, 115;seek to embroil the Iroquoiswith the French, 115; exculpatedby La Salle from the attemptto poison him, 116; inducemen to desert from LaJesus, Society of, see Society ojJesus.Jogues, Father Isaac, preachesamong the Indians, 5, 59.Joliet, Louis, destined to hold aconspicuous place in history ofwestern discovery, 23 ; earlylife of, 23 ; sent to discover thecopper mines of Lake Superior,23, 58 ; his failure, 23 ; meetingwith La Salle and the Sulpitians,23 ;passage through the Straitof Detroit, 27 ; makes maps ofthe region of the Mississippiand the Great Lakes, 32 ; claimsthe discovery of the Mississippi,33 ; Frontenac speaks slightinglyof, 34; at Saut Ste. Marie,51 ; sent by Talon to discoverthe Mississippi, 56 ;early historyof, 57 ; characteristics of,58 ; Shea first to discover historyof, 58 ; Ferland, Faillon, andMargry throw much light onthe life of, 58 ; Marquettechosen to accompany him on hissearch for the Mississippi, 59;the departure, 60; the Mississippiat last, 64 ; on the Mississippi,65 ; meeting with theIllinois, 66 ; at the mouthof the Missouri, 69 ; on thelower Mississippi, 71 ;amongthe Arkansas Indians, 72 ; determinesthat the Mississippi dischargesinto the Gulf of Mexico,74 ; resolves to return to Canada,74 ; serious accident to, 75 ;letter to Frontenac, 76 ;smallerof his discoveries, 76 ; mar-

;. 318,INDEX. 606riage to Claire Bissot, 76 ;journeyto Hudson's Bay, 76 ; theEnglish hold out great inducementsto, 76 ; receives grantsof land, 76 ;engages in fisheries,76 ; makes a chart of the St.Lawrence, 77 ; Sir WilliamPhips makes a descent on theestablishment of, 77 ; exploresthe coast of Labrador, 77 ; maderoyal pilot for the St. Lawrenceby Frontenac, 77 ; appointedhydrographer at Quebec, 77death of, 77; said to bean impostor,118; refused permissionto plant a trading station in theValley of the Mississippi, 126477 ; maps made by, 479, 480,481,482.Joliet, town of, 193.* Joly," the vessel, 353, 366, 367,372, 373, 374, 375, 377, 381, 383,385.Jolycceur (Nicolas Perrot), 116.Joutel, Henri, 69, 314, 363,367,368, 372, 374, 375, 377, 379, 380,382, 388, 389, 392, 393, 395, 396,397, 399, 400, 401, 402, 403, 406,407, 409, 410,411,416,417,418,419,420, 421, 422, 428 ; sketchesthe portrait of La Salle, 430 ; theassassination of La Salle, 432,433 ; danger of, 436 ; friendshipof L'Archeveque for, 436 ; doubtand anxiety, 437, 438 ;amongthe Cenis Indians, 440-445plans to escape, 445-447 ;themurder of Duhaut, 448, 449;sets out for home, 450 ; his party,451 ; among the Assonis, 451-453 ;arrival at the Arkansas,453 ; friendly reception, 455 ;descends the Arkansas, 456 ; onthe Illinois, 457; at Fort St.Louis of the Illinois, 457 ;visit toFather Allonez, 459; reachesMontreal, 462; embarks forFrance, 462 ; character of, 462.Kahokias, the, 223.Kalm, 244.Kamalastigouia, 275.Kankakee, the sources of, 167;204, 288, 316.Kansa (Kansas), the, 478.Kanzas, the, 478.Kappa band, the, of the Arkansas,299.Kaskaskia," Illinois village of,74 ; the mission at, 79.Kaskaskias, the, 223, 477.Kiakiki River, the, 167.Kickapoos, the, location of 43join theMascoutinsand Miamis,62; murder Father Ribourde,233.Kilatica, the, join La Salle'scolony, 316.King Philip's War, 285Kingston, 87, 90.Kious (Sioux), the, 307.Kiskakon Ottawas, the, 81, 237.Knisteneaux, the, at the Jesuitmission of St. Esprit, 40.Koroas, the, 308.La Babre, Le Febvre de, 182;succeeds Frontenac as governor,318; weakness and avarice of,; roval instructions to, 319 ;letters from I* Salle. Illdefames La Salle to Seignelay,322-324 ;plots against La Salle,325; takes possession of I rtFrontenac arxl l,ouia,325-327 ; ordered by the Kingto make restitution, 351, 482.Labrador, coasts of, 58 ; exploredby Joliet, 77.La Chapelle, 193; takes false

;;506 INDEX.reports of La Salle to FortCrevecceur, 217.La Chesnaye, 102, 326.La Chine, the seigniory of LaSalle at, 12 ; La Salle lays therude beginnings of a settlementat, 13; La Salle and the Sulpitiansset out from, 19; originof the name, 29, 88, 486.La Chine Rapids, the, 75.La Crosse, Indian game of, 50.La Divine River, the (Des PlainesRiver), 477, 481.La Forest, La Salle's lieutenant,101, 143, 203, 204, 208, 215, 236,286, 287, 292, 326, 333, 351, 352,467, 485.La Forge, 147, 218.La Harpe. 255.La Hontan, 145, 153; loss of the"Griffin," 182, 275, 276, 485,486.Lakes, Upper, 24, 27; Galineemakes the earliest map of, 28,38 ; Jesuit missions on, 39Marquette on, 59, 85; Frontenac's plan to command, 96first vessel on, 145 ; La Salle on,151-163.Lalemant, 139.La Metairie, Jacques de, 308.La Motte, see Lussiere, La Mottede.Lanquetot, see Liotot.Laon, 59.La Pointe, Jesuit mission of St.Esprit at, 40.La Potherie, 49 ; reception ofSaint- Lusson by the Miamis,50 ; Henri de Tonty's iron hand,129; loss of the "Griffin," 182 ;the Iroquois attack on the Illinois,235.L'Archeveque, 421, 425; murdersMoranget, Saget, and Nika, 426the assassination of La Salle,429 ; friendship for Joutel, 436 ;danger of, 449, 470, 471 ; sent toSpain, 472.La Sablonniere, Marquis de, 380,388, 407, 409, 418.La Salle, Sieur de, birth of, 7 ;origin of his name, 7 ; connectionwith the Jesuits, 8 ; characteristicsof, 9 ;parts with theJesuits, 9 ; sails for Canada,10; at Montreal, 10; schemesof, 11 ; his seigniory at LaChine, 12 ; begins to studyIndian languages, 14 ;plans ofdiscovery, 14, 15 ; sells hisseigniory, 16; joins his expeditionto that of the seminarypriests, 17; sets out from LaChine, 19; journey of, 19, 20;hospitality of the Senecas, 21fears for his safety, 22 ; meetingwith Joliet, 23 ; belles paroles of,25; parts with the Sulpitians,25 ; obscurity of his subsequentwork, 28 ;goes to Onondaga,29 ; deserted by his men, 30meeting with Perrot, 30; reportedmovements of, 31 ; Talonclaims to have sent him to explore,31 ; affirms that he discoveredthe Ohio, 32 ; discoveryof the Mississippi, 33 ; discoveredthe Illinois River, 35 ;paysthe expenses of his expeditions,49; in great need of money,49; borrows merchandise fromthe Seminary, 49 ;contrastedwith Marquette, 83 ; called avisionary, 83 ;projects of, 84Frontenac favorably disposedtowards, 85 ; faculty for managingthe Indians, 89 ; at Montreal,97 ; champions Frontenac,99 ;goes to France, 99 ; recom

;15;INDEX. 601mended to Colbert by Fronte-nac, 99 ;petitions for a patentof nobility and a grant of FortFrontenac, 100; his petitiongranted, 100 ; returns to Canada,101 ; oppressed by the merchantsof Canada, 101 ; Le Berbecomes the bitter enemy of,101 ; aims at the control of thevalleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi,102 ; opposed by theJesuits, 102 ; the most dangerousrival of the Jesuits for thecontrol of the West, 104; thePrince de Conti the patron of,106; the Abbe" Renaudot's memoirof, 106, 107; account of,107 ; not well inclined towardsthe Recollets, 108 ;plots against,113; caused no little annoyanceby his brother, 114 ; Jesuit intriguesagainst, 115 ; attempt topoison, 116; exculpates theJesuits, 116 ;letter to the Princede Conti, 118 ; the Jesuits inducemen to desert from, 118; defamedto Colbert, 119; at FortFrontenac, 120; sails again forFrance, 1 22 ; his memorial laidbefore Colbert, 122 ; urges theplanting of colonies in the West,123 ; receives a patent fromLouis XIV., 124; forbidden totrade with the Ottawas, 125given the monopoly of buffalohides,126 ; makes plans to carryout his designs, 126; assistancereceived from his friends, 127;invaluable aid received fromHenri de Tonty, 127 ;joined byLa Motte de Lussiere, 1 29 ; sailsfor Canada, 129 ; makes a leaguewith the Canadian merchants,129 ; met by Father Hennepinon his return to Canada, 130;joined by Father Hennepin, 131relations with Father Heuuepiu,134, 135; seta out to join LaMotte, 141 ; almost wrecked,142 ; treachery of his pilot, |4Ipacifies the Seuecas, US; delayedby jealousies, 143 ; returnsto Fort Frontenac, 143;unfortunate in the choice of subordinates,143 ; builds a Teaselabove the Niagara cataract, 144jealousy and discontent, 147 ;lays foundation for blockhousesat Niagara, 148 ; the launch ofthe " Griffin," 149 ; his propertyattached by his creditors, 150on Lake Huron, 152 ; commendshis great enterprise to St. Anthony of Padua, 152; at StIgnace of Michilimackinac, 153;rivals and enemies, 154; onLake Michigan, 155; at GreenBay, 155; finds the Pottawattamiesfriendly, 155; sends the" Griffin " back to Niagara ladenwith furs, 156; trades with theOttawas, 156; hardships, 15^:encounter with the Outagamies,160, 161 ; rejoined by Tonty,162 ; forebodings concerning the" Griffin," 163 ; on the St. Joseph,164; lost in the forest, 165 ; onthe Illinois, 166; Dnpleasis at*tempts to murder, 166; theIllinois town, 169, 170; hungerrelieved, 171 ; Illinoishospitality, 173; still followedby the intrigues of his enemies,175; harangue* the Indians,177 ; deserted by his men,178; another attempt to poisoo,178; builds Fort Creveccenr.180 ; loss of the " Griffin," 1*1 :anxieties of. 1 83 : a happy artirW.184 ; builds another vessel, 185 ;

;;508 INDEX.sends Hennepin to the Mississippi,185 ;parting with Tonty,188 ; hardihood of, 189-201 ;his winter journey to FortFrontenac, 1 89 ; the desertedtown of the Illinois, 191 ; meetingwith Chief Chassagoac, 1 92 ;" Starved Rock," 192 ; LakeMichigan, 1 93 ; the wilderness,193, 194; Indian alarms, 195;reaches Niagara, 197 ; man andnature in arms against, 198 ;mutineers at Fort Crevecoeur,199 ; chastisement of the mutineers,201 ; strength in the face ofadversity, 202 ; his best hope inTonty, 202 ; sets out to succorTonty, 203; kills buffalo, 205;a night of horror, 207 ; fears forTonty, 209 ; finds the ruins ofFort Crevecoeur, 211; beholdsthe Mississippi, 212; beholdsthe "Great Comet of 1680,"213 ; returns to Fort Miami, 215 ;jealousy of the Iroquois of, 219 ;238 ; route of, 276 ;Margrybrings to light the letters of,281 ; begins anew, 283 ;plansfor a defensive league, 284Indian friends, 285 ; hears goodnews of Tonty, 287 ; Illinoisallies, 287 ; calls the Indians toa grand council, 289 ;his powerof oratory, 289 ; his harangue,289 ; the reply of the chiefs,291; finds Tonty, 292; partswith a portion of his monopolies,293 ; at Toronto, 293 ; reachesLake Huron, 294; at FortMiami, 294 ; on the Mississippi,297 ; among the Arkansas Indians,299 ; takes formal possessionof the Arkansas country,300 ; visited by the chief of theTaensas, 302 ; visits the Coroas,305 ; hostility, 305 ; the mouth ofthe Mississippi, 306 ; takes possessionof the Great West forFrance, 306 ; bestows the nameof " Louisiana " on the newdomain, 309 ; attacked by theQuinipissas, 310 ; revisits theCoroas, 310; seized by a dangerousillness, 310; rejoinsTonty at Michilimackinac, 311 ;his projected colony on thebanks of the Illinois, 313 ; intrencheshimself at StarvedRock," 313 ;gathers his Indianallies at Fort St. Louis, 315;his colony on the Illinois, 316 ;success of his colony, 318;letters to La Barre, 319-322; defamed by La Barre toSeignelay, 322-324; La Barreplots against, 325 ; La Barretakes possession of Fort Frontenacand Fort St. Louis, 325-327 ; sails for France, 327painted by himself, 328-342;difficulty of knowing him, 328 ;his detractors, 329 ; his letters,329-331 ; vexations of his position,331 ; his unfitness for trade,332 ; risks of correspondence,332; his reported marriage,334 ; alleged ostentation, 335 ;motives of actions, 335 ; chargesof harshness, 336 ; intriguesagainst him, 337 ; unpopularmanners, 337, 338 ; a strangeconfession, 339; his strengthand his weakness, 340, 341 ; contrastsof his character, 341, 342 ;at court, 343 ; received by theKing, 344 ; new proposals of,345-347 ; small knowledge ofMexican geography, 348 ;plansof, 349 ; his petitions granted,350; Forts Frontenac and St

;INDEX.MiLouis restored by the Kingto, 351 ;preparations for hisnew enterprise, 353 ; divides hiscommand with Beaujeu, 353 ;lack of harmony between Beaujeuand, 354-361 ; indiscretionof, 361 ; overwrought brain of,362 ; farewell to his mother,364; sails from Rochelle, 366;disputes with Beaujeu, 366the voyage, 368 ; his illness, 368Beaujeu's complaints of, 370;resumes his journey, 372 ; entersthe Gulf of Mexico, 373 ; waitingfor Beaujeu, 374; coaststhe shores of Texas, 374 ; meetingwith Beaujeu, 375 ;perplexityof, 375-377 ; lands inTexas, 379 ; attacked by theIndians, 380,- wreck of the" Aimable," 381 ; forlorn positionof, 383 ; Indian neighbors,384 ; Beaujeu makes friendlyadvances to, 385 ;departure ofBeaujeu, 387 ; at MatagordaBay, 391 ; misery and dejection,393; the new Fort St. I.ouis,394 ; explorations of, 395 ; adventuresof, 402 ; again falls ill,404 ; departure for Canada,405; wreck of the "Belle,"407 ; Maxime Le Clerc makescharges against, 410; Duhautplots against, 410; return toFort St. Louis, 411 ; accountof his adventures, 411-413;among the Cenis Indians, 413;attacked with hernia, 417;Twelfth Night at Fort St. Louis,417; his last farewell, 418; followersof, 420 ;prairie travelling,423 ; Liotot swears vengeanceagainst, 424 ; the murder ofMoranget, Saget, and Nika,426; his premonition of disaster,428 ; murdered by Duhnntcharacter of, 430; his enthusiasmcompared with thai ofChamplain, 431 ; his defects,431 ; America owes him an enduringmemory, 432 ; tinvels of his patient fortitude,432 ; evidences of his awtaaaiuatiou,432; undeniable rigor «»fhis command, 43.3 ; locality of hisassassination, 434 ; hi* debts,434 ; Tonty's plan to assist, 453-455 ; fear of Father AUouexfor, 459 ; Jesuit plans against,459,477, 479,480,481,4b-'484, 485. 486.La Salle, village of, 146, 167.La Taupine (Pierre Moreau), 78.LaTortue, 367.Launay, De, 453, 455.Laurent, 199,218.Lavaca River, the, 392, 395, 396.La Vache Kiver, the, 392.Laval-Mont mort ncy, FrancoisXavier de, first bishop of Quebec,110 ; accused of harshnessand intolerance, 110; encouragesthe establishment of theassociation of the Saiuto Faniille,111.La Violette, 187.La Voisiu, burnedalive at Paris,179Le Baillif, M., 34.Le Ber, Jacques, 97 ; becomes LaSalle's bitter enemy, 101, 326.Leblanc, 193 ; takes false reportsof La Salle to Fort Crevecttor.217,218.Le Clerc, Father ChrAien, 169,175, 192, 198, 217, 234. 238; hisaccount of the KcVollot missionsamon

';510 INDEX.energy of La Salle, 292, 296;Louis XIV. becomes the sovereignof the Great West, 308misery and dejection at MatagordaBay, 393, 403, 406, 413,414, 415, 416, 417.Le Clerc, Maxime, joins La Salle'snew enterprise, 353 ; in Texas,400; adventure with a boar,410; makes charges against LaSalle, 410, 418.Le Fevre, Father, 131.Le Gros, Simon, 388, 394, 398.Le Meilleur, 218.Le Moyne, 102.Lenox, Mr., the Journal of Marquette,75 ; death of Marquette,81; 169.Leon, Alonzo de, 469, 471.Le Petit, customs of the Natchez,304.L'Espe'rance, 216, 218, 223.Le Sueur, map made by, 225,485.Le Tardieu, Charles, 99.Lewiston, mountain ridge of, 138,143; rapids at, 144.Uotot, La Salle's surgeon, 420;swears vengeance against LaSalle, 424, 425 ; murders Moranget,Saget, and Nika, 426;the assassination of La Salle,429, 430 ; resolves to return toFort St. Louis, 446 ;quarrelswith Hiens, 446; murder of,449.»ong Point, 25; the Sulpitiansspend the winter at, 25." Long River," the, 485.Long Saut, the, 89.Louis XIV., of France, 26, 52,115; grants a patent to LaSalle, 124; orders the arrest ofHennepin, 282 ;proclaimed byLa Salle the sovereign of theGreat West, 306; receives LaSalle, 344 ; irritated against theSpaniards, 344 ;grants La Salle'spetitions, 350 ; abandons thecolonists, 463 ; Cavelier's memorialto, 463.Louisiana, country of, 307 ; namebestowed by La Salle, 309 ; vastextent of, 309 ; boundaries of,309 ; Iberville the founder of,455, 483, 484, 485, 489.Louisville, 29, 32.Louvigny, Sieur de, 274, 349."Lover's leap," the, 271.Loyola, Disciples of, losing groundin Canada, 104.Lussiere, La Motte de, joins LaSalle, 129, 132; embarks on thejourney, 137 ; reaches the Niagara,138 ; begins to build fortifications,140; jealousy of theSenecas, 140;seeks to conciliatethe Senecas, 140, 141 ; fidelity toLa Salle doubtful, 143.Machaut-Rougemont, 365.Mackinaw, La Salle at, 325.Mackinaw, Island of, 153.Macopins, Riviere des (IllinoisRiver), 167, 483.Madeira, 366.Maha (Omahas), the, 478"Maiden's Rock," the, 271." Malheurs, La Riviere des," 402.Malhoumines, the, 61.Malouminek, the, 61.Manabozho, the Algonquindeity,267.Mance, Mile., 112.Mandans, the, winter lodges of,442.Manitoulin Island, Mission of, 41 ;assigned to Andre, 41.Manitoulin Islands, Saint-Lussonwinters at, 50; Saint Luttson

;;;INDEX. 511takes possession for France of,52; 153,203.Manitoulins, the, 27.Manitoumie (Mississippi Valley),485.Manitous, 26, 44, 68.Maps, Champlain's map (the first)of the Great Lakes, 476 ; Coronelli'smap, 221, 484; manuscriptmap of Franquelin, 169,221, 316, 317, 347, 390, 481, 482,483, 484, 485 ; map of Galine'e,475; map of Lake Superior,476 ; map of the Great Lakes,476 ; map of Marquette, 477maps of the Jesuits, 478 ; smallmaps of Joliet, 479, 480 ; Kauri"in'smap, 481 ; rude map ofFather Raffeix, 481; Franquelin'smap of Louisiana, 482the great map of Franquelin,482; map of Le Sueur, 481,485 ; map of Homannus, 484.Margry, birth of La Salle, 7 ; LaSalle's connection with the Jesuits,8; La Salle sells his seigniory,16 ; La Salle's claims tothe discovery of the Mississippi,34, 35 ; throws much light onthe life of Joliet, 58, 77; LaSalle's marriage prevented byhis brother, 114; La Salle atFort Frontenac, 121 ; assistancegiven to La Salle, 127; Henride Tonty, 128, 130, 132; LaMotte at Niagara, 140; LaSalle pacifies the Senecas, 142 ;La Salle at Niagara, 148 ; LaSalle attached by his creditors,150; the names of the Illinois,167 ; intrigues against La Salle,1 75 ; brings to light the lettersof La Salle, 281, 296, 342;letters of Beaujeu to Seignelayand to Cabart de Villermont,365; La Salle's disputes withBeaujeu, 366; illness of LaSalle, 368 ; La Salle resumes hisvoyage, 372 ; La Salle lands inTexas, 379; Beaujeu makesfriendly advances to La Salle,386, 387 ; misery and dejectionat Matagorda Bay, 393 ; life atFort St. Louis, 400 ; the murderof Duhaut and Liotot, 449;Allouez's fear of La Salle, 459.Marie, Sieur de, 421 ; murdersMoranget, 427 ; sets out forhome, 451 ; drowned, 453.Maroas, the, 477.Marquette, Jacques, the Jesuit, atSte. Marie du Saut, 27 ; voyageof, 32 ; discovery of the Mississippi,33 ; among the Huronsand the Ottawas, 40; at theJesuit mission of St. Esprit, 40the mission of Michilimackinacassigned to, 41 , 51 ; chosen toaccompany Joliet in his searchfor the Mississippi, 59 ; early lifeof, 59 ; on the Upper Lakes, 59 ;great talents as a linguist, 59 ;traits of character, 59 ;journalof his voyage to the Mississippi,60 ; especially devoted to thedoctrine of the Immaculate Conception,61 ; at the Green BayMission, 62 ; among the Mascoutins and Miamis, 62 ; on theWisconsin Kiver, 63 ; the Mississippiat last, 64 ; on the Mississippi,65 ; map drawn by, 65meeting with the Illinois, 66;affrighted by the Indian manitous,68 ; at the mouth of theMissouri, 69 ; on the lower Mississippi,71 ; among the ArkansasIndians, 72 ; determine! thatthe Mississippi discharges intothe Gulf of Mexico, 74 ; rwolvef

;512 INDEX.to return to Canada, 74 ; illnessof, 74 ; remains at Green Bay,75 ;journal of, 75 j true mapof, 75 ; sets out to found themission of the Immaculate Conception,77 ;gives the name of"Immaculate Conception" tothe Mississippi, 77 ; on the ChicagoRiver, 78; return of hisillness, 78 ; founds the missionat the village " Kaskaskia," 79 ;peaceful death of, 80 ; burial of,81 ; his bones removed to St.Ignace of Michilimackinac, 81 ;miracle at the burial of, 81 ;tradition of the death of, 82;contrasted with La Salle, 83 ;169, 223 ; route of, 276 ;picturedrock of, 457 ; maps made by,477, 478, 480, 481.Marshall, O. H., 140, 146.Martin, 75; death of Marquette,81.Martin, Father Felix, connectionwith, 195.Matagorda Bay, 376, 379, 383, 391,471. See also St. Louis, Bayof-Matagorda Island, 375, 379.Mather, Increase, 213.Mazarin, Cardinal, 129.Meddewakantonwan, the, 260.Medrano, Sebastian Fernandez de,244.Membre, Father Zenobe, 150, 155,169, 185, 191, 192, 198, 201, 204,216; the mutineers at FortCrevecceur, 217, 218; intriguesof La Salle's enemies, 220, 223.224 ; the Iroquois attack on theIllinois village, 225, 227, 230,231, 233; the Iroquois attackon the dead, 234 ; 238 ; his journalon his descent of the Mississippiwith La Salle, 246 ;Hennepin steals passages from,247 ; meeting with La Salle,292 ; sets out from Fort Miami,296 ; among the Arkansas Indians,299; visits the Taensas,301 ; attends La Salle duringhis illness, 311 ;joins La Salle'snew enterprise, 353 ; on the"Joly," 372; in Texas, 388;adventure with a buffalo, 409,417, 418; fate of, 470.Menard, the Jesuit, attempts toplant a mission on southernshore of Lake Superior, 6.Menomonie River, the, 61.Menomonies, the, at the Jesuitmission of St. Esprit, 40 ; loca-of La Salle with the Jesuits, 8. tion of, 42 ; at Saut Ste. Marie,Martinique, 385, 386, 387.51 ; village of, 61.Mascoutins, the, location of, 43 " Mer Douce des Hurons " (LakeFathers Allouez and Dablon Huron), 476.among, 44 ;joined by the Kickapoos,62 ; visited by Mar-"Messasipi" (Mississippi River)," Mer du Nord," the, 480.quette, 62; La Salle falls in the, 480.Messier, 199, 218." Messipi " River, the, 6.Meules, De, the Intendant ofCanada, 319, 351.Mexico, 5, 6, 32, 117, 125, 126,129, 346, 348 ; Spaniards in, 349 ;464, 480.Mexico, Gulf of, 31, 32, 38, 48, 63.70, 74, 84, 245, 306, 309, 311,312, 344, 345, 358, 371, 373, 394 ;claimed by Spain, 468, 471, 477,478, 479, 481, 482, 483,Mexican mines, the, 349.Miami, Fort, 162, 163; La Salle

;;INDEX. 513returns to, 215, 283, 284, 286,288, 292, 294,296,311.Miami River, the, 32.Miamis, the, location of, 43, 44Fathers Allouez and Dablonamong, 44 ; receive Saint-Lusson,50; authority and state ofthe chief of, 50 ;joined by theKickapoos, 62 ; visited by Marquette,62; join the Iroquoisagainst the Illinois, 220 ; ranklingjealousy between the Illinoisand, 220; 223, 251, 286;village of, 288; called by LaSalle to a grand council, 289at Buffalo Rock, 314 ;join LaSalle's colony, 316 ; afraid of theIroquois, 320.Miamis, Le Fort des (BuffaloRock), 314.Miamis River (St. Joseph), 162.Michigan, shores of, 31 ; forestwastes of, 153; peninsula of,475, 476, 483, 484.Michigan, Lake, 4, 31 ; theJesuits on, 37 ; the name of,42; 61, 75, 77, 132; La Salleon, 155, 162, 193, 236, 309, 475,477, 479.Michilimackinac, mission of, 41 ; assignedto Marquette, 41, 279, 31 1.Michilimackinac, Straits of, 31, 41,42, 59, 61, 80, 110, 197, 203, 236,288, 292.Migeon, 150.Mignan, islands of, granted toJoliet, 76.Mille Lac, 257, 265, 277.Milot, Jean, 16.Milwaukee, 159.Minet, La Salle's engineer, 373,378, 379, 383, 387, 390.Minneapolis, city of, 267.Minong, Isle, 38.« Miskous " (Wisconsin), the, 480.S3Missions, early, decline in thereligions exaltation of, 103.Mississaquenk, 54.Mississippi River, the, discoveredby the Spaniards, 3; De Sotoburied in, 3; Jean NfaoUtlreaches, 3; Colonel Woodreaches, 5; Captain Boltonreaches, 5; Radisson and DesGroseilliers reach, 5; thethoughts of the Jesuits dwellon, 6; speculations concerning,6; 30, 31 ; Joliet makes a mapof the region of, 32; 45, 46;Talon resolves to find, 56 ; JoUelselected to find, 56 ; Marquettechosen to accompany Joliet, 59the discovery by Joliet andMarquette, 64; its outlet intothe Gulf of Mexico determinedby Joliet and Marquette, 74;Marquette gives the name of"Immaculate Conception" to,77 ; La Salle's plans to control,84 ; Hennepin sent to, 1 85 ; LaSalle beholds, 212; claims ofHennepin to the discovery of,243; Membrd's journal on hisdescent of, 246; La Salle on,297, 307, 310, 311, 312, 345, 346,352, 371, 373, 374, 376, 389, 390,391 , 403, 404, 405, 457, 459, 466early unpublished maps of, 475-486.Mississippi, Valley of the, LaSalle aims at the control of,102; the Jesuits turn their eyestowards, 103; 479; variousnames given to, 485.Missouri River, the, 6 ; Joliet andMarquette at the mouth of, 69,297, 457, 477, 478, 479, 483, 488.Missouris, the, 279, 320." Mitchigamea," village of, 72.Mitchigamias, the, 308.

;514 INDEX." Mitchiganong, Lac" (LakeMichigan), 477.Mobile Bay, 129, 385, 386, 387,389,481,482,483.Mobile, city of, 309, 467.Mohawk River, the, 483.Mohawks, the, 91 Bruyas among,;115; Jesuit mission among,118; Father Hennepin among,135, 136, 483.Mohegan Indians, the, 285, 295,486.Moingona, the, 223.Moingouena (Peoria), 65.Monso, the Mascoutin chief, plotsagainst La Salle, 174, 177, 192.Monsonis, the, at Saut Ste. Marie,51.Montagnais, the, 59.Montezuma, 487.Montreal, La Salle at, 10; themost dangerous place in Canada,10; detailed plan of, 13;Frontenac at, 87 ; Frontenac hasit well in hand, 96 ; Joutel andCavelier reach, 462, 475.Montreal, Historical Society of,17.Moranget, La Salle's nephew,379, 384, 385, 405, 412, 415, 420,424 ;quarrel with Duhaut, 425 ;murder of, 426, 433.Moreau, Pierre, 78.Morel, M., 360.Morice, Marguerite, 7.Motantees (?),the,307.Moyse, Maitre, 147, 217.Mozeemlek, the, 486.Mustang Island, 375.Nadouessious (Sioux), the, 307.Nadouessioux, the country of, 307.Natchez, the, village of, 303 ; differfrom other Indians, 304;customs of, 304, 308.Natchez, city of, 304.Neches River, the, 415, 470.Neenah (Fox) River, the, 44.Neutrals, the, exterminated by theIroquois, 219.New Biscay, province of, 346, 348,352, 383, 403.New England, 5, 346.New England Indians, the, 285.New France, 483, 484, 485.New Leon, province of, 468.New Mexico, 5, 350; Spanishcolonists of, 414.New Orleans, 484.New York, the French in western,19-23, 288, 484.Niagara, name of, 139 ; the keyto the four great lakes above,140, 197, 198, 279.Niagara Falls, 23 ; Father Hennepin'saccount of, 139; Hennepin'sexaggerations respecting,248, 476.Niagara, Fort, 129, 138, 148.Niagara Portage, the, 144, 145.Niagara River, the, 23, 96;Father Hennepin's account of,139, 475.Nicanopd, 175, 177, 178, 192.Nicollet, Jean, reaches the Mississippi,3 ; among the Indians, 3 ;sent to make peace between theWinnebagoes and the Hurons, 4descends the Wisconsin, 5.Nika, La Salle's favorite Shawanoehunter, 412, 421, 425; murderof, 426.Nipissing, Lake, 28.Nipissings, the, Jean Nicolletamong, 3; Dollier de Cassonamong, 16 ; Andre makes a missionarytour among, 41 ; atSaut Ste. Marie, 51.Noiseux, M., Grand Vicar of Quebec,82.

INDEX. 515North Sea, the, 38.Nueces, the upper, 469.Oanktayhee, principal deity ofthe Sioux, 267.O'Callaghan, Dr., 139.Ohio River, the, 15, 20, 21, 22,23, 24, 29, 32 ; La Salle affirmsthat he discovered, 32 ; the"Beautiful River," 70, 297, 307,457, 477, 478, 479, 480, 483, 484.Ohio, Valley of the, La Salle aimsat the control of, 102.Ojibwas, the, at Ste. Marie duSaut, 39.Olighin (Alleghany) River, the,307." Olighin " (Alleghany) River, the,484.Omahas, the, 478.Omawha, Chief, 175.Oneida Indians, the, 18, 91, 135.Ongiara (Niagara), 139.Onguiaahra (Niagara), 139.Onis, Luis de, 373.Onondaga, La Salle goes to, 29;the political centre of the Iroquois,^; Hennepin reaches, 135.Onondaga Indians, the, 91 ; Bruyasamong, 115." Onontio," the governor of Canada,54.Ontario, Lake, 16; discovered, 20,23, 58, 85, 87 ; Frontenac reaches,89, 96, 99, 128, 135, 147, 200, 279,475, 476, 479.Ontonagan River, the, 39.Orange, settlement of (Albany),136.Oris, 384.Osages, the, 174 ; deep-rootedjealousy of the Illinois for, 174,184, 477."Osages, Riviere des" (Missouri),70.Osotouoy, the, 300.Otinawatawa, 22, 23.Ottawa, town of, 75, 169, 193.Ottawa River, the, 27, 30, 462, 476.Ottawa*, the, 27; Marquetteamong, 40; terrified by theSioux, 41 ; La Salle forbiddento trade with, 125; La Salletrades with, 156, 182." Ouabache" ( Wabash), River, the,70, 297.Ouabona, the, join La Salle's colony,316." Ouabouskiaou " (Ohio) River,the, 70, 477." Ouaboustikou n (Ohio), the, 480.Ouasicoude', principal chief of theSioux, 264 ; friendship forHennepin, 266, 277.Ouchage (Osages), the, 477.Ouiatnoens (Weas), the, join LaSalle's colony, 316.Ouraalouminek, the, 61.Oumas, the, 305.Oumessourit (Missouri*), the,478." Oumessourits, Riviere dea"(Missouri), 70.Outagamies (Foxes), the, locationof, 43.Outagamies, the, encounter withLa Salle, 160, 161,287.Outrelaise, Mademoiselle d\ 167.Outrelaise, the Riviere del', 167.Pacific coast, the, 480.Pacific Ocean, 84.Paget, 366.Pahoutct (Pah-Utahs «), the, 478.Pah-Utahs (?), the, 478.Palluau, Count of, see Frontenac,Count.Palms, the River of, 307.Paniaxsa (Pawnees), the, 478.Panuco, Spaniah town of, 350.

516 INDEX.Paraguay, the old and the new,102, 103, 104, 117.Parassy, M. de, 356.Patron, 274.Paul, Dr. John, 317.Pawnees, the, 478.Peanqhichia (Piankishaw), the,join La Salle's colony, 316." Pekitanoui " Kiver (Missouri),the, 69, 477.Pelee, Point, 26, 197.Pelican Island, 379.Peloquin, 150.Pen, Sieur, obligations of La Salleto, 434.Penalossa, Count, 350.Penicaut, customs of the Natchez,304.Pennsylvania, State of, 346.Penobscot River, the, 483.Pensacola, 472.Peoria, city of, 34, 171.Peoria Indians, the, villages of,171, 223, 477.Peoria Lake, 171, 190, 211, 296.Peouaria (Peoria), 65.Pepikokia, the, join La Salle'scolony, 316.Pepin, 276.Pepin Lake, 256, 271, 272.Pere, 58.Perrot, the cure, 98.Perrot, Nicolas, meeting with LaSalle, 30; accompanies Saint-Lusson in search of copper mineson Lake Superior, 49 ; conspicuousamong Canadian voyageurs,49; characteristics of,50; marvellous account of theauthority and state of tbe Miamichief, 50 ; at Saut Ste. Marie,51 ; local governor of Montreal,87 ;quarrel with Frontenac, 96 ;arrested by Frontenac, 96; theAbbe Fenelon attempts to mediatebetween Frontenac and, 97;attempts to poison La Salle, 1 1 6.Peru, 350.Petit Goave, 367, 372.Philip, King, 288.Philip II. of Spain, 373.Phips, Sir William, makes a descenton Joliet's establishment,77.Piankishaws, the, 223; join LaSalle's colony, 316."Pieard, Le " (Du Gay), 186.Pierre, companion of Marquette,78, 80.Pierron, the Jesuit, 115; amongthe Senecas, 115.Pierson, the Jesuit, 279.Pimitoui River, the, 171.Platte, the, 207.Plet, Francois, 127, 293, 463.Poisoning, the epoch of, 179.Ponchartrain, the minister, 133,276, 455, 467, 486, 489.Pontiac, assassination of, 314.Port de Paix, 367, 368.Pottawattamies, the, in grievousneed of spiritual succor, 24 ; theSulpitians determine to visit,24 ; at the Jesuit mission of St.Esprit, 40 ; location of, 42, 50,77 ; friendly to La Salle, 155,182, 236, 237, 238 ; Tonty among,287 ; at " Starved Rock," 314." Poualacs," the, 481.Prairie du Chien, Fort, 64.Prairie, Nation of the, 44.Provence, 441.Prudhomrae, Fort, 297 ; La Salleill at, 311.Prudhomme, Pierre, 297, 298.Puants, les (Winnebagoes), 42.Puants, La Baye des (Green Bay),31, 42.

Quapaws, the, 300.Quebec, 15; the Jesuits mastersat, 108, 311, 460, 462, 482.Queenstown Heights, 138.Queylus, Superior of the Seminaryof St. Sulpice, 11, 16.Quinipissas, the, 305 ; attaek LaSalle, 310.Quinte, Jesuit Mission at, 16.Quinte, Bay of, 87, 142, 200.Radisson, Pierre Esprit, reachesthe Mississippi, 5.Raffeix, Father Pierre, the Jesuit,manuscript map of, 75 ; amongthe Senecas, 141, 276, 481.Raoul, 126.Rasle, 170.Raudin, Frontenac's engineer, 92,167,481.Raymbault,,preaches amongthe Indians, 5.Recollet Missions, Le Clerc's accountof, 246.Recollets, the, La Salle not wellinclined towards, 108 ;protectedby Frontenac, 1 03 ; comparisonbetween the Sulpitians and theJesuits and, 112, 218.Red ltiver, 305, 347, 348,451, 465,466, 471, 484.Renaudot, Abbe, memoir of LaSalle, 106, 107 ; assists La Salle,127, 133^339, 360, 361.Renault, Etienne, 223, 237.Rhode Island, State of, 288.Ribourde, Gabriel, at Fort Frontenac,132, 137; at Niagara,150; at Fort Crevecoeur, 185,187, 192, 216, 224, 229 ;murderof, 233.Riggs, Rev. Stephen R., divisionsof the Sioux, 261.Rio Bravo, French colony proposedat the mouth of, 350.INDEX. 517Rio Frio, the, 469.Rio Grande River, the, 309, 376,403, 465, 469.Rios, Domingo Teran de lo», 471.Robertson, 103.Rochefort, 352, 366, 393.Rochelle, 129, 364, 393, 462."Rocher, Le," 314; Charlevoixspeaks of, 314.Rochester, 140.Rocky Mountains, the, 260, 308,309.Rouen, 7.Royale, Isle, 38.M Ruined Castles," the, 68, 457.Rum River, 265.Ruter, 445, 446, 447, 448; murdersLiotot, 449, 470, 472.Sabine River, the, 415, 451, 465.Saco Indians, the, 227.Sacs, the, location of, 43 ; at SautSte. Marie, 51.Sagean, Mathieu, the Eldorado of,485-489 ; sketch of, 486 ; Saget,La Salle's- servant, 425 ; murderof, 426.Saguenay River, the, 76; Albanel'sjourney up, 109.St. Anthony, city of, 267.St. Anthony, the falls of, 267;Hennepin's notice of, 267, 478,482.St. Antoine Cape, 372.St. Bernard's Bay, 394, 469.St. Clair, Lake, 476.St. Claire, Lake, 152.St. Croix River, the, 277.St. Domingo, 347, 350, 367, 370,393, 418, 468.St. Esprit, Bay of (Mobile Bay),129,386,389,481.St. Esprit, Jesuit mission of, 40;Indians at, 40.St Francis, Order of, 133.

;518 INDEX.St. Francis River, the, 265.'* St. Francois," the ketch, 368 ;loss of, 369.St. Francois Xavier, council ofcongregated tribes held at, 43.St. Ignace, Point, 41, 59; Jesuitchapel at, 82.St. Ignace of Michilimackinac,81; La Salle reaches, 153; inhabitantsof, 153." St. Joseph," the ship, 330.St. Joseph, Lac (Lake Michigan),155.St. Joseph River, the, 44, 162,163; La Salle on, 164; 203;La Forest on, 236, 283, 288.Saint-Laurent, Marquis de, 367,368.St. Lawrence River, the, 3, 12, 13,15, 34, 63, 89, 122, 197, 198, 219,475, 480, 481, 483, 489.St. Louis, city of, 70.St. Louis, Bay of (MatagordaBay), 376, 379, 394, 466, 468,469, 471.St. Louis, Castle of, 87.St. Louis, Fort, of the Illinois,241 ; location of, 314 ; La Salle'sIndian allies gather at, 315;location of, 316; total numberof Indians around, 317; theIndians protected at, 320; LaBarre takes possession of, 327 ;attacked by the Iroquois, 327,347 ; restored to La Salle by theKing, 351 ; Tonty returns to,454 ; Joutel at, 457 ; conditionof, 458 ; Joutel'8 return to, 460 ;Tonty leaves. 465 ; reoccupiedby the French, 468, 486.St. Louis, Fort, of Texas, 394, 395 ;life at, 397 ; La Salle returns to,411, 415; Twelfth Night at.417; Dnhaut resolves to returnto, 446; abandoned by LouisXIV., 463; the Spaniards at,469 ; desolation of, 469.St. Louis, Lake of, 13, 14, 19.St. Louis, Rock of, see " StarvedRock."St. Louis River, the, 307, 484.Saint-Lusson, Daumont de, sentout by Talon to discover coppermines on Lake Superior, 49winters at the Manitoulin Islands,50 ; received by the Miamis,50; at Saut Ste. Marie,51 ; takes possession of theWest for France, 52 ;proceedsto Lake Superior, 56 ; returnsto Quebec, 56.St. Malo, 5.St. Paul, site of, 257.St. Peter, the Valley of the, unprovokedmassacre by the Siouxin, 254, 260.St. Peter River, the, 486.Saint-Simon, 343.St. Simon, mission of, 41, 42.St. Sulpice, Seminary of, 10 ; buysback a part of La Salle's seigniory,16; plan an expeditionof discovery, 16.Ste. Barbe, mines of, 348.Sainte Claire, 152.Sainte-Famille, the, association of,a sort of female inquisition, 111;founded by Chaumonot, 111;encouraged by Laval, 111.Ste. Marie, Falls of, 155.Ste. Marie du Saut, the Sulpitiansarrive at, 27 ; Jesuit missionat, 39 ; a noted fishingplace,39 ;Saint-Lusson takespossession for France of, 52.San Antonio, the, 469.Sanson, map of, 139.Santa Barbara, 348.Sargent, Winthrop, 182.Sassory tribe, the, 423.

;3auteurs, the, 39 ; the village of,51.Sauthouis, the, 300.Saut Ste. Marie, the, 27 ; a notedfishing-place, 42; gathering ofthe tribes at, 51, 475.Sanvolle, 489.Schenectady, 483.Schoolcraft, the Falls of St. Anthony,267.Scioto River, the, 32.Scortas, the Huron, 238.Seignelay, Marquis de, memorialspresented to, 35, 120, 274, 342 ;La Barre defames La Salle to,322, 344; object of La Salle'smission, 352 ; letters of Beaujeuto, 354-356; complaints ofBeaujeu, 370 ; complaint ofMinet, 378 ; receives Beaujeucoldly, 389 ; Jesuit petitions to,459 ; Cavelier's report to, 462,463.Seignelay River (Red River), the,167, 347, 348, 484.Seneca Indians, the, 14, 19, 20;Sevigne', Madame de, letters of,179.Shawanoes, the, 23, 225, 285, 307 ;join La Salle's colony, 316, 320.Shea, J. G., first to discover thehistory of Joliet, 58 ; the journalof Marquette, 75 ; death ofINDEX. 519Marquette, 81, 82, 115; the" Racines Agnieres " of Bruyas,136 ; the veracity of Hennepin,244; critical examination ofHennepin's works, 247 ; Tontyand La Barre, 454 ; story ofMathieu Sagean, 486.Silhouette, the minister, 34.Simcoe, Lake, 203, 293.Simon, St., memoirs of, 167.Simonnet, 126.Sioux Indians, the, 6 ; at theJesuit mission of St. Esprit, 40 ;break into open war, 41 ; theJesuits trade with, 110, 182, 207,228 ; capture Father Hennepin,245, 250 ; suspect Father Hennepinof sorcery, 253 ; unprovokedmassacres in the valley ofthe St. Peter, 254; Hennepinamong, 259-282 ; divisions of,260 ; meaning of the word, 260total number of, 261 ; use of thesweating-bath among, 263 ;DuLhut among, 276, 307, 480.Sipou (Ohio) River, the, 307." Sleeping Bear," the, promon-villages of, 21 ; their hospitalityto La Salle, 21 ; cruelty of, tory of, 81.22,29, 91 ; Pierron among, 115 ;Smith, Buckingham, 471.village of, 138 ;jealous of La Society of Jesus, the, a powerfulMotte, 140; La Motte seeks to attraction for La Salle, 8 ; anconciliate, 140, 141 ;pacified by image of regulated power, 8.La Salle, 142 ; the great town Sokokis Indians, the, 227.of, 279 ; Denonville's attack on, Soto, De, Hernando, see, De Soto,460.Seneff, bloody fight of, 134.Severn River, the, 203.Hernando.South Bend, village of, 164.Southey, the poet, 182.Se'vigne, 343.South Sea, the, 6, 14, 38, 46, 52,63, 70.Spain, war declared against, 464 ;claims the Gulf of Mexico, 468.Spaniards, the, discover the Mississippi,3 ; Talon's plans tokeep them in check, 48 ; LouisXIV. irritated against, 344 ; in

;;520 INDEX.Mexico, 349 ; at Fort St. Louisof Texas, 469.Spanish Inquisition, the, 350.Spanish missions, the, 414, 471.Sparks, exposes the plagiarismof Hennepin, 247 ; 468.Starved Rock," 169; attractsthe attention of La Salle, 1 92Tonty sent to examine, 1 92, 205,217, 221, 239 ; description of,313 ; La Salle and Tonty intrenchthemselves at, 313 ; describedby Charlevoix, 314 ;origin of the name, 314."Sturgeon Cove," 77.Sulpice, St., 9.Sulpitians, the, plan an expeditionof discovery, 16; join forceswith La Salle, 17 ; set out fromLa Chine, 19 ;journey of, 19,20 ; meeting with Joliet, 23determine to visit the Pottawattamies,24 ; La Salic parts with,25 : spends the winter at LongPoint, 25 ; resume their voyage,26 ; the storm, 26 ; decide to returnto Montreal, 26; passthrough the Strait of Detroit,26 ; arrive at Ste. Marie du Saut,27 ; the Jesuits want no helpfrom, 27 ; comparison betweenthe Recollets and, 112.Superior, Lake, 5 ; Menard attemptsto plant a mission onsouthern shore of, 6; Allouezexplores a part of, 6 ; Jolietattempts to discover the coppermines of, 23, 27 ; the Jesuits on,37; the Jesuits make a map of,38 ; Saint-Lusson sets out tofind the copper mines of, 49Saint-Lusson takes possessionfor France of, 52, 273, 276, 475 ;map of, 476, 477,479,481.Susquehanna River, the, 483.Sweating-baths, Indian, 262.Table Rock, 139.Tadoussac, 59.Taensas, the, great town of, 301 ;visited by Membre and Tonty,301 ; differ from other Indians,304.Tahuglauk, the, 486.Taiaiagon, Indian town of, 138.Tailhan, Father, 35, 49.Talon, 15.Talon, among the Texan colonists,471.Talon, Jean, Intendant of Canada,sends Joliet to discover the coppermines of Lake Superior, 23claims to have sent La Salle toexplore, 31 ; full of projects forthe colony, 48 ; his singulareconomy of the King's purse,48; sends Saint-Lusson to discovercopper mines on Lake Superior,49 ; resolves to find theMississippi, 56 ; makes choiceof Joliet, 56 ;quarrels withCourcelle, 56 ; returns to France,57, 60, 109.Talon, Jean Baptiste, 472.Talon, Pierre, 472.Tamaroas, the, 223, 235, 286, 297.Tangibao, the, 305.Tears, the Lake of, 256.Tegahkouita, Catharine, the Iroquoissaint, 275, 276." Teiocha-rontiong, Lac " (LakeErie), 476.Teissier, a pilot, 407, 421,425,451,458.Tejas (Texas), 470.Terliquiquimechi, the, 348.Tetons, the, 260.Texan colony, the, fate of, 464^473.

;;Texan expedition, La Salle's, 391-419, 434.Texan Indians, the, 470.Texas, fertile plains of, 308;French in, 348 ; shores of, 374La Salle lands in, 379 ; applicationof the name, 470, 483.Theakiki, the, 167.Thevenot, on the journal of Marquette,75 ; map made by, 478.Third Chickasaw Bluffs, the,297.Thomassy, 115, 175, 296, 298,302,308.Thouret, 201, 238, 333, 342.Thousand Islands, the, 89.Three Rivers, 3, 86, 90.Thunder Bay, 275.Tilly, Sieur de, 99." Tintons," the, 481.Tintonwans, the, 260.Tongengas, the, 300.Tonty, Alphonse de, 467.Tonty, Henri de, 127 ; renders assistanceto La Salle, 128; inCanada, 129 ; La Motte at Niagara,140; sets out to join LaMotte, 141 ; almost wrecked,142 ; at the Niagara Portage,144-147 ; the building of the"Griffin," 144-148; the launch,149 ; 154, 155 ; rejoins La Salle,162; among the Illinois, 172;the attempt to poison La Salle,179 ; Hennepin sent to the Mississippi,187 ; La Salle's partingwith, 188 ; sent to examine"Starved Rock," 192; 194; desertedby his men, 199, 217 ; thejourney from Fort Crevecceur,201 ; La Salle's best hope in,202; La Salle sets out to succor,203 ; La Salle has fears forthe safety of, 209 ; sets out toexamine " Starved Rock," 217INDEX. 521in the Illinois village, 223; attackedby the Iroquois, 225;intercedes for the Illinois, 228peril of, 229 ; a truce grantedto, 229; departs from the Iroquois,233 ; falls ill, 236 ; friendsin need, 237 ; La Salle hearsgood news of, 287 ; meeting withLa Salle, 292; sets out fromFort Miami, 296 ; among theArkansas Indians, 300; visitsthe Taensas, 301 ; illness of LaSalle, 310 ; sent to Michilimackinac,311; intrenches himselfat " Starved Rock," 313 ; left incharge of Fort St. Louis, 326,334, 337; attempts to attackthe Spaniards of Mexico, 349,355, 361, 421, 425; the assassinationof La Salle, 430, 433;the murder of Duhaut, 448among the Assonis, 452 ;plansto assist La Salle, 453-455 ; hisjourney, seeking news of LaSalle, 454, 455, 458; in theIroquois War, 460; Cavelierconceals La Salle's death from,461 ; learns of La Salle's death,464; revives La Salle's schemeof Mexican invasion, 465 ; setsout from Fort St. Louis of theHlinois, 465; deserted by hismen, 465 ; courage of, 465 ; difficultiesand hardships, 466;attacked by fever, 467 ;misrepresented,467 ;praises of, 467 ;joins Iberville in Lower Louisiana,467, 486.Topingas, the, 300.Torimans, the, 300.Toronto, 27, 138.Toronto Portage, the, 293.Toulon, 463."Tracy, Lac" (Lake Superior),476.

522 INDEX.Trinity River, the, 413, 424, 434,439, 465.Tronson, AbM, 344, 463."Tsiketo, Lac" (Lake St. Clair),220.Turenne, 17.Two Mountains, Lake of, 82.Uppicb Lakes, the, see Lakes,Upper.Ursulines, the, 95.Utica, village of, 79, 169, 170, 220,239.Vaudrbdil, 276.Vera Cruz, 468, 472.Vermilion River, the, 221, 225,226 See also Big VermilionRiver, the." Vermilion Sea " (Gulf of California),the, 15, 38, 74, 480." Vermilion Woods," the, 241.Verreau, H., 98.Vicksburg, 300.Victor, town of, 21, 140." Vieux, Fort Le," 314.Villermont, Cabart de, letters ofBeaujeu to, 357-360; letter ofTonty to, 454. e^Virginia, 288, 346, 483."Virginia, Sea of," 6, 74.Voltaire, 7.Watteau, Melithon, 150.Weas, the, join La Salle's colony,316.West Indies, the, 181, 404, 446, 489.Wild Rice Indians (Menomonies),the, 61.William, Fort, 275.William III. of England, 282.Winnebago Lake, 43, 44, 62.Winnebagoes, the, Jean Nicolletsent to, 4; quarrel with theHurons, 4 ; location of, 42 ; atSaut Ste. Marie, 51.Winona, legend of, 271.Winthrop, 213.Wisconsin, shores of, 157.Wisconsin River, the, 5, 63, 245,265, 266, 272, 278, 477, 478, 480.Wood, Colonel, reaches the Mississippi,5.Yanktons, the, 260.Yoakum, 470.You, 210.Zenobe (Membra), Father, 181.

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