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

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.