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

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-