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

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