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

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