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

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