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

1685.1 CONDUCT OF BEAUJEU. 389company, went out after the service to shoot snipes;but as he walked barefoot through the marsh, asnake bit him, and he soon after died. Two mendeserted, to starve on the prairie, or to become savagesamong savages. Others tried to escape, butwere caught; and one of them was hung. A knotof desperadoes conspired to kill Joutel; but one ofthem betrayed the secret, and the plot was crushed.La Salle returned from his exploration, but hisreturn brought no cheer. He had been forced torenounce the illusion to which he had clung so long,and was convinced at last that he was not atthe mouth of the Mississippi. The wreck of the" Aimable " itself was not pregnant with consequencesso disastrous.Note. — The conduct of Beaujeu, hitherto judged chiefly by theprinted narrative of Joutel, is set in a new and more favorable lightby his correspondence with La Salle. Whatever may have beentheir mutual irritation, it is clear that the naval commander wa»anxious to discharge his duty in a manner to satisfy Seignelay, andthat he may be wholly acquitted of any sinister design. When heleft La Salle on the twelfth of March, he meant to sail in search ofthe Bay of Mobile (Baye du St. Esprit),—partly because he hopedto find it a safe harbor, where he could get La Salle's cannon out ofthe hold and find ballast to take their place ; and partly to get asupply of wood and water, of which he was in extreme need. Hetold La Salle that he would wait there till the middle of April, inorder that he (La Salle) might send the "Belle" to receive thecannon ; but on this point there was no definite agreement betweenthem. Beaujeu was ignorant of the position of the bay, which hethought much nearer than it actually was. After trying two daysto reach it, the strong head-winds and the discontent of his crew inducedhim to bear away for Cuba; and after an encounter withpirates and various adventures, he reached France about the firstof July. He was coldly received by Seignelay, who wrote to th*