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

1686.] RETURN OF DUHAUT. 401approached, they recognized the elder, who had gonewith La Salle on his journey of discovery, and whowas perhaps the greatest villain of the company.Joutel was much perplexed. La Salle had orderedhim to admit nobody into the fort without a passand a watchword. Duhaut, when questioned, saidthat he had none, but told at the same time so plausiblea story that Joutel no longer hesitated to receivehim. As La Salle and his men were pursuing theirmarch along the prairie, Duhaut, who was in therear, had stopped to mend his moccasins, and whenhe tried to overtake the party, had lost his way, mistakinga buffalo-path for the trail of his companions.At night he fired his gun as a signal, but there wasno answering shot. Seeing no hope of rejoiningthem, he turned back for the fort, found one of thecanoes which La Salle had hidden at the shore,paddled by night and lay close by day, shot turkeys,deer, and buffalo for food, and, having no knife,cut the meat with a sharp flint, till after a month ofexcessive hardship he reached his destination. Asthe inmates of Fort St. Louis gathered about theweather-beaten wanderer, he told them dreary tidings.The pilot of the "Belle," such was his story,had gone with five men to sound along the shore, byorder of La Salle, who was then encamped in theneighborhood with his party of explorers. Theboat's crew, being overtaken by the night, had rashlybivouacked on the beach without setting a guard;and as they slept, a band of Indians had rushed in26