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

1687.] SCHEMES OF ESCAPE. 447their solitary camp-fire but the means of escapingfrom the villanous company into which they werethrown. They saw no resource but to find theMississippi, and thus make their way to Canada, — aprodigious undertaking in their forlorn condition ; norwas there any probability that the assassins wouldpermit them to go. These, on their part, were besetwith difficulties.They could not return to civilizationwithout manifest peril of a halter; and theironly safety was to turn buccaneers or savages.Duhaut, however, still held to his plan of going backto Fort St. Louis; and Joutel and his companions,who with good reason stood in daily fear of him,devised among themselves a simple artificeto escapefrom his company. The elder Cavelier was to tellhim that they were too fatigued for the journey, andwished to stay among the Cenis ; and to beg him toallow them a portion of the goods, for which Cavelierwas to give his note of hand. The old priest, whoma sacrifice of truth even on less important occasionscost no great effort, accordingly opened the negotiation,and to his own astonishment and that of hiscompanions, gained the assent of Duhaut. Theirjoy, however, was short; for Ruter, the Frenchsavage, to whom Joutel had betrayed hisintention,when inquiring the way to the Mississippi, told it toDuhaut, who on this changed front and made theominous declaration that he and his men would alsogo to Canada. Joutel and his companions were nowfilled with alarm; for there was no likelihood that