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

1687.] JOUTEL AND HIS PARTY. 451share of the plunder he had won by his late crime,supplying them with hatchets, knives, beads, andother articles of trade, besides several horses.Meanwhile,adds Joutel, "we had the mortification andchagrin of seeing this scoundrel walking about thecamp in a scarlet coat laced with gold which hadbelonged to the late Monsieur de la Salle, and whichhe had seized upon, as also upon all the rest of hisproperty." A well-aimed shot would have avengedthe wrong, but Joutel was clearly a mildand moderateperson; and the elder Cavelier had constantlyopposed all plans of violence. Therefore they stifledtheir emotions, and armed themselves with patience.Joutel's party consisted, besides himself, of theCaveliers (uncle and nephew), Anastase Douay,De Marie, Teissier, and a young Parisian namedBarthelemy. Teissier, an accomplice in the murdersof Moranget and La Salle, had obtained a pardon,in form, from the elder Cavelier. They had sixhorses and three Cenis guides. Hiens embracedthem at parting, as did the ruffians who remainedwith him. Their course was northeast, toward themouth ofthe Arkansas, — a distant goal, the way towhich was beset with so many dangers that theirchance of reaching it seemed small.It was early inJune, and the forests and prairies were green withthe verdure of opening summer.They soon reached the Assonis, a tribe near theSabine, who received them well, and gave themguides to the nations dwelling towards Red River.