to trade in the and other of the valley iii late in the following summer la returned to canada he brought with him a number of and and also sails and for a vessel which he proposed to build and on lake with him came an italian officer who had become deeply interested in his plans and whom he had in his service this man as we shall see proved to be his most faithful friend and in all his at fort was another man who was to take a prominent part in the proposed of the west this man was louis a who had come over from france three years before he was of a restless disposition and by nature better fitted to be a de than a priest since coming to canada he had spent the most of his time at fort where he busied himself building a chapel preach from to ing to the indian bands who had settled there and enjoying the companionship of the soldiers he also made long excursions into the country learned the and the languages became expert in and himself to all the hardships of the forest upon la s return from france this priest entered most heartily into his plans and offered to give him all the aid in his power in november everything was in readiness for the departure of la s expedition sixteen men under command of la de re and by father embarked in a small vessel which was expected to proceed directly to the mouth of the river la and with the remainder of the company sailed in another vessel for the same point but instead of going straight across the lake they along the south shore in order to visit some villages of the and make sure of the friendship of those jealous lords of the forest in due time all arrived in safety although not without peril and serious at the mouth of the a house was built a little below the point where the present town of stands and in it a part of the supplies for the expedition were stored some of the materials for brought from france had been lost in the rough weather which had made the last days of the voyage so perilous but the and and most of the tools had been saved and these were now landed a party of with father were sent in advance up the right bank of the river to find the easiest road around the falls learn what obstacles must be overcome and report whether it would be at all possible to carry tools and supplies up the way to the higher of the stream it is impossible for us to imagine the feelings of these men as they approached the great and the tremendous flood of waters burst upon their view for sixty years these falls had been known to the french through from wandering indians it is not unlikely that more than one of the woods some or possibly la himself had visited the spot and gazed with wonder upon the rushing mighty waters but they left no record behind them and hence so far as we know the priest and his companions were the real of for indeed who shall be honored as the of any hitherto unknown thing if not the man who from personal observation first tells the world of its existence and appearance from the top of the cliff where now stand to observe the fall father viewed the with the enthusiasm which marked all his conduct he drew a picture of the scene as it appeared to him � the first picture of the falls ever published perhaps the first ever drawn he afterwards described them as a vast of water of which the universe does not afford its parallel the waters falling from a height of five hundred feet he says do foam and boil after the most hideous manner imaginable making outrageous noise more terrible than that of thunder for when from to the wind blows out of the south their dismal roaring may be heard more than fifteen distant in the meanwhile much dissatisfaction was breeding at the little fort at the mouth of the river many of the men because of the difficulties to be overcome were ready to give up the enterprise before it had been fairly begun and some being in the pay of la s enemies at were on the point of open the captain la de re was himself suspected of doing what he could to increase this ill feeling and he was permitted to return to fort in the end the strong will of the commander prevailed and arrangements for building a ship above the falls were soon completed la and went forward to find a suitable place for the work they selected a little about six miles above the falls where the stream now called creek flows into the to this spot late in january the men began to carry the tools the and the it was no easy matter to lift their heavy burdens up the steep cliffs to the above and to carry them nearly twenty miles over the rough unbroken country but through snow and all struggled bravely forward and in time reached the appointed place father rugged and strong carried an altar upon his back and cheered the ones by his enthusiasm as soon as the materials for the ship were on the ground la put in charge of the work and hastened back to the mouth of the where he began the construction of a to serve as � of supplies for the expedition but when the spring had begun and the ice had disappeared he left this post in charge of a few trusted men and returned on foot along the north shore of lake to fort and his estate of it was high time that he was there for 