The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-05-07
THE TRIALS OF LA SALE.

The tragic story OF The mighty La
Sale and the incompatible difficulties
OF his explorations are vividly told in
recent work, "THE ROMANCE AND
TRAGEDY OF PIONEER LIFE" by Angus
tus Lynch Mason and John Clark Rid
path, published by Jones Brothers & Co.,
Cincinnati, Ohio. His journey up the
St Lawrence, the building OF the
Griffin, the voyage through Lakes Erie,
Huron, and Michigan, and to the inte-
rior of what is now Illinois, are graph
ically described. Arrived there, new
troubles pursued him. Fate seemed
against him at every point. But he
knew no surrender. We quote:
"One morning La Sale found six of
his men, including two of his best ship
builders, had deserted. 1t cut him to
the quick. But this was not all. A
treacherous hand had again placed
poison in his food. His life hung In
the balance for hours, but an antidote
given by the faithful Tonty turned the
wavering scale. Worse than all, 1t was
evident that the Griffin, the main stay
of the whole enterprise, was lost. Moth
ing was ever heard Of her again. Two
men sent to search for her reported
that they had made the circuit OF the
lakes and found her not. La Sale
afterward found evidence OF her having
been deliberately sunk by the pilot, at
the instance Of his enemies. The loss
of the Griffin was the severest blow yet.
She carried anchors, cables, and equip
ment for the new boat he was to build
oil the Mississippi, as well as costly
supplies. The mountain Of disasters
was enough to break heart of stone.
"La Salle's exploration could advance
no farther until the precious articles
for the new ship, lost in the Griffin
could be replaced. The expedition was
eating itself up with expense. Its chief
determined to make his way on foot
through the vast and gloomy wilder
ness which lay petween him and Mon
treal, in one last effort to replace the
loss. It was equal to one Of the labors
Of Hercules-a journey OF twelve hun
dred miles, through country which
was the perpetual battle-ground of
hostile and cruel savages, without food,
sleeping on the open ground, watching
by night and marching by day, carry
ing heavy load Of blanket, gun, am
munition, hatchet, kettle, and sack of
parched corn. Sometimes pushing
through thickeis, sometimes climbing
rocks covered with Ice and snow, with
clothing constantly wet from swimming
q dozen rivers day, and wading for
hours at q time waist or even neck deep
in marshes, exposed continually to
attack from ravenous beasts, and to a
thousand other hardships, tolls, and
dangers. In all the journey there was
not CLEAN OF light from single cabin
window to welcome the weary travel
ers at night-fall, not white mans face
TO cheer them amid the frlghtful and
gloomy solitudes Of unendlng forests.
"After sixty-flve days ofunparalleled
sufferings, the stone bastions Of Fort
Frontenac rose before their weary eyes.
The unconquerable will and iron frame
of La Sale, who had been reared in
delicate luxury, a scholar, whose career
had been marked out TO be that OF a
gentle parish priest for some rural flock
in France, had achieved the impossible.
"Poor La Sale had reached his goal,
but his long journey had but brought
him to new grief. 1t is almost too cruel
to record. Within week he had, by
extraordinary effort, In spite of his
bankruptcy and mIsfortunes, collected
the needed supplies. He was on the
point Of setting out on the return trip
to his forlorn colony on the Illinois,
when two messengers, from Fort Grew
occur arrived with letter from Tonty.