Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-11-26
Democratic Northwest.
AND HENRY COUNTY NEWS.
TIE TRIALS OF LA SALLE.

Inc Tragic story VI 'Vue tulSubY La
Sale and the incompatible Difficult
ties of his explorations are vividly
told in recent work. The Romsnce
and Tragedy of Pioneer Life by
Augustus Lynch Mason and John
Clark Ridpath, published by Jones
Brothers & Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. His
journey up the st. Lawrence, the
building Of .he Griffin, the voyage
through Lake Erie, Huron, and
Michigan, and to the interior Of what
is now Illinois, are graphically de-
scribed. Arrived there, new troubles
pursued him. Fate seemed against
him at every point. But he'knew no
surrender. We qSote:
One morning La'5alle found six of
his men, including two of his best
shipbuilders, had deserted. 1t cut
him to the quick. But this was not
all. A treacherous handsagain placed
poison in the food. His life hung in
the balance for hoUss, but'an antldote
given by the faithful Tonty turned
the wavering scale. Worse than all,
it was evident that the Griffin, the
main. stay of the whole enterprise,
was lost. Nothing was ever heard of
her again. Two men-sent to search
for her reported that they, made the
circuit of the lake and found her not.
La Sale afterward Sound evidence of
her having been deliberately sunk by
the pilot, at the instance of his
enemies. The loss OF fhe Griffin was
the severest blow yet. She carried
anchors. cables, and equipment of the
new boat he was to build on the Mis-
sisslppi, as we'll as costly supplies.
The mountein of disasters was enough
to break a heart Of stone.
La Salle's exploration could ad-
vance no farther until cAe precioa5 ar
ticles for the new ship, lost in the
Griffin, could be replaced. The .ex-
peditlcn was eating itseltqp with-evis
dense. Its chief determined to make
his way on foCt through the vast and
gloomy wildernesses which lay be-
tween him and Montreal, IN one last
effor. to replace the loss. 1t wGs
equal to one of the labors of Her
cules--a journey of twelve hundred
miles, through q country which was
the perpetual battle ground Of hostile,
and cruel savages, without food,
sleeping on the open ground. watch,
ing by night and marching by day /,
carrying a heavy load of blanket, gun
ammunition, hatchet, kettles and "a
sack Of parched corn. Sometimes
pushing through thiekets sometimes
climbing rocks covered with ice and
snow, with clothing constantly wet,
from swimming dozen rivers day,
and wadlng for hours ct time waist
or even neck deep in marshes, expos.
ed continually to attack from raven
GUS beasts, and to thousand other
hardships, tolls and dangers. In all
the journey there was not CLEAN of
light from single cabin window to
welcome the weary travellers at night
fall, not white mans face to cheer
them amid the frightful and gloomy
solitudes of unendlng forests.
after slxty-fKe days Of unparal-
leled sufferings, the stone bastions of
Fort Frontence 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 mark.
ed out to be that of gentle parish
priest for some rural aock 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 al
most too cruel to record. Within al
week he had, by extraordinary effort,
in spite Of his bankruptcy and misfor.
tunes, 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 Crevecoeur arrived with a
letter from Tonty. He reported to
his stricken chief that, after his de-
parture, the men had mutinied blown
up the fort, plundered its stores,
throwing into the river all they could
not carry of, and then deserted. All
was lost. His mighty effort was spent.