Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-05-21

days were in a prairie country Once
more they nearly starved II was a
godsend when they found stray
buffalo. on January 3. 1850. when they
were below Peoria Lake they came
upon a great encampment of Illinois
Indians. la Sale. who knew Indians
thoroughly, made a show Of force
and then accepted the calumet He Of
fered TO aid them against their foes.
the Iroquois. and then told them he
meant to build "a fort in their viii
large and bi gcanoe with sails to
descend fc the sea and bring goods
to them
Late that night six Indians. led by
Monso. a Mascoutin chief, arrived in
camp and warned the Illinois against
La Sale. Before daylight they depart
ed. They had been sent from Canada
to spread the story that la Sales
real purpose was TO stir the tribes be-
yond the Mississippi to war on the
Illinois
At a feast the next day the Illinois
chiefs were doleful They begged La
sale not to proceed. Tho Mississippi
was filled with feroCious monsters.
There were fathomless pits. whirpools
and nameless horrors. and its shores
were lined with cannibals.
La Sale. who had heard OF the visit
Of Monso from an Indian he had be-
friended astounded the chiefs by
showing his full knowledge Of all that
had been said. They ascribed IL TO
supernatural power but, alas! next
day six of his best men were gone.
They had belieevd the stories Of the
Mississippfs horrors and fed. The
others, too. we're demoralized.
As measure OF safety La Sale
moved his camp 10 a hill a little
further down the river, fortified il,
built lodgings for his men and lit
tie chaple for the Recollet monks who
accompanied the expedition. He nam
ed the place Fort Crevecour and
started TO build the ship to sail the
Mississippi The third stage Of the
journey was made and he was pre-
pairing for the fourth.
But alas! two Of the men who had
fed were shipbuilders. There was not
another carpenter i'm the party. For
amateurs TO do the work meant long
and tedious labor, He was worrying
about the Grifon. He was worrying,
TOO. about affairs ia Montreal. He
determined TO go back, hurry forward
recruits and supplies and then rush
work on the new ship. To improve
the time In his absence he sent Henne-
pin to explore the upper Mississippi
Leaving Tonty, who had but one
arm. in charge, La Sale set out. His
trip has been pronounced as the most
arduous ever made by a Frenchman IN
America. His crafty foes had set the
Indians on his trail His path was
bcset by peril night and day. In S.
days ne reached Niagara and then only
10 learn the Grihou was lost Indians.
fur traders and Jesuits have been
charged with contrving her dostruc-
ton. Some reports are that she was
bfs
tied. with the cargo that was 20 pay
his debts. she was gone. He learned.
too. that a ship from France freighted
with almost Indispensable goods Tor
him had been wrecked in the ST. Law
renee
when he reached Fort Frontenac he
found il had been seized and plundeTcd
by his creditors. When he reached
Montreal a messenger from Tonty ar
rived with the news that soon after his
departure the men had mutinied and
destroyed Fort Crcvecour. OF all that
he had planned and all that he had
organized nothing remained. But the
undaunted man only worked the hard
er He was a powerful orator when
his passions were aroused, and he
used all his skill In presenting his story
to men with money. He borrowed
money again, enough to buy new equip
meut, ana nack over lne same Tohu nc
went with dozen men. on Lake
Ontario ne encountered a party Of his
deserters They had a battle and two
were killed Then he pushed on, but
when ne got TO the village Of the IT,
linois II was desolate Not a human
being was IN sight. The ground was
strewn with broken bones and man
gled corpses.
He thought az FIRST the tribe had been
massacrod but IL was not so. The lro-
quois, instigated by those eager 20 ruin
Ia Sale, had invaded the Illinois coun-