Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-16

lIennepin and On Guy were pernitted ~
leave. the Indians furnishing a canoe for
them. and Accau had the privilege of &C.
companying them. but he had begun 10
like the Indian life, and preferred to re-
main.
Hennepin had told the story OF mart,
OF spirits coming 10 the Wisconsin 50
often that he had come to believe il him
SELF lie and Du Guy had a gum knife
and beaver skin robe with them in the
canoe. and they fioated down the Missis-
sippi to the Falls of st. Anthony, which
Hennepih named in honor of his patron
saint. Around the falls of St Anthony
they carried their canoe, and then they
padded $50 miles down the great river
Their chief food was turtles. Once
while they were ashore their canoe got
loose and went dancing down stream
1iennepin. who was a good swimmer re-
covered IL after long chase. They had
so little ammunition that they had to be
chaiy about CHANGING a shot but thew
killed one buffalo Then they ate SO
ravenously that they became desperately
ill. While they were I'll the rest of the
buffalo meat spoiled I'm the hot sun.
Thereafter they subsisted on turtle or fish
dropped by eagles or fish hawks Where
the Mississippi enters Lake Pepin Hen
nepln and Du Guy came upon the Sioux
hunters again. The hunters had found
plenty of buffalo and were faring we'll
They remained with the hunters until
one day the party was thrown into great
excitement by the receipt OF news that a
war party of Sioux bound for Lake Su-
perior had encountered five spirits" The
hunt was abandoned at once, and the
whole party. Hennepin. Du Guy and
Accau included hurried northward Near
the falls of st. Anthony they met tho
five Europeans. who We're David Du Lhut
and four well-armed Frerchmen.
Du Lhut was leader of the coureurs
de bois and a cousin of Tonty. He had
been at the head of Lake Superior when
in some way he heard that three Eu-
ropeanS were with the Sioux. SunpoSing
they were Engl'shmen or Standards in
tent on encroaching upon the territory
of the French. he pressed forward To in
vestieate. The arrival OF Du Lhut
changed everything for the captives The
Sioux not only did not oppose their de-
parture. but supplied them bountifully
with food for the journey.
The party of eight. after various ad-
ventures reached Michillimackinac, where
they spent the winter. In the spring
Hennepin. with Du Guy and Accau, pro-
ceeded by lake to Niagara. where Hen
nepin made some fresh surveys of the
cataract and then resumed the voyage on
Lake Ontario. Nearing Montreal. he left
his companions on an island and padded
alone to the town. The story is told
that Count Frontenac, who CHANGED to be
at a window, was the first to discover
him. And surely the count never saw
a stranger sight. The face Of the monk
was worn and haggard. His robe of st.
Francis was patched in many places by
scraps OF buffalo hide. One finger was
gone. 1t had been snapped of by one
OF the turtles he had caught. He had
been burned by the sun until he was as
dark almost as an Indian For twelve
days he remained with the count. telling
him of his travels.
IF Hennepin's tale ended there all would
he we'll Unfortunately. it does not. lie
was the historian Of La Sale so Tar as
the expedition to Peoria embraces the HE
of the great explorer. and the world is IN
debted to him for much in that connec-
tlon A great deal of valuable informa-
ton has been picked out, too. from ms
report OF the journey up the MISSISSIPPI
and his life among the Sioux, but when
he went to Eurdope. soon after leaving
Count F'rontenac. and found so many
persons eager to hear him talk OF his ad-
ventures and read what he wrote about
his travels. he was carried away by his
own Importance. The more he talked
and the more he wrote, and he was lively
in each OF these fields. the more ne
credited himself with seeing and doing
Somehow he got TO believe that he went
down the Mississippi as well up il. and
a few years after his arrival in Europe he
wrote vivid account OF how he had
iourneyed down to the mouth or the
Father of Waters and explored IL before
La Sale. II is plain that he read the
suppressed diary of Father Membre. and
got much Of the detail from this. but he
put it forth as his own. and vehemently
upheld il as correct. No explorer of his
time wrote more or was read more
widely More than twenty editions OF his
travels We're printed in French. English.
German. Italian and Spanish.
In Europe he put aside his religious
dress and gave himself up to writing.
When the French challenged his state
ments he withdrew to England. In all
his work there he appears in a poor
light. Better by far does he appear as he
should he considered, the humble soldier
of the cross with pair of sandals a
coarse gray gown held by the cord of St
Francis crucifix and a rosary. and with
his portable altar strapped to his back.
picking his way through the trackless
wilderness, intent only on the salvation
Of souls.
Copyright, 1910 by Richard spiIlaasI