Show arma I 1 aws M an ew aa os m e au Z Z 01 a V rp B n r A au W 10 14 A A C J L by br ELMO WATSON ik memorial to one oile of 0 the 1 alk inest rc mantle and at the sam e it time one of tue the anost dragt kt figu i 1 utes res ln in american afan history will be erected nt at the scene of one v arlod of his career if present t f a pl ains are arc carried carri eil out according ty to lo press dispatches from niagara f si W falls lillas lill ls N Y A meeting of a sta state to r sj carmill commission sion was held there re cetla and tle the project of cf a t g 3 stas monument to tile the met memory nory ot Cho dialler valler robert do de la salle oilier explorers of the niagara ills dis was as indorsed endorsed Indor sed by its members rs i tile i plans call ft for r me tl s erection election of the meanon kropet ty to tie he purchased by the state J of new york front froni ue de veaux school for the ex att tension of nf the niagara state rp reservation this 1 l 11 Is located on the lower gorge bank overTo overlooking oking the y and the monument 1 hlll rise higher than the alie famous brock monument 11 loll 1011 I 1 at heights on the chan cana f diun dint iside side at the top tcp of it will be placed a 25 23 vy foot font of la salle aind at its base will be a Illus lii usein elint tot for tile the display of historical relies relics of the falls historical society standing in fit ifie hie middle of a beautiful park and illuminated civilli with a colored floodlight system the monument ti will be un an impressive memorial to a great amer 1 ican loii n pioneer an and tile hie combination of historic and scenic interest which it will have will rill make mah e it a place in which all americans will be interested though more than years have passed since la salle played plaud ills part lix in the making if till this country the story of tills 9 nor lian imin 1 its as one writer ha so aptly called him film Is still art an instillation inspiration to all americans who admire tile 0 ape ae of high courage in the tha face of many dds 1 appointments and the stern refusal to accept defeat which was tits ills ilia story has often been I 1 told but few have flare written of ills his career better lhnn than lins has the author of the volu volume in C crusaders crusader or of new france in the anle university press chronicles of Artieri america call series villiam Vil llam bennett A alunro muni from tits his chapter cli apter ln la salle tind and the voy a geurs them the following excerpts are taken rene llene n obert cavelier bleur do de la salle like so BO many others who followed the fleurdelis fleur de lis ils into the th recesses of the new continent was of 0 norman birth I 1 and unease lineage rouen was tile the town of hla his nativity the year 1613 probably the date or 0 haq hl birth s while still in the earty early twe twenties he came to mont real where he had bad an older arother Lr other a priest of the seminary Z T of st sulpice this was in 1666 through gli ano influence of its his brother no doubt he from the seminary a grant of the seig naury at lacht lachine ne an on the river above the town anil arid at once began the work of developing this prop erty arty in the winter of 1668 1669 lia ho heard tron atho i tho indians indiana their story of a great f alver rl ver which made its way to the vermillon vermilion sea the recital quickened the restless strain in hi bf norman blood here h he 0 thought was the long sought passage to the he shores of the orient find and hf determined to follow the river having no other means to obtain funds with which to equip an expedition la salle sold hit seegne celB ty and at once began his preparations lit in f july 1663 1669 he set oft with a party of about twenty men inen sone some of whom were missionaries sent by th 3 seminary of st sulpice to carry thu tho tidings of falth faith into the heart of the continent up the st lawrence and along the south shore of lake oni tarlo they went halting at bay while la salla sali and a few nt if hla his followers went overland to tho in search of guides con tinning to niagara the party divided and the sul bul made their way to the sault st marle while la a salle with the remainder of the expedition struck 0 out u t couth 0 of lake erie anti and in all proba ability reached the ohio by one of iti br branches arches it la Is belli bel lived vei that desertions his followers prevented further progress pro greos rees and that in the winter la IA salle retrace i his steps to thela the hakea keA in its main object the ex fon had been a failure having exhausted his funds la salle had nr no opportunity of malting another trial lie ile accard angly asked frontenac the iron an governor anvernet vernot of 0 f canada for trading privileges at the r site bite of modern kingston whre wh re stood the fortified fortl fled post named after the governor eov enior upon frontenac recommend recommendation atlon he received in 1674 not only the he right to lo trade but also a grant of iaal nl nc on condition that he would rebuild the th ft fel res witti stape and cupply a carrl cn f P the being acceptable tink ali explorer has belied bcd to td ills hla new lievi post and wt ns gwun engaged in f the fur trade upon a considerable scale la sallee h linweber lin bt wever vever needa 1 more mora camual than he himself chuld iun ay iy a and d in 1677 lin ho t nip ado tic ii a trip to tn fridee with from fr to the kin fend 01 fol ol lort ile he also had the further design of obtaining InIng A site ar 1 authority and funds for another trip of exploration ra to the west in parla parl a he found attentive listeners to his plans to seek th the a source of 0 the mississippi which mars quette and jollet joliet had reached in 1669 but had not followed far enough to determine its outlet and even the kings ministers were interested so that s when la salle palled failed back to quebec in 1678 he brought a royal decree authorizing him to proceed with his project with him came s darlng d ring spirit who was to be chief lieutenant and faithful c coin 0 m panion in the ensuing years henri genrl do tonti this adventurous soldier was later known among the tha indians as of the ir iron 0 n hand for in his youth lie he had lost a hand in ittle battle and in it tta stead now wore an artificial one of iron which h he used from time to time with wholesome effect la salles party lost no time in proceeding to fort frontenac even though the winter was at band Henn hennegin Hennep epin ln was sent to niagara with instruct artna ta build ld the kostand post to begin the construction of a vessel so BO that the journey westward might be begun with the opening of spring later in the winter la salle and joined the party at niagara where the tort fort was completed before spring arrived a vessel of about forty five tons tona the tha largest yet built tor for service on the lakes had been constructed on its prow stood a carved griffin from the armorial bearings of frontenac and out of its portholes port holes frowned several small cannon with the adventist advent of summer la lasalle salle and hi bl followers went aboard the sails were spread and indue course the expedition reached ause where the jesuits had already established their most westerly mission the arrival of the griffin brought indians indiana by the hundred who marveled at the floating fort and a 1 i d to barter their that r furs for the trinkets with which c b la salle had provided himself the little vessel then called into lake michigan and finally dropped anchor in green bay where an additional load of beaver skins was put on the deck with the approach of autumn the return began la salle however did not accompany hla his valuable cargo having a mind to spend the winter in explorations along the illinois in september with many misgivings lie he watched the griffin set sail call in charge of a pilot then with the rest of his followers he started southward along the wisconsin shore ne reaching beaching the mouth of the st joseph he be struck into the interior to the upper kankakee this 3 tream stream the voyage ure who numbered about forty in all 11 descended until they reached the illinois which they followed to the point where peoria now stands hers hera la salles troubles began in abundance the indians endeavored to dissuade him from lead ing the expedition further and evin even his followers bagan to desert chagrined at these untoward circumstances and on his guard lest the indian prove openly hos hostile tili la salle proceeded to secure hla his position by the tha erection of a fort to which tic he gave the name of creve crave coeler broken heart here fare he be left with the majority of the party while he himself started with five men back to niagara ills his object was in part to get supplies supplied tor for building a vessel at fort creve crave cosner and in part to learn what had become of the griffin tor for since that vessel had sailed homeward he had hear no wor word d from her crew proceeding across what la Is now southern Michigan la sallo salle emerged on the shores of the detroit river from this point lie be pushed across the neck of land to lake E erie ale where he built a canoe which brought him to niagara at eastertide 1680 ills hla fears for the fate fata of the griffin were now confirmed the vessel had bad been lost and with her a fortune in tura furs nothing daunted however la salle hurried on to fort Front frontenac enao and thence with such euch speed to montreal that he accomplished tho the trip from the illinois to the ottawa in less than throe months a feat hitherto unsurpassed in the annals annala of american exploration at montreal the explorer who once more sought the favor of frontenac was provided with equip tient ment at the kings expense within a few months lawas 10 was again at fort frontenac and ready to join ro ti at creve crave coeler just as he was wa about to lepart however word came ca me that the tha creve crave coeler garrison arrison had mutinied mutinies muti nied and I 1 al ad destroyed the post la lasalles ono one hope I 1 now low was that his ble faithful lieutenant had held on doggedly and had saved the vessel he ha haa d been building but in the meantime had made hla his way with a few followers to logreen green bay so that when la salle balle reached reach edthe the illinois he found every one gone undismayed b by this climax to his misfortunes la salle ne Js pushed on down the illinois and early ir IP december reached its ita confluence with the mississippi to follow the course of this great stream dream with the small email party which i accompanied him seemed however too hazardous an undertaking TA ln sall salli i therefore retraced hta his steps once more and a spent pent the next dext winter at fort miami on the st SL joseph to the southeast of lake michigan in the spring word wora came to him that was at inac and thither ho hastened ned to hear from own lips tho the long tale of disaster any one else elge wrote an eyewitness of the meeting would haw have thrown up his hands find and abandoned the enterprise but tar far from this with a firmness and stancy on that never had its equal I 1 siw saw him more res resolved olvid than ever to continue his work jird and push forward his discovery now that he be had caught his first glimpse of the mississippi la salle was waa determined to persist until lie he had followed its course to the outlet returning will to fort frontenac he replenished his supplies in this same bama autumn of 1681 1691 with s a larger number of followell follo werk werL the explorer sv artl kiil ri il A 9 was agal non his way to the illinois by february the party had reached the mississippi passing the missouri and the ohio la salle and hl followers kept steadily on their way and early in april reached the spot where the father of waters de bouches through h three channels into the gulf here flare at the outlet they set up a column with the insignia of france and as they took possession 0 of the land in the name of their icing they chanted in solemn tones the at and in the name of 0 god they set up their banners bannera but the french were short in supplies and could not stay long after thi the symbols ot of sovereignty had been raised aloft paddling slowly against the current la salle salla and lila hial party reached the illinois early in august here on the famous starved rock near utica la salle and tonti built fort st louis and here they spent the tha winter early in 1584 la salle appeared at the french court with elaborate plans tor for founding a colony in the valley of the lower mississippi to thin project the icing gave hla his assent and by mid midsummer bummer tour four ships were ready to set sail tor for the gulf once more however troubles beset la salle on every hand disease broke out on ti the le vessels the officers quarreled amoni among themselves bem selves the expedition tion was attacked by the spaniards and one ship was lost not until the end of december was the landing made and then not at the mouth but at a spot tar far to the west of it on the sands of matagorda bay finally in the winter of 1687 la sala with a score of his strongest followers struck out northward determined to make their way to the takes lakes where they might find succor the tha hardships of the journey without adequate equipment or provisions and the incessant danger of attack by the indians indiana increased petty jealousies into open mutiny on the of march 1687 the courageous and iride indefatigable fatigable la salle was treacherously assassinated by one of his own party here flare in the fastnesses fast nesses of the southwest died at the age of forty tour four the intrepid explorer of new france whom called perhaps not untruthfully one of the greatest men of hla his age FORT NIAGARA BEING RESTORED old fort niagara a landmark of fierce eighteenth and nineteenth century fighting Is being ye restored stored the war department lias has directed maj gen james 11 mcrae the commanding general second corps area at governors MUM assume supervision over the completion of the project calling for the repair of the ancient castle as ag authorized in the act of congress approved february 23 1027 T the castle was originally built by the french in n 1720 and Is located within the walla of an rid masonry fort fort F ort niagara Is located on a wooded peninsula t into lake ontario at the mouth of niagara river it was constructed by the french in 1687 and for almost one hundred fifty years british french indian and american fought for its possession in 1725 it t was rebuilt hy by the french and considerably strengthened in 1759 it was captured by the british nho held field it until 1700 1796 when it was given up tip to tile the americans it was recaptured by the british in 1813 but eliut immediately abandoned tho the fort la Is now occupied by the twenty eighth infantry the can migny tigny regiment of the first division during the rt revolutionary evolutionary wu w fort niagara was a constant thorn in the side of the colonies Colonl Ls it was from the castle that the that ravaged southern new york and Perin pennsylvania syl were directed the wyoming cherry valley and schoharie rie massacres were all directed there even after the signing of peace at tho the close of the war great britain retained fort niagara but relinquished it in 1790 when it was occupied for the first time hy by united states troops the first american flag 0 to o fly from the castle after it chanted ch ringed haicl was carried through the wilderness hy by the empire loyalist club the fort was again under tinder tile the cross of st george ceorge during the war of nt 1 when a party tf of british and indians indian captured I 1 it L new i r almee rm TIP |