Show C ili file elt t Q I 1 rl V icv d ir t N 14 P 0 as ile ik 4 1 I 4 af the gniffin i ann ako 3 Z e 1 ia 1 11 owal 4 vic 47 N AHO mi k f A 0 y 4 L by ELMO SCOTT WATSON HE time Is F february in the year 1682 the is the iiii illinois river in what Is now the state of that name the actors in afie the epic drama which alch Is now about to be begin gin are some IS 18 indians and 23 french soldiers and voyageurs voyo voya geurs not a very impressive company it Is true but the leader of it Is what makes it grent great for this leader Is rene ilene robert stobert cavelier de la salle magnificent adventurer and one of the worlds greatest explorers la salle announced that they would take to their canoes they lifted the light white birch barks from the sledges and slipped them into the icy water the baggage and rilles rifles went aboard piece by piece then man after man soldier and voyageur voyage ur and red hunter stepped gin beerly to his place sank to a kneeling position and took up his long handled paddle first one light canoe then another pushed off from shere share and the black current bore them away to right and left they saw drab banks trost frost flecked and hard that rang under a blow and leafless forests iron in their rigid desolation that rose despairingly toward an opaque gray sky on t the h e sixth of february they emer emerged qed from the illinois and their fleet slipped out upon the swelling current of tile the mississippi la salles dreams came nearer the mirage at last promised realization thus began the historic voyage down tho the length of the father of waters which was to give to france control of the interior of north america which was to open up the vista of the richness of a new empire before the greedy eyes of the white race which was to endroll england and france in an almost unending war for the next three quarters of a century and which was to result finally in the founding of a new nation greater than either it Is this voyage which has been characterized as one of the greatest epics of all history to most americans the name of la salle Is just another in a dimly remembered list from their schoolbook school book histories but now 20 years after the beginning and the end of his great achievement his name Is brought to their attention again through the publication of two biographies of him one of them Is la salle written by L V jacks and published by charles scrib nera sons from which the foregoing quotation Is in taken and the other Is tile the french adventurer the life and exploits of ia salle written by bf Ara maurice urlce constantin weyer and published by the bla macaulay caulay company mr air jacks Is an american and 21 constantin weyer la Is a frenchman so it Is interesting to read their two books together and got get the two points of view on this great frenchman whose name is written high in the annals of america of the voyage down the river mr air constantin weyer writes a vivid account how spring was breaking on every side A sky of clouds rent by the wind was reflected in blue and white the forest was powdered with tender green flowers flower were unfolding timid petals the cries crie of migratory birds filled the immense valley mosquitoes swarmed at night coyotes b irked barked on the tha hillsides hill sides in the mornings litson bison de bended in friendly pairs to the giant drinking trough they passed the mouths of great rivers the maddy fluddy missouri the quiet ohio la helle belle Ri diviero viero and the arkansas there were adventures with indians both pleasant and grim for they 1 met both friendly end and hostile red men there were innumerable new wonders of scenery which unfolded before their eyes eye and a variety of experiences such as few explorers had ever had just two months from the time they had floated out upon the broad bosom of the mississippi sippi all at once sprey spray struck their faces tasting the water they found it already brack leb ish A great joy painfully welled up in their breasts a thrill ran down their spines and suddenly Bud denly sonorous under the shock of a thousand waves immense and without a sail there was the seal april the seventh thus 11 constanten weyer and flow to turn to mr air jacks for the next scone scene the frenchmen must have hare ben been as glad to too see the gulf as Xeno phona hardy soldiers once were glad to see bee the blue of the hustie when at last red as a great fire tinged ruby the sun had bad dropped to rest in the melancholy marshes and savannas to westward and the night wind b brought r ought over the glitter of the sea pea the faint hushed voices of breathing waters the vo lay down beside their canoes aware that they had seen in all probability the greutert greti test day of their tumultuous lives it had bad beer a long trail which he be had tol 01 ol N arc j 66 U S av ru e Z X Z C 0 route 0 to e to 6 1 a preat bov set ducote eo ear r basa le at of X I 1 S S 2 xa 14 bount nao lowed since that far oil off day when us as a school boy ho hi rouen france he had read of other explorers and adventurers and had thrilled to the tales of their exploits in the places which had bad previously been marked on the rude maps of the time terra incognita in those 39 years ills his life had been one of many hardships of many high hopes of many disappointments rut but in his makeup make muke up was the tough fiber of soul which had carried him through all of this the fahe that justified the title given him by an early american biographer the norman educated for priesthood lu fit the jesuit order la salle soon found that the restlessness in ill hl blood would never allow him to he be happy in that role the result was a journey in his early twenties to canada where his brother was waa a prist in the seminary of st sul through the influence of this brother he received a grant of land near Alon montreal treal a neury which he named la Clif chine ne T the lie name was sign significant I 1 freant al ready already he was dreaming of finding the undiscovered northwest passage to china the goal of many ari an explorer before him so when the indians told him of a great southwestern river which flowed into the ali lion sea his quick mind grasped this ns as ill the route of the long sought passage to tile the orient and he determined to follow the river so sn he be sold his neury to obtain funds for an expedition and in july 1069 the first of his iong inns wanderings through the interior of the north american continent began that trip carried him up the st lawrence along the south shore of lule lahe ontario among the villages of the iroquois on to niagara along the south shore of lake arle and then south through what Is now the state slate of ohio until lie he in all probability reached the ohio river but desertions among his bis followers forced la salle to go back to canada so his first expedition was something of a failure his resources were now exhausted but he be found an unexpected friend in count Fron tentie the iron iro Gov governor ernoe of canada who gave him the exclusive trading privileges at fort frontenac arun prun the modern kingston on the condition that he would rebuild the defenses and garrison the post in the father marquette and louis jollet joliet had reach reached ed the mississippi of appl ppl the great southwest rl river veil and gone down it for a considerable distance although they did no not t follow it to its mouth so that honor still awaited la salle belle however tie he needed more capital so BO in 1677 1077 be made a trip to france with letters from frontenac to the king and ills his ministers it ili paris la salle found attentive listeners to hu hit plans and when he returned to canada in 1678 he brought with him a royal decree ns h him I 1 in to make discoveries and build forts in the interior of north america lie he also brought back with him tile the man who was destined to be his chief lieutenant and greatest friend henri tie dp tonti an italian the man afan with the iron nand liand I 1 i hat winter la salle and were busy completing a fort at niagara and building a ship before spring had bad come a vessel of about 45 tons the largest yet built for service on the great lakes was completed on its prow was a carved griffon from the armorial bearings or of la salles sailes patron count Fron frontenac tenne and this ship won enduring fame faine under the name of the grif fin incidentally it was more enduring than la salle could possibly have realized for within the last year the timbers from a wrecked ship were found in lake huron and there Is strong evidence to support the belief that these timbers were once a part of the griffin found after more than 20 years 1 la salle sailed his vessel to where he acquired a rich store of furs then sailed on into lake michigan and finally dropped anchor in oreen green ray ball where some more furs were I 1 obtained sending the G binin back to montreal la salle started south along the wisconsin I 1 shore and reaching the mouth of of the st joseph I 1 hp he hullt fort then he struck across country to the upper kankakee from there he made his way down the illinois to the present site of nt pearla III where tie he hullt built fort creve chmir leaving in charge la salle started back to canada when he reached niagara at easter time in 1080 it was to find news of if disaster the with all of her rich cargo of furs had been lost la salle hurried on to montreal and once more the aid of pr frontenac cenac again he was waa provided with the necessary equipment fur for car carrying crying out his projects and within a few months he was again at fort frontenac and ready to join nt at crevecoeur just as aa he was a randy to glenve however there came the tha news that the gairrison Kurr lson sit at tile the fort on the illinois and mutinied mutinies muti nied and destroyed the post la salles Sill ps one hopp now was that the faithful harl held on in and had and saved something from the wreckage of ills his plans put when he reached he found tanti gone to 1 reen ray bay and the ril alnee rice deserted undaunted by this clemns to his misfortunes the norman pushed on down the illinois until he ren elied the mississippi but his party was too small to attempt an expedition down this great river so la salle once more ret raved his weary ktelis north northward word lie spent the winter at fort miami and in the spring he learned that tont was at Michili mackinac wid tind there he hastened to hear from ills his trusted lieutenant the long tale of disaster of this interview an eyewitness eye witness writes anyone else would mould have thrown up his hands and abandoned tile the enterprise but far from ahm with a firmness and conR constancy tancy that never had tta its equal I 1 saw him more resolved than ever to continue his big work and push forward his Ais discovery covery ln salle was waa now determined to continue with his plan for exploring the mississippi returning once more to fort frontenac he replenished his supplies cupp lles and in the autumn of 1081 he set out once with for the illinois country then followed hla his journey down the illinois river to the mississippi and the beginning of the great journey which took place just 2 years azo ago by New |