oss the river, and overwhelms them in its
frightful abyss."

This is the earliest description of the falls on record. At this time
nearly the whole of the present State of New York was a dense, unbroken
wilderness. It is very evident, that among the Indians there were, as
in every community, good men and bad men. But on the whole, the
condition of humanity among the savages must have been dreadful. What
are we to think of a state of society in which every man's reputation
and distinction depended upon the number of human scalps, torn from the
slain victims by his own hands, with which he could fringe his
garments?

On this tour La Salle visited the Seneca Indians in Western New York,
where the beautiful cities of civilization and Christianity now adorn
the landscape. Here they witnessed one of the most tragic spectacles of
savage life.

Some warriors arrived in one of the villages with a prisoner. He was a
finely formed young man, about nineteen years of age, from the Shawnee
tribe residing near the Scioto River. They had clothed their victim for
the sacrifice. Anxious that he should endure the torture as long as
possible, they had treated him tenderly, that his bodily strength might
not be weakened. He had been given, according to their custom, to an
aged Indian woman, in place of her son who had been killed. It was at
her option to adopt him or to cause him to be put to death by torture.
She chose the torture.

The young man was taken into a cabin adjoining that which was occupied
by La Salle and Galinee. The two Frenchmen visited him in the evening.
Three women were wailing the death of their relative who had been
killed, and were heaping imprecations upon the victim through whose
tortures they hoped to avenge the death of the one who had been slain.
The Christians pleaded earnestly for him, and offered large rewards to
obtain him as a guide to conduct them to the Ohio. All was in vain.

At the earliest dawn of the next morning, a group came rushing into La
Salle's cabin to announce that the torture was about to commence. They
went out and found the victim entirely stripped of his clothing, and so
bound to a stake that he could move for a distance of two or three
feet. The whole band--men, women, and children--were gathered
exultingly around, to enjoy the cruel pastime. The poor boy well knew
what he had to undergo, for he had probably often assisted in similar
scenes.

M. Galinee was slightly acquainted