h, and far
eastward and westward, calling it Louisiana, in honor of King Louis XIV.
A metal plate, bearing the arms of France, the king's name, and the date
of the discovery, was fixed on a pillar in the shifting soil.

Hardy as he was, La Salle sometimes fell ill from the great exposures
he endured. And more than once he was poisoned by some revengeful
voyageur. It was not until the December following his discovery of the
Mississippi's mouth that he realized his plan of fortifying the rock
on the Illinois River. He and Tonty delighted in it, calling it Fort
St. Louis of the Illinois. Storehouses and quarters for a garrison rose
around its edges, protected by a palisade. A windlass was rigged to draw
water from the river below. On the northeast corner of the rock a low
earthwork remains to this day.

Around this natural castle the Indian tribes gathered to La Salle, as to
a sovereign,--Miamis, Abenakis, and Shawanoes, from countries eastward,
and the Illinois returned to spread over their beloved meadow. Instead
of one town, many towns of log, or rush, or bark lodges could be seen
from the summit of the Rock. Years afterwards the French still spoke of
this fortress as Le Rocher. A little principality of twenty thousand
inhabitants, strong enough to repel any attack of the Iroquois, thus
helped to guard it. La Salle meant to supply his people with goods and
give them a market for their furs. At this time he could almost see the
success of his mighty enterprise assured; he could reasonably count on
strengthening his stockades along the Mississippi, and on building near
its mouth a city which would protect the entire west and give an outlet
to the undeveloped wealth of the continent.

[Illustration: Louis XIV., King of France.]

In the flush of his discovery and success La Salle went back to France,
leaving Tonty in charge of the Rock and the gathering Indian nations,
and laid his actual achievements before the king, asking for help. This
was made necessary by the change in the colonial government, which had
removed his friend Count Frontenac and left him at the mercy of enemies.

The king was not slow to see the capacity of this wonderful man, so shy
of civilization that he lodged in a poor street, carrying with him the
very breath of the wilderness. La Salle asked for two ships; the king
gave him four; and many people and supplies were gathered to colonize
and stock the west.

It was La Salle's intention to sail by