money at ruinous rates of interest, captured a party of his deserters
on Lake Ontario, killing two who resisted arrest and locking up the
others at Fort Frontenac, and hastened off on the long journey to
relieve Tonty in the Illinois country.

When the party reached the Illinois River they beheld a stirring sight.
Far and near, the prairie was alive with buffalo, while hundreds were
plunging and snorting in the water. The opportunity was not to be
lost. The voyagers landed and encamped for a hunt. For three days
they gave themselves up to the excitement of the chase, killing twelve
buffalo, besides deer, geese, and swans. Then, with an ample supply of
dried and smoked meat, they re-embarked.

{244}

When they reached the site of the populous Illinois town, the place was
desolate, not a human being in sight. Only heaps of ashes and charred
poles and stakes showed where the lodges had stood. The whole meadow
was blackened by fire. Hundreds of wolves skulked about the burial
ground of the village. The ground was strewn with broken bones and
mangled corpses. Every grave had been rifled, and the bodies had been
thrown down from the scaffolds where many of them had been placed.

It was evident what had happened. The Iroquois had made a descent, in
some way had missed their prey, and had wreaked their vengeance on the
dead. But where were Tonty and his men? There was no sign of their
having been killed. Neither had any trace been observed of their
passing up the river. It must be that they had escaped down the river
with the Illinois in their flight. La Salle promptly determined what
to do. Leaving a part of his men, he hid his baggage and started down
the stream with a few trusty men carrying little besides their arms.
When they reached the ruins of Fort Crevecoeur, they found the vessel
on the stocks untouched.

{245}

La Salle pushed on down to the mouth of the river, without finding a
trace of his missing countrymen. Now the Great Water rolled before
him. Once he had dreamed night and day of seeing it. But to see it
under such circumstances as these,--what a mockery of his hopes! The
one thought on his mind was to find and rescue Tonty. There was no
sign of him here. To go further would have been useless, and La Salle
turned back, paddling day and night, and rejoined his men whom he had
left. Then all started northward. On their way down they had followed
the Kankakee. Now they took the Des