may dismiss the whole
story as a colossal falsehood.

But if he did not go below the mouth of the Illinois, how did Hennepin
become possessed of the information which he gives in his usual
interesting way about the places and peoples all the way down the river
to the Gulf? His descriptions have all the appearance of truth. He
"cribbed" them. We are able to put our finger on a source from which
he drew without stint. It will be remembered that Father Membre
accompanied La Salle on his descent of the Mississippi, in 1681. He
kept a journal of their experiences. This journal was afterward
published by another friar, Le Clerc, but was suppressed by the French
government, because it gave offence to the Jesuits. A few copies,
however, are in existence to this day. Those who have examined one of
these say that Membre's journal is the original of Hennepin's stolen
narrative, sometimes whole pages agreeing word for word. Hennepin
seems {297} to have taken it bodily, with a few necessary alterations,
such as would make himself, not La Salle, the hero of the expedition.
This pirated account, written in Hennepin's picturesque style, met with
great success in Europe and was translated into several languages. We
are reminded of the sensation which was made by Amerigo Vespucci's
fanciful tales of the New World. (See "Pioneer Spaniards in North
America," p. 44.)

One more question. If Hennepin lied in saying that he descended the
Great River, how do we know that he really ascended it? Because this
part of his story is confirmed by an independent witness. The famous
trader and leader of fur-traders, Du Lhut, testified that he found
Hennepin and his two companions prisoners among the Sioux and rescued
them, precisely as we shall find Hennepin relating in his story of the
expedition.

We shall, therefore, reject the later-published account of the
imaginary journey down the Mississippi and confine our attention to the
probably authentic story of his adventures on the upper waters.

Hennepin and his two associates followed the Illinois to its mouth and
then turned their canoe {298} toward the head-waters of the Great
River. For a time all went well. Game was abundant, and the travelers
fared sumptuously on buffalo, deer, turkeys, and fish. Suddenly they
encountered a war-party of Sioux in a number of canoes. These fierce
rovers, members of the great Dakota family, whose range extended
westward a thousand miles from t