From their winter camp on the river banks eighty leagues below Fort St. Louis a band of Illinois looked up, late in February of 1686, to see their friend Tonty, with twenty-five Frenchmen and a handful of Shawnees, come paddling down the stream. In June of the year before, he had come back to take command of the fort with the good news that La Salle had sailed from France for the mouth of the Mississippi. During the summer he had persuaded their chiefs to join in peace once more with the Miamis.

But with the fall disquieting news had come. Rumor said that La Salle had landed on the shore of the Gulf; that one of his ships was wrecked and pillaged by the Southern tribes who had attacked him; and that he was struggling with Indian foes and sorely in need of food. Tonty, greatly alarmed, had gone up to Mackinac, but had learned little to encourage him in regard to his leader.

Returning to the fort, most of the way on foot, he sent out Indians to the Mississippi River in search of news. But they found none. Then Tonty determined to go himself down the river to the sea in search of his lost chief. He started in the middle of winter with nearly half of his garrison. For forty leagues they dragged their canoes over the ice of the river until they came to open water halfway down to the Indian camp.

Tonty had little time to linger in the camp, but he had exciting news to tell the Indians. La Barre, governor of Canada, had been withdrawn and the new governor, Marquis Denonville, was planning a great war upon the Iroquois villages. He wanted Tonty to gather a band of Western Indians and join with other bands under Du Luth and Durantaye to reinforce the army from Canada, and he had sent word to Tonty to come to Canada to confer with him about the matter. But Tonty had insisted that his first duty was to search for La Salle; the other must await his return. Would the Illinois join him the next spring and help wage war upon the land of their enemies?

Tonty knew well that there could only be one answer to his question. The Illinois, who keenly-remembered the fiendish raids upon their land, now saw their opportunity for revenge; and at once they began to dream of the time when Tonty should return from his voyage. But they were anxious, too, for news of La Salle, and they gave Tonty five of their men to accompany him to the mouth of the river.

With this addition to the party Tonty’s men dipped their paddles into the cold stream and were soon out of sight, leaving the Illinois camp buzzing with excitement. The fleet of canoes soon entered the Mississippi and made swift progress down its broad current. Somewhere above the mouth of the Arkansas River, after Tonty and his men had been traveling many days, they happened upon a war party of a hundred Kappas. The Indians made ready for war at first sight of the canoes, but, finding who it was, brought out the pipe of peace and together the two parties went on to the village.

Here and at the lower Arkansas villages the Indians danced the calumet dance before Tonty and sent him on his way in peace. The Frenchmen made a visit to the village on the lake where the white-robed Taensas welcomed them. They, too, danced the calumet dance and were most cordial to the visitors. But Tonty could not stop long. His canoes were full of food for the hungry La Salle, and he had men and guns to help his chief fight battles. He must hasten on to the sea. At the village of the Coroas he stopped long enough to upbraid the chief for the treachery of his tribe four years before. He passed the village of the Quinipissas without landing.

On the 9th day of April, Tonty and his party came to the sea. Four years before on this same day La Salle had raised the cross and the arms of France and had taken possession of the Great............