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Vol. XI—.
THE CATHOLIC HERALD
18 PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY
M. FITHLAN,
No.61 North Second Street, Philadelphia.
Terms,—Two Dollars and Fifty Cents, if paid
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No paper discontinued until all arrearages are
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ance, for a Subscriber.
Philadelphia, Thursday,
which misfortune would probably have been
avoided but for this circumstance.
On the 28th of November the voyage was
resumed, the little fleet having been’ detained
in St. Domingo for nearly two months, in
consequence of La Salle’s indisposition. On
the 28th December they doubled Cape ‘Anto-
nio, on the Florida coast, when they made for
the west until they arrived at the Bay of Mata-
gorda, about three hundred miles west of the
Mississippi. © La Salle had already perceived
the mistake, and had endeavoured to persuade
eaujeu to alter his course; but all his remon-
Strances were without effect, and he had the
mortification of seeing the accomplishment of
his plans, for the present, defeated, by the in-
subordination, obstinacy, and malice, of this
1 The
: From the Catholic Cabinet.
_ DISCOVERY, OF THE , MISSISSIPPI,
Continued from page 275.
La Salle had not so entirely committed the
execution of his designs to the industry of
‘others, as not to take a personal and active
part in the discovery. | On the 2nd of Febru-
ary, 1682, he entered the ' Mississippi by. the
Miinois river, on the 4th of March he took
possession of the country of Akansas, (the ori-
‘gin of the modern name Arkansas), and onthe
9th of the following April, he reached the
mouth of the’ Mississippi.. We’ can easily
conceive the enthusiasm which the sight of
the Atlantic must have occasioned in his own
breast, and in those of his followers. “They
had undertaken’ the ‘discovery from a deep
conviction of its important results ;' they now
witnessed the completion of their hopes, an
already enjoyed, by anticipation, the rewards
of success."
Having now accomplished what he had so
long laboured to effect, La Salle began to as-
cend the river, on his return to Quebec, but,
“owing to sickness, he did not’ arrive ‘in that
city before the Spring of the’ following year,
1683. ‘The important discovery he had made
‘was to be immediately. communicated to the
French ‘court; and no one, certainly, better
deserved to be the bearer of such gratifying
intelligence, or was more likely to suggest
measures for the security of the advantages the
discovery placed within its reach, than the en-
terprizing discoverer himself. | Ie aecording-
ly once more returned to France,’ where he
-was favourably received by the court, from
which, notwithstanding some opposition that
was made to the undertaking, he obtained four
vessels for the purpose of enabling him to enter
the Mississippi from the sea, and securing, by
actual possession, the advantages of the recent
discovery!’ Among his companions, about
200 in number, were three clergymen of the
congregation of St. Snlpice, one of whom
was brother of La Salle, as also four Capuchin
Fathers. / . .
It was on the 24th of July, 1684, that this
little fleet issued from the partof Rochelle, in
presence of ‘a vast multitude, collected by the
interest naturally connected with so important
‘an enterpise, | ‘They had not, however, pro-
ceeded more than 150 miles on ‘their course,
when one of the masts ‘of ‘the largest ships
suddenly «broke, without’ any apparent cause
for such an event, the weather being exceed-
ingly favourable.” It was suspected—and, as
the sequel shews, not entirely without reason
—that the'malice of ‘the captain of the ship,
Beavjeu, was the’ cause of this disaster; be-
cause he is said to have been discontented with
the powers given'to La Salle, by’ virtue of
which the commanders of the different vessels
were ordered to execute his orders during the
voyage, and lo afford all possible assistance
consistent with the safety of the vessels, in
enabling him to land. “T'o.'these regulations
all the calamities of the voyage may be attri-
buted. aed Baw wa
It was thus necessary to return to Rochelle,
where they refitted, and, after’ some ‘delay,
sailed once more on the Ist of August.:: Va-
rious misunderstandings between La Salle and
Beavjeu occurred during the voyage, ‘which,
as will presently be seen, were the occasions
of serious disasters tothe expedition. ' On the
27h of September they’ made the western
coast of St. Domingo, although La Salle de-
sired to make Porta Paix, on the northwestern
coast of that island, in order to deliver some
orders of the Minister in France to the lseute-
nant general of that place. -’The consequence
of this disregard ‘of La Salle’s' directions by
Beaujeu, was the capture of one of the vessels
of the expedition, by two Spanish pirates,
—
This however, was not his only
trial; one of the three remaining vessels was
lost in the attempt to land, and with her almost
all her eargo. On disembarking, his men
were surrounded by Indians, with whom they
had to contend for their lives; nor could La
Salle, even in this’ exigency, overcome the
obstinacy of Beaujeu, who refused to deliver
the cannon and ammunition which were’ in-
tended for the use of the colony.
n these embarrassing circumstances, La
Salle hastily constructed a fort, in which he
left a small garrison, while he bimselfattempt.
ed to ascend the river, but was obliged to re-
linquish this design from the frequent attacks
of the Indians made on him fiom the banks.
He gave orders for the construction of a second
fort, on a small stream west of “the ° bay, of
which he gave the command to Joutel, one of
his officers, and which he called Fort St. Lou-
is. But all these plans had well’ nigh been
defeated by a conspiracy among some of the
garrison at the fort, who had resolved to mur-
der Joutel, and then plunder and abandon the
fort: “This foul design was discovered justin
lime to prevent its execution, and the conspi-
rators wereimprisoned. Meanwhile, the hos-
tility of the Indians’ daily ‘increased, and the
prospects of the expedition assumed, day after
day, a more lowering aspect.’ “In ‘the ‘midst
of all these difficulties, Ia‘ Salle continued to
make unwearied efforts for the successful exe-
cution of his plan. ’ Under the erroneous im-
pression that the Mississippi discharged its
waters into the Bay of Matagorda, he coasted
along its shores in two small boats. A severe
misfortune now befel the expedition; the only
vessel which remained at his disposal ran
aground and sunk during‘ his absence. “he
equanimity ‘of temper with which’ 'hé’' bore
these accumulated trials, is, perhaps, the most
beautiful part of his character; while the per-
severance with which he labored forthe at-
tainment of his important design, entitles him
to the highest meed of praise.
‘There was now no hope of safety, but in
gaining the Illinois river by Jand; and,notwith-
standing the appalling difficulties with’ which
such an attempt was attended, he resolved to
make the effort... On the 12th of’ January,
1687, accompanied by twenty’ men, he left
the fort.in the possession of his remaining
companions, and set out on his adventurous
journey. © Proceeding in a north-eastern direc-
tion, he wandered, during three months, over
every” variety: of country—wide | extended
plains, and verdant hills; through tangled fur-
ests, and unhealthy swamps ;_ exposed to dan-
gers of the most serious character, and endur-
ing all kinds of privation ‘and suffering. | We
have a relation of the journey, and of the fatal
catastrophe which terminated the life of La
Salle, from the pen of a contemporary writer,
whose narrative we insert: \’ s °
*M. La | Salle seeing all his affairs ruined
by the loss of his ship, and having no way to
return into Europe but ‘by Canada, resolved
on so dangerous a journey. | Ie called the in-
habitants together, and made so ‘pathetic a
speech to them about the necessity he was
der to make a voyage to the Lilinois country,
that he drew tears from every one of the as-
sembly; for he was very much beloved. Then
taking twenty men with him, with his brother,
his wo nephews, father Anastasius, and the
sieur Joutel, afier public prayer he set out a
second time from, Fort Lewis, and resolved
hot to retura till he had foand the [llinois:’M.
La Salle set out from the fort the 71h of Jan-
vary, 1687; and having crossed the river Sal-
bonniere and Hiens, with divers others, which
were smightily swoln by the rains, they came
into a fine country for hunting, where his peo-
ple refreshed themselves, after, their tiresome
travel, with excellent good cheer, for several
days together, He had sent out Moranger,
September 7, 1843
his nephew, his lackey, Saget, and seven or
eight of his men, to acertain place where Ni-
ka, his huntsman aforementioned, had laid up
a stock of wild bulls’ flesh, that they might
get it smoked and dried to carry along with
them, and so notbe obliged to halt so frequent-
ly to hunt for provisions, With all his pru-
dence, he could not discover the conspiracy
of some of his people to kill his nephew ; for
they resolved upon it, and put it in execution,
all of a sudden, on the 17th of March, wound
ing him in the head with a hatchet. They
slew likewise the lackey, and poor Nika, who
had provided for them by his hunting, with
great toil and danger, Moranger languished
under his wound for two hours, forgiving his
murderers, and embracing them frequently,
But these wretches, not content with this
bloody act, resolved not to stop here, but con-
trived how to kill their master too, for they
feared he would justly punish them for their
crime. La Sulle was not twe leagues from
the place where Moranger was killed, and be-
ing concerned at his nephew's tarrying so
long (for they had been gone two or three
days) was afraid they was surprised by the
savages; whereupon he desired Father Anas-
tasius to accompany him in looking after his
nephew, and took two savages along with him.
Upon the way, he entertained, the father with
a pious discourse of Divine Providence, which
had ‘preserved him in the many dangers he
had undergone during twenty years’ abode in
America; when all of a sudden Father, Anas-
tasius observed that he fell into adeep sorrow,
of which he himself could give no account.
He grew mighty unquiet and full of trouble—
a temper he was never seen in before. When
they were got about two leagues, he found his
lackey’s bloody cravat, and perceived two ea-
gles, (a common bird in those parts) hovering
over his head, and at the same time spied his
people by the water side. He went to them
and inquired for his nephew ; they made him
litle answer, but pointed to the place where
he lay. ° Father Anastasius and he kept going
on by the river side, till at last they. came to
the fatal place, where two of the villains lay
hid in the grass—one on one side, and one on
the other—with their pieces eacked. The
first presented at him, but missed fire; the oth-
er fired at the same time, and shot him in the
head,’ of which he died an hour after (March
19, 1687).'' Father’ Anastasius seeing him
fall a little way from’ him with his face all
bloody, ran to him, took him up in his arms,
and wept over him, exhorting him, as well as
he could in’ this conjuncture, to, die a good
Christian. The ‘unlortunate gentleman had
just time enough to confess part of his life to
him, why gave him absolution, and soon after
ied. In his last moments he . performed, as
farse-he was capable, whatsoever was proper
for one in his condition, pressing the father’s
hand at every thing he said to‘him, especially
when he admonished him to. forgive his ene-
mies. meanwhile, ‘the murderers,
struck with horror at what they had commit-
ted, began to beat their breasts and detest their
rashness. Anastasius would not stir from the
place till he buried the body as decently ashe
could, and placed a cross over his grave.’ Thus
fell the Seur' de la Salle—a.man of censidera-
ble merit, constant in adversity, intrepid, gen-
erons, ingenious, learned, and capable of eve-
tything.. He had formerly been of the So-
ciety of Jesus for’ ten’ or eleven years, and
quitted the order with consent of his superiors.
He once showed me ‘a letter, written at Rome
by the general of the order, testifying that the
Sieur La Salle had behaved himself prudently
in every thing, without giving the: least ocea-
sion to be suspected of a venial sin. He had
the,illhap to be massacred by his own servants,
in the vigour of his age...The, pious design
he was upon, in relation to: the conversion of
un. | these ignorant nations, seems to have deserved
a better fate; but, as God’s ways are not our
ways, we must submit to Divine, Providence,
without troubling ourselves about a vain in-
quiry into the secrets of God Alinighty.””
‘La Sulle’s character is thus given by Ban-
croft: ‘For force of will and vast conceptions
—for various kduwledge, and quick adaptation
of his genius to untried circumstances—lor a
sublime magnanimity, that resigned itself to
the will of heaven, aod yet triumphed over af-
fiction by enesgy of purpose and upfallering
hupe--he had no superior among his country-
men, He had won the affection of the gover-
nor of Canada—the esteem of .Colbert—the
confidence of Seignelay—the favor of Louis
XIV, Afier beginning the colonization of Up-!
Whole Number 556
per Canada, he perfected the discovery of the
Mississippi, from the Falls of St. Anthony to
its mouth; and he will be remembered through
all time, as. the father of colonization in the
great central valley of the west.”
Immediately after the melancholy termina:
tion of the labours of this great nan, his as-
sassins undertook the command of the expe-
dition; and, as might be expected, their first
exercise of authority was to seize on the trea-
sury and provisions, which were estimated to
be worth about fifty thousand francs. | Soon,
however, disputes arose among them; two of
them fell victims to the violence of their guilty
accomplices, and the rest are supposed to have
remained among some of, the Indian tribes.*
‘Those who yet remained, and who were not
implicated in the murder of La Salle (seven in
number) pursued their journey until the 20th
of July, when they arrived among the Arkan-
sas, where they, met with two of. their own
countrymen, in the vicinity of the river of that
name, After a short delay—indispensable to
persons almost exhausted by so many labours
andcalamities—they ascended, the Mississippi
to the mouth of the Illinois river, which they
entered on the 3d of September ; and on the
11sh of the same month, arrived at Fort Saint
Louis, on Lake Peoria, Here they passed
the winter, and on the opening of Spring con-
tinued their journey to Quebec, where, shortly
after their ‘arrival, they took shipping for
France. "Those who had been left at Fort St.
Louis, were taken prisoners by the Spaniards.
Such was the result of the great French expe-
dition to discover the Mississippi from the sea
—an expedition which had excited the most
sanguine expectations, which lad been pre-
pared at such vast expense, and to which so
many enterprizing men devoted themselves;
but which, from the petty jealousies and harsh
exercise of authority occasionally displayed
by those in it, proved to them the source. of
fatal calamities, while it left the principal ob-
ject for which it had been undertaken to be
altained by the courage and perseverance of
future discoverers, :
No further attempts to complete the discov-
ery of the Mississippi appear to have been
made by the French government until the year
1697, when two ships, under the command of
Lemoive D'Iberville and Chateaumorand, were
fitted out for that purpose... On the 17th of
October, 1698, they sailed from Koctieport,
and arrived on the 11th of the following De-
cember in St. Domingo, where they were hos-
pitably received. After a few days spent at
that station, they resumed their voyage, and
came in sight ef the coast of Florida on the
12th of the following January. ° In the bay of
Pensacola they found a colony of three hun-
dred Spaniards; who treated them kindly,
gave them permission,to wood and water, but
refused them ‘entrance into the port. “*
‘Shortly aferwards D'lberville cast anchor a
little to the east of the Mobile river, and Jand-
edon an‘island, which he ealled J/e Massacre,
from the human skulls found there, but which
afterwards received the more auspicious ap-
pellations of //e Dauphine. Ie next eniered
* "[his appears a proper place to correct a mis+
take into which Mr. Flint has fallen in the relation
he gives of La Salle’s death.’ According to hita
“the two priests became’ penitent for “having
winked at the assassination, and furnished these
incidents.”’ .. The two priests, as may be perceived
by the above relation, were La Salle’s own broth-
er [Cavalier de a Salle, a Sulpitian], and Father
Anastasius Doway, a Capuchin friar. . Is it possi«
ble that Cavalier de Ja Salle connived at the mur-
der of his brother? or, on what grounds does Mr.
Flint attribute to these clergymen any paiticipa-
tion in, or knowledge of, a design which appears
from the narration to have been tormed in their ab-
sence? , We say nothing of the conduct of Father
Anasiasius after La Salle had received his death-
wound. Ifthe words of Mr. Flint refer to the
mutual assassination of the murderers of La Salle
for it is not easy to say what exact reference his
words have), there is not only noground for such
an assertion, but’ the detailed account of these
bloody scenes supplies positive evidence to the
contrary, ,. There is no mention of such circum
stance, either in Charlevoix, or the two memoirs
of La Salle’s death which he quotes... Besides,
does not Mr. Flint’s assertion
its own ‘contradiction? "He says that these inci-
dents were Jearned from these two priests. Would
these men have betrayed their own guilt?’ Bot the’
insinvation contained in Mr. Flint’s words is with=
out any proof; it iscontradicted by circumstances.
that cannot be reconciled with its truth; and there
is too much reason to fear, that, in this as_ well as
in other instances, Mr. Flint Jet his religious an-
tipathies prevail-over his judgment and love of
‘uth.
~“
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