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dug his grave in the sand.
Ever after, the
forest rangers, if in danger on
Lake Michigan, would invoke his name.
The people of the west will build his monument.
At the death of
Marquette, there dwelt at the outlet of
Lake Ontario, Robert Cavalier
de la Salle.
Of a good family, he had renounced his inheritance by entering the seminary of the Jesuits.
After profiting by the discipline of their schools, and obtaining their praise for purity and diligence, he had taken his discharge from the fraternity; and, with no companions but poverty and a boundless spirit of enterprise, about the year 1667, when the attention of all
France was directed towards
Canada, the young adventurer embarked for fame and fortune in New France.
Established, at first, as a fur-trader, at La Chine, and encouraged by Talon and
Courcelles, he explored
Lake Ontario, and ascended to
Lake Erie; and, when
the
French governor, some years after occupying the banks of the Sorel, began to fortify the outlet of
Lake Ontario,
La Salle, repairing to
France, and aided by
Frontenac, obtained the rank of nobility, and the grant of
Fort Frontenac, now the village of
Kingston, on condition of maintaining the fortress.
The grant was, in fact, a concession of a large domain and the exclusive traffic with the Five Nations.
In the portion of the wilderness of which the young
man was proprietary, cultivated fields proved the fertility of the soil; his herd of cattle multiplied; groups of
Iroquois built their cabins in the environs; a few French settled under his shelter; Franciscans, now tolerated in
Canada, renewed their missions under his auspices;—the noble forests invited the construction of log cabins, and vessels with decks; and no canoemen
