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the nearest French settlement, impoverished, pursued
by enemies at
Quebec, and in the wilderness surrounded by uncertain nations, he inspired his men
with resolution to saw trees into plank and prepare a bark; he despatched
Louis Hennepin to explore the
Upper Mississippi; he questioned the
Illinois and their southern captives on the course of the
Mississippi; he
formed conjectures respecting the
Tennessee River; and then, as new recruits were needed, and sails and
cordage for the bark, in the month of March, with a
musket and a pouch of powder and shot, with a blanket for his protection, and skins of which to make mocthe pubof casins, he, with three companions, set off on foot for
Fort Frontenac, to trudge through thickets and for-
ests, to wade through marshes and melting snows, having for his pathway the ridge of highlands which divide the basin of the
Ohio from that of the lakes,— without drink, except water from the brooks,—without food, except supplies from the gun. Of his thoughts, on that long journey, no record exists.
During the absence of
La Salle,
Louis Hennepin, bearing the calumet, and accompanied by
Du Gay and
Michael d'accault, as oarsmen, followed the
Illinois to its junction with the
Mississippi; and, invoking the guidance of
St. Anthony of Padua, ascended the mighty stream far beyond the mouth of the
Wisconsin—as he falsely held forth, far enough to discover its source.
The great falls in the river, which he describes with reasonable accuracy, were named from the chosen patron of the expedition.
On a tree near the cataract, the Franciscan engraved the cross, and the arms of
France; and, after a summer's rambles, diversified by
