Salle stood up and waved the calumet, the sacred emblem of peace and
friendship. The savages, thirsty for blood, paid no heed to this
appeal. They redoubled their yells, and like a band of desperate
villains as they were, shot a volley of arrows toward the one canoe
with its three or four unarmed occupants. With new vigor the savages
plied their paddles, being now sure of the capture of the strangers.

The moment for prompt and decisive action had come. The guns were
heavily loaded. One of the boats, larger and more richly ornamented
than the rest, contained evidently the head chief. He was a man of
herculean frame, dressed in the most gorgeous of barbaric attire. As he
stood up in his boat, giving orders, he presented just the target,
though at a great distance, to which a sharp-shooter might direct
unerring aim. La Salle ordered one of his marksmen to strike him down.
After a moment's pause, there was a flash, a slight puff of smoke, a
loud report, and the invisible bullet pierced the heart of the chief.
The blood gushed forth in a torrent, and the warrior dropped dead in
the bottom of the boat.

The warriors were appalled, terrified. Never before had they heard the
report of a gun. They knew not what had struck down their chief. No
missile had been seen. None could be found. The savages were very
superstitious. They thought this must be the work of witchcraft; that
they were attacked by evil spirits, whose power was invincible. They
had seen the lightning flash, and the rising, vanishing cloud. They had
heard the thunder peal. Their chief had been struck dead by some
resistless bolt, at twice the distance to which any arrow could be
thrown. It was folly to contend against such a foe. The next instant
every one might be stricken down. They were seized with a panic.
Instantly, heading the bows of their boats up the river, they fled with
the utmost precipitation.

La Salle returned to his companions, conscious that he had secured a
truce only. He had still the village to pass; and the current was so
strong that he must pass very slowly. It was probable that the Indians
would so far recover from their consternation, that some of the boldest
would again assail his boats, from behind sheltering rocks and trees.
The frail canoes might easily be pierced by their missiles, and the
inmates thrown into the water. The savages would soon become accustomed
to the report of the guns. Finding that rocks and trees protected them