dile, twenty
feet in length, raised his head out of the water, and with one snap of
his horrid jaws grasped one of the men by the waist and drew him under.
As the monster sank, there was one short, wild shriek from the victim,
a slight crimson tinge of the waves, and a small circling whirlpool
marking the spot where the huge beast had gone down. Thus, in an
instant, as by the lightning's flash, another of the terrible tragedies
of this tragic world had come and gone.

On the 17th of October this wearied and diminished party reached the
camp, after an absence of six months. Of the twenty who left, but eight
returned. The meeting was one of joy and of sadness. Both parties had
narratives to give of disaster; and gloom impenetrable still hung over
the feeble colony, so rapidly wasting away. In commenting upon this
enterprise, Father Douay writes:

"It would be difficult to find in history, courage more intrepid or
more invincible than that of the Chevalier de la Salle. In
adversity he was never cast down. He always hoped, with the help of
heaven, to succeed in his enterprises, despite all the obstacles
that rose against it."

CHAPTER XVI.

_The Last Days of La Salle._

Plan for the New Journey. Magnitude of the Enterprise. Affecting
Leave-taking. The Journey Commenced. Adventures by the Way. Friendly
Character of the Indians. Vast Realms of Fertility and Beauty. The Joys
and the Sorrows of such a Pilgrimage. The Assassination of La Salle and
of three of his Companions.

La Salle was now fully convinced that he was west of the Mississippi
River. He resolved to set out on a journey across the country to
Canada, a distance of probably not less than two thousand miles. His
design was to send tidings to France of his disasters, and thus to
secure aid to be sent thence to his suffering and expiring colony.

By pursuing his route toward the northeast, he was sure of eventually
striking the Mississippi. He would then feel quite at home. Following
up that stream and the Illinois, he could easily pass over to the
lakes, and then reach Canada through regions with which he was quite
familiar. More than two months were spent in strengthening the defences
of the settlement, and in laying in stores of provisions for those who
were to be left behind.

At midnight of the 7th of January, 1687, the whole company met in the
little chapel for a solemn religious service, to implore God's blessing
upon the