France and England in North America, Part III: La Salle, Discovery of The Great West
were graciously received.
These people carry on a great trade in gold with a nation, believed by
Sâgean to be the Japanese, as the journey to them lasts six months. He
saw the departure of one of the caravans, which consisted of more than
three thousand oxen, laden with gold, and an equal number of horsemen,
armed with lances, bows, and daggers. They receive iron and steel in
exchange for their gold. The King has an army of a hundred thousand men,
of whom three fourths are cavalry. They have golden trumpets, with which
they make very indifferent music; and also golden drums, which, as well
as the drummer, are carried on the backs of oxen. The troops are
practised once a week in shooting at a target with arrows; and the King
rewards the victor with one of his wives, or with some honorable
employment.
These people are of a dark complexion and hideous to look upon, because
their faces are made long and narrow by pressing their heads between two
boards in infancy. The women, however, are as fair as in Europe; though,
in common with the men, their ears are enormously large. All persons of
distinction among the Acanibas wear their fingernails very long. They
are polygamists, and each man takes as many wives as he wants. They are
of a joyous disposition, moderate drinkers, but great smokers. They
entertained Sâgean and his followers during five months with the fat of
the land; and any woman who refused a Frenchman was ordered to be
killed. Six girls were put to death with daggers for this breach of
hospitality. The King, being anxious to retain his visitors in his
service, offered Sâgean one of his daughters, aged fourteen years, in
marriage; and when he saw him resolved to depart, promised to keep her
for him till he should return.
The climate is delightful, and summer reigns throughout the year. The
plains are full of birds and animals of all kinds, among which are many
parrots and monkeys, besides the wild cattle, with humps like camels,
which these people use as beasts of burden.
King Hagaren would not let the Frenchmen go till they had sworn by the
sky, which is the customary oath of the Acanibas, that they would return
in thirty-six moons, and bring him a supply of beads and other trinkets
from Canada. As gold was to be had for the asking, each of the eleven
Frenchmen took away with him sixty small bars, weighing about four
pounds each. The King ordered two hundred horsemen to escort them, and
carry the gold to their canoes; which they did, and then bade them
farewell with terrific howlings, meant, doubtless, to do them honor.
After many adventures, wherein nearly all his companions came to a
bloody end, Sâgean, and the few others who survived, had the ill luck to
be captured by English pirates, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence. He
spent many years among them in the East and West Indies, but would not
reveal the secret of his Eldorado to these heretical foreigners.
Such was the story, which so far imposed on the credulity of the
minister Ponchartrain as to persuade him that the matter was worth
serious examination. Accordingly, Sâgean was sent to Louisiana, then in
its earliest infancy as a French colony. Here he met various persons who
had known him in Canada, who denied that he had ever been on the
Mississippi, and contradicted his account of his parentage.
Nevertheless, he held fast to his story, and declared that the gold
mines of the Acanibas could be reached without difficulty by the river
Missouri. But Sauvolle and Bienville, chiefs of the colony, were
obstinate in their unbelief; and Sâgean and his King Hagaren lapsed
alike into oblivion.
INDEX.
Abenakis, the, 285, 295, 316, 346.
Acanibas, the, great nation of,
description of, 487-489;
gold mines of, 489.
"Acansea" (Arkansas) River, the, 484.
Accau, Michel, 186, 187, 249, 251, 253, 261, 265, 266, 273.
African travel, history of, 198.
Agniers (Mohawks), the, 136.
Aigron, Captain, on ill-terms with La Salle, 372, 382, 383.
Ailleboust, Madame d', 111.
"Aimable," La Salle's store-ship, 372, 373, 374, 375, 379, 380,
381, 405, 454, 468.
Aire, Beaujeu's lieutenant, 375.
Akanseas, nation of the, 300. See also _Arkansas Indians, the_.
Albanel,
prominent among the Jesuit explorers, 109;
his journey up the Saguenay to Hudson's Bay, 109.
Albany, 118, 200, 220.
Algonquin Indians, the,
Jean Nicollet among, 3;
at Ste. Marie du Saut, 39;
the Iroquois spread desolation among, 219.
Alkansas, nation of the, 300. See also _Arkansas Indians, the_.
Alleghany Mountains, the, 84, 308, 309, 483.
Alleghany River, the, 307, 483, 484.
Allouez, Father Claude,
explores a part of Lake Superior, 6;
name of Lake Michigan, 42, 155;
sent to Green Bay to found a mission, 43;
joined by Dablon, 43;
among the Mascoutins and the Miamis, 44;
among the Foxes, 45;
at Saut Ste. Marie, 51;
addresses the Indians at Saut Ste. Marie, 53;
population of the Illinois Valley, 169;
intrigues against La Salle, 175, 238;
at Fort St. Louis of the Illinois, 458;
his fear of La Salle, 459.
Allumette Island, 3.
Alton, city of, 68.
America,
debt due La Salle from, 432.
"Amerique Occidentale" (Mississippi Valley), 479.
Amikoués, the,
at Saut Ste. Marie, 51.
Andastes,
reduced to helpless insignificance by the Iroquois, 219.
André, Louis,
mission of the Manitoulin Island assigned to, 41;
makes a missionary tour among the Nipissings, 41;
his experiences among them, 42;
at Saut Ste. Marie, 51.
Anthony, St., of Padua, the patron of La Salle's great
enterprise, 152, 250, 259.
Anticosti, great island of,
granted to Joliet, 76.
Appalache, Bay of, 373.
Aquipaguetin, Chief, 254;
plots against Hennepin, 255, 261, 262, 264, 271, 272.
Aramoni River, the, 221, 225, 239.
Arctic travel,
history of, 198.
Arkansas Indians, the,
Joliet and Marquette among, 72, 184;
La Salle among, 299;
various names of, 300;
tallest and best-formed Indians in America, 300, 308;
villages of, 466.
Arkansas River, the, 71;
Joutel's arrival at, 453;
Joutel descends, 456; 478, 484.
Arnoul, Sieur, 383, 390.
Arouet, François Marie, see _Voltaire_.
Aspinwall, Col. Thomas, 471.
Assiniboins, the,
at the Jesuit mission of St. Esprit, 40, 261;
Du Lhut among, 276.
Assonis, the,
Joutel among, 451;
Tonty among, 452.
Atlantic coast, the, 480.
Atlantic Ocean, the, 74.
Auguel, Antoine, 186.
See also _Du Gay, Picard_.
Autray, Sieur d', 200.
Bancroft, 75.
Barbier, Sieur, 406;
marriage of, 408, 418;
fate of, 470.
Barcia, 244, 471.
Barrois, secretary of Count Frontenac, 293.
Barthelemy, 433, 451, 456.
Baugis, Chevalier de, 326, 327.
Bazire, 101.
Beauharnois, forest of, 14.
Beaujeu, Madame de,
devotion to the Jesuits, 361.
Beaujeu, Sieur de,
divides with La Salle the command of the new enterprise, 353;
lack of harmony between La Salle and, 354-361;
letters to Seignelay, 354-356;
letters to Cabart de Villermont, 357-360;
sails from Rochelle, 366;
disputes with La Salle, 366;
the voyage, 368;
complaints of, 370;
La Salle waiting for, 374;
meeting with La Salle, 375;
in Texas, 381;
makes friendly advances to La Salle, 385;
departure of, 387;
conduct of, 389;
coldly received by Seignelay, 389, 454.
"Beautiful River" (Ohio), the, 70.
Bégon, the intendant, 367, 368.
"Belle," La Salle's frigate, 372, 373, 374, 379, 383, 386, 389,
392, 401, 404, 406, 407, 416, 417, 468.
Bellefontaine, Tonty's lieutenant, 458, 460.
Belle Isle, 203.
Belleisle, Island of, 485.
Bellinzani, 129.
Bernon, Abbé,
on the character of La Salle, 342.
Bibliothèque Mazarine, the, 17.
Bienville, 489.
Big Vermilion River, the, 221, 239, 241.
Bissot, Claire,
her marriage to Louis Joliet, 76.
Black Rock, 149.
Boeufs, Rivière aux, 392.
Bois Blanc, Island of, 153.
Boisrondet, Sieur de, 218, 223, 227, 233, 236, 457.
Boisseau, 101.
Bolton, Captain,
reaches the Mississippi, 5.
Boston, 5;
rumored that the Dutch fleet had captured, 88.
Boughton Hill, 21.
Bourbon, Louis Armand de, see, _Conti, Prince de_.
Bourdon, the engineer, 111.
Bourdon, Jean, 200.
See also _Dautray_.
Bourdon, Madame, superior of the Sainte Famille, 111.
Bowman, W. E., 317.
Branssac,
loans merchandise to La Salle, 49, 434.
Brazos River, the, 424.
Breman,
fate of, 471, 472.
Brest, 486.
Brinvilliers,
burned alive, 179.
British territories, the, 309.
Brodhead, 136.
Bruyas, the Jesuit, 115;
among the Onondagas and the Mohawks, 115, 135;
the "Racines Agnières" of, 136.
Buade, Lake, 257, 262, 481.
Buade, Louis de, see _Frontenac, Count_.
Buade, Rivière (Mississippi), 481.
Buffalo, the, 205, 398.
Buffalo Rock, 169, 314;
occupied by the Miami village, 314;
described by Charlevoix, 314.
Buisset, Luc, the Récollet, 121;
at Fort Frontenac, 132, 135, 137, 280.
Bull River, 272.
Burnt Wood River, the, 277.
Caddoes, the, 452;
villages of, 465.
Cadodaquis, the, 452.
California, Gulf of, 15, 31, 41, 63, 74, 84, 480.
California, State of, 480.
Camanches, the, 414.
Cambray, Archbishop of, 16.
Canada, 10;
Frontenac's treaty with the Indians confers an inestimable
blessing on all, 95;
no longer merely a mission, 104, 484.
Canadian Parliament, Library of, the, 13.
Cananistigoyan, 275.
Carignan, regiment of, 12, 91.
Carolina, 483.
Carver, 62, 267.
"Casquinampogamou" (St. Louis) River, the, 484.
Casson, Dollier de, 15;
among the Nipissings, 16;
leads an expedition of conversion, 16;
combines his expedition with that of La Salle, 17;
journey of, 19, 20;
_belles paroles_ of La Salle, 25;
discoveries of La Salle, 29, 475.
Cataraqui Bridge, the, 90.
Cataraqui River, the, 87;
Frontenac at, 90;
fort built on the banks of, 92.
Cavelier, nephew of La Salle, 420, 435, 438, 446, 449, 451, 458, 463.
Cavelier, Henri, uncle of La Salle, 7, 363.
Cavelier, Jean, father of La Salle, 7.
Cavelier, Abbé Jean, brother of La Salle, 9;
at Montreal, 98;
La Salle defamed to, 113;
causes La Salle no little annoyance, 114, 333, 353, 367, 369, 370,
371, 372, 374, 376, 388, 394, 396, 402, 405, 406, 412, 415, 416,
417, 420, 421, 423;
unreliable in his writings, 433, 435, 436;
doubt and anxiety, 437, 438, 446;
plans to escape, 447;
the murder of Duhaut, 449;
sets out for home, 450, 451;
among the Assonis, 452, 453;
on the Arkansas, 455;
at Fort St. Louis of the Illinois, 457;
visit to Father Allouez, 459;
conceals La Salle's death, 460;
reaches Montreal, 462;
embarks for France, 462;
his report to Seignelay, 462, 463;
his memorial to the King, 463, 464.
Cavelier, Madeleine, 28, 34.
Cavelier, René Robert, see _La Salle, Sieur de_.
Cayuga Creek, 145, 146.
Cayugas, the,
Frontenac's address to, 91.
Cenis, the,
La Salle among, 413;
villages of, 415;
Duhaut's journey to, 438;
Joutel among, 440-445;
customs of, 443;
joined by Hiens on a war-expedition, 450.
Champigny, Intendant of Canada, 434.
Champlain, Lake, 483.
Champlain, Samuel de,
dreams of the South Sea, 14;
map of, 139;
his enthusiasm compared with that of La Salle, 431;
first to map out the Great Lakes, 476.
Chaouanons (Shawanoes), the, 307, 317.
Charlevoix, 50;
death of Marquette, 82; 103;
the names of the Illinois River, 167;
the loss of the "Griffin," 182;
the Illinois Indians, 223;
doubted veracity of Hennepin, 244;
the Iroquois virgin, Tegahkouita, 275;
the Arkansas nation, 300;
visits the Natchez Indians, 304;
describes "Starved Rock" and Buffalo Rock, 314;
speaks of "Le Rocher," 314;