Page:Joutel's journal of La Salle's last voyage, 1684-7 (IA joutelsjournalof00jout).pdf/35

 *tonishment; and he was met on every hand with news of disaster. Both Man and Nature seemed in arms against him; his agents had plundered him, creditors had seized upon his property, a vessel from France, laden with stores valued at over 10,000 crowns, had been lost at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and of twenty men hired in Europe, some had been detained by the Intendant Duchesneau, and all but four of the remainder had been told that he was dead, and had returned home. Yet, undaunted by these staggering blows of Fortune, he went vigorously to work; and, within a week, succeeded in gaining the supplies he so much needed for the forlorn band he had left behind him on the Illinois. Finally, on the very eve of his embarkation from Fort Frontenac, a letter from Tonti informed him that most of the men left at Fort Crèvecœur had deserted, plundered the fort, and destroyed all the arms, goods, etc., which they could not carry away with them; and this was followed by a letter from two friendly lake traders which told him that the deserters had also destroyed his fort at St. Joseph, seizing a quantity of furs belonging to him at Michilimackinac, and plundered the magazine at Niagara; and that, largely reinforced by others, they were seeking him along the northern shore of Lake Ontario, with the design of killing him, if they met, in order to escape punishment for their misdeeds. La Salle's courage rose promptly to the occasion. Choosing nine of his trustiest men, he started out, in canoes, to face them, met and captured four of them in one canoe and killed two and captured three others in another canoe. His prisoners he placed in custody at Fort Frontenac, to await the coming of Governor-General Frontenac; and immediately put out on his return to the Illinois, and the relief of his gallant lieutenant Tonti. He took with him a new lieutenant, one La Forest, a surgeon, ship-carpenter, joiners, masons,