MARGARITA MARGARITA A LEGEND OF THE FIGHT FOR THE GREAT RIVER BY ELIZABETH W. CHAMPNEY AUTHOR OF "WITCH WINNIE," "WITCH W1NNIB MYSTERY," "PATIENCE," ETC. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK DODD, MEAD W COMPANY 1902 Copyright. 190* by Donn MEAD A COMPANY st Edition published September. 1901 THE CAXTON PRESS NEW YORK. mar Contents. CHAP. PAGE INTRODUCTION vii I. THE GREAT FIRE-OPAL ... 1 II. THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER . 11 III. THE OPAL AGAIN .... 32 IV. IN WHICH I AM SAVED FROM SUICIDE BY A MURDER NOT MY OWN . . 49 V. IN WHICH I AM OFFERED A KINGDOM, 64 VI. WEENONAH 92 VII. MARGARITA . . . . . .121 VIII. "THY PEOPLE SHALL BE MY PEO- PLE" . . . . . .147 IX. IN WHICH I VERY NEARLY BECOME A TRAITOR . . . . . .162 X, TONTY MAIN DE FER . . . .179 XI. TANGLED THREADS . . .198 XII. IN WHICH I TAKE A LONGER JOUR- NEY THAN I INTENDED . . . 221 XIII. A THROW OF THE DICE . . . 252 XIV. OLD FLAGS FURLED . 297 M667754 Introduction. THE writer of a historical romance must make her bow of recognition to many pioneers in her chosen subject. " For out of the old fieldea as men saith Cometh all this newe oorne from yere to yere, And out of old bookes in good faith Cometh all this new science that men lere." The first and most obvious authority to whom the author is indebted is Parkman, whose works will always remain a mine of treasure to the stu- dent of American exploration, while Justin Winsor in his valuable work, " The Mississippi Baisin," has collated the history of the early discoveries and tabulated them with accurate dates by means of the maps of the different periods, giving a new vividness to the old relations. Mr. Adolphe F. Bandelier in his valuable book, "The Gilded Man," a r6sum6 of his discoveries under the auspices of the Archaeological Institute of America, has, after exhaustive exploration and study of the early Spanish records, fixed the site of vii viii INTRODUCTION. the elusive Gran Quivira, and supplements Park- man in giving the final facts in the life of the rem- nant of the gang of La Salle's murderers. Most gratefully the writer acknowledges as her chiof creditor Miss Grace King, whose admirable memoir of Bienville is a most accurate and painstaking record of the public life of her hero. Two sources give us the story of the wanderings and adventures of the erratic but fascinating Jiu h ereau de St. Denis. Pennicault, who was his de- voted friend, furnishes us in his journal (collection of Pierre Margry) with the more flattering \ of his character. Quite a different impression is to be gained from the chronicles of Padre Isidro Felix Espinosa (quoted by Hubert II. Bancroft in his k * History of the North American States"), who does not hesitate to assert that he was in the pay of Spain. As the Spanish historian would natur- ally desire to paint St. Denis as black as possible, it has been the author's purpose, by comparing the two accounts, to arrive, if possible, at a true portrait of the man. The tradition of the opal is legendary. The statue of Weenonah reproduced in the illustrations is by the talented sculptor Isabel Moore Kim ball. The legend of the " Test of True Lovers," related by Weenonah will be at once recognized as bor- INTRODUCTION. ix rowed from Frank Hamilton Cushing's charming collection of " Zuni Folk Tales." A much quoted French writer is said, whenever he heard of a crime, to have demanded " cherchez la femme" (seek the woman). The influence exerted upon the careers of Bienville and St. Denis by Mademoiselle de Cadillac and Dona Maria Mar- garita di Yillesco is suggested in the baldest his- torical account, but has never before been traced through a maze of events as thrilling and roman- tic as ever formed the plot of a sensational novel. If the incredulous reader, who finds St. Denis' wild journeys in search of his beloved, or Bienville's long patience and heroism past all belief, will kindly consult the sources of information referred to above the present narrative will be verified precisely where it seems most fanciful. Margarita. CHAPTER I. THE GREAT FIRE-OPAL. I EVER in my life, privi- leged though I had been, had I beheld so wonderful a gem. The iridescent play of flashing red and cool green mingled and parted till the jewel seemed a magic battle- ground between fire and water, a quiet moonlit pool, whose milky whiteness was shot through by reflections of some fierce conflagration. The opal was a fitting emblem of the mingling and conflict of races which it typified, of the blood and flame with which the 2 MARGARITA. waters of the Great River to whose possession it was the talisman, would be tinged. And to think that I, Juchereau de St. Denis, had held in my hand that stone of enchantment, for which so many lives were lost and so much honor bartered that I might have purchased for a paltry sum that gem of mystery, the key to the unknown continent, and so have spared myself and othrrs many desperate adventures and much heart-ache, making this long story short indeed. Ah ! but just as surely I would have missed the crowning joy of my life ! Such is the blessing as well as the bane which comes to us all through ignorance. I knew nothing of its story or of its power as I ex- amined it that summer day of 16DS in Paris, at the shop of my friend Colin on the Quai des Orfevres in the cit, where all the jewellers congregated be- fore they removed to the arcades which the Regent afterwards rented t<> them in the court of the Palais Royal. I glanced from the jewel to its owner, a person- ality no less remarkable, in its way, but as repulsive as the gem was irresistible. I had lounged in to look over the trinkets, and had found my friend in embarrassment. He had received a message fi "in his Majesty, Louis XIV, bidding him bring certain ornaments for his choice, and he was unwilling to THE GREAT FIRE-OPAL. 3 trust his shop with any of his apprentices at work in the back room ; so, for the humor of the thing, I had offered to take his place for the afternoon, and thus it happened that I sat behind the counter when this ill-favored customer appeared. " I have not come to rob you of your jewels," he said as I reached for my blunderbus beneath the counter, "but to entrust you with one far finer than any in your paltry shop." He fumbled amongst his tatters and laid the marvellous opal in my hand. I contemplated it for a time, struck dumb with astonishment, and when at last I looked at the owner I saw that he was smiling grimly as if he were saying to himself, " I thought you would not turn me out." But my suspicions returned, and I replied, " Though you may not intend to practice your old trade here I am not so sure that you have not been a thief, and you will find it difficult to dispose of stolen goods in Paris." The man's face grew sullen. " Give me back my property," he demanded. " I did not steal it, at least not in any civilized country where there is law to punish. It was a talisman in the mouth of an idol in a temple of the American savages. I did not even take it from them, but from the man who robbed them. The stone is mine. There is 4 MARGARITA. no law on earth that can take it from me. I gone through death in the wilderness, and worse than death in Spain to guard it. Now that I have brought it to market how much am I to have for it?" " I cannot answer that question immediately," I replied. " The jewel, though beautiful in color, is not perfect in shape. As you see, it is polished with skill on one side, but it is rough on the other. It has evidently been broken, and a long fissure extends into the heart of the gem. Still it is a remarkable opal and should bring a good price. It will be of no use however to offer it to the King, for he would not purchase an imperfect stone. You have doubt- less tried to sell it in Spain, and had the same expe- rience." The man flashed into anger. " No Spaniard shall ever possess that opal," he cried. " I have suffered too much at their hands. I was captured in America and sent to Spain, where I served in the galleys, six years in the galleys. Do you know what that means ? No one ever saw the opal dur- ing all the time that I labored at the oar, and no Spaniard shall ever see it." "Now my friend," I said, "your account will not hold water. If, as you pretend, you were six years in the galleys, your clothing must have been THE GREAT FIRE-OPAL. 5 thoroughly searched. It would have been im- possible to conceal it." "I had a pocket which they never thought of searching," he replied, tearing open his shirt and showing me an old scar below the left breast. A dagger, aimed at his heart, had glanced upon a rib and sheathed itself just beneath the skin, in- flicting a deep but harmless gash close to the sur- face. The knife had been left in the wound long enough to shape a narrow pouch and the skin, though it had healed, had never completely grown together. I shuddered. "You had a narrow escape once upon a time." He nodded. "It was just after I came into possession of this jewel," he explained. "I was treacherously stabbed in the night by a com- panion who wished to rob me of it. ' English Jem,' we called him. He had been a freebooter be- fore he joined us. He was a cross-eyed man and his aim was all awry. I grappled with him, but he escaped me. He ran away to the Indians, and I never saw him again, until a month ago as I passed through Bordeaux. He did not see me, thanks to his squinting sight. That was the second time that I was grateful for his crooked vision. It was a fortunate wound as you see, for it afforded me a hiding-place for my treasure. 6 MARGARITA. "There it has been all these years, its outline plainly visible when I sat in the galleys stripped to the waist ; but no one suspected that the lump was more than a knotted muscle. I have hugged it by day and taken it out at night to gloat over it. It has kept me alive through sufferings unspeakable and now it must make my fortune. I will not part with it for less than five thousand francs." The man's language suggested some degree of education, but his face was dark and evil. He was a villain I was sure, and deserved the hardships which he had undergone. Just as this conclusion was borne in upon my mind the shadow of some one on the sidewalk darkened the show window of the little shop, and my strange visitor hastily turned his back, at the same time glancing sus- piciously over his shoulder at the passer, a man in the black garb of a Jesuit, who was bending forward, apparently regarding with interest the trinkets displayed in the window. He remained in this attitude but an instant and disap- peared. " I have seen him twice before," said the owner of the opal, uneasily. " If it were that squinting pirate Hieras I would not be surprised, but why should this stranger follow me ? " " You are nervous," I replied ; " people are pass- THE GREAT FIRE-OPAL. 7 ing continually. I am sorry that I must trouble you to come again with your opal, for I am not the proprietor of this shop. He was called away on business this morning." " Why did you not tell me so before ? " the man asked. " I would never have told you my story, never have exposed myself before that window if I had not thought that I had an opportunity of selling my opal." I had the money, but I hesitated foolishly and shook my head. The man went to the door and looked up and down the arcade cautiously. "Is there no exit from this shop towards the rear?" he asked. "That priest may be waiting to track me." " You are no longer in a barbarous country," I replied, but the man refused to be reassured, and accepting my receipt for the opal he left it in my care and passed out through the workroom into the tangle of alleys at the rear of the shop which led to the Sainte Chapelle. Colin returned an hour later and was much in- terested in the gem. " If it had only not been broken," he lamented. " I have never seen an opal of this size. Those from Persia are much smaller. But it must be cut down, and that flaw in its heart will cause it to cleave in the polishing. Still I 8 MARGARITA. could make two gems of it, each worth nearly what he asked." He locked the jewel in his strong-box, but he had hardly done so when the latch of the door was lifted noiselessly and the Jesuit entered. He looked about keenly, with something of sur- prise and disappointment, as I thought, and it may be he noticed a gleam of suspicion in my face, and thought that he might disarm it by frankness. " I passed your window this afternoon," he said blandly, "and my attention was attracted by a fine jewel which this gentleman was showing a customer." " It was not a purchaser," replied Colin, " but the owner, who wishes to dispose of it." " Indeed, and may I see the gem ? " Colin laid it before him, and the Jesuit's eyes kindled as it were with sympathetic tire. " What is its price ? " he asked in a shaking voice. " As it is, or polished ? " " As it is. A priest does not luxuriate in jewels. I wish to obtain it as a rare mineralogical specimen for the museum of the Escurial." " In that case," said Colin, "you may have it for eight thousand francs." " Agreed," replied the other, his voice trembling with excitement. " I have not the entire amount THE GREAT FIRE-OPAL. 9 with me, but enough to clinch the bargain ; " and he laid a roll of louis d'or beside the opal. " Give me a scratch of your pen as proof of the purchase, and I will return to-morrow with the balance and take the opal." " Pardon me," I interrupted, " but am I mistaken in the impression that I have seen you before? No, I have it now, 'twas at St. Cyr, the school which Madame de Maintenon has founded for noble young ladies. I was invited to the repre- sentation of Esther, by one of the pensionats" This was an unusual privilege, and I was rather proud of it, but the circumstance did not impress the Jesuit. " Possibly," he replied indifferently. " I have the honor to give lessons in Spanish to the pupils of St. Cyr. I came from Spain in the suite of the late Queen. I am Fra Luis di Riola." u Then I regret to say," I explained, " that it will be impossible for you to obtain possession of the gem, for its owner expressly stipulated that it must not be sold to a Spaniard." The Jesuit shrugged his shoulders. "Where does the man reside?" he asked. "A personal interview might change that determination." " He did not leave his address," I replied. Fra Luis bowed, relinquishing the opal, or 10 MARGARITA. quickly changing his scheme for acquiring it, and \v left the shop together. We separated at the door, walking in opposite directions, the Jesuit pausing for an instant before the window, his skill shaped hat silhouetted against its brightness. A moment later be disappeared and a man darting from a doorway would have hurtled against me but that I saw him coming, and drawing my sw<>iE LA 8ALLE THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 13 band of Spanish pirates than run the gauntlet of a pack of fine ladies. "Take Bienville, he is hand- some and quick-witted enough to please the women ; and a boy of nineteen should enjoy such vanities more than a rough soldier like myself." He. spoke truly, for it was always a matter of wonder to me that young Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur of the seigneury of Bienville, (which was only a great tract of land in the Canadian wilder- ness) should have fallen as naturally into the man- ners of our noblesse as though he had been brought up amongst us. When I intimated something of my surprise the lad's eyes flashed angrily. " You for- get," he said haughtily, " that on the death of my par- ents I was brought up by my oldest brother, Charles, Baron of Longueuil, in his castle near Montreal, and that my brother received his education here in France, serving in the campaign in Flanders. My ton brothers are all lords of great estates, and have served their country by land and sea. There is no family in Canada can show a more honorable record, no, nor in France neither." (See Note 1.) I knew that this was no idle boast, and I soothed his ruffled pride, saying that not only were the ex- ploits of his brother d'Iberville as courreur de "boia and courreur de mer famous in France, but that we all knew how he himself, though a mere boy, had 14 sailed with d'Iberville on bis expedition against the English on Hudson Bay, and that Mademoiselle Rosalie de Cadillac had confided to mr that she \\ as going to the garden-party for no other reason than to meet him. "Cadillac," he repeated thoughtfully, "is she a relative of La Mott Cadillac, that pompous old wind-bag who is Governor at the De- troit ? " " She would hardly be pleased with the way you put your question," I replied, "for she worships hrr father. He brought her back on the death of her mother three years since, to be educated in France. She is at school at St Cyr; but being un special guardianship of the Prince and Princess of Conti is often at Chantilly." Bienvillc's dark cheek glowed with pleasure. He was not vainglorious, but he keenly enjoyed appreciation and craved I pathy. He was at the romantic age when no feat of war, no chivalric quest seems too long or t< , diffi- cult if only one may dedicate his labors to the lady of his heart. Such an ideal had floated vaguely in his dreams, but all unwittingly he was to meet her this a noon at Chantilly. The gardens of this beautiful chateau had been recently reconstructed by Le Notre, the celebrated landscape architect of Ver- THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 15 sallies, and its parterres of brilliant flowers and magnificent waterways rivalled those of the King in everything but extent. The Princess of Conti received us on the terrace, where chairs had been placed and a table spread for the collation, among glistening fountains and marble statues. But indeed we had no eyes for the beauty of the garden, for the Princess of Conti is one of the most radiant women of the court, inherit- ing as she does the fatal charm of her mother the unhappy La Valltere. Mademoiselle de Cadillac was assisting her with the teacups and I went to them at once. " So you have not fulfilled your promise to act as bear-leader," said the Princess playfully. "It is a pity that you could not induce your wild animals to leave their lairs. We had looked forward to much amusement from their antics." I told her that I regretted exceedingly that d'Iberville could not come, but that I had at least half made good my word since I had brought Bien- ville, with whom the Prince de Conti was then speaking. The Princess made a little grimace of incredulity. "It is useless to attempt to impose upon us," she said, " by palming off yon fine gallant of the court as ar Canadian, for he has not the air of a semi-savage." 16 MARGARITA. It was spoken all in jest, but Mademoiselle de Cadillac took fire at once. " You forget, Madame," she said, " that I am also a Canadian. We are not all wild beasts and In- dians, and it is not necessary for a man to wear his blanket-suit to court to prove that he has been a hero." "A hero, indeed!" the Princess repeated. 41 What fine deeds has that stripling performed ? " " Have you not heard, Madame ? " the young girl asked. " Then let the prince tell you how he went with his brother at Frontenac's command to dis- lodge the English from their fort on Hudson Bay, how they fought the ice-bergs for weeks, and though outnumbered three to one, sunk, captured or put to flight all the ships of the English fleet ; and how after being shipwrecked by a tempest they struggled on foot through the snows to the English fort and took it by assault. Tell me, your High- ness, was not that the most heroic feat of these modem times ? " Mademoiselle had spoken in a low tone but so distinctly and intensely that every wnnl had been heard by Bienville and also by the Prince de Conti, who now applauded noisily. " May I have as fair a herald to trumpet my fame if I ever equal your exploits, Monsieur de Bienville," he said as he THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 11 presented the young man to the Princess and to his apologist. I do not know which was the more em- barrassed. The Princess too was a little taken aback, but she recovered herself before the two young people. " You see I could not believe that so elegant a young courtier could have performed all these famous deeds," she explained very prettily. " You should thank me for my doubt since the challenge has brought out such a tribute." But Mademoiselle de Cadillac was greatly dis- pleased with herself. She had shown her admira- tion of Bienville far too plainly. She could not endure the thought that he was possibly inwardly laughing at her, thinking with a man's egotism, that she was in love with him, when his personality was of no importance to her. It was only because the Princess had disparaged Canada that she had spoken in his behalf. She was inexpressibly morti- fied that he had heard her panegyric, and she determined to show him how complete was her indifference and to extinguish any spark of conceit which she might have kindled. " You have seen little of our colonists, Madame," she said haughtily, " if you imagine that Monsieur de Bienville is at all remarkable. I met at the court of Governor Frontenac and even at the Detroit 18 MARGARITA. many a young gentleman of as worthy a record, and of quite as distinguished appearance 44 Then you are indeed the daughter of Monsieur de la Mott Cadillac," Bienville cried joyfully. 44 We have met before, Mademoiselle. Do you not remember, as you came down the lakes on your way to France you were my brother's guest at his chateau of Longueuil ? " 44 1 remember the chateau well, but I have no memory of you, Monsieur." 44 That is not strange, Mademoiselle, for I was but a cub of a boy ; and now I know why you had no eyes for any one else. Tonty was there on his way to the Illinois. You remember him, Mademoi- selle?" 44 Surely," she replied, 44 he is a man once seen could never be forgotten. I am proud when I think that I have met that great man, and : child as I was, he could stoop to soothe my fright and wipe away my tears. I was at play with some children in the great farmyard of the chateau, when I was chased by a huge turkey. I bad never seen so frightful a creature, and I took refuge on a small haystack in the centre of the court. To add to my trouble an ill-mannered boy laughed at my predicament, and let loose all the geese and fowls in the poultry yard, who, encouraged by this THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 19 persecutor, surrounded my refuge with gabbling and hissing. There I sat in mortal terror, until Tonty rode into the stable-yard and carried me in his arms to the house, at the same time reprimand- ing sharply the little brigand." "Then you do remember me," cried Bienville, " for I was that altogether abominable boy." After we had ceased laughing the Prince de Conti had the word. " I knew your brother when he was in France," he said. "When the Baron de Longueuil was in Paris he captivated every one. How the Duchess of Orleans used to rave about him, and his Indian valet. But of all the Canadians I have known the Sieur de la Salle was the most truly noble. Henri de Tonty whom I introduced to him, fell in love with him on the instant, and went with him to Canada. Please God he has not shared the fate of La Salle, who was murdered not far from the river he was so wild to discover. Tell us, Monsieur de Bienville, is my friend Henri de Tonty safe? Does he still hold his fort of St. Louis in the wilds of the Illinois?" " No word has come to us from Tonty, for over a year," Bienville replied, " but my brother believes that Tonty is a man who cannot be killed. He has passed through so many dangers that he seems to bear a charmed life. Still, his friends in Canada 20 MARGARITA. are very anxious, and it is the desire to find and succor Tonty which makes my brother and my si -If especially impatient to be sent on this expedition to the Mississippi. I pray with all my heart that we may not be too late, and that your friend and ours will one day return to France that the Princess of Conti may meet the first gentleman of the Colony." "Tell us of your hero," said the Princess, kindly. " Yes, tell us all you can of Tonty," reiterated the Prince, adding less tactfully, " but you have chosen your typical Canadian unfortunately, for Henri de Tonty is not a native backwoodsman. He is Italian born, and bred up in the highest European civiliza- tion. His father, who had been Governor of Gaeta, opened a banking house here in Paris, where he in- vented a system of life insurance which made hi in wealthy. Henri did not care for finance but served very gallantly as a soldier in the Italian Wars. His right hand was blown off by a grenade at Messina, but an iron gauntlet was fitted over the maimed member, and he dealt such blows with it that the name Tonty Main d* fer clung to him before he went out to Canada." " Tonty of the Iron Hand is his name with us," Bienville replied. "When the miserable wretch THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 21 Jolycoeur attempted to poison La Salle by sprin- kling a salad with verdigris, a blow from that same gauntlet loosened his teeth, and would have been followed by another which would have done him a still greater mischief if La Salle's magnanimity had not protected the would-be assassin. The Indians think that Tonty is half iron, a demi-god, and they speak of the Medicine Hand with great veneration. " As a child I have often listened with eyes wide with wonder to Tonty's stories of La Salle's won- derful exploits, for Tonty worshipped La Salle just as I adore Tonty, and as no one will ever care for me. A chain of such devotion could never have more than three links. " La Salle's seigneury of La Chine was near our own, and we were fond of our neighbor. Many thought him a monomaniac because the exploration of the Mississippi had become for him a fixed idea, and because he sacrificed all his opportunities for trade with the Indians of the upper lakes for the sake of this will-o'-the-wisp. But he had friends who believed in him, and none stancher than Tonty. It was Tonty who made us understand La Salle's greatness of soul. How he had no time for acquiring wealth, but must pursue his grand purpose to secure for France the valley of the great river, the highway to the vast west, and the outlet 22 MARGARITA. for the fur trade, before it was seized upon by the encroaching Spaniards and English/' "I do not understand," said the Princess of Conti, " how La Salle knew of the existence of thr river if he was in truth its discoverer." "The missionary Father Marquette had inf hardy woodsmen, following the track of Marquette and reaching the settlement of the Illinois on the Mississippi in December. Here La Salle established the greater part of the men, obtaining permission from the Indians for them to construct a fort in which to winter, and a sloop in which to descend THE SEARCH FOR THE ORE AT RIVER. 23 the river in the spring. As they had no anchor, cordage or sail cloth, and other supplies would be needed, La Salle left Tonty in command, and re- turned to Quebec for these necessities. " Ho had obtained them and was at Fort Fron- tenac on Lake Ontario, on his way back to the Illinois, when he was met by two messengers from Tonty, bringing news that nearly all his men had deserted him after destroying the new Fort Creve- coeur, while he was absent on a short excursion. These messengers had travelled so swiftly that they had passed the deserters, who were on their way down the lakes in three canoes, and had boasted at Michillimackinac that they intended to surprise and loot Fort Frontenac. La Salle went out to meet the deserters with a few resolute followers, captured them and left them in prison to await the sentence of the Governor; after which exploit he set out with twenty-five men for the rescue of his friend. "At Michillimackinac he heard that the Iroquois were at war with the Illinois and that it would bo almost certain death to continue his journey. Only seven of his men would consent to do so, but with these he pushed on with still greater determination. Arrived at the Mississippi he found the village of the Illinois burned to the ground, ghastly skulls fastened to poles testifying to the terrible visit of 24 MARGARITA. the Iroquois. At Fort Crevecoeur too all was deso- lation, and no indication of what had become of Tonty and the three faithful men who had re- mained with him. There were signs, however, that told that the Illinois had fled southward on the west bank of the river, while the Iroquois had fol- lowed on the east. For ten days the fugitives had fled and the invading army had followed, camping each night on opposite sides of the river. On the tenth day the Iroquois had crossed and had massa- cred their victims. Charred bodies half con- sumed still hung to the stakes where they had been tortured to death, wolves slunk away and birds of prey flapped a short distance as La Salle approached. There was nothing to assure him that Tonty had not met his death here, for there was no trail leading further south <>r west. The Iroquois had surrounded tlu-ir victims and the tragedy had apparently been complete. It was winter now and, leaving a letter to Tonty fastened to a tree, La Salle sorrowfully returned to Michilli- mackinac." "Hut what had become of Tonty?" Mademoi- selle de Cadillac asked, eagerly. - Was he a prisoner among the Iroquois ? " "That was La Salle's suppositioneither killed or a prisoner but more surprising adventures had THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 25 befallen him. Shortly after La Salle had left him he had set out with three men to examine a re- markable rock further north which towered like a natural citadel straight from the river. He decided that it would be easy to fortify and to hold, a much better site for a fortress than Crevecoeur, and later on La Salle did establish a fort here. Returning from this short exploring expedition Tonty found that all of his men but two had deserted him. It was then that he sent them with his message to La Salle and with his three remaining men settled in the Indian village. He was there when the Iro- quois fell upon the Illinois and had endeavored with apparent success to make peace between them. The Illinois fled during the night, distrusting the promises of their foes, and the Iroquois chiefs bade Tonty and his Frenchmen be gone. He could do nothing further for the Illinois, whom he hoped would escape, and with his men he ascended the river in a canoe endeavoring to make his way to Michillimackinac. It was a desperate undertaking, but when almost starving they came upon a village of friendly Indians with whom they wintered, and in the spring, with the loss of only one man, they struggled into Michillimackinac, where Tonty and La Salle fell into one another's arms." The ladies clapped their hands, applauding Bien- 26 MARGARITA. ville's enthusiasm as much as the exploits he related. "And then," said Mademoiselle de Cadillac, "La Salle came to France, and the King sent him out with a fleet to plant a colony at the mouth of the great river which he had explored ?" "Not so fast, not so fast tin Prince de Conti ; " La Salle bad as yet no certain knowledge that the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. There was much for him still to do. One would have thought that both he and Tonty had had enough of exploration, but these adv. n tures only whetted their apprtito for more. Go on, Monsieur de Bienville. It seems to me that I see again my old friend La Salle, a man of iron <1< termination, reserved, stern, a rigid disciplinarian, who never spared his men any more than he spa ml himsHf, who made many enemies and few friend , but thosi' frit-mis like Tonty were ready to lay down their lives for him." 44 Yes, Tonty, tell us more of Tonty," < Mademoiselle de Cadillac. De Rienville's expression softened. "You share my admiration already. Mademoiselle? When you know him you will reproach me for not praising him enough. The following year La Salle gathered a new expedition and set out again, following the THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 27 same course. This time he was completely success- ful. He descended the Mississippi to its mouth and erected a pillar bearing the arms of France, and having taken formal possession of the river and all its tributaries in the name of the King of France and named the country Louisiana, he buried the act of possession at the foot of the column, and be- gan his homeward journey. He reached Michilli- mackinac in September, 1682, having accomplished the great aim of his life, the exploration of the Mississippi from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Gulf of Mexico. " It remained now to hold what he had claimed, and he laid out Fort St. Louis on the cliff which Tonty had chosen, and established Tonty here with twenty Frenchmen, to hold it as depot for the trade in buffalo skins, and a bulwark against the encroachment of the English. It has become a great trading post. The Indians of many tribes have been assigned reservations for their villages at its foot. Not infrequently twenty thousand are to be found encamped in its vicinity. Tonty is so tactful and honorable in his dealings with them that these savages are all allies of France, and would follow Tonty if he were to lead them against the English or the Spaniards. " Only the Iroquois on the east remain hostile. An army of these 28 MARGARITA. savages besieged Tonty for days; but the rock proved impregnable, and they finally gave up the siege. " Leaving Tonty at Fort St. Louis, but promising to come again up the Mississippi from the south with supplies and a colony from France, La Salle came to Paris and laid his discoveries before tin King. You know how well he was received, lln sieur de Conti. You know too the unfortunate ending of the expedition, that La Salle missed tin mouth of the Mississippi and landed in the Texan i try. llere the fleet left his colony and return. -.1 to France. The settlers built dwellings and fortiiil i In -nisei ves against any possible attack <>f tin- Spaniards or Indians. They endeavored to accus- tom themselves to frontier life, sending out hunting parties which brought in an abundance <>i Initial" meat and other game. La Salle, finding that tin- river on which they bad established themselves was not the Mississippi, set out with a party to disc the great highway to the north ; but the men who were with him were for the roost part brutal wretches, who, weary of the hardships which thry had to endure, formed a plot among themselves to murder him. They shot him before the eyes of his brother, the Abbe Cavelier, and of two other lo\al friends, whom they overpowered and treated as THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 29 slaves. These men finally escaped and made their way after great suffering to Tonty's fort of St. Louis. " Tonty himself was not there. He had descended the Mississippi impatient and alarmed at hearing nothing from La Salle, and he returned disheart- ened to find the refugees at his fort. He sent earnest petitions both to Governor Frontenac at Quebec and to his friends in France that a relief expedition might be sent to the helpless Texan Colony, and he descended the river twice in search of it. You know best, Monsieur le Prince, why their King left it deserted to an unknown fate." The Prince de Conti hung his head. " His Maj- esty had much to occupy his attention," he stam- mered, "and when at last he was ready to send the colonists succor, he received advices from Spain that an expedition from Mexico had found the fort deserted, its hapless inhabitants doubtless massacred by hostile Indians." " I do not trust the Spaniards," cried Bienville. " It may be that some survivors of that unfortunate settlement linger still among the Indian tribes. If they were exterminated it is more likely that the deed was a repetition of what happened to our Huguenot colony in Florida, and was the act of the Spaniards themselves. Until a year ago, since 30 MARGARITA. when we have not heard from him, Tonty has not ceased to send messages to Frontenac, insisting that La Salle's great scheme shall not be given up, and swearing that he will hold his post in the wihk r ness until the river is secured to France. It is this which has brought my brother d'Iberville to France. Our dearest desire is that the King will take up in earnest this business of planting a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi, and I am proud that Gov- ernor Frontenac has asked the King to confide to my brother the leadership of this expedition." "And you are going out with him ?" asked the Princess. " I do not wonder that you ask/' replied Bien- ville. " It is an honor, is it not, for a boy of eight- een to be his brother's lieutenant in such a ma; cent enterprise? But our family has never failed in any duty, though three of my brothers 1 died at their posts. So I do not think that 1 .shall prove unworthy of this distinction. While my brother founds the settlement at tin mouth <>i th< river I hope to ascend it, for I shall never rest until I have found Tont He looked at Mademoiselle de Cadillac a little wistfully as he spoke, but she gave him noatt. n tion, for her thoughts were all with Tonty on his lonely rock. THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RIVER. 31 " If I were a man," she said, " if I were only a man, I would go with you. I never heard a story like it. The King must send you out. Surely, Monsieur le Prince, you can persuade him to do this thing." "I think the Princess may be able to do so," the Prince de Conti replied, " but the chief requisite is not to gain his Majesty's consent in a moment of good nature, but to secure the proper financial backing. If some of us now could gain over Crozat." "I will," exclaimed Mademoiselle de Cadillac. " I know the old capitalist well. He is my father's friend and he shall take up the scheme. Tonty shall be succored. He shall not be left abandoned like the colony in Texas." Bienville's soul was in his eyes as he looked at her, and indeed she was magnificent as she took her leave, fired with this resolve. "There is a compliment for you!" said the Prince, after she had gone. " She has fallen in love with Tonty, from your description, Bienville. The expedition is an assured success. She is a girl who always has her own way. I verily believe that in order to carry her point she would be capable of marrying old Crozat ! " CHAPTER III. II IK OPAL AGAIN. OMETIMES it happens that two events occur which seem to bear no relation to each oil until a third, api ently foreign to each of the preceding, brings them into connection. It was so with my adventure with the owner of the fire opal, and the garden-party at Chantilly. Intimate as I was with I'.imville, I did not think it worth while to tell him of what had passed at the jeweller's until a few days later, when a connecting link showed that the affair of the opal concerned him and his enterprise. The Prince de Conti had entrusted me with a message for his kinsman, the Cardinal de Conti, who had recently n- turned from Rome and had taken up H THE OPAL AGAIN. 33 his residence temporarily at the family hotel. I found him taking tea with a number of younger ecclesiastics, all listening with more or less interest to a returned missionary, named Father Hennepin, who was recounting his experiences in Canada and other parts of America. I listened with in- terest, but the man was evidently a braggart, and I wondered how much credence I ought to give to his exploits. "Have I ever seen the Great River?" he was asking contemptuously as I entered. " Why, bless you, I discovered it ; and explored it from the Falls of St. Anthony to the Gulf, before ever La Salle landed a canoe upon it." A chorus of incredulous " Ahs ! " and " Indeeds ! " went the round of the table, but the missionary was not a whit abashed. " I was with Tonty, I tell you, and before La Salle left us at Fort Crevecoeur he commanded me to ascend the Mississippi and to bring back a report of those northern regions. I not only did this but I went down the river as well, visited the Natchez Indians, and having established the fact that the river flows into the Gulf of Mexico, I returned to Crevecoeur, only to find the fort and the Indian village destroyed and deserted. I tried to make my way to Michillimackinac, was captured by the Sioux, and finally rescued by the famous courreur 34 MARGARITA. de lois, Greysolon du Lhut. I followed La Salle to France and found on my arrival that be had sailed for Louisiana. I have been in Flanders since, wri- ting an account of my discoveries, which I desire to bring to the notice of the King." He spoke glibly, as though he had learned his lesson by heart. " You come in a good time," said the Cardinal, " for the King is interested again in his colonization schemes, and is thinking of sending out an expedition." " I could be of great assistance as guide and in- terpreter," said the priest "I pray you speak a good word for me." " While you were with the Natchez Indians," some one asked behind me, " did you learn anything of their religion ? " I did not turn around immediately, l>ut the voice was so peculiar that I knew, even before I saw tin- face, that the speaker was Fra Luis