THE LAUNCH OF THE "GRIFFIN."
The Niagara Portage.—A Vessel1 on the Stocks.—Suffering and Discontent.—La Salle's Winter Journey.—The Vessel launched.—Fresh Disasters.
THE NIAGARA PORTAGE.
A more important work than that of the warehouse2 at the mouth of the river was now to be begun. This was the building of a vessel above the cataract3. The small craft which had brought La Motte and Hennepin with their advance party had been hauled to the foot of the rapids at Lewiston, and drawn4 ashore5 with a capstan, to save her from the drifting ice. Her lading was taken out, and must now be carried beyond the cataract to the calm water above. The distance to the destined6 point was at least twelve miles, and the steep heights above Lewiston must first be climbed. This heavy task was accomplished7 on the twenty-second of January. The level of the plateau was reached, and the file of burdened men, some thirty in number, toiled8 slowly on its way over the snowy plains and through the gloomy forests of spruce and naked oak-trees; while Hennepin plodded9 through the drifts with his portable altar [Pg 145] lashed10 fast to his back. They came at last to the mouth of a stream which entered the Niagara two leagues above the cataract, and which was undoubtedly11 that now called Cayuga Creek12.[124]
[Pg 146]
Trees were felled, the place cleared, and the master-carpenter set his ship-builders at work. Meanwhile, two Mohegan hunters, attached to the party, made bark wigwams to lodge13 the men. Hennepin had his chapel14, apparently15 of the same material, where he placed his altar, and on Sundays and saints' days said mass, preached, and exhorted16; while some of the men, who knew the Gregorian chant, lent their aid at the service. When the carpenters were ready to lay the keel of the vessel, La Salle asked the friar to drive the first bolt; "but the modesty17 of my religious profession," he says, "compelled me to decline this honor."
Fortunately, it was the hunting-season of the Iroquois, and most of the Seneca warriors18 were in the forests south of Lake Erie; yet enough remained to cause serious uneasiness. They loitered sullenly19 about the place, expressing their displeasure at the proceedings20 of the French. One of them, pretending [Pg 147] to be drunk, attacked the blacksmith and tried to kill him; but the Frenchman, brandishing21 a red-hot bar of iron, held him at bay till Hennepin ran to the rescue, when, as he declares, the severity of his rebuke22 caused the savage23 to desist.[125] The work of the ship-builders advanced rapidly; and when the Indian visitors beheld24 the vast ribs25 of the wooden monster, their jealousy26 was redoubled. A squaw told the French that they meant to burn the vessel on the stocks. All now stood anxiously on the watch. Cold, hunger, and discontent found imperfect antidotes27 in Tonty's energy and Hennepin's sermons.
SUFFERING AND DISCONTENT.
La Salle was absent, and his lieutenant28 commanded in his place. Hennepin says that Tonty was jealous because he, the friar, kept a journal, and that he was forced to use all manner of just precautions to prevent the Italian from seizing it. The men, being half-starved, in consequence of the loss of their provisions on Lake Ontario, were restless and moody29; and their discontent was fomented30 by one of their number, who had very probably been tampered31 with by La Salle's enemies.[126] The Senecas refused to [Pg 148] supply them with corn, and the frequent exhortations32 of the Récollet father proved an insufficient33 substitute. In this extremity34, the two Mohegans did excellent service,—bringing deer and other game, which relieved the most pressing wants of the party, and went far to restore their cheerfulness.
La Salle, meanwhile, had gone down to the mouth of the river, with a sergeant35 and a number of men; and here, on the high point of land where Fort Niagara now stands, he marked out the foundations of two blockhouses.[127] Then, leaving his men to build them, he set out on foot for Fort Frontenac, where the condition of his affairs demanded his presence, and where he hoped to procure36 supplies to replace those lost in the wreck37 of his vessel. It was February, and the distance was some two hundred and fifty miles, through the snow-encumbered forests of the Iroquois and over the ice of Lake Ontario. Two men attended him, and a dog dragged his baggage on a sledge38. For food, they had only a bag of parched39 corn, which failed them two days before they reached the fort; and they made the rest of the journey fasting.
THE SHIP FINISHED.
During his absence, Tonty finished the vessel, which was of about forty-five tons' burden.[128] As [Pg 149] spring opened, she was ready for launching. The friar pronounced his blessing40 on her; the assembled company sang Te Deum; cannon41 were fired; and French and Indians, warmed alike by a generous gift of brandy, shouted and yelped42 in chorus as she glided43 into the Niagara. Her builders towed her out and anchored her in the stream, safe at last from incendiary hands; and then, swinging their hammocks under her deck, slept in peace, beyond reach of the tomahawk. The Indians gazed on her with amazement44. Five small cannon looked out from her portholes; and on her prow45 was carved a portentous46 monster, the Griffin, whose name she bore, in honor of the armorial bearings of Frontenac. La Salle had often been heard to say that he would make the griffin fly above the crows, or, in other words, make Frontenac triumph over the Jesuits.
They now took her up the river, and made her fast below the swift current at Black Rock. Here they finished her equipment, and waited for La Salle's return; but the absent commander did not appear. The spring and more than half of the summer had passed before they saw him again. At length, early in August, he arrived at the mouth of the Niagara, bringing three more friars; for, though no friend of the Jesuits, he was zealous47 for the Faith, and was rarely without a missionary48 in his journeyings. Like Hennepin, the three friars were all Flemings. One [Pg 150] of them, Melithon Watteau, was to remain at Niagara; the others, Zenobe Membré and Gabriel Ribourde, were to preach the Faith among the tribes of the West. Ribourde was a hale and cheerful old man of sixty-four. He went four times up and down the Lewiston heights, while the men were climbing the steep pathway with their loads. It required four of them, well stimulated49 with brandy, to carry up the principal anchor destined for the "Griffin."
La Salle brought a tale of disaster. His enemies, bent50 on ruining the enterprise, had given out that he was embarked51 on a harebrained venture, from which he would never return. His creditors52, excited by rumors53 set afloat to that end, had seized on all his property in the settled parts of Canada, though his seigniory of Fort Frontenac alone would have more than sufficed to pay all his debts. There was no remedy. To defer54 the enterprise would have been to give his adversaries55 the triumph that they sought; and he hardened himself against the blow with his usual stoicism.[129]
FOOTNOTES:
[124] It has been a matter of debate on which side of the Niagara the first vessel on the Upper Lakes was built. A close study of Hennepin, and a careful examination of the localities, have convinced me that the spot was that indicated above. Hennepin repeatedly alludes56 to a large detached rock, rising out of the water at the foot of the rapids above Lewiston, on the west side of the river. This rock may still be seen immediately under the western end of the Lewiston suspension-bridge. Persons living in the neighborhood remember that a ferry-boat used to pass between it and the cliffs of the western shore; but it has since been undermined by the current and has inclined in that direction, so that a considerable part of it is submerged, while the gravel57 and earth thrown down from the cliff during the building of the bridge has filled the intervening channel. Opposite to this rock, and on the east side of the river, says Hennepin, are three mountains, about two leagues below the cataract. (Nouveau Voyage (1704), 462, 466.) To these "three mountains," as well as to the rock, he frequently alludes. They are also spoken of by La Hontan, who clearly indicates their position. They consist in the three successive grades of the acclivity: first, that which rises from the level of the water, forming the steep and lofty river-bank; next, an intermediate ascent58, crowned by a sort of terrace, where the tired men could find a second resting-place and lay down their burdens, whence a third effort carried them with difficulty to the level top of the plateau. That this was the actual "portage," or carrying place of the travellers, is shown by Hennepin (1704), 114, who describes the carrying of anchors and other heavy articles up these heights in August, 1679. La Hontan also passed the Falls by way of the "three mountains" eight years later. La Hontan (1703), 106. It is clear, then, that the portage was on the east side, whence it would be safe to conclude that the vessel was built on the same side. Hennepin says that she was built at the mouth of a stream (rivière) entering the Niagara two leagues above the Falls. Excepting one or two small brooks59, there is no stream on the west side but Chippewa Creek, which Hennepin had visited and correctly placed at about a league from the cataract. His distances on the Niagara are usually correct. On the east side there is a stream which perfectly60 answers the conditions. This is Cayuga Creek, two leagues above the Falls. Immediately in front of it is an island about a mile long, separated from the shore by a narrow and deep arm of the Niagara, into which Cayuga Creek discharges itself. The place is so obviously suited to building and launching a vessel, that, in the early part of this century, the government of the United States chose it for the construction of a schooner61 to carry supplies to the garrisons62 of the Upper Lakes. The neighboring village now bears the name of La Salle.
In examining this and other localities on the Niagara, I have been greatly aided by my friend O. H. Marshall, Esq., of Buffalo63, who is unrivalled in his knowledge of the history and traditions of the Niagara frontier.
[125] Hennepin (1704), 97. On a paper drawn up at the instance of the Intendant Duchesneau, the names of the greater number of La Salle's men are preserved. These agree with those given by Hennepin: thus, the master-carpenter, whom he calls Ma?tre Moyse, appears as Mo?se Hillaret; and the blacksmith, whom he calls La Forge, is mentioned as—(illegible) dit la Forge.
[126] "This bad man," says Hennepin, "would infallibly have debauched our workmen, if I had not reassured64 them by the exhortations which I made them on fête-days and Sundays, after divine service." (1704), 98.
[127] Lettre de La Salle, 22 Ao?t, 1682 (Margry, ii. 197); Relation de Tonty, 1684 (Ibid., i. 577). He called this new post Fort Conti. It was burned some months after, by the carelessness of the sergeant in command, and was the first of a succession of forts on this historic spot.
[128] Hennepin (1683), 46. In the edition of 1697, he says that it was of sixty tons. I prefer to follow the earlier and more trustworthy narrative65.
[129] La Salle's embarrassment66 at this time was so great that he purposed to send Tonty up the lakes in the "Griffin," while he went back to the colony to look after his affairs; but suspecting that the pilot, who had already wrecked67 one of his vessels68, was in the pay of his enemies, he resolved at last to take charge of the expedition himself, to prevent a second disaster. (Lettre de La Salle, 22 Ao?t, 1682; Margry, ii. 214.) Among the creditors who bore hard upon him were Migeon, Charon, Giton, and Peloquin, of Montreal, in whose name his furs at Fort Frontenac had been seized. The intendant also placed under seal all his furs at Quebec, among which is set down the not very precious item of two hundred and eighty-four skins of enfants du diable, or skunks69.
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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warehouse
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| n.仓库；vt.存入仓库 | |
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cataract
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| n.大瀑布，奔流，洪水，白内障 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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plodded
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| v.沉重缓慢地走（路）( plod的过去式和过去分词 )；努力从事；沉闷地苦干；缓慢进行（尤指艰难枯燥的工作） | |
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lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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exhorted
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| v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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sullenly
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| 不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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brandishing
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| v.挥舞( brandish的现在分词 )；炫耀 | |
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rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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antidotes
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| 解药( antidote的名词复数 )； 解毒剂； 对抗手段； 除害物 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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moody
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| adj.心情不稳的，易怒的，喜怒无常的 | |
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fomented
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| v.激起，煽动（麻烦等）( foment的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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tampered
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| v.窜改( tamper的过去式 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄 | |
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exhortations
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| n.敦促( exhortation的名词复数 )；极力推荐；（正式的）演讲；（宗教仪式中的）劝诫 | |
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insufficient
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| adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的 | |
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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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sergeant
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| n.警官，中士 | |
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procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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sledge
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| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
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parched
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| adj.焦干的；极渴的；v.（使）焦干 | |
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blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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yelped
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| v.发出短而尖的叫声( yelp的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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46
portentous
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| adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的 | |
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zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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stimulated
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| a.刺激的 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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51
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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rumors
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| n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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defer
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| vt.推迟，拖延；vi.(to)遵从，听从，服从 | |
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adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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alludes
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| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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gravel
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| n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石 | |
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ascent
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| n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高 | |
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brooks
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| n.小溪( brook的名词复数 ) | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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buffalo
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| n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛 | |
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64
reassured
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| adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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skunks
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| n.臭鼬( skunk的名词复数 )；臭鼬毛皮；卑鄙的人；可恶的人 | |
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