R. Réné Cavelier, Sieur De La Salle.
On November 18th, the brigantine with its singular freight weighed anchor and sped from sight of La Salle and the watchers at Fort Frontenac; the party was under the temporal command of Sieur la Motte de Lussière and the spiritual guidance of the famous historian Father Hennepin, "who belonged," writes one scholar, "to that class of writers who speak the truth by accident"; of him La Salle generously said that he wrote more in conformity to his wishes than his knowledge. After a rough voyage this unknown craft entered "the beautiful river Niagara," as Hennepin truthfully stated, on St. Nicholas's Day, December 6th and the Te Deum Laudamus was sung feelingly by the crew, which had barely escaped shipwreck near the mouth of Humber River.
Here, near the mouth of the Niagara River, La Salle had planned to build a fort to bear the name Fort Conti in honour of his chief patron, the Prince of Conti; Lake Erie he had already named Lac de Conti. "It is situated," he wrote Conti, before it was built, "near that great cataract, more than a hundred and twenty toises [780 feet] in height, by which the lakes of higher elevation precipitate themselves into Lake Frontenac." A party of Senecas welcomed the little party, listening wonderingly to their anthem, supplying them with no end of white fish which they had come to catch here, living the while in a sort of a village near by, comprising probably a few huts erected for temporary purposes. It is possible these dwellings were of a more permanent character; at any rate Seneca sovereignty was assured, as the Frenchmen discovered just as soon as post-holes for Fort Conti were being dug. Concerning this, as well as the other features of this early Niagara River history, the record of Father Hennepin is about our only source of information; let us, therefore, quote from his A New Discovery concerning Frontenac and Niagara days:
That very same Year, on the Eighteenth of November, I took leave of our Monks at Fort Frontenac, and after mutual Embraces and Expressions of Brotherly and Christian Charity, I embark'd in a Brigantine of about ten Tuns. The Winds and the Cold of the Autumn were then very violent, insomuch that our Crew was afraid to go into so little a Vessel. This oblig'd us and the Sieur de la Motte our Commander, to keep our course on the North-side of the Lake, to shelter ourselves under the Coast, against the North-west Wind, which otherwise would have forced us upon the Southern Coast of the Lake. This Voyage prov'd very difficult and dangerous, because of the unseasonable time of the Year, Winter being near at hand.
On the 26th, we were in great danger about Two large Leagues off the Land, where we were oblig'd to lie at an Anchor all that Night at sixty Fathom Water and above; but at length the Wind coming to the North-East, we sail'd on, and arriv'd safely at the further end of the Lake Ontario, call'd by the Iroquese, Skannadario. We came pretty near to one of their Villages call'd Tajajagon, lying about Seventy Leagues from Fort Frontenac, or Catarakouy.
We barter'd some Indian Corn with the Iroquese, who could not sufficiently admire us, and came frequently to see us on board our Brigantine, which for our greater security, we had brought to an Anchor into a River, though before we could get in, we run aground three times, which oblig'd us to put Fourteen Men into Canou's, and cast the Balast of our Ship overboard to get her off again. That River falls into the Lake; but for fear of being frozen up therein, we were forced to cut the Ice with Axes and other Instruments.
The Wind turning then contrary, we were oblig'd to tarry there till the 15th of December, 1678, when we sailed from the Northern Coast to the Southern, where the River Niagara runs into the Lake; but could not reach it that Day, though it is but Fifteen or Sixteen Leagues distant, and therefore cast Anchor within Five Leagues of the Shore, where we had very bad Weather all the Night long.
On the 6th, being St. Nicholas's Day, we got into the fine River Niagara, into which never any such Ship as ours entred before. We sung there Te Deum, and other Prayers, to return our Thanks to God Almighty for our prosperous Voyage. The Iroquese Tsonnontouans inhabiting the little Village, situated at the Mouth of the River, took above Three Hundred Whitings which are bigger than Carps, and the best relish'd, as well as the wholsomest Fish in the World; which they presented all to us, imputing their good luck to our Arrival. They were much surprized at our Ship, which they call'd the Great Woodden Canou.
On the 7th, we went in a Canou two Leagues up the River to look for a convenient Place for Building; but not being able to get the Canou farther up, because the Current was too rapid for us to master, we went over land about three Leagues higher, though we found no Land fit for culture. We lay that Night near a River, which runs from the Westward, within a League above the great Fall of Niagara, which, as we have already said, is the greatest in the World. The Snow was then a Foot deep, and we were oblig'd to dig it up to make room for our Fire.