"I must find the Mississippi. I must travel to its very mouth. That is the only way by which France can claim all the country on its shores."
When the returning party reached Fort Break-Heart, they found it torn down. Their friends were not there. They thought those left to guard it must have been killed or made prisoners by the Indians.
It was of no use to stop. They pushed on with sad hearts.
At last they had their reward. The great Mississippi lay before them. La Salle's heart was full of hope as the canoes were launched upon its waters.
On and on he paddled as Marquette had done before him. He passed tribes of friendly Indians. He came to others who were ready to kill the white men. Still he pushed onward till the waters became salt and rushed outward to the Gulf of Mexico. The Frenchmen had at last reached the mouth of the great river.
Now came the homeward journey and the joy of telling the good news to the people in Canada.
La Salle did not rest even now. The king of France must hear what he had done. He made haste to sail across the ocean to his own country.
The king said that ships must be made ready at once. A large party of people should go to the mouth of the river. They must build a fort and settle there and take the country in the name of France. La Salle was, of course, chosen to go with them.
They did not go by the way of Canada. They went as straight as possible to the Gulf of Mexico. La Salle thought it would not be hard to find the mouth of the river.