1679.
THE LAUNCH OF THE "GRIFFIN."
THE NIAGARA PORTAGE.--A VESSEL ON THE STOCKS.--SUFFERING AND
DISCONTENT.--LA SALLE'S WINTER JOURNEY.--THE VESSEL LAUNCHED.
--FRESH DISASTERS.
A more important work than that of the warehouse at the mouth of the river
was now to be begun. This was the building of a vessel above the cataract.
The small craft which had brought La Motte and Hennepin with their
advanced party had been hauled to the foot of the rapids at Lewiston, and
drawn ashore 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 destined point was at least twelve miles,
and the steep heights above Lewiston must first be climbed. This heavy
task was accomplished on the twenty-second of January. The level of the
plateau was reached, and the file of burdened men, some thirty in number,
toiled slowly on its way over the snowy plains and through the gloomy
forests of spruce and naked oak trees; while Hennepin plodded through the
drifts with his portable altar lashed 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 undoubtedly that now called Cayuga Creek.
[Footnote: 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 alludes 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 gravel 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
ascent, 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 brooks, 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 perfectly 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 schooner to carry supplies to the
garrisons 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 Buffalo, who is unrivalled in
his knowledge of the history and traditions of the Niagara frontier.]
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 lodge the men. Hennepin had his chapel,
apparently of the same material, where he placed his altar, and on Sundays
and saints' days said mass, preached, and exhorted; 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 modesty 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 warriors were in the forests south of Lake Erie; yet enough
remained to cause serious uneasiness. They loitered sullenly about the
place, expressing their displeasure at the proceedings of the French. One
of them, pretending to be drunk, attacked the blacksmith and tried to kill
him; but the Frenchman, brandishing a red-hot bar of iron, held him at bay
till Hennepin ran to the rescue, when, as he declares, the severity of his
rebuke caused the savage to desist. [Footnote: 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 Maitre Moyse,
appears as Moïse Hillaret, and the blacksmith, whom he calls La Forge, is
mentioned as--(illegible) dit la Forge.] The work of the ship-builders
advanced rapidly; and when the Indian visitors beheld the vast ribs of the
wooden monster, their jealousy 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 antidotes in
Tonty's energy and Hennepin's sermons.
La Salle was absent, and his lieutenant 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 moody; and
their discontent was fomented by one of their number, who had very
probably been tampered with by La Salle's enemies. [Footnote: "This bad
man" says Hennepin, "would infallibly have debauched our workmen, if I had
not reassured them by the exhortations which I made them on Fête Days and
Sundays, after divine service." (1704), 98.] The Senecas refused to supply
them with corn, and the frequent exhortations of the Récollet father
proved an insufficient substitute. In this extremity, 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, was making his way back on foot to Fort Frontenac, a
distance of some two hundred and fifty miles, through the snow-encumbered
forests of the Iroquois and over the ice of Lake Ontario. The wreck of his
vessel made it necessary that fresh supplies should be sent to Niagara;
and the condition of his affairs, embarrassed by the great expenses of the
enterprise, demanded his presence at Fort Frontenac. Two men attended him,
and a dog dragged his baggage on a sledge. For food, they had only a bag
of parched corn, which failed them two days before they reached the fort;
and they made the rest of the journey fasting.
During his absence, Tonty finished the vessel, which was of about forty-
five tons burden. [Footnote: 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 narrative.] As spring opened, she was ready for launching. The
friar pronounced his blessing on her; the assembled company sang _Te
Deum_; cannon were fired; and French and Indians, warmed alike by a
generous gift of brandy, shouted and yelped in chorus as she glided 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 amazement. Five small cannon looked out from her
portholes; and on her prow was carved a portentous 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 zealous for the
Faith, and was rarely without a missionary in his journeyings. Like
Hennepin, the three friars were all Flemings. One 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 stimulated with brandy,
to carry up the principal anchor destined for the "Griffin."
La Salle brought a tale of disaster. His enemies, bent on ruining the
enterprise, had given out that he was embarked on a harebrained venture,
from which he would never return. His creditors, excited by rumors 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 defer the
enterprise would have been to give his adversaries the triumph that they
sought; and he hardened himself against the blow with his usual stoicism.