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Cornell University Library 1993.THE BUILDING AND
VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON
IN 1679.
BY O. H. MARSHALL.
READ BEFORE THE SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 3, 1863; AND REVISED BY THE AUTHOR, AUGUST, 1879.
On the seventh day of August, 1679, two centuries ago, a
small vessel left her anchorage near the foot of Squaw Island,
and ascended fhe strong rapids of the Niagara into Lake Erie.
She was a peculiar craft, of foreign model, full rigged and
equipped, having many of the appointments of a man-of-war.
A battery of seven small cannon, with some musquetry, con-
stituted her armament. A flag, bearing the device of an eagle,
floated at her mast-head, and on her bow she bore a carved
griffin, in honor of the arms of Count Frontenac, then Gover-
nor-General of Canada. By the aid of a strong northeast wind,
she endeavored to pass up the channel between the bold bluff
now crowned by the ruins of Fort Porter, and the rocky islet,
since known by the name of Bird Island. Being unable to
overcome the rapid current, a dozen men were landed on the
•sandy beach which bordered the eastern shore, and with tow
Note.—This paper was originally communicated to the Buffalo Historical Society, Feb-
ruary 3d, 1863. Since then, it has been revised and enlarged, with a view to its publica-
tion among the Collections of the Society.
The present month of August completes two hundred years since the Griffon sailed from
the Niagara to the Upper Lakes. This has been, for that reason, considered the appropriate
month for the appearance of this paper.—Ed.254
THE BUILDING AND
lines, drew her, by main force, up the stream. A group of
swarthy Senecas watched her movements, shouting their ad-
miration at the strange spectacle.
When the vessel had reached the lake, the men on shore
embarked—the Te Deum was chanted by the grateful crew—
their artillery and fire-arms were discharged—and the vessel,
turning her prow toward the southwest, boldly ploughed, with-
out chart or guide, the untried waters of the lake.*
That vessel was the Griff on, and her projector and builder
the adventurous Cavelier de la Salle.
This distinguished explorer was born in Rouen, France, on
the twenty-second day of November, 1643. Educated by the
Jesuits, he became, for a short time, a member of their Orden
He came to America in 1666, and soon after visited and de-
scended the Ohio; and, as some claim, anticipated Jolliet and
Marquette in the discovery of the Mississippi. His western
explorations revealed the value and foreshadowed the growth
of the fur trade, then dependent for transportation on the bark
canoe, or the sluggish pirogue of the Indian. The discovery
of an overland route to China, and the development of the
copper mines of the Interior, were additional stimuli to draw7
him from the luxury and ease of Europe, to share in the hard-
ships and privations of savage life among the lakes and rivers,
forests and prairies of the Northwest. Fort Frontenac was.
chosen as the base of his operations; and he agreed to rebuild
and maintain it at his own expense, provided the French gov-
ernment would grant him certain exclusive privileges. These
were accorded in May, 1675.! He immediately took possession
of the fort, the foundations of which had been laid by Count
Frontenac two years before, and enlarged and strengthened its-
defences.
In 1678, a brigantine of ten tons had been built for the use
* Hennepin, Louisiana, p. 29. Hennepin, Nouvelle Decouverte, p. iiq. Margry, De.-
couvertes, vol. i.. p. 445.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., pp. 333, 437.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
255
of the French on Lake Ontario.* To facilitate his enterprises
further west, it became necessary for La Salle to build a larger
vessel above the Cataract of Niagara. He first dispatched a
party of fifteen men by canoe to the Upper Lakes, with goods of
the value of six or seven thousand francs. They had orders to
establish friendly relations with the Indians; to collect pro-
visions for the use of the contemplated expedition, and to
gather furs for the return voyage, f He also sent carpenters
and other artisans, under charge of the Sieur de la Motte, to
build a fort at Niagara, and the vessel above the Falls. J
The chief companions he selected to aid him in these under-
takings, were the Chevalier Henry de Tonty, the Sieur la
Motte de Lussiere, and Father Louis Hennepin.
Tonty was a Neapolitan by birth. Having fled from the
Revolution of Naples, he entered the French Marine in 1668,
in which he served four years. Having lost his right hand at
Yintimille by the bursting of a grenade, he supplied the de-
ficiency by a metallic arrangement covered with a glove. ||
This he used with marked effect in his encounters with the
Indians, and thus obtained the sobriquet of the “Iron Hand.’"
He joined La Salle in his last voyage from France, in July,
1678,** and faithfully adhered to the fortunes of his chief, until
the death of the latter in 1687. He was distinguished for zeal,
courage and capacity. He commanded the reinforcements
which were brought from the West to aid De Nonville in his
expedition against the Senecas, in 1687. He died at Fort St.
Louis, on Mobile bay, towards the close of the year 1704.
His father was the author of the financial scheme, called
after him “Tontine,” which was adopted in France, and sub-
sequently introduced into America.ff
La Motte de Lussiere was a captain in the celebrated regi-
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 72.
t Hennepin, La., p. 19. Le Clerq, Etab. de la Foi, vol. ii., p. 141.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., pp. 440, 575.
|| La Potherie, vol. ii., p. 144.
** Margry, Decouv., vol. i.,p. 449.
ft Margry, Memoires Inedits, p. 3.256
THE BUILDING AND
ment of Carignan-salieres, and accompanied La Salle on his
first visit to America.* He proved, in the sequel, unfaithful
to his commander by adhering to his enemies.f After some
experience he found himself unfitted to endure the hardships
of the New World, and gladly returned to civilized life.J
Louis Hennepin was a Flemish Recollect of the Franciscan
Order, and came to America in 1675 with Bishop Laval. He
established a Mission at Fort Frontenac, where he remained
two and a half years. He then returned to Quebec, and after
undergoing the necessary religious preparation, reascended
the St. Lawrence to Fort Frontenac, and joined the expedition
of La Salle. He was proud of his association with his dis-
tinguished chief, and devoted as much time to his service as
he could well spare from the duties of his priestly office. He
was ambitious and unscrupulous, and after the death of La
Salle, endeavored to appropriate some of the honors which the
latter had acquired by his celebrated discoveries in the West.
He published two works, one of which is styled “ Description
de la Louisiane,” printed in 1683, and the other “A New Dis-
covery of a Very Vast Country, Situated in America, Between
New Mexico and the Frozen Ocean,” printed in 1698. The
first is less in detail, but more reliable than the second. Its
account of the building and voyage of the Griff on, is, for the
most part, a bold plagiarism from the official record of that
enterprise, which had been communicated, either by La Salle
himself, or through his instrumentality, to the French Minister
of the Marine, in 1682. Nearly all of Hennepin’s account is a
verbatim copy of that record; with here and there a slight
variation, occasionally relieved by an original paragraph.
Twenty-one out of thirty-two pages of his “ Louisiane,” re-
lating to the Griffon, are copied almost literally from the official
document above referred to, now deposited among the Clair-
* Hennepin, La., p. 15.
tMargry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 230.
4: Margry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 9; Hennepin, N. D., p. 76.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
257
ambault Collections, in the National Library of Paris.* His
narrative requires close scrutiny, especially in those particulars
in which he was neither actor nor eye-witness. He belonged
to that class of writers, which is said to speak the truth by
accident and to lie by inclination. La Salle calls him a great
exaggerator, who wrote more in conformity with his wishes
than his knowledge, f
The expedition sent forward from Fort Frontenac, was un-
der the immediate charge of the Sieur de la Motte; who was
accompanied by Hennepin and sixteen men. They embarked
on the eighteenth of November, 1678, in the brigantine before
mentioned.^
The autumnal gales were then sweeping over the lake, and
the cautious navigators, fearing to be driven on the south shore,
avoided the usual course, and coasted timidly under shelter of
the Canadian headlands. Having advanced as far west as the
site of Toronto, they sought refuge from a storm in the mouth
of the river Humber. Grounding three times at the en-
trance, they were forced to throw their ballast overboard and to
land fourteen of their crew, before the vessel could be made to
float. The inhabitants of an Iroquois village near by, called
Tai-ai-a-gon, were greatly surprised at their strange visitors,
and generously supplied them with provisions in their ex-
tremity. The vessel narrowly escaped being frozen in for the
winter, and was only released by being cut out with axes.||
On the fifth of December the wind becoming favorable, they
left for the south side of the lake, riding out a boisterous night
about twelve miles from the mouth of the Niagara. On the
sixth of December, St. Nicholas’ day, they entered what Henne-
pin calls “ the beautiful river Niagara, into which no bark similar
to ours had ever sailed.”** Religion and commerce had joined
* Compare Hennepin, La., pp. 41-73, with Margry, Decouv., vol. i.,pp. 441-451.
tMargry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 259.
X Hennepin, La., p. 20. Ib. p. 21.
|| Le Clerq, Etab. de la Foi, vol. ii., p. 141.
** Hennepin, N. D., pp. 74, 75.258
THE BUILDING AND
in the enterprise. The noble Ambrosian hymn “Te Deum
Laudamus ,” arose from the deck of the gallant bark, chanted
by the crew in recognition of their escape from the perils of
a wintry navigation, and of their safe arrival in so desirable and
commodious a harbor. Near1 by their anchorage were a few
cabins, temporarily occupied by the Senecas for shelter during
their fishing season. Our voyagers were abundantly supplied
by the natives with white-fish, three hundred of which they
caught in a single cast of the net. Such unusual luck was
ascribed to the auspicious arrival of “the great wooden canoe/’*
A party was now organized for exploring the river above the
Tails, in search of a suitable site for building the projected
ship. On the seventh of December, Hennepin, with five com-
panions, ascended two leagues in a bark canoe, as far as the
Mountain Ridge. Here their progress was arrested by the
rapids which rush with impetuous force from the gorge
above; and they landed on the Canadian shore. Prosecuting
their search on foot, they ascended what are now known as
Queenston Heights, and followed the river for three leagues,
until they reached the mouth of the Chippewa creek. This
stream is described by Hennepin as emptying into the Niagara
from the west, a league above the great Fall. Being unable to
find any land suitable for their purpose, they encamped for the
night, first clearing away a foot of snow, before their fire could
be kindled.
On their return the next day, herds of deer and flocks of
wild turkeys met them on the way, giving promise of abund-
ant game for the subsistence of the party during their con-
templated sojourn on the Niagara.f
On the eleventh of December, they celebrated the first mass
ever said in the vicinity.
The next three days were passed at Niagara, the wind being
too unfavorable for the bark to ascend the river.
* Hennepin, La., p. 23.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 76.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
259
On the fifteenth, Hennepin took the helm, and with the aid
of three men towing on shore, reached the foot of the rapids,
and moored the bark to the American shore, below the pre-
cipitous cliffs of the Mountain Ridge. They employed the
seventeenth and the two following days in constructing a
cabin on the site of Lewiston, to serve as a storehouse for
the use of the expedition. They were obliged to thaw the
frozen ground with boiling water, before the palisades could
be driven.
On the twentieth, and the next three days, the ice came
down the rapids with such force, and in such quantities, as to
threaten the safety of their bark. To guard against the dan-
ger, the carpenters, under the direction of La Motte, made a
capstan, with which they endeavored to draw the vessel into a
ravine; but the strain on the cable broke it three times. They
finally passed it around the hull, and succeeded, with ropes
attached, in hauling her to a place of safety.*
A further advance by vessel or canoe having been checked
by the rapids, a portage around the Falls must now be made.
Hennepin’s reconnoissance, as before seen, had proved the one
on the Canadian side to be unsuitable. It now remained to
explore the other. Before doing so, it became necessary to
consult La Salle, who had not yet arrived from Fort Fronte-
nac, and also to conciliate the neighboring Senecas. The
preparations made by La Salle to build a fort at the mouth
of the Niagara, and a vessel above the Falls, on the terri-
tory claimed by the Senecas, had aroused the jealousy of
that proud people. Attempts had been made, with some suc-
cess, to propitiate those residing in the small village on the
western bank of the river near its mouth.f It was deemed
expedient, however, to send an embassy to their capital beyond
the Genesee, before proceeding with the enterprise; and to
negotiate, with the usual presents, for the required permission.
* Hennepin, N. D., pp. 77, 78. * Margry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 8.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 78.26o
THE BUILDING AND
Hennepin, never idle, was busy in the construction of a bark
chapel for Divine service, when La Motte invited him to join
in the proposed embassy. As the friar had ingratiated himself
with the Iroquois, and possessed some knowledge of their
language, his co-operation was deemed important. At first he
feigned reluctance to go, but finally consented.* Leaving a
portion of their party at the foot of the Mountain Ridge, La
Motte and Hennepin, with four French companions, left on
Christmas day, 1678.
Thus, in mid-winter, with blankets, warm clothing and moc-
casins for protection, they boldly plunged into the depths of
the cheerless forest. The distance to the Seneca village was
estimated at thirty-two leagues, or about eighty miles. Five
hundred pounds of merchandise for Indian presents, and some
sacks of parched corn, were distributed among the party.
Their provisions were increased on the way by an occasional
deer, and a few black squirrels procured by the Indians. For
five weary days they followed the Indian trail through the
frost-bound wilderness; sleeping at night in the open air, with-
out shelter, except what chance afforded.
On the last day of December, they reached Tagarondies,
the great village of the Senecas, situated on what has since
been known as Boughton Hill, near Victor, in Ontario county, f
They were received by the Senecas with marked considera-
tion, and conducted to the cabin of their principal chief, where
they became objects of curiosity to the women and children.
The young men bathed their travel-worn feet, and anointed
them with bear’s oil. The next day, being the first of the year,
Hennepin celebrated mass, and preached the mysteries of his
faith to the mixed assembly of French and Indians.
Fathers Julien Gamier and Peter Raffeix, two Jesuit mis-
■ sionaries, were found residing in the village at the time of
their visit. The former was the first Jesuit ordained in Can-
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 79. Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 443.
t N. Y. His. Collections, second series, vol. ii., p. 160.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
261
ada, and the last missionary of that Order among the Senecas.*
He commenced his labors among the Oneidas in 1668, at the
age of twenty-five, and in the same year visited the Ononda-
gas and Cayugas. In 1669 he had charge of the Seneca mis-
sion of St. Michael, and the following year that of St. James.
In 1671 he conducted the three missions among that people.f
He died at Quebec in February, 1730, having devoted upwards
of sixty years to his missionary work. He was acquainted
with the Algonquin language, but better versed in Huron and
Iroquois. J His companion, Raffeix, joined him in the Seneca
country in 1672. He was chaplain in the expedition of Cour-
celles against the Mohawks, in 1666. || He was soon after
chosen for missionary work among the Gayugas, and labored
among them and the Senecas until 1680. The writer can find
no later notice of him than 1703, at which time he was living
at Quebec.**
After Hennepin had concluded his religious services, the
grand council was convened. It was composed of forty-two
of the elders among the Senecas. Their tall forms were com-
pletely enveloped in robes made from the skins of the beaver,
wolf and black squirrel. With calumet in mouth, these grave
councillors took their seats on their mats, with all the stateli-
ness and dignity of Venetian senators.
At the opening of the council,'La Motte, suspecting Father
Gamier of hostility to La Salle, objected to his presence. At
the request of the Senecas he withdrew. Hennepin, consider-
ing this as an affront to his cloth, retired with him. La Salle
was ever suspicious of the Jesuits; believing them to be op-
posed to his enterprises, and inclined to influence the Indians
against him.
The council was informed, through Brassart, the interpreter,
* Shea’s Catholic Missions, 294, n.
t Jesuit Relations, Quebec, ed. 1668, p. 17; 1669, p. 12; 1670, pp. 69-78; 1671, p. 20; 1666, p. 9.
t Jesuit Rel., ed. 1666, p. 6. Parkman’s Jesuits, p. 54.
!| lb., ed. 1666, p. 9.
** Shea’s Catholic Missions, 294, n.262
THE B UILD1NG AND
that the French had come to visit them on the part of Onnon-
tio, their governor, and to smoke the calumet on their mats;
that the Sieur de la Salle was about to build a great wooden
canoe above the Falls, in which to bring merchandise from
Europe by a more convenient route than the rapids of the
Saint Lawrence; that by this means the French would be
able to undersell the English of Boston, and the Dutch of New
York.*
This speech was accompanied with four hundred pounds
weight of presents, consisting of hatchets, knives, coats, and a
large necklace of blue and white shells. Portions of these
were handed over at the end of each proposition. This mode
of treating with the Indians by bribing their chiefs, has, unfor-
tunately, continued to the present day.
Among other inducements, La Motte promised to furnish,
for the convenience of their whole nation, a gunsmith and
blacksmith, to reside at the mouth of the Niagara, for the pur-
pose of mending their guns and hatchets. Several coats and
pieces of fine cloth, iron, and European merchandise of great
rarity among the Indians, and of the value of four hundred
francs, were added, as weighty reasons, to influence them in
favor of the French. “The best arguments in the world,”
says Hennepin, “are not listened to by the natives, unless ac-
companied with presents.”!
On the next day, the Senecas answered the speech of La
Motte, sentence by sentence, and responded by presents. As
aids to the memory, they used small wooden sticks which the
speaker took up, one by one, as he replied, seratim, to the
several points in the speech of the day previous. Belts of wam-
pum, made of small shells strung on fine sinews, were presented
after each speech, followed by the exclamation “ Ni-a-oua”
signifying approval, from the whole assembly. This, however,
* Alluding to the plan of La Salle to send merchandise to the Niagara h}' the way of the
Mississippi and the lakes,
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 85.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
263
proved an insincere response in the present instance; for La
Motte, with his specious reasoning, made no impression on
these shrewd children of the forest. They knew that the Eng-
lish and Dutch had greater facilities than the French for sup-
plying them with merchandise, and could outbid the latter in
trading for their furs. They received the offered presents
with apparent acquiescence, and after the customary salutations,
the council broke up. Before it ended, two prisoners of war,
who had been taken near the borders of Virginia, were brought
in; one of whom, out of compliment to their guests, was put to
death with tortures, such as Indians only in their savage state
can invent and inflict. The French, unable to bear the sight,
and willing to testify their abhorrence of the cruelty, withdrew
from the scene. So the embassy left for their quarters on the
banks of the Niagara; which they reached on the fourteenth of
January, 16.79, thoroughly exhausted with their toilsome expedi-
tion. They were in some measure solaced on their arrival,
with the abundance of white-fish, just then in season. The
water in which they were boiled, thickened into jelly, reminded
them of the savory soups to which they had been accustomed
in their father-land.*
The side of the Niagara on which the vessel for use on the
Upper Lakes could be most conveniently built, was as yet unde-
termined. The Canadian side had been examined, as already
noticed, and found unsatisfactory.f Historians have widely
•differed, not only as to the one finally selected, but also as to
the precise point where the keel of the historic bark was laid.
The solution of these questions involves interesting-topograph-
ical investigations.
Governor Cass, in his address before the Historical Society
of Michigan, maintains that “the Griffon was launched at
Erie.”J Schoolcraft says, “near Buffalo/’|| Bancroft, in the
* Hennepin, N. D. pp., 78-91.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 75.
t Historical Discourse at Detroit, p. 14.
J| Tour to the Lakes, p. 33.264
THE BUILDING AND
first edition of his History of the United States, says, “at the
mouth of the Tonewanda creek.”* Dr. Sparks, in his “Life of
La Salle,” says, “at Chippewa creek, on the Canadian side of
the river;”f and his opinion was followed by Parkman in his
Life of Pontiac, J and more recently by Doctor Abbott, in his
“Adventures of La Salle.”|| What is still more remarkable
and inexcusable, the new History of the United States, bearing
the endorsement of the late William Cullen Bryant, states that
the Griffon was built at Fort Frontenac, wThich it locates on
Lake Erie! Such is history.
In an article published August 22d, 1845, in the Buffalo Com-
mercial Advertiser, the writer claimed that the vessel was built
at the mouth of the Cayuga creek.
Since that publication, Mr. Bancroft, in later editions of his
History,** and Mr. Parkman, in his more recent works,ff have
accepted Cayuga creek as the true site of the dock.
As some doubts, however, still exist, and erroneous locations
continue to be repeated, the subject has been re-examined
in the light of the evidence afforded by the valuable documents
lately published by Mr. Margry, under the auspices of the
American Congress, and with the aid of other historical material
recently discovered.
The portage around the Falls, and the site of the dock, must,
necessarily, have been on the same side of the river. The
American portage would naturally be chosen as the shortest
and most feasible route ; its length being two and a half miles
less than the Canadian, owing to the configuration of the river.
That the French actually used the American side during
and subsequent to the building of the Griff on, clearly appears
from the testimony of Hennepin and La Hontan.
In his notice of the point where the river issues from the
* History of the United States, vol. iii., p. 162.
t Life of La Salle, p. 21. _
$ Parkman’s Life of Pontiac, first ed., p. 52.
!l Abbott’s Adventures of La Salle, p. 98.
** Vol. iii., p. 162, sixteenth ed.
ft Discovery of the Great West, p. 133. Life of Pontiac, sixth ed., vol. i., p. 58.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
265
mountain gorge between Lewiston and Queenston, Hennepin
mentions a “great rock” which rose to a considerable height
above the water, “three fathoms from the Canadian shore.”
Also, “three mountains” on the American side, “opposite the
great rock.”* In describing his return from his western dis-
coveries, after the loss of the Griffon, Hennepin says, “we
carried our canoe from the great Fall of Niagara to the foot
of the three mountains, which are two leagues below, and
opposite the great rock.”f This locates the portage used by
Hennepin, on the American side.
The Baron la Hontan, who visited the Falls in 1688, only
nine years after the Griffon was built, says, in his “Voyages to
North America,” published in 1703, “I went up the Niagara
three leagues from its mouth, to the end of navigation. We
were obliged to carry our canoe from a league and a half below
the Falls, to a half a league above them. We ascended the three
mountains before finding the way smooth and level.”! On the
map which accompanies his travels, La Hontan places the
“three mountains” unmistakably on the American side of the
river, just south of the site of Lewiston.
From the preceding quotations, it is evident that the “great
rock,” is referred to as on the west or Canadian side, and the
“ three mountains” on the opposite or American side of the
Niagara.
'This “great rock” was long a conspicuous object near the
shore ; and can still be seen under the western end of the old
Suspension bridge, the ruins of which now span the river at
that point. Within the memory of the early settlers, boats
could readily pass between the rock and the adjacent bank.
The debris from the precipice above, thrown down in the con-
struction of the bridge, has nearly filled the intervening space.
Hennepin describes the rock as very high ;|| but time, and the
* Hennepin, N. D., pp. 45, 77, 113, 452.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 456.
+ La Hontan’s Voyages, Eng. ed., vol. i., p. 81.
iS Hennepin, N. D., p. 452.266 -
THE BUILDING AND
action of the ever-flowing current, have reduced its dimensions,
and settled it in its river bed. It still lifts its dark head
above the surrounding waters, an abiding witness of the accu-
racy of this part of the Franciscan’s narrative, and perpetuates
his memory under the name of “Hennepin’s Rock.”
The “three mountains” on the American side can easily be
recognized in the lofty ridge, composed of three terraces,
caused by the geological formation of the bank, which rises
four hundred feet above the surface of the river. The
ravine into which the brigantine was drawn by La Motte, to
protect it from the ice, as before stated, is plainly to be seen
near the foot of the Mountain Ridge, on the American side of
the river, a short distance above Lewiston. This ravine, in the
absence of any on the Canadian side, proves the site of the
palisaded storehouse, and the commencement of the portage,
to have been on the eastern side.
The proofs establishing the particular site where the vessel
was built, will now be considered. Hennepin describes the
portage as passing over beautiful meadows, and through groves
of scattered oaks and pine. “We went,” says he, “two
leagues above the great Fall of Niagara, and there built some
stocks for the construction of the vessel needed for our voyage.
We could not have chosen a more convenient place. It was
near a river which empties into the strait between Lake Erie
and the great Fall.”*
Two leagues above the Falls would be about five miles. At
that distance we find the Cayuga creek, a stream which answers
perfectly to Hennepin’s description. Opposite its mouth, an
island of the same name lies parallel with the shore, about a
mile long, and two or three hundred yards wide. If is sepa-
rated from the main-land by a narrow branch of the river,
called by the early inhabitants, “Little Niagara;” wide and
deep enough to float a vessel of the tonnage of the Griffon.
Hennepin, N. D., p. 94.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
267
Into this channel and opposite the middle of the island, the
Cayuga creek empties. On the main shore, just above the
mouth of the creek, and under shelter of the island, is a
favorable site for a ship-yard. So eligible is the position,
that it was selected by the United States government, in the
early part of the present century, as a suitable point for
building one or more vessels for the transportation of troops.
•j
and supplies to the western posts. For that reason it was
known in early times, as the “old ship-yard;” and local
traditions have been preserved in the memory of the early
pioneers, of its anterior occupancy, for the same purpose, by
the French.*
Investigation among the archives of the Ministere de la Ma-
rine in Paris, have brought to light the existence of three manu-
script maps, nearly cotemporaneous with the construction of
the Griffon. The first two were made by Jean Baptiste Louis
Franquelin, Hydrographer to Louis XIV., and the predecessor
of Louis Jolliet in that office.
The earliest of the three is a map of North America, pur-
porting to have been “drawn in 1688, by order of the Governor
and Intendant of New France, from sixteen years observations
of the author.” It is five feet long, and three feet wide. Lakes
Ontario and Erie, with the adjacent country, are, for that early
day, remarkably well delineated. The Niagara river and
Falls are distinctly represented, with a portage road around
the latter, on the American side. A fac-simile of that portion
of the map which embraces the Niagara river, reproduced
from a careful tracing over the original, is given on the fol-
lowing page.
Its most interesting feature is the design of a cabin, on the
eastern side of the river, midway between the two lakes, with this
inscription : “ Cabane ou le Sr de la Salle a fait faire une barque.”
(Cabin where the Sieur de la Salle caused a bark to be built.)
^Marshall’s Niagara Frontier, p. 30.268
THE BUILDING AND
The next map drawn by the same author in 1689, is sub-
stantially like that of 1688. The Niagara river is laid down
as on the former chart, with a cabin indicating the site where
the Griffon was built; but the inscription differs slightly, it
being, “ Chantier ou le Sr de la Salle a f* fre u?ie barque ”
{Stocks where the Sieur de la Salle caused a bark to be. built.)
The third map, drawn after Franquelin in 1699, has, unfor-
tunately, been so closely trimmed for binding in atlas form, asVOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
269
partly to cut off the Niagara river; but the inscription, indi-
cating, as on the other maps, that the vessel was constructed
on the eastern side of the river, was left untouched, and is as
follows: “ Chantier de Sr de la Salle pour sa barq.” (Stocks
for the bark of the Sieur de la Salle.)
This dock was referred to by the Marquis Denonville in a
froces-verbal, or act of taking possession of the territory of the
Senecas in 1687; only eight years after the Griffon was built.
He says: “La Salle built a bark two leagues above the great
Fall of Niagara, which navigated Lakes Erie, Huron and Illi-
nois (Michigan), the stocks of which are still to be seen.”* It
will be noticed that Hennepin and Denonville agree in the
distance of the dock above the Falls.
The proofs now exhibited remove all doubts as to the site
where the Griffon was built. The mouth of the Cayuga creek
is, unquestionably, the true locality. In commemoration of the
event, the name, “La Salle,” has appropriately been conferred
on the neighboring village.
La Salle, who had remained at Fort Frontenac, for the pur-
pose of procuring supplies and materials for the proposed
vessel, embarked with his lieutenant, Tonty, on a brigantine of
twenty tons, and sailed for Niagara, by the south shore of the
lake.f When near the mouth of the Genesee river, he landed
by canoe, and went to Tagarondies, which he had visited with
the Sulpitians, Dollier and Gallinee, ten years before.J At a
council, supplementary to the one just held by La Motte and
Hennepin, he succeeded, by his personal address, in gaining
what they had failed to obtain—the full assent of the Senecas
to the execution of his enterprises.!
Re-embarking in his vessel, he sailed westward toward
Niagara. When about twenty-five miles east of that river—the
wind having failed—he left the vessel, and, accompanied by
* N. Y. Col. Doc., vol. ix., p. 335.
+ Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 575.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 127.
1! Hennepin, N. D., p. m.270
THE BUILDING AND
Tonty, pursued his way to Niagara by land. He left instruc-
tions with the pilot, that if the wind should blow from the
northwest, he should steer for Niagara; and if from the south-
west, he should seek shelter in the river of the Senecas.*
On the eighth of January, 1679, the pilot and crew, while
waiting for a favorable breeze, left the vessel at anchor, to sleep
on shore. The wind rose so suddenly, that they were unable
to embark. The vessel dragged her anchor, struck on a rock,
and became a total wreck, f This must have been at or near
what is now known as Thirty-mile Point, being that distance east
of Fort Niagara. By this misfortune, a large amount of material,
designed for the construction of the Griffon, including several
bark canoes, was lost. Nothing was saved but the anchors and
cables. To replace the loss, much valuable time would now be
required, in transporting provisions and supplies for the use
of the men employed in the work.J
La Salle and Tonty reached the mouth of the Niagara on the
evening after they had left the vessel. The Indians residing
on the western side of the river, answering their summons,
ferried them over to the village in their wooden canoes, and
hospitably received them into their cabins. || Nothing could be
had for their refreshment, but the usual Indian diet of white-
fish and corn soup. This seemed, to Tonty’s palate, barbarous
and unsavory. Nevertheless, hunger compelled him to partake
of it, without the relish of bread, wine, pepper or salt. Such
was the rough life of the French explorer; subsisting on game,
fish, and Indian corn, and inadequately protected from the
weather by rudely constructed cabins of bark.
<
At midnight, the restless La Salle set out by moonlight with
Tonty, expecting to join La Motte in his cabin at the foot of
the Mountain Ridge. They found he was still absent with
* Genesee river.
t Margry Decouv., vol. i., pp. .442, 576.
% Margry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 229. Hennepin, La., p. 41.
| Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 576.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
271
Hennepin, on their embassy to the Senecas. Leaving Tonty
to await his return, La Salle proceeded the next day further
up the river, in search of a site above the Falls, convenient for
building the projected vessel. Having found one, he trans-
ferred to the location some of his men, for the purpose of
constructing a dock, and beginning the work. Returning to
Niagara, he waited impatiently for the arrival of La Motte and
Hennepin. News reached him while there of the loss of his
vessel on Lake Ontario; and he repaired at once to the wreck,
in order to rescue what might be useful in the construction of
the new bark.
On the twenty-second of January, La Salle, Hennepin and
Tonty repaired to the site which the former had chosen for
the dock.* On his way there, La Salle turned aside to view
the great Cataract; the first engraved view and detailed de-
scription of which are given by his companion, Hennepin, in
his “ New Discovery/'* La Salle had passed within fifteen miles
of it ten years before, as he was coasting by canoe along the
southerly shore of Lake Ontario, but this was his first visit.f
Tonty was now given the command of the working party.
A place was cleared for the stocks. The woods resounded
with the strokes of the axe, that pioneer of western civilization.
Oaks were felled, and converted into plank; and their branches
fashioned into ribs and knees, to conform the ship to a shapely
model.
On the twenty-sixth, the keel was laid; and everything being
ready, La Salle sent the carpenter to invite Hennepin to strike
the first blow for the commerce of the lakes. The modesty of
the good father for once overcame his ambition, and he de-
clined the proffered honor. La Salle then promised ten
Louis d’or, to encourage the carpenter to hasten the work, j
It now became necessary for La Salle to return to Fort
* Margry, Decouv., vol. i., pp. 576, 577. Hennepin, N. D., p. 96.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 139.
$ Hennepin, N. D., p. 95.272
THE BUILDING AND
Frontenac, to obtain supplies for his proposed ship, and to
appease the clamors of his importunate creditors. It was about
the first of February, and the snow still lay deep in the leaf-
less woods. His bark had been wrecked, and the lake was too
treacherous for a wintry voyage by canoe or brigantine. Noth-
ing, however, could repress his untiring energy. Setting out on
snow-shoes, with only two men for his companions, and a dog
to draw his baggage, he traversed the frozen route of over eighty
leagues, to Fort Frontenac. He took no provisions but a bag
of parched corn, and even that failed him before he reached
his destination.* Hennepin and Tonty accompanied him as
far as Niagara. While there, La Salle traced a fort, which,
after the prince of that name, he called Fort Conty. In
order to deceive the Senecas, he pretended it was for a build-
ing he had promised them for the blacksmith.
La Motte lost no time in commencing a house on the site,
and fortifying it with palisades, for the protection of the party
and the storage of their supplies.f Thus were laid the foun-
dations of that renowned fortress, over which, after passing
successively under French and English control, now floats the
standard of the American Republic.
After La Salle’s departure, Tonty and Hennepin returned to
their duties at the ship-yard.J Two bark cabins, including a
chapel for the special use of Hennepin, were built with the aid
of the Indians. Divine worship was regularly observed; and
on Sundays and fete days, the sombre woods were vocal with
the Gregorian chants, sung by the devout Franciscans.
Fortunately they were not interrupted by the Senecas;
most of their warriors being absent on an expedition be-
yond Lake Erie. The few that remained were less insolent
through their weakness. However, they often visited the
camp, and exhibited dissatisfaction at the progress of the work.
* Margry, Decouv., vol. 1., pp. 442, 577. Hennepin, N. D. p. 97.
t Hennepin, La., p. 30.
X Margry, Decouv., vol. i., 577.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
*73
One of them, feigning intoxication, attempted to kill La Forge,
the blacksmith, who vigorously repulsed him with a hissing
bar of red-hot iron. This, added to a reprimand from Henne-
pin, caused him to desist. The timely warning of a squaw,
holding friendly relations with one of the workmen, prevented
the destruction of the vessel; the Senecas having planned to
burn it on the stocks. Only the strictest vigilance saved it
from the torch.* So great was Tonty’s fear that an attack
would be made upon the camp, that he sent La Motte on a
second visit to the Seneca village, to avert the design. He
was not only successful in his mission, but secured, at the same
time, much needed supplies of corn for Fort Frontenac, and
for the party at work on the Griffon, f
While La Motte was absent on his mission, Tonty repaired
to Niagara, and launched the brigantine, in order to save what
he could from the unfortunate wreck. But a storm arose, and
the wind and ice forced him to come to anchor. The cable
parted, and, after encountering great peril and fatigue, he suc-
ceeded in reaching the mouth of the Niagara, without accom-
plishing his object. After the storm had subsided, he em-
barked, by canoe, to regain his lost anchor; and met La Motte
on his return from the Senecas. Leaving the latter to fish up
the anchor, Tonty returned to the dock.J
The frequent alarms which they experienced, the fear that
provisions would fail them by reason of the loss of the bark,
and the refusal of the Senecas to sell them supplies, greatly
discouraged the carpenters. |[ They were otherwise demoralized
by the attempted desertion of one of their number to the Dutch
in New York. Hennepin assumes the credit of allaying these
fears, and of stimulating the*men to greater diligence, by his
timely exhortations on Sundays and festivals, and assurances
that their wor.k would redound to the glory of God, and the
* Margry, vol. i., p. 443. Hennepin, N. D., p. 97.
tMargrj', vol. i., p. 578. Ib., vol. ii., p. 8.
% Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 577.
!| Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 444.274	THE building and
welfare of the Christian colonies.* He made frequent trips to
Niagara, carrying his portable chapel strapped to his shoulders;
equally ready to discharge the functions of his holy calling, or
to aid in the temporal work which La Salle had undertaken.
The Senecas called him Hochitagon, signifying bare-feet, in
allusion to the custom of his Order in wearing sandals.f
Two Indians, employed as hunters, supplied the party with ven-
ison and other game.J The work went on, and the winter wore
away, without remarkable incident. Spring succeeded, and in
the month of May the vessel was nearly ready for launching.
Its formidable hull, looming up on the stocks, continued to ex-
cite the jealousy of the Senecas, and they again threatened to
burn it. Fearing this, it was deemed advisable to launch it at
once. || This was done with due formalities. A blessing was
invoked according to the usage of the Roman Church—a
salute was fired—the Te Deum was chanted, and the vessel
safely floated in the Cayuga channel of the Niagara. She was
named “Le Griffon,” in compliment to Count Frontenac, on
whose escutcheon two winged griffins were emblazoned as
supporters. The Frenchmen cheered as the vessel entered the
stream, and swung securely at her anchor. A party of stoical
Iroquois, who were returning from the chase, could not repress
their astonishment at the unusual spectacle. The skill of the
Frenchmen, able to build such a moving fort, in so short a
time, excited their admiration, and they called them Ot-kon,
signifying, according to Hennepin, penefrating minds** The
Senecas willingly joined in celebrating the launch, freely par-
taking the brandy which was liberally distributed on the joyful
occasion.
The overworked Frenchmen, released from their toil, and
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 98.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 27.
^Hennepin, N. D., pp. 95, 98.
j| Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 444.
** Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 444. Ot-kon is a Mohawk word, taken by Hennepin from
Bruyas’ Dictionary of that language. The corresponding word in Seneca is Ot-goh, and
signifies supernatural beings or spirits. Bruyas’ Mohawk Dictionary, p. 120.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.	275
relieved from their painful vigils, gladly exchanged their cheer-
less quarters on land, for the deck of the Griff on, where they
swung their hammocks; secure, for the first time, from the
jealous owners of the soil.*
While these events were transpiring under the supervision of
Tonty, La Salle, whose duties detained him at Fort Frontenac,
was harrassed by his creditors, clamorous for the payment of
their dues. All his effects at Montreal and Quebec were at-
tached, even to the bed of his secretary; notwithstanding his
interest in Fort Frontenac, alone, was ample security for all his
debts, without relying upon returns from his western venture.
These hostile proceedings originated, in part, from jealousy of
the man. They did not, however, modify his purpose, but
stimulated him to prosecute his enterprise, regardless of the
machinations of his enemies.f
The Griffon being safely moored in the river, and the time
approaching for the commencement of her western voyage,
Hennepin, in order to ascertain the feasibility of taking her up
the Niagara into Lake Erie, was dispatched on a reconnoissance.
Accompanied by a single Indian in a bark canoe, he twice
poled up the rapids, as far as the lake; sounding their depth,
and estimating their force. He reported that no difficulty
existed in the undertaking, if the Griffon should be favored
with a fresh north or northwest breeze:J
Soon after the vessel was completed, she sailed up the eastern
side of Grand Island, overcoming the current with her sails
alone. She dropped anchor below Squaw Island, in ten feet
water, two and a half miles from the lake, where she could ride
secure in any weather. ||
Hennepin now repaired to Fort Frontenac for the purpose
of obtaining, from his brethren there, some companions to aid
him in his proposed mission to the great West. Leaving the
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 100. Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 444.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 444. Hennepin, N. D., pp. 101, 102.
X Hennepin, N. D., p. 102.
|| Hennepin, N. D., p. 103.276
THE BUILDING AND
Griffon at her anchorage, he descended the river by canoe,
with two assistants, as far as the landing just above the Falls.
From thence they carried their canoe over the portage; and
launching it again at the foot of the Mountain Ridge, proceeded
to Lake Ontario. Here they found the brigantine which the
Sieur de la Forest had brought from Fort Frontenac. After
spending a few days at the mouth of the river in trading with
the Indians, they sailed for the Fort. The sea-sickness of a
party of squaws, who embarked with them to save a journey of
forty leagues, by land, to their village, rendered the voyage quite
disagreeable, particularly to Father Hennepin, who emphati-
cally expresses himself quite disgusted with his fellow voyagers.*
After touching at the mouth of the Oswego river, where
they traded with the Iroquois, exchanging brandy for furs (a
proceeding strongly condemned by Hennepin), they crossed the
lake and landed on Gull Island, called by Hennepin “ Goilans,”
one of the group which lies off Point Traverse in the eastern
end of Lake Ontario. This island was so named from the
gulls that frequented it in great abundance. They deposited
their eggs in the sand, and left them to be hatched by the sun.
Hennepin states that he “ gathered and carried away a large
quantity, which relished well in omelette.”f
On arriving at Fort Frontenac, Hennepin was welcomed by
his Franciscan brethren. Two of the Order, Gabriel de la
Ribourde and Zenobe Membre, where chosen to accompany
him in the memorable voyage of the Griffon\
On the twenty-seventh of May, while the party were at Fort
Frontenac, La Salle, in recognition of the services of the
Franciscans, conveyed to the Order eighteen acres of land
bordering on the lake near the Fort, and about one hundred
in the adjacent forest. He also decreed, by virtue of his
* Hennepin, N. D., pp. 104, 105.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 106.
X Hennepin, N. D., p. 107.VOYAGE'OF THE GRIFFON.
277
authority as governor and proprietor of the Fort, that no other
Order should-be established in its vicinity.
After visiting the neighboring Indians, the Franciscans em-
barked in the brigantine, for Niagara.* They landed first at
the mouth of the Genesee river, where they traded with the
Senecas; purchasing furs and supplies, with guns, knives, pow-
der, lead and brandy; the latter being the most in demand.
Hennepin secluded himself from these distractions, by retiring
some distance in the woods; where he built a bark chapel for
religious observances. While they were thus delayed, La Salle
arrived at the end of eight days, on his way to the Seneca vil-
lage. On reaching the latter, he made some presents to attach
the Indians to his interest, and to counteract the prejudices
which his 'enemies had secretly excited against him. These
negotiations detained them so long, as to prevent their reaching
Niagara before the thirtieth of June.
On the fourth of July,f Hennepin and Sergeant la Fleur set
out on foot to rejoin the Griffon. They visited the great Catar-
act on their way, and stopped at the stocks where the vessel
had been built, and which Hennepin locates at six leagues from
Lake Ontario. While resting there, two young Indians seriously
incommoded the fathers, by slyly appropriating all their pro-
visions. Here they found an old bark canoe, much dilap-
idated, which they repaired as well as their conveniences
allowed. In this, with extemporized paddles, they risked the
voyage up the Niagara, and were cordially welcomed on board
the Griff'on, still swinging at her anchors, in the current below
the rapids. J A party of Iroquois, returning with prisoners
from a western foray, visited the ship on their way, and w^ere
struck with amazement that the material for her equipment,
including such large anchors, could have been brought up the
rapids of the St. Lawrence. “ Gannoron !” they exclaimed, in
* Hennepin, N. D., pp. 108, 109, no.
t Hennepin’s N. D., p. in. There is some confusion of dates in Hennepin’s narrative,
not reconcilable.
X Hennepin, N. D., p. 112.THE BUILDING AND
.278
their astonishment; an expression in their language for, “Worn,
derful.”* Leaving’ ihsttliGtions with thepiiot, notsto attempt the
ascent of the river, Hennepin returned to Niagara on the six-
teenth, and brought up the brigantine in which they had come
from Fort Frontenac, as far as the Great Rock; and anchored
her at the foot of the Three Mountains.*)*
The munitions of war, provisions and rigging with which the
brigantine was loaded, were now carried over the portage by
the crew, aided by the Franciscans, involving many aweary and
painful journey of two long leagues. Father Gabriel, sixty-four
years old, went up and down the Three Mountains, three several
times, with remarkable activity and endurance. It required four
persons to carry the largest anchor; but a liberal distribution
of brandy encouraged the men, and lightened their labor.!
The transportation of their effects being thus accomplished,
.all repaired to the outlet of Lake Erie, and waited for the sail-
ing of the Griffon. Hennepin took advantage of the delay, to
make another visit to the Falls, in company with La Salle and
FatherGabriel.|| He was so charmed with the fine scenery,
the abundant fishery, and the beauty of the river, that he pro-
posed to La Salle to found a settlement on its borders. By this
means, he claimed, the Indian trade could be monopolized, and
at the same time the interests of religion be promoted.**
But La Salle was in debt; depending for the liquidation of
his liabilities on the furs he expected to realize from the far
West. This consideration, coupled with an intense desire to
explore the interior of the continent, prevented his listening to
the entreaties of Hennepin.
Everything being ready for the voyage, several fruitless at-
* This is not a Seneca, but a Mohawk word. It was evidently borrowed by-Hennepin
from Father Bruyas’ manuscript Dictionary of the Mohawk Language, which the former
•consulted in America. The corresponding word in the Seneca dialect, is Ga-nd-oh, which
signifies literally, difficult or extraordinary. Bruyas’ Radical Words of the Mohawk
Language, p. 83.
t Hennepin, N, D., p. 113.
X Hennepin, N. D., p. 114.
I! Hennepin, N. D., p. 116.
** Hennepin, N. D., p. 105.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
Z79
tempts were made by the Griffon to ascend the rapids into
Lake Erie. The winds were either adverse, or too light. While
thus waiting, a part of the crew cleared some land on the Cana-
dian shore, and sowed several varieties of garden seeds. “This,’'
says Hennepin, “was done for the benefit of those who should -
be engaged in maintaining, over the portage, the communication
between the vessels navigating the two lakes.”* They dis-
covered some wild chervil, and quantities of Spanish garlic,
(roscambole) growing there spontaneously.!
The crew had been reduced, by leaving Father Melithon and
others at the stocks above the Falls. A portion of the remain-
der encamped on shore, to lighten the vessel in its attempts to
stem the rapid current. Divine service was daily observed on
board, and the preaching on Sundays and festivals could easily
be heard by the men on shore.J
On the twenty-second of July, Tonty was sent forward with
five men, to join a company of fourteen, who had, some time
before, been ordered by La Salle to rendezvous at the mouth
of the Detroit river.|
At length the wished-for wind from the northeast arose; and
the party, to the number of thirty-two souls, including the two
Recollects who had recently joined them from Fort Fronte-
nac, embarked; and, contrary to the predictions of the pilot,
succeeded in ascending the rapids into the lake,** as heretofore
described.
It was a moment of rejoicing and profound gratitude, re-
ligiously acknowledged by the happy voyagers, as the vessel
floated on the bosom of what Hennepin styles, “the beautiful
Lake Erie.”
She now* spread her sails to the auspicious breeze, and
commenced her adventurous voyage. The vast inland seas
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 118.
t Judge Clinton says, that the chervil was probably the sweet cicely, and the roscambole
either the leek or garlic.
X Hennepin, N. D., p. 119.
| Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 578.
** Margry, vol. i., p. 445.28o
THE BUILDING AND
over which she was about to navigate, had never been explored,
save by the canoe of the Indian, timidly coasting along their
shores. Without chart to warn of hidden dangers, she boldly
ploughed her way,—the humble pioneer of the vast fleets of our
modern lake commerce.
A moonless night succeeded. They had been told that
Lake Erie was full of shoals, fatal to navigation; so they cau-
tiously felt their way, sounding as they went.*
A thick fog now settled on the lake. Suddenly, the sound
of breakers was borne to the ears of the watchful crew, on the
dark and murky night. All but La Salle were sure it was the
noise of the waves, occasioned by a change of wind. But La
Salle had seen the rude chart of Gallinee, made ten years be-
fore, containing a rough outline of the northern shore; showing
Long Point, advancing southeastward across the pathway of
the Griffon. Suspecting they were approaching this danger, he
ordered the pilot to change the course to east-northeast. They
proceeded in that direction, under a light breeze, for two or
three hours; hearing the same noise, and sounding constantly,
without finding bottom. An hour later, the depth suddenly
diminished to three fathoms. All hands were aroused, and the
course changed. At length the fog lifted, and Long Point lay
directly before them. La Salle’s conjections proved correct.
His caution and vigilance had saved his bark from probable
wreck.f On the next day, they doubled the dangerous head-
land, which they named Saint Francis now known as Long
Point.
At sunset, they had already sailed forty-five leagues from the
outlet of the lake. After another anxious night, they reached
the widest part of the lake; from the shores of whish, on either
hand, stretched interminable forests, unbroken by the faintest
sign of civilization. Westward the course of Empire was now
* Hennepin, N .D., p. 121.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 230.
+ Hennepin, N. D.,p. 122.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
281
taking its way, under the flag of France, gallantly borne by
her adventurous explorers, of which the projector and builder
of the Griffon was the chief.
France was thus laying the foundations of her dominion
over Canada, the Northwest and Louisiana; soon to be wrested
from her by the more powerful grasp of England—the latter,
in her turn, compelled to yield the fairest portion of her con-
quest to her rebellious colonies.
On the ninth, the winds being favorable, and the lake
smooth, Pointe au Pins and Pointe Pellee were doubled, on the
right; and on the tenth, early in the morning, passing between
Pointe Pellee and the Bass Islands, they reached the mouth of
the Detroit river.*
Here they found Tonty and his men, waiting for the ship.
They had encamped on a narrow beach at the mouth of the
strait, with the river in front and a marsh in the rear. A fresh
northeast wind had, during the night, so suddenly raised the
water at that end of the lake, that it surprised and threatened
to overwhelm them, in their slumbers. At break of day, the
Griffon appeared—a welcome sight. They signaled her with
three columns of smoke. She came to anchor at the summons,
and received them on board.
On the eleventh, she entered the river and sailed up between
Grosse Isle and Bois Black islands. Hennepin was even more
impressed with the beautiful scenery of this river, than by that
of the Niagara. Following the official account, he describes
the strait as thirty leagues long; bordered by low and level
banks, and navigable throughout its entire length. That on
either hand were vast prairies, extending back to hills covered
with vines, fruit trees, thickets and tall forests, so distributed
as to seem rather the work of art, than of nature. All kinds of
game abounded, including many species new to the travelers.
The awnings which covered the deck of the Griffon, were gar-
* Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 445. Hennepin, N. D., 122.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 579.2$ 2
THE BUILDING AND
nished with carcasses of deer, killed by the crew. Abundance
of all kinds of timber, suitable for building purposes, was
growing on shore; also fruit-bearing trees, including the wal-
nut, the chestnut, plum and apple; together with wild vines,
loaded with grapes, from which they made a little wine. “ The
inhabitants,” says Hennepin, “who will have the good fortune,
some day, to settle on this pleasant and fertile strait, will bless
the memory of those who pioneered the way, and crossed Lake
Erie by more than a hundred leagues of an untried .navigation.”*
Hennepin had failed to induce La Salle to found a colony
on the banks of the Niagara. He now set forth the superior
merits of the Detroit river for such an establishment, pressing
its commercial advantages; while his real object, as avowed in
his narrative, was to advance the interests of religion, under
cover of secular considerations.f But he made .no impression,
on the fixed purposes of La Salle, who resolutely pursued his
way in the Griffon, intent on the accomplishment of the great
enterprise he had inaugurated.
On the tenth of August, the festival of Sainte Clare, they en-
tered and crossed the lake, which they named after that mar-
tyred saint. In attempting to pass from the lake into the
river above, they encountered the same obstacles, which, after
the lapse of two centuries, confront the mariners of the present
day. It is a reproach to the enterprise of two powerful com-
mercial nations, that they should suffer such a barrier to exist,
for a single season, in the great highway between the East and
the West. In describing it, Hennepin says: “We found the
mouth of the St. Clair river divided into many narrow channels,
full of sand-bars and shoals. After carefully sounding them
all, we discovered a very fine one, two or three fathoms deep,
and almost a league wide, throughout its entire length.”J
* Hennepin, N. D., 124. 'Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 445.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 105.
j Hennepin, N. D., p. 128. Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 446. The figures in the text
are greatly exaggerated. Neither of the channels through the St. Clair fiats, are over half
a mile wide, and their average depth is less than ten feet.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
283;
Contrary winds delayed their progress through the St Clair
river for several days. At length they were enabled to ap-
proach Lake Huron; but the violent current, increased by a
northerly gale, prevented their advancing. The wind shifting
to the south, they succeeded, with the aid of a dozen men
towing on shore, as at the outlet of Lake Erie, in surmounting;
the rapids, which were pronounced by Hennepin almost as strong
as those of the Niagara. They entered the lake on the twenty-
third of August; the Franciscans chanting the Te Denni for the
third time, and thanking the Almighty for their safe navigation
thus far, and for the sight of the great bay of Lake Huron; on
the eastern shores of which their brethren had established the
earliest missions in North America, sixty-four years before.*
As soon as they entered the lake, a fresh wind drove them
rapidly along its eastern shore until evening, when it changed
violently to the southwest. The Griffon then tacked to the
northwest, and, running on that course all night, crossed the great
bay of “ Sakinam" (Saginaw), thirty miles in width, and which
penetrates twice that distance into the heart of the Michigan
Peninsula. When morning came, they were running in sight of
land, on a northwesterly course, parallel with the western coast.
This continued until evening, when they were becalmed in two
fathoms water, among the Thunder Bay Islands. They sought,
under easy sail, for an anchorage, during a part of the next
night; but, finding none satisfactory, and the wind increasing
from the west, they steered north to gain an offing, sounding
their way and waiting for the day. La Salle, having discovered
evidences of negligence on the part of the pilot, took personal'
supervision of the lead during the remainder of the voyage.f
On the twenty-fifth, they were becalmed until noon; when,
favored by a southerly wind, they steered northwest. Suddenly,
the wind veered to the southwest. At midnight, they changed
their course to the north, to avoid a cape, since known as Presque
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 129.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 447. Hennepin, N. D., p. 131.284
THE BUILDING AND
Isle, which projected into the lake. Hardly had they doubled
this, when a furious gale compelled them to beat to windward
under main and foresail, and then to lie to until morning.*
On the twenty-sixth, the violence of the gale obliged them to
send down their topmasts, to lash their yards to the deck, and
drift at the mercy of the storm. At noon, the waves ran so high
and the lake became so rough, as to compel them to stand in
for the land.f
At this juncture, as related by Hennepin, La Salle entered
the cabin in much alarm, exclaiming that he commended his
enterprise to the Divine protection. “We had been accustomed/’
says Hennepin, “ during the entire voyage, to fall on our knees
morning and evening, to say our prayers publicly, and sing some
hymns of the church. But the storm was now so violent, that
we could not remain on deck. In this extremity, each one
performed his devotions independently, as well as he could, ex-
cept our pilot, who could never be persuaded to follow our
example. He complained that the Sieur de la Salle had brought
him thus far, to lose, in a fresh-water lake, the glory he had
acquired in many successful voyages by sea.”J
In this fearful crisis, La Salle was induced, by the importunity
of the Recollects, to make a special vow; and, taking Saint An-
thony de Padua, the tutelary saint, of the sailor, for his patron,
he promised, that if God would deliver them from their present
peril, the first chapel erected in Louisiana should be dedicated
to the memory of that venerated saint. The vow seems to
have met a response, for the wind slightly decreased. They
were obliged, however, to lie to, drifting slowly all night, unable
to find either anchorage or shelter.
On the twenty-seventh, they were driven northwesterly until
evening; when, under favor of a light southerly breeze, they
rounded Point St. Ignace, and anchored in the calm waters
* Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 447.
+ Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 447.
X Hennepin, N. D., p. 132.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
285
of the bay of Missillimackinac, described as a sheltered
harbor, protected on all sides, except from the southeast.*
Here our voyagers found a settlement, composed of Hurons
Kiskakons), Ottawas, and a few Frenchmen. A bark-covered
chapel bore the emblem of the cross, erected over a mission
planted by the Jesuits. Like a dim taper, it shone, with
feeble light, in a vast wilderness of pagan darkness. Here it
was that Marquette and Jolliet, priest and layman, organized,
six years before, their memorable voyage down the Mississippi;
-and here the bones of the honored missionary found a grave,
until rifled by some sacrilegious relic hunter. A few fragments
that were spared, have been gathered and preserved with pious
care, soon to be deposited under a monument, which will be
visible far and wide, over land and water; and show, to coming
generations, where the thrice-buried remains of the heroic Mar-
quette have found a final resting place.
The safe arrival of the Griffon in this secure haven, was the
occasion of great rejoicing to the weary voyagers. A salute
was fired from her deck, and thrice responded to by the fire-
arms of the Hurons on shore. Mass was gratefully celebrated
by the Franciscans, in the chapel of the Ottawas. La Salle
attended, robed in fine clothes, including a scarlet cloak bor-
dered with gold lace; his arms being laid aside in the chapel, in
charge- of a sentinel. In the distance, the Griffon lay at anchor;
presenting, with her fine equipment, an imposing appearance.
More than a hundred bark canoes gathered around her, attrac-
ted by the novel spectacle, f
La Salle found, at Missillimakinac, a part of the fifteen men
that he had sent forward from Fort Frontenac to trade with the
Illinois Indians, and whom he supposed were already among
the latter. They had listened to reports on the way, that the
plans of La Salle were visionary, and that the Griffon would
never reach Missillimackinac. La Salle seized four of the de-
* Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 447.
t Hennepin, N. D., p. 135. Margry, Decouv. vol. i., pp. 449, 579.286
THE BUILDING AND
serters; and, learning that two more were at the Saut Sainte
Marie, he despatched Tonty on the twenty-ninth of September,
with six assistants, to arrest them.
As the season was rapidly passing away, he was unable to
wait for Tonty’s return, and gave orders for the departure
of the Griffon. On the twelfth of September, five days before
Tonty’s return, she sailed out of the straits, into Lake Michi-
gan, then named Illinois.* A prosperous run brought her to
an island since called Washington Island, forty leagues from
Missillimackinac, inhabited by the Pottawatamies. It is situa-
ted at the entrance of La Grand Baie, a name since corrupted
into Green Bay. Some of the party were found there, who
had been sent forward by La Salle to the Illinois, the year
previous. They had collected a large quantity of furs, to the
amount of 12,000 pounds, in anticipation of the arrival of the
Griffon. Our navigators found secure shelter in a small bay,
now known as Detroit harbor, on the southerly side of the
island, where they rode out, at anchor, a violent storm of four
days duration.f
As winter was now approaching, La Salle loaded the Griffon
with the furs which had thus been collected; intending to send
them to the storehouse he had built above the Falls; from
thence to be transhipped to Fort Frontenac, in satisfaction of
the claims of his creditors. His own purpose was to pursue
his route, by canoe, to the head of-Lake Michigan; and from
thence to the country of the Illinois. Being unable to obtain
more than four canoes, which were wholly insufficient to con-
tain all the merchandise and the various articles destined for
his southern enterprise, he was obliged to leave a portion of his
goods in the Griffon, with directions to the pilot to deposit
them at Missillimackinac, until the vessel should call for
them, on her return voyage.J
* Margry, vol. i., p. 450. Hennepin, La., p. 68. Hennepin, N. D., p. 140. Hennepin
says, the Griffon left Missillimackinac on the second of September.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 450. Hennepin, N. D., p. 140.
X Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 450.VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
287
The Griffon sailed for the Niagara on the eighteenth of Sep-
tember, but without La Salle; a fatal error, which probable
caused the loss of the vessel, her cargo and crew. A favorable
wind bore her from the harbor; and, with a single gun, she bid
adieu to her enterprising builder, who never saw her again.
She bore a cargo, valued, with the vessel, at fifty or sixty thous-
and francs, obtained at a great sacrifice of time and treasure.
She was placed under the command of the pilot, Luc, assisted
by a supercargo and.five good sailors; with directions to call
at Missillimackinac, and from thence proceed to the Niagara.
Nothing more was heard of her. On the second day after she
sailed, a storm arose which lasted five days. It was one of
those destructive gales which usually prevail at that season
over the northern lakes. She is reported to have been seen
among the islands in the northerly end of Lake Michigan, two
days after sailing, by some Pottawatamies, who advised the
pilot to wait for more favorable weather. They last saw her
half a league from the shore, helplessly driven by the storm
upon a sandy bar, where she probably foundered; a total loss,,
with all on board.*
A hatchway, a cabin door, the truck of a flag-staff, a piece of
rope, a pack of spoiled beaver skins, two pair of linen breeches;
torn and spoiled with tar, were subsequently found, and recog-
nized as relics of the ill-fated ship.f
The day after she sailed, La Salle, with the Recollects and
fourteen men, left in four bark canoes, laden with a forge and
its appurtenances, carpenters’, joiners’, and sawyers’ tools, with
arms and merchandise, and pursued his way along the western
shore of Lake Michigan, and entered the Illinois and Mississippi
. rivers, in the prosecution of his enterprise. After leaving
Green Bay, he had hardly crossed half way from the island to
the main shore, when the same storm in which the Griffon was
wrecked, burst upon his party, in all its fury. They succeeded
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 142. Margry, Decouv., vol. i., pp. 430, 451.
t Margry, Decouv., vol. ii., p. 74.288
VOYAGE OF THE GRIFFON.
in landing in a small sandy bay, where they were detained five
days, waiting for the abatement of the tempest. In the mean
time, La Salle was filled with anxious forebodings as to the
safety of his vessel.* Many months elapsed before he heard
of its loss. It was not the only disaster, but one of a series,
which befell this enterprising explorer. Yet his iron will was
not subdued, nor his impetuous ardor diminished. He con-
tinued to prosecute his discoveries, under the most dishearten-
ing reverses, with a self-reliance and energy that never faltered.
He was equal to every situation, whether sharing the luxuries
of civilized life, or the privations of the wilderness; whether
contending with the snows 'of a Canadian winter, or the burn-
ing heats of Texas; whether paddling his canoe along, the north-
ern lakes, or seeking, by sea, for the mouth of the Mississippi.
His eventful life embodied the elements of a grand epic poem,
full of romantic interest and graphic incident; alternating in
success and failure, and culminating in a tragic death.
France and America, in friendly and honorable rivalry, are
now seeking to do justice to his fame. The rehearsal of the
story of the Griff'on, the building of which, through his enter-
prise, was the earliest event of historical interest on the Niagara
frontier, seems, on this bi-centennial anniversary, an appro-
priate tribute to his memory.
* Hennepin, N. D., p. 144. Margry, Decouv., vol. i., p. 451.