But with
every step fresh difficulties arose. La Salle had many enemies,
and they did their best to hinder and hamper him. His own men were
discontented and mutinous. They had no love for their leader, no
enthusiasm for the expedition, and the hardships and dangers of
the way made them sullen.
They were half starved and worn out with fatigue; all they wanted
was to get back to a comfortable life. They were sick of the
wilderness and its hardships. Added to this the Indians told them
bloodcurdling tales of the terrors of the "Father of Waters." It
was a raging torrent of whirlpools, they said, full of poisonous
serpents and loathly monsters. Those who ventured on it would never
return.
This was more than the men could face. They chose rather the
possibility of death among the Indians and the wilderness to its
certainty among such horrors, and some of them ran away.
Depressed by this desertion La Salle resolved to camp for the rest
of the winter. So on the banks of the river Illinois he built a
fort which he called Creve-Coeur, or Heart-break.
But La Salle's brave heart was not yet broken. And here he began
to build a new ship in which to sail down the Mississippi. There
was wood in plenty around, and the work was begun. But many things,
such as sails and rigging, which were necessary for the ship, the
wilderness could not supply.
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