CHAPTER XIX.

1681. LA SALLE BEGINS ANEW. His Constancy; his Plans; his Savage Allies; he becomes Snow-blind.--Negotiations.--Grand Council.--La Salle's Oratory.--Meeting with Tonty.--Preparation.--Departure. In tracing the adventures of Tonty and the rovings of Hennepin, we have lost sight of La Salle, the pivot of the enterprise. Returning from the desolation and horror in the valley of the Illinois, he had spent the winter at Fort Miami, on the St. Joseph, by the borders of Lake Michigan. Here he might have bro…