Disappointed, but still brave, La Salle with a party of thirty men and fourteen canoes paddled up the St. Joseph River to where South Bend now is. From this point the party, carrying canoes and baggage, made its way over to the headwaters of the Illinois. They were glad to reach the region near the present site of Ottawa, where Marquette had been a few years before. They saw Buffalo Rock and Starved Rock, high bluffs renowned in Indian history. [Sidenote: =Surprising an Indian camp=] Just as the little fleet was passing through Peoria Lake, some one saw the smoke of an Indian camp. At once every Frenchman dropped his paddle, seized his gun, and sprang ashore. The Indians ran about in wild excitement, but La Salle talked peace to the chiefs while Hennepin tried to quiet the children. [Illustration: LA SALLE AND HENNEPIN SURPRISING THE INDIANS ON THE SHORES OF PEORIA LAKE] The Indians told La Salle of fierce warriors farther on who would kill them, and of great monsters ready to eat them. These stories frightened some of La Salle's men and they ran away. [Sidenote: =The fort of the broken heart=] La Salle decided to build a fort on the bluff overlooking the river and remain there through the winter (1680). They named it Fort Crèvecœur, meaning that the builders had grieved until their hearts were broken. [Illustration: LA SALLE AT THE MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI] La Salle returned to Fort Frontenac. In the meantime he ordered Tonti to fortify Starved Rock, and Hennepin to explore the Illinois and the upper Mississippi rivers. [Sidenote: =Iroquois destroy villages of the Illinois=] While La Salle was gone, a great army of fierce Iroquois destroyed the villages of the Illinois Indians, "the children of Count Frontenac." [Sidenote: =A union of Indian tribes proposed=] La Salle's heart was indeed full of grief when he returned and saw the awful desolation where once stood the villages of his Indian friends. But worse still, he could not find Tonti. With a sad but brave heart the great leader resolved to bring all the Illinois tribes into a union that should be a match for the Iroquois. He went from tribe to tribe, and night after night he sat around the council fires with the chiefs. [Sidenote: =La Salle journeys to the mouth of the Mississippi=] Before he could unite them he heard that Tonti was safe at Mackinac. He hastened to meet his long-lost friend, and there he and Tonti once more planned the exploration of the lower Mississippi. He returned to Fort Frontenac, collected supplies, and was soon crossing the portage between the Chicago and Illinois rivers. On they went, till early in February their canoes floated out upon the bosom of the "Father of Waters" (1682).