Deceived and even robbed by his men, in addition to all his other disappointments, La Salle, undaunted and undismayed, sent Dautray, one of the white men who had accompanied him, with four others, to reinforce Tonty, and pushed on to Fort Frontenac. As if he had not already enough bad news, just as he arrived at the Fort, messengers from Tonty told him that the men who were building the vessel in the Illinois River had stolen what they could and had deserted. These precious rascals, joined by other deserters, must have been following close behind the messengers, as we hear of them breaking into La Salle’s storehouse on the Niagara, looting everything they could and setting out for the East. La Salle heard of it, intercepted some of them, killed two, and took the rest prisoners to Fort Frontenac. But Tonty must be rescued and the exploration go on, so La Salle gathered men and supplies and started for the West. With twelve men he went up the Humber River, crossed to Lake Simcoe, and thence down the Severn River to the Georgian Bay; the others with the heavier freight went by Niagara and Lake Erie. They were to meet at Mackinac, but La Salle could not wait, and hastened on with a foreboding that something awful may have happened to Tonty at his Fort Crevecoeur (broken heart) in the Illinois country. And when they arrived it was to see where once had been the chief town of the Illinois, nothing but ashes, skulls, and mangled corpses. The Iroquois had been there. Down the river he went looking for Tonty, even into the Mississippi. Discouraged, they turned back to the St. Joseph River and there at Fort Miami, where La Forest was in charge, they settled down for the winter. In the meantime, Tonty, after trying in vain to prevent the battle between the Iroquois and the Illinois, had escaped and after weeks of suffering had reached Green Bay. La Salle in the spring set out for Fort Frontenac to refit and went by Michillimackinac. We can imagine his joy when he found Tonty, who accompanied him to the East. By October they had arranged their affairs and arrived at Fort Miami in November. Here they organized their expedition of 18 Indians and 23 Frenchmen, and in Christmas week, 1681, they set out. Across Lake Michigan to the Chicago River, thence portaging to the north branch of the Illinois, they entered the Mississippi on February 6th, but saw no human beings until March 13th, near the mouth of the Arkansas River. Landing there La Salle raised the banner of France, planted a cross, and took possession of the country in the name of the King.