Here  they  were  kept  about  three  months,  were  treated  kindly  by  theix-
captors,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  were  met  by  a  band  of  Frenchmen*


BUFFALO    HUNT.
headed  by  one  Seur  de  Luth,  who,  in  pursuit  of  trade  and  game,  had  pene-
trated thus  far  by  the  route  of  Lake  Superior ;  and  with  these  fellow-
countrymen  Hennepin  and  his  companions  were  allowed  to  return  to  the
borders  of  civilized  life  in  November,  1680,  just  after  LaSalle  had
returned  to  the  wilderness  on  his  second  trip.  Hennepin  soon  after  went
to  France,  where  he  published  an  account  of  his  adventures.
28  THE  NORTHWEST  TBERITOET.
The  Mississippi  was  first  discovered  by  De  Soto  in  April,  1541,  in  his
vain  endeavor  to  find  gold  and  precious  gems.  In  the  following  Spring,
-De  Soto,  weary  with  hope  long  deferred,  and  worn  out  with  his  wander-
ings, he  fell  a  victim  to  disease,  and  on  the  21st  of  May  died.  His  followers,
reduced  by  fatigue  and  disease  to  less  than  three  hundred  men,  wandered
about  the  country  nearly  a  year,  in  the  vain  endeavor  to  rescue  them-
selves by  land,  and  finally  constructed  seven  small  vessels,  called  brigan-
tines,  in  which  they  embarked,  and  descending  the  river,  supposing  it
would  load  them  to  the  sea,  in  July  they  came  to  the  sea  (Gulf  of
Mexico),  and  by  September  reached  the  Island  of  Cuba.
They  were  the  first  to  see  the  great  outlet  of  the  Mississippi ;  but,
being  so  weary  and  discouraged,  made  no  attempt  to  claim  the  country,
and  hardly  had  an  intelligent  idea  of  what  they  had  passed   through.
