THE FOX TRIBE.          

buried with military ceremonies. Three Miamis chiefs had also
died of the same disorder. At the village of the Miamis on the
Wabash river, the savages had fled on hearing the French were
coming to fight them; but being reassured returned, and finally
agreed that all those able would march at the proper time with
Sieur de Vincennes, Lieutenant de Maunoir and Ensign de Don-
cour reached the Wea in eight days, where they were not well
received because of the death of the Wea chief, who they pro-
fessed to believe had been killed by the French; but a few
presents put them in better spirits. They finally promised to
march to the Chicagou at the time set, and Ensign de Doncour
remained to lead them. Lieutenant de Maunoir then set out
for the Illinois. After his departure the measles "so increased
among the Wea that there were from fifteen to twenty deaths
a day," and Ensign de Doncour was himself attacked by the
fever for several days. When the time to march came, they
could only muster twenty or thirty men and two chiefs, who
made the long march over the prairies with "only dried beef and
a little water" for subsistence. They did not dare to hunt for
fear of the Foxes, whose trails they had found leading to
Detroit. "To complete their misfortune they found no one at
Chicagou; nor were the canoes there promised from Mackinac.
Two of the Wea were attacked by the measles, and the others
returned, so that Ensign de Doncour remained alone with five
Frenchmen." After waiting five days over time, they set out
west to meet Lieutenant de Maunoir with the Illinois; and be-
coming lost on the prairie, passed him undiscovered and reached
Starved Rock on the Illinois river. Lieutenant de Maunoir had
gone to the Illinois, where he was well received, and only re-
maining long enough to collect 450 savages, whom he took to
Chicagou, where he arrived on August 17, and "was much
mortified to find no one to meet him, and no news from Mack-
inac." After sending out scouts to no purpose, he returned
to Starved Rock, the village of the Illinois, where he discovered
his companions. 1. 
Soon after canoes had brought the news to Quebec of the
total failure of plans for the southern savages to gather for war
on the Foxes, canoes came to Quebec with letters from Captain
de Lignery at Mackinac, informing the Governor that as late
as August 30 he had not gone out against the Foxes. "because

1. The failure of these designs are to he found in a letter by acting Gov-
Ornor Sieur de Ramezay to the French Minister, Nov. 3, 1715, 16 Ib., 322.

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