January 1679

The vessel they left on December 25th, 1678, was found to be in pieces on the coast on January 8th, 1679. When M. de Salle heard what happened to the vessel, he went to save a portion of the ironwork for use in the construction of the new ship above the Falls. The new vessel would be called the Griffin because it was La Salle’s family coat of arms.

When the Griffin was being built, La Salle sent canoes along each shore of Lake Erie to visit every Indian village and purchase furs.

On January 20th, 1679, La Salle and his men reached the large log cabin and shipyard, on the shore of Lake Erie. They brought provisions, merchandise, ammunition, and materials for rigging the vessel. The dockyard was about six miles above Niagara Falls, on the western side of the river, at the outlet of a little stream called Chippewa Creek.

M. de La Salle returned to the place where they were going to build the new boat on January 30th, 1679. When he returned, he put Henri de Tonty to command because La Salle was going back to Fort Frontenac on the ice.