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SHIP OF TRAGEDY Of all the thousands of vessels that have sailed the Great Lakes none has been more discussed than LaSalle's "Griffon", the first to navigate the waters above Niagara Falls, Some of this discussion stems from the vague accounts left by Father Hennepin, the chronicler of her only voyage. The tonnage of unis historic little vessel has been given as fifty, and as sixty. Her rig, according to Hennepin, was that of a brigantine, yet illustrations in his book show her with three masts so rigged as to make her a bark. One picture has her with a stern so round that it looks little different from her bow, while another shows a r high, flat transom. Out of this conflicting data many conceptions of her appearance have derived. About all that we can do is take the plans of contemporary vessels,of her size, and by eliminating those details which, under the circumstances of her building, would have been left undone. A few carpenters, working among hostile Indians, in a strange wilderness, and under pressure of time, would hardly embellish their work as did the protected artisans in the shipyards of Europe. Vessels, of the "Griffon's" time, usually carried, far out on the bowsprit, a basket-like "top" above which was raised a small sail on a yard arm. This was one form of jib, and a similar but much larger square sail was carried below the bowsprit, for the same purpose. Without a doubt the upper of these was dispensed with because of the time required for its fabrication, •The round stern, indicated in one illustration in Hennepin's book, is perhaps the most difficult tynes to build, so it would hardly have been adopted for a vessel to be con- By Joseph E.Johnston Illustrations by Rowley W.Murphy,and made available to TELESCOPE by Rous & Mann Press,Ltd.,Toronto.• structed in a wilderness. The flat transom, on the other hand, is the easiest to build, so, in my opinion it was the type adopted for the "Griffon." Some students of this subject believe that this little vessel had no raised deck forward for crew quarters and for the stowage of gear. According to these students the crew had to sleep below deck in the cargo space. To the experienced seaman this would seem highly improbable. Such an arrangement would necessitate a hatchway into the cargo space for quick entry and exit by the seamen when called on in emergencies. Such an opening would permit entry into the hold by water from seas breaking over the deck, constituting a major hazard. Furthermore, in so small a vessel cargo space was too valuable to be used for the crew. Space for the seamen and spare gear could be more cheaply provided by having a raised deck forward. The theory that the crew lived in the afterquarters does not take into account the personal traits of LaSalle who,being the head of a vast enterprise, and somewhat arrogant, would hardly relish blinking up in the tiny afterhouse with common seamen. So, I hold that there was a raised deck forward on the "Griffon" In the light of subsequent findings it is recognized that Father Hennepin was very loose in his treatment of facts, and since his book was written for the general public his "brigantine" designation may, or may not, have been correct. With all these uncertainties as to the type of the "Griffon" we still believe that Hennepin's account of her voyage is basically true and in abbreviated form it is given here. HER BUILDER Rene Robert Cavalier, de la Salle was born near Rouen, France in 16h-3 and in 1666 sailed for New France