Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1818-04-21

than Europe which he called lie eeiight Of Anne
should heneeforth be known 10y he august pame Of
LOUIS, tlat IL may thereby have vi right yont
proisc,'o aud hope for The advantage Of belonging TO
Now. sir permit me to request ,ou to compare this
authentic statement. with tha pervoIsion OF all hsior-
cal evidence by witch Non have led and have p
eli To make he story VI ber iieGnepn's discovery
Loaisiana rdicnlons Here Is book Published Pa
RS dedicated to Louis the XtNih, al the eloTons
pton "t reign declaiing to ire word the discovery
OF Louisiana declaring that u was naee w bis odeFs
and called b. his uame, for the express purpose ofeH
.lhg '" hecOn,e MS pt"ptiN. Is TINS c"s.enpuhie :
l. this a-secret hOryhi mere mental All Is this
transient adveaiureor incnSsion Anu after eating
hs lilieI ation too vague and nncefis upon wnchtO
iound title. eau tak of the rights ~ posses
derived to spain nom the travels OF Ponce Leon
francisco de Gaiay, aud NasQnez de Aylon
lour view of the expeditions and adventures
OF Ia Sale, is equally remote from the re- al and
well authenticated facts. Let nS see. you
say, what importance can he attached TO what
IS said OF Bernld Robert de la Sale, who in
i6f9 descended from Canada 30 the Mississippi,
ana therc built Fort Crsrecoeur according TO
MIR du Prat2, or Fort pruihomme, according
to Others Hhat IS cerfnia. amounts to this,
thar he only made rapid incursion from Can
AGA to Tie mississippi. rs amy other advcninrer
might do. crossing the territories of another ma.
ton, TINT he returned 10 Quebec without any
further result than that of AN imperfect expo
ration OF the country. aud that h. embark ed;t
Quebec Tor France. from whence he returned
~ 1861, with an eXpcditiou composed of fonr
vessels. command ed by captain Beauiean TO
explore the mouth az tie Mississippi. Sc In
this passage yOn represent.
The facts attending The expedition of La
Sale as HRceTtdia.
q That he only made rapid incur,ion ,s
private adteUtnrer, and, so far as related TO his
exploring expeditions. w,ti AN imperfect result
3 That he only wen, from Canada to The
Mississippi, and thence returned to Quebec
whence he embarked for France
4. That he only crossed the territories of an
other nation, (meauing Spain.)
examine THIS part ut yOnr note, with mi
nujCnesS which will be tedious 10 YOU. because
Il is precisely upon the character Of La Sales
expeditions that the grant of Louisiana TO
Ciozat, by Louis the ith, is in express terms
founded because you have represented these
expedtionSin the colorS thus marked with he
avoweti purpose OF eakcning llie original title
o. Louisiana. and because you know that the
characters, diametrCally opposite which |
Shall now prove 10 have belonged to them
mast lead 10 the result Of an iDcontestable Ii.
u, IN Frauce aud consequently, at'tlis time.
III The United States. answer the above in
siun;,tions, ia the order IN which they have
been stated.
There are three narratives of the expedis
tOns of La Sale, ali published ar Paris. by
persons who accompanied him ~ Them.
The first in 1853, bs father Louis Hennepin
the same voinne from which have already
presented yUn extract.
The second by the chevaler T6Rti governor
OF Fort ST. LonIs, at The Illinois, published in
1861.
The third by Joutei, who was with him in his
IasteNpedition, aud almost by his side when
"s 81 ils toe hands of an assassin.
Ofail the heroic enterprises, which i'm the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries signaliz.
ed the discoveries of Europeans mon this con.
tnent, there is not one, of which tie evidence
Is more certain, authentic and particular than
OF those of La sale.
Ia sale, afterhdving resided many yearsin
Canada, "a governor of Fort Eroutenac. form
ed the prolecf OF exploring the country from
thence 10 The Cult OF MeNico. and of taking
possession ot It, ia the name OF has SOVEREIGN
He weBtto France for the purpose of obtain
ing the sanction 10 bis enterprise g his males
~, (Says TInu) not content with mereiy an
proving his design, caused orders to be given
10 him, granting him permission 10 90 and put
IL in execution, and 10 assisi him to carry so
vast project into effect, shortly after the ne
ceSsary snccOrs were furnished him. with en-
tire Liberty 10 dispose Of ali the countries
which he might discover"
He sailed from La Rochelle the iIth of .TuIv
1918, and arrived at Quebec, The 10Th Of Semi
On the 18th OF November, of tile same wear
he left Fort FronteDac, 10 proceed upon his
expedition with thirty men, Tonti and IA
ther Hennepin being Of the COMPANY After
spending more than year IN tldveTsin. the
four Lakes, COW known by tie Name of Onta
RIO Erie, Huron aDdMichigan. & erecting forts
at suitable places, where hc lana I'd from them
lie einha' he'd upon the Illinois river aud hay
ins descended il fer some distance, was obhe
ed TO stop, from the disappointment of losne
boat from which lie expected suonIies
Here, upon the Illinois river he huiit fort
CfeVecour-divided his company into two So
pdraie parties. one for ascending the Nlissis
@ppi 10 It's source, and The other for proceed
ing down tilat rlVer. Father Hennepin was of
the former OF these parties and In tlcir ura
gress upwards, which they accomplished
higher ihaH the Falls of St. Anthony was taken
prisoner by the Indians, aud, after some ii,
vas released by tberi found his way back To-
SGenec, and thence returned 10 France ~ pub
lshed the book 0f which 1 have spoken In
this book, published ia 1868, al Paris and
marked az having been finished printing lie
9th OF January OF that year, three months be.
fore La Sale had reached the month of the
Mississippi, there is map of the river as far
down as HeuU- piI: descended IL after he art
ed from la sale, aud upwards, to the Fall, of
81. Anthony, anu the river ST. Francis above
them at some distance above which within
"a lew leagues o. ITS source, is the Oak Tree
upon which The arms OF France, were carved,
by the detac!ImeHt from Ia Sales expedition
authenticatlug wth The most minute precision
tie discovery OF the Mississippi, to within a
small distance OF its source, as well as lis
course TO the Gulf of Mexico. On The same
mapare also marked the tort 1T tie Miamies
ana HAT OF CreVecour, on the Illinois river.
Constructed by La Sales orders
In the meanwhile La Sale was Obliged IN
leave the other part OF his company under the
command OF IVnt, and 20 back 10 Fort Flon-
tenac, Ter the supplies aud reiniOrcements
witch had tailed him, by the loss of his boat
lie retained aDdJOiued item again in Noyem-
Der, 1852, proceeded down 70 tie Mississippi.
aud TO the month OF ihe Wabash, where they
built the fort PrUd homme, which yon have
cOnionuded with that OF CrevecOur, after
which they COHiBued descending and success
lively meeting the Cappa, Arkansas, Iensas
AbeBake. Tacusas, aud Natchez indians and
on the 9TH Of Aprii 1853 reached the mouth
Of the Mississippi, where, after the religious
s0emnity OF 'ie Deum, they took formal nos
session of the country, erected cross, fasien.
ed the armsof France upon tree, and built
several nuts, which they surrounded with
suitable Entertainments. La sale, having fms
accnmnli.hel lhe obleci of his e.ned.Lln..