The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-05-22
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, on which there was not sail and not
sign OF life.
The three parties reunited, and a
short distance from the rivers mouth
they went ashore. A wooden slab, on
which were the arms of France wag
raised. On II was Inscribed:
Louis LIE Grand. Roy de France ct
de Navarro. Regne. lie Neuvicme.
Avril. 1852"
The Frcnchmen fired volley. sang
the TIE Deur1 and then La Sale raised
his sword and in the name Of his
King claimed all the territory drained
by tho Mississippi. A region .'watereG
by LOCO rivers and ranged by 1000
warlike tribes; an empire greater than
all Europe, passed that day beneath
the sceptre OF the sultan of Versailles.
and all by virtue of feeble human
voice. inaudible at half mile
And the man who gave all this TO
France. After the toilsome padding
up the mighty river. after building a
Illinois Indians against those pests OF
the world, the Iroquis: after gather
ing $4,000 Indians about him and lay
ing the basis for French control in
the West for all the future, he re-
turned to find not only all Canada
hostile to him. but also The King.
Frontenac had been recalled and La
Barre was ICVeTHoI. Lid todIIe NdS
old weak and fool. To the ministry
La Barre denounced La Sale as in
sane, an impostor and a brazen bank
rupt. He ridiculed the explorers
story OF his explorations, and asked
even II 1t We're true. what was the
territory worth? King Louis was much
impressed by La Barre's letters and
complimented the old fool on his
sagacity
From the wilds OF the West. from
years of trial peril and disaster, La
Sale, discrcdited and spurned. crossed
the Atlantic and presented himself 10
his King Impressive as he was In In
dian camp or forest council, he was
more Impressive amid the pomp OF the
most magnificent court in the world
Soon there came to La Barre letter
that nearly broke. the old fools heart
The King had come to, know La Sale
And now too much could not be done
for the explorer. What did he pro-
pose? Two ships and the founding of
colony on the Mississippi? He should
have four So four were furnished
They were poor. the men and women TO
form the colony were the scum or
France, and Beaujeu. the naval captain
in command of the vessels. was an ar
rogant, jealous. trcacherous creature,
but what did that matter? The Span
ish captured one of the ships owing to
Beaujeu's failure to follow orders. then
they missed the mouth of the MISSISSIPPI
pi and landed at the mouth OF Mata-
gorda Bay. Texas. instead. First ono
of the three remaining ships was
wrecked and then another and finally
Beaujeu sailed away. deserving La
Sale and his miserable band.
They built village where Lavaca
now stands and they rotted and died.
OF $50 that landed. only fortyf five re-
manned. Early in January. 1887, La
Sale, after two futile attempts to find
his way back to the Mississippi. started
with Twenty-Five men on his third at
tempt For two months the party
struggled over prairie, forest and riv-
ers. Some Of the men were mutinous.
The force was in two divisions. march
ing about siS miles apart. One day
there was a dispute between Morganet.
La Salles nephew, and three of the
indictments over the disposition Of
some buffalo meat. That night Nor
ganet, La Sales servant, Saget, and
his faithful Indian, Nika, We're MUIR
dered as they slept.
The murderers then had to choose be-
tween killing La Sale and being hang
ed by him. They laid in ambush the
next morning, and when he approached
they shot him dead. On the prairie.
not far from where the city Of Hous-
ton now stands, the greatest explorer
France gave to the Western world was
left to the buzzards, for the assasslns
stripped his body and left his bones to
bleach in the Texas sun.
Copyright, 1910. by Richard splnans.)