Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-22

The Frenchmen fired a volley. sang the
TIE Deum and then La Sale raised his
sword and in the name of his king claim
ed all the territory drained by the Missis-
sippi. region 'watered by 1850 rivers
and ranged by Loco warlike tribes an en-
pire greater than all Europe. passed that
day beneath the scepter of the Sultan o.
Versailles and all by virtue of feeble
human voice. inaudible at half a mile
And the man who gave all this 10
France. After the toilsome padding up
the mighty river. after building a fort
Fort St. Louis. to defend his Illinois In
the Iroquois after gathering 5000 In
dams about him and laying the basis for
French control in the west for all the
future. he returned to find not only all
Canada hostile to him. but also the king.
Frontenac had been recalled and La Bar
re was governor. La Barre was old,
weak and d fool. To the ministry La
Barre denounced La Sale as insane, an
impostor and a brazen bankrupt. He
ridiculed the explorers story of his ex-
plorations, and asked even il il were true.
what was the territory worth? King
Louis was much impressed by La Barrels
letters and complimented the old fool Oh
his sagacity.
From the wilds of the west. from years
of trial. peril and disaster, La Sale. dis
credited and spurned, CROSSED the Atlantic
and presented himself to his king. I'm
pressive as he was in Indian 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 propose?
Two ships and the founding of a 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 of France. and Beaujeu,
the naval captain in command of the
vessels, was an arrogant, jealous, treach-
erous creature, but what did that mat
ter? The Spanish captured one of the
ships owing to Beaujeus failure to follow
ORDERS, then they missed the mouth of the
Mississippi and landed at the mouth of
Matagorda bay, Tex, instead. First one
Of the three remaining ships was wrecked
and then another and finally Beaujeu
sailed away, deserving La Sale and his
miserable band.
They built a village where Lavaca now
stands. and they rotted and died OF 40
that landed, only forty-five remained.
Early in January, 1857. La Sale. after
two futile attempts to find his way back
to the Mississippi. started with twenty
five men on his third attempt. For two
months the party struggled over prairie.
forest ana rivers Some of the men were
mutinous. The force was in two divisions,
marching about six miles apart One day
there was a dispute between Morganef
La Sales nephew. and three of the NAL
contents over the disposition of some
buffalo meat. That night Morganet La
Sales servant Saset, and his faithful
Indian, Nika. We're murdered as they
slept.
The murderers then had TO choose be-
tween killing La Sale and being hanged
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 Houston now
stands. the greatest explorer France gave
to the western world was left Ia the buzz
yards. for the assassins stripped his body
and left his bones to bleach in the Texas
sun.
Copyright 1910. Icy Richard Spianc.p