1 explorations
1.1 fort frontenac
1.2 le griffon , fort miami
1.3 final expeditions
explorations
required reject father s legacy when joined jesuits, la salle destitute when traveled prospective colonist north america. sailed new france in spring of 1666. brother jean, sulpician priest, had moved there year before. granted seigneurie on land @ western end of island of montreal, became known lachine. (this apparently french la chine, meaning china. sources name referred desire find route china, though evidence claim unclear , has been disputed.)
la salle began issue land grants, set village , learn languages of native people, mohawk in area. mohawk told him of great river, called ohio, flowed mississippi river. thinking river flowed gulf of mexico, began plan expeditions find western passage china. sought , received permission governor daniel courcelle , intendant jean talon embark on enterprise. sold interests in lachine finance venture. in 1682, named area louisiana after king louis xiv of france.
fort frontenac
on july 12, 1673, governor of new france, louis de buade de frontenac, arrived @ mouth of cataraqui river meet leaders of 5 nations of iroquois encourage them trade french. while groups met , exchanged gifts, frontenac s men, led la salle, hastily constructed rough wooden palisade on point of land shallow, sheltered bay. fort named fort cataraqui later renamed fort frontenac la salle in honor of patron. purpose of fort frontenac control lucrative fur trade in great lakes basin west. fort meant bulwark against english , dutch, competing french control of fur trade. la salle left in command of fort in 1673.
thanks powerful protector, discoverer managed, during voyage france in 1674–75, secure himself grant of fort cataraqui , acquired letters of nobility himself , descendants. frontenac s support, received not fur trade concession, permission establish frontier forts, title of nobility. returned , rebuilt frontenac in stone. ontario heritage trust plaque describes la salle @ cataraqui [a] major figure in expansion of french fur trade lake ontario region, using fort base, undertook expeditions west , southwest in interest of developing vast fur-trading empire. henri de tonti joined explorations lieutenant.
le griffon , fort miami
painting theodore gudin titled la salle s expedition louisiana in 1684. ship on left la belle, in middle le joly, , l aimable right. @ entrance matagorda bay
in 1679, la salle s expedition built fort conti @ mouth of niagara river on lake ontario. there loaded supplies fort frontenac smaller boats (canoes or bateaux), continue shallow , swiftly flowing lower niagara river location of lewiston, new york. there iroquois had well-established portage route bypassed rapids , cataract later known niagara falls.
la salle built le griffon, seven-cannon, 45-ton barque, on upper niagara river @ or near cayuga creek. launched on august 7, 1679.
la salle sailed in le griffon lake erie lake huron, huron michilimackinac , on present-day green bay, wisconsin. le griffon left niagara load of furs, never seen again. continued men in canoes down western shore of lake michigan, rounding southern end mouth of miami river (now st. joseph river), built stockade in january 1680. called fort miami (now known st. joseph, michigan). there waited tonti , party, had crossed lower michigan peninsula on foot.
tonti arrived on november 20; on december 3, entire party set off st. joseph, followed until had take portage @ present-day south bend, indiana. crossed kankakee river , followed illinois river. there built fort crèvecoeur, later led development of present-day peoria, illinois. la salle set off on foot fort frontenac supplies. while gone, soldiers @ ft. crevecoeur mutinied, destroyed fort, , exiled tonti, whom had left in charge. later captured mutineers on lake ontario, before rendezvousing tonti @ st. ignace, michigan.
final expeditions
claiming louisiana france
la salle reassembled party major expedition. in 1682 departed fort crevecoeur group of frenchmen , indians , canoed down mississippi river. named mississippi basin la louisiane in honor of louis xiv , claimed france. @ later became site of memphis, tennessee, built small fort prudhomme. on april 9, 1682, @ mouth of mississippi river near modern venice, louisiana, buried engraved plate , cross, claiming territory france.
in 1683, on return voyage, la salle established fort saint louis of illinois, @ starved rock on illinois river, replace fort crevecoeur. appointed tonti command fort while traveled france supplies. on july 24, 1684, departed france , returned america large expedition designed establish french colony on gulf of mexico, @ mouth of mississippi river. had 4 ships , 300 colonists. expedition plagued pirates, hostile indians, , poor navigation. 1 ship lost pirates in west indies, second sank in inlets of matagorda bay, , third ran aground there. founded fort saint louis (texas), on garcitas creek in present-day victoria, texas vicinity.
la salle led group eastward on foot on 3 occasions try locate mouth of mississippi.
during final search mississippi river, of la salle s remaining 36 men mutinied, near site of present navasota, texas. on march 19, 1687, slain pierre duhaut during ambush while talking duhaut s decoy, jean l archevêque. 6 leagues westernmost village of hasinai (tejas) indians. duhaut killed avenge la salle, while jean l archevêque killed in 1720 indians during villasur expedition—coincidentally in ambush beside river.
the fort saint louis colony lasted until 1688, when karankawa-speaking native americans killed 20 remaining adults , took 5 children captives. tonti sent out search missions in 1689 when learned of settlers fate, failed find survivors.
there disagreement accepting navasota site of la salle s death. historian robert weddle, example, believes travel distances miscalculated, , murdered east of trinity river.
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