La Salle : a perilous odyssey from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico / Donald S. Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, Donald S., 1932-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de, 1643-1687.

La Salle, Robert Cavelier.

Explorers--America--Biography.

Explorers.

Discoveries in geography.

America.

Mississippi River Valley.

Explorers--France--Biography.

France.

Mississippi River Valley--Discovery and exploration--French.

Canada--History--To 1763 (New France).

Canada.

History.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 262 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Cooper Square Press edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Cooper Square Press : Distributed by National Book Network, 2002.

Summary:

Rene Robert Cavalier, titled Sieur de la Salle (1643-1687), was a man with a vision. On behalf of France he set out to explore, claim, and colonize the wild expanses of North America. In pursuit of these goals he established for France a broad network in fur trading -- adding, in the process, to his own fortune. In his quest, La Salle painstakingly traversed thousands of miles of rivers, lakes, and land. He encountered and endured hostile tribes, blizzards, starvation, and disease, as well as the intrigues and treachery of his own countrymen, not only in Canada, but also at the French court across the Atlantic. La Salle finally became the first European to travel the full course of the Mississippi River to its mouth and to determine where it poured forth into the Gulf of Mexico. On April 9, 1682, he claimed the Mississippi River -- and all the land that it drained -- for France. In honor of his sovereign, King Louis XIV, he named the land "Louisiana."

It was La Salle's tragedy, however, that his vision was greater than his ability to attain it. Nonetheless, with limited resources and only his indomitable will to support him in his most dire moments, La Salle achieved many remarkable successes. Invariably, each achievement was followed by a devastating setback: robbery, shipwreck, war, a fatal navigational error. La Salle's dreams of a French empire were never realized, and on March 19, 1687, somewhere in what is now east Texas, his own men murdered him and left his stripped body to the animals and elements. La Salle is the most up-to-date and complete biography to be published on this memorable but neglected explorer and visionary since Francis Parkman's 1869 classic. Here is a vivid narrative of La Salle's exploits, placed in context with the time. In addition, there are fascinating critiques of La Salle's character, ambitions, and evolving status through history.

Why did the discoverer of the mouth of the Mississippi land his colonizing expedition more than three hundred miles beyond the intended destination, onto the barren coastline of present-day Texas, casting them to certain doom? How could one of history's greatest explorers make such an egregious error? Was La Salle's decision a miscalculation resulting from his inability to determine longitude, or was it a deliberate attempt to deceive -- an elaborate hoax? Donald S. Johnson brings his own background as a mariner and navigator, as well as that of historian, to this question and provides a startling and persuasive explanation to this mystery -- the most controversial of the entire story.

Contents:

In contest for the New World. Old rivalries

English settlements

Holland in America

A French start

Canada, or the Nouvelle France. La Salle in Montréal

Early explorations

To the Vermillion Sea

La Salle and Frontenac

Fort Catarouki

Royal support

Beyond the Great Lakes to the Mississippi. Fort Conti

Voyage of the Griffin

Hardships and perils

Fort St. Joseph

Fort Heartbreak

Toilsome journey

Return to the land of Illinois

Doubtful future

Descent to the great river's mouth. The great enterprise accomplished

An inglorious sequel

Geographic knowledge expanded. The Gulf of Mexico

River of the Holy Spirit

Pioneers of the Mississippi

Diverse behavior

A cartographic dilemma. A bold and glorious venture. Quarrelsome beginnings

Wretched voyage

Across the Gulf of Mexico

Misery at Matagorda

Strange irresolution

Continual misfortunes

Toward the fatal river

Upending violence

Tragic ending

Renascence of the Belle

Conclusion. Appendix I: Rivers and lakes

Appendix II: Indian tribes

Appendix III: French forts.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-248) and index.

ISBN:

0815412401

OCLC:

49494992