LA SALLE, SIEUR DE
\lˌa sˈal], \lˌa sˈal], \l_ˌa s_ˈa_l]\
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(1643-1687), a distinguished French explorer, was born at Rouen. In 1669 he emigrated to Canada, and began the series of his remarkable journeys in the West. He visited Lake Michigan and the Illinois River, but whether he at this early stage saw the Mississippi is a disputed problem. In 1673 he received a grant of the station at Fort Frontenac (now Kingston). He was again in France in 1677, but the next year was back in Canada and had reached Niagara. He ascended the chain of lakes to Mackinaw, thence up Lake Michigan and down the Illinois River to Peoria. Disappointments followed; but he was able to renew the canoe voyage, descend the Illinois and Mississippi to its mouth, which he reached in April, 1682, and to claim the entire region for Louis XIV. Returning to France, he organized an expedition which, in 1684, sailed directly for the mouth of the great river. But the explorers landed by mistake at Matagorda Bay, and after harassing wanderings La Salle was murdered by his followers within the limits of Texas.
By John Franklin Jameson
