First settlement French colonization of Texas

the royal standard of france commonly used state flag of france prior french revolution.

on february 20, colonists set foot on land first time in 3 months since leaving santo domingo. set temporary camp near site of present-day matagorda island lighthouse. chronicler of expedition, henri joutel, described first view of texas: country did not seem favorable me. flat , sandy did nevertheless produce grass. there several salt pools. hardly saw wild fowl except cranes , canadian geese not expecting us.

against beaujeu s advice, la salle ordered la belle , aimable negotiate narrow , shallow pass bring supplies closer campsite. lighten l aimable s load, 8 cannons , small portion of cargo removed. after la belle negotiated pass, la salle sent pilot l aimable assist navigation, l aimable s captain refused help. aimable set sail, band of karankawa approached , carried off of settlers. la salle led small group of soldiers rescue them, leaving no 1 direct aimable. when returned, found aimable grounded on sandbar. upon hearing captain had ordered ship sail forward after had struck sandbar, la salle became convinced captain had deliberately grounded ship.

approximate location of fort saint louis, near matagorda bay on gulf coast of texas

for several days men attempted salvage tools , provisions had been loaded on aimable, bad storm prevented them recovering more food, cannons, powder, , small amount of merchandise. ship sank on march 7. french watched karankawa loot wreckage. french soldiers approached native american village retrieve supplies, villagers hid. on discovering deserted village, soldiers not reclaimed looted merchandise took animal pelts , two canoes. angry karankawa attacked, killing two frenchmen , injuring others.

beaujeu, having fulfilled mission in escorting colonists across ocean, returned france aboard joly in mid-march 1685. many of colonists chose return france him, leaving approximately 180. although beaujeu delivered message la salle requesting additional supplies, french authorities, having made peace spain, never responded. remaining colonists suffered dysentery , venereal diseases, , people died daily. fit helped build crude dwellings , temporary fort on matagorda island.

fort

on march 24, la salle took 52 men in five canoes find less exposed settlement site. found garcitas creek, had fresh water , fish, soil along banks. named rivière aux boeufs nearby buffalo herds. fort constructed on bluff overlooking creek, 1.5 leagues mouth. two men died, 1 of rattlesnake bite , drowning while trying fish. @ night, karankawa surround camp , howl, soldiers scare them away few gun shots. fort has been referred fort st. louis name not used during life of settlement , appears later invention.

map of french fort drawn member of spanish expedition discovered french colony in 1689. marks river, colony s structures, , location of cannons.

in june, la salle summoned rest of colonists temporary campsite new settlement site. seventy people began 50-mile (80 km) overland trek on june 12. of supplies had hauled belle, physically draining task completed middle of july. last load accompanied 30 men had remained behind guard ship. although trees grew near site, not suitable building, , timber had transported building site several miles inland. timbers salvaged aimable. end of july, on half of settlers had died, combination of scant rations , overwork.

the remaining settlers built large two-story structure @ center of settlement. ground floor divided 3 rooms: 1 la salle, 1 priests, , 1 officers of expedition. upper story consisted of single room used store supplies. surrounding fort several smaller structures provide shelter other members of expedition. 8 cannons, each weighing 700 1,200 pounds (320 540 kg), had been salvaged l aimable , positioned around colony protection.

difficulties

for several months after permanent camp built, colonists took short trips explore surroundings. @ end of october 1685, la salle decided undertake longer expedition , reloaded belle many of remaining supplies. took 50 men, plus belle s crew of 27 sailors, leaving behind 34 men, women, , children. of men traveled la salle in canoes, while belle followed further off coast. after three days of travel, learned of hostile native americans in area. twenty of frenchmen attacked native american village, found spanish artifacts. several of men died on expedition eating prickly pear. karankawa killed small group of men had camped on shore, including captain of belle.

from january until march 1686, la salle , of men searched overland mississippi river, traveling towards rio grande, possibly far west modern-day langtry, texas. men questioned local native american tribes, asking information on locations of spaniards , spanish mines, offering gifts, , telling stories portrayed spanish cruel , french benevolent. when group returned, unable find belle had left , forced walk fort.

the following month traveled east, hoping locate mississippi , return canada. during travels, group encountered caddo, gave frenchmen map depicting territory, of neighbors, , location of mississippi river. caddo made friendship pacts neighboring peoples , extended policy of peaceful negotiation french. while visiting caddo, french met jumano traders, reported on activities of spanish in new mexico. these traders later informed spanish officials of frenchmen had seen.

rené-robert cavelier, sieur de la salle, killed in texas while trying reach new france.

four of men deserted when reached neches river. la salle , 1 of nephews became ill, forcing group halt two months. while men recovered, group ran low on food , gunpowder. in august, 8 surviving members of expedition returned fort saint louis, having never left east texas.

while la salle gone, 6 of had remained on belle arrived @ fort saint louis. according them, new captain of belle drunk. many of sailors did not know how sail, , grounded boat on matagorda peninsula. survivors took canoe fort, leaving ship behind. destruction of last ship left settlers stranded on texas coast, no hope of gaining assistance french colonies in caribbean sea.

by january 1687, fewer 45 of original 180 people remained in colony, beset internal strife. la salle believed hope of survival lay in trekking overland request assistance new france, , time month led final expedition try reach illinois country. fewer 20 people remained @ fort saint louis, women, children, , deemed unfit, seven soldiers , three missionaries whom la salle unhappy. seventeen men included on expedition, including la salle, brother, , 2 of nephews. while camping near present-day navasota on march 18, several of men quarreled on division of buffalo meat. night, expedition member killed 1 of la salle s nephews , 2 other men in sleep. following day la salle killed while approaching camp investigate nephew s disappearance. infighting led deaths of 2 other expedition members within short time. 2 of surviving members, including jean l archeveque, joined caddo. remaining six men, led henri joutel, made way illinois country. during journey through illinois canada, men did not tell la salle dead. reached france in summer of 1688 , informed king louis of la salle s death , horrible conditions in colony. louis did not send aid.