A NEW ENTERPRISE.
La Salle at Court: his Proposals.—Occupation of Louisiana.—Invasion of Mexico.—Royal Favor.—Preparation.—A Divided Command.—Beaujeu and La Salle.—Mental Condition of La Salle: his Farewell to his Mother.
When La Salle reached Paris, he went to his old lodgings2 in Rue3 de la Truanderie, and, it is likely enough, thought for an instant of the adventures and vicissitudes4 he had passed since he occupied them before. Another ordeal6 awaited him. He must confront, not painted savages7 with tomahawk and knife, but—what he shrank from more—the courtly throngs9 that still live and move in the pages of Sévigné and Saint-Simon.
The news of his discovery and the rumor10 of his schemes were the talk of a moment among the courtiers, and then were forgotten. It was not so with their master. La Salle's friends and patrons did not fail him. A student and a recluse11 in his youth, and a backwoodsman in his manhood, he had what was to him the formidable honor of an interview with royalty12 itself, and stood with such philosophy [Pg 344] as he could command before the gilded13 arm-chair, where, majestic14 and awful, the power of France sat embodied15. The King listened to all he said; but the results of the interview were kept so secret that it was rumored16 in the ante-chambers that his proposals had been rejected.[262]
On the contrary, they had met with more than favor. The moment was opportune17 for La Salle. The King had long been irritated against the Spaniards, because they not only excluded his subjects from their American ports, but forbade them to enter the Gulf18 of Mexico. Certain Frenchmen who had sailed on this forbidden sea had been seized and imprisoned19; and more recently a small vessel20 of the royal navy had been captured for the same offence. This had drawn21 from the King a declaration that every sea should be free to all his subjects; and Count d'Estrées was sent with a squadron to the Gulf, to exact satisfaction of the Spaniards, or fight them if they refused it.[263] This was in time of peace. War had since arisen between the two crowns, and brought with it the opportunity of settling the question forever. In order to do so, the minister Seignelay, like his father Colbert, proposed to establish a French port on the Gulf, as a permanent menace to the Spaniards and a basis of future [Pg 345] conquest. It was in view of this plan that La Salle's past enterprises had been favored; and the proposals he now made were in perfect accord with it.
LA SALLE'S PROPOSALS.
These proposals were set forth22 in two memorials. The first of them states that the late Monseigneur Colbert deemed it important for the service of his Majesty23 to discover a port in the Gulf of Mexico; that to this end the memorialist, La Salle, made five journeys of upwards24 of five thousand leagues, in great part on foot; and traversed more than six hundred leagues of unknown country, among savages and cannibals, at the cost of a hundred and fifty thousand francs. He now proposes to return by way of the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of the Mississippi to the countries he has discovered, whence great benefits may be expected: first, the cause of God may be advanced by the preaching of the gospel to many Indian tribes; and, secondly25, great conquests may be effected for the glory of the King, by the seizure26 of provinces rich in silver mines, and defended only by a few indolent and effeminate Spaniards. The Sieur de la Salle, pursues the memorial, binds27 himself to be ready for the accomplishment28 of this enterprise within one year after his arrival on the spot; and he asks for this purpose only one vessel and two hundred men, with their arms, munitions29, pay, and maintenance. When Monseigneur shall direct him, he will give the details of what he proposes. The memorial then describes the boundless30 extent, the fertility and [Pg 346] resources of the country watered by the river Colbert, or Mississippi; the necessity of guarding it against foreigners, who will be eager to seize it now that La Salle's discovery has made it known; and the ease with which it may be defended by one or two forts at a proper distance above its mouth, which would form the key to an interior region eight hundred leagues in extent. "Should foreigners anticipate us," he adds, "they will complete the ruin of New France, which they already hem5 in by their establishments of Virginia, Pennsylvania, New England, and Hudson's Bay."[264]
The second memorial is more explicit31. The place, it says, which the Sieur de la Salle proposes to fortify32, is on the river Colbert, or Mississippi, sixty leagues above its mouth, where the soil is very fertile, the climate very mild, and whence we, the French, may control the continent,—since, the river being narrow, we could defend ourselves by means of fire-ships against a hostile fleet, while the position is excellent both for attacking an enemy or retreating in case of need. The neighboring Indians detest33 the Spaniards, but love the French, having been won over by the kindness of the Sieur de la Salle. We could form of them an army of more than fifteen thousand savages, who, supported by the French and Abenakis, followers34 of the Sieur de la Salle, could easily subdue35 the province of New Biscay (the most northern province of Mexico), where there are but [Pg 347] four hundred Spaniards, more fit to work the mines than to fight. On the north of New Biscay lie vast forests, extending to the river Seignelay[265] (Red River), which is but forty or fifty leagues from the Spanish province. This river affords the means of attacking it to great advantage.
In view of these facts, pursues the memorial, the Sieur de la Salle offers, if the war with Spain continues, to undertake this conquest with two hundred men from France. He will take on his way fifty buccaneers at St. Domingo, and direct the four thousand Indian warriors36 at Fort St. Louis of the Illinois to descend37 the river and join him. He will separate his force into three divisions, and attack at the same time the centre and the two extremities38 of the province. To accomplish this great design, he asks only for a vessel of thirty guns, a few cannon39 for the forts, and power to raise in France two hundred such men as he shall think fit, to be armed, paid, and maintained six months at the King's charge. And the Sieur de la Salle binds himself, if the execution of this plan is prevented for more than three years, by peace with Spain, to refund40 to his Majesty all the costs of the enterprise, on pain of forfeiting41 the government of the ports he will have established.[266]
[Pg 348]
LA SALLES'S PLANS.
Such, in brief, was the substance of this singular proposition. And, first, it is to be observed that it is based on a geographical42 blunder, the nature of which is explained by the map of La Salle's discoveries made in this very year. Here the river Seignelay, or Red River, is represented as running parallel to the northern border of Mexico, and at no great distance from it,—the region now called Texas being almost entirely43 suppressed. According to the map, New Biscay might be reached from this river in a few days; and, after crossing the intervening forests, the coveted44 mines of Ste. Barbe, or Santa Barbara, would be within striking distance.[267] That La Salle believed in the possibility of invading the Spanish province of New Biscay from Red River there can be no doubt; neither can it reasonably be doubted that he hoped at some future day to make the attempt; and yet it is incredible that a man in his sober senses could have proposed this scheme with the intention of attempting to execute it at the time and in the manner which he indicates.[268] This memorial bears [Pg 349] some indications of being drawn up in order to produce a certain effect on the minds of the King and his minister. La Salle's immediate45 necessity was to obtain from them the means for establishing a fort and a colony within the mouth of the Mississippi. This was essential to his own plans; nor did he in the least exaggerate the value of such an establishment to the French nation, and the importance of anticipating other powers in the possession of it. But he thought that he needed a more glittering lure46 to attract the eyes of Louis and Seignelay; and thus, it may be, he held before them, in a definite and tangible47 form, the project of Spanish conquest which had haunted his imagination from youth,—trusting that the speedy conclusion of peace, which actually took place, would absolve48 him from the immediate execution of the scheme, and give him time, with the means placed at his disposal, to mature his plans and prepare for eventual49 action. Such a procedure may be charged with indirectness; but there is a different explanation, which we shall suggest hereafter, and which implies no such reproach.[269]
[Pg 350]
Even with this madcap enterprise lopped off, La Salle's scheme of Mississippi trade and colonization50, perfectly51 sound in itself, was too vast for an individual,—above all, for one crippled and crushed with debt. While he grasped one link of the great chain, another, no less essential, escaped from his hand; while he built up a colony on the Mississippi, it was reasonably certain that evil would befall his distant colony of the Illinois.
The glittering project which he now unfolded found favor in the eyes of the King and his minister; for both were in the flush of an unparalleled success, and looked in the future, as in the past, for nothing but triumphs. They granted more than the petitioner53 asked, as indeed they well might, if they expected the accomplishment of all that he proposed [Pg 351] to attempt. La Forest, La Salle's lieutenant54, ejected from Fort Frontenac by La Barre, was now at Paris; and he was despatched to Canada, empowered to reoccupy, in La Salle's name, both Fort Frontenac and Fort St. Louis of the Illinois. The King himself wrote to La Barre in a strain that must have sent a cold thrill through the veins55 of that official. "I hear," he says, "that you have taken possession of Fort Frontenac, the property of the Sieur de la Salle, driven away his men, suffered his land to run to waste, and even told the Iroquois that they might seize him as an enemy of the colony." He adds, that, if this is true, La Barre must make reparation for the wrong, and place all La Salle's property, as well as his men, in the hands of the Sieur de la Forest, "as I am satisfied that Fort Frontenac was not abandoned, as you wrote to me that it had been."[270] Four days later, he wrote to the intendant of Canada, De Meules, to the effect that the bearer, La Forest, is to suffer no impediment, and that La Barre is to surrender to him without reserve all that belongs to La Salle.[271] Armed with this letter, La Forest sailed for Canada.[272]
[Pg 352]
A chief object of his mission, as it was represented to Seignelay, was, not only to save the colony at the Illinois from being broken up by La Barre, but also to collect La Salle's scattered56 followers, muster57 the savage8 warriors around the rock of St. Louis, and lead the whole down the Mississippi, to co-operate in the attack on New Biscay. If La Salle meant that La Forest should seriously attempt to execute such a scheme, then the charges of his enemies that his brain was turned were better founded than he would have us think.[273]
PREPARATION.
He had asked for two vessels58,[274] and four were given to him. Agents were sent to Rochelle and Rochefort to gather recruits. A hundred soldiers were enrolled59, besides mechanics and laborers60; and thirty volunteers, [Pg 353] including gentlemen and burghers of condition, joined the expedition. And, as the plan was one no less of colonization than of war, several families embarked61 for the new land of promise, as well as a number of girls, lured63 by the prospect64 of almost certain matrimony. Nor were missionaries65 wanting. Among them was La Salle's brother, Cavelier, and two other priests of St. Sulpice. Three Récollets were added,—Zenobe Membré, who was then in France, Anastase Douay, and Maxime Le Clerc. The principal vessel was the "Joly," belonging to the royal navy, and carrying thirty-six guns. Another armed vessel of six guns was added, together with a store-ship and a ketch.
La Salle had asked for sole command of the expedition, with a subaltern officer, and one or two pilots to sail the vessels as he should direct. Instead of complying, Seignelay gave the command of the vessels to Beaujeu, a captain of the royal navy,—whose authority was restricted to their management at sea, while La Salle was to prescribe the route they were to take, and have entire control of the troops and colonists66 on land.[275] This arrangement displeased67 both parties. Beaujeu, an old and experienced officer, was galled68 that a civilian69 should be set over him,—and he, too, a burgher lately ennobled; nor was La Salle the man to soothe70 his ruffled71 spirit. Detesting72 a divided command, cold, reserved, and [Pg 354] impenetrable, he would have tried the patience of a less excitable colleague. Beaujeu, on his part, though set to a task which he disliked, seems to have meant to do his duty, and to have been willing at the outset to make the relations between himself and his unwelcome associate as agreeable as possible. Unluckily, La Salle discovered that the wife of Beaujeu was devoted73 to the Jesuits. We have seen the extreme distrust with which he regarded these guides of his youth, and he seems now to have fancied that Beaujeu was their secret ally. Possibly, he suspected that information of his movements would be given to the Spaniards; more probably, he had undefined fears of adverse74 machinations. Granting that such existed, it was not his interest to stimulate75 them by needlessly exasperating76 the naval77 commander. His deportment, however, was not conciliating; and Beaujeu, prepared to dislike him, presently lost temper. While the vessels still lay at Rochelle; while all was bustle78 and preparation; while stores, arms, and munitions were embarking79; while boys and vagabonds were enlisting80 as soldiers for the expedition,—Beaujeu was venting81 his disgust in long letters to the minister.
BEAUJEU AND LA SALLE.
"You have ordered me, Monseigneur, to give all possible aid to this undertaking82, and I shall do so to the best of my power; but permit me to take great credit to myself, for I find it very hard to submit to the orders of the Sieur de la Salle, whom I believe to be a man of merit, but who has no experience of [Pg 355] war except with savages, and who has no rank, while I have been captain of a ship thirteen years, and have served thirty by sea and land. Besides, Monseigneur, he has told me that in case of his death you have directed that the Sieur de Tonty shall succeed him. This, indeed, is very hard; for, though I am not acquainted with that country, I should be very dull, if, being on the spot, I did not know at the end of a month as much of it as they do. I beg, Monseigneur, that I may at least share the command with them; and that, as regards war, nothing may be done without my knowledge and concurrence,—for, as to their commerce, I neither intend nor desire to know anything about it."
Seignelay answered by a rebuff, and told him to make no trouble about the command. This increased his irritation83, and he wrote: "In my last letter, Monseigneur, I represented to you the hardship of compelling me to obey M. de la Salle, who has no rank, and never commanded anybody but school-boys; and I begged you at least to divide the command between us. I now, Monseigneur, take the liberty to say that I will obey without repugnance84, if you order me to do so, having reflected that there can be no competition between the said Sieur de la Salle and me.
"Thus far, he has not told me his plan; and he changes his mind every moment. He is a man so suspicious, and so afraid that one will penetrate85 his secrets, that I dare not ask him anything. He says [Pg 356] that M. de Parassy, commissary's clerk, with whom he has often quarrelled, is paid by his enemies to defeat his undertaking; and many other things with which I will not trouble you....
"He pretends that I am only to command the sailors, and have no authority over the volunteer officers and the hundred soldiers who are to take passage in the 'Joly;' and that they are not to recognize or obey me in any way during the voyage....
"He has covered the decks with boxes and chests of such prodigious86 size that neither the cannon nor the capstan can be worked."
La Salle drew up a long list of articles, defining the respective rights and functions of himself and Beaujeu, to whom he presented it for signature. Beaujeu demurred87 at certain military honors demanded by La Salle, saying that if a marshal of France should come on board his ship, he would have none left to offer him. The point was referred to the naval intendant; and the articles of the treaty having been slightly modified, Beaujeu set his name to it. "By this," he says, "you can judge better of the character of M. de la Salle than by all I can say. He is a man who wants smoke [form and ceremony]. I will give him his fill of it, and, perhaps, more than he likes.
"I am bound to an unknown country, to seek what is about as hard to find as the philosopher's stone. It vexes88 me, Monseigneur, that you should [Pg 357] have been involved in a business the success of which is very uncertain. M. de la Salle begins to doubt it himself."
While Beaujeu wrote thus to the minister, he was also writing to Cabart de Villermont, one of his friends at Paris, with whom La Salle was also on friendly terms. These letters are lively and entertaining, and by no means suggestive of any secret conspiracy89. He might, it is true, have been more reserved in his communications; but he betrays no confidence, for none was placed in him. It is the familiar correspondence of an irritable90 but not ill-natured veteran, who is placed in an annoying position, and thinks he is making the best of it.
La Salle thought that the minister had been too free in communicating the secrets of the expedition to the naval intendant at Rochefort, and through him to Beaujeu. It is hard to see how Beaujeu was to blame for this; but La Salle nevertheless fell into a dispute with him. "He could hardly keep his temper, and used expressions which obliged me to tell him that I cared very little about his affairs, and that the King himself would not speak as he did. He retracted91, made excuses, and we parted good friends....
"I do not like his suspiciousness. I think him a good, honest Norman; but Normans are out of fashion. It is one thing to-day, another to-morrow. It seems to me that he is not so sure about his undertaking as he was at Paris. This morning he [Pg 358] came to see me, and told me he had changed his mind, and meant to give a new turn to the business, and go to another coast. He gave very poor reasons, to which I assented92, to avoid a quarrel. I thought, by what he said, that he wanted to find a scapegoat93 to bear the blame, in case his plan does not succeed as he hopes. For the rest, I think him a brave man and a true; and I am persuaded that if this business fails, it will be because he does not know enough, and will not trust us of the profession. As for me, I shall do my best to help him, as I have told you before; and I am delighted to have him keep his secret, so that I shall not have to answer for the result. Pray do not show my letters, for fear of committing me with him. He is too suspicious already; and never was Norman so Norman as he, which is a great hinderance to business."
Beaujeu came from the same province and calls himself jocularly un bon gros Normand. His good-nature, however, rapidly gave way as time went on. "Yesterday," he writes, "this Monsieur told me that he meant to go to the Gulf of Mexico. A little while ago, as I said before, he talked about going to Canada. I see nothing certain in it. It is not that I do not believe that all he says is true; but not being of the profession, and not liking94 to betray his ignorance, he is puzzled what to do.
"I shall go straight forward, without regarding a thousand whims95 and bagatelles. His continual suspicion would drive anybody mad except a Norman [Pg 359] like me; but I shall humor him, as I have always done, even to sailing my ship on dry land, if he likes."
AN OPEN QUARREL.
A few days later, there was an open quarrel. "M. de la Salle came to me, and said, rather haughtily96 and in a tone of command, that I must put provisions for three months more on board my vessel. I told him it was impossible, as she had more lading already than anybody ever dared to put in her before. He would not hear reason, but got angry and abused me in good French, and found fault with me because the vessel would not hold his three months' provisions. He said I ought to have told him of it before. 'And how would you have me tell you,' said I, 'when you never tell me what you mean to do?' We had still another quarrel. He asked me where his officers should take their meals. I told him that they might take them where he pleased; for I gave myself no trouble in the matter, having no orders. He answered that they should not mess on bacon, while the rest ate fowls97 and mutton. I said that if he would send fowls and mutton on board, his people should eat them; but, as for bacon, I had often ate it myself. At this, he went off and complained to M. Dugué that I refused to embark62 his provisions, and told him that he must live on bacon. I excused him as not knowing how to behave himself, having spent his life among school-boy brats98 and savages. Nevertheless, I offered to him, his brother, and two of his friends, seats at my table and [Pg 360] the same fare as myself. He answered my civility by an impertinence, saying that he distrusted people who offered so much and seemed so obliging. I could not help telling him that I saw he was brought up in the provinces."
This was touching99 La Salle on a sensitive point. Beaujeu continues: "In fact, you knew him better than I; for I always took him for a gentleman (honnête homme). I see now that he is anything but that. Pray set Abbé Renaudot and M. Morel right about this man, and tell them he is not what they take him for. Adieu. It has struck twelve: the postman is just going."
Bad as was the state of things, it soon grew worse. Renaudot wrote to La Salle that Beaujeu was writing to Villermont everything that happened, and that Villermont showed the letters to all his acquaintance. Villermont was a relative of the Jesuit Beschefer; and this was sufficient to suggest some secret machination to the mind of La Salle. Villermont's fault, however, seems to have been simple indiscretion, for which Beaujeu took him sharply to task. "I asked you to burn my letters; and I cannot help saying that I am angry with you, not because you make known my secrets, but because you show letters scrawled100 in haste, and sent off without being even read over. M. de la Salle not having told me his secret, though M. de Seignelay ordered him to tell me, I am not obliged to keep it, and have as good a right as anybody to make my [Pg 361] conjectures101 on what I read about it in the Gazette de Hollande. Let Abbé Renaudot glorify103 M. de la Salle as much as he likes, and make him a Cortez, a Pizarro, or an Almagro,—that is nothing to me; but do not let him speak of me as an obstacle in his hero's way. Let him understand that I know how to execute the orders of the court as well as he....
LA SALLE'S INDISCRETION.
"You ask how I get on with M. de la Salle. Don't you know that this man is impenetrable, and that there is no knowing what he thinks of one? He told a person of note whom I will not name that he had suspicions about our correspondence, as well as about Madame de Beaujeu's devotion to the Jesuits. His distrust is incredible. If he sees one of his people speak to the rest, he suspects something, and is gruff with them. He told me himself that he wanted to get rid of M. de Tonty, who is in America."
La Salle's claim to exclusive command of the soldiers on board the "Joly" was a source of endless trouble. Beaujeu declared that he would not set sail till officers, soldiers, and volunteers had all sworn to obey him when at sea; at which La Salle had the indiscretion to say, "If I am not master of my soldiers, how can I make him [Beaujeu] do his duty in case he does not want to do it?"
Beaujeu says that this affair made a great noise among the officers at Rochefort, and adds: "There are very few people who do not think that his brain is touched. I have spoken to some who have known [Pg 362] him twenty years. They all say that he was always rather visionary."
It is difficult not to suspect that the current belief at Rochefort had some foundation; and that the deadly strain of extreme hardship, prolonged anxiety, and alternation of disaster and success, joined to the fever which nearly killed him, had unsettled his judgment104 and given a morbid105 development to his natural defects. His universal suspicion, which included even the stanch106 and faithful Henri de Tonty; his needless provocation107 of persons whose good-will was necessary to him; his doubts whether he should sail for the Gulf or for Canada, when to sail to Canada would have been to renounce108, or expose to almost certain defeat, an enterprise long cherished and definitely planned,—all point to one conclusion. It may be thought that his doubts were feigned109, in order to hide his destination to the last moment; but if so, he attempted to blind not only his ill wishers, but his mother, whom he also left in uncertainty110 as to his route.
AN OVERWROUGHT BRAIN.
Unless we assume that his scheme of invading Mexico was thrown out as a bait to the King, it is hard to reconcile it with the supposition of mental soundness. To base so critical an attempt on a geographical conjecture102, which rested on the slightest possible information, and was in fact a total error; to postpone111 the perfectly sound plan of securing the mouth of the Mississippi, to a wild project of leading fifteen thousand savages for an unknown distance [Pg 363] through an unknown country to attack an unknown enemy,—was something more than Quixotic daring. The King and the minister saw nothing impracticable in it, for they did not know the country or its inhabitants. They saw no insuperable difficulty in mustering112 and keeping together fifteen thousand of the most wayward and unstable113 savages on earth, split into a score and more of tribes, some hostile to each other and some to the French; nor in the problem of feeding such a mob, on a march of hundreds of miles; nor in the plan of drawing four thousand of them from the Illinois, nearly two thousand miles distant, though some of these intended allies had no canoes or other means of transportation, and though, travelling in such numbers, they would infallibly starve on the way to the rendezvous114. It is difficult not to see in all this the chimera115 of an overwrought brain, no longer able to distinguish between the possible and the impossible.
Preparation dragged slowly on; the season was growing late; the King grew impatient, and found fault with the naval intendant. Meanwhile, the various members of the expedition had all gathered at Rochelle. Joutel, a fellow-townsman of La Salle, returning to his native Rouen, after sixteen years in the army, found all astir with the new project. His father had been gardener to Henri Cavelier, La Salle's uncle; and being of an adventurous116 spirit he volunteered for the enterprise, of which he was to become the historian. With La Salle's brother the [Pg 364] priest, and two of his nephews, one of whom was a boy of fourteen, Joutel set out for Rochelle, where all were to embark together for their promised land.[276]
A PARTING LETTER
La Salle wrote a parting letter to his mother at Rouen:—
Rochelle, 18 July, 1684.
Madame my Most Honored Mother,—
At last, after having waited a long time for a favourable117 wind, and having had a great many difficulties to overcome, we are setting sail with four vessels, and nearly four hundred men on board. Everybody is well, including little Colin and my nephew. We all have good hope of a happy success. We are not going by way of Canada, but by the Gulf of Mexico. I passionately118 wish, and so do we all, that the success of this voyage may contribute to your repose119 and comfort. Assuredly, I shall spare no effort that it may; and I beg you, on your part, to preserve yourself for the love of us.
You need not be troubled by the news from Canada, which are nothing but the continuation of the artifices120 of my enemies. I hope to be as successful against them as I have been thus far, and to embrace you a year hence with all the pleasure that the most grateful of children can feel with so good a mother as you have always been. Pray let this hope, which shall not disappoint you, support you through whatever trials may happen, and be sure that you will always find me with a heart full of the feelings which are due to you. [Pg 365] Madame my Most Honored Mother, from your most humble121 and most obedient servant and son,
De la Salle.
My brother, my nephews, and all the others greet you, and take their leave of you.
This memorable122 last farewell has lain for two hundred years among the family papers of the Caveliers.[277]
FOOTNOTES:
[262] Lettres de l'Abbé Tronson, 8 Avril, 10 Avril, 1684 (Margry, ii. 354).
[263] Lettres du Roy et du Ministre sur la Navigation du Golfe du Mexique, 1669-1682 (Margry, iii. 3-14).
[264] Mémoire du Sr. de la Salle, pour rendre compte à Monseigneur de Seignelay de la découverte qu'il a faite par1 l'ordre de sa Majesté.
[265] This name, also given to the Illinois, is used to designate Red River on the map of Franquelin, where the forests above mentioned are represented.
[266] ] Mémoire du Sr. de la Salle sur l'Entreprise qu'il a proposé à Monseigneur le Marquis de Seignelay sur une des provinces de Mexique.
[267] Both the memorial and the map represent the banks of Red River as inhabited by Indians, called Terliquiquimechi, and known to the Spaniards as Indios bravos, or Indios de guerra. The Spaniards, it is added, were in great fear of them, as they made frequent inroads into Mexico. La Salle's Mexican geography was in all respects confused and erroneous; nor was Seignelay better informed. Indeed, Spanish jealousy123 placed correct information beyond their reach.
[268] While the plan, as proposed in the memorial, was clearly impracticable, the subsequent experience of the French in Texas tended to prove that the tribes of that region could be used with advantage in attacking the Spaniards of Mexico, and that an inroad on a comparatively small scale might have been successfully made with their help. In 1689, Tonty actually made the attempt, as we shall see, but failed, from the desertion of his men. In 1697, the Sieur de Louvigny wrote to the Minister of the Marine124, asking to complete La Salle's discoveries, and invade Mexico from Texas. (Lettre de M. de Louvigny, 14 Oct., 1697.) In an unpublished memoir125 of the year 1700, the seizure of the Mexican mines is given as one of the motives126 of the colonization of Louisiana.
[269] Another scheme, with similar aims, but much more practicable, was at this very time before the court. Count Pe?alossa, a Spanish Creole, born in Peru, had been governor of New Mexico, where he fell into a dispute with the Inquisition, which involved him in the loss of property, and for a time of liberty. Failing to obtain redress127 in Spain, he renounced128 his allegiance in disgust, and sought refuge in France, where, in 1682, he first proposed to the King the establishment of a colony of French buccaneers at the mouth of Rio Bravo, on the Gulf of Mexico. In January, 1684, after the war had broken out, he proposed to attack the Spanish town of Panuco, with twelve hundred buccaneers from St. Domingo; then march into the interior, seize the mines, conquer Durango, and occupy New Mexico. It was proposed to combine his plan with that of La Salle; but the latter, who had an interview with him, expressed distrust, and showed characteristic reluctance129 to accept a colleague. It is extremely probable, however, that his knowledge of Pe?alossa's original proposal had some influence in stimulating130 him to lay before the court proposals of his own, equally attractive. Peace was concluded before the plans of the Spanish adventurer could be carried into effect.
[270] Lettre du Roy à La Barre, Versailles, 10 Avril, 1684.
[271] Lettre du Roy à De Meules, Versailles, 14 Avril, 1684. Seignelay wrote to De Meules to the same effect.
[272] On La Forest's mission,—Mémoire pour representer à Monseigneur le Marquis de Seignelay la nécessité d'envoyer le Sr. de la Forest en diligence à la Nouvelle France; Lettre du Roy à La Barre, 14 Avril, 1684; Ibid., 31 Oct., 1684.
There is before me a promissory note of La Salle to La Forest, of 5,200 livres, dated at Rochelle, 17 July, 1684. This seems to be pay due to La Forest, who had served as La Salle's officer for nine years. A memorandum131 is attached, signed by La Salle, to the effect that it is his wish that La Forest reimburse132 himself, "par préférence," out of any property of his (La Salle's) in France or Canada.
[273] The attitude of La Salle, in this matter, is incomprehensible. In July, La Forest was at Rochefort, complaining because La Salle had ordered him to stay in garrison133 at Fort Frontenac. Beaujeu à Villermont, 10 July, 1684. This means an abandonment of the scheme of leading the warriors at the rock of St. Louis down the Mississippi; but, in the next month, La Salle writes to Seignelay that he is afraid La Barre will use the Iroquois war as a pretext134 to prevent La Forest from making his journey (to the Illinois), and that in this case he will himself try to go up the Mississippi, and meet the Illinois warriors; so that, in five or six months from the date of the letter, the minister will hear of his departure to attack the Spaniards. (La Salle à Seignelay, Ao?t, 1684.) Either this is sheer folly135, or else it is meant to delude136 the minister.
[274] Mémoire de ce qui aura esté accordé au Sieur de la Salle.
[275] Lettre au Roy à La Salle, 12 Avril, 1684; Mémoire pour servir d'Instruction au Sieur de Beaujeu, 14 Avril, 1684.
[276] Joutel, Journal Historique, 12.
[277] The letters of Beaujeu to Seignelay and to Cabart de Villermont, with most of the other papers on which this chapter rests, will be found in Margry, ii. 354-471. This indefatigable137 investigator138 has also brought to light a number of letters from a brother officer of Beaujeu, Machaut-Rougemont, written at Rochefort, just after the departure of the expedition from Rochelle, and giving some idea of the views there entertained concerning it. He says: "L'on ne peut pas faire plus d'extravagances que le Sieur de la Salle n'en a fait sur toutes ses prétentions de commandement. Je plains beaucoup le pauvre Beaujeu d'avoir affaire à une humeur si saturnienne.... Je le croy beaucoup visionnaire ... Beaujeu a une sotte commission."
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1
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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4
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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hem
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| n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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throngs
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| n.人群( throng的名词复数 )v.成群，挤满( throng的第三人称单数 ) | |
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rumor
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| n.谣言，谣传，传说 | |
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recluse
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| n.隐居者 | |
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royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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rumored
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| adj.传说的，谣传的v.传闻( rumor的过去式和过去分词 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷 | |
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opportune
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| adj.合适的，适当的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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21
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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27
binds
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| v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕 | |
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accomplishment
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| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
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munitions
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| n.军火，弹药；v.供应…军需品 | |
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30
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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explicit
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| adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的 | |
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32
fortify
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| v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化 | |
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detest
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| vt.痛恨，憎恶 | |
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followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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subdue
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| vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制 | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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37
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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38
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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39
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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40
refund
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| v.退还，偿还；n.归还，偿还额，退款 | |
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41
forfeiting
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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42
geographical
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| adj.地理的；地区(性)的 | |
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43
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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44
coveted
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| adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图 | |
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45
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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46
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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47
tangible
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| adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的 | |
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48
absolve
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| v.赦免，解除（责任等） | |
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49
eventual
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| adj.最后的，结局的，最终的 | |
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50
colonization
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| 殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖 | |
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51
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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52
rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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53
petitioner
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| n.请愿人 | |
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54
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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55
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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56
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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57
muster
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| v.集合，收集，鼓起，激起；n.集合，检阅，集合人员，点名册 | |
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58
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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59
enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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60
laborers
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| n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工 | |
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61
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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62
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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63
lured
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| 吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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64
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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65
missionaries
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| n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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66
colonists
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| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
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67
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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68
galled
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| v.使…擦痛( gall的过去式和过去分词 )；擦伤；烦扰；侮辱 | |
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69
civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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70
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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71
ruffled
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| adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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72
detesting
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| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的现在分词 ) | |
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73
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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74
adverse
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| adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的 | |
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75
stimulate
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| vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋 | |
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76
exasperating
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| adj. 激怒的 动词exasperate的现在分词形式 | |
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77
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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78
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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79
embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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80
enlisting
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| v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的现在分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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81
venting
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| 消除； 泄去； 排去； 通风 | |
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82
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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83
irritation
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| n.激怒，恼怒，生气 | |
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84
repugnance
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| n.嫌恶 | |
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85
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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86
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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87
demurred
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| v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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88
vexes
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| v.使烦恼( vex的第三人称单数 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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89
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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irritable
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| adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的 | |
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91
retracted
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| v.撤回或撤消( retract的过去式和过去分词 )；拒绝执行或遵守；缩回；拉回 | |
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92
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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93
scapegoat
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| n.替罪的羔羊，替人顶罪者；v.使…成为替罪羊 | |
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94
liking
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| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
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WHIMS
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| 虚妄，禅病 | |
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haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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97
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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98
brats
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| n.调皮捣蛋的孩子( brat的名词复数 ) | |
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99
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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100
scrawled
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| 乱涂，潦草地写( scrawl的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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conjectures
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| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
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102
conjecture
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| n./v.推测，猜测 | |
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103
glorify
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| vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化 | |
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104
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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105
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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106
stanch
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| v.止住（血等）；adj.坚固的；坚定的 | |
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107
provocation
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| n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因 | |
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108
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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109
feigned
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| a.假装的，不真诚的 | |
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110
uncertainty
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| n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物 | |
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111
postpone
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| v.延期，推迟 | |
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112
mustering
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的现在分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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113
unstable
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| adj.不稳定的，易变的 | |
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114
rendezvous
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| n.约会，约会地点，汇合点；vi.汇合，集合；vt.使汇合，使在汇合地点相遇 | |
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chimera
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| n.神话怪物；梦幻 | |
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adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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120
artifices
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| n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 )；诡计；巧妙办法；虚伪行为 | |
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121
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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memoir
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| n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录 | |
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126
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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renounced
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| v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布放弃；宣布与…决裂；宣布摒弃 | |
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reluctance
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| n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿 | |
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stimulating
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| adj.有启发性的，能激发人思考的 | |
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memorandum
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| n.备忘录，便笺 | |
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reimburse
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| v.补偿，付还 | |
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garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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135
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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delude
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| vt.欺骗；哄骗 | |
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indefatigable
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| adj.不知疲倦的，不屈不挠的 | |
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investigator
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| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
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