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LOCATION OF LA SALLE'S 
 COLONY ON THE GULF 
 OF MEXICO 
 
 BY 
 
 HERBERT E. BOLTON 
 
 REPRINTED FROM 
 
 'Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXVII, 171-189 
 AUSTIN, TEXAS 
 
THE LOCATION OF LA SALLE'S COLONY ON THE GULF 
 
 OF MEXICO* 
 
 HERBERT E. BOLTON 
 
 One of the unsettled points in the history of La Salle's career 
 in America has been the exact location of the colony which he 
 established temporarily on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico in 
 1685. The view held my Parkman and most other writers has 
 been that the site was on the Lavaca river, but from this opinion 
 some have dissented, while others have been in doubt because 
 of the inadequacy of the available data. 1 The question is de- 
 batable no longer, for it is settled once for all by newly discov- 
 ered records in the archives of Spain, which have been corrob- 
 orated by archeological and topographical investigation. 
 
 In order to put this new evidence in its proper setting, it 
 seems desirable to review briefly the main features of the well- 
 known story of La Salle's enterprise. In 1682 La Salle descended 
 the Mississippi to its mouth and conceived the idea of founding 
 there a colony in the name of the king of France. In writing 
 of his purposes, historians generally have laid the chief emphasis 
 upon La Salle's desire to control and develop the valley of the 
 Mississippi, and through that stream to establish connection with 
 Canada. But La Salle had other purposes which were equally or 
 even more prominent in his plans. French explorers in the in- 
 terior of North America had long dreamed of finding a way to 
 the much talked of mines of northern Mexico. France and Spain 
 
 *This article is reprinted with the courteous permission of the editor 
 of the Mississippi Valley Historical Review, in which it appeared. Sep- 
 tember, 1915 (Volume II, 165-182). 
 
 Parkman writes: "It was on the river which he named La Vache, now 
 the Lavaca, which enters the head of Matagorda Bay" (La> Salle and the 
 Discovery of the Great West [Boston, 1910], 391-392). The same view is 
 held by H. H. Bancroft (North Mexican States and Texas [San Francisco, 
 1886], I, 402); G. P. Garrison (Texas [Boston, 1903], 22); and R. C. 
 Clark (The Beginnings of Texas [Austin, 1907], 18). On their maps 
 Garrison and Clark both place the French fort east of the stream. Miss 
 Eleanor Buckley, in a scholarly discussion, concludes that the fort was on 
 Lavaca, but shows, correctly, that it was not on the left bank. (Texas 
 State Historical Association Quarterly, XV, 57-60.) W. Kingsford (The 
 History of Canada [London, 1888], II, 137-138) concludes that the settle- 
 ment was probably on Galveston Bay and certainly not on Matagorda. 
 For other views see post, 179. 
 
 589845 
 
172 ' 'Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 were continually at war or on the verge of war, and at the very 
 time when La Salle descended the Mississippi French buccaneers 
 were scouring the waters of the gulf and making raids upon the 
 Spanish settlements of Florida. In the course of the next year 
 French corsairs three times sacked the Spanish settlement of 
 Apalache. Thus France and Spain were competing for the con- 
 trol of the northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and of this 
 competition La Salle's project was a part. When he returned to 
 France, therefore, La Salle proposed to establish a colony on the 
 gulf, not only as a means of controlling the Mississippi valley 
 and the northern gulf shore, but also as a base of attack, in case 
 of war, upon the Spanish treasure fleets and upon the northern 
 provinces of Mexico. These purposes La Salle plainly set forth 
 in his proposals to the king, and on these terms his plans were 
 approved by Louis XIV. 2 
 
 The colony of some four hundred people left France in the 
 summer of 1684, and in the autumn reached the West Indies, the 
 ketch of St. Francois having been captured by the Spaniards on 
 the way. While in the West Indies La Salle was gravely ill, but 
 he recovered his health and in November continued his voyage. 
 For reasons which have never been fully explained, the mouth 
 of the Mississippi was missed and a landing made near Pass 
 Cavallo, on Matagorda bay. 3 Some students have maintained that 
 the passing of the Mississippi was not accidental, but designed by 
 La Salle, in order better to attack the Spanish provinces of Mexico. 
 This view, however, seems unwarranted. 4 
 
 After reaching Matagorda bay the expedition went rapidly to 
 pieces. A landing had scarcely been made when some of the 
 colonists died from sickness and others were killed by the In- 
 dians. In the attempt to enter the bay, the Aimable was wrecked. 
 Beaujeu, the naval commander, had quarreled with La Salle from 
 
 2 See documents in P. Margry, Decouvertes et etablissements des frangais 
 dans I'ouest et dans le sud de I'Amerique Septentrionale, 1614-1698 (Paris, 
 1878), II, 288-301, 359-369; III, 17-28. Also G. Gravier, Cavelier de la 
 Salle de Rouen (Paris, 1871), 96-97. 
 
 '"Relation de Henri Joutel," in Margry, Decouvertes, III, 91-146. 
 
 4 For the view that the passing of the Mississippi was by mistake see 
 Parkman, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, 376; Gravier, 
 Cavelier de la Salle de Rouen, 100; Justin Winsor, Cartier to Frontenac 
 (Boston, 1894), 313; Bancroft, North Mexican States and Texas, I, 399; 
 Jared Sparks, Robert Cavelier de la Salle (Boston, 1844), 130; E. T. 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 173 
 
 the beginning, and from Pass Cavallo he sailed back to France 
 with the Joly, carrying away some of the soldiers and a large 
 quantity of much needed supplies. Tonty, La Salle's lieutenant, 
 by agreement descended the Mississippi to meet him at the mouth, 
 but of course did not find him, and therefore gave him no aid. 
 
 To make the best of a bad situation, La Salle moved his colony 
 to a better site near the head of Lavaca bay and began a series 
 of expeditions to the eastward in the hope of finding the Missis- 
 sippi river, which he thought to be near. While engaged in ex- 
 ploring the eastern portion of Matagorda bay, the Belle, the last 
 of La Salle's four vessels, was wrecked and left stranded on the 
 inner shoals of Matagorda peninsula. 5 On his third expedition 
 northeastward La Salle, with a few companions, made his way 
 to the Cenis Indians on the Neches, and to the Nasoni north of 
 Nacogdoches. But here he was forced by desertion and sickness 
 to retrace his steps, and he returned to the settlement at Mata- 
 gorda bay. 6 The colony by this time had dwindled down to a 
 mere handful, and succor was imperative or extermination cer- 
 tain. Again the intrepid explorer set forth with a few compan- 
 ions, in an attempt to reach Canada. Crossing the Colorado near 
 Columbus, he made his way to the Brazos, which he passed just 
 above the mouth of the Navasota. Here a quarrel arose among 
 his followers, in the course of which Moranget, La Salle's nephew, 
 was slain by his companions while hunting for supplies which 
 La Salle had cached in the vicinity during the previous expe- 
 dition. 7 
 
 To save their own necks, when La Salle reached the scene of 
 the murder the conspirators slew him as they had slain Moran- 
 get. Historians have supposed that this act was committed near 
 the Trinity or the Neches, but evidence now available makes it 
 quite clear that the spot was between the Brazos and Navasota 
 
 Miller, "The connection of Penalosa with the La Salle Expedition," in 
 Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, V, 97-112. For a contrary 
 view see J. G. Shea, The Expedition of Don Diego Dionisi de Penalosa 
 (New York, 1882), 22; Charlevoix, History and General Description of 
 'New France (J. G. Shea, tr. New York, 1866-1872), IV, 68-69. 
 
 "'Relation de Hen'ri Joutel," in Margry, Decouvertes, III, 163-226, passim. 
 
 M. G. Shea, Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley (Albany. 
 1903), 201-205. 
 
 '"Relation de Henri Joutel," in Margry, Decouvertes, III, 260-325. 
 
174 Southwestern Historical Quarterly. 
 
 rivers, and near the present city of Navasota. 8 To L'Archeveque, 
 at least, poetic justice was meted out in full measure, as the 
 scholar Bandelier has shown. Being picked up by the Spaniards 
 and taken to Monclova, L'Archeveque became a citizen of New 
 Mexico, and, in 1720, a third of the century after the assassina- 
 tion of La Salle, he was killed by the Indian allies of the French, 
 while taking part in a Spanish expedition to Kansas. 9 
 
 From the Navasota river the survivors of La Salle's party 
 continued eastward to the Cenis and Nasoni. Here some de- 
 serted, but others, including Joutel and La Salle's brother, Abbe 
 Jean Cavelier, made their way across the Eed river to the mouth 
 of the Arkansas, 10 to Tonty's post on the Illinois, and to Canada. 
 From Tonty they concealed the news of the tragedy which had 
 occurred in the wilds of Texas, but he learned the truth through 
 Indians, and in the fall of 1689 made a second voyage down the 
 Mississippi in an effort to rescue the colonists. Crossing Louisiana 
 to the Natchitoches, he ascended the Eed river to the Caddo, and 
 then made his way southwest for eighty leagues to the Nouaydiche, 
 a village of Indians living near the Neches. But here, for lack 
 of aid and guides, and, it is said, hearing of the approach of 
 De Leon, he was forced to give up the search. Accordingly, he 
 purchased horses from the Indians and returned to Canada. 
 
 Meanwhile the little colony on the gulf dwindled down to a 
 mere handful. Many of the people died of smallpox. Finally, 
 early in the year 1689, four years after the colony had landed, 
 most of the survivors were slain by their savage neighbors, the 
 
 8 The correctness of this conclusion is clear to any one who reads Joutel's 
 journal in the light of contemporary Spanish sources and of established 
 ethnological data regarding the Hasinai Indians. ( See Bolton, "The Nativ e 
 Tribes About the East Texas Missions," in the Texas State Historical 
 Association Quarterly, XI, 249-276.) New light on the operations of La 
 Salle on Matagorda Bay and during his last journeys is shed by the 
 declaration made before the viceroy in Mexico City by Pedro Muni (Pierre 
 Meusnier), one of the Frenchmen picked up in Texas by De Le6n in 1690. 
 He had been with La Salle on his last expedition' and had remained in 
 Eastern Texas. Incidentally he confirms by a positive statement the 
 present writer's conclusions, reached some years ago, that La Salle's death 
 occurred on the Brazos (EspJritu Santo) river. Testimonio de Autos en 
 orderi a las diligencias y resulta de ellas para la entrada por tierra a los 
 Parages de la Bahia del Espfritu Santo. Manuscript in archive general 
 de Indias, Sevilla, estante 61, cajon 6, legajo 21. 
 
 "See A. F. A. Bandelier, The Gilded Man (New York, 1873), 299-300. 
 
 ""Relation de Henri Joutel," in Margry, Decouvertes, III. 325-436. 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 175 
 
 Karankawa Indians. In the course of the next few years five 
 children and four men were picked up in various parts of Texas 
 by Spaniards, taken to Mexico, imprisoned, or otherwise disposer. 
 of. 11 Just a quarter of a century later two of the boys, Jean 
 and Eobert Talon, reappeared in Texas as guides of the famous 
 St. Denis, when in 1714 he made his historic journey from Natch- 
 itoches to the Eio Grande. 12 
 
 Such in outline is the story of La Salle's unfortunate colony. 
 Much of what we know of it is learned through the records of 
 Spanish expeditions sent out in search of it. News of La Salle's 
 voyage to the Mississippi was acquired through the capture of 
 a French corsair off the coast of Yucatan in September, 1684. 
 Soon Spanish parties were sent forth by land and sea to find 
 and eject the intruders. In 1687 the wrecks of the Aimable and 
 the Belle were seen by members of two of these expeditions, who 
 took from them four pieces of artillery "and three painted fleurs 
 de lis." They concluded that the French colony had been com- 
 pletely destroyed; 13 but, to make certain, overland expeditions 
 were sent out from Monterey and Monclova, then the principal 
 outposts on the northeastern frontier of New Spain. The leader 
 of these expeditions was Alonso de Leon, the ablest frontiersman 
 of his district. In 1686 and again in 1687 he made his way to 
 the Eio Grande and explored it to its mouth, looking for the 
 French. Hearing in 1688 of a strange white man dwelling among 
 the Indians north of the Eio Grande, he crossed it near Eagle 
 Pass and found a lone Frenchman ruling single-handed a large 
 confederacy of savages. The Frenchman was captured by strate- 
 
 "Letter of Alonso de Le6n to the viceroy of Mexico, May 18, 1680, in 
 Buckingham Smith, Colecdon de Varios Documentos Para la Historic* de 
 la Florida (London, 1857), 25-27; "Interrogations fait a Pierre et Jean 
 Talon," in Margry, Decouvertes, III, 610-621; Alonso de Leon, Historia de 
 Nuevo Leon, edited by Genaro Garcia (Mexico, 1909), ch. 34-45. 
 
 ^Manuscript correspondence of St. Denis with the mission' authorities 
 of San Juan Bautista t 1714, and of Santa Cruz de Quergtaro. 
 
 13 Cardenas, Ensayo cronologico para la historia general de la Florida 
 (Madrid, 1723), 268, 283; junta de guerra de Yndias, a 22 de marzo de 
 1691. Acordada el mismo dia. Representa a vuestra magestad lo que se 
 le ofrece en vista del papel que escribio Don An'dres de Fez, sobre fortifkar 
 la Bahia de Panzacola. Don Antonio Ortiz de Otalara. c. March 22, 1691. 
 Manuscript in archive general de Indias, estante 61, cajon 6, legajo 21. 
 
176 Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 gem and taken to Mexico; in 1689 he returned as guide to De 
 Leon, now on his fourth expedition in search of La Salle's colony. 14 
 
 Making his way to the northern shores of Lavaca bay, De Leon 
 found the ruins of the French settlement,, rescued from the In- 
 dians a few survivors, held a conference with an Indian chief 
 from the Neches river, and returned to Mexico. Next year he 
 was sent on a fifth expedition, instructed to destroy the French 
 fort and to aid Father Massanet in founding missions on the 
 Neches, where it was feared the French might reappear, and where 
 the friars had long dreamed of establishing the faith. The French 
 fort was burned, and the bay was again visited. 15 
 
 In the summer of 1690 De Leon returned to Monclova and 
 reported what he had done. Among other things he stated that 
 in the bay, a short distance from the mouth of the stream on 
 which the French colony had been established, he had seen two 
 buoys which were not there the year before and could hardly have 
 been placed there by the Indians. 16 So serious was the matter 
 regarded that a council of war was held in Mexico to consider it, 
 for it was feared that the buoys might mark the entrance to some 
 channel in which other French vessels were lurking, or to which 
 they might return. It was resolved, therefore, that they should 
 be destroyed; the method of their destruction was left to be de- 
 termined by the viceroy. 17 
 
 The viceroy not only desired to learn who had left the buoys, 
 and to protect the bay, but was even more concerned to estab- 
 lish a water route to the missions which had been established 
 
 "Alonso de Le6n, Historia de Nuevo Leon, ch. 34-45 ; E. Portillo, Apuntes 
 para la Mstoria antigua de Coahuila y Texas (Saltillo, 1886), 224-238; 
 Clark, Beginnings of Texas, 9-27. 
 
 15 Letter of Damian Massanet to Don Carlos de Sigiienza, in the Texas 
 State Historical Association Quarterly, II, 281-312; Alonso de Le6n, "Itiner- 
 ary of the expedition made by General Alonso de Le6n, 1689," in ibid., 
 VIII, 203-224; De Le6n, Diario of 1690, manuscript. 
 
 16 De Le6n, Diario of 1690, entry for April 26, manuscript; declaration 
 of Gregorio de Salinas, August 19, 1690, 'manuscript in Testimonio de 
 autos en orden a las diligencias. 
 
 "The junta general was held on August 29, 1690. In it were consid- 
 ered De Le6n''s reports and certain declarations given in Mexico a few 
 days before. It was stated that since it appears "by the diary that two 
 buoys or anchors have been seen in the mouth of the entrance of the Rio de 
 San Marcos, which is in the bay of Esplritu Santo, and which appear to 
 be a mark for its entrance; and considering in view of all the foregoing 
 proceedings that every mark, demonstration, or sign which might give an 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico .177 
 
 on the Neches. 18 In September, therefore, he sent out an expedi- 
 tion to investigate these points. A ship was equipped for three 
 months, provided with a launch and a canoe, manned with sixty 
 soldiers and sailors, and put in charge of Captain Francisco de 
 Llanos, an officer in the West Indian fleet. With him went Gre- 
 gorio de Salinas, who had been with De Leon on his last expe- 
 dition, and who was now put in charge of the land operations. 19 
 As pilot the viceroy appointed Juan de Triana, an expert in the 
 navigation of the gulf. As master of the fortification and map- 
 maker went Manuel Joseph de Cardenas y Magana, who had shown 
 skill in the building of the great prison fortress of San Juan de 
 Ulua, still standing near Vera Cruz. Before coming to Mexico 
 he had served two years in the presidio of Cadiz, and one in the 
 West Indian fleet. 20 
 
 indication of the slightest danger ought to be destroyed and removed; this 
 junta sees no objection' to having this done; but it is resolved that the 
 method and time of the measures necessary for it be reserved to the provi- 
 dence of his excellency, to the end that he may be pleased to give the orders 
 which to him may appear most suited to his zeal." Testimonio de Autos en 
 orden a las diligencias. 
 
 18 In his decreto of November 12, 1690, the viceroy, after reviewing the 
 action of the junta regarding the. removal of the buoys, adds that 'Jiore 
 potent motives were the report that there were four Frenchmen among 
 the Texans who might have come from New France, or from another settle- 
 ment nearer; the difficulty and expense of traveling by land six hundred 
 or seven hundred leagues through a hostile country; the knowledge of a 
 large river entering the bay of Espfritu Santo (or San Bernardo) which 
 might pass close to the newly established mission; and it being cheaper 
 and easier to send expeditions from Vera Cruz. (Testimonio de las dili- 
 gencias egecutadas para quitar las Boyas 6 Valisas en el Lago de San 
 Bernardo, que llaman Bahia del Espfritu Santo. Manuscript in' archivo 
 general <le Indias, estante 61, cajon 6 ? legajo 21.) On December 28, 1690, 
 the viceroy wrote that an expedition by sea had seemed necessary as a 
 means of exploring the interior rivers with a view to founding a water- 
 way to the n'ewly established missions, which would be cheaper than the 
 land route. Manuscript in archivo general de Indias, estante 61, cajon 6, 
 legajo 21. 
 
 i9 Decreto of the viceroy, November 12, 1690. Testimonio de las dili- 
 gencias egecutadas para quitar las Boyas. 
 
 20 At this time Cardenas was a soldier an'd engineer at San Juan de 
 Ulua, where he had worked two years; he had made a special study of 
 mathematics and fortification; his ability as military engineer had been 
 reported to the viceroy by Don Jaime Franck. After his return from the 
 expedition the viceroy wrote Cardenas a special note of thanks for his 
 services with Llanos. In' March, 1691, he was still serving at San Juan de 
 Ulua. At that time he was applying to the king for promotion to the 
 rank of captain of infantry, with employment as an engineer in Havana. 
 The data given above have been gathered from an unlabeled expediente in 
 the archivo general de Indias, Sevilla, estante 61, cajon 60, legajo 21. 
 
178 Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 The instructions provided that the expedition should first pro- 
 ceed to examine the buoys. If it was found that they marked 
 the entrance to some river or channel, that waterway must be 
 explored. But if the channel should lead neither toward the 
 French fort nor toward the Neches missions, its detailed exam- 
 ination should be deferred to a later expedition, "since the present 
 one is directed solely to learning which of the rivers coming from 
 the province of Texas (the Neches country), or passing near it 
 and emptying into this lake, is navigable and crosses the region 
 between that province and the gulf." If such a river should be 
 found, it must be examined minutely, to see if it afforded a port 
 for large vessels, and whether it could be fortified. To report on 
 these last matters was the especial duty of Cardenas, who was 
 instructed to make a careful map of the entire San Bernardo 
 (Matagorda) bay, its rivers and inlets, and report whether Pass 
 Cavallo could be closed. In case the site of La Salle's colony 
 were to be regarded suitable for fortification, Salinas was to leave 
 there the French cannon which De Leon had buried at the fort; 
 if not, he should carry them to Vera Cruz. 21 
 
 The Llanos expedition seems hitherto to have been unknown 
 to historians, and yet its records are of first importance in de- 
 termining the plans of the viceroy regarding Texas, and, inci- 
 dentally, in fixing the location of La Salle's colony. The records 
 comprise correspondence, a diary, and a carefully made map of 
 Matagorda bay and its tributaries. The map is so accurate that 
 we are able to identify practically every point which Llanos, 
 Salinas, and Cardenas visited; and there can be no question as 
 to its reliability. It is the work of a skilled and careful en- 
 gineer. 22 
 
 "Instructions dated September 14, 1690, in Testimonio de las diligenciag 
 egecutadas para quitar las Boyas. 
 
 -The records of this expedition are contained in the collection of docu- 
 ments entitled "Testimonio de las diligen'cias egecutadas para quitar las 
 Boyas 6 Valisas," previously cited. They consist of the junta general of 
 August 29; a decreto of the viceroy, dated at Mexico, November 12, 1690. 
 reviewing the action of the junta and subsequent proceedings; and the 
 diary of the expedition. The diary is entitled "Diario y derrotero del 
 viage que se ha hecho y egecutada a la Bahia de San Bernardo, que 
 comunmente llaman del Espiritu Santo, el Capitan Don Francisco de 
 Llanos, por mandado y de orden del Excelentisimo Seilor Conde de Galve, 
 Virrey, Gobernador y Capitan General de este Reino de Nueva Espafla, y 
 Presidente de la Real Audiencia de ella, este presente ano de mil seiscientos 
 y noventa." 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 179 
 
 On October 24, Llanos and his party reached Pass Cavallo. 23 
 To this point the diary recorded the observations made by the 
 pilot, Triana; thenceforth it recorded the joint operations of 
 Llanos, Cardenas, and Salinas, in which a leading part was played 
 by Cardenas. His map shows by dots the routes followed in the 
 bay, and by crosses, numbers, and letters, the principal points of 
 interest. The explorations in the coves and rivers were made with 
 the launch and canoes. 
 
 On the twenty-seventh the party crossed the bar. On the 
 twenty-eighth they reached the spot where the Aimable had gone 
 down (F). Turning northwest, on the thirtieth they reached 
 Sand Point, which was accurately mapped and described. 24 On 
 November 1 they entered Lavaca bay in the launch, and named 
 it Todos Santos (All Saints) in honor of the day. Proceeding 
 to the northwestern corner of Lavaca bay, they reached the place 
 
 Another copy of the diary, somewhat abbreviated, but also containing 
 some additions, is included in the expedience cited in note 20 as containing 
 Cardenas' application for promotion. This copy is entitled: "Diario de 
 la Derrota que han hecho para la Bahia de San Bern'ardo por orden del 
 Excelentisimo Seiior Conde de Galve, virrey y capitan general de la Nueva 
 Espana, el capitan de mar y guerra Don Francisco de Llanos, el Capitan 
 Don Gregorio Salinas, y Don Manuel de Cardenas, en la fragata nombrada 
 Nuestra Seuora de la En'carnacion, sacado por dicho Don Manuel, ano de 
 1690." 
 
 The longer diary is signed by Don Manuel Joseph de Cardenas y Mag- 
 nan a, Don Franci&co de Llan'os, Francisco Millan de Tapia, and Don 
 Gregorio de Salinas Barona. It is written in the first person', as if by 
 Llanos. The map is entitled "Planta cosmografica del Lago de San Ber- 
 nardo Con los senos y Rios que a el se comunican descubiertos por horden 
 del Exmo Senor Conde de Galve Vi Gor y Capn Gl desta Na Espana 
 obserbada y delineada por Dn Manuel Joseph de Cardenas aficdo A las 
 Matas Ao de 1691." 
 
 The vessel in which the expedition was made was the Nuestra Seiiora 
 de la Encarnacion. The expedition left Vera Cruz on October 12. Nothing 
 noteworthy occurred until the seventeenth, when they passed the mouth 
 of the Rfo Bravo. 
 
 "The following summary of the exploration is taken from the diaries 
 for the dates indicated here. Since the photograph of the Cfirdenas map 
 is not clear, there has been reproduced a small map of the same region 
 from the official map of De Leetfs expedition of 1690 (described, post). 
 
 2 *The following description of Sand Point is given in th e diary: "It 
 has a reef of sand which extends from the windward point to the south- 
 east {southwest} and crosses almost the entire entrance, leaving a channel 
 on the western side,* for which reason this entry has not been found in 
 five expeditions which up to now have been sent to explore this lake.*' 
 Diario de la Derrota que han hecho para la Bahia de San Bernardo, entry 
 for November 1. The words between stars are not in the other version. 
 
180 
 
 Soutliivestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 where the buoys had been reported (2). 
 logs of driftwood. 
 
 They proved to be only 
 
 ,./ Por los puntos negros desde A liasta L 
 ^/: anduvo la Fragata 
 
 For los Colorados la Chalupa 
 
 7r Por los Verdes la Canoa 
 
 (<F~-^ 
 
 Descripcion exacta del Lago de S. Bernardo y del Todos Santos que 
 
 nuevamente se hall6 este ano de 1690 
 
 Map made in 1690, containing the essential data on the Cardenas Map 
 but with different Lettering. (Drawn from a photograph) 
 
 Continuing northward, Llanos and his party entered the mouth 
 of the river flowing into the bay at its northwestern angle, ob- 
 viously the Garcitas. This stream was given the name of Rio 
 de los Franceses, or river of the French. The words of the diary 
 are interesting here. It says: "We continued up the river 
 until we arrived at a little village of Indians whom we did not 
 understand and who did not understand us. From here we con- 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 181 
 
 tinned up the river till we saw some houses, 25 on the highest 
 elevation. Proceeding toward them., we landed on the banks and 
 discovered that they were the settlement and fort of M. de la 
 Salle [Munsuir de Salas], from many signs which we found there, 
 such as wheels of cannon carriages, musket breeches, and many 
 burned planks and beams of the fort." 26 De Leon had burned 
 the fortification a few months before. Another report tells us 
 that the French settlement was two leagues or about five miles 
 up the river. At night Cardenas and his party returned to the 
 vessel near Sand Point. Before morning a storm arose which 
 prevented any work of exploration on the following day. 
 
 On the fourth the party went north again in the launch and 
 entered the bay where Port Lavaca now stands. From there they 
 went to the inlet now called Chocolate bay, and explored it with 
 the canoe. Cardenas guessed that it might be the mouth of the 
 Medina river, which had been crossed by De Leon in the interior; 
 but he was careful to state that this was only a guess. 
 
 Next day they continued up the west coast to the mouth of 
 Placedo creek, which they ascended for a league in the canoe, 
 thinking it might be the Guadalupe river. Eeturning they ex- 
 amined again the two logs of driftwood, and for a second time 
 entered the Garcitas river. Says the diary: <c We found the 
 place where the artillery of the fort was said to be, and we un- 
 covered it in order to see it and satisfy ourselves. We saw that 
 it was of iron. Then we passed on, and, following up the said 
 river, we camped for the night at point P." (x on map pub- 
 lished.) This point was some three or more miles above the fort, 
 and not far from the present residence of Mr. Claude Keeran. 
 Next day they continued up the river till the water was too shal- 
 
 25 The word is buxios. 
 
 2 'Diario y derrota del viage que se ha egecutada a la Bahia de San 
 Bernardo. The Diario de la Derrota states that after leaving the Indian 
 Tillage, "we continued up the river until we came to some houses on a site 
 the most commanding of that prairie, which, we inferred, from their form, 
 were not Indian houses. We disembarked and, climbing up the bank, we 
 came to the settlement of de la Salle, at point L [just above 8 on map 
 published] where there was a wall of a fortification, or platform, and 
 about ten or twelve houses [buxios], besides as many already destroyed." 
 The Diario de la Derrota says: "From there we continued to the pueblo 
 of the French, an'd examined the artillery which was buried there, which 
 consists of eight cannons and two swivel-guns of cast iron, new and in 
 good condition." 
 
182 Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 low for the launch, but evidently they did not reach the mouth 
 of Arenosa creek, for no mention is made of such a stream. De- 
 scending,, they spent the night in the bay near the mouth of the 
 river of the French. 
 
 At another point the diary gives further data regarding this 
 stream and the French settlement. It says: "The width of the 
 river is sixty yards at the entry. It is eighteen or twenty palms 
 deep, but at places decreases to eight palms, at some of the fords. 
 Its whole bottom is of mud; after three leagues up it contains 
 some groves of oaks, liveoaks, and some wild grapes and willows. 
 
 "As to the site [of the French settlement], it is on the highest 
 point of the plain. It overlooks two-thirds of it in the direction 
 of the river, and one-third is a level extending indefinitely north- 
 west. As to the materials, the land is black, rich, and sticky. 
 The river is of fresh water; the timber, of which there is some, 
 is a little distant. There are no stones even to supply needs. 7 ' 
 
 Next day the party raised the drift logs, cut off some pieces, 
 and loaded them on the launch to take to the ship and to Vera 
 Cruz. Continuing their exploration, they crossed the head of 
 Lavaca bay to another river, coming in at the northeastern angle 
 on the bay. Ascending this stream next day for some five or 
 six miles, they camped for the night (at the point marked 3 on 
 the map). Next day they passed a village of Indians, and shortly 
 afterward the mouth of the river coming from the northwest (4), 
 which they recognized as the one that De Leon had called the 
 San Marcos. It was obviously the Lavaca. Ascending the east 
 fork (the Navidad), which on his map Cardenas called Eio del 
 Espiritu Santo, 27 they rowed a few miles, but were stopped by a 
 raft of drift logs. The river was described as being well tim- 
 bered, which was not true of the river of the French. 
 
 Turning about they camped some two miles above the junction 
 on an elevation (6) described as a red bluff, admirably adapted 
 to fortification and settlement. This spot was clearly the place 
 where the village of Red Bluff now^ stands. 
 
 27 In the De Le6n diary of the 1090 expedition to the Hasinai country, 
 the Colorado was called the San Marcos and the Brazos was called the 
 Espiritu Santo. It was evidently supposed by Cardenas that the two 
 rivers joined here to form the Lavaca. Below it will be seen that the 
 mouth of the Colorado was called by Cardenas the Trinidad, the 
 given by De Leon in 1690 to the middle Trinity. 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 183 
 
 Next day, the ninth, they descended the river, and explored 
 the small bay or lagoon above the delta (2). On the tenth they 
 explored Cox's bay, next below (8), and on the eleventh Keller's 
 bay (9). From here they returned to the western shore of 
 Lavaca bay, where they camped opposite Sand Point (below T 
 and N). 
 
 "There/' says the diary, "we found the place where M. de la 
 Salle [Munsuir de Sales] had made the barracks to lodge his men 
 and all the rest of his train, in order thence to conduct them to 
 his settlement. It is inferred, therefore, that his vessels did not 
 go beyond this point there being insufficient water whence he 
 conducted all that he had in launches and canoes." 
 
 On the twelfth the party began the exploration of the main 
 bay, to the east. Coursing along the north shore, they passed 
 the mouth of Carancahua bay (11) and camped some distance 
 east of it under the shelter of a red cliff and a gunshot from a 
 spring of fresh water. This place, which was apparently near 
 Well Point, can perhaps be identified by residents of the locality. 
 Next day they continued eastward to Trespalacios bay, returned, 
 rounded Half-moon Point and proceeded east. 
 
 On the fifteenth they entered a small inlet, and then continued 
 east to a lagoon (15, 16) at the mouth of a large river which 
 formed a delta. This stream was clearly the Colorado. Car- 
 denas called it the Trinidad, no doubt thinking it was the stream 
 bearing that name which De Leon had crossed in the interior. 
 On the sixteenth they ascended the eastern mouth of the river 
 some ten or fifteen miles to a point (18) near Beadle, and re- 
 turned by the westernmost channel till stopped by a raft of drift 
 logs, whence they turned back, descending by another channel. 
 Continuing eastward up Matagorda bay for a short distance on 
 the seventeenth, they then turned back, coasting Matagorda penin- 
 sula, looking for an outlet to the gulf, and crossed to the west 
 side of the bay, where they camped near Point Connor (25). 
 
 With this camp as a base, several days were spent in explor- 
 ing and sounding the channel. While here a soldier died and his 
 body was thrown into the bay. Finally, on the twenty-ninth, 
 they crossed the bar into the gulf, and set sail for Vera Cruz, 
 which they reached on the ninth of December, after an absence 
 of fifty-nine days. 
 
184 Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 Anyone who will take the trouble to compare a modern map 
 with that made by Cardenas will be struck by the accuracy of 
 the latter, and will be filled with admiration for the engineer's 
 skill. His merit was recognized by the officials in Mexico, and 
 on his return to Vera Cruz he received the special thanks of the 
 viceroy for his notable work. 
 
 The bearing of the Cardenas report and map upon the loca- 
 tion of La Salle's colony is obvious. They simply settle the mat- 
 ter once for all and without argument. The settlement was on 
 the Garcitas river and not on the Lavaca, as has been supposed. 
 This I realized as soon as I studied the map, as must everyone 
 conversant with the conditions of the problem. But I had the 
 curiosity to see the locality, to test more minutely the work of 
 Cardenas, and, although the proof in no way depended upon this 
 confirmation, to see if perchance the site of the colony was still 
 marked by archeological remains and was known to local tra- 
 dition. 28 
 
 Accordingly, on July 3, 1914, I left Austin for the Garcitas 
 river. Going next day from San Antonio by the Southern Pa- 
 cific railroad, and passing on the way gatherings of people par- 
 ticipating in barbecues and other holiday activities, about 1 p. m. 
 I stopped at Placedo station, having before me the prospect of 
 taking the midnight train to Ben West, some fifteen miles east 
 on the Brownsville road, and on the Garcitas river, there to wait 
 for daylight and the assistance of the local inhabitants. But a 
 little inquiry at Placedo made it clear to me that the place which 
 I was seeking was on Keeran ranch, and that I must see Mr. 
 Claude Keeran, owner of the ranch and a lifelong resident of 
 the place. I made bold, therefore, to call him up by telephone, 
 introduce myself, and tell him of my errand. He was interested 
 at once, and generously volunteered to co-operate. At his sug- 
 gestion I rode out seven miles that night in a wagon with Mr. 
 Vickers, who was boring a well on the Keeran ranch, spending 
 the night in the camp as Mr. Vickers' guest. Next morning as 
 we were eating breakfast, Mr. Keeran, accompanied by his fore- 
 man, Mr. Charles Webb, came in his automobile, and together 
 
 "Especially in view of the opinion expressed by General J. S. Clark, 
 post, 179. 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 185 
 
 we spent the forenoon going over Cardenas' ground, with copies 
 of his map and the accompanying report in hand. 
 
 Conversation at Placedo with Mr. J. S. Webb, who for years 
 had ridden the Keeran ranch, had elicited the fact that on a 
 bank overlooking the Garcitas river were ruins known in the 
 neighborhood tradition as "The Old Mission/' but otherwise un- 
 explained. Mr. Keeran confirmed this report, took me to the 
 spot, and informed me that, like most "old sites" in the South- 
 west, it had long been an object of attention to treasure seekers. 
 It is exactly where Cardenas' map shows La Salle's settlement, 
 on the west bank of the Garcitas river, about five miles above its 
 mouth, and on the highest point of the cliff-like bank of that 
 stream. The place is between Maiden Mott and Letts's Mott, 
 but considerably nearer the former than the latter. The spot is 
 the vantage point of all the country round. To the south, west, 
 and northwest, stretch indefinitely the great level prairies, now 
 sprinkled with a recent growth of mesquite, but in La Salle's 
 day an open prairie dotted with buffalo herds. In front lies a 
 beautiful little valley through which winds the Garcitas river, a 
 good sized stream, from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet 
 in width, and still navigable with a launch for a number of miles 
 above its mouth. 29 On the other side the valley is hemmed in 
 by a range of low hills which, off to the northwest, fade away 
 into the great plain lying east of Victoria. The choice by La 
 Salle of the spot for his colony is no cause for surprise. A care- 
 ful comparison of the topography of the valley with Cardenas' 
 map and description showed that he had delineated correctly 
 every important bend in the stream, and had even placed on his 
 map west of the river and below the French fort the small lagoon 
 now known as Red Fish lake. 
 
 The archeological remains of the settlement, so far as we ascer- 
 tained, are not extensive, but they are palpable and of certain 
 character. Before we went to the site Mr. Keeran stated that 
 years ago there were distinct remains of an ancient wall, but 
 feared they had entirely disappeared. But he was mistaken in 
 this, for we easily found the wall, then just visible above the 
 surface of the ground, and without any digging were able to 
 
 J9 Mr. Keeran runs a launch on the river, his landing being a mile or 
 more above the site of the fort. 
 
186 Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 trace it for many feet. The wall is made of large, red, adobe- 
 like blocks, apparently of baked red clay. Subsequently, Mr. 
 Keeran has found it to be two and a half feet thick and to in- 
 close an area ninety feet square. 30 From the surface of the 
 ground I gathered a handful of small fragments of antique blue 
 and white porcelain. The story of the finding of the "vases," 
 which made its way into the daily press, is a pure fiction of the 
 reporter, for which I am in no way responsible. Mr. Keeran 
 told me, with full circumstantial details, of the unearthing on 
 the spot, some thirty years ago, of half of an immense copper 
 kettle, nearly a yard in diameter. It was exhumed at dead of 
 night by a party of treasure hunters, who were working under 
 the direction of a fortune teller and were frightened away by 
 uncanny sounds. Mr. Keeran states that the kettle remained 
 neglected on the site for several years and then disappeared. 
 
 It is interesting now to note that heretofore several students 
 have independently concluded that the La Salle colony was on 
 the Garcitas and not on the Lavaca, but have lacked sufficient 
 data to give acceptance to their findings. Twenty or more years 
 ago General J. S. Clark, on the basis of the archeological and 
 topographical data, expressed the belief that the site was on an 
 elevation on the west bank of the Garcitas, about five miles above 
 its mouth, where he found the remains of an ancient settlement. 
 The spot was doubtless the same as that which Mr. Keeran and 
 I examined. Clark's opinion was mentioned by Justin Winsor, 
 but dismissed as inconclusive. 31 About seven years ago C. C. 
 Small, one of my students in the University of Texas, on the 
 basis of Joutel's journal and such. Spanish documents as were 
 then available, reached a similar conclusion, though he attempted 
 
 30 Letter from Mr. C. A. Keeran, August 26, 1914. He writes me that in 
 addition he foun'd a carving fork, crockery, pottery, a bullet, spikes, and 
 a coal pit. 
 
 81 "General J. S. Clark, a recent investigator of the topographical fea- 
 tures of the region, is confident that the camp first occupied was on 
 Mission Bay, near the Espiritu Santo Bay, and that the Fort St. Louis 
 was on the Garcitas River five miles above its junction with Lavaca Bay, 
 while the adjacent river of that name has usually been' considered the site 
 of the fort. General Clark represents that the ground of his supposed site 
 still bore, at a recent day, remains of the fort, and was marked by other 
 relics. To most inquirers the evidence has been sufficient that the vicinity 
 of Matagorda Bay and Espiritu Santo is not far off was the scene of 
 these fearful experiences." Winsor, C artier to Frontenac, 317. 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 187 
 
 no topographical or archeological confirmation. Subsequently 
 both his and General Clark's conclusions were rejected by another 
 student of mine in the University of Texas. 32 Finally, Miss Flor- 
 ence B. Stanton, one of my students in the University of Cali- 
 fornia, in the light of the new data, independently reached the 
 conclusion to which I had already come, both with regard to 
 La Salle's death-place and to the site of his colony. 33 
 
 Now that we are on certain ground, we find plenty of confirm- 
 atory evidence. The Sigiienza map of De Leon's expedition of 
 1689, 34 which has long been known and has been published, gives 
 a somewhat crude delineation of Lavaca bay in general, but shows 
 with reasonable correctness the western shore and its inlets, which 
 De Leon visited, and places the French fort on a stream which 
 corresponds clearly with Garcitas river. At the same time that 
 I secured the Cardenas map, I for the first time obtained a copy 
 of the official map of De Leon's expedition of 1690. 35 This con- 
 tains a small outline map of Matagorda bay which is quite as accu- 
 rate in general as the Cardenas map, and shows the Garcitas and 
 Lavaca rivers coming in at the head of Lavaca bay. On the Gar- 
 citas, just where Cardenas puts it, is shown the "Pueblo de los 
 Franceses." Manifestly this map contains data secured by the 
 Llanos expedition. 
 
 One of the tests of a scientific hypothesis is whether it is con- 
 tradicted by or harmonizes with individual phenomena. As might 
 be expected, the substitution of truth for error on this funda- 
 mental point of the location of La Salle's fort dispels several other 
 difficulties which have arisen regarding early expeditions in Texas. 
 
 3 -Eleanor Claire Buckley, "The Aguayo Expedition Into Texas and 1 
 Louisiana, 1719-1722," in the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, 
 XV, 59-60. 
 
 33 "La Salle's Colony in Texas." Manuscript thesis. 
 
 "Camino que el ano de 1689 hizo el Governador Alonso de Le6n desde 
 Cuahuila hasta hallar cerca del Lago de Sn Bernardo el lugar donde 
 havian' poblado los Franceses. Sigiienza 1689. Published by Elizabeth 
 Howard West in the Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, VIII, 
 facing p. 199. 
 
 83 Viage que el ano de 1690 hizo el Governador Alonso de Le6n desde 
 Cuahuila hasta la CAROLINA, Provincia habitada de Texas y otras 
 naciones al Nordeste de la Nueva Espafia. Manuscript in archivo general 
 de Indias, estante 61, cajon 6, legajo 88. There are indications that this 
 map, like that of the 1689 expedition; may have been executed by Sigiienza, 
 
188 Southwestern Historical Quarterly 
 
 The San Marcos river described by De Leon as from three to 
 six leagues east of "The Eiver of the French/' has been taken 
 by students to be the Colorado, a stream which in fact is a good 
 fifty miles away. 36 The San Marcos referred to was obviously 
 the Lavaca, as shown on Cardenas' map. Starting with the 
 Lavaca as the site of the French fort, Joutel's report of La Salle's 
 last expedition to the eastward raises difficulties regarding the 
 streams at every part of his journey. But with a correct start 
 his itinerary is easy to follow. Starting too far east, students 
 have come out too far east in locating the place where La Salle 
 was murdered, placing it on the Neches or the Trinity, instead 
 of on the Brazos. 
 
 One point further remains to be dealt with, lest misunderstand- 
 ings creep in. For two or three years after the destruction of 
 La Salle's colony its site was frequently visited and was tem- 
 porarily occupied by the Spaniards, as a base of operations in 
 the interior of Texas. Later on, in 1722, it became the site of 
 what was intended to be a permanent Spanish settlement. A f'ort 
 was built by Aguayo square on the site of the one which had 
 been erected by La Salle. We are sure of this, because in dig- 
 ging the trenches Aguayo's men unearthed numerous remains of 
 the French establishment. 37 The Spanish fort was given the 
 name of Nuestra Senora de Loreto. Across the river was estab- 
 lished the mission of Espiritu Santo. Four years later the fort 
 and mission were moved northwest to Mission Valley, near the 
 present Victoria, and in 1749 were transferred to the San Antonio 
 river, to become the nucleus of the present city of Goliad. Thus, 
 
 36 Bancroft, History of the North Mexican States, I, 400. 
 
 37 "On the sixth of April his lordship began to draw the lines for the 
 erection of the presidio, as the king our lord ( God preserve him ) , had 
 ordered, in the place where the French, under command of M. de la Salle 
 [Monseur la Sala], had it constructed from the year of 'eighty-four until 
 that of 'ninety, when the Iridians destroyed them, there remaining alive in 
 their power three Frenchmen and a girl. They buried the artillery (which 
 later the Spaniards secured, and took to Vera Cruz), the excavation, which 
 is within the place where the presidio has been placed, being visible today, 
 as is also that in which they burned the powder; and on opening the 
 trenches for the fortification there were found nails, pieces of musket- 
 locks, and fragments of other things which the French use." Juan Antonio 
 de la Pena, Derrotero de la expedicion en la provincia de los Texas (Mexico, 
 1722 ),f. 27. 
 
Location of La Salle's Colony On Gulf of Mexico 189 
 
 the relics on the banks of the Garcitas mark the site of both 
 La Salle's colony and the Spanish presidio of Loreto. The walls 
 still visible are probably the remains of the Spanish rather than 
 the French fortification. 
 
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