with the arms of France attached to it, by which ceremony the country was declared to be held by the king. The next day they returned to the camp, attended by the principal persons of the place, and also by a chief of Koroa, a village situate on the bank of the river about six miles below, to which they were invited by the chief.

At Koroa they were detained but a short time. A Chickasaw Indian, who had come with them from Fort Prudhomme, remained at this village. On the 3d of April, having advanced more than a hundred miles from Koroa, they saw several Indians employed in fishing, who fled as soon as they were discovered. Two Frenchmen and two Abenakies were sent on shore to reconnoitre. They were saluted by a shower of arrows, and soon returned, having been ordered not to discharge their guns, unless driven to an extremity. A drum was beaten, and the cry of war was raised. These belligerents were the Quinipissas. Not caring to engage in a quarrel without an object, the Sieur de la Salle passed along without returning the fire, and came to a village of the Tangibaos, which had been recently sacked and pillaged, and many dead bodies were seen lying in the deserted cabins.

At length, on the 6th of April, the river was observed to divide itself into three chan

nels. The Sieur de la Salle separated his company into three divisions, and, putting himself at the head of one of them, he took the western channel, the Chevalier de Tonty the middle, and the Sieur Dautray the eastern. The water soon became brackish, and then perfectly salt, till, at last, the broad ocean opened fully before them. La Salle encamped for the night about twelve miles above the mouth of the western branch, and the next day he and Tonty examined the shores bordering on the sea, and ascertained the depth of the waters in the two principal channels. The day following was employed in searching for a dry place, removed from the tide and the inundations of the river, on which to erect a column and a cross. This ceremony was performed the next day.

The arms of France were attached to the column, with this inscription; Louis the Great, King of France and Navarre, reigns; the 9th of April, 1682. All the men were under arms, and, after chanting the Te Deum, they honored the occasion by a discharge of their muskets, and cries of Long live the King. The column was then erected by the Sieur de la Salle, who made a formal speech, taking possession of the whole country of Louisiana for the French King, the nations and people contained therein, the seas and harbors adjacent, and all the streams

flowing into the Mississippi, which he calls the great River St. Louis. A leaden plate was buried at the foot of a tree, with a Latin inscription, containing the arms of France and the date, and purporting that La Salle, Tonty, Zenobe, and twenty Frenchmen, were the first to navigate the river from the Illinois to its mouth. The cross was then erected with similar ceremonies. At the same time an account of these proceedings was drawn up, in the form of a Procès Verbal, certified by a notary, and signed by thirteen of the principal persons of the expedition.*

* See a translation of the Procès Verbal in the APPENDIX, No. IV. Creditable writers have erred in assigning the date of this discovery to the year 1683; misled, perhaps, by the garbled narrative of Tonty, in which there would seem to be a misprint of the last figure, which has been retained in subsequent editions and translations. It is remarkable that, in the Letters Patent to Crosat, signed by the king's hand, and granted only thirty years after the discovery, the year is twice mentioned to have been 1683. The Procès Verbal sets this point at rest.

It has been said that the name Louisiana was first given to the country by La Salle on the present occasion. This is possible; yet, as Hennepin's Description de la Louisiane was printed the same year, it is more probable that the name had before been used, or at least spoken of as appropriate. La Salle does not profess, in the Procès Verbal, to give a new name, but seems rather to employ it as one already existing.

A scarcity of food obliged them to depart on their return up the river without delay. When they approached the inhospitable Quinipissas, they landed, and encamped not far from one of their villages. Four women were discovered, and brought to the camp; and soon afterwards a party of savages in pirogues came towards them, with an apparent intention of making an attack. They refused to accept the calumet, and, when a gun was fired, they all hurried away in a fright, having never before seen firearms. It being absolutely necessary to procure provisions, either by favor or force, one of the women was dismissed with presents, and given to understand that the others would be permitted to follow her, if the Indians would bring corn to the camp.

On the following day, one of the chiefs appeared, and the Sieur de la Salle went out to meet him. A peace was concluded, and hostages were given by the savages. This proved to be a finesse, however, and designed only to gain time for an accession to their numbers. While several Frenchmen were at the village, where a feast was prepared for them, armed men were seen coming from different quarters, and they all retired hastily to the camp. Before light the next morning, a sentinel heard a noise among

the canes, and gave the alarm. All hands were

called to arms, and at that moment the savages

raised the war cry, and discharged their arrows. This salutation was returned by a volley from the muskets, and a skirmish was kept up for nearly two hours. Ten of the savages were killed, and many others wounded, but no harm was done to their opponents. The Indians at last ran off, leaving their dead behind, and the Loups, true to the power of habit, bore away two Quinipissa scalps. So successful had La Salle been in his intercourse with the numerous tribes of Indians, whom he had met, that this was the first instance in which he was compelled to wage war upon them. Some of his people were eager to go and burn down the village of so perfidious a race, but he refused his consent.

On the 1st of May, they came to the Koroas, who had received them as friends on their way down, but were now seen in arms along the bank of the river. They were allies of the Quinipissas, who had sent messengers in advance. No hostilities were offered, and, putting on a bold countenance, the voyagers passed above the villages to the place where they had concealed a quantity of corn, which was found in good condition. This was an opportune supply, for they had suffered extremely from hunger since they left the mouth of the river. At Taensa and Akansa they met with the same friendly reception as before.

From this latter place the Sieur de la Salle