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The French Colony
The Colony at Fort St. Louis

LaSalle knew that he had to move inland from the coast and find a more suitable location for the colonists.  Gathering 50 men, La Salle walked along the edge of the river waterway.  About 5 miles inland, at present day Garcitas Creek, he found what he was looking for; an area near fresh, clear water, and a high bluff for defense.  This is where they built Fort St. Louis.


La Salle soon realized that he had not found the Mississippi; he made several expeditions inland during this time, trying to find the Mississippi and obtain supplies for the colony.  He made friends with Caddo tribes between the Trinity and Neches Rivers.  His relationship with the local Karankawa was not friendly.

While La Salle was on one of his expeditions, the crew left on the Belle  were derelict in their duties and lost the ship on a bar.  With the last ship lost, the situation for the colonists was now desperate.  La Salle decided he must return to Canada and bring supplies back if the colony was to survive.  

La Salle and the twelve men he had chosen left the fort in January of 1687 on an overland expedition to Canada.  In March of 1687, while still in Texas, La Salle was killed near present day Nacogdoches by one of his own men. The man wanted revenge for the death of his brother which occurred on one of LaSalle’s inland expeditions. Pierre Talon, 11 years old, fled to the Caddo Indian tribes along with several other survivors.  Seven of the men including Henri Joutel and LaSalle’s brother Abbe Cavalier, reached Canada and eventually France, where they delayed telling about the death of LaSalle and the desperate plight of the colony left behind on Garcitas Creek.

The colonists left at Fort St. Louis, less than 25 in number, were massacred by the Karankawa Indians.  The Indians chose to attack the fort when they learned of the death of La Salle and disunity among the remaining colonists.  The only survivors of the massacre were the four Talon children, Marie Madeleine, Jean Baptiste, Lucien , Robert and another child, Eustace Bremen. These children were adopted by the Karankawas, with whom they lived until recovered by Spanish Expeditions in 1689-1691.  With LaSalle dead, the fort destroyed and survivors brought back to Mexico, the Spanish believed that the French threat to their territory was removed.  In the early 1700s, with the help of two of the now grown Talon Brothers, France would succeed in finding the mouth of the great Mississippi and claim the territory of Louisiana.

Image is Garcitas Creek:  Location of LaSalle’s Colony
Credit:  Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History

The Journal of Henri Joutel, La Salle Colonist
Primary Source Document on LaSalle Expedition
Credit:  Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History/LaSalle Odyssey

Educational Resources Cultural Encounters "La Salle Activities"