The Frenchmen were mustered under arms; and, while the New-England Indians and their squaws stood gazing in wondering silence, they chanted the _Te Deum_, the _Exaudiat_, and the _Domine salvum fac Regem_. Then, amid volleys of musketry and shouts of _Vive le Roi_, La Salle planted the column in its place, and, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice,-- "In the name of the most high, mighty, invincible, and victorious Prince, Louis the Great, by the grace of God King of France and of Navarre, Fourteenth of that name, I, this ninth day of April, one thousand six hundred and eighty-two, in virtue of the commission of his Majesty, which I hold in my hand, and which may be seen by all whom it may concern, have taken, and do now take, in the name of his Majesty and of his successors to the crown, possession of this country of Louisiana, the seas, harbors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams, and rivers, within the extent of the said Louisiana, from the mouth of the great river St. Louis, otherwise called the Ohio, ... as also along the River Colbert, or Mississippi, and the rivers which discharge themselves therein, from its source beyond the country of the Nadouessious ... as far as its mouth at the sea, or Gulf of Mexico, and also to the mouth of the River of Palms, upon the assurance we have had from the natives of these countries, that we are the first Europeans who have descended or ascended the said River Colbert; hereby protesting against all who may hereafter undertake to invade any or all of these aforesaid countries, peoples, or lands, to the prejudice of the rights of his Majesty, acquired by the consent of the nations dwelling herein. Of which, and of all else that is needful, I hereby take to witness those who hear me, and demand an act of the notary here present." [Footnote: In the passages omitted above, for the sake of brevity, the Ohio is mentioned as being called also the _Olighin_ (Alleghany), _Sipou_ and _Chukagoua_; and La Salle declares that he takes possession of the country with the consent of the nations dwelling in it, of whom he names the Chaouanons (Shawanoes), Kious, or Nadouessious (Sioux), Chikachas (Chickasaws), Motantees (?), Illinois, Mitchigamias, Arkansas, Natches, and Koroas. This alleged consent is, of course, mere farce. If there could be any doubt as to the meaning of the words of La Salle, as recorded in the _Proces Verbal de la Prise de Possession de la Louisiana_, it would be set at rest by Le Clercq, who says, "Le Sieur de la Salle prit au nom de sa Majeste possession de ce fleuve, _de toutes les rivieres qui y entrent, et de tous les pays qu'elles arrosent._" These words are borrowed from the report of La Salle; see Thomassy, 14. A copy of the original of the _Proces Verbal_ is before me. It bears the name of Jacques de la Metairie, Notary of Fort Frontenac, who was one of the party.]