Louisiana.--Illness of La Salle.--His Colony on the Illinois.--Fort St. Louis.--Recall of Frontenac.--Le Fevre de la Barre.--Critical Position of La Salle.--Hostility of the New Governor.--Triumph of the Adverse Faction.--La Salle sails for France. CHAPTER XXIII. 1684. A NEW ENTERPRISE. La Salle at Court.--His Proposals.--Occupation of Louisiana.--Invasion of Mexico.--Royal Favor.--Preparation.--The Naval Commander.--His Jealousy of La Salle.--Dissensions. CHAPTER XXIV. 1684-1685. LA SALLE IN TEXAS. Departure.--Quarrels with Beaujeu.--St. Domingo.--La Salle attacked with Fever.--His Desperate Condition.--The Gulf of Mexico.--A Fatal Error.--Landing.--Wreck of the "Aimable."--Indian Attack.--Treachery of Beaujeu.--Omens of Disaster. CHAPTER XXV. 1685-1687. ST. LOUIS OF TEXAS. The Fort.--Misery and Dejection.--Energy of La Salle.--His Journey of Exploration.--Duhaut.--Indian Massacre.--Return of La Salle. --A New Calamity.--A Desperate Resolution.--Departure for Canada.--Wreck of the "Belle."--Marriage.--Sedition.--Adventures of La Salle's Party.--The Cenis.--The Camanches.--The Only Hope.--The Last Farewell. CHAPTER XXVI. 1687. ASSASSINATION OF LA SALLE. His Followers.--Prairie Travelling.--A Hunter's Quarrel.--The Murder of Moranget.--The Conspiracy.--Death of La Salle.--His Character. CHAPTER XXVII. 1687, 1688. THE INNOCENT AND THE GUILTY. Triumph of the Murderers.--Joutel among the Cenis.--White Savages. --Insolence of Duhaut and his Accomplices.--Murder of Duhaut and Liotot.--Hiens, the Buccaneer.--Joutel and his Party.--Their Escape.--They reach the Arkansas.--Bravery and Devotion of Tonty.--The Fugitives reach the Illinois.--Unworthy Conduct of Cavelier.--He and his Companions return to France. CHAPTER XXVIII. 1688-1689. FATE OF THE TEXAN COLONY. Tonty attempts to rescue the Colonists.--His Difficulties and Hardships. --Spanish Hostility.--Expedition of Alonzo De Leon.--He reaches Fort St. Louis.--A Scene of Havoc.--Destruction of the French.--The End. APPENDIX. I. Early unpublished Maps of the Mississippi and the Great Lakes. II. The Eldorado of Mathieu Sagean. INDEX [Illustration: LA SALLE'S COLONY on the Illinois FROM THE MAP OF FRANQUELIN, 1684.] INTRODUCTION. The Spaniards discovered the Mississippi. De Soto was buried beneath its waters; and it was down its muddy current that his followers fled from the Eldorado of their dreams, transformed to a dismal wilderness of misery and death. The discovery was never used, and was well-nigh forgotten. On early Spanish maps, the Mississippi is often indistinguishable from other affluents of the Gulf. A century passed after De Soto's journeyings in the South, before a French explorer reached a northern tributary of the great river.