A _facsimile_ reprint of the above English edition was issued (privately) by the Caxton Club of Chicago, in 1896, in an edition of 203 copies, and enriched by textual notes by Prof. MELVILLE B. ANDERSON, now of Menlo Park, California,—the result of his careful collation of the English with the French original. These notes, by the special permission of Mr. Anderson, have been incorporated in the present volume and indicated by his initials. With a view, also, to render this edition as compendious a source of reference as possible for the student of this subject, we have added, by the courtesy of the author, the exceedingly full and valuable “Bibliography of the Discovery and Explorations in the Mississippi Valley,” by Mr. APPLETON P. C. GRIFFIN, formerly of the Boston Public Library, now Chief Bibliographer of the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Dedication v Publisher’s Note vi Historical Introduction 1 Biographical Notice of Joutel 27 Original Title Page in facsimile 31 The French Bookseller to the reader 33 The Preface written by Sieur de Mitchell 47 Joutel’s Journal with notes and annotations 53 Remainder of Letter by he who revis’d this Journal, being sequel to same 203 Letters Patent granted by the King of France to M. Crozat 212 Bibliography of “The Discovery of the Mississippi,” by Appleton P. C. Griffin 221 Index 241 ILLUSTRATIONS. Heliotype reproduction of Gudebrod’s Statue of La Salle produced for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at Saint Louis, 1904 _Frontispiece_ Reproduction in facsimile of Joutel’s Map originally published in the Paris edition of 1713 _End of volume_ _Historical Introduction._ LA SALLE’S TWO PREVIOUS VOYAGES.