In , local citizens disliking the large amounts of sediment dumped into East Matagorda Bay by the Colorado River decided to change the course of the River to bypass East Matagorda Bay on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. In , the river was diverted back to the bay again.
Louis along the shore of Matagorda Bay in Soon, half of the colonists have succumbed to disease, and the other half — except the children — were killed by the Karankawa people who lived there.
The colony was since then referred to as a lost colony. On his returned to France, La Salle argued that a small number of French colonists would be enough to hold the Mississippi River valley — the valley that he called Louisiana in honor of his king — if they enlisted the help of the approximately , Native Americans in the region that were angry over Spanish enslavement.
La Salle planned to sail in a big ship from Europe to New France, then journey overland to Illinois Country, and then sail in a smaller ship down the Mississippi River.
La Belle was built as a kit; the pieces were intended to be loaded onto Le Joly and then carried overland to the Mississippi River, where they would be assembled. Now, La Salle only needed the big ship — Le Joly — but he decided to bring La Belle along anyway to be able to carry more cargo. La Salle was therefore assembled in France in less than two months. Francois was captured by Spanish privateers en route to the North American mainland.
The other three ships continued their search for the Mississippi River delta, but failed to find it. They ships also over-corrected for the east-flowing currents and eventually landed at Matagorda Bay in Spanish Texas, roughly miles west of the Mississippi river mouth. The three ships reached Matagorda Bay in early Eventually, she sunk. Le Joly was never intended to stay with the colonists; it was a man-of-war ship hired to protect them on their journey.
When the expedition had landed in Matagorda Bay, Le Joly and her crew went back home to France again, leaving the colonist with just one ship: La Belle. The colonists established Fort Saint Louis on a bluff overlooking Garcitas Creek, approximately 50 miles from their original camp site.
Fort Saint Louis was used as a base for the colonists exploration of the region. Typically, their excursions were kept short, but in October , La Salle decided to use La Belle for a longer expedition and loaded her with the following cargo:. His ministrations, at the insistence of the Indians, involved blowing his breath on afflicted parts of bodies and laying on of his hands. He also added a Catholic touch by reciting prayers and crossing himself, during which he beseeched God to heal the infirm.
When he refused to doctor an Indian, because he thought his ministrations were quackery, the Indians took away his food until he did their bidding. By , one of the Spaniards on Malhado had died. Cabeza de Vaca finally convinced his lone countryman, Lope de Oviedo, to accompany him down the coast toward Mexico by promising to take the man on his back when they had to cross inlets or streams.
Their journey went well until the two men confronted Matagorda Bay. There they encountered an Indian tribe, which Cabeza de Vaca called the Quevenes , who threatened to kill them by placing arrows over their hearts. This was too much for the faint-hearted Oviedo, who turned back in the company of some Indian women and disappeared from history. At that very time, the Quevenes told Cabeza de Vaca astonishing news. For uncertain reasons, the Quevenes agreed to transport Cabeza de Vaca across the large expanse of water.
Shortly thereafter, to the amazement of the three enslaved men who thought Cabeza de Vaca dead for four years, the men were reunited. Campbell and W. Throughout their enslavement by Coahuiltecans, the Castaways never wavered from their determination to escape and continue toward Mexico and the safety of their countrymen.
That opportunity did not present itself until late summer Against all odds, they found each other by mid-month. It was their good luck to be accepted by friendly Avavares Indians who ranged southwest of Corpus Christi Bay. Their journey was safe for the Castaways and uneventful save for a remarkable surgery performed by Cabeza de Vaca. He removed an arrowhead that had struck an Indian in the chest and lodged above his heart. La Belle is the central artifact in the Museum's first-floor galleries, and introduces new scholarship on early Texas history through the 17th-century ship, select original artifacts , and a multi-sensory film.
The story of La Belle continues in Becoming Texas with new opportunities to discover and interact with the 17th century ship through augmented reality. In addition to the ship, recovered artifacts tell the stories of La Salle, the French sailors and colonists aboard La Belle , and the regional American Indians who encountered them.
See the finger rings, hawk bells, colored glass beads, and knives that the French brought to trade with the American Indians. Discover how brass pots, a colander, a ladle, and a draw knife for wood carving shed light on 17th century European domestic culture and new colony settlement.
The plan was to reach the Mississippi by sea and secure a permanent settlement upriver that would provide the French with a strategic advantage over Spanish interests throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Due to a latitudinal miscalculation and severe dissension among the crew, the second La Salle expedition continued west until reaching the entrance of Matagorda Bay in present-day Texas. He then led three overland expeditions in search of the missing Colbert River.
Most of his companions either died or deserted during the first two trips. In , on the third attempt, several men murdered La Salle and continued moving east until they reached the Arkansas River and then traveled onward to Canada and France.
A Spanish search party found the abandoned Matagorda colony in and surmised that local natives had killed or captured all of the French colonists.
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