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Cavelier de La Salle, 1684-1687   151

of exploration and of conversion belonged to them. De La
Salle was a layman, who had left the fold of their powerful
organization, and he never called on them. They had tried
to forestall him in his discoveries, and rightly or wrongly he
dreaded their machinations.

The expedition sailed none the less on July 24th, 1684,
but owing to an accident, the “Joly” having broken her “bow-
sprit,” the little fleet had to put back to port, and, after the
necessary repairs, sailed again on August 1st. On August
16th they reached Madeira and after a very trying voyage
made worse by severe storms, the “Joly” entered Petit
Goave at Santo Domingo on September 27th. The “Belle”
and the “Aimable” arrived five days later on October 2nd,
but the ketch, the “Saint François,” had been captured by
Spanish buccaneers, a severe loss to the expedition as it
carried a great deal of ammunition and stores.

After considerable delay, due to de La Salle’s illness, the
voyage was resumed on November 25th. On November 30th
Cuba was sighted and on December 13th they entered the
Gulf of Mexico but had to put to port again at Cape San
Antonio, owing to severe storms. Their objective was what
the Spaniards called the Bay of Espiritu Santo. In Santo
Domingo, they had been told that a strong current in the
Gulf of Mexico would drive them eastward. In consequence
they bent their course more to the west, and thus missed
the mouth of the Mississippi. Thinking that they had been
carried to the east, they went on westward following the
shore as closely as they could, taking soundings and looking
for the famous bay of Espiritu Santo, till one day, noticing
a great change in the latitude, they realized that they had
gone too far south and west, and decided to retrace their
steps. They had gone almost as far as Corpus Christi. On
the way back, a group of 130 soldiers was landed on Feb-

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