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Texas : Features : Columns : All Things Historical

THE LASALLE MURDER CASE

by Archie P. McDonald, PhD

The Texas saga of Rene Robert, Seiur de la Salle began near Matagorda Bay and ended much closer to East Texas. LaSalle led the first French exploration through the interior of the continent all the way to the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1682, then won approval to plant a permanent colony there. A colony would tie down both ends of the continent's eastern waterways for France.

When LaSalle returned in 1684 with his colonists, he landed about 400 miles west of the Mississippi. Whether this reflected poor navigation or simple ignorance of New World topography is debated yet. From his previous exploration of the Mississippi River, he knew that the river divided into many streams near the Gulf of Mexico. Extant records indicate that at first he regarded Matagorda Bay as the western mouth of the "Colbert" River, the original French name for the Mississippi.

Explorations convinced LaSalle that his assumption was false and that his plantation, known as Fort St. Louis, lay far to the west of his intended destination. LaSalle also made mistakes in recruiting for the adventure. Too many "gentlemen," or those unaccustomed to work, composed the colony. Faced with failure, LaSalle left most of his colonists ensconced in the palisaded Fort St. Louis and traveled eastward with just a few men to try to reach other French outposts. Along the way, LaSalle was ambushed and killed by Pierre Duhaut, one of his countrymen, near a Hasinai village on March 19, 1687. So the mystery is not "who dun it" but "where did he do it?"

About thirty years ago, historian Ert J. Gum, professor of French history at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, reported at a meeting of the East Texas Historical Association that a search of French records had convinced him that the foul deed had been done in eastern Oklahoma. Dr. Gum was a native of eastern Oklahoma.

At the next meeting we heard a rebuttal from former Rusk County Judge Charlie Langford that Spanish records argued for a crime scene in East Texas. Descriptions of the site sounded much like Rusk County.

On a boulevard in Navasota there is a fine statue of LaSalle to support that community's claim as the area where Texas' famed French explorer breathed his last. I am content that this offers sufficient evidence to give the nod to the Navasotans. After all, no one in Rusk County or eastern Oklahoma was convinced sufficiently to raise the money for a fine statue.

All Things Historical February 3-9, 2002
(Archie P. McDonald is Director of the East Texas Historical Association and author or editor of over 20 books on Texas)

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