La Salle and the discovery of the great West - North Central ...

1685.] LA SALLE'S EXPLORATIONS. 395its charms.Towards the southeast stretched the baywith its bordering meadows; and on the northeastthe Lavaca ran along the base of green declivities.Around, far and near, rolled a sea of prairie, withdistant forests, dim in the summer haze. At times,it was dotted with the browsing buffalo, not yetscared from their wonted pastures; and the grassyswells were spangled with the flowers for whichTexas is renowned, and which now form the gayornaments of our gardens.And now, the needful work accomplished, and thecolony in some measure housed and fortified, itsindefatigable chief prepared to renew his quest of the"fatal river," as Joutel repeatedly calls it. Beforehis departure he made some preliminary explorations,in the course of which, according to the report ofhis brother the priest, he found evidence that theSpaniards had long beforehad a transient establishmentat a spot about fifteen leagues from Fort St.Louis. 1i Cavelier, in his report to the minister, says :" We reached alarge village, enclosed with a kind of wall made of clay and sand,and fortified with little towers at intervals, where we found thearms of Spain engraved on a plate of copper, with the date of 1588,attached to a stake. The inhabitants gave us a kind welcome, andshowed us some hammers and an anvil, two small pieces of ironcannon, a small brass culverin, some pike-heads, some old swordblades,and some books of Spanish comedy; and thence theyguided us to a little hamlet of fishermen, about two leagues distant,where they showed us a second stake, also with the arms of Spain,and a few old chimneys. All this convinced us that the Spaniardshad formerly been here." (Cavelier, Relation du Voyage que monfrere entreprit pour decouvrir I'embouchure du fieuve de Mmitipy.)