They possessed that rare tact which was born in French travelers, and which no English explorer ever had.  When they had reached the junction of the Arkansas, “they were kindly received by the Indian tribes.”  They held a council with the various chiefs, with whom they made a treaty.  The treaty was celebrated by a feast, and, if we may believe the record thereof, libations of wine were freely poured forth to pledge the stipulations of the business transaction.  For a heavenly possession in the uncertain future, the Indian acknowledged, by the cross raised in commemoration, that he had bartered away his earthly kingdom.  The title by which the Indian held the soil wrested from the Mound-builder may not have been perfect; that of the wily Joliet may have been equally defective.  But Joliet builded more wisely than he knew, for to this day, fraud, treachery and broken faith are the chief witnesses to our treaties with the aboriginal owners of the land.

Nine years after the business venture of Joliet, La Salle received letters extraordinary from the King of France, directing him to make additional explorations along the course of the great river.  He organized an expedition, crossed the ocean, and made his way rapidly to the scene of his explorations.  Preparing his canoes and launches, he followed the sinuous course of the river to Napoleon.  His arrival was celebrated by another feast and post-prandial business agreement, and New France began its brief existence.  Never in the history of the world had such an empire been founded—­such another could not be formed until the domains of this had been widened from sea to sea, and the energy of Saxon, Teuton and Kelt mingled to build a greater.

To La Salle belongs the honor of tracing the true course of the Mississippi river.  He charted it with a faithfulness and accuracy that would do credit to the surveys of the present day.  He seemed to have noted all the important feeders and tributaries, correctly locating their points of confluence.  He did not cease his work until he reached the Gulf of Mexico.[3] So not only was La Salle the most indefatigable explorer of this region, but he also earned the credit of having made the most important discovery.

[Footnote 3:  From the best information I can gather I am unable to decide to my own satisfaction whether or not La Salle discovered the Red River.  It is not improbable that he never saw this stream, for it is more than likely that at that time, Red River poured its waters directly into the Gulf of Mexico, through Atchafalaya and Cocoudrie Bayous.  That these were formerly a part of the channel of Red River, there can be no doubt.  The sluggish swale that now leads from the river to the Gulf is a silted channel that was formerly large enough to carry the whole volume of Red River.  Such changes in the channel of a river, when the latter flows through “made” soil, are by no means infrequent.  It is only a few years since