been design'd for him; which Monsieur de Beaujeu refus'd, alledging that all those things lay at the Bottom of the Hold, and that he could not rummage it without evident Danger of perishing; tho', at the same time, he knew we had Eight Pieces of Cannon and not one Bullet.
Mr. de la Sale much wrong'd.
Mr. de Beaujeu leaves him.
I know not how that Affair was decided between them;
but am sure he suffer'd the Captain of the Fly-boat l'Aimable
to imbark aboard Monsieur de Beaujeu, tho' he deserv'd
to be most severely punish'd, had Justice been done him.
His Crew follow'd him, contrary to what Monsieur de
Beaujeu had promis'd, that he would not receive a Man
of them. All that Monsieur de la Sale could do, tho' so
much wrong'd, was to write to France, to Monsieur de
Saignelay, Minister of State, whom he acquainted with all
the Particulars, as I was inform'd, when I return'd, and he
gave the Packet to Monsieur de Beaujeu, who sail'd away
for France.[1]
Having lost the Notes I took at that time, and being forc'd to rely much upon Memory for what I now write, I shall not pretend to be any longer exact in the Dates, for fear of mistaking, and therefore I cannot be positive as to the Day of Monsieur de Beaujeu's Departure, but believe it was the 14th of March, 1685.
A Fort built. When Monsr. de Beaujeu was gone, we fell to Work to make a Fort, of the Wreck of the Ship that had been cast away, and many Pieces of Timber the Sea threw up; and during that Time, several Men deserted, which added to
- ↑ Though evidently not altogether satisfied in his own mind that he had reached the mouth of the Mississippi, La Salle, desirous to relieve himself of the many complications and annoyances arising from the strained relations between himself and Beaujeu, decided to land his soldiers at a place which he named St. Louis Bay (now known as Matagardu Bay), thinking to send them northward along the coast until they should come to the principal outlet of the "fatal river" as Joutel frequently calls the Mississippi. While here the loss of the Amiable and its valuable stores, the sickness of many of the company, and finally the departure of the Joly with Beaujeu, left La Salle in a sad plight. (See note concerning the relations between La Salle and Beaujeu, in Parkman's La Salle, ii, 133 (Champlain edition).
