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Ot1r Cat/10lic Heritage in Texas
before proceeding to the coast of Texas. La Salle was ill and his poo.- health caused some delay in securing the necessary supplies and provisions in the island for the remainder of the trip. The voyage was finally resumed on November 25, but the number of the original settlers had been con- siderably reduced by desertions and illness. Carefully picking their way around Cuba, they came upon the coast of Florida on December 28, in the vicinity of Apalache Bay. 13 While in Santo Domingo, La Salle had made diligent inquiry con- cerning the Gulf coast and had been informed that the Gulf Stream along Florida flowed swiftly to the east, and that it would be necessary for him to exercise care to prevent his little fleet from being swept out to the Bahama channel. Believing that the mouth of the Mississippi was far to the west of the point where they were, he gave instructions to sail in that direction, keeping close to the coast. From time to time the land was approached to make examinations of the streams. By January 10, 1685, La Salle was practically opposite the mouth of the great river. This was suspected by many of those who went on the expedition. But La Salle, who could hardly have been sincerely convinced of the contrary, insisted on continuing on their journey west. Speaking of this incident, J outel notes in his / ournal: "In that par- ticular he committed an irretrievable error; for it is the opinion of judicious men who, as well as I, saw the rest of that voyage, that the mouth of one of the branches of the Mississippi River, and the same whose latitude M. de La Salle had taken when he traveled to it from Canada, was not far from that place, and that we must of necessity be near the Bay of the Holy Ghost. It was M. de La Salle's design to find that bay, and having found it, he had resolved to have set ashore about thirty men, who were to have followed the coast on the right and left, which would infallibly have discovered to him that fatal river, and have pre- vented many misfortunes." But unfortunately, "he was satisfied with sending thither the pilot, with one of the masters of the bark La Belle, who returned without having seen anything, because a fog happened to rise; only the master of the bark said he believed there was a river opposite to those shoals, which was very likely; and yet M. de La Salle took no notice of it, nor made any account of that report." 14 "Joutel, Journal, French, Historical Collections of Lo11isia11a, I, 94. The summary given of the route is based on Parkman, op. cit.; Dunn, S,Panisli and Frencli Rivafr,y, 31-35; and Castaneda, Morft's History of Tens. 14Joutel, op. cit., I, 96.
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