"Rene Robert Cavalier, titled Sieur de la Salle (1643-1687), was a man with a vision. On behalf of France he set out to explore, claim, and colonize the wild expanses of North America. In pursuit of these goals he established for France a broad network in fur trading - adding, in the process, to his own fortune.". "In his quest, La Salle painstakingly traversed thousands of miles of rivers, lakes, and land. He encountered and endured hostile tribes, blizzards, starvation, and disease, as well as the intrigues and treachery of his own countrymen, not only in Canada, but also at the French court across the Atlantic. La Salle finally became the first European to travel the full course of the Mississippi River to its mouth and to determine where it poured forth into the Gulf of Mexico. On April 9, 1682, he claimed the Mississippi River - and all the land that it drained - for France. In honor of his sovereign, King Louis XIV, he named the land "Louisiana."". "It was La Salle's tragedy, however, that his vision was greater than his ability to attain it. Nonetheless, with limited resources and only his indomitable will to support him in his most dire moments, La Salle achieved many remarkable successes. Invariably, each achievement was followed by a devastating setback: robbery, shipwreck, war, a fatal navigational error. La Salle's dreams of a French empire were never realized, and on March 19, 1687, somewhere in what is now east Texas, his own men murdered him and left his stripped body to the animals and elements."--BOOK JACKET.