Robert de La Salle - ( 1643 - 1683)
Early life.
La Salle was born in Rouen, France. His real name was Rene-Robert
Cavelier. He took the name La Salle from the name of his family's
estate. As a youth, La Salle went to schools run by Jesuit priests and
studied to be a Jesuit. However, he left the religious training in 1665
to seek adventure. The next year, La Salle sailed to Canada, where
France had established a colony.
La Salle
obtained some land near Montreal and became a prosperous fur trader. He
did much of his trading with Indians, who told him of two great rivers
to the southwest, the Mississippi and the Ohio. The Indians believed
these rivers flowed into the sea. La Salle thought one or both of the
rivers might be a route through North America to the Pacific Ocean. In
1669, he sold his land and set out to find the rivers.
From 1669 to
1673, La Salle wandered through the big parts of North America, not
including the coasts. Historians believe he traveled as far as what is
now Ohio. By the end of his journey, he was convinced the Mississippi
emptied into the Gulf of Mexico.
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