Rene-Robert Cavelier Sieur de la Salle was an arrogant monk-turned-adventurer (this sounds like the start of a D&D campaign) responsible for most of the French expansion in the Great Lakes area and along the Mississippi River. Of course, as an adventurer, he's used to loss, but his final expedition was particularly plagued by shipwrecks (multiple), snake bites, prickly pear incidents, and Indigenous nations. Tough break.

Sources:

https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/the-exhibit

https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/la-belle/the-exhibit/excavation-and-preservation

https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/belle/

Dr. Jim Bruseth

La Louisiane, une affaire d’État : Récits de Jean-Baptiste Minet et d’Henri Joustel, témoins de Cavelier de La Salle (1684-1687) https://research-ebsco-com.ezproxy.uvu.edu/linkprocessor/plink?id=a4152ae8-adaf-349f-aab5-e1caede6c536

https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cavelier_de_la_salle_rene_robert_1E.html

Dr. Jim Bruseth. Personal Interview. 2024.

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