This collection contains an introduction by the editor, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, that explains La Salle’s explorations in the context of the French government’s objective of taking control of the Mississippi Valley, and denying the British and Spanish a foothold in the interior of North America. The translations contained here are:

-Memoir of the Sieur de la Tonty.
-Account of the Discovery of the River Mississippi and Adjacent Country by Father Louis Hennepin.
-La Salle’s First Attempt to Explore the Mississippi, by Father Chretien Le Clercq.
-Adventures of La Salle’s Party at Fort Crevecoeur in Illinois (1680-1), by Father Zenobius Membre.
-La Salle’s Voyage down the Mississippi, by Father Zenobius Membre.
-Taking Possession of Louisiana, by M. de la Salle.
-Memoirs of La Salle presented to Marquis de Seignelay in 1684.
-La Salle’s Attempt to reach the Mississippi by Sea, and Establishment of French Colony in St. Louis Bay.
-La Salle’s Attempt to Ascend the Mississippi in 1687.
-Cavelier’s Account of La Salle’s Voyages.