The French colonists have taken short trips…
November 1685 CE
The French colonists have taken short trips to explore their surroundings in the several months since the establishment of the permanent camp.
La Salle at the end of October 1685 had decided to undertake a longer expedition and reload the Belle with many of the remaining supplies.
He takes fifty men, plus the Belle's crew of twenty-seven sailors, leaving behind thirty-four men, women, and children.
The bulk of the men travel with La Salle in canoes, while the Belle follows further off the coast.
After three days of travel, they learn of hostile Native Americans in the area.
Twenty of the Frenchmen attack the Native American village, where they find Spanish artifacts.
Several of the men die on this expedition from eating prickly pear, and the Karankawa kill a small group of the men who had camped on shore, including the captain of the Belle.