In 1684 LaSalle landed in the Port O’Connor area via Pass Cavallo and tried to establish a French colony. Two years earlier he had discovered the mouth of the Mississippi River where it drained into the Gulf of Mexico. It was then that he claimed all the land, rivers, birds, and the bees for the French King. His return was an attempt to hang onto it by establishing a colony in what turned out to be the upper western area of Matagorda Bay.
Little did he know that he missed the Mississippi River and was now in the middle of the Coastal Bend of Texas.
Prior to that one of LaSalle’s four ships had been captured by pirates near Haiti and once the three remaining ships docked in Haiti, deserters escaped off his ships.
Rumors had circulated in New Spain (Mexico) and the Caribbean about a possible French intrusion. This was confirmed when one of the French deserters was captured onboard a pirate ship by the Spanish fleet. In a precursor to the interrogations in Guantánamo Bay, the Frenchmen spilled the beans and the Spanish spilled his blood for his cooperation.
Now having confirmed evidence that the French had arrived somewhere in Texas, the Spanish Crown financed several land and marine expeditions. It was on the DeLeon expedition of 1689 that Juan Bautista was on, when the settlement was discovered. By then the settlement was in disarray, the settlers were killed either by Indians or disease. Not much remained of the structures that had been built, but eight iron canons remained. DeLeon directed that the canons be buried to avoid having them used against them in a future date. That is when Juan Bautista had a hand in their burial and the last time they were touched for 322 years.
My good friend “A” loves casting a fly at a fish and also loves using a metal detector. His “A Phone” has numerous photos of the things he has uncovered. Most are old coins worth more than their face value and a few pieces of jewelry worth more in sentimental value. He has not discovered a cannon which is what a ranch hand did when using a metal detector on a ranch on Garcitas Creek on 1996. Garcitas is one of the feeder creeks that feed into Matagorda Bay.
The locals had long referred to an area as the old French fort, but the actual site of LaSalle’s settlement was never really known until now. Initial excavation found a cannon, and another, and another, and so on. Eight cannons were unearthed and they were in great shape. Somehow the dirt and mud preserved them very well.
On Saturday, October 22, I will be giving a slideshow on the circumstances surrounding the naming of the Guadalupe River by the DeLeon expedition. In doing research for this slideshow I was able to visit the Museum of the Coastal Bend in Victoria, Texas. Seven of the eight cannons are there on display. They lay on a flat square platform pretty much in the manner they were unearthed. The eighth cannon is at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin.
While looking at the cannons, I could not help but wonder that if the settlement had been a success, we would all be speaking French and there would be no cannons to touch.
The Guadalupe River Chapter of Trout Unlimited (GRTU) will hold their next meeting 9:00 am, Saturday, October 22 at the Canyon Lake CRRC on South Access Road, Sattler, TX. Visit www.grtu.org for more info.