The Journeys of Réné Robert Cavelier, Sieur De La Salle - As Related by His Faithful Lieutenant, Henri De Tonty; His Missionary Solleagues, Fathers Zenobius Membre, Louis Hennepin and Anastasius Douay; His Early Biographer, Father Chri... #231614

In 16301 — directed the attention of the Spanish government to the vast region between the Rio Grande and the Florida peninsula; but no motive other than a religious one called for its occupation, and it was suffered to remain in the unchal lenged possession of the savages. It was La Salle's mission, indirectly, to arouse the Spaniards from their colonial lethargy, while he determined that the supposed route to the South Sea and the Far East was but the great central highway of the American Continent, opening an appropriate field for a new French colonial empire.