There were several classes of trade goods found onboard la Belle. These included hawk bells, Jesuit rings, glass beads, straight brass pins, mirrors, knives and wooden combs. The bells, intended for trade with the Indians who decorated their clothes with them, were originally made for hunting. Many were found still wired together in pairs, as they would have been used. Most bells were found in the main hold just aft of the forward most bulkhead. Preliminary evidence indicates that 2 casks originally contained these bells. Both casks were partially destroyed and most of the bells were scattered outside of their containers.
The 600+ Jesuit rings were found in two main concentrations and are associated with at least one cask in the bow and a box located in the aft compartment. The cask was originally sectioned off creating different compartments for the various goods that were packed inside. The box feature, or trader’s box, was located in the aft compartment. These containers also held knives, pins, razors, mirrors, and wooden combs. The box was recovered completely intact, and from it we have the largest collection of rings totaling nearly 300.
Glass beads make up the largest example of a single class of trade goods recovered on the site. These beads were found scattered over the entire site. The largest concentration of beads was located in the after compartment. This concentration was located inside another box feature located next to the ‘trader’s box.’ This box contained over half a million-glass beads. The total number of glass beads found on the site was over three-quarter’s of a million.
Military Equipment
On planning his voyage, La Salle stated that if Louis XIV gave him arms, cannons, gunpowder, and 200 men, he would arm the Indians and attack the Spaniards in Mexico. He stated that he needed only 1 ship a flute (L’Aimable) and one bark (La Belle) to carry the food, arms, gunpowder and men. La Salle was given:
100 men (he had to raise 100 men)
Gun powder
Arms and ammunition
Supplies
Cannons
Le Joli (a 36 gun man-of-war) with a captain and crew and an engineer (Minet)
L’Aimable (a 300-ton flute with 10 guns and a crew of 22 men) carried provisions and craftsman’s tools, 7 cadets and 40 hired workers.
San François (a supply ship – 50 ton - Ketch) with 9 crewman and carrying 25 casks of provisions.
La Belle (barque longue) – with a 27 member crew
The composition of La Salle’s expedition party suggests that the French were more interested in military conquest than a colonialization effort. Of the 280 men (including crew) who sailed from France with La Salle, approximately 100 were soldiers and the rest were sailors, enlistees or volunteers.
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