Artifact Distribution and its Interpretation of a Shipwreck
Page 5 of 6 According to William Foster 1, Henri Joutels’ journal of La Salle’s expedition to Texas 1684-1687 states, “The composition of La Salle’s expedition party suggests that the French authorities programmed more of a military expedition than a colonialization effort.” One of the purposes of La Salle’s fort was to establish a base from which French forces, supported by Indian tribes, could seize the silver-rich Spanish mines in the northern province of New Biscay (Nueva Vizcaya).
Another aspect identifying this expedition as a military campaign was the orders given to Abbé Esmanville. Esmanville was sent to evangelize the Indians, not to participate in any planned attacks on Spanish mines in northern Mexico 2. His orders were “to make war on demons and not on Christians.” La Salle’s Engineer, Minet, reported that he was sent as a military engineer attached to the soldiery whose purpose was to seize the Spanish mines. Minet believed that he would be called upon to build siege works, rather than build a fort to protect a settlement. He was convinced that the expedition’s prime motive was conquest.3  Armament on a colonizing or exploratory vessel, such as La Belle, is defined primarily as defensive equipment such as a few cannon, swivel guns, etc… Onboard La Belle were 6 iron cannons in carriages on deck, 8 swivel guns along her length, 4 crates of muskets, 4 bronze cannons stored in the hold, pistols, swords, halberds, pikes, firepots and grenades. Casks of birdshot, standard lead shot, 1-pd shot (swivel gun), cannon balls (4-pd shot) and barshot were also recovered. Forty hundredweight of gunpowder and detonators were recorded as also being stored in the hold. The amount of weaponry found onboard further suggests this venture, besides being a colonialization attempt, had military implications. Most of the weaponry on deck was removed a year later by the Spanish who had come looking for La Salle to stop any covert operations by the French. The Spanish removed the six iron cannons and seven of the eight swivel guns that still remained attached to the ship’s rail, as well as other salvageable items.
The armament found below was intended for the colony and any military activity and should be viewed as cargo and ballast during the voyage. The muskets were placed on the starboard side along with the small casks of solid lead shot. The medium size casks of gunpowder were located in the aft compartment. The cannonballs and barshot were located on the port side of the main mast. The 1-pd shot was also located here. Some mixed bird shot and solid lead shot casks were found in the aft compartment and small casks of standard lead shot were located just forward of the main mast on the starboard side. Other Supplies
Along with the large majority of military items found onboard, the cargo also consisted of supplies for the colony and trade items for the Indians. Reportedly onboard La Belle when she sank were 4,000 livres of dried meat; 800 livres of lard, 800 livres of bacon, three livres of butter, six casks of wine and four of brandy, three casks of vinegar, salt and oil, eleven casks of water and more than 10,000 pounds of bread or flour. Also onboard were all the crates of clothing, papers, utensils, linen and plates and dishes belonging to La Salle, the 6 priests, officers and other privileged persons; also all the trade goods, as well as tools, and nearly 50 hundredweight of lead, the forge, and everything needed for this purpose.
Possible Activity Areas Onboard La Belle
As previously mentioned, activity areas onboard ships can be recreated by studying the distribution of recovered artifacts. Onboard La Belle, artifact distribution was a key element in identifying where certain activities took place. These areas can be identified as the Master’s Stores, Boatswain’s Stores, Carpenter’s Stores, Purser’s Stores, Sailmaker’s Stores, Galley Stores, Cabin Area, Military Stores and other miscellaneous stores.
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