of the party were attached to this
plate. La Salle then made a speech, which was carefully worded, and
seems to have been recorded at that time. It was in substance as
follows:

"In the name of Louis the Great, and in virtue of the commission I hold
in my hand, I take possession of this country of Louisiana, its seas,
harbors, ports, bays, and adjacent straits; and also of all the
nations, people, provinces, cities, towns, villages, mines, minerals,
fisheries, streams, and rivers, comprised in the extent of the said
Louisiana, from the mouth of the great river called the Ohio, and this
with the consent of the people dwelling therein, with whom we have made
alliance; and also of the rivers which discharge themselves therein,
from the sources of the Mississippi to its mouth in the sea; upon the
assurance of all these nations that we are the first Europeans who have
descended or ascended the said Mississippi. I hereby protest against
all those who may in future undertake to invade any of these countries,
to the prejudice of the right of his Majesty, acquired by the consent
of all the nations herein named. Of this I take to witness all those
who hear me, and demand an act of the Notary as required by law."

To this the whole assembly responded with shouts of Vive le Roi and
with a salute of fire-arms.

The civic ceremony being thus ended, the transaction was now to be
ratified with religious rites. By the side of the column, a massive
cross had been erected. The devout La Salle, who was earnestly a
religious man, took his position at the foot of the cross, and said:

"His Majesty, Louis the Great, the eldest son of the Church, will annex
no country to his crown without making it his chief care to establish
the Christian religion therein. Its symbol must now be recognized."
Several Christian hymns were then chanted. The sublime strains of the
Te Deum resounded through the arches of the forest; and other
ceremonies of the Catholic Church were performed with all the pomp
which the circumstances would allow.

Thus the great achievement was accomplished. According to the then
existing law of nations, the whole valley of the Mississippi was
annexed to France. It was indeed a magnificent acquisition. It is
estimated that the kingdom of France comprises an extent not quite
three hundred thousand square miles. It is judged that the valley of
the Mississippi drains a region of one million square miles. Thus the
pioneer, La Sall