Annotated Bibliography

Primary Source:

Joutel, Henri. The La Salle Expedition to Texas: The Journal of Henri Joutel, 1684-1687. Trans. Johanna Warren. Ed. William Foster. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1998. ISBN 0-87611-165-7. The only surviving firsthand account of La Salle's voyage, Joutel's journal is quoted in nearly every account of La Salle's expedition. Joutel, La Salle's second-in-command, speaks of things as varied as La Salle's mood swings and the lack of food on the expedition. Information from the journal helped archaeologists pinpoint the location of the Belle and provided much-needed insights into the conditions on ship and on land. Joutel was one of the lucky few who survived the expedition. His journal is a valuable resource for understanding what the expedition members went through.

Secondary Sources:

"Belle Update," Archaeology, February 27, 1998. Retrieved February 13, 2004. www.archaeology.org/found.php?page=/online/news/belle.html.. I quoted the list of artifacts on this page. It is a short summary of the artifacts recovered from the wreck, and also gives a basic overview of the excavation.

"Centuries-old skeleton found in ship - on land." CNN. November 7, 1996. Retrieved February 14, 2004. www.cnn.com/TECH/9611/07/shipwreck/. As well as being informative, this page provided me with images of the skeleton and cofferdam.

Jacobs, William. "La Salle, Sieur De." World Book Encyclopedia, 1984. ISBN 0-7166-0084-6. In this article, the writer provides an easy-to-read overview of La Salle's life; from his early days in a Jesuit monastery, to his extensive Canadian explorations, to his ill-fated final voyage. It was especially helpful in understanding his early Canadian explorations. La Salle was a mysterious man; a man of power and an explorer, a strange combination in his day. He was a man of religion, but often given over to drunkenness or mad fits. An understanding of La Salle is crucial to understanding the expedition - indeed, the entire history of North America. This article gives a clear understanding of who La Salle was and what he did. William Jacobs is the author of a biography of La Salle.

LaRoe, Lisa Moore. "La Salle's Last Voyage." National Geographic, May 1987, pp 72-83. This article briefly explains the wreck and the excavation, focusing on Fort St. Louis and the ship itself. It is a good introduction to the subject, and describes some of the major findings, complete with excellent photographs and diagrams. I used this article to get basic information about the wreck, and it was helpful in deciding which facets of the excavation were worth writing about. Lisa Moore LaRoe is on the editorial staff of National Geographic and has contributed to stories on the Aran Islands; the Ozark Mountains; ancient Greece; the Titanic and much more.

The La Salle Projects Home Page. Texas Historical Commission. Retrieved February 8, 2004. www.thc.state.tx.us/lasalle.lasdefault.html. This is the Texas Historical Commission's official page on the La Salle expedition and excavation. It covers La Salle's life and times, the wreck of the Belle, and the excavation at Fort St. Louis. I quoted the FAQ page in the text (www.thc.state.tx.us/faqs/faqlas.html) and drew heavily on both the Excavation Highlights page (www.thc.state.tx.us/belle/lasbellehghlites.html) and tthe Belle page (www.thc.state.tx.us/lasalle/lasbelle.html). The web site contains photographs of artifacts found at both the Belle and Fort St. Louis sites, a La Salle chronology, and a good bibliography.

"NOVA: Voyage of Doom." PBS, November 23, 1999 [Video:VHS]. This broadcast is an invaluable resource for anyone doing research on La Salle's wreck. The Voyage of Doom web page is www.pbs.org/nova/lasalle. I drew heavily from the transcript that is available at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2616lasalle.html. I referred to this transcript when I needed more in-depth information about particular subjects, especially the later stages of the excavation. The broadcast helped me gain a deeper understanding of many complicated topics, such as the identification of the Belle and the various methods used in the excavation. Also, I used the picture of the Belle’s documents at www.pbs.org/nova/lasalle/timberbuil2.html.

"Physical Atlas Page." 2003. World Sites Atlas. Retrieved February 6, 2004. www.sitesatlas.com/Atlas/PhysAtlas/A12.htm. This is a good physical map of Texas, which I cropped to show only the coastal region. I also added captions for the mouth of the Mississippi River and Matagorda Bay.

Ramos, Mary. "La Belle and Fort St. Louis: Discovering La Salle's Ship and the Site of His Texas Colony," 1998- 1999 Texas Almanac. This article was very helpful and I used it extensively. A Web version of this article is available at www.texasalmanac.com/history/highlights/laballe/ It goes into great detail about many facets of the expedition and recovery. The article also provided me with several quotes from experts. It is an excellent resource and I used it for various parts of my paper. Its list of important artifacts was especially useful. Mary G. Ramos was the editor of the 1998-1999 Texas Almanac and has co-written a guide to Texas.

“Texas Beyond History: The Belle.” The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved February 12, 2004. www.texasbeyondhistory.net/belle/. At this website I found a great picture of the Belle’s hull and a portrait of La Salle.

End Notes
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This page was last updated on Wednesday, October 20, 2004