Surviving The La Salle Expedition

About the Book

This is a fictional historical novel using specific events covering the life of Isabella and Lucien Talon's daughter, Marie Madeleine Talon who was one of seven females on the Robert Cavalier de La Salle's expedition to find the mouth of the Mississippi River for colonization in the New World in 1684. Marie-Madeline was the only surviving female. This novel SURVIVING THE LA SALLE EXPEDITION covers her life experience from age 11 when their ship is wrecked and they land at Matagorda Bay in Texas coast. They lived in huts made of sand and straw until La Salle built a Fort inland about fifty miles east next to Garcitias Creek. He named it St. Louis Fort. La Salle is ambushed and killed by some of his men for his bad treatment and abuse of the colonists. The Karankawa Indians hear about La Salle's death. The befriended the colonists who had been living at the fort for two years. On Christmas day they attack and killed the twenty three colonists which had been left behind. They carried away the five children, Marie Madeleine, her two younger brothers, Robert and Lucien, also another younger brother, Jean Baptist and a young friend, Eustache Breman. Pierre, her younger brother had been taken earlier by La Salle to live with the Cenis Indians in the eastern part of the country. In 1690, the children are found by the Spaniards and taken to Mexico City to live with Viceroy and Countess. The Viceroy was returning to Spain and took the children with him. In 1696, the children were taken back to France after the French Armada attacked the Spanish ships. In France, the boys were sent to become soldiers. Marie-Madeleine remained in France where she married Pierre Samon. A year later, she had a son, who was also named Pierre. At age 23, she returns to Quebec, New France where she was born.

About the Author

Betsy Francois is the well-known author and impression illustrator of the children’s pictures: There' s A Roadrunner in the Honeysuckle Bush, The Horse who Thinks she' s a Cat and two young people' s novels: The Blunders of the Patriarch and In Search of Kindness. Her latest book SURVIVING the LA SALLE EXPEDITION is told through Marie-Madeleine Talon' s point of view, the only surviving female. Betsy lives in Socorro, New Mexico. She began her writing career in 1991 taking a four-year correspondent course with The Institute of Children.