Journal of the Last Voyage Perform'd by Monsr. de la Sale, to the G.

1714. JOUTEL, HENRI. A Journal of the Last Voyage Perform'd by Monsr. de la Sale, to the Gulph of Mexico, to Find Out the Mouth of the Missisipi River.... London: For A. Bell, B. Lintott, and J. Baker, 1714. 8vo. [2], xxi, [9], 191, 194-205, [5] p. Engraved folding map (short closed tear). Contemporary calf. Extremities rubbed, top of spine a bit worn, else a lovely untouched copy, the text clean and fresh and entirely unfoxed. Peter A. Porter bookplate and Wolfgang Herz label. First edition in English; originally published in Paris the previous year. The map is entitled "A New Map of the Country of Louisiana and of Ye River Missisipi in North America..." and depicts the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, parts of Texas, and the eastern coast of America. In the upper corner is a lovely vignette of Niagara Falls. Joutel's journal is one of the best accounts of La Salle's ill-fated expedition to establish a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi River and the short-lived colony in Texas which the party used for two years as a base for further exploration. La Salle was eventually assassinated by some of his own men, and Joutel and others succeeded in returning to Canada. European Americana 714/40; Church 859; Howes J-266(b); Wagner, Spanish Southwest, 79b; Streeter Sale 112.