Thirteen Rivers: The Last Voyage of La Belle is a historical novel based on the true saga of French explorer Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle and his colony.
Upon discovering in 1682 that the Mississippi River emptied into the Gulf of Mexico, La Salle claimed for France the entire river valley and all of its tributaries, including a large portion of present-day Texas and titled his empire La Louisiane to honor reigning French monarch, King Louis XIV. Hurricanes, pirates in the Caribbean, ship-wreck, betrayal, revenge, Indian war parties, kidnapping, and murder are all illustrated in a chronicle of events only life itself could inspire. Marooned on the present-day Texas coast, the cast includes priests, soldiers, sailors, deserters, murderers, and families including women and children, as well as Indian warriors and wizened chiefs. What became of four ships, La Belle, Le Joly, l’Aimable and Le Saint- Francois that left France in 1684 bound for La Louisiane with 280 people aboard? This is their story.