Robert de La Salle wanted to find a waterway across North America to reach China. He had land in Canada. Natives there told him about the Mississippi River. He thought that might be the way to get to China. He did some exploring, but no one is sure where he went at this time. People used to say he discovered the Ohio River. Now they think that is wrong.

La Salle built a fort on Lake Ontario in 1673. He started a fur trade that made him a lot of money. Then he built a ship. La Salle sailed across Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan. In canoes, he and his men went up the Miami River (now the St. Joseph River) to the Kankakee River. Then he went on the Illinois River.

In 1682, La Salle and some natives sailed down the Mississippi in canoes. They got to the Gulf of Mexico. La Salle claimed the land for France. He named it Louisiana.

La Salle went back to France to get help from the king. La Salle wanted to set up a fort at the mouth of the Mississippi. He wanted to control the fur trade. He sailed from France in 1684. There was trouble during the whole trip. Then La Salle missed the mouth of the Mississippi River. He landed in Texas. He kept trying to find the Mississippi. He took men east on foot to find it. The crew finally got fed up and killed La Salle.