Thirteen Rivers : Stephen F. Austin State University Press : 9781622881307 : 1622881303 : 30 Dec 2016 : 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'Aim