René Robert Cavelier de La Salle's Exploration and the First Voyage on the Great Lakes with a Vessel

The beginning story of the first exploration of the Great Lakes in a vessel by René Robert Cavelier de La Salle starts with him purchasing a plantation on the island of Montreal (Mont-Royal) at a place called Lachine to the southwest of Montreal in 1666. Lachine was the point of embarkation for the ascent of the Great River (Saint Lawrence River). He would sell this land in two years in 1668 to start his career exploring to find passage to Asia. He would have a reference map like the 1612 Champlain Map below to navigate the known waters of the Saint Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, and a little of Lake Erie.